Gypsea Tree has Moved!

I am happy to announce that Gypsea Tree has moved to a new home! Please join the caravan and head THIS WAY.

I look forward to seeing you there and am excited to say that I will be hosting a give-away this week to celebrate the new adventure. I hope you will sign up to follow the new Gypsea Tree. See you there!

Summer Projects

Changes are afoot at Gypsea Tree. I’m currently packing up the wagon a preparing to lead this merry little band to greener pastures. More on this soon. I’m excited for a change!

Despite the fact that I am currently jobless and actively seeking (anyone in the Pacific Northwest want to hire a gypsy type yearning for creativity?) I have still managed to be quite busy. I’m trying to keep up a daily writing routine and this week I’m adding exercise to the daily rituals. I’m trying to take full advantage of the extra time this transition is allowing me and do many of those things that we always say we would do if only we only had the time. Tomorrow I’m heading for the mountains with a good friend and I can’t wait!

I also finally got around to making some feather earrings as I blogged about a while back. There are often things I want to buy, but refuse to because I think “I can make that!”. It’s such a good feeling when I actually do it!  The pair pictured are for one of my dearest friends. She made the painting that the earrings are photographed with!

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Have you been working on any summer projects? I would love to hear about them. In the meantime enjoy the sunshine and I will be back soon with some new announcements.

Accomplishment

This has been a lovely summer hasn’t it? It’s flown by, but I’m trying not to think about that too much. I know it’s been good because I occasionally let myself bask in a few giddy moments of anticipating Fall. This week I finally got into something of a regular writing routine. It makes me feel so good when I finally start doing some of the things I constantly long to do, but for some reason don’t. Self discipline is not one of my strong points, but I’m working on it.

I’m not sure where I originally came upon the photo above so forgive my lack of source. I think its from a Toast catalog. It’s not far from what I imagine heaven will look like.

How have you been spending your summer? I hope you have managed a lazy day here and there. Maybe even a few hours spent in the hammock…

Gypsy Summer Dreaming

Another chilly rainy day and I truly begin to worry that summer has forgotten my corner of the world this year.

Sometime in July my guy and I are planning a little road trip to California. We have talked about visiting the Redwood Forest for years and now we are finally hoping to do it. There are many sites we plan to see: Winchester Mystery House, Hearst Castle, San Fransisco, and maybe Napa Valley. I’m very excited and I really hope I will find some sunshine there.

Something I have found in the meantime is Aida Coronado. Every single item in this shop is an outfit of my dreams. Oh how I would love to be cruising along on the Pacific Coast Highway wearing any of these.

{all images via Aida Coronado}

Forget~Me~Not

{all images property of Gypsea Tree}

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If flowers don’t quite suite your fancy at the moment, stroll over this way for some chandeliers and corsetry…

Weekend

(click to view larger image)

It has been raining constantly. It’s beginning to feel like it’s been forever. Of course, it’s also what makes the Pacific Northwest so unbelievably green. On those precious days when the sun does come out it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Hopefully we will see more of that ahead. I’m afraid the summer might skip us altogether…

Thank you for your feedback on my last post. Going forward I plan to reply to your comments here in the comments section. I will, of course, still be visiting and commenting at your blogs as well.

Here are a few photos I took a few weeks ago while experimenting with my little camera. I’m trying to get in the habit of doing this more often. It’s so much fun and I’m learning so much whenever I take the time.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

{all images property of Gypsea Tree}

Etiquette for Bloggers: the Question of Good Manners in a Virtual World

I have been planning on writing this post for ages. Maybe longer…

The Question: “What are proper manners when it comes to blogging?”

I’m not generally one to concern myself much over being “proper”, but it seems that some general guidelines in the blogosphere can define the difference between a successful  blog and a forgettable one. I have gone back and forth since I started Gypsea Tree as to the best way to respond to comments. Below are the three different options I have taken:

1. Respond to post comments with my own comment. The thing I like about this is that it feels more like the blog is providing a  discussion. To me a huge part of blogging is about creating communities and dialogue. Many of my favorite blogs start such great discussions  in the comment section that I will check back on posts I have already read simply to see the progression of the conversation.  I know that a lot of people leave comments and never return to them. That seems a bit like shouting out into the void and then forgetting all about what you said. What do you think?

2. Reciprocate a comment left on my blog by visiting the commenter’s blog and leaving a comment there. The upside to this is that every blogger craves comments so it’s a great way to return the favor. The downside is that there is no visible response on your blog and it looks like you are ignoring people. It also halts further discussion.

3. Send an email response. A while back I visited a blog that I only occasionally read. It’s a fairly big blog and gets quit a bit of traffic. The blog author responded to my comment with a short email and I thought it was the coolest thing! The fact that she took the time to do that impressed me as I didn’t expect any response. I love emailing reader’s at Gypsea Tree, but I mostly do this if they don’t have a blog I can respond at. (Although sometimes you all say such lovely things I want to send a little note either way!)

So what do you think? You are the Gypsea Tree readers and responders so it’s your opinion that matters to me! I would love to hear how other bloggers maintain their comments section.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts. For this post I will keep all responses here in the comment section.

{PS. Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes!}

Gypsy Flight

I curated my first treasury!

{Please view it here at Etsy!}

Like a Ghost

I’ve been very busy and working overtime this week so I can get off early on Friday for my birthday. I may be a little scarce for a bit, but I will be back soon! I hope you are all having a lovely week!

I’m a little obsessed with Etsy’s Treasury East. Isn’t this one beautiful?

{source}

Here Comes the Sun

A few days ago I was layering with wool sweaters. Today I could almost, almost get away with sandals. Oh Sunshine, please stay here for a while!

I get a strange delight out of taking pictures of the sun. It makes me feel as if I’m tricking the laws of nature because I don’t look at it while I’m taking the picture, but later I can stare directly at the image all I want and not worry about going blind or any of those other horrific things that can supposedly happen… I feel so clever!

Yesterday we ate dinner down by the water and I was happy to spend a little time in the sunshine afterward. I’m trying to remember to bring my camera with me more often.

I’m still constantly rocking back and forth between the elation of leaving my job for something new and the panic of venturing into the unknown.

Travel plans are in constant flux. I think we have decided we will have to rule New Zealand out for now as getting there is just too expensive. The last few days I’ve been thinking more and more about South America. I’m realizing that what I am needing now is someplace quiet. I don’t want to spend a lot of time in any major cities. Wild beaches and tropical jungles sound particularly appealing.

…But then again, who knows, tomorrow I may want to go to Paris!

The Curse of the Indecisive.

{all images property of Gypsea Tree}