Obsessed

Oooo... I'm going all gaga over this glorious post by Décocentric.  Well actually the entire blog is chock-full of gorgeous eye candy... you should hurry on over and check it out!

{All images are from Décocentric}

In a word...

Stunning!
I am currently just breathless over the truly unique and wonderful jewelry created by Alison Woodward for her (aptly titled) line: Reverie.  Visit her site for info on stockists and availability.  {link}

It's in the Baggu

There is something genius about shopping on the Baggu - Reusable Shopping Bag site (in addition to the brilliance of buying eco-friendly of course)!  It so simple and fun!  You just select the number of bags you want (available in amounts of 1, 3, or 6), choose your colors, and baby, buy, buy, buy!

I'm thinking Valentine's, Mother's Day, and Easter gifts here people.  Your best friend loves gray and pink... snag a bag, tuck in a bunch of fuchsia tulips, a selection of her favorite lip glosses, a must read magazine or novel... and you're set!!!  For more, visit the Baggu site here.

This Might Take a While...

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and it's got me in a thoughtful mood.  Fortunately I was just tagged to reveal another 7 random  things about myself (by Banquet), so I have a good excuse to delve in and tell you more about me... the person behind the blog.

1)  My name.
I get a lot of inquiries about this, so here's the story (hope you're cozy, it's quite lengthy).  I was born in the 70's... and my mom (being the carefree spirit that she was at the time) decided to name me Esrael (sounds like Israel with and "E").  This was fine until around age 4-6 (when by unfortunate coincidence the Smurfs {remember the Smurfs} happened to be in their height of popularity).  Well, kids are mean... mean, mean, mean... and some brilliant little stinker noticed the similarity between Esrael and Asrael (the evil cat on the Smurfs) and from then on I was marked.  Because the teasing was so out of hand I begged my mom to let me change my name (and again being the free spirit that she was), she said "yes."  Of course I had to up my status among my peers, so I picked the most popular name of that time: "Heather!"  I had it legally changed and everything. 
Fast-forward to the early 2000's when I was attending school for fashion design.  I had since come to dislike my name (again, but for different reasons), and started going by my birth name.  Only this time I made the "s" a "z" and shortened it to "Ez."  There you have it.  My friends call me Ez and my family calls me both Heather and Ez.  You can take your pick.  Phew... that was long.  Did you make it all the way through?!

2)  Lessons I've learned through blogging:
     a.  Perseverance.  If you think you can't do it, you just have to try.  I didn't even know what a blog was when I started it (I was lured in by the free trial and now here I am almost 3 years later).
     b.  Sanity.  Blogging has helped keep me sane.  It sounds dramatic, but it's true.  When I began Creature Comforts, I was in a really dark time of my life (depression, recent divorce, etc.) and through the act of searching for things of beauty I found my voice and ability to actually see true beauty again.
     c.  Humility.  I have found myself at times (through my own insecurities... we all have those right), envying or begrudging another blogger for their brilliance... ie. they have more readers, a fancier blog, more posts, better ideas, etc... the list goes on and on.  But then I've had to take a step back and just let it go.  Setting my mind at peace about this has given me the opportunity to accept our differences and find the commonality that lies between us all.  I can not even tell you how many truly beautiful (inside and out) people I have met through blogging.  I feel blessed every day by the community that blogging has given me!
d.  Gratitude.  Every day when I wake up and turn on my computer for another day of blogging I feel so lucky.  So very lucky to have so many incredible readers.  People like YOU who support and encourage my creative vision... and give me the chance to share it with the world.  I think you are all amazing... and I love you all!!!

Now on the more "random" side of things:

3)  I have a scar on my right cheek in the shape of a bird's foot.  I have no idea when it got there or how, but I like to think that the birds claimed me as theirs at birth... lol  Maybe that's where I got my unwavering obsession with birds from.

4)  I don't like pillow fights... they scare the crap out of me.  Really!

5)  I relate completely to the character "Rickie" in American Beauty... I am the female version of him (minus the weed dealing of course).

6)  I like tragic, fragile, and awkward things.  Hummingbirds, the last fall leaf fluttering on a branch, a rose bloom past its prime... etc.

7)  I'm a little bit psychic.  Okay that sounds weird... but I definitely have a keen perceptiveness that can freak me out at times.  For example, I almost always know the phone is going to ring before it does (I'll even walk to go get it ahead of time)... I have great cop intuition (I always check my speed and then low and behold... a police car will come into view)... etc.  Handy but kind of odd.

Now I am supposed to tag 7 other people.  If you feel like playing please join right in.  Follow and then copy and paste these rules in your post:

RULES:
Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

My 7 tagees are:
-A Field Journal
-Housemartin
-Something's Hiding in Here
-Posie Gets Cozy
-Perfect Bound
-Lisa Congdon
-Art and Ghosts

Sharing the Love...

Artist Samantha Hahn (check out her blog: Maquette) just sent me an email about some lovely FREE Valentine's cards she has created for us all!  Download and print 'em, email 'em to your honey... whatever you'd like!  With designs ranging from cupcake hearts to soaring birds (and more), you can't go wrong!  Thanks for sharing the love Samantha... you're a sweetie!