Christmas Tree Fashion

I am pretty pleased with how are tree has turned out.  It really is lovely and it makes me smile each time I venture into the living room.  We specifically selected a tree that would smell and make our house smell like a forest or Christmas, but the piny scent is not yet wafting through my home.  I am a bit bummed, but still, I think our tree is pretty darn bas-ass.

I am not one for overly decorated holiday trees.  Actually you could say I am not really one for decorated trees.  A beautiful tree, white lights, elegant stand or tree skirt and I am happy.  It took me years and years to walk my mother back from an overly decorated tree, to one with a few decorations, to one with just lights and bows.  Now, Partner and I have our own damn tree, no established traditions, and no people to please save for ourselves, so simple tree it is!

In truth, however, I got a little rebellious the other day.  When I was at Ikea earlier in the week I came upon these rather interesting looking lights.

Ikea's Strala - or giant balls - are intended to be outside lights, but I think they look pretty great on our tree right now.

If I had time, I would investigate making a tree skirt, but I just don't think that is going to happen this year.  We have many more holiday seasons to come, so I am sure I will get around to it at some point.  For now here are a few things I think would compliment my tree, or any holiday tree, very well.

My Christmas Tree Has Balls!

Yup, it has big, bright, LED balls.

How about yours?

Holiday Cards

In the past, while I have not much cared to bother with holiday stuff around the house, I take the sending of holiday cards very seriously.  I love papergoods: from fine and fun papers, to greeting cards, to stationary, to fine pens, to lovely postage stamps - it really is the small stuff which makes me smile.

Well.... if I am being honest about it, papergoods and cashmere.

But, yes, back to the point -- a paper store really is such a treat for me.  And I am really lucky that I have a best friend who loves this stuff as much as I do and a partner who is completely accepting of my quirk and is understand when I am perusing ebay for under facevalue beautiful stamps.  Yes, I am someone who still hand-writes letters at times other than the holidays.

Last week, while sticking to my trying one new thing or going one new place a week, I found myself in Old Ballard. (BTW - last week I reached my goal and then some!)  Originally I went to Old Ballard after an appointment on that side of town as I was trying to visit a vintage shop there.   Sadly it was not going to open for another four hours and I just was not willing to stick around that long.

Still, I figured that I would wander the cute streets that I had driven down and venture into the shops, as I was not going to give up on my continuing endeavor to explore my new city.  So, that is how I found my way into LUCCA great finds.

Picture of Lucca - courtesy of their website

Walking into Lucca was like walking into a curiosity shoppe - black walls, white ceiling, heavy chandeliers, large botanical charts on the walls, the chic animal heads that are popular right now, boxes of magic and palm reading type stuff, beautiful art, wonderful smells - soap, candles, teas.  It was such a delight just to walk in the door.

Picture of Rosner Soaps - courtesy of their blog

There was one smell that kept piquing my curiosity - it was a smell, something that I know rather well but could not place.  That was until I found the tiny bar of lemongrass soap nose-high on a shelf.  I am not sure who makes the lemongrass soap that they sell, but it reminded me so much of the soaps from Rosner Soaps in the little arts and crafts town of Sugar Loaf, NY.  The Rosner Soap shop (where I spent a few fun summers minding the shop while the owners were overseas) has a space is a bit more raw than Lucca's, but the spaces remind me so much of one another even beyond the smells.  Both are so inviting, and walking into both I feel is calming.


As I kept on walking toward the back of Lucca, I really was not sure what was in the way back room.
But when I walked in to find a room full of cards, stationary, wrapping paper, ribbons, and other such supplies, I knew that I was going to be there a while (and would have easily and happily have dropped about $350.

Image courtesy of Lucca's FB page.

Their holiday cards are just stunning.  LUCCA Paperworks - Vintage Art Rescue is seemingly separate from but related to LUCCA great finds.  The Lucca Paperworks cards are available in their shop - as well as cards from others like John Derian and Rifle Paper Co. - but they are also sold wholesale through their website so that other retailers may stock beautiful these paper treasures.

The process of taking existing vintage images making them into high quality cards is far from simple, if you want to do it right.  Anyone with an HP color laserjet can print out something, but the color, balance, sheen, paper stock, texture and weight of these cards is spot on.  The cards are works of art in and of themselves. 

I picked up a few holiday cards while I was in their shop, and another card of theirs which I framed and will soon be hanging somewhere in the house.

