merry christmas, everyone!

happiest of holidays to you and yours!  xoxooxox

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bagel boy.

this is not the bagel boy.  but by golly, it could be his brother.

there is a baker at our local bagel store who, i swear, looks uncannily like brad pitt, circa the 'true romance/thelma & louise era', but without the honey bear bong or the dopey drawl.  i keep joking to L that i am going to set him up with her - there is nothing better than an attractive man who bakes for a living.  (of course, the guy could be a reformed axe murderer for all i know.) every saturday, we see him, slaving over a hot oven.  however, today, he totally surprised me by giving the mini and i each a tiny little shortbread cookie with sprinkles on top for christmas!  how sweet is that!  although the holidays sometimes bring out the worse in people (yesterday, it seemed that the devil had possessed every person on the road, and we must have passed at least 4 car accidents on the way home), it is these small gestures that redeem humankind to me (of course, the dude's stunning baby blues, flour dusted apron, and tattooed forearms sure doesn't hurt any.  thank you, baby jesus.). 

happy christmas eve, everyone - and you too, bagel brad!

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winter rose.

the holiday season is definitely ramping up, but for us in the handmade business, fabrication and postal service limitations mean that our season is winding down. things are definitely much quieter in the shop these days, and the break is kind of nice. (it's really great to be able to browse with impunity!)

this morning i woke up to this lovely treasury by stacy from retromodernart. thank you stacy! these choices are definitely GORGEOUS!

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only 5 days to go!

fantastic washi tape from the lovely leboxboutique

it's crazy how fast the time just goes. i can't believe that it is only 5 days (well, even less now!) until christmas. and it is totally different when you have a kid - it gives you every excuse to pull out all the stops - and the cheesiest ones, of course.   my living room is strewn with wrapping paper and ribbon and glitter and tape, and i still haven't wrapped everything.  my fingers are raw and shredded from the acid bath and my sanding blocks as i get all the last minute jewelry orders out the door. my mastercard is straining from the financial burden i have suddenly piled on it. and my oven is constantly going with holiday baking.

it's a miracle that it all gets done - but the even bigger miracle is having all of these marvelous reasons to do it all.

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let it snow.

well, of course it is going to snow.  and there is nothing we can do to stop it.  but it IS really pretty.  and the holidays wouldn't be the holidays without a crisp white blanket of the fluffy goodness. 

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the itty bitty gift guide. part 3 & 4.

yes, i am on a rampage. i can't stop thinking of gift guides to make. plus with the plethora (yes, i used plethora in a sentence) of goodness out there on etsy, how can i not? enjoy!

(parts 5 and 6 to follow)

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the itty bitty gift guide. part 2.

the itty bitty gift guide part two - and definitely one of my favorites... inspired by a certain supernatural vampire wedding. (how could i let the release of 'breaking dawn' go by unnoticed?)

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the itty bitty gift guide. part 1.

t'is that time of year again... the snow will start to fall, the temperatures already have, and minds have turned to the thoughts of sugarplums and mistletoe. so, in honour of this festive season, i bring you my etsy gift guides! part 1 - my recent favorites in shades of winter. yum.

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