What IS That Smell ?!?!

For the past few weeks, there has been a strange and unpleasant odor in one spot of our home. It occurs on and off with no obvious pattern. It is near a bathroom, but is not coming from the sink or toilet. The shower drain could be the source but I can't be sure. Last time I smelled it I thought it was the drain, so I used baking soda and vinegar to freshen it which seemed to work. But now it is back. That shower is never used since it is on the main (non-bedroom) level of the house. We do have a septic system, but it seems to be working just fine and besides, when that has backed up in the past it was a different (worse) smell and came up through the drain in our basement. This smell is just in that one spot on the main level.
The curious thing is that sometimes the smell seems to be coming from the air intake vent right next to the bathroom that smells. Do you think maybe something died in the wall and I'm just getting the occasional whiff of decomposing rodent? There are mice all around us outside in the woods but our two cats keep them out of the house (or at least we've never seen signs of them in here). Any ideas? It needs to go away soon, I'm getting more and more grossed out just sitting in the next room from it. YUCKO!

Friday Favorites

There are just so many things I really like that it is hard to narrow it down each week.

Today's pick is vintage key necklaces. But not just a key on a chain, I like the ones that have charms and other bits of "flair" along with them. Here are just a few of the MANY great key necklaces I found on Etsy:

Live Simply Boro Glass Lampwork Beaded Vintage Skeleton Key Necklace by Venbead from Rhode Island

Return To Me... Vintage Assemblage Necklace by OhMyGypsySoul from Michigan

Enchanted Forest Necklace by mylavaliere from Chicago

There were many, many more that I really liked but I just couldn't put them all here. Do you own or covet a favorite key necklace? I think I need to get one...

A Treasury for Thursday

It is has been raining here all day. No sun at all. Very dreary. Hard not to doze off. So I made a colorful treasury to cheer myself up!

Wednesday Welcome: Alphabet Originals

Each week I'm using Etsy's Pounce feature in order to discover new items "from undiscovered shops waiting for their first sale" as the Etsy site states. This week's welcome is extended to Maureen at Alphabet Originals, located in New Jersey. The images used in her artwork are photos of letters of the alphabet as they appear in the real world, not altered or flipped in any way. How cool is it to spell words with actual images?!? All of her works are able to be custom made with your own word; what a great idea for a personalized gift! I've just added this shop to my favorites list and now you have the chance to do the same. Here are two examples of Maureen's work:

I Think I'm In Love

We were just introduced last evening.

By mid-day today I had made a commitment.

I think I'm in love with Project Wonderful. I've been trying to get by with word-of-mouth and free advertising up until this point, but I've been listening to the buzz about PW for months now and I finally took the plunge. So far so good!

I owe a big THANK YOU to Timothy at http://timothyadamdesigns.etsy.com/ who is very generous with sharing information. Not only does he create amazing metal jewelry, sculptures, furniture, and more; he seems genuinely interested in helping others improve their businesses. His presence on Twitter, Scoutle, and Etsy among other places is reaching a lot of people like me who will benefit from his tutorials and advice.

When you are ready to fall in love (with good business advice) Check out Timothy's blog at http://timothyadamdesigns.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, fall in love with some of Timothy's metal creations:

Busy With Buttons

I've just finished scraping the last of the E-6000 glue off of my fingers, so now I can type a bit. Although I don't plan to put them in my etsy shop, I am making stacked button rings for an upcoming craft show. They're quick and easy to make and I think the fun color combinations will catch shoppers' eyes as they stop by my booth. Now I just need to choose which one to keep for myself!

Saturday Night Serenity

The kids are playing at a neighbor's house (thanks Dave), the husband is at Home Depot, and the cats and I are relaxing at home. I love the quiet! Not all the time, I'd miss my family, but once in a while I like to read and drink tea and hear my own thoughts. And not hear Spongebob. Or football on TV. Or the words "I'm hungry". Or "Mom/Honey where is my ...fill in the blank...?" C'mon people, if you threw your whatever it is onto the pile on your closet floor, then there is a really good chance that it is still there! Did you look before you asked me? Of course not. But hey, all three of them have their redeeming qualities as well; guess I'll keep 'em.

With all of this quiet around me, I worked on starting an e-mail newsletter and I made a new treasury list as well. Have a peek:

I hope you are all having a relaxing evening too, unless you're busy having FUN!