it is coming

Lately I have been eating, breathing, and sleeping work. I fall asleep thinking about jewelry design and wake up in a hurry to get to the bus on time to make it to my day job, which has been really demanding lately, too. So I'm here today to share with you some of my thoughts about what I'll be doing over my Christmas holidays.

While visiting my family and friends, I plan to spend lots of time outside (no matter how cold it is, and I imagine it will be very cold). I would really like to visit the migratory bird sanctuary that I used to work at, as I've been trying to get back there for the last couple of Christmas vacations, only to have everything else make that all but impossible. Maybe since Jamie and Carrah live on that side of the city we can all go there together this year.

I would also love to walk in Weaselhead, which is close to my parent's house. Last year I did a small post with some of my photos from our afternoon there. It is definitely my favourite park in Calgary.

And, finally, I am sooooooo looking forward to sitting on some couches, eating food and drinking giant cups of coffee. I will likely spend some time on Jill's, Heather's, Jenn's, and my parents' couches, to name just a few. In fact, I'll pretty much go anywhere where I can hang out on a couch and enjoy doing almost nothing. Doing absolutely nothing is just not in my nature.

The countdown is on. Just one week until winter vacation. In the meantime, Jeff will keep delivering Vancouver's mail, I'll be happily making jewelry every night and getting stuff done at work every day, and Lola will continue to sleep 22.5 hours a day. After all, we all have to earn this little break, right?

P.S. The great irony of running an online shop around Christmas is how much time I spend helping other people get ready (gladly helping them, no less), while my own preparations lag further and further behind! I think I might be sending out some IOUs this year!

P.P.S. If you'd like your Sadie package to arrive before Christmas today is the day to get your order in, friends!

a few new things...

I wanted to share with you some of the new things that I've been working on as I'm getting ready for holiday craft fairs and online shop updates. All of these pieces are available in the Sadie shop (don't forget to use coupon code: GOLOLAGO for free international shipping). Some of my new favourites stones are featured in these pieces: pink jasper, aquamarine, and tiny raw peacock ore nuggets. I've also been making more pieces using vintage chains and have been hammering lots of brass, much to the dismay of my neighbours, I'm sure.

If you're in Vancouver and can make it to Portobello West at the end of November or Got Craft? on the Drive on the first Sunday in December, I'll see you there! My next big project is making swag for the Got Craft? show. I'll share my project as it progresses...first I have to get the supplies in the mail! Have a great weekend, everyone. Lola has her surgery tomorrow. We really appreciate all of your encouraging comments!

christmas past

My family and I are all originally from Nova Scotia, so I thought I'd share some photos from past Christmas times tell a little family story. The top picture of the pony and sleigh is a picture of my mom, my grandmother and Charlie Norris who my mom says was from "up above us"...that must mean he lived on a hill above my grandmother's farm in rural eastern Nova Scotia. Not exactly a Christmas picture, but what a fun thing to do. My mom thinks that was their pony, Tammy, who had a sweet tooth. The sugar maple in the front yard was tapped and this horse would drink all of the syrup from the buckets before they would get to it. It was also a "miserable damn thing"...a biter. So you see, idyllic as this picture might appear, that there is a horse that would drink all of your maple syrup and then finish up by chomping on your hand.

This next picture is my mom and I sorting presents on my grandmother's kitchen floor. That's an oil stove in the background that keeps the kitchen toasty and is the main reason that this is the central gathering room in my grandmother's house. You can tell it's an old photo, not just from the rounded corners and colours, but from that cat-choking tinsel that's dripping off the branches of that tree. We were always allowed to open one present on Christmas eve, and it was usually a stuffed animal when we were little kids. They gave us something to cuddle when we were too excited to sleep.

This last photo I've had to ask for my mom's help with, because the story is pretty weird...like a lot of stories from my family. That's my uncle on the far right, and as you can see, he's about to pass a bowl of something or other around to everyone at the Christmas dinner table. Now the story goes, he passes the bowl and everyone else at the table dies. I mean, it's not so dramatic, it takes ten years or so for them to all pass away, but they do. Every one of them except my uncle (that's my grandfather, great grandfather, and my great uncle Johnny from left to right). So, my mother asks, what was in that bowl? 

