Couture du Jour: Momma to Be

Oh Baby Maternity Dress shabby apple $85

Foundation Necklace urbanlegend $25

Leather Clutch TheFigLead $35

Brandy Bow Flat Payless $26

Killing by Keyboards

Don't worry, no one actually dies in my blog post today. It's not really about killing with a keyboard. It's just a metaphor, but a good one. What I am talking about today is security and social networking. I chatted with a few of you on Twitter and Facebook (ironically enough) about this last Friday and thought this was a better venue to expand upon and continue that discussion.

So, who knows what OPSEC is? Any of you involved with the military will, but for everyone else, it simply means Operations Security. Yes, it's a military term, but one that applies to us all in a way when we put ourselves out there in today's social networking arenas. I attended a class on the base here last Friday about this very topic, and while it was directed more toward protecting Soldiers and the security of their missions, it also addressed personal safety, identity theft and other things that affect us all.

Who else struggles with the dilemma of how much is too much when it comes to public sharing? For those of us with an online business, this is an especially difficult area. I have found that a huge part of being successful as a handmade artist comes from letting others know that you are a real person, just like them. The more someone can relate to you, the better they will feel about supporting you. We're human, we want to be social, we want to connect. It's simply our nature. If a huge chunk of the population didn't find joy in sharing and reading about the trivial things we do all day, Twitter and Facebook would not exist. Instead they grow by leaps and bounds everyday.

I was always a little hesitant about sharing very personal information, particularly here on my blog. Not necessarily because of security concerns (though I do always think about that), but just because it felt awkward at first. During the time my father was sick, I broke through that wall. Anyone else who ever has will probably attest to the fact that it makes a huge difference in the connection you have with the people you share with. It's an amazing support system, for one, even if virtual. For those of us who work from home and do not get out much, virtual friends are our lives. We don't pick up the phone and chat, we chat online. Same thing, different venue.

If I don't visit Twitter and Facebook at least a few times a day, I feel more alone than when I do. Is that weird or is that normal in today's society?

So, you may be asking, what's you point? Let's get into the security of it. It doesn't take a class for someone to know that sharing personal information about yourself online can be dangerous to you and the people you associate with. We all know it, but how often do you actually think about it? In general, people tend to lean towards the 'It'll never happen to me' attitude about most things in life. Sit in any room, any where, with ten people and chances are at least one will have been a victim of identity theft. We make it so easy these days.

Think about what your Facebook profile alone tells someone. Chances are it tells your full name, married and maiden, your birthday, where you live, where you grew up, where you went to school, what year you graduated, who you are married to, maybe your kids names, maybe links to all your family members. No big deal, you say? It's all public knowledge, things people can find out other ways. Maybe, but you're putting it all in one easy place for them.

Someone looking to steal your identity has your name, they also have your birthday. Ok, but I didn't share the year, you think. Well, if you share where you went to high school and/or when you graduated, now they have it. If someone gets ahold of the last 4 digits of your social security number, they can get the first six based on where you are from, which you also told them, and when you were born, which they can figure out with the information you shared. That's just one way.

How about the Facebook facial recognition technology? If you tag someone in a photo, they ask if you'd like to automatically tag the same people later. What's the big deal with that? Facebook calls it convenient, I personally call it creepy. Facebook is essentially building a facial recognition database of several hundred million people, which will ultimately culminate in the ability to search for people just using a picture. Still not seeing how this could hurt you? Imagine a world in which someone can simply snap a photo of you of the street or in a crowd and learn everything about you on the internet.

How about geo-tagging? Do you know what that is? I honestly do not see why this was ever invented. Smartphones and some digital cameras now include tons of information with any photo they create, including a date and time and GPS coordinates of where a photo was taken. Snap a pic of your kids playing in the pool in your backyard, share it on Facebook or Twitter and now anyone who sees it can find out your exact location. Reading through a few posts on your page or checking out your linked spouses page will most likely let them know if you are home alone, what your schedule is, etc. Yes, bad people and criminals will always find a way to be criminals, but we are just making it so much easier for them.

Have you heard of Facebook pages being hacked? Do you know what it means? Basically what is happening is that a hacker is essentially copying an entire Facebook page and setting it up again, so you may have two or three pages out there and not even know it. This person will then friend request all your friends, who think it's you. They may wonder why you are sending a friend request again, but most won't even think about it since it looks like you. Might think it was just a glitch or you accidentally deleted them. The hacker now has access to all of your friends personal information, whether they have their pages locked down or not. Now if this happens to a friend of yours, some random hacker may now have access to all of your information, that you have locked down, without you even knowing. Privacy controls and security settings only keep honest people honest. Ultimately, the information is still out there.

