Blocks...Who would have thought?

Blocks Here...Blocks There...
So I've posted my blocks before. Who would have thought I would have really gotten into them? I made a set at Halloween and then decided to do one at Christmas. I had someone request a set at Christmas (the "Be Merry" set from my Christmas post) and then a Valentine's Day set. 

Then a returning Etsy customer bought a set of "Love" blocks for her friend. Sure, my Etsy shop is called "Circle Motifs by Jill" but if Pottery Barn can sell items that has nothing to do with Pottery, a barn or a farm, I can add funky and whimsical blocks to my shop. 

Complete with the help of Alexander

So far the blocks are "Made to Order" because I can't catch up fast enough to have sets on hand! 

The "Love" block set is a gift for the lady who ordered this custom work from me. Her friend bought her the blocks. I hope the receiver of the blocks doesn't read this as her blocks have been shipped, but haven't made it to her yet! 

That's why I added the owls to the Love blocks. As you can see from the custom work below, she wanted a lot of owls. However, what made the below project really fun though was the Depeche Mode inclusion she requested!

Personal details obscured and blurred

Hell Hath Frozen Over! 

Well, for a few days anyway...
We're in the coldest streak this area has seen since 1988. I've loved it of course. Sure, we've had multiple days in the 40s before, but not 3 or 4 more days in a row below freezing. And it's been commonplace in the last few days for morning temps in the 20s. It was 24 yesterday morning when I dropped Christian off at school.

From Monday 1/13/13

Chris and I actually saw some ice falling like icicles off a neighbor's tree and bushes yesterday afternoon and took pictures, but he hasn't emailed me those pictures yet from his phone. I'll update this when he does. But I think that person had a sprinkler or something running all night or something in order to create that effect for the freeze, because the air was otherwise pretty dry.

This was from last week...

However, like all good things, it comes to an end. In fact, it probably won't get to freezing tonight. I wouldn't mind the "end" so much if it meant the temps would still stay nice and cool. But oh nooooooo. It's going to be in the 70s by the end of the week. 

Yuck. 

That would be great in April, but not now. 

It's even more annoying hearing people complain about the "cold". What a bunch of wimps! First of all, daytime highs in the 40s is not a big deal. No ice storms...no blizzards...no snow to shovel. Get over it!  You want to see cold? Look at this:

Those that complain about the Phoenix cold streak should check this out in my sister's part of the world...

The second annoying thing? Hearing "I didn't move to Arizona for this kind of cold...." 

My response? "Well, you shouldn't have moved here then. Go back where you came from. I was here first and I love it." 

 Okay, okay. I know I'm cranky. But with record breaking heat every summer, it's nice to see the other end of the spectrum. And it is kind of funny watching those that thought they got away from the cold get all bent out of shape. 

And winter fashions are so much cuter than summer ones!  Cute jackets, scarves, fun layers, boots...adorable.

Also, these temps don't make me sweat profusely and get nauseated with awful headaches. 

But I will say though that for it being so cold for the area, it would have been nice to have it cloudier. The sun was still rather intense despite the cold temperatures.  Let's have the next cold streak be soon and with some clouds and rain!

Toddler Face of Disdain

This has nothing to do with the cold. X-man was just in a bad mood on Saturday and I couldn't get over his face! lol