"Rain Drop Stripe Long Zipper Pouch" by MadameCupcake
Not exactly the same pattern, but really similiar, I am now the proud owner of my own multi-colored rain drop pouch. Hubbers seemed dubious of my "need" for a "another" pouch, but I assured him - DON"T WORRY - a packrat lady can never have too many.
I also received this sweet necklace. I love fleurfatale's shop (which is in vacation mode now, but be sure to sign up to receive notification when it reopens on January 2nd)! So many pretty things to browse.
Anyway, sorry to get all braggy on you. I was so touched by the serious amount of effort the hubbers went to this year, and that he helped me to support some wonderful independent artists.
I am a lucky, lucky girl.
{ what gave you that warm, glowy feeling inside this holiday? }
Christmas is always the best, when seen through the eyes of little ones.
Ours just happen to have fur.
Stockings, hung with care. (And homemade, too!)
Max opening her stocking.
(Not pictured: hubbers holding onto stocking so she doesn't take off with it.)
"omg what did we get???"
Why, mustaches of course!
( what else would Etsy claus really get you?)
\
Somebody played with her mustache too hard....
Conveniently, they also got brand new blankies from their "grandmeow."
Yep. We're "those" people.
{ how was your holiday? }
PS - I am super grumpy to be back at work, so cute kitten pics might be the only way I make it through today. Also, I am SO behind on blogs and I am SO SORRY. This is one of those horrid times of year to have my job. Sigh. Miss you!
But if I can make the wrapping a project unto itself, well, the crafty demon in me shouts with glee.
I wrapped my co-workers' treats in little muslin bags this year. It was fun to get all stampy with them. (And I think they turned out pretty cute. : P)
And with that in mind, I still have to wrap everyone else's gifts. Oh boy.
{ are you a "procrasti-santa"? (thank you jcpenny commercial!) ? }
It's all about the little things. I really need to come back to that philosophy.
Plus, great excuse to buy this sweet poster, amirite?
Focus on the time I have, not the time I wish I had.
"2011 desk calendar with maple base - original fine art photography - in stock, ready to ship" by shannonpix
Time to stop playing the "well, if" game. ("Well, if it weren't raining, I'd be taking shop photos." "Well, if traffic wasn't a B, I'd feel like cooking dinner." You get the picture.)
Speaking of pictures, you really must click the link above to see the gloriously happy photos in this calendar. Love!
Focus on organization. (Really. It's just pathetic at this point.)
"VIntage Mid-Century Turquoise LARGE Steel Drawer Cabinet" by Brooklynretro
I am very lucky to have a room to devote to my crafty shenanigans. And it. Is. A disaster. I can't quite seem to tame all the stuff that's ended up in there. And it's unforgivabley wasteful. So yeah, that ends soon. Plus, I can score some new awesome organizables. Yesssss!
I'm pretty ashamed of the kinds of foods I've ingested lately. Over the last year, it's been a steady, downhill slide, and cooking has completely fallen to the wayside. It's pretty silly to have large kitchen, and not cook in it, isn't it?
Anyway, that's where I am for my New Year's attitude. Time to get to work!
On Sunday the hubbers and I met my cousin, his wife and their adorable little munchkin ( who was dressed up as a dragon! ), at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium for......
ZOOLIGHTS!
I've never been before, so I was pretty hyper excited.
(I really like the way the light is bouncing off the tree.)
Aquarium!
Walruses!
(Walrusi? Walri? We never did figure that out.)
Looking out across the park.
Ah, who could forget the Christmas Musk Ox?
The kittens were sick all weekend (better now, thank jeebus),
Maybe it's because we can't put ornaments on our tree this year, or the parade of humbugs and grinches that fill my days, but I've somehow lost my jolly way.
No worries. I'll just have to make a selection from my guarenteed, sure-fire, Christmas-spirit inducing movie picks.....
1. ElfSeriously? Do I need to extoll the virtues of this instant Christmas classic?
"Watch out! The yellow ones don't stop!"
Mutiple viewings required.
2. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
If that image doesn't stir your curiousity, then well, I'm afraid there's no hope for you, my friend.
