Tha Hotness

And the winner is....

First, I would like to thank all of you who took the time out to participate in our little giveaway. We wanted to grab a little intel on the kinds of tea people preferred so we would know what flavor to introduce next in our line.  We did the giveaway old school as you can see below.  We pulled a number instead of using the Random Number Generator. She asked me why I didn't use the Random Number Generator and I told her that it was soooo 2008. lol..

But any who the winner of the FABULOUS giveaway is Heidi of  My Hiding Place Blog . Heidi's got a cute blog , so make sure that you guys stop over and show her a little bit of love. Heidi, I will be contacting you shortly to get your information.

Happy 2009...

Hope that you all had a great holiday season this year.  I must say that I enjoyed my brief, yet relaxing mini vacation. Of course since I was taking a little break form blogging I found tons of new stuff to share with you all. Thank you to all of you that stop by to visit tha Hotness on a regular basis.  I hope to bring you all new and exciting content this year and I hope that you will keep coming. As you can see I did a little tweaking to the aesthetics of tha Hotness. I was looking for a little change (I bore easily)...

I am feelin a little long winded today so bare with me here... Or maybe I will break it up into a few post. So here we are for New Years Eve. I decided I wanted long hair for the evening, so I went out and bought some.  I also wanted to have fierce eye shadow and this is what I came up with.  We celebrated with a fantastic dinner and we came home, for what we thought was just a little while and needless to say we were asleep by 10 pm.  I did however manage to wake up at 11:45 pm and felt obligated to stay up until midnight. After that I promptly returned to bed.

 

I didn't make any New Years resolution because I don't anymore but I do set goals for the year. The list of goals that I set for last year I pretty much met.  The only thing that I did slack on was my own art work, so I will be adding that to the, "Get this done this year" list. I did start a new endeavor this past year and I must admit that even with the economy as bad as it is, I did well and striving to do better this year.

So this year my plans for prosperity are...

What are your plans for prosperity this year?

The Last Contest of 2008...

I know that I said I was taking a break but.... I wanted to leave you with a contest. One winner will receive both of the new Springcart Teas . The Chocolate Dream and Lemon Dream tea can be yours by simply telling us about your favorite tea below and also by signing up for the Springcart Newsletter. How do you sign up for the Springcart Newsletter... Just drop on over to Springcart here and you can join the newsletter at the bottom of any page on the website.  You have until midnight PST, January 4, 2009 to enter.

Contest winner will be announced January 5, 2009.  Contest open to US and Canada residents. Void where prohibited.

Happy Holidays...

I am taking a few days off to enjoy the holidays, family and LOVE. Wishing you all a Happy Holidays and the most Prosperous New Year.

Just something that I wanted to share...

I love Papaya. Here are some of the beauties that they have available in their shop. Check out these new lovelies while you there. I think that my favorite is the, "You Always Know" magnet because the truth is you do always know. You when something is not quite right or if you are just settling for that job or significant other.

Man, oh man...

how I do love Rupaul and Drag Queens in general. And man, oh man how I do love this picture of Rupaul as Barack and Michelle Obama. How fierce is his eye shadow game.... Wow, I love Rupaul...

Doesn't this look yummy...

I found this over at my homegirl Martha's site. Warm chocolate pudding.... The holidays always makes me lust after delicious sweets. The recipe is below.

Serves 4

• 4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Ice cream (any flavor), for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place four 6- to 8-ounce ovenproof bowls on a baking sheet. Set aside.
2. Place chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally just until melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in 2 tablespoons sugar, then egg yolks and vanilla. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Still beating, gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar; beat until mixture is stiff and glossy.
4. Using a rubber spatula, mix about 1/3 egg-white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture just until combined. Divide among bowls. (Puddings can be prepared in advance up to this point; cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to 1 day.)
5. Bake until tops are puffed and cracked but insides are still quite soft (a toothpick inserted in center will come out gooey), 20 to 25 minutes, or 25 to 30 minutes if puddings were previously refrigerated. Serve, warm or at room temperature (puddings may sink as they cool), topped with ice cream, if desired.

Guess what...

the Lemon and Chocolate Dream teas are now available for pre-order in the shop. I know that you guys are probably sick of me talking about these teas but I just wanted to let you because I am sure that they are going to sell out quickly. The response has been great in anticipation of our new tea line. This is something that I have wanted to offer for years and we have finally made it happen.

Tea pre-orders will be ship out 01/15/2009. You are not going to want to miss out on the new and exclusive Lemon Dream and Chocolate Dream teas by Springcart. Below are the newly designed labels for the teas.

