tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-227388332023-10-03T02:42:06.019-07:00TWO BLOOMS DESIGN STUDIOOrganic Bath | Beauty | LifestyleTwo Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.comBlogger417125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-43602690245775499602016-01-31T17:10:00.001-08:002016-01-31T17:10:06.903-08:00Sticking to it and don't look back<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2016/1/31/sticking-to-it-and-dont-look-back#.Vq6wYl0McK0.blogger">Sticking to it and don't look back</a>: In this new year most of us make resolutions. We either make them and don’t <br />
keep them or make them and keep them. This year Caron and I wanted to make <br />
a resolution we would stick with andTwo Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-51170803426671722852016-01-14T22:10:00.001-08:002016-01-14T22:10:22.973-08:00How Do You Set Boundaries?<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2016/1/13/how-do-you-set-boundaries#.VpiNRAwVnz8.blogger">How Do You Set Boundaries?</a>: Two Blooms had an amazing rest over the holidays but deep down I knew my <br />
blog was waiting. As hard as it was to not keep writing, CaronTwo Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-65350538958289040082015-12-19T17:35:00.000-08:002015-12-19T17:39:31.156-08:00How I survived the Christmas madness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ubcEk4cnuWkryRQvhc96r53emXI_Wwd8SKaDNz2Xsjhnci2AkkM4Iq9yrz69jnNcHOYhAZq48vl_MfznmmRkyfU5ZcqpG6BXoPiC4-nMl-YZNBJthHXVT8YGjHRAix-fursZ/s1600/Christmas+LIghts+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ubcEk4cnuWkryRQvhc96r53emXI_Wwd8SKaDNz2Xsjhnci2AkkM4Iq9yrz69jnNcHOYhAZq48vl_MfznmmRkyfU5ZcqpG6BXoPiC4-nMl-YZNBJthHXVT8YGjHRAix-fursZ/s400/Christmas+LIghts+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>How I survived the Christmas madness</b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">I hate to admit it but I’ve gotten caught up in the busyness of the season. My sister and I are entrepreneurs after all and it’s very hard to take a breather and slow down. We’ve written about this topic before </span><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/13/when-you-just-cant" style="color: #7f2e0b; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here,</a><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/11/slow-down-listen" style="color: #7f2e0b; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here,</a><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/5/love-yourself" style="color: #7f2e0b; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">, and</span><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"> </span><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/10/27/perspective" style="color: #7f2e0b; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">but every time we go through it, it seems to feel different.</span></span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This week-end we are doing a very merry Etsy Pop Up Market (my sister is the Victoria Etsy lead). Today is the first day and we are here for 2 more days right in the core of downtown. We are at 547 Johnson Street Dec 18th-20th. The hours are Saturday 11-6pm and Sunday 11-5pm. If you are local pop by and say hi, we’d love to see you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This time of year there is always something pulling at us or begging for our attention. It’s like that all year long but leading up to Christmas it’s especially busy with last minute orders, wholesale accounts, managing 3 online stores and doing local markets 6 months a year. This 3 day week-end is our last venue and we are longing for a day of rest. My sister and I joke that a vacation for us is a day at Costco which is a mere 25 minutes away. It’s really not a joke because that often is a real treat and holiday for us. So yes we’ve been caught up in the back backing stress leading up the holidays. There is always one more order to fill or one more errand to run and while we are extremely grateful we are </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">longing to slow down just a little bit to recharge and renew our minds.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAbNyg0WTE2hyajU2aznUUaEDhZnZwo4LUU8VPwLW2-lXTFgZ39Q96mDkMv-rJgoiKYywhkOGC_kdrLZ4tsg2LIHG8OzetRBLXF92jyLos4PThoja6CqSg_Yy37Ia5gNoPyWX/s1600/Christmas+Lights+downtown+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAbNyg0WTE2hyajU2aznUUaEDhZnZwo4LUU8VPwLW2-lXTFgZ39Q96mDkMv-rJgoiKYywhkOGC_kdrLZ4tsg2LIHG8OzetRBLXF92jyLos4PThoja6CqSg_Yy37Ia5gNoPyWX/s400/Christmas+Lights+downtown+2.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Tonight while walking to get a cup of tea I marveled in the beauty of the Christmas lights in the city. For a few moments I let myself get caught up in that moment and a smile crept across my heart and I felt happy to be right where I was and in a city I’ve grown to love.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">My advice for this crazy season is to enjoy every moment and appreciate those around you and the beauty that is everywhere. In fact the other day I walked outside and saw a tiny little daisy coming up from the grass.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was delicate and pretty and....<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/12/18/how-i-survived-the-christmas-madness">continue here.</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOKYj3yhUmtS2IL2WCf0QRP8flLNmWPB1wH0p-qmJJ_vBArgYbw_KCctRtk3t_A-PmkDiUfPOYqTiXUDr53VqVYB9hhyE1rKKhhuD0zZeUSj4acB-krwNajUR5yvHbXWNR3Fc/s1600/Michelle+Signature2+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOKYj3yhUmtS2IL2WCf0QRP8flLNmWPB1wH0p-qmJJ_vBArgYbw_KCctRtk3t_A-PmkDiUfPOYqTiXUDr53VqVYB9hhyE1rKKhhuD0zZeUSj4acB-krwNajUR5yvHbXWNR3Fc/s1600/Michelle+Signature2+copy.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMbTCbx2QGCho2WI6CHup6YwE3H7wCORmcWaf0ZAHqc9FS2xT4NIccLxUSh3kCHaH0YkPOX7s6mue8ZSKNy7RkaSD9tLBmSJHODB70Yc3otCDJTvu-5UjIHtBIv_De02doI_A/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMbTCbx2QGCho2WI6CHup6YwE3H7wCORmcWaf0ZAHqc9FS2xT4NIccLxUSh3kCHaH0YkPOX7s6mue8ZSKNy7RkaSD9tLBmSJHODB70Yc3otCDJTvu-5UjIHtBIv_De02doI_A/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo+copy.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: Times; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">
Hi, I'm Michelle the artist, visionary, creator and designer of T<a href="http://www.twoblooms.com/">wo Blooms Design Studio.</a> I moved from a big city to Vancouver Island and fell in love with the west coast. My world is surrounded by beautiful scents, on trend design and endless possibilities.</div>
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-89748424395447775242015-12-10T20:27:00.000-08:002015-12-19T17:14:17.102-08:00A Christmas Tradition<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYhQyOXbNfmeWJm55ZuU1cpL6BTwlAYJF6J64IJTSzqyxzGCsmtt0BR_uxsRUaTz4pKUZz2BMWPhXWuSwe-ctNQc4LNe2s81os7PGLQA0vadtWD-O4Bj1EcfQkKOVMI2Vd1en/s1600/Crostoli+Recipe+www.doltonehouse.com.au.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYhQyOXbNfmeWJm55ZuU1cpL6BTwlAYJF6J64IJTSzqyxzGCsmtt0BR_uxsRUaTz4pKUZz2BMWPhXWuSwe-ctNQc4LNe2s81os7PGLQA0vadtWD-O4Bj1EcfQkKOVMI2Vd1en/s640/Crostoli+Recipe+www.doltonehouse.com.au.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: www.doltonehouse.com.au</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this ‘instant’ society of
North America, we tend to want everything now and do not like to wait.
Some things though can only truly be savoured if we only taste them once
a year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">‘Impossible” you
say, “why wait? Bake them now”! But that is the secret to ‘Italian
Crostoli’ they taste best when eaten only at Christmas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My
great grandparents brought their Crostoli recipe from Italy. Europe
seems to have many versions of Crostoli pastries, each with a different
name. In the U.S. they are called ‘Angel Wings’. My great aunts called
them ‘Nothings’ because they melted in your mouth and you had to have
another one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My grandmother
used to bake them just before Christmas and I could hardly wait. I would
sit on the kitchen chair quietly watching for the stage where she
dropped them in hot oil and I knew she would give me the first one as
soon as she sprinkled them with icing sugar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In
our household our baking of Cristoli takes on the air of a t.v. show
starting with all the ingredients laid out ready to assemble. It is a
team effort with one person measuring, the other getting the oil hot for
frying and another sifting the icing sugar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of
course ‘Rosemary Clooney’ singing “Hey Mambo, Mambo Italiano” in the
background is a must, after all this is Italian pastry. Follow along,
get out your favorite Italian song, tie on your apron and join the once a
year Crostoli bake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2303">Ingredients (makes 2 dozen)</b></span></div>
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<li id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2298"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 cups of flour (all purpose, sifted)</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2296"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">¼ teaspoon salt</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2294"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 eggs</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2313"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 Tablespoons sugar</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2292"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 Tablespoons vanilla</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2289"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 teaspoon grated lemon rind</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Beat
eggs and sugar and vanilla with electric beater until light and fluffy.