Aside from these 'common' security issues, why am I so concerned about all of this? It's no secret that my husband is back in the Army, that we moved to North Carolina and that he's currently training. Some of you know more, a few of you know exactly what he is doing and the rest of you never will, hopefully. Not because I don't love you, but simply because I never want to be responsible for compromising the security of our nation. Extreme to think little old me and my little old blog could do that? Maybe, but it's true.

The majority of my friends, close friends, don't even know my husbands real, full name. Do an internet search for him and you will get absolutely nothing. Amazing, right? But ideal for his life and his job. If I share too much information, someone could easily learn the things we've been careful to keep secret. Not worth it. Will it be hard for me to keep it a secret when my husband is out training or deployed overseas and I'm alone and lonely, you bet your sweet ass. Will I though? You bet your sweet ass.

It's amazing the stupid things military wives post of their public Facebook pages. Entire units of troops scheduled to come home from a deployment have been grounded as they are about to step on a plane because one wife, in one city, posted the exact day, time and location that they were returning. And it's not just wives, the guys themselves do equally stupid things. Say a Soldier is overseas, maybe it's a semi-secretive mission or location, but they are allowed to have their personal cell phones. Sometimes even if they aren't allowed, they do anyways. The soldier takes a photo with his phone, texts it to his wife who the posts it on her Facebook page. In comes that geo-tagging I mentioned, Soldiers location now compromised, just like that.

Now with those things being said, chew on this. There is a Facebook page out there just for military wives. It's a nationwide thing, not just for one specific base, and is a venue for wives to ask questions, share experiences, help each other, etc. People post *a lot* of information on this page, thinking it's meant to be a helpful, useful site and that everyone involved is in the same situation. What the majority of people will never know is that the page is owned and administrated by a company is Southeast Asia. Why? Because it's easy, free intel. Can the average person find this out? Nope. How do I know and why do I believe it? Because very high up military security personnel told me so, and I believe them.

So, you're not a Soldier, you're not a military wife, all this still affects you. I'm not preaching to shut down your Facebook pages or stop tweeting. Lord knows I don't think I physically could (without the help of a 12 step program), but I'm just saying to stop and think before you click. You could not only be endangering yourself, but your family, your kids and all of your friends.

I'd love to hear what you all think about this topic, what your personal concerns are and if you are thinking differently about your social networking habits after reading this. Let's continue this discussion in the comments below!

Couture du Jour

Rally the Loops Dress ModCloth $89

Vintage Bangle Bracelet KatsJewelryBox $8

Urban Dandelion Handbag cayennepeppybags $65

Fish Bow Mary Janes endless $130

Couture du Jour: What I wore yesterday

Got It Parade Dress ModCloth $69

Farfalla Barette cookoorikoo $20

Tough Ruffles Shoulder Bag madebyhank SOLD!

Feeling Pine Flats ModCloth $39

…and an emerald green stone bracelet that my husband got me in Afghanistan!

Etsy Pets: Suki

Name: Suki

Owner: Alanna of Bobishi

Nicknames: Suki-La

Breed: Blue Point Mini Lop Bunny

Age: Five

Acquired: We got our beautiful fur baby from a breeder when she was 8 weeks old. We found her on an website where we bought her without seeing her. When we arrived at the breeder she was the most perfect tiny baby bunny you could ever meet :)

Favorite activities:

Because Suki is a house bunny she spends all her time with people:) Suki loves snuggling on the couch and taking turns exchanging bunny kisses for pats. She loves people who are "gentle patters" and feels very strongly about people who have dogs or children who may step on her mat! Suki loves nibbling, chewing and eating of any sort! When people come to visit we have to make sure all their stuff is off the ground or else they may just find the lovely Suki-La snuffling in their handbag looking for a stray receipt or other piece of delicious to nibble on:)

Suki also has what can only be described as a touch of OCD, she must smooth things and everything must be arranged as it pleases her:) My husband learnt very quickly that leaving your clothes on the floor wasn't an option with a house bunny around, unless you want extra air holes...

We live in Australia where it is illegal to vaccinate again Myxomatosis so Suki lives inside and on sunny days is free to go outside in the garden:) She loves the garden! So much delicious grass and places to hide. One of our proudest fur baby parent moments was when Suki dug a trench... not a hole, a trench under a bush for laying in.. This is where we see her enjoy herself the most:) She bounds and twirls in the grass, sprinting around at high speed, always checking to make sure someone is watching out for her.

If Suki could help with your shop, what would her job be?