Our delicious Lemon Dream Tea has just the right touch of lemongrass and creamy lemon flavor. The Lemon Dream is like nothing that you have ever tasted before.

Chocolate Dream Tea taste just as the name suggest... like a Dream. A rich black tea with bits of cocoa kernels and cream flavoring. Taste great with just a bit of sugar and cream.

I thought that I should share....

that I was featured today as Fly Girl of the Week over at the fabulous Fly Blog. You can check the feature out here...

OMG, how beautiful...

are these couture bouquets by Emplume.

Chocolate Dream...

is Heavenly. Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned that we would be carrying our own brand of tea well I received the samples and have been tea tasting over the past few days. And let me just tell you that if you love tea and you love chocolate you will most definitely want to purchase some of our Chocolate Dream Tea. I know that you are probably thinking like I was at first, "Chocolate Tea, maybe not so sure about that" But I promise you it is AMAZING!!! And I am not even exaggerating at all, this tea will knock your socks off. Chocolate Dream Tea is a rich black tea with cocoa bits and rich chocolate flavor and a hint of cream. The Ingredients include: Black tea, cocoa kernels, chocolate bits (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, butterfat, emulsifier lecithin), flavoring.

We will we also have a Lemon Dream Tea. Look out for our Tea of the Month Club, we will offer 3, 6 and 12 month subscriptions. I am working out all of the details and it will all be in the shop within in the next few weeks. I am soooo super excited about our newest additions.

I am back...

but just for a quickie post. I have been super swamped with redoing my shop and the newest version of the ecommerce solution that I use had a multitude of fixes and well lets just say that I basically had to start from scratch on more than one occasion this week. And lets just say that I had a major melt down on more than one occasion this week. And lets just say that I am working it out and totally revamped everything here is a quick snap shot of the new shop. Make sure that you check in often because I will be adding tons of new products everyday this week.

I also have three, yes three new web design projects that I have picked up to be completed over the next few weeks. So lets just say that I have been kinda busy. So I will try to drop in over the next few days to post. Should be back to normal by next week.

If you are looking for something to check out go on over to visit Mrs.Limestone, shes having a great giveaway over there.

The Girlie Girl Gift Pack

This gift set was inspired by the Amazon Bag from MTA and was created for the, "Girlie Girl" in your life.
 What "Girlie Girl" do you know that doesn't love to be pampered and smell great. Dulce de Leche Sugar Scrub by Savor is sure to make a perfect gift. And of course you really can't go wrong with anything from Philosophy, especially Pure Grace ( which happens to be my favorite). Don't forget that MAC Cosmetics always has FABULOUS gift sets for the holiday season and they didn't miss a beat this year with the Little Darling Collection. Just a friendly reminder, the MAC gift sets sell ou really quickly. How do I know... Because I am always on the hunt for them every year. Last but not least don't forget the accessories for your favorite Girlie Girl because Girlie Girls love accessories and I am sure that yours will love these Long Flutter earrings from Maggie J's Jewelry.

As we approach the madness...

that is known as, "Black Friday" in the shopping world I wanted to share some gifting ideas with you.

This is a perfect collection of items for the, "Entertainer". We all have a friend or family member that is always entertaining and this Limited Edition 1800 Essential Tequila  is the perfect starter for this gift pack. 1800 Essential chose 9 artist from across the US to create these beautiful limited edition bottles. The artist featured on this bottle is California native artist, Josh Ellingson.  Not only are the bottles beautiful they also taste fantastic.

To accent the gift pack:1. The Nambe Barware Collection  from Macy's, 2. Hand painted Fern Wine Set from Mary Wibi, 3. Rock and Roll Drink Coasters from Liquid Vinyl and the Nambe Twist Cocktail Shaker from Macy's.

Amazing...

I love this picture!!! Photoshop in Real Life created by Bates 141.

Found via Brown Sugar Design Blog.

The truth is....

I have talked about the quotes that I receive in my inbox daily from Rev. Run, of Run DMC fame. Well I received this one and believed that I should share. This quote is very befitting of my current journey. Maybe it will inspire you as much as it did me.

As of late....

I have been a little busy and have a few things to share that I am really excited about. The first is I think that Fresh Press is such a great idea. I have to tell my son about Fresh Press as I am sure that he'll be interested as he is embarking on a new journey to have his own t-shirt company (Selected Few Clothing) here.

2. My cousin Len started her new blog here, so make sure that you all stop by to welcome her to the wonderful world of blogging.