I love looking through these old photos and having the chance to ask my mom about them. There are lots of amazing photos from her side of the family that she has unearthed over the years, and I'm glad she's got stories to tell about most everyone in them. Christmas at my grandmother's farm was always so nice. I got to talk to her yesterday, she's 91 and still on that same farm, sitting next to the oil stove in the kitchen. I hope she has a pretty tree set up and had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope the same for all of you. 

boxing day

source

This Rachel Whiteread piece in the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in London is one of my favourite installations that I saw while in London with art school buddies a few years ago. The boxes are all made of corrugated white plastic, and with the frigid English winter seeping in through the giant doors to the hall, it was easy to imagine that we were adrift on a sea of ice. 

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. Jeff and I have been playing games, eating a lot of sugar, and taking lots of naps. We even got a chance to go to a movie tonight, something we haven't been able to do in a loooooong time due to our move and school. So nice to finally relax with snow on the ground outside, tickets to a hockey game burning a hole in our pockets, and a trip to the mountains looming. 

And one last thing, my gosh, I can't imagine shopping right now, but I know it's a post-Christmas tradition, so I'm having a one-day-only sale in the Sadie shop tomorrow for Boxing Day. Coupon code "PUNCHOUT" will get you 20% off all day! Any orders will ship early in the New Year! Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

happy holidays

I am homeward bound tomorrow. 4:30AM wake-up call and a Calgary breakfast date that I am very excited about! Not to mention family time, being home for the first time in a year, and meeting my friend Heather's adorable new son. Happy eating, gifting, and merry-making, everyone!

guilty pleasure: elf

Things are coming together nicely at our new apartment (thanks to many helpful people who sacrificed Sunday morning and maybe a pair of pants to get us moved), but I'm not quite ready to share any pictures yet. However, I thought I'd catch the Guilty Pleasure Movie Club postings up by mentioning that last week we had our Christmas extravaganza. Candy cane cookies, rice krispie squares, delicious soup, bread and cheese, and two different salads made for one of the more delicious dinners we've had (still thinking about "country" dinner, though...). And the movie, a unanimous pick by the whole group, Elf. It's definitely a must-watch for me and has surpassed National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation as my favourite Christmas movie...well, almost.

I know you've all seen Elf before, but watching this clip will make you smile even if you just watched it yesterday. I feel like I could put up almost any piece of Elf and it would be awesome. Here's another favourite:

And, should you somehow have not seen the entire movie, here's a trailer to convince you to go check it out right now!

When I first saw this movie with Jeff and our friends Matt and Jill we all laughed so hard we cried. I think of that original viewing and Jill and Matt every time Jeff and I watch this. It's become a movie that I love watching and that makes me think of the good times I've had watching it...including the last Guilty Pleasure Movie Club of 2010. Well, time to unpack some more and watch another of my favourite Christmas movies: Die Hard. I'll be posting some new stuff in the Sadie shop in the next couple of days and then will be heading off to visit my family over the holidays! Can't wait for snow and mountains and my mom's baking!

By the way, did anyone see the winter solstice total lunar eclipse tonight?

bright lights

meat, cheese, and ornaments at granville island

Our apartment is all packed up, my school work is coming along, and I can't wait until, say, Tuesday, when a lot of the stuff I've been working on is complete and I've spent a couple of nights in my new apartment. I'm going to miss a lot about our current place: the dishwasher, in suite laundry, underground parking, a big storage unit, our bbq (goodbye, good friend!), and being a two minute walk from my community garden plot BUT... Our new place is pretty great. I'm looking forward to downsizing our possessions, putting our art on the walls at the new place, exploring a new neighbourhood, and meeting all of the dogs that call our new building home. I'm also excited to live in a place with lighter coloured hardwood and bigger windows and built-in bookcases. Moving helpers have been recruited, school stuff is almost at a point where I can believe it's all possible, and Christmas is really, really close! Can't wait to reconnect with friends in Calgary, see my family, and relax for a week or so. Luckily I had to take a walk yesterday to find some supplies for one of my projects, so here are some photos from that. Lola is a bit unsure about cameras and all of the boxes in our place right now. Okay. See you on the other side of all this madness. Taking a deep breath now...

How do you relax when life gets a little crazy?

let's go for a walk...