Gradually add dry ingredients with lemon zest into the mixture by
hand until dough becomes a ball. Turn dough out on board and knead
adding extra flour as needed until it is no longer sticky. Let rest in
plastic zip lock bag for one hour.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Separate dough into four sections. Roll out on wooden floured board with a rolling pin until 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 5 inch x 1/8 inch strip with pizza wheel. Make a lengthwise slit about 1 inch long in center of each strip. Pull one end twistedthrough the slit. Keep remaining dough covered with plastic wrap.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drop 3 or 4 at a time into hot vegetable oil in large saucepan a depth of 4 inches. Turn once until just starting to brown. They will continue to brown slightly after removal from oil. Drain on paper towels and gently sprinkle with icing sugar. Keep in air tight container. Hide them somewhere until Christmas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is your favourite Christmas recipe?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See us on the flip side <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here.</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOB1cBjot42o67b2n1VnaEDMUQ2CZTW6FME8zq74Zw95cwd4TRbN-uvf_ot5XoNoX64BcOWb9AcNKHpjwVFEyaN9MUDp3PJsMw3DDconI1VcQuGD8WGmNzU_Egx8DlRHuSAvZ/s1600/16627+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOB1cBjot42o67b2n1VnaEDMUQ2CZTW6FME8zq74Zw95cwd4TRbN-uvf_ot5XoNoX64BcOWb9AcNKHpjwVFEyaN9MUDp3PJsMw3DDconI1VcQuGD8WGmNzU_Egx8DlRHuSAvZ/s200/16627+copy.jpg" width="115" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1449807724635_2281">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-28169357995933443902015-12-06T17:41:00.003-08:002015-12-09T22:45:54.336-08:00Tis the season for purses<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sTszJ286brvBu2xQy8-MIVUh2mzMP8fmJ2cMQQvIStUxGuwbJ4chGuME6RZKxT7fL8v1oBXE0VN-BNgLzM3cqBeJNPUDrAmrwVe7Lt2Obtz97YjDs-98Os4Pyomtr0a3WwiY/s1600/Bike+Purse+Black+String.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sTszJ286brvBu2xQy8-MIVUh2mzMP8fmJ2cMQQvIStUxGuwbJ4chGuME6RZKxT7fL8v1oBXE0VN-BNgLzM3cqBeJNPUDrAmrwVe7Lt2Obtz97YjDs-98Os4Pyomtr0a3WwiY/s640/Bike+Purse+Black+String.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/bike-purse-bluewhite-check-lining">Bike purse with vintage blue/white check lining</a></h2>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Tis the season for purses </b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a> </center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1449451633328_2305" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The
perfect small bag just couldn’t be found, I didn’t want a plastic one
that would eventually crinkle and crack. Nor did it make sense to buy
one factory made that everyone else had. And my phone is old and clunky
so the slim ones I did find were too small. And there had to be room
for my keys, which again tend to be rather big and clunky. But the bag
couldn’t be too big either, hanging out like a big diaper advertising
clunky phones and bunchy keys.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1449451633328_2299" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The
search was on but I couldn’t find what I wanted. So I made my own
finding a canvas that was sturdy but not stiff and the lining couldn’t
just be anything common, nope had to be vintage. Personalize it with a
pattern on the front and it was good to go. But then whenever I pulled
mine out someone would say “oh I want one of those”, so the madness
began and I started sewing them up by the dozens.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zLcAtLaLpbPmbZmWxu8nBYYJmGHmVWt9F9VC3sN-oi2jj8rS3nWlb7tlxKEjI1L5a__4KnVuTBNxEul7KVfaYrjveLaqXIdP_zzHBT5XilJfLztDQQxoSpZZ95ZgmRGEjprx/s1600/VW+Purse+Darker+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zLcAtLaLpbPmbZmWxu8nBYYJmGHmVWt9F9VC3sN-oi2jj8rS3nWlb7tlxKEjI1L5a__4KnVuTBNxEul7KVfaYrjveLaqXIdP_zzHBT5XilJfLztDQQxoSpZZ95ZgmRGEjprx/s640/VW+Purse+Darker+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/vw-van-purse-bluewhite-check-lining">VW Purse with blue/check vintage lining</a></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">On a recent business trip to Toronto I
stumbled upon a store selling beautiful zippers, so I bought 50 of them
in every different colour and size ranging from 2” – 10” and brought
them home. No two purses are ever alike because the zippers are all
different sizes and colours make these for a delightful gift for
yourself or anyone else on your list. Imagine filling one of these
purses with our lip balms for the perfect Secret Santa gift?<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_1_1449729683352_44010" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Or
fill one up with chocolates and who wouldn’t love that? Someone bought
a purse today and said she was going to fill it with tea bags and take
it with her when she travelled. Someone else bought a purse to start
collecting money to treat herself to special coffees.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What
could you use your purse for? What would you fill it with? And the
price? $18 or $23 w/ a lip balm – win/win for both you the gift giver
and the receiver.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">See our full collection of <a data-cke-saved-href="/allproducts?category=GIFTS" href="https://twoblooms.squarespace.com/allproducts?category=GIFTS">purses.</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Stay up to date with the <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">Two blooms. </a></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1449451633328_2300">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1449451633328_2299" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></span></div>
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-77969176592329367542015-12-01T21:21:00.002-08:002015-12-06T17:28:31.987-08:00What donut do you wear?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpuChfal1Zniw_A9WkEjKz5W6xl4vMUDyZmpj-Oa68A098vpo9rWZ8Um-RE4JDj6jJWsOlzKhuLlrFhE-pNrTT1V2sswP81PfkgRDwnvbV3CyK5EDqQUYPVHsvE4nJOtQjGff/s1600/Viktor+Hanacek+donuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpuChfal1Zniw_A9WkEjKz5W6xl4vMUDyZmpj-Oa68A098vpo9rWZ8Um-RE4JDj6jJWsOlzKhuLlrFhE-pNrTT1V2sswP81PfkgRDwnvbV3CyK5EDqQUYPVHsvE4nJOtQjGff/s640/Viktor+Hanacek+donuts.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit Viktor Hanacek</td></tr>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
What donut do you wear?</h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">We all like donuts don’t we? I do, the
sweet sugary taste, the billowy goodness you enjoy after your first bite. It’s
comforting even though you know it’s not the best for you. We all crave that
sense of comfort and that immediate taste bud fix.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Recently a friend asked me why her
favourite piece of clothing was so special. She was trying to understand why a
certain article of clothing holds special meaning. I thought about for a minute
and said: “well it brings you comfort, it makes you feel secure and it becomes
that go to piece of clothing you wear over and over again.” Typically it’s well
worn because you wear it over and over again and are continually washing it to
keep it clean. My friends favourite article of clothing was a soft green angora
sweater and it keeps her warm in her house. Mine is a blue pull over <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">P</span>olarte<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">c</span>
sweater that is baggy and is also very warm. It’s not the most glamorous piece
of clothing but it holds significance because it’s been through a lot with me
and has travelled life’s journey with me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I titled this piece “what donut do you
wear?” because a favourite piece of clothing reminds me of donuts. Donuts and
my sweater give me that same comfort although one is comfort through food and
the other is comfort through clothes.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">In high school I remember loving<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Doc Martens. I had this
favourite pair that were a black oxford style. You had to literally bang
them with hammer when you bought them because they were tough and you
wanted that worn in feeling right away. I no longer have those shoes but
I did buy a pair of black mary jane Doc Marten shoes about 5 years and
they instantly reminded me of the pair I had in high school all those
years ago.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So the question for you is tell me what donut you wear? I’d love to hear your thoughts.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keep up to date with our latest <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">blog posts. </a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18Y7rfRHqi9sBcALskxveuzVf4-ej0w0BvK28_Nke3iOqFAoUdVCv44nTJrE04FWWuR04mpyb_Q94eyj2gIOupBtf8SaV1aQrCAXG__dq3tyjQurS0shN1th9nspJzI7YY1sv/s1600/Michelle+Signature2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18Y7rfRHqi9sBcALskxveuzVf4-ej0w0BvK28_Nke3iOqFAoUdVCv44nTJrE04FWWuR04mpyb_Q94eyj2gIOupBtf8SaV1aQrCAXG__dq3tyjQurS0shN1th9nspJzI7YY1sv/s1600/Michelle+Signature2.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9O3KNjZtVsNk-DnhyuHATUwXkaOdmj3cMB1Imx3zWubJcA97805g3jha8-VDwxKyMLs7WxaTgiMcfQo1kHxvQ7d9EG828GFc94RD0pAGmheg1yO4dxJiRliHDjXx0IsQRKlC/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9O3KNjZtVsNk-DnhyuHATUwXkaOdmj3cMB1Imx3zWubJcA97805g3jha8-VDwxKyMLs7WxaTgiMcfQo1kHxvQ7d9EG828GFc94RD0pAGmheg1yO4dxJiRliHDjXx0IsQRKlC/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Hi, I'm Michelle the artist, visionary, creator and designer of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a>. I moved from a big city to Vancouver Island and fell in love with the west coast. My world is surrounded by beautiful scents, on trend design and endless possibilities.</span></span></div>
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-54727817926080615562015-11-27T22:49:00.000-08:002015-12-01T21:16:01.530-08:00I thought this running class was for couch potatoes<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiwo1DZvtNFISs0VAd7groN97uQ6B4kHAjhhRM9m_TBoq3g_APcKjnCjWtIDcz7OntAFMyw3ZKRIBrRz3tIBsCAenU1rmGHGNeZGBvPSqJy7735O6z8CydxedBjuJ1ka1SEGn/s1600/girl+night+running.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiwo1DZvtNFISs0VAd7groN97uQ6B4kHAjhhRM9m_TBoq3g_APcKjnCjWtIDcz7OntAFMyw3ZKRIBrRz3tIBsCAenU1rmGHGNeZGBvPSqJy7735O6z8CydxedBjuJ1ka1SEGn/s640/girl+night+running.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: holdosi</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I thought this class was for couch potatoes.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You may remember the first post I did about running <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/19/run-a-5k-are-you-joking" target="_blank">here</a>.
So we go to the first class and we figure it will be pretty laid back. I
wear a sweat shirt, jogging pants and a black puffy coat. I don’t look
amazing but I figure we will do some light exercising. We step inside
and head to the counter to ask where to go. The man motions us to sit
next to some girls waiting to go inside. This was my first clue that I
should run out of there. The two girls next to use were thin and looked
very much in shape. A few minutes later we see the teacher and she is
slim as well. The class begins and every one in there looks fit and in
shape. It was like high school all over again. We were the odd people
and that felt uncomfortable.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The teacher asks if anyone hasn’t run
before? Yup just Caron and I put up our hands gingerly. We get the run
down on the stance, posture etc. Then we do a bunch of exercises and
these were not easy at all. I was exhausted after 10 minutes. Then the
teacher says okay we are heading out for 20 minutes. The first group
would be 1 minute walking then 2 minutes of running. We were in the very
back and were the only ones at the end doing 1 minutes of running and 2
minutes of walking. Caron and I were in shock. There was a woman </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">assigned to use the
stragglers. We panted and could barely catch our breath during this time
period. My chest was pounding and I said to the lady shadowing us there
is something wrong with your title “Sofa to 5K”. Where are the couch
potatoes I asked? She said something about there were some out of shape
people in the class but I didn’t see them at any time. She sweetly told
us to wear a light breathable top and then a shell over top. I guess she
saw my mammoth coat and hoodie.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The clue should have been
