Christmas recap

I love Christmas. Hands down...my favorite holiday. As I previously posted, we are a family of tradition around Christmas...and I seriously love every minute of it. Adding my niece into the picture has only made Christmas that much more awesome.

She wasn't really sure what to do when we put her in my boots.

Caroline and Grandpa Pat

While she wasn't super into opening presents, she thoroughly enjoyed her new wagon that is small enough for her to push around. It has a bumper on the front, so she runs into things and then waits for someone to turn it for her to keep going. The dog is completely terrified of her...she ran over his paws and I think he is scarred. Once we took her outside to walk with it though, she was too distracted by everything else and ended up sitting in it while my brother pushed her.

Can't even handle the cuteness.

Enough baby talk though, even though she is completely awesome. My Christmas was fabulous...new clothes, cook books, fiance got me a Kindle Fire, my parents gave me a solid granite mortar and pestle. 

And as an early Christmas present to myself...I got my wedding shoes!!!! Long story short, they were on sale- however out of my size. Thanks to an amazzzing friend of mine who works at DSW, she was able to find my size- which is currently being shipped to Easton for her to pick up and send to me. I can not WAIT to see them in person!

As a reminder. These beauties!

Christmas traditions

Still no motivation. Damn week before Christmas. One more day of work. Heading back to Holmes County on Friday morning for a few days before heading back to Cle for Christmas at my brothers. Pretty excited to see my niece for her first Christmas also :)

Let's be honest. Complete adorable-ness.

I absolutely love Christmas traditions. We always cut down the tree on the 21st, put it up on the 22, lights on the 23 and decorated it on the 24. Mind you- then we left it up February March April. We always went to Christmas Eve mass as a family...came home from church and had sea food for dinner- shrimp, oysters, scallops, etc... Christmas morning we woke up, looked in our stockings, opened our gifts and had dough cakes (fried dough with butter and sugar- yes amazing) and italian sausage for breakfast, oh and mimosas. This has been the ongoing routine for as long as I can remember, and I love it.

But I can't help but be super excited for next Christmas already. I'll be married. The fiance will be the hubby...and we'll have our own place. And we'll be able to build our own traditions.

My current Christmas tree

Oh and have a much cooler tree than this.

Shit girls say

Today has just been one of those days. Actually, this week has been one of those weeks. You know, the one where we're ten days out from Christmas and everyone has completely shut down and trying to be productive is pretty much impossible? Yeah, those days. 

Thankfully between some pretty awesome co-workers making me laugh, an amazing fiance sending me goofy videos, and a non-stop flow of people coming to pick up gifts and free coats (nothing is more amazing than someone donating around 500 coats to us for our clients!), we've stayed busy.

But just wanted to share this little gem of awesome-ness in one video. Most of you will have probably seen it- it has been making the facebook rounds, but I love it anyway.

Especially because I'm known for saying half these things to the boyfriend fiance. 

"Babe, can you do me a favor? Are you by a computer? Listen, listen, listen."

My love affair with shoes

I'm not really a huge shoe girl- never really have been. I tend to live in flip flops or tennis shoes. For work, I stick to flats. I'll admit to a mild-obsession with boots. 

And this is what I'm currently in love with.
WANT NEED these Steve Madden boots!

My most recent purchase- who knew Avon carried super cute clothes/boots?

But heels...KILL me. Literally, I cannot spend an entire day wearing heels. If I have to wear them to work for some reason, I'll bring a pair of flats to wear when I don't need to appear tall/professional. When I'm dressed up, say for the 8 weddings I went to this summer, heels would make an appearance- with the flip flops hiding in my purse for when I couldn't handle it anymore.

However with wedding planning and dress shopping and wedding blogging, etc...I have come across some drool worthy heels. Gorgeous, beautiful, amazing heels that would look absolutely killer with my wedding dress, and so completely amazing in photos...

I mean look at these- gorgeous! and I would be in serious pain before I made it down the aisle.
Shoe 1 (thank you pinterest!), Shoe 2, Shoe 3 (don't worry- my Badgley Mischka obsession will be back)

...And that I would die in. So even though I drool over high heels- I know it is impractical, and that flats or very low wedges would make for perfect wedding shoes for me.

Enter the Badgely Mischka Dasher flat. 

I. Am. In. Love.
Like truly, madly, deeply in love (yes I am quoting Savage Garden)

However...I have never, ever spent $120 on a pair of shoes in my life. But they are so pretty. And they would match perfectly (champagne is an accent color). And they are flat. And so pretty.

*Sigh* time to start asking for DSW gift cards for Christmas!

Dumb Fun for the Holidays. Cheap Gifts Guaranteed to get a Giggle.

I know not everyone loves a gag gift or novelty gift. But for those who do, you need not look further than Stupid.com.