3. Just Friends
I. Love. Ana Farris. This might be the funniest and most ludicrous role she's played, but dang nabit, she totally steals the picture. (Yes, even from Ryan "Ab-y McAbsalot" Reynolds.)
4. Home the for Holidays
This is really a Thanksgiving movie, but if you failed and forgot to watch it this year, it will do the trick. Wtty, painfully accurate and a smidge poignant. Plus, a young Robert Downey Jr? Win.
5. Home Alone
Already seen it once, plan to watch it again. The classics never die.
6. Love, Actually
I don't know why British accents always make me think "Christmas!" but they do.
7. Sleepless in Seattle
Come to think of it, a bunch of Meg Ryan movies make me feel all Christmas-y inside (weird) but this one the most. I love the Carly Simon version of "In the wee small hours" from this scene.
8. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
This is my neighbor's house! In fact, I have no idea how that alone hasn't put me in the right frame of mind. My favorite part is the squirrel in the Christmas tree.
9. About A Boy
See? Another London-set movie. Weird. I think this mostly does it for me because of the strange little, made up Christmas song. Which gets stuck in my head...
10. Die Hard
How did I not know this shirt existed til now??? This would have been a superb gift for the hubbers. Sigh. This is a tradition carried over from his family, so now every year we see it on Christmas Day. (Never mind I had never actually SEEN Die Hard until Christmas 2008. Don't judge me.)
Whew. I feel better already.
{ what's your favorite holiday movie? }
Pssst! Sorry for the freaking HORRIBLE formatting. I'm about to go all murdery on blogger.
Standing in line at the post office for 40 minutes yesterday made me realize:
whoa - christmas is almost here!
Etsy recently launched a new aspect of their search feature that should save you lots of stress and time.
You've always had the ability to pull shops local to your area, but now you can search for specific items within your desired city, state, province, district, planetery realm, and what have you.
Allow me to illustrate:
Let's say I want to find a badger-themed gift here in Seattle.
I simply type "badger" in the search box, and then click this handy little link to right called "Shop Local" and *poof!*, I'm left with Seattle-only badgers!
Think of how quickly something purchased within your same city might arrive at it's destination (thus extending your procrastination period)? You might even be able to pick it up from your local seller!
But wait, there's more.
Let's say my badger recipient does not live in the same city as me, but I've still wasted oodles of time on youtube and googling "how to report a power outage."
Well,
You can simply change the location to a city local to your recipient! Same theory applies: the closer the seller, the quicker the shipping.
And voila! Holiday stress neutralized.
I guess we've run out the clock on gift guides this year. I just couldn't in good conscience be suggesting gifts from across the globe, when let's face it, the odds of it arriving in time for the holidays are dicey.
Plus, I think this new search feature is totally rad.
{ doesn't shopping local make you feel all warm + fuzzy inside? }
( I was going to go with a "blue" theme, but srsly do I need any more reason to be blue??)
{ how's winter treating you? }
Pssst! - we lost power at home, so I'm trying to play catch up, um now (at a totally not inappropriate time to do so...cough).so many blogs to read, so little electricity....
I'm not going to spoil this movie for you, as I really recommend going to see it. It's dark, at times disturbing, and intensely gripping. The way the story builds and pulls you in reminds me of the well-crafted psychological thrillers of days gone by (think Rosemary's Baby.)
And it's beautiful. Immersing us in the dance world, the film is heavily doused in whites, blacks and baby pinks. The story takes place largely on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a place where I've spent a great deal of time. Could this story have been playing out while I studied and goofed off across the street? Definitely added to the creepy factor for me.
If you're a fan of dark thrillers, I absolutely recommend seeing this.
My dear friend Monica recently sent in a wwKw request for these cute shoes. She wanted some suggestions as to how to wear them with her more casual wardrobe. (did you know Polyvore has backgrounds? weird ones? i had a little too much fun yesterday....)
Since I completely failed last week, I'm bringing you a special bonus day of fashion!
My lovely friend Tania, sent me this request:
"i'm looking for the RADDEST pair of black motocycle boots, flats. i wanna pair them with everything from a sparkly mini to girly dresses to jeans and a tee. so. make it happen."