Interested in sponsoring Simply Harmony for March?
Check out this page for more info and to contact me.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Love is in the air! Can you feel it? Valentine’s Day is less than 2 weeks away, and what better way for this blog to celebrate love than to hold a giveaway, right? Right!!

Yum Yum Candle and Sarahdipiti Jewelry – two of my all-time favorite and absolutely lovely sponsors – have teamed up to create an awesome giveaway prize package for one of my loyal and lucky readers! So get your pretty little manicured fingers ready to start typing away to enter to win this fantastic prize. It’s such a sweet deal that I wish I could win this myself, but alas this prize is just for one of you.

1.Yum Yum Candle: Love Gift Candle
Value: $14.99
Description: As seen in the August 2011 issue of Essence Magazine! This “love”-ly soy candle is back and just in time for Valentine’s Day. It makes a wonderful gift whether it’s for a housewarming, birthday, anniversary, or a “thinking of you” occasion! Available in Lavender Vanilla, Ambrosia, Hombre, Jasmine and Unscented.

2. Sarahdipiti: Asian Cinnabar Love Charm Earrings
Value: $25
Description: In China, cinnabar represents power and the color red represents marriage. These unique hand-made Asian Cinnabar red and black sterling silver earrings are accented with a black Czechoslovakian glass bead  and freshwater pearl, attached to a sterling silver earwire.

Want to win this lovely Valentine’s Day giveaway package? (You MUST be a subscriber (via rss, or email or Google Friend Connect) OF THIS BLOG to enter this giveaway. Leave a comment on this post to let me know that you are.)

There are 4 ways to enter! Here’s how:

1. “Like” Simply Harmony’s Facebook page. Comment below to let me know.
2. “Like” Yum Yum Candle’s Facebook page. Comment below to let me know.
3. “Like” the Sarahdipiti Facebook page. Comment below to let me know.
4. Tweet or mention this giveaway on Facebook. Comment below to let me know. Copy this tweet (you must include the tinyurl link):
   I hope I win this lovely Valentine’s Day package from @YumYumCandle and Sarahdipiti on @simplyharmony’s blog! http://tinyurl.com/75o69px
   

So there you have it — 4 possible ways to enter to win this fabulous Valentine’s Day giveaway packager, per person. Don’t forget to leave a comment for each entry so that each of your entries counts. And don’t forget to leave your EMAIL ADDRESS so that I can contact you if you win!

NEW RULE!
The winner has 48 hours from the time of my announcement to contact me to claim their prize.
If I don’t hear from you within that time frame, a new winner will be chosen immediately.

This giveaway closes on Saturday, February 4th at NOON EST.

I’ll announce the name of the lucky winner then.

GOOD LUCK!

As a writer and artist, I simply had to share this movie. I stumbled upon this film a few years ago and it is really one of my all-time favorites. It’s one of my go-to films when I am having a bad day and feeling creatively stuck or when I feel like I’m in a rut in my life. There is something about this film – Purple Violets – that I truly love. I honestly can’t explain it.

Maybe it’s the setting: New York City. Or maybe it’s the amazing cast: Edward Burns, Debra Messing, Selma Blair, and Patrick Wilson. Or maybe it’s the soundtrack which is hauntingly soulful and moving. Or maybe it’s the simplicity, beauty, and authenticity of the story of a woman struggling with her writing ambitions, past, career, and romantic relationships that makes me relate to it so.

Whatever it is, it struck a chord with me and I cannot think about watching a movie from my DVD collection without gravitating to this one first.

So, here’s the trailer. If you rent (or buy) Purple Violets, I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did, and do.

You may recall the name Sarahdipiti from the popular giveaway featured here in November, or the showcase feature last month. Or simply from browsing the web and stumbling upon the lovely online boutique while doing a bit of online shopping. And if you don’t, no worries, because I’m very excited to spread the news and feature one of my favorite jewelry boutiques – Sarahdipiti Jewelry. This time, however, not only am I featuring a few new pieces from the charming & whimsical boutique but I’m also spotlighting the brilliant creator behind it all. So without further ado, grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit back and enjoy reading all about the Sarah behind Sarahdipiti.

Navajo Love Bracelet

You have such a lovely online boutique. What sparked the idea for you to start your own business? And why did you choose jewelry?

Thank you, Harmony, for the compliment about my online boutique. I was a college professor teaching business for 30 years and I always dreamed of owing my own business. During this time I was designing jewelry as a hobby for relatives, friends, etc., and I am one of those gals that loves jewelry myself. My husband knew how much I loved creating designs for others and seeing how much they loved my work so, he inspired me to create and online jewelry business. After much thought, in 2009, I decided to do just that and make my dream of owning my own business a reality.

So many people desire to be their own boss, but don’t do it. What keeps you going?

I just absolutely love what I do! I especially love custom design and working with customers to create their one-of-a-kind pieces just for them.

Sterling Silver Enameled Bird Earrings

There are so many people who have no idea what a solo business owner’s day is made of. What’s your typical work day like? Give us a run down.

