About My Life

This is me with a bird on my head - a lorikeet, to be precise. Where can I start? How about this: my name is Ashley; I'm thirty-two, a college grad, a wife, a mother, and proud to be all those things. Actually, I'm somewhat indifferent about being thirty-two, but you get what I mean. I'm a drifter of sorts; I follow life where ever it leads me. I LOVE colors, and I'm attracted to shiny and/or sparkly things. I'm a World of Warcraft addict; I started with Vanilla WoW back in 2006. I roll Horde, and I'm very loyal to my faction. I love to garden, or rather, pretend to garden until my plants all mysteriously die. I also love scrapbooking, though since my daughter was born I've taken WAY more pictures than I'll ever be able to scrap. When it comes to music, nothing is off-limits. I lean heavily toward rock and classic rock, but I have everything from the Bee Gees to Notorious BIG in my collection. I like to read. My most recent read was a collection of Lovecraft stories. My movie collection is filled with comedies, apocalyptic films, and movies about people who stood up to the man. My favorite shows are Supernatural, The Walking Dead, Archer, and Family Guy. My current focus in life is learning how to ride horses. It's been my lifelong dream to own a horse of my own, so this year, I took the plunge and signed up for English riding lessons! I'm not very good yet, but I'm getting better! I'm still working on finally having a vegetable garden I can be proud of. I have these grand plans to can my own delicious spaghetti sauces, yummy salsas, and tasty fruit preserves. In my head, I see myself becoming the domestic diva I've always dreamed of being and getting in touch with the knowledge and wisdom of past generations. I love to learn, and I'm always evolving. I believe when that comes to an end, so will I.

This handsome guy is my husband of thirteen years, Niel. I met him in Algebra II in high school during my sophomore year. I admired him for his smarts, though I'm not sure he admired me much at all at first. Then one day during the summer of 2000, I surprised him with a kiss, and the rest is history. We were married three years later and haven't looked back. For ten years of his life, he served his country in the Navy. He's a submariner, and I've been extremely proud to be a Navy spouse. We're now out trying to make a place for ourselves in the civilian world, and this year we finally realized our dream of owning a piece of land out in the country. We're now the proud owners of a house on 22 acres in the Bull Mountains of Montana. Over the next several years, we're going to work on building our hobby farm.

This is my darling girl Ciannon. She's the light of my life, although she was a bit of a surprise (the result of trying to stay warm on cold nights in upstate NY). She's seven years old, very high-energy, extremely talkative, smart, and (for the most part) all sunshine and rainbows. She loves peanut butter and jelly, books, horses, and soccer.

These two furballs are my four-legged family. My dog Aiden is a ten year-old Irish Wolfhound look-alike. He's not quite as tall as an actual Irish Wolfhound, but he's close. I promise you, he is half German Shepherd. His aunt Iris was an AKC registered GSD. (She died of cancer seven years ago, and I still miss her very much.) Aiden, in spite of his size, is still quite the puppy. His favorite pastimes are chasing deer and being a grump to our new kitten. Cookie is our tiny house panther. We adopted her from the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter; she's uber playful and curious. We welcomed her into our home after Pixie, my cat of eleven years, passed away. She's made herself comfortable, and I think she's a good fit for our family. One of these days, I'd like to add an English Mastiff, some chickens, some ducks, a horse or two, and maybe even some cows or a goat into the mix

About My Etsy Shop

I'd always dreamed of someday opening a little shop on Main St. in a small town somewhere. A place where I could sell handmade goods - mine and others' - something with a homey, coffee shop kind of vibe that would welcome customers in and make them want to stay a while. I'd know all the names of everyone who came in the door, and they'd know mine. Maybe I'd even sell art and craft supplies. My shop would always be filled with interesting items and interesting people. It would be a place anyone would be proud to own.

The ladies of Sagewood

In 2004, my mother-in-law, in cooperation with a mutual friend, opened a flea market shop called Sagewood that sold handmade goods, herbal supplies, and new age items. I became one of her artisans, crafting necklaces, miniatures, artwork, etc. Though it was a flea market stall and not a brick and mortar store, we all came very close to realizing the dream. But life and times change, and my mother-in-law closed up shop. I still miss those days.

Some days I still dream about having my own little shop. But I'm realizing more and more that where my life is headed really isn't conducive to running a full-scale business or owning a brick and mortar store. Enter Etsy. My mother-in-law turned me on to Etsy in 2009, and I was so excited by what I saw that I immediately set up shop. It has been a wonderful creative outlet, not to mention a way to be crafty without having all my projects clutter up my house. I can't describe the excitement I've felt each time I had a sale. To think people actually like my creations enough to buy them is nothing short of amazing to me. Etsy is an awesome community of artisans, from the casual crafter to the professional clothes designer. You can literally find everything under the sun for sale there, and it's not just your everyday, cookie-cutter merchandise. It's handmade by someone who loves what they do and puts their heart into making quality goods. It's vintage from someone who has a talent for finding the things from our past that deserve to be given a second chance. It's art from people who have a passion for producing something beautiful, thought-provoking, or profound. It's craft supplies from those dedicated to making sure that the creative never run out of media with which to create. I've fallen in love with Etsy, and I feel I will stay there for a very long time. Although currently I don't have anything up for sale in my shop, I still create items that one day I'm sure I will post, if only I can find the time between school, soccer practice, riding lessons, swim lessons, and getting settled in our new home! C'est la vie!