~ One Year Thanks and ... Discounts ~

So ... my one year anniversary of the launch of this ...  my Sea Quilts blog ... falls this weekend.

One year ago, I put up the (above) picture of my "Thar She Blues" quilt and asked you to be my friend.

You agreed and we pretty much lived happily ever after.

The happiest part of this adventure was becoming your friend and (thank you linky parties) seeing hundreds of your blogs and ideas and photos and ... fun. I can claim friends all over the world that I did not know one year ago. 

Isn't this an amazing world we live in that makes that possible??!

I spent most of this year sewing my brains out and 3 months ago launched my Etsy Shop where I am selling the patterns to the quilts and pillows that have consumed my time ... and brains.

In thanks, I would like offer a discount to those blog friends who stop by to check it out this coming week. (If you saw this here today ... you are my friend!)

Just enter the Discount Code:

blog1birthday

and you will receive 20% off any of the patterns ... and even the completed pillows.

Thanks for your support and friendship.

(Now ... shouldn't a birthday involve cake?)

~ Inspiration from the Southland ~

I spent the most lovely day today with a group of fellow bloggers from California.  We toured the oh-so-lovely shops of Old Town Orange and filled our bags to the brim with even lovelier ... free ... stuff, aka "swag".  We had a delicious lunch and listened to Mark Montano answer questions about crafting and publishing.

 As you can see every single detail was exquistely attended to.  (Although for the record ... I had Diet Coke.) It took me a half hour after I returned home to rummage through all of my goodies and a much shorter amount of time to consume some of them.

I would like to thank Paulette of Summerland Cottage for inviting me and then taking me under her wing once I was there. 

The theme was Inspire * Create * Connect.  I was definitely inspired and I cherish the connections I made.

Eh ... two out of three ain't bad.

~ Sugar by the Sea Shore ~

These incredible coastal cookies were made by Glory over at Glorious Treats. I. Am. In. Awe. This is partly to do with the fact that I attempted to add this particular skill to my repertoire once, and found it to be much harder than I expected. I am not saying that I have completely given up on mastering this talent, but I am saying my time could possibly be better spent perusing Glory's blog.

I have always loved the look of artistically iced cookies. I have always loved sea shells. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon these two loves in one beautiful, delicious package.

Thank you Glory for the sugary, shell-y fix. I will be back for more.