The nice thing about the big school project that I'm working on right now is that it's all about walking, which means I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't get out on walks regularly to break up my writing and researching. Though I've mostly been spending my hours in a pile of papers and books on the couch while Jeff packs the house up around me, I have been trying to go outside and enjoy these nice winter days, too. And, of course, my dog Lola wouldn't have it any other way. This is a photo I took while on a research mission the other day. Those are snowberry bushes in the foreground, probably my favourite Vancouver winter plant. 

Oh, and Jeff found Vancouver's real candy cane lane: the Trinity Street Light Festival in East Van. We passed it tonight and it was pretty impressive. I think there was a clear winner with a lot of amazing runners up. Go check it out if you have a chance! It would be a great place for a night time walk, and since night starts at about 3:30pm these days, you have lots of time before or after dinner to get over there.

granville island after dark

Living in Vancouver, where it rarely snows, I find myself seeking out holiday spirit in other forms: namely baked goods, perhaps a little retail therapy, and lawn decorations and Christmas lights! In our recent travels around the city Jeff and I have encountered a gingerbread house someone skillfully constructed on their front lawn, a motorcycle-riding Santa perched atop a garden archway in East Van, and, of course, every day we look at the traffic circle down the street that's been decorated with every manner of white hula hoop, plastic snowflake, and crystal globe. (A holiday-minded neighbour makes sure that traffic circle gleefully expresses whatever special day might be coming up on the calendar.) The traffic circle looks great. In fact, a news team even shot a segment there and I can heartily recommend that they return at any time of the year to see what expressive use that traffic circle will be put to in the future. 

To my mind, the best place to find Christmas spirit in Vancouver is Granville Island...at night. It is beautiful and inhabited almost entirely by people wandering home from Christmas parties. You have great views of the city, False Creek, and the bridges, but you also get to see things like cement mixers all gussied up for Santa. A few of my favourite shots of Granville Island at night are included in this post. If you have the chance, you really should go. (Of course, if you go during the day you could probably get most of your shopping and baked goods eating done, too.) Where are the holidays best expressed in your city? Do you decorate your lawn, balcony or local traffic circle?

Finally, I'd just like to extend a quick welcome to everyone visiting from Lune Vintage. Happy holidays, everyone! Now back to that paper...

d.i.y. gift guide

So, after saying I'd just be too busy to keep up with posts here, I had an idea that I thought was best suited to getting out there now, rather than later. So, here it is, fresh finds (I hope some of them are new to you) for d.i.y. holiday gift ideas. I know some people like to shop till they drop this time of year, but for others it's a chance to make things by hand (and on a budget). Here are some homemade gift ideas that I think will make you look really thoughtful AND talented. And they're relatively easy, depending on what you have a talent for, so just making something already!

photo from Lune Vintage

Let's start with this tutorial to make a tassel necklace with Lune Vintage. So easy and awesome. I was at Dressew earlier this week and found a beautiful piece of navy leather in their giant leather scrap bin and made one for myself. It's going to be my new keychain, but I think the necklace idea is pretty swell too. The rest of the leather that I have leftover is for a project I'm hoping to get my mom's help with when I go home for Christmas (look out!). Follow the link above for a complete and very easy how-to guide on Lune.

Next up, make your own terrarium with instructions from Make Something. These look like really well laid out, easy to follow instructions, and we all know that terrariums are super hot right now. Perfect for those balcony-less apartments (just like the one I'm about to move into).

photo from make something

I feel like a bit of a 70s theme is emerging, so I won't encourage you to make a macrame plant hanger, but rather suggest the Delores Park cowl from Six One Seven. Super easy if you're not an advanced knitter. Circular needles are an easy way to start knitting in the round, and this pattern just uses really simple stitches and chunky yarn, which means you shouldn't still be working on this one come next Christmas.

Finally, if it's deliciousness you're after, need you go any further than Martha? (And I do like to believe we're on a first name basis.) If you can somehow still find peaches, this rosemary peach jam (which has been renamed "dignified fun" in our house) is amazing. It goes with every kind of cheese that you can think of and is pretty easy to make. For something a bit more seasonal, I've made these hazelnut-espresso cookies before and they are disgusting! Just kidding! They're amazing and they're a great pick-me-up during finals studying. Oh yeah, school...back to that.

Enjoy this extra-long, extra-amazing song by Sufjan Stevens while you get to work on your Christmas projects. When you've listened to both parts you're half an hour in...and you won't even notice the time going by! I think I might have to make those espresso cookies this afternoon.