Nintendo Super Mario Warp Pipe Keepsake Box

This is my newest original creation and I'm very excited to share it! It is a Super Mario Bros. keepsake box that looks like a Warp Pipe and Piranha Plant from the games! It is a 3D keepsake box with a removable lid, and the Piranha Plant itself is also removable. It is designed to look like the original 8-bit pixelated version for the original NES. The keepsake box is handmade using Perler Beads.

The keepsake box has a removable lid that has an inner layer so it fits snugly to the box. Without the Piranha Plant, the box itself measures approx. 6" high, 6" across, and 19 1/2" around at its largest part. With the Piranha Plant inserted into the top of the box, it measures 11" from top to bottom. It is actually bigger (and heavier!) than it looks!

Put this on your shelf or desk to add some Nintendo geeky fun! Great for your games room, basement, or wherever you like to play your video games!

This item is completely one-of-a-kind - only two of these are in existence and one of them lives at my house amongst my video game collection!

Etsy Finds: Lean Dog Pottery

Lean Dog Pottery at Etsy creates some wonderful, unique crackled glass and ceramic jewelry, as well as hand thrown pottery pieces. As a member of the EtsyVeg street team, I participated in their holiday Secret Santa and was fortunate enough to receive some lovely gifts from Lean Dog Pottery! I received a soap dish very similar to the image that I posted above - a fantastic handmade piece that looks great in our bathroom! Also posted above is the Leaf Heart Pendant necklace that I just adore.

You can also find some large chunky ceramic rings at Lean Dog Pottery - I am a huge fan of unique gigantic rings, and there are plenty to be found here! For those who would like to treat themselves but are on a tighter budget, there is a $10 section in the shop where you can find tons of fantastic handmade goodies.

Tree Project: NYC Exhibition

As I wrote about in previous blog posts, I participated in the Tree Project by Hiroshi Sunairi in conjunction with the Horticultural Society of New York City. Hiroshi collected seeds that were descendants of the plants that grew at Hiroshima after the atomic bomb (Hibaku seeds) and distributed these seeds to participants all over the world. I am now growing these plants at my own home and passed one along to my sister.

Unfortunately, I could not lend my plants for the exhibition since I live too far away from New York City, but I took some photos to be included in the exhibition. Many people participated in the project so I was not sure if any of my photos would be posted. I was very excited to see one of my pictures posted on the main wall of the exhibition! Pictured above, that is my sister's cat, Kiki, investigating the new Chinaberry plant.

If you're in the area and you're interested in checking out the display, you can still view it until February 12th, 2010 - all of the details are available at the NYC Horticultural Society website.

My Virtual Walk

From the beginning of January 2010, I have started my very own "Virtual" walk from my home in Brantford, Ontario, Canada to Fort Lauderdale, FL. I got this idea from the Cruise Critic forums that I attend on occasion, as Paul and I have traveled on a few cruises and I like to read up about them! Someone said that they were going to walk from their home virtually to the cruise ship port before they went on their cruise as a way to get in shape. Lots of people joined in, and I wanted to join in as well even though I don't have a cruise planned! One of the ports that we left from on one of our trips was in Fort Lauderdale, so that is my virtual destination - 1430 miles away!

I looked up the full directions using Google Maps and have been tracking my walks on a website called MapMyWalk. From there, you are able to enter in the amount of miles you have walked on a google map - you can track where you have actually walked, or like me, compile a virtual walk anywhere in the world! I follow my own directions that I got from Google Maps, and with each new walk I take, I pick up from where I left off. Soon enough, I'll be "out of Canada" as I have traveled 49.65 miles since the beginning of the new year.

While I love to go to yoga, I find that the virtual walks give me the motivation to go for a walk or a run at the gym. I can't wait until it gets warmer outside so I can go walking outside all the time. When I complete a walk/run, I can't wait to get home to input the information into the MapMyWalk website to see how far I have walked.

This afternoon, it was a bright and sunny day and even though it was a bit on the chilly side, I decided to go for a walk outdoors anyway! I find that I walk farther when I'm outside because no matter how far I go, I have to turn around and walk back home! Today was a longer walk - 5.53 miles! I took a few photographs on my walk, some of which were taken while I walked through a deserted golf course, all covered in a thin layer of snow.



One of the best parts of the walk? My halfway point was at a Williams coffee shop where I treated myself to this delicious caramel soy latte. Mmmm! The perfect warm treat on a cold winter day!