All I wanted was a book, and Christmas threw up on me..

 

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I ventured out to the mall last weekend to pick up a last-minute birthday gift for my mom, bracing myself for the inevitable crush of holiday glitz. Sure enough, the bookstore was absolutely packed with people, most of whom looked harried and stressed and some, downright grumpy. “It’s November”, I thought.  What was everyone so frantic about?

In the last few years, as we’ve downsized and simplified our lives and our possessions, our values have shifted. At times, I find myself feeling at odds with the world out there. Not too long ago, I too would have spent hours at the mall from early November until Christmas Eve, pushing through throngs of bustling shoppers to find the perfect “stuff” to buy for my family and friends. It was what the holidays were about. Now it just seems silly to me. Are those frowning people really thinking about the people they are buying for? Are they trying to meet some arbitrary spending amount so they’ll feel like they’ve given “enough”? Do we even know what this season is all about anymore?

I’m not religious, but I do celebrate Christmas, and it can be hard to find meaning in the holiday season when you’re not focused on either the religious or the material aspects of the time. It was easy for me to be cynical that day in the bookstore. I’m just getting sick of all the crap out there, and the drive to consume all of that crap, and the need to part with our money to do so. Trying to think of lists of things I “need” for people to buy for me when really, I have everything and more that I could ever want. Finding a way to create a bigger meaning for my kids when my four-year-old already states definitively that his favorite part of Christmas is “all the new toys”.

This is the first Christmas where many of the gifts I give will be handmade. Crocheted infinity scarves and homemade foot scrub for the kids’ teachers at school. Paintings for a relative who has just bought her first home, along with crocheted dish cloths (‘cause they are the best dish cloths, everyone knows that!). Those that aren’t made by me will be purchased with care and real consideration for the recipient, rather than with the amount of money spent, mostly from local artisans or shops. This knowledge makes it easier for me to brave the crowds and the jarring marketing campaigns, imploring me to “buy, buy, buy!” Its allowing me to sink into the real meaning of the holiday season which for me, is family and love. That’s it. Simple.

Be careful out there, and kind. Remember that the stuff doesn’t really matter in the end, the people do. And when you do buy, buy local, buy handmade.

Tis the season!

 

Its that time of year again. My self-imposed Christmas moratorium ends the day after Remembrance Day, when I start perusing Etsy for all manner of fun Christmas items. Here are a few that caught my eye this week:

How cute are those hats? Look at the ears!

I love the vintage feel of this card

I love simple wrapping these days. My favourite way to wrap Christmas gifts is with brown kraft paper and colorful twine like this!

I love this sweet advent calendar. Tiny ornaments, little treats, small toys – you can put all kinds of fun stuff in there for your little one.

1, 2 , 3, 4

Happy Friday!

Printables now in the shop!

 

I’m really excited to be offering printables in my shop. Now, instead of having to buy the original art or a physical print, you can purchase the digital file of some of my work.  Each item includes one instant download and you can print it as many times as you like on your own or through a print shop! I’ve purchased printables before on Etsy, and it’s a wonderful and affordable way to buy art. I’m hoping to include some holiday designs as well as cards and tags very soon. Enjoy!

That time my bra strap popped off in front of a famous yoga teacher

Before I jump right into something, I like to mull it over for awhile. So, when I first discovered Ashtanga yoga, a challenging and authentic style of yoga which has not made its way out here to the suburbs yet, I first started practicing at home. It was love at first Surya Namaskar. I wanted to find a teacher of my own, because lineage and the student-teacher relationship is so very important in Ashtanga. I combed the interwebz and found the perfect studio in the city, 45 minutes away, and decided that I’d go and check it out.

And then I waited a year. I was so intimidated by this place, by how famous the teacher is, by my own limitations, that I just couldn’t bring myself to go. Last week, I finally jumped in feet first.

It was amazing. I was starstruck in meeting the teacher, who is world-renown and yet super sweet and welcoming. He asked me to start the series while he watched and there, during my first forward bend, in the presence of a yoga rockstar, my sports bra strap popped off and flailed about wildly. And then the other one popped off.  The only possible way to fix it would have been to whip off my top and try and reattach both straps. Clearly, not an option. And so, I stuffed the straps into my cleavage and carried on, attempting to regain whatever shreds of my wounded dignity remained.

It must have been the atmosphere, the practice, the breathing. On another day I would have wished for the earth to swallow me whole after a scene like that. I took this in stride. I smiled, shrugged and just kept going and I had the best yoga practice of my life. I was pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of, surrounded by amazing individuals practicing at their own level of ability and inspiring me to keep learning.

Yoga has so much to teach me, and this lesson of rolling with the punches was a great start to a new practice with a new teacher. I can’t wait to go back.

1 Cast Iron Pan–3 Crappy Pans = Simplicity

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One of the biggest causes of clutter in our house (aside from tools, ahem) is kitchen “stuff”. We are much better than we used to be at resisting the urge to continually add to the mess, and we are redefining what is a necessity in our kitchen, but we still have too much.

We recently took advantage of a local sale and purchased a beautiful cast iron pan. I love that its so well made, durable and will last us forever (as long as we take good care of it). I also love that we were able to replace three pans that weren’t working so well by buying this one item. So, while we did make what would seem to be another "extra" purchase”, my pots and pans drawer is much less crowded now. And instead of 3 crappy pans, I now have one beautiful pan.

I love paring down and simplifying.