when the lady told us we would be so sore the next day and how we should
take a bath in salts. I think the frustrating part was being in a class
that wasn’t for newbie runners.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Have you ever run for exercise?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keep up with all the bloom worthy news <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here. </a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOp84IvFKIpX7tM9d1mTHPVyieCNcRjJe5HW_13_DrVNIS8GeUGn_1hbBwpUstrFeCwa_7KjmOy2TpIMZYTNPHu0X99XH-7GAf5aml-Pys_Cmr_XLep0l2q1c_a7nYAty2cJ-/s1600/Michelle+Signature2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOp84IvFKIpX7tM9d1mTHPVyieCNcRjJe5HW_13_DrVNIS8GeUGn_1hbBwpUstrFeCwa_7KjmOy2TpIMZYTNPHu0X99XH-7GAf5aml-Pys_Cmr_XLep0l2q1c_a7nYAty2cJ-/s1600/Michelle+Signature2.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3_n7Giayl9_Tj7dyiJZ5ykahStPQdE2LJE_rykDgUiUwmj-FUOU3qZBkNcvIlGl9AUT8drjGSTXfPwP4kyJ8vTtu3up585sbUiYOBW9_c8F1sy7jzE9HvypelPPP84uFuiag/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3_n7Giayl9_Tj7dyiJZ5ykahStPQdE2LJE_rykDgUiUwmj-FUOU3qZBkNcvIlGl9AUT8drjGSTXfPwP4kyJ8vTtu3up585sbUiYOBW9_c8F1sy7jzE9HvypelPPP84uFuiag/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span>Hi, I'm Michelle the artist, visionary, creator and designer of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a>. I moved from a big city to Vancouver Island and fell in love with the west coast. My world is surrounded by beautiful scents, on trend design and endless possibilities.</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-39890133302151169092015-11-24T19:22:00.000-08:002015-11-27T22:43:24.887-08:00Adele would love this.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOhM_fuGGiNUYTdGkU6F8HBKMqQCeKAQ3YZoYtkzuS1Vk-T0jVrIIKYwTtuag6gZrD46Kw0dm8t6VjjB8fZ0AQVgCInVAeenBTHnZ4FV0VPIP5rGwxeKIzpDx1yMNYNWXTZsB/s1600/blickpixel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOhM_fuGGiNUYTdGkU6F8HBKMqQCeKAQ3YZoYtkzuS1Vk-T0jVrIIKYwTtuag6gZrD46Kw0dm8t6VjjB8fZ0AQVgCInVAeenBTHnZ4FV0VPIP5rGwxeKIzpDx1yMNYNWXTZsB/s640/blickpixel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Adele would love this.</b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s
a month until Christmas and as a maker, life is chaos. Between
fulfilling wholesale orders, selling at weekend craft markets (who
signed us up for these markets anyways? Oh wait a minute, that could
have been me :) and replenishing stock I find myself working alone in
the studio with only the radio for company. (Little Blooms is typically
on the other side of the studio in another office). Sometimes I even
dance to a peppy song.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So naturally I am hearing <a href="http://adele.com/" target="_blank">Adele’s</a> epic voice on a consistent basis. And when I am procrastinating researching on Facebook, I do watch the <a href="http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show" target="_blank">Jimmy Fallon</a>
interviews with her. So I feel like Adele and I are becoming fast
friends (although she may not realize this AT ALL.) Packing up this
luscious face kit today I thought to myself “hey, Adele has beautiful
skin, if she was my BFF I would definitely send this to her”. What’s
not to love? Its got all the essentials to get you through the holiday
frenzy, late nights and perhaps imbibing in the festive cheer of your
choosing. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4QFjs4LDUnAfWUWsmuA4m6-1Y69aJ4fXXmvfFRNuBThYEtn-1mYzER2etHGldqsGsCnveGmW97EVJlU52I6z9ofOhvLnZxDBcio86YBaIrOv7iSPD3o7OkjN_MXGfY1ktevV/s1600/unnamed-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4QFjs4LDUnAfWUWsmuA4m6-1Y69aJ4fXXmvfFRNuBThYEtn-1mYzER2etHGldqsGsCnveGmW97EVJlU52I6z9ofOhvLnZxDBcio86YBaIrOv7iSPD3o7OkjN_MXGfY1ktevV/s400/unnamed-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/face-care-gift-set">Pampering Face Love Kit</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our organic face rehab with charcoal & dead sea mud to pull the
impurities from your skin, followed up by a refreshing toner of either
Neroli or Rose, follow this with a delicate application of our organic
rose geranium face nourish and save the Azulene for night time skating
or evenings après ski. Instead of a fragrance that can irritate, I
spray a light mist of the toner on my hair before heading out the door
for a subtle scent.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3wZKxM0Szu9HlGnQVhAoXDXsf10EKquM9C_cUQi_IGC9xIo-vx9UzejpYA1bf0b1tHtF3OL_AHxLQoqE9Ut80BaHATm9Xq2NlFzAIpNZX3YVHzrOS6LPmEAgMIupLThmVGHn/s1600/unnamed-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3wZKxM0Szu9HlGnQVhAoXDXsf10EKquM9C_cUQi_IGC9xIo-vx9UzejpYA1bf0b1tHtF3OL_AHxLQoqE9Ut80BaHATm9Xq2NlFzAIpNZX3YVHzrOS6LPmEAgMIupLThmVGHn/s400/unnamed-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/face-care-gift-set">Pampering Face care Kit</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">a limited edition kit, we’re only releasing a small number of these
treasures for $75.00 CAD dollars (plus shipping). And if you’re a
friend of Adele’s, let us know and I’d be happy to send her a kit from
her new BFF.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7octb7M3YGJUQ1vwtqT5gKFnA-JC1wkbRN4YhlYLzwHA1x2uwxabytAblL5zX07AgBTKyeiKttTxits4KUQvhbXwVhdg2JMBdxoCwlgyNxShLDJ77gjG2cZd-KiQi5IcpqzU/s1600/Pampering+Face+Love+Kit+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7octb7M3YGJUQ1vwtqT5gKFnA-JC1wkbRN4YhlYLzwHA1x2uwxabytAblL5zX07AgBTKyeiKttTxits4KUQvhbXwVhdg2JMBdxoCwlgyNxShLDJ77gjG2cZd-KiQi5IcpqzU/s320/Pampering+Face+Love+Kit+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/face-care-gift-set">Pampering Face Care Kit</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keep up with the blooms <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here.</a></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span><br />
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-61475106152048406352015-11-19T15:28:00.004-08:002015-11-24T19:13:08.550-08:00Run a 5K, are you joking?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9C4Jk24x_lFbGOe2PhLRNz3h4HiB6XZ_zYQA1aW9sNUIrqMw2ZDFsgoZIUulIEvZQPWT87GaOPHW0ckbOmNvc-1s_MuXiFFVPkmDnb_yDDPfkPrHgDKkyy_rv6K-JF6yC2jEA/s1600/running-573762_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9C4Jk24x_lFbGOe2PhLRNz3h4HiB6XZ_zYQA1aW9sNUIrqMw2ZDFsgoZIUulIEvZQPWT87GaOPHW0ckbOmNvc-1s_MuXiFFVPkmDnb_yDDPfkPrHgDKkyy_rv6K-JF6yC2jEA/s640/running-573762_1280.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Run a 5K, are you joking? </b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a> </center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron (the other bloom of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/" target="_blank">Two Blooms</a>) has posted about our running adventure <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/9/when-pigs-fly" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/10/ready-set-run" id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447975320711_2283" target="_blank">here </a>and
now it’s my turn to describe the events that led up to me joining this
torturous class. Yup Caron saw a sign driving by several times that
said ‘Sofa to 5 K’ and for some reason it was calling her. The only time
I’ve run is in high school and college and it was never something I
loved. I did it more because it was required for gym credits. In college
I toyed with it because we had a track close by and the odd time here
and there I would run for exercise. Years ago I tried the beginner’s
running method where you walk for 5 minutes and running 1 minute or
something like that. I tried it several times but never really stuck
with it. Deep down though I’ve always wondered if I could run some sort
of marathon. I’m in city that is known for this as there are several
marathons year found because we have the ideal climate. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A few years ago I remember going to <a href="http://www.crabfestival.org/" target="_blank">Washington for a crab festival</a> and on the way to the ferry there was a <a href="http://www.runvictoriamarathon.com/" target="_blank">marathon happening</a>.
We were early so we stood and watched people passing the finished line.
There were all ages and some brought tears to my eyes. It was that
moment that I secretly wondered if I could ever muster up the ability to
do a marathon. There never really is a question if I can physically do
it because with determination and patience I think most of us can
accomplish anything if we really put our minds to it.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So Caron calls and asks about the course and </span>its full. I hear her on the phone and I breathe a secret sign of
relief. I’m out of shape. Yes I walk a lot but I’m not used to running
at all. So Caron goes on the wait list. Finally we get a call and one
spot is open. I’m still relieved and tell Caron she can go the class
alone and teach me the ropes. She says to the lady we are waiting for
another spot. You guessed it we get a second call saying I’m in. While
the lady puts Caron on hold she is yelling to me asking if I want to do
it and I’m debating back and forth and finally yell yes but hesitantly.
To be continued in another post.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Has anything happened recently
that you've dreaded? You dread it because you know it's good for you and
you don't want to do it or maybe it's a obligation of sorts.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://twoblooms.squarespace.com/blog/2015/11/19/run-a-5k-are-you-joking">Stay up to date here. </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzdxSakaouKN1o0pc89by_FW3z634vKuJryIKHt7NBwKSBrxC0KncyqoS_euk1x4q4LUgY2_1EtxKX8Hk0pYC9gDGrn10U8K8QzpFC9hYMjpl-61Roe-dmuTBX5jTR8CwP_lm/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzdxSakaouKN1o0pc89by_FW3z634vKuJryIKHt7NBwKSBrxC0KncyqoS_euk1x4q4LUgY2_1EtxKX8Hk0pYC9gDGrn10U8K8QzpFC9hYMjpl-61Roe-dmuTBX5jTR8CwP_lm/s1600/Michelle+making+perfume+4+profile+photo.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hi, I’m Michelle the founder of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. I’m in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.</span></div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-17810548214064893802015-11-17T22:59:00.000-08:002015-11-19T15:25:28.967-08:00Thank you for 30 days of blogging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUslZqqN7OVnrORwviubUoEjFGBBLeQKB7FB99DIk_SAmrXMkIOsl1Ft-3UYEqsWva7bfgBHZwuziD_isAnF9ooSma4BYkONHYzSbtvKlTcFYTxlnL6GsflZJcntspsiaTyxj8/s1600/thankyouphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUslZqqN7OVnrORwviubUoEjFGBBLeQKB7FB99DIk_SAmrXMkIOsl1Ft-3UYEqsWva7bfgBHZwuziD_isAnF9ooSma4BYkONHYzSbtvKlTcFYTxlnL6GsflZJcntspsiaTyxj8/s640/thankyouphoto.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Thank you for 30 days of blogging </b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2292" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Nothing
has prevented me from this challenge. As I was harping on my sister to
post this blog that I'd written 2 hours earlier the power went out. Just
as we were about to head out the door to head to a nearby wifi coffee
shop the power came back on. </span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2287">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2287">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2286" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Thank you.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2283">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2282" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">On behalf of the academy I’d like to thank you all for your support over these last 30 days </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">:)</span><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2305" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">. I’d like to thank <a href="http://www.indiebusinessnetwork.com/" target="_blank">Donna Maria</a>
for coming up with this brainchild of blogging for 30 days. During our
busiest time of year, she made it sound so exciting, so alluring that I
literally threw caution to the wind and jumped in with both feet so
excited to be a part of this challenge. You are a good leader <a href="http://www.indiebusinessnetwork.com/" target="_blank">Donna Maria</a> and I am proud to be a part of your online family.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2307" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">To
my sweet sister (aka Little Bloom) who dutifully helped me with the
blog every single day when I would manage to do something to crash the
screen. Or the days I would wail and moan and explain to her why we
simply could not continue on with the blog. She never complained, she’d
ply me with tea and cookies and help me with ideas and suggestions.