She would love to arrange and organise the fabrics. She loves to smooth things and although she does love to organise, she could never be involved in packaging orders because she just finds envelopes way too delicious...

Tell us about your shop, Bobishi

Before we found our fur baby we lived in Japan for a year and on the super cold winter months I started sewing hand bags out of beautiful fabrics. I couldn't use them all! So when we got home I started selling them on etsy. At uni I studied industrial design so I now use those skills to create things I love for my etsy store. I love practising different skills and get a bored at creating the same thing over and over again so I don't focus on one product or technique in my etsy store. I figure if I love it someone else will too:) It is difficult to let go of many of the creations but I have to remember I can't keep everything!

Where do you and Suki call home?

Suki and I live with my husband on the Mornington Peninsula about an hour and a half outside of Melbourne. It is a summer holiday spot popular with city visitors, it is a little bit country, very beachy and close enough to the city to not be too inconvenient! Although Suki is an inside bunny she still loves living on the peninsula because she can play outside without the threat of cats, because there is a 24 hour cat curfew because of all the native animals.

Tell us about the first pet you ever had

The first pet I ever had was a cocker spaniel called Tara. She was very old when I was born but she looked super friendly in photos and my mum used to have to peg her ears together on top of her head when she ate:) The first pet I actually remember loving was our super cute Siamese cat Tyler:) He was a house cat, loveable but a little strange:) He hated new shoes and love to spend his evenings snuggling inside your sweater...

What animal does your personality most resemble and why?

I have aspects of bunny:) I share Suki's love for snuggling on the couch. Although she hates when I knit... I share her love for smoothing fabrics and we both love spending time in the garden, although I don't eat the foliage! I also share her love of routine and timelines. Suki knows at 7.00am its breakfast time and she will come and wake me up if I haven't got it for her! We both enjoy spending time with smaller groups of people and we both find thunder a bit unnerving:)

What is the best thing about being a pet parent?

Because bunnies live in groups Suki feels that someone needs to be on guard :) So when we are sleeping Suki sits on the end of the bed watching out for predators. It is nice to know that our beautiful fur baby feels such unconditional love for us humans that she is willing to stay up all night watching out:) I also love when her beautiful little face that comes to greet me every morning. I love to hear her run towards me grunting with happiness when we see each other after I have been at work or she has been napping.

You can keep up with Suki and Alanna by visiting her blog and following her on Twitter orFacebook.

Click here to meet more Etsy Pets!

Couture du Jour

Bon Voyage Dress Shabby Apple $78

Chiyogami Wood Bangle auryndesign $14

Vintage Macrame Clutch LetterKay $8.50

Open-Toe Wedge endless $80

Spotlight: db boutique

You all know that I love accessories, especially ones that look like flowers and come in all kinds of pretty colors! So it goes without saying that I love today's Spotlight artist, Stephanie of db boutique, and I think you will, too.

Tell us a bit about what you create
I create fabric flower accessories. My flowers range from everyday to glam, from babies to fashionistas, hostess gifts to custom bridal pieces. I make my flowers into headbands, corsages, hair clips and brooches.

Where are you from originally and where do you currently call home?
I grew up on the Southern Oregon coast and now live in Sacramento, California.

How long have you been selling on Etsy?
I began in November 2010.

Do you sell on Etsy full time or do you have a day job?
I do some part-time book keeping.

What made you decide to open up shop on Etsy?
I made a casual flower wrist corsage and got so many compliments that I decided to see if I could produce enough to open a shop. And I did! (I'd already been a long time fan of Etsy).

How did you come up with your shop name?
My shop is db boutique - the "db" stands for dinky bird. The Dinkybird is a poem by Eugene Field. My mom loved it, and as a child I memorized it. To me, the poem is all about the fancies of imagination - and that's what I feel when I'm designing - full of endless imagination!

What inspires you?
Nature, for sure. Also, customers that come to me with custom requests. They inspire me to think of color combinations or a design in a new way.

What do you like least about your craft?
The detail work (attaching the pins and clips). I love the designing part so much that that's all I want to do!

Do you have any advice for other sellers on Etsy or those thinking about pursuing their craft?
Research your product, know your materials, where to get them (keep good records), and keep track of your costs. try to find out as much as possible about who will be buying your stuff (your customer base).

Five Etsy Shops you love
Heathermurrayart - a great collage and paint artist
Staccato - beautiful stationary
Tumblefishstudio - another amazing artist
SalvagedbeautybyNM - great jewelry
Thefancylamb - cool vintage stuff, including repurposed vintage book journals

Five things you love
Books
Writing
Fabric
My family
Stinky Pete, our cat

Five things you dont
Bad attitudes
Relentless overcast skies (which, thankfully, isn't an issue in Sacramento)
Paying good money for bad food (we're foodies)
Traffic
Kim chee

Where is the coolest place you have ever been?
ha! We happen to be there right now (as of when I'm writing this). The Hyatt Grand Resort in Po'ipu on the island of Kaua'i. It's an incredibly relaxing, beautiful corner of paradise.

