Happy Shopping with Weekend Deals!!

This weekend, in my Etsy shop, I'm participating in a special

'Weekend Deals' sale.

From Friday, September 25th to Sunday, September 27th

you can enjoy a savings of 10% off all purchases.

Yes, everything. Even sale items.

Necklaces


Earrings

Bracelets

All savings will be refunded after purchase through paypal.

Discount does not include shipping.

In order to qualify for the sale you must put Weekend Deals in message to seller when checking out.

Returning Customers, if you have a current 10% Gift Certificate from a previous purchase you may use it. I will combine the two offers together for a total savings of 20%.

In order to qualify for the extra savings you must put Weekend Deals and the code given on your Gift Certificate code in the message to seller.

See shop announcement for more details. Please convo me if you have any questions.

.. and if you are looking to get an early start on your holiday shopping, check out the weekend deals offered by my fellow TEAMT members (Etsy group Team Treasury). Simply search at Etsy all items for TEAMT and start saving... here is a list of the TEAMT members participating in the weekend deals special, each offering 10-25% off specialty items ranging from art, bath and body, knits, jewelry, pottery, clothing, bags, vintage and more... take a look on the individual shops for instructions.














































Happy Shopping!!!

My Point of View

We woke up to a temperature of about 28 degrees (celcius). Bright sunshine, almost cloudless sky and it was getting hotter by the hour. By the peak of the afternoon it reached 33 or 34 degrees.

Out from our hotel, across the Bay of Naples you can see Mount Vesuvius faintly in the distance. To the right of the mountain is where you would find Pompeii. This is where we were headed on our first full day in Italy.

It was on August 24th, 79 A.D. that the volcano of Mount Vesuvius erupted. Smoke, mud, flames and burning stones spewed from the summit of the mountain sending a rain of ash and rock. It completely immersed Pompeii killing about 20,000 people.

It's hard to believe but before Pompeii was excavated the remains of the volcano were higher than the tallest buildings here. The eruption actually captured a moment in time. Under the ash everything remained as it was at the time of the eruption...buildings, artwork and even people in their most desperate hour.

Along the way it was discovered that instead of digging up the skeletal remains of the person plaster could be injected into the ground and allowed to dry. When excavated it captured exactly what the person was doing, the skeleton remaining complete inside the plaster 'mold'. Here a man crouches down, his face in his hands waiting for death. You can't help but feel the pain that these people went through. It was a very emotional experience and even now writing it brings me right back to those feelings.

Many urns and pots have been discovered and housed now in this outdoor warehouse.

The body of a dog was discovered. His collar was easily visible.

These round pits in this counter would actually hold food that would be bought by the villagers. Similar in a way to the fast food of our time.

To the right are ovens where bread would be baked and sold.

Rest in Peace our sweet Sunni

For such a small little animal you brought us alot of smiles. You will be remembered for your adventurous spirit, your acrobatics and your never-ending quest to make the perfect home. You were a very caring and good sister. We will miss you Sunni.

Sunni (the gold one) with her sister Sophie behind her.

Inspirations...

It's not hard to find inspiration when you see colours like these.

Gorgeous blues, teals, aquas and olives.

'Watercolours' a new bracelet listed in my Etsy shop.

My Point of View

We arrived in Naples to gorgeous sunshine and hot, hot temperatures. It was about 32 celcius and it didn't stray too much from this for the entire trip. Apparently Southern Italy was experiencing a bit of a heatwave and even the evening temperatures did not dip much below 28! So let's just say we were continuously hot and had sweat dripping down our backs most of the time! (lovely visual isn't it?!!)

After about an hour shuttle ride we arrived at our hotel...

...this is the view from the hotel terrace.

...and here from the sea.

Every direction you looked was filled with beauty. I think I must have landed in heaven.

My Point of View

My husband and I were very fortunate this year to have been able to travel to Italy this summer. It was an amazing eight days! The first leg of our trip was with my husband's company and then we spent the last three together on our own.

With incredible timing we managed to take off before the tornadoes hit Toronto. I am really glad I heard about this weather after the fact! We later learned we must have been one of the last flights out until after the storm had passed. We knew other friends with later flights that sat on the tarmac for over 3 hours. Of course, for others there were many missed connections due to the delays, redirections and needless to say many lost bags.

So really, our flight was quite uneventful - the way that I like it. We were on a big jumbo jet, the kind that has the second level and to our surprise that's where our seats were. They're just regular, economy seats in the upper deck, no bar or disco dance floor as my husband had hoped but kind of fun anyways. We flew Toronto to Paris and then Paris to Naples. With only an accumulation of 15 minues sleep on the first flight I was pretty tired landing in Paris but we made the most of our 2 1/2 hours. We bought a great cup of coffee and a fresh pastry in the Paris terminal and we managed to snag two lounge chairs and rest our eyes a bit before our next flight.

I think we were served a light breakfast on this next flight. I no longer knew what meal my body wanted or even if it wanted anything at this point. I just ate what was put in front of me. On a flight it's like an event, you earnestly watch the flight attendant as they approach your seat until they pass you your plastic tray. You carefully eye the food as you unwrap your plastic dinnerware. I've never been so excited about a plain semi-fresh muffin and a strawberry yogourt before! Ah, 15 minutes have passed. What will happen next? Coffee, tea some water perhaps? How am I going to wake the guy next to me so I can get up and go to the washroom? Should I wake him up? I have to wake him up! I can't sleep on a plane. I haven't slept at all. I have to get some sleep! I want to get off this plane. I wonder if my luggage will be there?...ah, the ramblings of my mind while flying. Next thing I know, as I finally feel like I've started to doze off a rather loud announcement is made declaring that we are making our descent and we will arrive in about 30 minutes. Couldn't they tell us this in 30 minutes?!!

We arrive in Naples.

...stay tuned.

That's Amore!

So here it is September already and I'm just finally adjusting back to our time zone. Italy was beautiful. Most definitely a trip of a lifetime for me and the inspiration behind this Etsy treasury.

Over the next few weeks I'll share some of my photos and memories from the trip, some great views, fabulous foods and I will try my hardest to describe the incredible flavours of the gelato that we indulged in.

You'll find all the above products in these fabulous Etsy shops.

ThePeachTree, oliveandollie, ipaintpictures, eclu, vintageaimee, RickRackQueen, jennyndesign, crabvilleinautumn, giardino, trendyknitting, BlueNostalgia, bovinebubbles.