She knew she couldn’t write for me, but her job was to walk alongside
and encourage when she could and at other times stay far away from me
while I plunked on the keyboard</span><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2311" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> :).</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2314">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2314">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2313" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And
most importantly to this amazing community of makers that took the time
to send comments and answer questions. To those of you that took the
time to click ‘like’ you will never know how on some days it was a
lifesaver to continue.</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2314">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2314">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2313" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2337" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I learned that<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2284" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I
love to write and express myself, it is my favorite way to
communicate. The mere discipline of putting my bum in my seat every day
had the crossover effect of bringing discipline to other areas of my
life. Because I had to write every single day it meant that I had to be
organized in other areas of my life. Suddenly the desk that was piled
sky high with papers could not be tolerated another day so I organized
it. No time for exercise? Not true, there was always a pocket of time
that could be found.</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2288">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2288">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2290" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So
thank you, I am a better person because of these 30 days, I feel like
I’ve opened a door to a creative side of me that I didn’t have time to
explore. #grateful</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2302">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2304" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">To keep up with the Two Blooms see our <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">blog home. </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2304" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2304" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447975320711_2304" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7ef3limMwp-XkO_5zhvVja2KihEPN40yP8VKR6Of9SfY6mNcxUNKnPnp7OckTjSJjLaeA4gbay7QUHMZ1K_4okeJlt2ja3Dr1raxw7UDlPPMNxwEKnkS0sx2ZsIOzxlEGTJ7/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7ef3limMwp-XkO_5zhvVja2KihEPN40yP8VKR6Of9SfY6mNcxUNKnPnp7OckTjSJjLaeA4gbay7QUHMZ1K_4okeJlt2ja3Dr1raxw7UDlPPMNxwEKnkS0sx2ZsIOzxlEGTJ7/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TdNjjZMhSqVA6zbUzRwvkNXKJpRGru8shXItjx8Cvm5x1clpWpOP7yvV_LpX-Te5OJbzJ2IJ4zW56zx8UgGxlzSplUh1-WJP8JszjwuJ9CSNOjSlb_rvPZuckztaEqqyghqW/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TdNjjZMhSqVA6zbUzRwvkNXKJpRGru8shXItjx8Cvm5x1clpWpOP7yvV_LpX-Te5OJbzJ2IJ4zW56zx8UgGxlzSplUh1-WJP8JszjwuJ9CSNOjSlb_rvPZuckztaEqqyghqW/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2314">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2313" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447828405441_2337" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></span></span></div>
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-53106376490352756202015-11-16T21:33:00.003-08:002015-11-17T22:36:00.316-08:00Home is where your memories are<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintsPRn3GRcm2HWndPjPzAzIdvYffChr56RNP4z33VHmKlYYXJb-vAGYjIMi8Y7CAgsTy6X1kWGbXRFZ-KEs6Rx0DiPdLN7qxRGuhmFjiDTiOCDD3VU5JTHpXkOKdfKPpdgnZ2/s1600/homephotos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintsPRn3GRcm2HWndPjPzAzIdvYffChr56RNP4z33VHmKlYYXJb-vAGYjIMi8Y7CAgsTy6X1kWGbXRFZ-KEs6Rx0DiPdLN7qxRGuhmFjiDTiOCDD3VU5JTHpXkOKdfKPpdgnZ2/s640/homephotos.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Home is where the memories are </b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I longingly read a magazine
article that recalled the author going to their childhood home for
Christmas and tucking their young family into the beds that they slept
in as children.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447737084744_2305">
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447737084744_2305">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Does that
still exist in this transient society” I thought? What about the friend
who told me she returned to visit her childhood home and found a
highway there instead. Upon inquiring with the neighbours, she found
out her childhood home had been bulldozed down to make room for
progress.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447737084744_2303">
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447737084744_2303">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What about military
families who may have had their young families in a far off country
that would be too far away to return for a visit?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My
mother brought us back to her family home that was now owned by someone
else. Standing on the sidewalk, staring up at the building she started
to cry as she recalled her parents now long gone. The owners of the
house saw her tears and kindly opened their front door for her to see
the entrance once again. We didn’t see her bedroom nor would she be
able tuck us into her childhood bed.</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447737084744_2319">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Do some family homes bring back painful memories that no one wants to return to?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How many of us can return to our family homes to show our families our childhood bed? Would you want to?</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447828405441_2282">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We all know that home is where
the heart is. If we are unable to return to our childhood home,
perhaps we can make new memories? Is that even possible? In our house,
food is the memory. We will sit around in the afternoons enjoying tea
and the conversation will quickly revolve around food. Today we started
talking about these Italian cookies my grandmother made, we called them
‘Clara’s Bows’. A pencil width pretzel shaped cookie that was fried,
drizzled with honey and dusted with powdered sugar. Then my aunt’s
Italian desserts that she made with ricotta cheese and chopped up mint,
they weren’t my favorite but she’d always put powdered sugar on top and
we’d eat them up with her big, brown betty tea pot in the middle of the
table.</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447828405441_2297">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Blessed are the story
tellers, for they can pass down stories and traditions that will linger
long afterwards, even when there isn’t a house to visit.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447828405441_2297">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stay up to date with all the bloom worthy news <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here. </a></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1o-yvxEkAU4O7Z__dePYe9BH0CaL7jovSDbcavVMgLmB0zTS__JLGAwYrpQqVfW_ZK5isdSg0WEY6AVq_StzMqONJhwWWcBOqYLjJJa3O27UR1_TsuZavfvN0-D4uYSjXHTUh/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1o-yvxEkAU4O7Z__dePYe9BH0CaL7jovSDbcavVMgLmB0zTS__JLGAwYrpQqVfW_ZK5isdSg0WEY6AVq_StzMqONJhwWWcBOqYLjJJa3O27UR1_TsuZavfvN0-D4uYSjXHTUh/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fSI8LXXgHxsfuE5NwtYW2TbYkMT1N_zdO9rIYcCJnfna7qN0aiSCCZWXyH84_LlTwmUUHKqsOqynr76ZJD2EIK-2_9cahyHJIte5Dp2NVdWZjq2zxfqyZjtkpyKkjgvTt2Av/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fSI8LXXgHxsfuE5NwtYW2TbYkMT1N_zdO9rIYcCJnfna7qN0aiSCCZWXyH84_LlTwmUUHKqsOqynr76ZJD2EIK-2_9cahyHJIte5Dp2NVdWZjq2zxfqyZjtkpyKkjgvTt2Av/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447737084744_2321">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-60777120000498543592015-11-15T21:08:00.001-08:002015-11-16T21:13:07.587-08:00Don't leave home without it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X96QkowAKQ755XuOHH1dsWiqncvBC6NhpyA2HdLn9glkOAf3PYGfcCrQDb96F_pFRON5XB5nnPmczRdN7X0uEluTeub19TG2h82FLlUn38gMMeV2qH_YWxaB8gKRBiOBFeBH/s1600/Egg%3AKale+Breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6X96QkowAKQ755XuOHH1dsWiqncvBC6NhpyA2HdLn9glkOAf3PYGfcCrQDb96F_pFRON5XB5nnPmczRdN7X0uEluTeub19TG2h82FLlUn38gMMeV2qH_YWxaB8gKRBiOBFeBH/s640/Egg%3AKale+Breakfast.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Don't leave home without it </b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Your new breakfast friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here’s
one of the many joys of having a younger sister, she pushes your
envelope sometimes and sometimes she brings ideas into the mix that you
would never have considered.</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2276">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Little
Bloom is also known to find new things and then gets someone else to do
it, for example one year she discovered a beautiful rose bush that she
just had to have. We dutifully travelled to another island to buy this
rare bush, she then helped to plant it in the ground and then never
really looked at the thing again. I was the one watering it, picking
off the mites and then when the thing was in full bloom she would bask
in the beauty.</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2295">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Much the same
with this recipe, Little Bloom found it, said she would make it and then
the kale wilts in the fridge until someone else makes the recipe.
Although after we tried this, we haven’t stopped thanking her for
finding it.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Poached Egg with Kale, Ryle, Tahihi and Yogurt from San Francisco’s Bar Tartine.</span><br />
<h3 id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2311">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Serves 4</b></span></h3>
<ul dir="ltr" id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2281">
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2280"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3 garlic cloves</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2293"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">6 TB oil, divided</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2291"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 cup plus 2 TB roasted sunflower seeds, divided</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2313"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 TB garam masala</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2289"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">¼ green Serrano pepper</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2315"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 ½ lemon juice</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2317"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 tsp honey, divided</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2287"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 tsp salt</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2319"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 lb kale, stems removed and leaves torn into 1-2” pieces</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2321"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">8 oz dark rye bread (we didn’t use bread this time, but it would be good)</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2323"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 cup Greek style yogurt</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2325"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 tsp distilled vinegar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">4 eggs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 TB sesame seeds roasted</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2283"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 TB shelled pumpkin seeds, toasted</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 TB golden flaxseeds,</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447647716172_2329"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Freshly ground pepper</span></li>
</ul>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447737084744_2295">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">You can roast the garlic, we
used it raw. Add 1 cup sunflower, garam masala, pepper, lemon juice, 1
tsp honey and 1 tsp salt, pulse on high speed, scrape sides until tahini
is slightly thinner than peanut butter. Add 1 TB water if too thick.</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447737084744_2293">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Heat
2 TB of oil and toss kale leaves in, add 2 TB water and sauté, add
bread. Get yogurt ready, add honey and salt, stir and set aside, Poach
your eggs. To assemble, spread tahini in a large circle on four plates
and spoon yogurt on top. Distribute kale over yogurt and top with
poached egg. Garnish with remaining seeds and a drizzle of oil and
season with pepper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">SO GOOD.</span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447737084744_2340">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keep up to date<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog"> here. </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAoE9vU6OGxcKkYnXz6ENG_ip9u6uvZxTzga9EwPyvO9MUBFZNY6FtcSy0AwW0kCQuKHKSzJFhIdsIeFTxth8RUgBFGkXg79iM50bj9qW6Y3vwQFuBvHFh0CagpPeIca_J1wt/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAoE9vU6OGxcKkYnXz6ENG_ip9u6uvZxTzga9EwPyvO9MUBFZNY6FtcSy0AwW0kCQuKHKSzJFhIdsIeFTxth8RUgBFGkXg79iM50bj9qW6Y3vwQFuBvHFh0CagpPeIca_J1wt/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /> </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrVhpf52CQAa69-9ckMOHMcxOu1Y_LDt-isppxMPDTJfRgoZCgJVKQ6OgPlgNxU7fg3L9ENHBJ23C3gyUrnvO1fu1SlNhw5ZU-AkjDfENy_0Nw75bCF8lqJ4RfS2S1w22ytyT/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrVhpf52CQAa69-9ckMOHMcxOu1Y_LDt-isppxMPDTJfRgoZCgJVKQ6OgPlgNxU7fg3L9ENHBJ23C3gyUrnvO1fu1SlNhw5ZU-AkjDfENy_0Nw75bCF8lqJ4RfS2S1w22ytyT/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-12006788216898107812015-11-15T11:55:00.000-08:002015-11-15T21:03:06.827-08:00Lip Loveliness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD1YtnhUQAYWqrolrVrJYIZ14xJrE5wM_tZzDUlfkE1CaBg03xelFdc8tFXQUzqkPDP20_sgGwQKPsj3f0FfafZZJvPhs650bIzO8DKw2AateCqAAUb-uFYt0sAxZqksg8Rbqb/s1600/All%2B7%2BLip%2BBalms%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD1YtnhUQAYWqrolrVrJYIZ14xJrE5wM_tZzDUlfkE1CaBg03xelFdc8tFXQUzqkPDP20_sgGwQKPsj3f0FfafZZJvPhs650bIzO8DKw2AateCqAAUb-uFYt0sAxZqksg8Rbqb/s640/All%2B7%2BLip%2BBalms%2B1.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Lip Balm Loveliness</b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is a post from yesterday so you are getting a treat today with 2 posts.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are few things that really irritate me. Buying a lip balm and smoothing it on your lips only to feel grittiness - do you know what I mean? There is no reason for that silliness (unless of course you are wanting an exfoliating lip massage.) </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447616017938_2358" style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What makes a good lip balm? In my opinion, I prefer plant based, so our lip balms are all essential oil - we often get asked for various flavours that don't exist in natural form, .All of our lip balms use pure essential oils that we source ourselves to make sure they are the highest quality we can find.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447616017938_2369" style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-top: 24px; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We're really happy to have been approved by PETA as cruelty free beauty, we do have a lip balm with beeswax in it which is the only item that isn't vegan. Probably when we finish up the Rose lip balm we'll switch it over to vegan. We also don't use any nut oils in our lip balm and as I explained to the nice lady at the fair, yes we know how wonderful almond oil is, but too many of our clients have nut allergies.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447616017938_2371" style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-top: 24px; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We offer choice and experience and our <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/choose-two-organic-lip-balms">organic lip balms</a> come in 7 scents. We have <b>Green Tea</b> (a lovely citrus blend that smells like Matcha Tea), <b>On the Coast</b> (an unscented lip balm and perfect for those with really dry sensitive lips), <b>Surf's Up Mint</b>(with a lovely cooling mint blend), <b>Fusion</b> (a lovely Lavender/Lemongrass melody), <b>Roses in Bloom</b> (with Rose Otto oil and local beeswax, this is our glossiest balm), <b>Tofino Morning Chai</b> (a beautiful chai blend that reminds one of sipping a Chai latte and staring at the ocean), and Vanilla Earl Grey (a lovely Vanilla and Bergamot blend that is perfect for Earl Grey afficionados.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUo72BIDZ9Gk5F1RHQBOnpFMyF0bBhfzlx6gMKEmnsetIzxbqG1eKQzByxwvQgHZdjeHRupaGNpzaEXx1ptZKdIvgenQ1W-v3NGyENwqogY6HB4MgO3ipXUeJHIc3QW_mmT65/s1600/All%2B7%2BLip%2BBalms%2B1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUo72BIDZ9Gk5F1RHQBOnpFMyF0bBhfzlx6gMKEmnsetIzxbqG1eKQzByxwvQgHZdjeHRupaGNpzaEXx1ptZKdIvgenQ1W-v3NGyENwqogY6HB4MgO3ipXUeJHIc3QW_mmT65/s400/All%2B7%2BLip%2BBalms%2B1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447616017938_2371" style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-top: 24px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/choose-two-organic-lip-balms">All of our skin loving organic lip balms.</a></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447616017938_2371" style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-top: 24px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And packaging. People buy products with their eyes first, so we’ve
always used tubes, different shapes and colours, but we stick with the
tubes. We’re seeing lots of lip balm in pots but I personally don’t
like putting my fingers in a pot of lip balm. Again, its preference –
what do you prefer for lip balm, tube or pot?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keep up with the Two Blooms <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here. </a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8YBiDlYdONjImxYEHKmLstufC7q5tJM2piW5RIIO-ktzYuaFP8GeCl03Sg9Y9izHBUp1DGFLVkT8hIpKCju6FLALmkirtY_HhNsOL6ZLNQFGVP9_5Muy-1sX9dcHODxoD2mV/s1600/Caron+Signature+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8YBiDlYdONjImxYEHKmLstufC7q5tJM2piW5RIIO-ktzYuaFP8GeCl03Sg9Y9izHBUp1DGFLVkT8hIpKCju6FLALmkirtY_HhNsOL6ZLNQFGVP9_5Muy-1sX9dcHODxoD2mV/s1600/Caron+Signature+copy.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1y32luIL8vebIIBuNar7O1hTFVuE-Rz6APpZ6kyVRxbGWb81Fl7cbcK-NQkYNw5wKFKe_sFh1jWxjWOfY9NB-W-yQFH2qFYTeMUFTPm8T08bg8qKS6jXTFVIJPw97R6pULlpJ/s1600/Caron+2+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1y32luIL8vebIIBuNar7O1hTFVuE-Rz6APpZ6kyVRxbGWb81Fl7cbcK-NQkYNw5wKFKe_sFh1jWxjWOfY9NB-W-yQFH2qFYTeMUFTPm8T08bg8qKS6jXTFVIJPw97R6pULlpJ/s1600/Caron+2+copy.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12px; text-align: left;">
Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/"><span style="color: #042eee;"><b>Two Blooms Design Studio</b></span></a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, self taught chef, production manager and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</div>
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-58139707084292502382015-11-13T17:51:00.000-08:002015-11-14T18:35:12.365-08:00When you just can't<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4L0PZIoQAXQxiS9TdGUvFNYnjhlhcJUfQp_zQPp3pJkfsMwlI-qUCwGM8KvVOZ-3_nWYkPNXZmacZl9GJ1-1ElK9ue7lcow9q9o25_AvJ_Zl9MNNDpQi0SMcEEc8qjwe-EcS/s1600/shoptwoblooms.whenyoujustcan%27t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4L0PZIoQAXQxiS9TdGUvFNYnjhlhcJUfQp_zQPp3pJkfsMwlI-qUCwGM8KvVOZ-3_nWYkPNXZmacZl9GJ1-1ElK9ue7lcow9q9o25_AvJ_Zl9MNNDpQi0SMcEEc8qjwe-EcS/s640/shoptwoblooms.whenyoujustcan%27t.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>When you just can't</b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This has been a power week.