Wellies, Cowboy Boot & Suede Ugg stockings
Why hang the typical Christmas stockings on the mantel when you can personalize the tradition with either Wellies, Cowboy Boots or Suede Uggs instead? These 'stockings' are great for the Seattlean (or Brit), The Two-stepper or the trendy Los Angeleno:

Made of sturdy and high quality fabric these stylish Christmas Boot Stockings measure approx. 19" tall x 15" wide. $14.99 each. Buy them here

"I Still Have The Receipt" Bow and Ribbon
Did you take a risk with that gift? Are you fairly certain the recipient will be disappointed? Then spare them embarrassment by wrapping it with these ribbons and bows on which are printed "I still have the receipt."

$3.99 buy them here

Glitter Bacon Ornament
What Christmas Tree would be complete without a sparkly glitter Bacon ornament? For the pork-lover in your life:

$15.99, buy it here

Jeez-its Sticky Notes
Nothing like a religious reminder to keep you organized. The Jeez-its Sticky Notes come in a colorful little book and ask WWJD?

$6.49, buy them here

Hanukkah Candy Canes
Everyone likes Candy canes (even us Jews), so here's some Chanukah Canes:

The Hanukkah Candy Canes are peppermint flavored and $7.95 a box, buy them here

Bacon Candy Canes
And some for the decidedly Non-Kosher crowd... Bacon Flavored Candy Canes!

$7.49 a box, buy them here

Pooping Moose Christmas Sweaters
Holiday Sweaters are awful to begin with, so why not just go for it and rock the Pooping Moose Holiday Sweaters?

On sale right now for $27.99, buy them here

Santa Claus Beard Beanie
Keep your head and your face warm with the wool and acrylic knit santa hat complete with beard and stache:

$29.99, buy it here


Stupid.com carries tons of other stocking stuffers and holiday gifts, be sure to check them out.

Sound You Can See. Transparent Speakers From People People of Stockholm.

A well established definition of sustainability is to satisfy the needs of people, planet and profit. This speaker design by Stockholm design group People People tries to accomplish exactly that.



The transparent design lets the speaker blend in to any living room out there. The size can be big enough to offer a good sound quality, yet the speaker takes little visible space. The box is transparent, but the sound creating components are clearly emphasized.




The speakers come with a small rechargeable WiFi antenna that plugs into any headphone socket. It can plug in to any computer, music player or smart phone out there. It will also work for old stereos or vinyl equipment. The aim is to set the music free regardless where it’s stored.



The speaker is then assembled at home, IKEA style. This also means that the components that breaks first (the rubber ring and the speaker cone) can be easily replaced, keeping the product away from any landfill.



Being big is good for sound quality, but not so good for shipping. Any other speaker will ship a lot of air around the globe before ending up in your living room. This speaker ships in a small, flat package that goes in through your mailbox. The glass sheets making up the box is being ordered through the glass repair shop closest to every single customer. In that way the speaker reduces shipping with up to 90%, and supports local handicraft in one go. A very economical and ecological solution.


all information and images courtesy of people people

The speaker is still under development, and not available for purchase yet. If you are interested you can drop a mail to speaker@peoplepeople.se and we will keep you posted on the progress.

People People

Beth Katleman's Folly. Three Dimensional Ceramic Toile Wallpaper Installations.

“Folly” is a three-dimensional rendering of traditional Toile de Jouy wallpaper by artist Beth Katleman. On close inspection, the elegant, Asian-inspired pavilions that comprise the landscape of “Folly” are populated with kitschy figures, cast in ceramic, from popular culture.





The artist created 12 separate installations of Folly, the first of which sold for $200,000 through Todd Merrill Studio Contemporary to a private Australian collector in 2010.



As Katleman, shown above in front of one of her Folly installations, explains:
“I have long been fascinated by Toile de Jouy, the printed fabrics that drape the walls and beds of 18th century France. Peasants cavort in bucolic landscapes decked out with flowers, all in the shadow of classical ruins. There is something surreal about these scenes, which float, disembodied in a world without gravity. I love the contrast between the ornate sensuality and frivolity of the scenes, and the incongruous setting. Often the 2nd and 3rd generation knock‐offs catch my eye, especially those that project a sense of optimism, as though they long for a grander existence”








In Miami, Folly was installed on a Royal blue painted wall instead of the Wedgewood blue seen at both the Greenwich House's Jane Hartsook Gallery and Todd Merill Studio Contemporary.




"Folly" has received recent coverage in The New York Times, The Art Economist, The Art Newspaper, Ceramics Art and Perception, France’s La Tribune, Shanghai’s Grand Design and Taiwan’s Cacao. “Folly” was exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York in the Fall of 2011 and will be on view at The National Trust in the U.K at Claydon House in 2012.

Materials: Porcelain, wire, steel rods and heat-shrink tubing
Dimensions: 192" W x 108" H x 11"D (487cm W x 274cm H x 28cm )

images and info courtesy of Jane Hartsook Gallery, Todd Merill Studio Contemporary and Go Ceramics!