labor day weekend

i hope everyone had a great long weekend! i'm still getting caught up, as you can tell, since it's already wednesday and i haven't posted anything. bff & i helped out at a defensive pistol course all day saturday & sunday. it was a great class - everyone was tuned in, the weather was gorgeous, and it was a lot of fun! (doesn't hurt that i got to do some shooting too.) puppy met lots of people and was pretty good for the most part...except for the chewed seatbelt buckle. but it still works. we also had a chance to catch up with some friends sunday night. it seemed like its been forever since we've seen them!

monday was my day to get stuff done. did a bunch of laundry (although it is still waiting to be folded). finished some books for bella boutique and cut down a bunch of book board, paper, and ribbon for my next batch of books. also figured out my supply inventory. whew. bff came home from fishing and made the best spaghetti and meatballs EVER. and i made funfetti cake!

so i figured out what i would need to purchase and placed a couple of orders today with my suppliers. and i have to get on my soapbox for a couple of minutes: shipping costs up to alaska STINK! for goodness sake, we are NOT another country, we are part of the united states and should be included in the same shipping rates as everyone else in the contiguous 48 states! it's not the mail delivery people have that hard of a time delivering packages to us - its the same as everywhere else. and how about offering some other shipping options besides UPS? because they might as well ask for your first born child instead of the ridiculous shipping rates they require. *getting off soapbox now* does anyone else have this problem?

oh here are some pics of my favorite books i dropped off at bella (i seriously contemplated keeping them for myself):

this paper is PHENOMENAL in person. it is "Katazome-shi" or stencil dyed paper, printed based on traditional kimono printing techniques.

isn't this perfect for fall?

i hope the rest of the week flies by! i love short weeks :)