Lacking

So, I've failed at posting over the past few weeks. I've been exhausted, life was hectic with family and holidays and things of that nature.
I have not gotten to participate in any ice fishing yet! My in-laws have only gone about twice, plus I can't bring myself to brave the cold some days. It's beyond freezing, and I'm just not use to it, even all bundled up.

We did get A LOT of snow a few days ago, which I was super excited about. We have some snow banks in the yard that are as tall as I am! But they are no good for snow man making, my mother in law told me I could go make an igloo, since the snow is freaking solid.

I think I'm just in a weird winter funk. I've lacked any sort of inspiration for anything. My camera battery is toast, but my husband says for the price of a new one we should just buy a new camera. So I've not been able to take pictures lately which sucks! I'm frustrated and bored. Not being able to actually work makes me crazy. I've started to learn how to make quilts, I'm almost finished with one for my cat, but even that doesn't make me feel like I'm actually doing something. I can't figure it out. I wish I had something to do every day that felt constructive, but I just can't think of anything. I'm sorry for this less than cheerful rant.
What do you do, to get out of a funk where everything feels boring and wasteful?
XOXO
<3
Hopefully more cheerful posts to come!

And now EssemDesign <3

Ok so it's been a while since my last post on Etsy sellers, because I was waiting for one of my purchases to arrive. Canada post pretty much seems to have the entire month of December off, as well as the first week of January -_- <----This is my "not amused" face for Canada post.

Moving on to Stacy with Essemdesign. She has a shop full of glittery, crazy, cute things, and does tons of custom work. She's a super cool mommy (not to mention, super freakin' cute), with the patience of a saint, and she is unbelievably nice! I had the pleasure of working with her on 2 custom matching cupcake necklaces for my nieces, and she understood the need to have two matching ones to avoid epic throw downs between a 2 year old and a 4 year old. On top of that request, she made a third necklace for my older niece, plus a pair of awesome fuschia hand grenade earrings for me. And she has a great blog that shares info about hers and her partner in crime's (Running With Scissors) work, some of their frustrations, as well as a look into their lives.

We had everything figured out and ready to go, then I went to make my payment and realize my credit card was expired, thus had to do a transfer from my bank account to paypal that seemingly took forever! I kept Stacy up to date, and she was super understanding. I was horrified and was afraid she would think I was trying to screw her around, but she didn't. She completely understood the issues with paypal and waited patiently for my payment, as soon as she received the payment my gifts were sent off immediately! She gift wrapped all of my necklaces in adorable little bags for my nieces, and threw in a awesome make up bag for me!

Everything I ordered exceeded my expectations. I'm finding it hard to give up those cupcake necklaces right now! They're sturdy, a perfect size, and beyond fantastic. She responded quickly to any questions I had, made changes to necklaces to make them fit for the littler ones. She didn't even threaten to choke me when I couldn't stop apologizing for the paypal mishap!

My favorite item in her shop currently are the Gunslinger Girl glitter resin necklaces(she also has earrings to match). To be honest, there are tons of things in her shop that I want to buy, but these have been tugging at my heart from the day I browsed through her shop. They're like old school revolvers made with great colors and lots of glitter. I'd buy one for everyone I knew if I could work in Canada yet! Gunslinger Girl Necklace 

Unfortunately in the past she has had someone try to rip off half of her ideas from her shop and claim them as their own. I'd just like to say that EssemDesign is the original home of the Gunsliger Girl Glitter Gun necklaces! And I wouldn't want them from any where else!

I have to say the best part of this experience is that Stacy is a real person. She has a life, kids, and lots of work to do, but she still treated me like a REAL person as well, not just another random customer. She related to all of the crazy requests I had, the battles with paypal, the horrible postal system, and she did this all shortly before and during the holidays. She even explained why the U.S. Postal Service doesn't provide tracking for things shipped outside of the states, and experiences she has had with the postal service before. On top of the  fact that she's has gotten stuff from China to the States, quicker than Canada post got my items from the States to me!