We’ve gotten two runs in, long walks and sugar consumption has been low.
Yesterday I was up at 6am working away and went until 11:30 at night.
Lists were made, plans were set and the Christmas market was a mere two
days away and I was on fire with productivity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Woke
up this morning and it has all gone terribly wrong. I am sick, flu or
cold or some horrible virus has invaded my body. My energy level is
lower than a dust mite and yet the list sits on my desk, begging to be
done. Set up is tonight at 7pm and I doubt I’ll be up much longer, I
can do one small chore and then I have to lay down for a nap.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">WHO
PLANNED THIS? Not I, not me Miss Type A+, this was not in the
schedule. I MUST get another run in today, I MUST get all packed up and
I MUST invent the cure for cancer as well. But I can’t, I don’t want
to and worst of all, I don’t care. The Little Bloom is running around
trying to get it all in and I'm watching her, flipping through Facebook
is all I have the energy for. Now what?</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here’s my plan for the day<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">:<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">look at my list and pick out the essentials. Slow way down in my head
and just breathe. Drink lots of water and hot tea and make time to sit
and read a magazine. Dress warmly and go out for a 20 minute walk, if I
feel like little bursts of running I will, the goal is to get out the
door. Make a list of what brings me joy, in fact I am writing it down
this minute and have lavender essential oil in my little diffuser.
Feeling better already, we can do this people, we are in this together.
And this 30 day blog challenge has made me realize that we are not
alone, so thank you friends, I’ll be bringing you along with me this
weekend. Hugs.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Join us <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">over on our main website and keep up with all our <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/13/when-you-just-cant">blog worthy news.</a></span> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxn1qYEcl_r_NCqC9ZNdmLXrl-ZnXUPMsYH9qKOMkM5VdIzH1OIabxriUi_Ay2cO15LPpIUNFptFr0q3N6T7Rcm8r3hurDfl9bMmdNNQ8jKzPZPA5UWOQM2cU2CKgRFibr8cmx/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxn1qYEcl_r_NCqC9ZNdmLXrl-ZnXUPMsYH9qKOMkM5VdIzH1OIabxriUi_Ay2cO15LPpIUNFptFr0q3N6T7Rcm8r3hurDfl9bMmdNNQ8jKzPZPA5UWOQM2cU2CKgRFibr8cmx/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQcEg_Jmy2R-h4ZRfzdq1GtD56WtV8Q_AOt7-gWWIQBDvQMwHGuFx3h1TkD6VNEaS9_x7UEvtOVl65FpwBQdF6LbFiaZGlmxrd8UAQ54GhR4i6ni8vBMS8zf3yJCWG4AIu5uO/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQcEg_Jmy2R-h4ZRfzdq1GtD56WtV8Q_AOt7-gWWIQBDvQMwHGuFx3h1TkD6VNEaS9_x7UEvtOVl65FpwBQdF6LbFiaZGlmxrd8UAQ54GhR4i6ni8vBMS8zf3yJCWG4AIu5uO/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-51284559631315704082015-11-12T18:46:00.000-08:002015-11-13T17:46:39.423-08:00Think outside the box<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XBchuCtNECAYdDqVXreBgpC3lrSpBGFEOAH9NqnRU5AvsvJt4apvLJ6OJXcrqLKCTCDGA_Lv1uohTtDpuJqpNBR_-qgWIwVV8PUZ9MMqes_A5mGX_EMhm5hKiAke8vYyqf95/s1600/irisquote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XBchuCtNECAYdDqVXreBgpC3lrSpBGFEOAH9NqnRU5AvsvJt4apvLJ6OJXcrqLKCTCDGA_Lv1uohTtDpuJqpNBR_-qgWIwVV8PUZ9MMqes_A5mGX_EMhm5hKiAke8vYyqf95/s640/irisquote.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Think outside the box</b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2307">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Iris
Apfel is an inspiring, eccentric fashion legend and if you haven’t
heard of her, find an online video – she’s inspiring. Reading her quote
this morning touched on something that I’ve been pondering. Simply
that for me, I no longer want to do what everyone else is doing.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Prowling
through craft fairs lately has me seeing things in a different light
and I tend to fall into the category of ‘lets do what everyone else is
doing’. Not copying their style, but trying to think the way they do.
By nature, I am a ‘colouring outside of the lines’ kind of person, but I
thought in business (and in my case the organic apothecary business)
that I had to do what everyone else was doing.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUFy1F84Qyr2NRybD-U9MujgN1o1nXaz0ynxykSRPP1J9fBd0I-oFOJZWW81rNS4syWXAlk-cuDnMpL0WPbMQLuBi2D0cSqoa0Dm-rqcd4DtBy5BiWalzr13KX0Y0vIcF8xm5/s1600/Think+Different+Firasat+Durrani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIUFy1F84Qyr2NRybD-U9MujgN1o1nXaz0ynxykSRPP1J9fBd0I-oFOJZWW81rNS4syWXAlk-cuDnMpL0WPbMQLuBi2D0cSqoa0Dm-rqcd4DtBy5BiWalzr13KX0Y0vIcF8xm5/s640/Think+Different+Firasat+Durrani.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Recently I met with friends and asked for advice and the answers
frustrated me, they were all the nice and polite answers, which is fine –
but at this time in my career, I need someone to say ‘think outside of
the box’. And I realize that person is me. I need to give myself
permission to swim upstream, go against the grain and most importantly –
the permission to fail.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447462830330_2307">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The hardest part of the running
group we joined, was that everyone else was in the lead pack of
runners. The group quickly formed and they all took off and stayed
together, way far ahead. At first it was a short distance and then I
could only see the reflective stripes way in the distance. And I hated
being left behind but I couldn’t move fast enough to join them.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447462830330_2303">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447462830330_2303">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There
is joy and beauty in not being with the ‘in crowd’, there is something
to be gleaned by doing things differently and if you fail, fail
proudly. So this weekend we have a two day artisan show and I am going
to step out of my comfort zone and do a few things differently. Same
old, same old just isn’t going to work for me anymore and like Iris, I
don’t want to think like everyone else.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447462830330_2303">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447462830330_2303">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keep up with the <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">two blooms here.</a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_t-nYjHIgmUQRMc-qcuhI1h3Ln4cGTlNapR6r213cPzwQUN1A55BJZmwpwoFe0vqwrNZkrOEoHeRtaTplSDqdgIACY3gav4LkYL4v-3XOLTDRLIRXkkV7KrSwABBEDy52Dch/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_t-nYjHIgmUQRMc-qcuhI1h3Ln4cGTlNapR6r213cPzwQUN1A55BJZmwpwoFe0vqwrNZkrOEoHeRtaTplSDqdgIACY3gav4LkYL4v-3XOLTDRLIRXkkV7KrSwABBEDy52Dch/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTYNtRVUpOa7Y1jZogAFvDiV808W4qo3lHamt9ySyefJ2rW3L2M4SBLZ9Aq1S5zO06qcHpmbZCV1ci3bNgNkM88WPzTn8erfz298mwpHdBeuQXeQPC9WjFIfdr-MHb4bPua9K/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTYNtRVUpOa7Y1jZogAFvDiV808W4qo3lHamt9ySyefJ2rW3L2M4SBLZ9Aq1S5zO06qcHpmbZCV1ci3bNgNkM88WPzTn8erfz298mwpHdBeuQXeQPC9WjFIfdr-MHb4bPua9K/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_25_1447374214170_2303">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-12845114416102063562015-11-11T18:59:00.002-08:002015-11-12T18:41:01.054-08:00Slow down and listen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq75PXvgTiOLGxV8n5P2CYXZ4fJWg6ux6DRYHmcMsMZJ1yOus3cQt7twevjCabrP1Rh_IRlxuoFvnbLywSK0UjCqAASXBrueZwSLPoiJ3YKi6B2Y4g7-10JoYdU0_FkddvebR8/s1600/IMG_2906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq75PXvgTiOLGxV8n5P2CYXZ4fJWg6ux6DRYHmcMsMZJ1yOus3cQt7twevjCabrP1Rh_IRlxuoFvnbLywSK0UjCqAASXBrueZwSLPoiJ3YKi6B2Y4g7-10JoYdU0_FkddvebR8/s640/IMG_2906.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Slow down & listen </b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2402" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Two days later and I’ve
recovered from the horrors of running. I keep replaying the night over
and over again, the sheer terror I felt when the nice running teacher
“D” said “now run”. I didn’t take time to enjoy any of it, I couldn’t’
catch my breath after the first minute of running and the two minutes of
walking didn’t help. It was panic that started to get to me. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2407" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2407" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But
there was one interval on the way back that stands out. Besides the
wet toes, the demented headlamp digging into my head, I remember “D”
quietly but with authority saying “control your breath, dig your heel
into the ground and let it pull you forward”. And for a few seconds I
could do that, I’d plant my heel and make it drag my body along and I
slowed down the desperate gulps for air. It lasted for a minute and
then I went back to panicking and telling myself I couldn’t possibly do
this.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2404" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2404" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The entire 20 minutes,
“D” talked to me. Told me her story, about her wonderful husband and
children, how she had started back up running. I was desperate to stop
but I didn’t want to interrupt her, I wanted to hear more. And because I
couldn’t talk, I was forced to listen. And “D” managed to fill every
fear filled moment with her story and it saved me from rolling into a
ball and hiding.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2404" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2404" style="text-align: left;">
<div id="yui_3_17_2_24_1447374214170_2281">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The next day I got up at 7am
and walked the 30 minutes to a meeting, walked back and started to feel a
tiny bit of energy. “D” said we should try and get 2 more runs in this
week and in about a half an hour, Little Bloom and I will go for a run.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_24_1447374214170_2292">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_24_1447374214170_2292">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And
I will stop talking myself out of it and I will slow down when I need
to and I will listen, Because sometimes the wisdom we so desperately
need comes in the quietest of whispers and if we are so busy talking in
our heads, we’re going to miss it.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_24_1447374214170_2294">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_24_1447374214170_2294">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Best part of today's run? It's still light out and I have no need for the demented headlamp.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2404" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">K<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">eep up<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> to date with us <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here.</a></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58brD0u-gveeKoYFsA3z4MjoxL9mLX5h9lWcUhvZa-E82sghlXjOddyNI6xRXiNSohr1MXPfWELL8ua6HSYbOJU7WeqNW5zwTIhjaDvJGi03WabMyRMArUAuJs_JiWkwH5LDs/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58brD0u-gveeKoYFsA3z4MjoxL9mLX5h9lWcUhvZa-E82sghlXjOddyNI6xRXiNSohr1MXPfWELL8ua6HSYbOJU7WeqNW5zwTIhjaDvJGi03WabMyRMArUAuJs_JiWkwH5LDs/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76yNEN66450Y_-CU2EfCtXSeUN6UekEIShsCJyfu6PQINKhZ2KnvrmN3I4LTUSVB5J03A6Op3CfJdsEbSkc1CuAWl9TXKMH99pPzOG-dDDA2Qei-ZKs4fDaoNLrMIn7bbB_Ws/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76yNEN66450Y_-CU2EfCtXSeUN6UekEIShsCJyfu6PQINKhZ2KnvrmN3I4LTUSVB5J03A6Op3CfJdsEbSkc1CuAWl9TXKMH99pPzOG-dDDA2Qei-ZKs4fDaoNLrMIn7bbB_Ws/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_6_1447294231739_2404" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
</center>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-45979355843315622432015-11-10T17:34:00.000-08:002015-11-11T18:55:05.541-08:00Ready Set Run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgFuUdDokMsXLrodhY9vcBDnhphPgvQ6v49xkHCuinAWKEovIqXQz4OvF__Th36FzNo97CSjko5KJRxa_LGD3pLhTKkCtF0Whs9yTpXit5F8qtOxmH-qN6h2yU5ts8XM9My0C/s1600/readysetrun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgFuUdDokMsXLrodhY9vcBDnhphPgvQ6v49xkHCuinAWKEovIqXQz4OvF__Th36FzNo97CSjko5KJRxa_LGD3pLhTKkCtF0Whs9yTpXit5F8qtOxmH-qN6h2yU5ts8XM9My0C/s640/readysetrun.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Ready Set Run</b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_9_1447202190421_2297">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We
arrived at the rec centre last night pretty excited to get started.