Well, everyday is different and it depends on what I have going on. I start the day by checking for new orders to fill and answering emails from customers and business contacts. I also spend quite a bit of time posting new pieces on my website, (I am my own webmaster) checking my daily stats, shipping orders, and researching for new business contacts. I am always looking at fashion magazines and blogs to get an idea of what is the new trend in fashion and jewelry for a season so I can come up with new designs.

I am one that likes to create pieces that are different and unusual than what you see everyday out there. I also like to keep my designs simple but in good taste. I buy my natural & organic beads from all over the world and I buy only the highest quality of materials. The quality of my work is very, very important. I never send anything out to a customer unless it passes my inspection first.

Social media is also very important in building good customer and business relationships. So, I spend a lot of  time daily getting to know prospective customers and business associates through Facebook.

I love the name of your boutique Sarahdipiti. What was the inspiration for its name?

Well, I wanted to incorporate my name into my new found business. So, the word “serendipity” came to mind which means an unexpected or fortunate discovery and this is how Sarahdipiti was born.

Asian Cinnabar Love Charm Pendant Necklace

What truly inspires you?

All sorts of things. I especially love natural and organic material that comes from plants, seeds, nuts, bone, volcanoes, and materials dug from the ground just to name a few. This is why I love to use gemstones and natural and organic beads in my work so much. Each one is very different and unique in color, texture and composition.

I am also inspired by fashion period pieces and design some of my vintage  custom pieces around these periods. A few of my  favorite periods  include, Victorian, Civil War and the 1960′s. I absolutely love re-designing vintage jewelry because some of the  beads used in these vintage pieces are very rare and one of a kind. A large part of my custom work involves  vintage jewelry re-design. I guess I can say that really enjoy making something new out of something old.

And I’m inspired by history, culture and tradition, especially Southwestern United States history. I love learning about traditions of Native American culture, and ceremonies and I try to build my designs based on some of these.

Kokopelli Clay Pendant Necklace

What is your favorite part of the day? And week?

I love custom orders and I love helping a customer, design a one-of-a-kind jewelry piece just for her. I also love to see the customers face light up when they see the finished piece. It really makes my day. When the customer is happy, I am happy.

A Paw Print To Remember Pet Memorial Bracelet

You donate a portion of your shop’s profit to certain charities. What prompted you to do so?

I am someone who wants to help others and the organizations that I donate to are very close to my heart. Especially  the Alzheimer’s Association and Animal Awareness. I lost my mother to Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago and vowed to do what I could to help find a cure for this horrific disease. Also,  I am a true animal lover and  I lost my wonderful dog and true friend Kassi James to cancer not too long after I lost my mother. I wanted to do my part to help with care and support programs for animals so I designed these pieces in their memory and honor.

You have so many great pieces and a variety of collections. Which ones are your favorite?

That is a tough question. I love them all. But if I were to choose I think I would go with the hand-carved and hand-painted Bird necklaces and the Asian Cinnabar natural and organic pendants because they are so unusual. Southwestern pieces are also a favorite of mine and I will be adding to the collection on a regular basis.

Gambel Quail Necklace

As a successful business owner, you must be one busy woman. How do you unwind?

I love to spend my down time with my husband and my 2 Cocker Spaniels, Kaley and Kourtney Rose. I also like to cook, and I am always looking for new recipes.

At SimplyHarmony, we like to inspire a chic, healthy, and blissful way of living. But we know that those things mean something different to each person. What makes your life a chic, healthy, and blissful one?

Just enjoying each day with my family and friends, and being grateful for what I have and taking nothing for granted.

Visit Sarah over at her online boutique Sarahdipiti.
Don’t forget to follow her on Facebook!

Interested in being featured in February’s Simply Harmony Spotlight?
Check out this page for more info and to contact me.

Last year was the first year in I don’t know how long that I’ve been able to read leisurely for my own enjoyment. I’ve read so many books this past year that I’ve honestly lost track of what I’ve read. So this year, I decided to post my 2012 Reading List here on my blog. I originally wanted to just create a separate page (on the navigation bar) and update it as I finished each book, but I realized that not only would that be tedious, it was also a really silly idea because who would come back to check to see if I added a book. Right? Right.

Instead, I decided to write this blog post and list the books that I intend to read the first half of this year- all to be completed by June 30th. I searched through boxes and bags of books that I’ve purchased last year, this year, and books that I bought several years ago, to come up with a list (short for this blog’s purposes) of the books that I would like to read over the next six months.

So without further ado, here’s my reading list, in no particular order, for January thru June 2012.

• The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity [10th Anniversary Edition] by Julia Cameron
• Getting To Happy by Terry McMillan
• A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life by Bethenny Frankel
• Loves Music, Loves To Dance by Mary Higgins Clark
• The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb
• Sex and The City: Kiss and Tell by Amy Sohn
• The Penny Pinchers Club: A Novel by Sarah Strohmeyer
• The Power of a Positive Woman by Karol Ladd
• Nice to Come Home To by Rebecca Flowers
• The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Volume One 1931-1934

(All of these books are listed in the Simply Harmony Amazon Shoppe)

I may read other books that are not on this list, and when/if I do, I will add them to this list to keep you all updated. In the meantime, feel free to read along with me!

What’s on your reading list for 2012?