3. I am looking forward to bringing  fabulous teas to the Springcart shop. We are in the works to have our own brand of fabulous tea, how divine does Lemon Dream tea sound. I will definitely keep you posted on that.

4.If you have been over to my little shop you've probably noticed that it is pretty bare. I am in the process rebuilding the shop (yes, again) and am looking forward to the grand reopening on December 1st. I wanted something that was easier for you and me to navigate and update. You know that I will keep you posted and also to celebrate the grand reopening we will be having a lovely giveaway.

How neat...

is this by Xue Lei here.

{found via Design for Mankind.}

Who doesn't need ...

a little pampering in their life and Ritual Bath is the perfect place to get it. Check out the Love and Balance kits that they have over at Ritual Bath .  Ritual Bath products are handmade by the head bather, Lauren and are full of luscious and rich botanical and natural ingredients. I heard that this was divine...

I'm having craft studio envy...

and it just resurfaced since seeing Nicole's studio over at Making It Lovely a few weeks ago. I have been lusting after Nicole's room since this. So here I am writing about my craft room lust and a page full of pictures to post.

I think that I envy the spaces because of the organization. I soo want to be as organized but I can admit (reluctantly) that I am not. I want to be organized... I love this space (below) I lust after those IKEA Alex drawers everytime I browse the catalog.

I love the look of the boxes, cubbies and organization of Cathe Holden's craft studio (below). I love drawers and I love the look of the this studio and I love how it's full of trinkets and baubles. Check out more pictures here.

And of course what would a show of craft studios be without showing the spectacular studio of Heather Bailey. I love the chandelier in Heather studio. Check out more pictures here. The studio of Tammy Fischer (below) was inspired by the Heather Bailey studio, check out more studio pictures here.

It's still a little surreal...

that Barack Obama is our newly elected president. I am loving the art of Michael Murphy.

Something I recently worked on...

were these fabulous invitations to commemorate a 95th birthday and a 73rd wedding anniversary. How fabulous is 73 years of marriage...

Recapping the Holiday Hotness Bazaar...

The experience of planning and hosting the Holiday Hotness Bazaar was a definite learning experience. The show was slow, we had about 200 customers show up throughout the day. There are several things that I would do differently next time.

I definitely want to thank all of the vendors, sponsors, customers and all of you that were supportive. Here are a few pictures from the bazaar.

 

Change has come to America...

words can not describe how emotional this historic event was. I couldn't stop crying and I still get a little emotional when I think about it. It almost seems surreal.

 

Sponsor Spotlight :: Poparazzi Jewelry

Do you love shiny beautiful things? Well if so, you are definitely going to love the jewelry by Poparazzi. Poparazzi jewelry is created from vintage soda bottle tops. They are vintage, yet modern. And you guessed it right the Poparazzi team is going to be at the Holiday Hotness Bazaar.

P.S. Happy 1st birthday Poparazzi!!!

Sponsor Spotlight:: LT Creations

LT Creations creates beautiful and unique handmade jewelry, bookmarks and key chains. Check out Liza's fabulous shop here and make sure that you pick up one of these while you are over there. Just in case you don't make it over there today, be sure that you make it to the Holiday Hotness Bazaar on Saturday, November 8th to check out LT Creations in person.

Honor your right today...

honor your right to vote. Not to get too political today but this country is in need of great CHANGE and HOPE. At this point just make sure that you exercise your right. No matter who you believe in this is such a historical election, voters are turning out in record numbers and whomever wins this is one for the history books. I know who I am rolling with this year, I believe in his campaign and his message and I believe that he is who America needs.

Yesterday I fell deeply in love...

when I saw this bag by Two Maisons on the front page of Etsy on Sunday. Once I explored the the Two Maisons shop I found the Perfect Pocket Tote and fell even deeper in love.

What's HOT in the street today...

a lot of things are, " Hot in the Street" today. First I was over at Creature Comforts this morning and found this lovely shop opened today. How beautiful is this collaboration between Betsy Dunlap and Shanna Murray.

Jena over at Modish launched the Modish Marketplace on Friday.

This is happening in 5 days and so I will be a blogging fool promoting and sharing with you all of the fabulous vendors that will there.

Sponsor Spotlight :: Deeply Rooted Apparel

Deeply Rooted Apparel features cute, stylish, fashionable tees for the Faith Forward Fashionista. Lauri and her chic shirts will be at The Holiday Hotness Bazaar this Saturday. I think that this one is my favorite.