Toronto

We are heading off on a spur of the moment trip to Toronto this weekend! Martin has to go up for work, so we decided to stay there an extra couple of nights and soak up some big city life. Although it's going to be freezing cold up there, I'm just looking forward to a change of scene, eating at some nice restaurants, checking out the new AGO and of course - shopping. This pretty much sums up how I want to spend my weekend, and we are staying at Hotel Le Germain - woot! They are having rooftop maple syrup taffy with fondue on Friday night - warm blankets provided. I'm there!

Mini Accordion Class

I will be teaching a mini accordion class at love,me boutique on Thursday, January 29th from 5:30 - 7:00. The cost of the class is $12, and includes the materials to create a cute little accordion book, as pictured above. Since it's so close to Valentine's Day, I'm planning a bit of a theme with lots of reds and pinks, and I'll also bring along some rubber stamps so that the books can be personalized. I think it will be a lot of fun, so if you're in Halifax, please come along. Just contact love, me to register. Hope to see you there!

More Organizers in Shop

I've just uploaded a few new organizers to my etsy shop. Photography is a bit frustrating in the winter - on the days that I'm working, it's impossible to take photos because it's dark when I get home. So - my updates will have to be confined to Thursdays, Fridays and weekends.

Speaking of photography, I've been reading the shop makeover series on the Storque, and have followed their advice and undertaken a bit of a mini makeover. The jist of the article I was reading said that you should not put the photo of your whole item first, but rather a detail shot. I guess it's a bit more intriguing, and people will click through to find out more. Also - it may be a bit more "treasury friendly." So, I've switched up my photos, and we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Sookie Stackhouse Novels

I have just about finished the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series of novels by Charlaine Harris, and I am really enjoying it. I like the True Blood series too (which airs on HBO, and is based on the novels), and it was great to see Anna Paquin win the Golden Globe last night. After reading the book, I think she really captures Sookie's character - at first, she might seem sweet and bubbleheaded, but she's very sharp and intuitive. Have a look above and see what I mean.

Cute Things Falling Asleep

The name of this blog says it all. I recommend "Sleepy Puppy 2." Enjoy!

Web Stats on Etsy

This might be old news, but I thought I'd share anyhow - Etsy now provides web stat tracking through Google Analytics! I just stumbled on a link in my Etsy user sidebar that said "web analytics." If you click on this, it will give you the instructions for setting up analytics for your shop. This is really great, because it's been a bit of a weakness with Etsy - not knowing how people were finding your shop. Now, I will be able to track how people are finding me on Etsy, and if I do any advertising, I will be able to see how many people click through. Very exciting.

Happy New Year

Apologies for my extended absence. I just got into the slothy groove of the holidays, and it's been hard to get back into my normal routine. My university was closed for two weeks, and Monday was my first day back at work- so I am slowly getting back to normal. The holidays were great - lots of food, family and fun. And of course, lots of lovely gifts.

Martin and I always make sure that there are books under the tree, because we love to just sit around and read over the holidays. I did really well this year, with lots of gorgeous "coffee table" type tomes - Shaker Design - Out of this World, Handmade Nation, Bazaar Style (I had been eyeing this one for quite a while), Happy Gloves ,(to feed my new obsession with making little creatures. And then - I got a gift voucher for Amazon as well - so I bought heaps more books - a boxed set of the Sookie Stackhouse books (the series "True Blood" is based on these - I think they will be a really fun read), What it is by Lynda Barry (looks really inspirational), Sock and Glove, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (which I've heard nothing but good things about). So, I'm happy to say that my reading needs are taken care of for the next little while. (:

Something that wasn't under the tree, but has dramatically changed my life for the better is my new Mukka Express (video above). Perhaps my intro is a bit over the top, but I do love it! It makes espresso on the stovetop, and heats and foams the milk at the same time. Revolutionary! I have had small electric espresso machines before, and find them a pain in the bottom - it takes forever to make a coffee and the pressure is not enough to get the coffee nice and strong - but this is perfect. It makes a creamy coffee reminiscent to the cafes of Sydney (which I love). But, this could also have something to do with the tin of Illy that I treated myself to. (:

Best get back to work - but I have to tell you about one more new love - the blog Garance Dore. A French fashion illustrator combines her work with Paris street fashion shots - gorgeous! She publishes the blog in both English and French. I love the big warm boots in the post above - as she says in her French version "pas des Uggs."

Now - off to work - happy new year to all!