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Thursday, September 25, 2014

A Book Review: The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau

The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau

If you haven't heard of Chris Guillebeau, you have now. He is a world traveler (been to 193 countries before he was 35 years old), an accomplished writer (The Art of Non-Conformity, the $100 Startup and The Happiness of Pursuit), blogger and head of the WDS(World Domination Summit). 

I am just finishing his third book, The Happiness of Pursuit which is about finding a quest that brings purpose to your life. In his book, Chris talks about his travels and delivers the stories of other adventurous people and their quests. Sasha from Tulsa cooked a meal from every country taking her a total of 195 weeks. Josh is on a quest to visit every baseball stadium in the country. And almost 30 years later, a magnificent symphony was played in Brisbane, Australia. 

This is only a glimpse of what Guillebeau has to share in his new book. If I were you, I'd grab my copy now! Chris is traveling to 40 cities promoting his book and I'm excited to see him once again at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Highlands Ranch. If you're in the area, stop by! 


Sunday, September 21, 2014

E A T YOUR V E G G I E S

zucchini, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, & bell peppers


Fall is officially here! Well, I'm a couple days early, but does that really matter? Leaves are changing, temperatures are falling and its harvest time! I've spent the last couple days canning and freezing veggies from our garden. Tonight I canned 9 jars of homemade salsa made from our tomatoes!


homemade salsa

spinach and tomatoes


You know how most people do a good spring cleaning every spring? Well, I'm doing it now that its fall. And by cleaning, I'm talking about my 9 day cleanse with Isagenix. I started a couple days ago, and I am still excited about doing it. I don't mind the shakes at all and I really like the Fiber Snacks AND I've lost 2.5 lbs in just two days! I'm looking forward to seeing my overall weight loss, but that's not the only reason I'm doing this. For me, it's about getting rid of the toxins that we ingest and breathe everyday. What about you? Do you cleanse? If so, is it all natural or do you take supplements too? I'd love to hear about you! =) 

Have a wonderful week! ~ Stephanie

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Monday, September 15, 2014

Supplements vs. NOT

My first cleanse! 

Have you ever heard of Isagenix? It's a company that specializes in healthy, safe, life changing supplements. I first heard of it when my friend Amanda mentioned it on her Facebook page a couple weeks ago. First of all, let me tell you that I personally am terrible at taking any sort of supplement, vitamin or pill of any kind. Now here comes the BUT... I try my hardest to eat healthy. I look at labels, I am working on avoiding processed foods and trying to eat very little meat. I don't drink soda and have quit drinking cow's milk for about a year now. And let me tell you. That was tough. I love my milk! But I know I can do better for my body. So after I heard about Isagenix and how they use only natural ingredients, I decided to give it a try. Now, one of the other reasons I chose to try Isagenix is because it offers two different cleanses and I had been thinking about doing a cleanse anyways. There is a 9 day cleanse and a 30 day cleanse. I decided to try the 9 day cleanse first and see how well I do. I'll be honest, the part that scares me is that you don't eat very much food. And I love to eat. But I also believe that we fill our bodies with toxins everyday, whether we eat them or breathe them. And that is why I am going through with this. It's a gift to my health. I haven't been very good to my body physically over the years and I figure its the least I can do! If you're interested in joining me in a cleanse, let me know! I'd be more than happy to share more information and get you started. I just received my 9 day cleanse and will keep you posted on how it works out. 

Have a wonderful week! ~ samos

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

S A M O S + I M A G E K I N D

the Dark Hedges © samos 2014


 I added a new print to my ImageKind gallery. The Dark Hedges was taken when my husband and I were traveling in Northern Ireland this summer. Pictures don't do them justice. They're breathtaking! 


Balanced © samos 2014

Inside Zenia © samos 2014

Painted Horse © samos 2014

Koi © samos 2014

Friday, September 5, 2014

P O T T E R Y: p a c k i n g + s h i p p i n g

As an artist, I'm always concerned about the delivery of my work to its final destination. After all, I put my heart and soul into creating it and want my clients to be happy with their investment. 

When I first started shipping pottery, I did some research and tried different ways to ship my pieces. This involved double boxing them which was quite expensive. When I started working in wholesale, one of my clients was put off by the cost of shipping and told me how she shipped her fragile pieces. Since then, I've stopped shipping everything in two boxes, but still use my fair share of bubble wrap and newsprint. 

I have a large order of plates going out today and thought I would share my process:

wrapping the plate


I prefer to use the large bubble wrap and order it and my boxes from Uline


the wrapped plate

all twelve plates wrapped

I am currently waiting for my large boxes to be delivered this morning and it's throwing off my day a bit. So I may end up packaging these guys up in two 12 x 12 inch boxes instead of one 
18 x 18 inch box. But for the sake of this post, I'll go ahead and demonstrate how I pack my boxes. I like to use new corrugated boxes and newsprint or recycled packing material.


first layer of newsprint
 I line the bottom layer with crumpled newsprint and then place the first item in the center. 

first piece 

I surround the piece with the newsprint so that the edges of the pottery aren't touching the sides of the box or another piece of pottery. Don't pack too snug. There should be a little room for shock absorption in the event the box is dropped. 

protected with newsprint

 I always include a handwritten thank you to all my clients and enclose a business card. Lately I've been making my cards. I think its a nice added touch. 


handmade thank you with a business card

almost finished


If you're a potter, how do you ship? I'm always open to new and improved ways to do business better! 

Hope you enjoyed this lengthy post on shipping pottery and a little insight how I sell my work. 

Have a wonderful weekend! ~ samos