The first clue was seeing the long, tall, stick thin girls standing
nearby. All wearing reflective running tights, matching running
jackets, trendy caps on their perfectly coiffed pony tails and laughing.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_9_1447202190421_2293">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_9_1447202190421_2293">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The
itsy bitsy instructor arrives and welcomes us into the space. Its too
late to run out screaming. I keeping saying to the little bloom “where
are the people that have sat on their couch too long?” but she shushed
me and we began the class.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_9_1447202190421_2293">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNB8P7KQaGXYQzXKgr-Rya5VN9r0G5qSo5Vr-WK4Pv882cYAxF9PXvn3xPpzyDzNMcbjTjpVTi6cxY5RtIECcELyv-I3a52DcgD_mS4oXHs6cw8SWSJVQ5fWzx2QWAKNsYeUPq/s1600/Run+Francesco+Gallarotti+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNB8P7KQaGXYQzXKgr-Rya5VN9r0G5qSo5Vr-WK4Pv882cYAxF9PXvn3xPpzyDzNMcbjTjpVTi6cxY5RtIECcELyv-I3a52DcgD_mS4oXHs6cw8SWSJVQ5fWzx2QWAKNsYeUPq/s640/Run+Francesco+Gallarotti+copy.jpg" width="508" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447202190421_7659">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">20 minutes in and we’ve
stretched every muscle imaginable, I am breathless but ok. Then Itsy
Bitsy announces, “ok everyone, lets head out for a run”. Huh? What?
All the runners assemble at the front and off they go like a shot,
“we’ll do a 2-1 tonight, run for 2 minutes, walk for 1”. Everyone slips
on their headlights and run off like a pack of gazelles. The headlamp I
grabbed had a defect I discovered, so only one side of the straps
connected. While fumbling out the door I stepped on one of the elite
runners, apologizing profusely to her she simply gave me a sympathetic
nod. So I grabbed the elastic cord and tied it in a big knot and
slammed it on my head, looking in the reflection before I headed out and
I realized I looked just like Gary Busey.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447202190421_7724">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447202190421_7724">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Undaunted
I got out the door, with my deranged headlamp and can only see the rest
of the team from a distance. A second instructor emerges and says “I
am the designate end of the pack runner, I’ll be with you”. She flips
out her phone, hits the button and says ‘now run for TWO MINUTES”.
Still in shock that it is pitch black outside and the demented headlight
barely casts a light I start running to catch up to the elite runners.
As I am running the sweet instructor beside me says “is this your first
time running?” “CAN YOU TELL?” I breathlessly snort out. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447202190421_7725">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447202190421_7725">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">She
laughs and Little Bloom barely misses smashing into a gigantic black
boulder jutting out of nowhere. Its been raining so there are big
puddles, the leaves are almost off the trees and they make sweet little
skating rinks if you happen to step on one. I cannot see the puddles
and end up plopping right into the middle of them. Sweet instructor
beside me keeps up a running dialog, I can’t even answer her. I try and
see what street we’re running on because if anyone I know lives there, I
want to slip into their garage and wait out this run from hell. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447202190421_7725">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ten minutes one direction, Little Bloom is slightly ahead of me and the
elite pack are so far ahead I can only see their reflective stripes.
Then we turn around and run back, my body is in shock and I can only
process the command run or walk. Miraculously we get back to the rec
centre, I am looking for a stretcher and oxygen, all the other runners
have been back for so long they’re had drinks of water and are checking
their phone for messages. We straggle in and finish up with 20 minutes
of squats and planks. To be continued.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sit back and relax while you read our blog posts <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here. </a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcLu4Aa-5FeQef0ujGdmlgw-zACPtjVqsxKnsFn02hI6dWjo3uWW0zrwsgfqtcVdZRKmTvMEDxCU1xQx5jwEnvVQBWIGIa-zmho8OQPlg-6krw2xmZ4QtJJ4sdqQP75Gmr7s1/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcLu4Aa-5FeQef0ujGdmlgw-zACPtjVqsxKnsFn02hI6dWjo3uWW0zrwsgfqtcVdZRKmTvMEDxCU1xQx5jwEnvVQBWIGIa-zmho8OQPlg-6krw2xmZ4QtJJ4sdqQP75Gmr7s1/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQID3TnNnfWlfT_ACCZA4GYC-W7AfXmxRxyql9BvrsuaDITh65W20GX_xc1hKjVIMIZJFpUOdiv1bOUcjrXxVZqsJoHcNbOAv1hZXqxL617fU1Z6zYXmCpsji0bw-MH3TLICe/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQID3TnNnfWlfT_ACCZA4GYC-W7AfXmxRxyql9BvrsuaDITh65W20GX_xc1hKjVIMIZJFpUOdiv1bOUcjrXxVZqsJoHcNbOAv1hZXqxL617fU1Z6zYXmCpsji0bw-MH3TLICe/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447202190421_7725">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-90349961898088828852015-11-09T15:34:00.000-08:002015-11-10T17:29:26.809-08:00When Pigs Fly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hYDwpExmY0kXGx_5WAysHlLVZKuz4PcbG7Pr2CNXSe7ioEMURtBKddc8qAsR9F6ToBDj_jY31LoiXw4kHLSv7Hm9FrE65FveUotWjR1i8sI9KQl4GUAuwNBXvHf3TQEOVdvR/s1600/Pigs+Greg+Ortega.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hYDwpExmY0kXGx_5WAysHlLVZKuz4PcbG7Pr2CNXSe7ioEMURtBKddc8qAsR9F6ToBDj_jY31LoiXw4kHLSv7Hm9FrE65FveUotWjR1i8sI9KQl4GUAuwNBXvHf3TQEOVdvR/s640/Pigs+Greg+Ortega.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
When Pigs Fly</h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447111886306_2280">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Driving back and forth I could
see the sign out of the corner of my eyes, but I didn’t bother to look
at it. Every day there it was and I’d smile driving just a little bit
faster to get away from it.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447111886306_2283">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447111886306_2283">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then,
stopped at a corner waiting for the light to change I forgot to avert
my eyes and I started to read. “Couch to 5km in 6 weeks”. HA! I
thought to myself, this is the busiest time of year for
production/shows, there is absolutely no possible way I could do that.
(Notice I am not telling you that my fluffy frame would hate me forever
:)</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447111886306_2286">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447111886306_2286">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But it kept coming back to
me. I honestly kept hoping that the sign changer would hurry up and
find something new to taunt me with, but it is still there. So I called
last week to ask about the class and OH HAPPY DAY, they were full. No
problem I assured the nice lady on the phone, I’d look into it next year
(when pigs fly I might as well said). So when she said “well, I’ve got
your name here, so I’ll put you on the wait list, but its pretty full
as well”. Oh sure, no problem, that would be great. Exercise nightmare
averted, lets make some popcorn to celebrate that near miss –
WOOOHOOOOOO.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then one night,
the phone rang. It was HER, the terribly lady from the rec centre. She
cheerfully explained there had been cancellations and she’d love to
sign me up. In shock I agreed and hung up the phone. Every time I look
at the calendar I can hear the music from Jaws sounding its impending
doom to Monday night. And what did<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">she tell me just before she
ended the chirpy phone call (I bet she was eating celery sticks while
she chatted to me). BRING A HEADLAMP BECAUSE YOU’LL BE RUNNING AT
NIGHT.</span><br />
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447202190421_2283">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447202190421_2283">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Seriously? I don’t
run. I may walk quickly if chased by a bear, but I haven’t run since
1979. This could all go terribly wrong. So if you don’t hear from me
tomorrow know that my headlamp probably fell off, I swerved into a tree
or a ravine and I am consoling my tomfoolery attempts with my boyfriends
Ben and Jerry while Mr. Fudge brownie whispers sweet nothings to me.