This year only a few of my nearest and dearest will be receiving holiday cards from Lucca.  But in my continued desire to give local Lucca, will be one of my first stops for treasures, unique finds, lovely smells, and beautiful papergoods.

Hopefully these gorgeous cards will grace the mailboxes of many happy homes this holiday season!

Holiday Shopping, Part 2 - Geting lost, frustrated and wanting to cry

I will say that my totally frustrating experience with yesterday's Urban Craft Uprising was 70% my fault and 30% their fault.  I could not find the damn thing!  Now, like I said, part of that was my fault.  I mis-read the information on the home page and listened to what my Aunt said about the event taking place at the convention center.  So, yesterday I learned that the Washington State Convention Center is not the same as the Seattle Center.  I believed them to be one in the same because the Seattle Center claims to be in the heart of downtown.  It is not. The Washington State Convention Center, however, is downtown.

So when I finally got back on the bus to return to way too close to where I had hopped on the bus to begin this adventure, the address the Urban Craft Uprising listed for the Seattle Center was, in fact, way friggin far from the Exhibition Hall where the event was taking place.

One thing about me that is key to understanding my frustration is that I hate getting lost.  I really, really hate being lost.  There are few everyday life things that upset me more than getting lost.  About two weeks after I moved here Partner took me out to get me an iPhone so that I would no longer get lost in the city as it pained him to see me near tears each time it happened.  Yesterday he was wonderful when I called completely flustered.  He kept offering to come get me, but I was being stubborn and just wanted to find the damn Seattle Center Exhibition Hall already.

When I FINALLY arrived at the event, I was semi-glad I went to all the trouble of finding the place.  For many years now I have admired the work of Rachel Austin, so it was a treat to meet her and see more of her pieces in person.  A few years ago I purchased a small print of hers and I really love it.  It manages to cheer me up each time I look at it in my office. Talking with her and learning more about her process and her work made me want to buy a print and an original painting of hers on the spot.  Wisdom prevailed as I forced myself to remember that I was out holiday shopping for others and not myself.  Plus, in figuring out how to make a life with someone I am not yet sure how Partner and I do art acquisitions. For now I figure a joint approach is the right one. Although, I may go to Rachel Austin's etsy site later on today and order a box of her holiday cards, for we are running low after our epic session of card writing this weekend.

While roaming the packed event space, I saw lots of great things, but I found myself most taken by the dolls handcrafted by Hasenpfeffer Incorporated.  Truly, they are gorgeous, detailed, and impeccably crafted. Daniela upcycles a lot of textiles in making these.  She said that she often takes apart old, ugly clothes from thrift stores because they have amazing fabric and uses those fabrics in the making of her dolls. Partner and I don't have kids and I don't know of anyone who has kids old enough to appreciate these toys.  Still, I don't even know that I would given one to a kid because I want one for myself!!! 

See, how can you not love those faces?!? In general I am a big fan of people who do have the sense to make multi-racial and ethnic dolls, but there is something far beyond that which draws me to Daniela's work.  I find myself most drawn to what she calls "Binky Buddies" - something about the simple shape yet inviting details.  For some of the Binky Buddies she even puts rattles in the heads to make them even more appealing for even the littlest of kids (who will not be getting any from me because I am soooo in love with their cuteness!)

There were a number of other vendors who had excellent wears, but it was packed and I was tired from the tizzy into which I had worked myself while getting lost, so I just wanted out of there after not too long. As craft shows go, this one is really well curated. Should we be in town for their summer event, I may just have to go back -- after carefully examining all directions and maps, that is.

Holiday Shopping, Part 1

Having small families and a close knit circle of friends means our list of people to whom we will be sending holiday gifts is small.  This year we decided that we would try to go local with much of our holiday giving.  Our approaches are somewhat different, however.

Partner introduced me to Made in Washington, which I think will have plenty of neat things for some of the people on our lists.  I, on the other hand, have decided I will be venturing out to the Urban Craft Uprising. Why I am doing this to myself I am just not sure.  I hated these things as a kid.  Seriously.  My mother would drag us to the big holiday bazaar at the museum and science center. It was torture.

Let us leave aside for a moment the horrifying notion that I might be turning into my mother and embrace the whole shop local movement and blame that for making me think I can brave what I am sure is an even larger holiday bazaar than what I endured as a kid.  I will fortify myself with brunch and then see what this Urban Craft Uprising is all about.