House Hunting and Etsy Avoidance Issues

Sean and I are about to begin our house-hunt in earnest.
We're spending the afternoon with our agent, touring some of the houses on our ever-changing list.
Properties are selling fast, it seems, but many more are being listed.
We're anxious, hopeful and kinda freaked out!

I took advantage of this unexpected day away from the bookshop to introduce a new batch of pretty things to my Etsy shop, Hobgoblins!

I'll readily admit that I have been ignoring my poor Etsy shop these weeks following the Valentine's Day rush. Virtual must-do's have piled up in my absence. What was meant to take an hour or so somehow turned into three hours of shooting, writing listings and responding to messages.



Check out the new Etsy stuff here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/hobgoblins?ref=si_shop

I plan to add more neat items, like vintage ladies magazines like Mademoiselle, Glamour and Charm (from the 1950s and 1960s), as well as cute black and white photos of schoolgirls, later this week.

Finally, a use for my pink tablecloth.
These magazines are a bit musty-smelling, but their advertisements (which greatly outnumber the articles) are wonderful! Here are a few teaser shots to whet your palate:

Brief Book Review // Brief Life Review

Audrey's quick review of When Darkness Falls, by C.S. Harris:

It's always a pleasure to read a book as prettily crafted as this lime-and-black hardcover. The dust jacket is equally attractive, and made me feel quite edgy while reading on the bus. A clever cover is what sells a book, and the jacket artist deserves a cake for this pretty little number!

Harris's latest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery was richly detailed and well-crafted. Jewel thieves, Prinny, mixing of London's poor and wealthy, hookers, fashion, private gentleman's clubs, street sweeps and the seediest corners of Seven Dials all received a bit of the limelight. Harris deftly made use of interesting figures from the era, including French revolutionaries and London's burgeoning ton.

This well-researched historical (Regency) thriller featured The Hope Diamond, a gem whose monetary value my life will ever equal. And I'm okay with that. The lead characters, Sebastian and his shockingly-independent new wife, Hero, made for delightful reading. The book culminated in a wild rooftop chase that left me guessing until the very end. It's hard not to enjoy a well-written novel with dark intrigue and scenes of such heart-pounding suspense!



On with the show...


Hectic. That's how I would describe life, this week. Productive, though. Tuesday marks the beginning of The Great House Hunt. Sean and I are excited, but scared witless at times.
We can do this.
We can do this.

The bookshop is, as ever, a wild mess of wondrous people and things.

I think I'm getting a Subaru.
I'll miss the Jeep.

I'm out of wine, out of brown ale, and out of time.

Enough with this word nonsense.

Here are some videos which have captured my attention, this week:



A video by Dennis Trainor, Jr., and not just Rand's filibuster. Worth your time!



Inappropriate. Clever. Palmer Squares. Terminal Knowledge. Chicago.



Watch this, then make these noises at a loved one. It's worth it.