Peace out.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447202190421_2283">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447202190421_2283">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Want to keep up with the Two Blooms? Find our more <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here. </a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiMbc35A9LvD9PGXxVwGYUwp5oS7ybdEEjmsXV_L_-gVsbEIbrXgc-PfT1e9t3A4xLzpKvI5DcL2J6lKruUlgbZ_ryclt6-ZQRBzrpp1hEgZp0fjzjkkWK9hnwO7BK1snK6zD/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiMbc35A9LvD9PGXxVwGYUwp5oS7ybdEEjmsXV_L_-gVsbEIbrXgc-PfT1e9t3A4xLzpKvI5DcL2J6lKruUlgbZ_ryclt6-ZQRBzrpp1hEgZp0fjzjkkWK9hnwO7BK1snK6zD/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span><br />
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-80578238032375783162015-11-08T18:54:00.003-08:002015-11-09T15:35:25.885-08:00Outstanding in your field?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacp1nsIgdm1NOVLXzmvbWLITQzMKCH7H5tBq9uuzlLEGyps1NUm5Qct-u9HyDIF9BlDUq3Pyr5RWOJuW4aPIUuCucPu_0YemBFdv8R0yS-oMZBLB756je3HO6hyvMjrY0b0yX/s1600/outstanding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacp1nsIgdm1NOVLXzmvbWLITQzMKCH7H5tBq9uuzlLEGyps1NUm5Qct-u9HyDIF9BlDUq3Pyr5RWOJuW4aPIUuCucPu_0YemBFdv8R0yS-oMZBLB756je3HO6hyvMjrY0b0yX/s640/outstanding.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Outstanding in your field?</b></h2>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/boj8un" target="_blank"><img alt="Smaller Icon For Two Blooms Newsletter on Website photo 2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/foofooberry/2b7bb777-1362-4306-8f80-d00029bcb285.png" height="132" width="200" /></a></center>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2375">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This afternoon found me at yet
another winter craft market, I am always trying to be on trend and
wanted to see what other crafters were up to (notice I am purposely
using the word ‘crafter’ since that’s what was advertised). Not a lot
of new or different but I did find some exceptional artisans scattered
throughout the venue.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2372">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2372">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What’s
the difference? I’ve participated in farmer's markets for over a dozen
years, before that I was in craft markets. This year I had the honour
of being the Etsy City Lead and produced an Etsy Made in Canada Market
with 65 artisans.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2385">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2385">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lets look at the definitions and see if that helps:</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2370">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2370">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Crafter: </b>skill in doing or making something, as in the arts, proficiency.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2387">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2387">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Artisan:</b> A person that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2389">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2389">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How
would your designate yourself? Artisan? Crafter? As usual, I am
seeing a LOT of bath and body vendors at these events. Prices range all
over the place, todays were the lowest price points I’ve seen for soap,
lotion, sprays etc all hand made presumably.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2389">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2389">
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447111886306_2285">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What makes any of them stand
out? Hard to say, display and first impressions of course. A personal
preference is to have price tags, I don’t really like having to say over
and over and over again ‘how much is this’? If there is any
hesitation, I always wonder if the next person asking will get a
different answer.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447111886306_2283">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447111886306_2283">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The last
few markets I’ve visited, no one stands out. They’re all saying the
same thing “all natural, no chemicals, I make this for my children with
rashy skin”. Please hear me, I am not putting any of these people down,
but rather I am seeing myself in a whole new light. What makes me
different? How do I stand out so when you want to make a purchase, why
would you shop with me?</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447111886306_2281">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447111886306_2281">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Your
turn? What makes you stand out from the crowd? Yes, I know you are
unique and there is only one of you, but how do you make a difference in
this over crowded market of crafters/artisans?</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447111886306_2281">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_5_1447111886306_2281">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Make yourself at home at our <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">new blog. </a></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie299XajUW7zOV2OSbZx_Ty0WIj3FVEVd4WTxLbwB7Nl3vEnHvWYXgeUuU5Zi0ivMHv2Rxmqr426Xu7A7AzuPi3q3_dHoFM_lwdPpvOg3Zo3YvDTJ_afp3nF3G1bHHxAT3vzxz/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie299XajUW7zOV2OSbZx_Ty0WIj3FVEVd4WTxLbwB7Nl3vEnHvWYXgeUuU5Zi0ivMHv2Rxmqr426Xu7A7AzuPi3q3_dHoFM_lwdPpvOg3Zo3YvDTJ_afp3nF3G1bHHxAT3vzxz/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAgWPtJt506VqQr44ioHncaB5gqBYeq1wByDLAxAKneayXMWst6n7OBF17pLe91aJDjISg5A7cLzHRAS_Z88gOayV0y6KpohQWori9OIbzGnT7OsuSPV2YZxImXWiO3fIScFT/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAgWPtJt506VqQr44ioHncaB5gqBYeq1wByDLAxAKneayXMWst6n7OBF17pLe91aJDjISg5A7cLzHRAS_Z88gOayV0y6KpohQWori9OIbzGnT7OsuSPV2YZxImXWiO3fIScFT/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1447033950198_2389">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</div>
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-42855696713176311792015-11-07T19:28:00.002-08:002015-11-08T15:12:17.286-08:00Food. Glorious. Food<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsR0czxSaEdKat-Jglv0VdeC8r7sfaagX7OLCRa9Q9-_ZjMrs4LvxDJCuISgGGEzidu3mhZO7OjIR-zMJUpZKZLnKpSmKihb4SpVGcId0JhFUCkkgzp6obx4mjwvSg1-UJDNA/s1600/foodgloriousfood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsR0czxSaEdKat-Jglv0VdeC8r7sfaagX7OLCRa9Q9-_ZjMrs4LvxDJCuISgGGEzidu3mhZO7OjIR-zMJUpZKZLnKpSmKihb4SpVGcId0JhFUCkkgzp6obx4mjwvSg1-UJDNA/s640/foodgloriousfood.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Food Glorious Food</b></h2>
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<br />
<div id="yui_3_17_2_21_1446949748454_2278">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have you heard? It’s pie
season. Last week in church the pastor started talking about how much
he loved pie, then he started naming the flavours and honestly, I got so
sidetracked on pies I don’t remember the sermon.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_21_1446949748454_2292">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_21_1446949748454_2292">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A
friend came to visit last week and we stopped at my favorite restaurant
right by the airport. As soon as we got out of the car we saw the sign
celebrating PIE WEEK. And they had a bunch of samples to try before
you even got in the restaurant.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_21_1446949748454_2288">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_21_1446949748454_2288">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then
my favorite grocery store declared that its “Pie Week”, so of course I
had to go over and look at what they had. GIANORMOUS pecan pies were
only $3.99 each, are you kidding me? Pecans (side note here, do you say
"pea-cans or pe-cons") were liberally sprinkled all over the top. An
older couple stood by the pie display debating pumpkin or pecan and I
wanted to yell "forget the pumpkin, snap up those pecan pies". Instead I
bought two (one is for the freezer of course) and headed home.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And
don’t get me started on the sandwich I had for lunch today. On the
newscast this week, favorite anchor guy introduces a story about his new
favourite sandwich. One of the news staff is so enamoured with this
sandwich that they actually named a sandwich after him. They make this
into an entire news story. We see the sandwich being made, them eating
it, everyone smiling and chewing away. So naturally, I’ve been
obsessing over the sandwich. So today, while running around town
visiting craft markets, buying labels etc I figure out that </span><span style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px;">I am in the vicinity of the sandwich store. I drive up and the parking lot is filled with police cars, fire trucks and ambulances, nobody looks concerned so I walk in. Now this will tell you why I am still single – there is a line up of very good looking policemen, firemen and paramedics. Everyone is dressed in their uniform and I did look and think ‘wow, this could be a casting call everyone is so good looking’. But do I initiate any kind of flirtatious conversation? NO!! I AM OBSESSED WITH MY SANDWICH and make no eye contact with anyone else except the sandwich fixins. The guys are all laughing, making jokes, getting their sandwiches but I am fixated on the menu.</span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447023978358_2294" style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-top: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s right, I could be home right now getting ready for a date with one of the stud muffins I saw in the line up today, but no, instead I am sitting here typing this blog dreaming of the next time I can go and get another sandwich.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_4_1447023978358_2294" style="color: #110808; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-top: 24px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stay up to date with <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">Two Blooms.</a></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-77309874838219636632015-11-06T16:04:00.000-08:002015-11-07T12:52:24.233-08:00Baskets of Love - Down Syndrome<br />
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<b>Baskets of Love - Down Syndrome </b></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Pretty sure we were raised with
an attitude to give back. If you had two cookies, you always shared one
(and the most important rule was if one cookie/candy/donut was left in
the bag, you ALWAYS left it for the next person). So naturally, when we
started our company we immediately started donating 10% from every sale
to a local work in the city.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then
we began to look for opportunities where we could share, a young girl
opened a house for parents to stay at when their children needed
hospital care, so we sent over boxes of soap for that house. A group of
breast cancer survivors were dragon boat racing one summer and needed
funds so we designated money from lip balm sales to help them out. Some
times you get a thank you note and most often you don’t hear back, but
it doesn’t matter – we’re the ones who get a thrill out of being able to
help.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So when I heard about <a href="http://www.basketsofloveds.com/" id="yui_3_17_2_8_1446852059095_2302">Baskets of Love – Down Syndrome</a>,
I knew we had to help. This sweet mother on the mainland had decided
to make gift baskets that she could gift to new parents of children with
Down syndrome. So we made salve for her to include in the first round
of baskets. When the call came out that she needed hats and baby
blankets we jumped in. Now I’ve only corresponded with her online but
when she posts pictures of her sweet son, I melt.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog/2015/11/6/basket-of-love-down-syndrome"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hats
and blankets were sewn up and I mailed them to her, but I wanted to be
able to share the joy with you so we started with the idea of every time
a hat is purchased (that I sew up, fully lined and screen printed with
my new found skill :) we’ll donate a hat to Baskets of Love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Giving
back isn’t an option for us, we are blessed in so many ways and we
wanted to find a way to not only pay it forward, but include as many
people as we can. So if you’re looking for a way to help a small,
family owned business AND be a part of welcoming babies with Down
syndrome to the world, click <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/254412298/infant-hat?ref=shop_home_active_13" target="_blank">here</a> and we'll get those hats sewn up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">See our new blog<a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog"> home here. </a></span></div>
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Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.<br />
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-76262753161567402612015-11-05T19:36:00.004-08:002015-11-06T15:58:49.247-08:00Love Yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Love Yourself </b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Remember
the post about walking vs. driving? So today was day 2 of walking for a
delivery, 27 long agonizing minutes there with NO BREAK FOR CARROT CAKE
I might add and 29 minutes walking back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yes
the beauty was lovely, tall grasses filling the fields, all browning
edges throwing themselves together like a deranged quilt. The leaves
are bright red and just about ¾ of the way off the trees, cars are
covered in bright red crinkled up maple leaves. When you walk on the
sides of the streets you can be 6 inches in leaves and they crunch when
you walk. Although at this age I worry about spiders laying in wait and
happy to pounce on your legs, or tics, I forgot about tics. Ok, enough
of the leaf walking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But the
point is (and you knew there had to be a point to this didn’t you:)), I
made the time to take care of myself today by walking. I didn’t want
to, I didn’t have time and I didn’t want to. But sitting here an hour
later I am happy to have made the effort. So what if we took the time
to love ourselves a little more? Like when you’re ready to fly in a
plane and the airline lady says “in the case of emergency, put the face
mask on YOURSELF first, before you help someone else”. What if we took
care of ourselves first before we took care of everyone? Anne Lamott is
a great writer to follow if you don’t already. She always talks about
rubbing lemon lotion onto her jiggly thighs and practicing self-love.
