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!

all I want for christmas...

It's been a long time since I put together a list of my favourite handmade objects and 'tis the season to talk about things we want and drop helpful, blatant hints, so here are mine (a little late, I know...). A limited edition gold leafed ceramic tray by upintheairsomewhere? Yes, please. A big, pretty much ideal Forestbound leather bag. Forestbound leads in perfectly to Foret, my favourite scent from OLO (inspired by all of the forests the maker has visited). A BFF necklace that I'd be psyched to have half of, made by In God We Trust. (I'm dying to see their "Heathers" series...I wonder which quotes they chose.) And finally, hand-painted silk and cotton scarf from Scarfshop's Holiday Shimmer collection. I'd definitely choose the gold one (to go with my platter...).

I have a bit of a tough time with the whole insanely commercial side of the holidays, but I think shopping handmade makes it all feel a little better. Rest assured, any purchase that you've made from a small business person has been greatly appreciated this holiday season. I have been very busy making, packaging, and shipping jewelry lately and I am thankful for each and every order. I love seeing all of the different addresses that my work is headed off to and appreciate it whenever a customer sends me a nice comment when they place their order or receive their package. It's amazing to be part of the process of getting the perfect gift to a special person. Thank you all so much for your support this year! 

What's on your handmade wishlist? Leave me a link if you have a post to share!

gold zag tray by upintheairsomewhere

ashcroft leather carryall by forestbound

OLO fragrance

best fuckin' friends necklace by IN GOD WE TRUST

holiday shimmer collection by Scarfshop

a few new things...

This weekend I'm updating the shop with some new pieces. Among them: cave explorers, rutilated quartz necklaces (one of my all time favourite stones), new pendulum pieces, and a few new vintage paddle necklaces like the one in the middle. I've taken and edited all of the close up shots, tomorrow I'll take a few more of each piece and get the listings up. There's still time to get your order in before Christmas!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend and perhaps hitting up a craft fair or two to support your local makers! Jeff and I spent a lot of the afternoon in Point Roberts, Washington, waiting in various lineups to get American Sadie orders mailed out, pick up some Christmas packages, and take advantage of cheap American gas prices. Not the most exciting afternoon, but we got a lot done. Tonight we're going to our first Christmas party. I'm hoping for shortbread and glogg. Happy weekend, everyone!

ocean

Although I often talk about home being Calgary, I'm actually from the far east coast of Canada (not the farthest, mind you). My hometown is Halifax, Nova Scotia, and recently I've been able to make it back more often than in the past. It helps that my sister lives there now, as does my dad, and my 92 year old grandmother that I've written about before also lives in there on a farm she's been at since she was about two years old. So the draw of close family is strong.

Halifax is also an amazing little city. It has a whole bunch of universities and with thousands of students living there it's got a pretty great arts and culture scene, some decent restaurants, and perhaps best of all, practically nowhere to buy expensive things. I love that!

So, though I grew up in Calgary during junior high and high school, Halifax, slumping down to the Atlantic Ocean, is still home. And while I lived in Calgary, my dad lived in Mississippi or England, so I've had bedrooms next to both sides of the Atlantic and along the Gulf of Mexico.

I would love to go back to Mississippi, as my sister has been lucky enough to do a few times, but I know that everything has changed since I was last there. We lived right on the coast in a little place called Pass Christian, and nothing was left in the wake of Katrina. Well, some cement ("see-ment"?) pads and pool copings, but that's about it. My dad had already moved to England years before, so the foundations that are left were no longer ours when Katrina hit, outside of the memories that all of the images of the devastated coast brought back.

And now I live by the Pacific, which is not at all like the Atlantic. In Vancouver we're protected by Vancouver Island, which means we rarely see waves. The ocean laps the beaches here, at best, but I still appreciate the way it changes every day. You'd never know that the two images of the ocean from this post and one a couple of days ago were taken at almost the same spot. Today was warm-ish and bright and sunny and I discovered a beach by my office that I never knew about before. It's for dogs, but I still like it.

I think it might be hard to ever go back to living land-locked...but then again, the Rockies are pretty spectacular. What kind of natural places do you visit in your part of the world?

vancouver in december

Vancouver turns into a magical city this time of year. All of the major downtown streets are strung with twinkle lights and there are even more people bustling around downtown than usual. We have a very vibrant, busy downtown here, owing to the fact that many thousands of people live on the downtown peninsula, a condition not very common in North American cities. All of those downtown residents mean busy streets 24/7. It makes our little city feel like a much bigger one, if you ask me.

I'm looking forward to doing some holiday shopping in Gastown (seen above in the drizzle last night) and having dinner in a couple of my favourite restaurants this month. Jeff will be finished his exams this week and I'll have all of my craft fairs behind me and online orders shipped in time for Christmas. There are a few exciting pop up shops that I want to check out, and some places that I always stop by this time of the year, like Old Faithful.

I'm excited to bake some cookies, finish unpacking, and head away on Christmas vacation to see most of my family. What's on your holiday to do list? Do you have any travel plans?