holiday etsy picks!

Well, I won't be doing any more Etsy shopping this year, even though the plan was to buy 100% handmade. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! But, I missed the shipping window. Lovely handcrafted wonders will just never get here in time no matter how hard they try. Even the "I think I can" mantra is useless at this point, mere DAYS until xmas. 

(And I'm surely too cheap to pay for expedited shipping.)

I've added many Etsy gems - both vintage and handmade - to my favourites recently. Why? Well, mostly I live in a daydream cloud. Reality shmeality. My feet might be tripping over the slightest deviation in the actual ground, but in my wonderful bubble, I'm floating gracefully over mountains of Pink Berry yogurt (vanilla, of course). 

I've referred Alex and my mom to my Etsy collections for gift ideas, but they'll be plum outta luck on the shipping front, too. No wonder Santa doesn't use Canada Post. Smart dude. Miracles aside, these won't end up under my tree. But a girl can always dream, can't she?

Holiday Etsy picks inspired by: 

candy canes • fireside romance • fancy-grown-up-lady parties • rosy cheeks

Vegan Shoes that are WAY too cute to be vegan shoes. (SOLD during the writing of this post. Frownsy face.)  Roni Kantor Vintage

A little Princess Di, no? Green Satin Clutch $15, unavesmas2

 I'm going skiing in Utah in a month. And, well, this just feels right. Buffalo Check Scarf $18, Simple Vintage

Too adorbs for eating! Much to hubby's chagrin, I've recently started mounting plates on the walls. Finch Plate $24, Tree House Club

 I'm too old for this, right? Heart Headband $40, Giant Dwarf

 Stamped Spreaders $24, Simply Sweet Studio

Oh! wouldn't this look lovely on our new art-wall? Montreal Pennant $18, Tree House Club

Oh the things I could make! Chevron Fabric, $11/yard

Very happy feet. Snakeskin Socks $28, Strathcona Stockings

Red Vintage Clutch (SOLD during the writing of this post. Boo.)  Steel City Vintage

Won't you drop by my lovely winterized cottage in the mountains for some delish crudités on my chic vintage nordic dinnerware? (You'll see, I'll mean it one day.) $62, The Fancy Lamb 

Saddest Etsy dog ever. Sled $100, The Fancy Lamb

Best for wrapping! Washi Tape Dispenser $27, Sugar B. Supplies

 
If you manage to secure the services of a reindeer, you're welcome to buy me anything on this list!

Merry shopping! • Buy handmade!

Whimsy.

I wore a hat to work on Friday.

While it drew confusion ("What is that?") and tons of ribbing from my all-male office-mates (nothing new, really), it actually means I must be in a good mood. And I stayed that way, even after they drew this comparison:

I'm prone to flights of whimsy, and I might be in the midst of one of those. There's something about hats.

(cue nostalgia, switch to italics.)

I feel like watching The Wizard of Oz with my sister in footed onesie-pajamas and fast-forwarding (y'know, 'cause we're watching it on VHS) to all of the singing parts. LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS!

I want to play with My Little Ponies and Puffalumps. Eat Kraft Dinner with cut-up hot dogs (veggie, of course). Make greeting cards with glitter-glue. Giggle incessantly.

I want to collect Jem & The Holograms stickers and trade them for Jelly Bellys and Lip Smackers.

But I'll just rely on my imagination. I suspect that such behaviour would be very unbecoming in a girl of 30-ish, yeah? In some ways, I never managed to grow up. Playing adult, though, can get exhausting (I've never considered myself a full-fledged grown up. When do you know? Is there an initiation? A sign?).

So, while I'm stuck (mostly) abiding by societal guidelines for my almost-adult age bracket, I'll never stop secretly playing make-believe. Like my never-shed baby-fat, I think I just haven't yet shaken that last little bit of my childhood sense of wonder. Sure I'm cynical and crotchety like 90% of the time, but there's still some frolic left in this girl.

In an homage to my fits-of-giggles mood this week, I've plucked a little whimsy from my favourites on Etsy.

Great finds inspired by: dollhouses, dress-up, fairy tales, birthday wishes, sing-a-long, innocence + lime popsicles.

  

What IS this magical little place? (Terrarium, Sea & Asters $25)

 

  Big, bigger, biggest! (Jye big hair bow $35)


Trade'ya for your skipping rope. (Lemon Citrus lip balm set $22)

I need this. I have NO place to put it. No place at all. But I need this. (oversized 'W' by Hinsvik $125)

Oh, hello yourself. (necklace by Piano Bench Designs $47)

Dapper. P.S. These lovely folks also make pillows that look like cherry pies! And PB&J sammies! (Diffration Fiber $26)

All-time favorite scent: grapefruit. Do they still make scratch n' sniff stickers? Confession: I really clicked on this listing for the miniature dog. Lovely attention-to-detail on the product styling! (Prunella Soap  $6.75)

Wee pony! Of my very, very own! Oh, my sister would have DIED for this. I would have made her sooo jealous. (Royal Mint $75)

Washi tape forever and ever. (Pretty Tape $4.50)

Mom had a tin just like this, but maybe without the knob. Often it held cookies. (The Magic Attic
$20)

Matcha marshmallows. Mmmmmmmmm! (Fusion Sweets $10)

Wha? Rings made from SKATEBOARDS? Man I could have snagged a real stud in middle school with this baby. (Seven Ply $22)

Well, OK, off to do big girl things. Like making dinner for my husband and paying bills. Not quite as fun, I'm sure.