Here is our plug, try our <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/copy-of-lemon-grove-organic-lotion-3">Organic Lemon Grove Lotion.</a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/allproducts/copy-of-lemon-grove-organic-lotion-3">Organic Lemon Grove Lotion</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Which
means when the jellyroll appeared at breaktime today, I may have
enjoyed a rather JUMBO slice because I was really loving myself. But to
be fair, I did walk 56 minutes very briskly!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I
took this picture of these locks on a business trip I took by myself in
January. It felt like 85 below zero and I wanted to stand and just
stare at these locks, I wanted to try every single one of them and see
if they were really locked but frostbit was threatening. On that trip I
took such good care of myself, I ate well, went to bed early and wore
make up and lotion then when I came back home it all went downhill. How
about we agree to try one thing to love ourselves better, I’ve already
signed up for something on Monday night you’ll be hearing about. Tell
me what your one thing will be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-32158781755017376452015-11-04T17:45:00.002-08:002015-11-05T19:28:03.759-08:00Drive or Walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Drive or Walk</b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sat in the car waiting for a
friend to get off work and I watched an older lady get out of her car
and amble slowly to the store. Her joints just looked stiff and it
didn’t help she was very cranky looking. While she was crossing the
parking lot, a much older man rode up on his bike, jumped off like a 10
year old would in his spandex shorts and picked up his bike and almost
skipped to the bike lock up area. At one point they actually
intersected, he with his bike in the air and her with her creaky joints.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2299">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2299">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And
it got me to thinking. Walk or drive? If I had the choice and the
time what would my first instinct be? This morning we had to make soap
delivery and we chose to walk. I’d like to tell you it was 87 miles
away, the reality is it takes 30 minutes to walk one direction. And the
only reason we chose to walk was the reward of carrot cake and coffee
nearby.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2312">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2312">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And what about those
two seniors I saw in the parking lot? The older man was at least in
his 70’s but I don’t think he knew how old he was. He clipped around in
his biking shoes and if he hadn’t turned around and I saw his face, I
would have thought he was a teenager. So is biking/walking really that
healthy for you?</span></div>
<h3 id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2314">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Here are some of the facts: </b></span></h3>
<h3 id="yui_3_17_2_7_1446777273494_2388">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><strong id="yui_3_17_2_7_1446777273494_2387"></strong></span></span></h3>
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<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1446777273494_2378"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Walking tunes up the cardiovascular system.</span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1446777273494_2375"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Walking 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 60 per cent.</span></span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_7_1446777273494_2384"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Walking
is a spot reducer and melts abdominal fat. It also reduces the risk of
chronic disease and improves balance and coordination.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_7_1446777273494_2371">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Seriously?
I had no idea walking really did that much. My mother walks
everywhere, she has her driver’s license but she would rather walk than
drive. If you ask if she needs a drive she’ll just laugh, regardless if
its rainy or snowing, she will walk to the bank 30 minutes down the
road. It’s just the way she has always been while her slug daughters
have to be bribed with carrot cake and coffee to get their walk in.
Your turn, walk or drive?</span></span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2314">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2314">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stay up to <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">date here.</a></span></span></div>
<h3 id="yui_3_17_2_35_1446681163236_2314">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8tLCVQ_sjyn5byhz54vhL4Cn8v0o2Jjn_PHUjPzoMLCsChFsxxlsrBo6YiMoe6ERf4GCWC6EWHa2nQMvZMEiRvvgGWl_VcJNpyurS8WDLiUTWu32fhJJ9RiBkrQS0-NgupKH/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8tLCVQ_sjyn5byhz54vhL4Cn8v0o2Jjn_PHUjPzoMLCsChFsxxlsrBo6YiMoe6ERf4GCWC6EWHa2nQMvZMEiRvvgGWl_VcJNpyurS8WDLiUTWu32fhJJ9RiBkrQS0-NgupKH/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOivBOXY7yjQp-bCMnmROfFTplVCaQlBWmCpWZpS8LHQvHTrfUho_DHuDJNXMcEj7Xy4XnppHFzz2vrsak3e7PBbwN4pyZVGieAM5CVd6uEA7lbijhfHF9-tjSVUlTvGqAHuV/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOivBOXY7yjQp-bCMnmROfFTplVCaQlBWmCpWZpS8LHQvHTrfUho_DHuDJNXMcEj7Xy4XnppHFzz2vrsak3e7PBbwN4pyZVGieAM5CVd6uEA7lbijhfHF9-tjSVUlTvGqAHuV/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>
</b>Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span><br />
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-36421402685975808052015-11-03T17:43:00.002-08:002015-11-04T17:38:44.105-08:00Try Thai Food<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Try Thai Food</b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am bored. Bored with making
dinner and having the same old, same old. My repertoire is rather
pathetic, about a dozen tried and true that everyone is so bored of (but
too lazy to cook anything different).</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2273">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2273">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then
came the inspiration to have the month of November be Thai food –
Thaivenmber! Opened my trusty Moosewood Restaurant New Classics and
found Pad Thai. Thankfully we have a grocery store nearby that stocks
everything on the list. Just to let you know, I made it last night and I
am dreaming of making it again.</span></div>
<ul id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2295">
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2322"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">8 oz package of rice noodles</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2294"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 TB rice vinegar</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2297"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 TB soy sauce</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2324"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1-2 tsp Chinese chili paste</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2326"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 TB tamarind concentrate</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2328"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">½ cup water</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2330"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3 TB vegetable oil</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2332"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">8 oz firm tofu, cubed</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2301"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 cup diced red bell peppers</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2334"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1 cup snow peas (I subbed in frozen peas :)</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2336"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2 large eggs, lightly beaten</span></li>
<li id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2338"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3 TB chopped fresh cilantro</span></li>
</ul>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2340">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Cook
the rice noodles according to package directions. Combine the vinegar,
soy sauce, chili paste, tamarind and water in a small bowl and set
aside. Drain your noodles, rince in cold water and drain well again.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2340">
<br /></div>
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<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2302">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Have all the prepared ingredients nearby before you begin to stir fry.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2302">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2296">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Heat
large wok or skillet, pour in 1 TB of oil and add tofu and stir fry,
Add the bell peppers, snow peas and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove tofu
and veggies and set aside.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2299">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2299">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add
remaining 2 TB of oil, pour eggs in the centre and stir briskly for a
few seconds. Add the reserved sauce, drained rice noodles, tofu,
veggies and toss well. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the noodles are
tender and the mixture is dry. Transfer to large platter and garnish
with cilantro, lime wedges and a spring of peanuts.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2314">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2314">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Easy
peasy and it was delicious. I threw in bean sprouts and omitted the
peanuts. And I doubled the sauce because I know my family and sauciness
is always a plus and I am glad I did. You can vary the heat levels with
the chili paste, this is the ultimate winter dish and so much more cost
effective than getting local take away. You could sub any noodles if
you didn’t have rice noodles but keep the lime wedges, it was so good to
squeeze fresh lime all over the dish.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2316">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2316">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Just let me know when you’re coming over for dinner and I’ll make this, soooo good!</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2316">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_34_1446681163236_2316">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stay up to date with all of our posts <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">here. </a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2340">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOgCZhveoQ40DVW_3f2rwe_SknKz1rby-M68jcQAHXB2qdGypGEwBxf57TjWDBOY8Hy9PelL9yPCiTztRis1X9vVcM67X97EIvKbehd2ToA0LrjqYtqkPHolY3oT9I6iFWHIj/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOgCZhveoQ40DVW_3f2rwe_SknKz1rby-M68jcQAHXB2qdGypGEwBxf57TjWDBOY8Hy9PelL9yPCiTztRis1X9vVcM67X97EIvKbehd2ToA0LrjqYtqkPHolY3oT9I6iFWHIj/s1600/Caron+Signature.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApCyLZxWUkIa8bz_Tnm6QpX6wruL4kSDJ8xWGSlTY9A2Ozk1yIDzTB4uL_pn1RV6kkEIKuqMdKfUQNIb7FkBL_K93VWkoGyFuK-qXrlhQHDYK1CyVcwgS4Zutl6KPsWetx27P/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgApCyLZxWUkIa8bz_Tnm6QpX6wruL4kSDJ8xWGSlTY9A2Ozk1yIDzTB4uL_pn1RV6kkEIKuqMdKfUQNIb7FkBL_K93VWkoGyFuK-qXrlhQHDYK1CyVcwgS4Zutl6KPsWetx27P/s1600/Caron+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2340">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_12_1446597464987_2340">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22738833.post-75348218037815953262015-11-02T16:08:00.002-08:002015-11-03T17:37:09.842-08:00Outdoor market versus online<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwBOr_gm-m_zADOaEtPdKAMTcB6J9z7Ii-2jTXGi5OUpp5IFzKeOu4DmC7rAHxF77mAJB4a7RYfDPXEUXN4KRt0WmzvJOCx6ZapVcVFSYs7tf5ImvoWPfeJQScideKfajN1G-/s1600/shoptwoblooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwBOr_gm-m_zADOaEtPdKAMTcB6J9z7Ii-2jTXGi5OUpp5IFzKeOu4DmC7rAHxF77mAJB4a7RYfDPXEUXN4KRt0WmzvJOCx6ZapVcVFSYs7tf5ImvoWPfeJQScideKfajN1G-/s640/shoptwoblooms.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Outdoor market versus online</b></h2>
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</span><br />
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2294">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Join us for day 15 of our 2nd 30 day blog adventure by Caron (the other bloom). </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2294">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2294">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The tent has been taken out of
the car, along with the folding tables, folding chairs (not the low
ones, but the swanky high ones that allow you to slouch/stand), tent
sides, trolley/dolly whatever it’s called, bamboo polls to support our
cute little awning, bags of clamps, shelving, bags of bags and the
crumbly remnants of 6 months of weekly craft/farmers markets. Seats are
propped back into their upright position and the captain has switched
on the no smoking sign. (Just kidding about that one, checking to see if
you’re really reading this :)</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2337">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2337">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And
now we’re smoothly transitioning into indoor Christmas markets and
online. Which got me thinking – what venue is best? The answer for us
will probably be radically different for every person. And if we made
something wildly unique that we could only makefrom tree resin that
elves had licked, we would could rest on online sales alone.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2335">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2335">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here’s
the thing about outdoor venues – exposure and immediate feedback. You
will meet such a variety of people on a regular basis that it will help
your brand immensely. People are very happy to tell you exactly what
they think of your product. If the products sells really quickly,
you’ll know right away that a) your prices are too low or b) you’re on
to something good.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2297">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2297">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Downside
is they are exhausting to set up/take down every single time. You need
to be bright and positive and engage every single person who looks your
way. Have a great sense of humour so when chocolate covered children
come to your table and touch every single item leaving chocolate on
everything, have a response (trust me, it happens).</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2349">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2349">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then
there’s online, where you watch the sales roll in, go to your massive
wrapping department, choose pretty paper and wrap the purchase up with
ribbons and bows while birds chirp in the background. Pack the 114
boxes up in colour coordinated shipping bins and skip to the post office
where the happy people will burst into song when they see you.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2349">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_3_1446508920853_2349">
<div id="yui_3_17_2_11_1446597464987_2308">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Which would you prefer?</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_11_1446597464987_2308">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_11_1446597464987_2305">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Online
sales are fabulous. In my opinion, having a unique product helps as
well as knowing SEO and how to use it. Social media on ALL platforms
works well. Yes, I am on a first name basis with
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Pinterest/Linkedin/Blog/Newsletters/Snapchat/Periscope
and they work, but you have to know how they function and most
importantly - BE CONSISTENT.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_11_1446597464987_2320">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_11_1446597464987_2320">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So now your turn – what works best for you? Outdoor markets or online?</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_11_1446597464987_2320">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_17_2_11_1446597464987_2320">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stay up to date with our new <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/blog">blog home. </a></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Caron is one of the blooms of <a href="http://www.shoptwoblooms.com/">Two Blooms Design Studio</a> Est. 2002. She is the dreamer, production manager, self taught chef and the social media wannabe. Caron is married to the word adventure and she will never stop dreaming.</span></div>
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Two Blooms Design Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649539169220899169noreply@blogger.com0