Also the models she uses to show off her work, are these gorgeous, real, tattooed women. Which I really, really love. Not to mention she even has a photo album on myspace, of photos that customers have sent her wearing her awesome gear. It makes me happy to know that I can purchase some original, super fun stuff, from someone who actually appreciates her customers, and works really hard for them.

Needless to say, I am so glad I got to work with Stacy, and have the opportunity to purchase her fantastic designs. Thank you Stacy for making my Christmas shopping more fun, making my Christmas presents extra special, and being a real, super nice, badass lady while doing it! <3

EssemDesign Shop -http://www.etsy.com/shop/EssemDesign

Lipgloss and Razorblades Blog -http://www.lipglossandrazorblades.blogspot.com/

Running with Scissors, Essem's Partner in crime. -http://www.etsy.com/shop/runningwithscissorss

Up next my holiday charities, and later some ice fishing O.O

First up, Indy Grrrl

First up is Brandy who is Indy Grrrl productions. I have been following her blog for a while. The first day I stumbled upon her blog I sat and read every single post and was hooked. She has been one of the most fantastic individuals I have come in contact with on the internet. She's brilliant, with a heart of gold, and makes everything super fun. She was also the very first person I've ever worked with and purchased items from on Etsy. She has two shop's on Etsy-- Indy Grrrl Productions and Balm Box (will provide links at the end of the post) Everything here is handmade, by her , with love, and it is fantastic.

I had the pleasure of purchasing a set of best friend necklaces for my friend and myself. Brandy's communication is wonderful, her packaging is beautiful, and I want to buy up her entire store on a daily basis. Along with my purchase she sent some extra goodies for Christmas, and even a personalized hand written note. On top of that she sent a sampling from Balm Box, which is some lovely Gummy Bear lip balm. I will certainly be back for more! The balm was perfect, as I find myself struggling with lip balm on a fairly regular basis because nothing feels exactly like I want it to. The closest I've come is Burt's Bee’s, but the Balm from Indy Grrrl smells WONDERFUL and feels fantastic. Everything in her shops really is made with love.

One of my favorite things I've seen though I've not purchased yet is her Mystery Boxes, which is packed full of Indy Grrrl goodies. You can buy a surprise for yourself, which is pretty awesome, and I don't expect it'd be anything less that super pretty, fun and wonderful (I will be purchasing one in the next week or two!).

When I purchased our necklaces, I actually made a special request for them. I had seen them listed in her shop previously, but they were gone. However I sent her a custom request, and received almost an immediate response and it was a great one! She could certainly make those necklaces for me. She worked with me on chain size, pendant size, and within my budget. On top of that she managed to have them shipped to two different locations, with enough time for Christmas. She answered any questions I had promptly, let me know when they would be shipped, and she did all of this in the middle of finals for school, being exhausted, and wanting to pull her hair out, but she still made me feel fantastic about my experience with her and her shop. I will be shopping with her for a long, long time!

The necklaces were perfect, adorable, glittery, and I almost want to sleep in mine because it’s just too cute.

I <3 Indy Grrrl Productions, and Brandy herself! Please stay fantastic Brandy! (I kind of felt like Ron Burgundy with that last bit! :P) And thank you very much for keeping me entertained and providing excellent gifts <3
XOXO
Indy Grrrl Blog -http://indygrrrl.blogspot.com/

Indy Grrrl Productions -www.indygrrrl.com

Balm Box -http://www.etsy.com/shop/BalmBox

My shopping love....

Now that all of the Christmas shopping is done and it's near time to open the gifts, I just wanted to share a bit about my most favorite place to shop. I have come across a lot of people who are very skeptical about buying online, and buying from Etsy in general, so maybe these next few posts will help shed a bit of light on the Etsy shopping experience.

I personally despise fighting the mobs at stores and the mall, and it was even worse this holiday season due to the roads turning to ice on the weekend before Christmas. Thanks to Etsy.com I have not had to brave the stores nearly as often this year as I have in years past.