Share some of your guilty pleasures
Butterhorns, naps and long baths

Favorite junk food
Mint It's Its

Share some of your favorite music
Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie, Enya and The Shins

What does the future hold for you and your shop?
I hope to continue building my business, working with more customers to create the perfect flower for their prom, baby homecoming, wedding or special night out and expanding my designs and skills.

You can also keep up with Stephanie and her work by visiting her blog, stephanieboman.blogspot.com.

GIVEAWAY!

Stephanie is giving away the adorable Sunshine Yellow Organza flower shown above with your choice of a pin or alligator clip backing.

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
Please leave a comment on this post with your favorite piece from db boutique along with what you'd like to see more of — styles, colors, accessory type, etc!

You may enter once per day and YOU MUST INCLUDE your first name -AND- etsy username or email address with every entry. (If you are worried about email spam, you can spell out the 'at' and 'dot' rather than using the standard email format.)

Receive additional entries (one each) if you:

Follow or subscribe to this blog, my Twitter or my Facebook

Follow or subscribe to Stephanie's blog

(You DO NOT need to leave separate comments for additional entries, just list which apply)

You have until Sunday, July 31 at 10 pm (est) to enter and I will announce the winner Monday afternoon. Thanks for visiting!

Couture du Jour

Summer Garden Tank mtnlotus $50

Speakeasy Beer Quartz Necklace PoleStar $64

Appaloosa Cutout Sandals Anthropologie $99

Radiant Flower Printed Shorts LOFT $44

Peach Picks

Well hello there!

This summer has really kicked into high gear and seems to be moving at quite a clip! My boyfriend and I are all about taking full advantage of what the city has to offer (many things for free I might add!) this year. I thought I'd put together a little collection to inspire us all to get outside and get moving!

Hand Printed Bike Pint Glasses vital $35

Celebration Fine Art Photograph irenesuchocki $15

Vintage Breyer Horse Models ClassicObsessive $18

Fly by Kite Print Roadside $15

Folk Art Camper Birdhouse birdhouseaccents $55

Airplane Ring CreaShines $28

Vintage Sunglasses SmallEarthVintage $22

The Photographer Print teconlene $22

It'll be fall before we know it! Run! Go! Outside with you!

~ Peach

Couture du Jour

Printed Tie-Front Top Dillards $78

Vintage Lemon Ice Necklace kiamichi78 $17

Faithful Peep Toe Pumps endless $60

Discreet Designs Skirt Anthropologie $69

Are you Pinning?

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's basically a virtual bulletin board where people can 'pin' things they find around the interweb that they want to share with others. You can create multiple pinboards for different themes, or however you like to organize, and there's even a handy little Pin It bookmark you load that makes it all way too easy.

I'm not really sure how long it's been around, but as with most things, I think I'm a little late to the party. Regardless, I'm pinning now! (And it's kind of addicting…)

You can setup an account and create your own pinboards, as well as follow others whose pins will show up in a feed on your main page, or you can simply pop on to the Pinterest home page to browse around or search by subject, such as recipes, fashion or tutorials.

Chances are, once you start, you'll be hooked. I'm constantly amazed by the amount of beauty and creativity you can find online, and Pinterest is pretty much inspirational eye-candy overload.

You can check it out or request an invite here, and you can follow me or browse my personal pinboards here.

Happy pinning!

Couture du Jour

Who's the Bossa Nova Dress ModCloth $89

Butterfly Lace Necklace efratdeutsch $47

Patchwork Clutch iragrant $40

Heartful Wedge Sandal endless $39

Nissa Clothing Giveaway Winner!

A big thanks to Dale for being in the Spotlight last month and to all who stopped by to check out her interview.

Before I announce the giveaway winner, Dale is offering FREE SHIPPING in her shop through July 17 when you enter coupon code 070511 at checkout!

Now onto the giveaway winner…

Congratulations to ANGIE! She loves the Goldfinch Tee and would like to see more chocolate brown colors and tank tops in Dale's shop.

Thanks again for stopping by, keep your eye open for a new Spotlight interview next Monday!

Couture du Jour

Clarity Top modestmaven $56

Boardwalk Tour Wedge ModCloth $30

Window Box Barrette cookoorikoo $16

Linen Pedal Pushers Old Navy $26