Etsy is a website full of handmade goodies from people all over the world. Every person who sells items via Etsy has their own little shop. The experiences I have had with Etsy have been beyond fantastic. There is nothing better than really wishing to purchase something special for your family and friends, and finding someone who will make it for you. The folks on Etsy are so personable; usually have really great holiday specials, and at least the ones I have come in contact with make you feel like you are the only person in the world. You really can find anything you could ever think of on Etsy and enjoy doing it!

I want to share a bit more about a couple of gal's and their shops that have been extra special to me this season. These lovely ladies are Brandy from Indy Grrrl Productions and Stacy from EssemDesign. These ladies have made even my Christmas shopping something special. I will be sharing my experiences with these ladies as well as info on their shops over the next post or two.
<3

Merry Super Bowl

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas. This time is suppose to be about family and friends, getting together, getting fat together for a couple of days, and sometimes exchanging gifts just to see the other person smile. I love Christmas, I always have, the shopping stresses me out a bit, but I love giving gifts more than anything I think. I've done more shopping this year than I ever have before, and it was a blast.

When I lived with just my dad, we generally didn't have a Christmas tree nor celebrate Christmas because my father is not religious and to him Christmas is just a religious holiday. So instead we celebrated  Superbowl! Which now I find hilarious, when I was a kid it bothered me for a while but I got use to it. Everything was the same with gifts and food and family, just no tree and on a different day, which is ok, I don't think it really matters what day it is as long as you're together.

Now the thing that makes me the most sad,  yet is the most ironic is that my father passed away last year on Christmas Eve. When he died my oh so lovely grandmother just left me a voice message to tell me, that I checked while I was half drunk and had just gotten home from dinner with my husband. Christmas last year was the worst Christmas of all, as was the Super Bowl :P I had a hard time, I spent my Christmas sorting through things, packing up a now empty apartment, fighting with my brother, crying with my family, but it's over now.

 I miss my dad, but he made me promise that when he died, I wouldn't be miserable and dwell on the fact, Instead I would move on, and continue to live my life, (well that and to have him cremated and buried on the 50 yd line of the Cowboys Stadium) which is exactly what I am doing (the living my life part). I still miss him everyday, but there are little things I notice about myself that remind me of him, and that makes me happy. I'm glad I learned the things I did, and grew into the person I am now with my dad being a very big part of that.

Even though he isn't sitting at his computer reading this, I want to say thank you dad, even though there were a lot of tough times, I'm very proud to be your daughter, and I will love you forever.

The Super Bowl has been moving later and later each year it seems, but it will always have a special place in my heart. Merry Super Bowl.
XOXO

Oops...

Man that post below really isn't much shorter at all. I also need pictures! Ok will work on posting more so I technically talk less in each post! <3

I <3 it here!

 It's been a while since my very first post, but I'm just working my way into being comfortable with blogging and things of that nature.

So I've picked up some tips on blog posting and the like, so from now on I'll try to keep my posts short and to the point rather than long rants.

I've been here a while now and its Christmas time, currently it is freezing cold here in Manitoba. I  hear it gets colder, and I am being blamed for the lack of snow. I sent it all to Texas I guess!  However with it getting colder I've gotten to shop for winter clothes! I can't remember the last time I've done that. I have purchased some adorable gloves that go up to my elbows, a huge down filled coat, as well as some of the warmest and most comfortable boots on the planet! So I'm slowly working my way into the cold and its becoming my favorite.


To be honest as horrible as this may sound, its really nice being this far away from my family. I miss my mother, brothers, and step dad a ton, but I'm glad to be away from all of the insanity that comes with the rest of my family. I love them but they are exhausting.


I have also learned that Christmas shopping is much better when done from my computer. I've done almost all of it via www.Etsy.com there is some fantastic stuff on there, and some of the most wonderful people to work with on this planet. I did have to purchase a couple of hockey t-shirts for the men in my family via a local mall, and I made some wonderful saskatoon jam to send to my mom and grandmothers. I am pretty content with my gift giving this Christmas. I want it to be much better than the last (I love and I miss you dad! 08/19/1963-12/24/2008)

--Three cheers for shopping in your underwear from your computer chair!--

XOXO