Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

Wishing everyone a New Year filled with all good things. I'm headed out soon to celebrate a mellow (at least that is my plan) New Year's Eve in fair Toronto! Hope everyone enjoys a safe and delightful time, wherever you may be, on the eve of 2010.

For Aunt L.: Making an appliquéd sweater

I picked up an inexpensive plain-coloured wool sweater and found some co-ordinating floral fabric.
In this case, it was a gorgeous (but way too tiny to wear) cheongsam that my Aunt G. gave me to recycle. It felt awful pulling apart the amazing handiwork. I cut out some shapes and laid them on the chest of the sweater to decide on arrangement. When satisfied with my cuttings, I sealed the raw edges with some fray check and then pinned the pieces to the sweater. In the meantime I found some embroidery floss that went well with the floral pattern.

With a large-eyed needle, I hand stitched the fabric flowers to the sweater. I wasn't terribly careful and I think that's part of the charm. In some areas, I followed the shapes of flowers and stems and in some areas I made sure to tack down loose edges of the fabric.

Et voilà! A lovely appliquéd sweater! One last finishing touch to be done -- I am going to change the buttons and then it will be complete! I am excited to give it to Aunt L. on the weekend. I was behind and did not have it completed on Christmas. What a bad niece!

Anyhow, I was so pleased with how it turned out that I chased all over town to look for the same sweater for me. I'm going to make myself one!

From Aunt L.: Crafty goodness!

For Christmas, Aunt L. gave me a touching handmade gift. She made this pillow using 2 shirts that belonged to my dear Grandfather (Gung Gung) that passed away on my birthday in '04. Aunt L. combined a flannel shirt with a strip of pink Oxford shirt. My Sister received the reverse combination. We just about cried!

She also gave me these Japanese Dress books that I have been scoping out online. I'll have to plan some sewing projects. I'm always in the market for a new and affordable dress.

2010 is coming

Well, 2009 is quickly winding down... Time for new calendars! Here are some nice ones that I found on Etsy. I think I love almost everything letterpressed, so there are several letterpress calendars included in this list.

Above 2 images: Limited Edition 2010 Letterpress Calendar by paisleytreepress

Above: 2010 Cloth Calendar by 1canoe2

(They also have a nice Letterpress Calendar.)

Above 2 images: 2010 Letterpress Wall Calendar by pistachiopress

Above 4 images: 2010 Letterpress Calendar by tarahogan

(I think this one is my favourite of the calendars that I found tonight so I couldn't resist posting 4 pictures)

Above 2 images: 2010 Mini French Series Printable Calendar by alidesign

Above 2 images: 2010 Mixed Media Edition (business card sized) Calendar by papersparrow

Above 2 images: 2010 Calendar Tea Towel by claudiagpearson

Above 2 images: Perpetual Paris -- Photo Collage and Perennial Calendar by littlebrownpen

Above 2 images: 2010 Desk Calendar by inkadinkadoodle

Holiday 2009 and Grandma's 96th Birthday

Hope everyone enjoyed a nice holiday. We spent Christmas Eve feasting at L. and J.'s in Burlington, Christmas day feasting at my parents' place and then the past two days feasting in restaurants while shopping like maniacs. Not as many deals to be had as other years, but I did manage to cover a lot of ground and pick up a couple things. My Mom got me this yummy Foley + Corrina City Tote on super sale at Specchio for a Christmas present. I can't seem to have enough handbags and shoes. Tomorrow I need to do a purge in the closet so I don't feel so bad!

I went nuts with raffia and kraft paper bags this year, but I did wrap a couple boxes in proper wrapping paper.

Here are a couple nice trees spotted around town. Above is a tree of lights in Cumberland Park in the heart of Yorkville and below is the shimmering Swarovski crystal tree at the Eaton Centre.

Today is our Grandmother's 96th birthday! Here I am with cute Gran just before the dinner celebration and before my camera battery gave out. I'll have to wait for everyone else's photos with more family. She's wearing a faux pearl and Swarovski crystal necklace that I made her. It goes with a matching ring and bracelet. It seems a lot of her jewels have gone missing at her retirement home, so she needed some new gems! The necklace looked lovely with her new sweater from Aunt I.!

Roots boots

Spotted these Roots Russian Vamp Tall Boots over the past few days of pre and post Christmas extreme shopping. They are incredibly comfortable and made in Canada! I love the reddish chestnut colour they have, but was not able to find a photo online. But, I thought S. might like these black ones so here they are. When I was in university, I worked at Roots for several years, and prior to that had so many Roots shoes in my youth, so I had a wave of nostalgia. I am glad to see they have brought back shoes, which is what the company was founded on. Going to save up my pennies... not that I need another pair of boots!

12 Days of Christmas

I caught this on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon late last night. It is the best!

On the Muppet topic, THIS is pretty hilarious as well.

Happy Happy, Merry Merry! Hope Santa is good to you!

Happy Holidays!

It's Christmas Eve, but for some reason, it doesn't feel like it. I am sure it'll all kick in when I meet up with the fam to head to a big festivity at the home of some dear family friends. I hope everyone has a happy and safe holeeeeday!

xo

Nice shoes!

I saw these shoes last week at Holt's, but here they are on the Anthropologie site. They are Chie Mihara and it's hard to see, but they are a rich dark teal colour. So nice! I especially enjoy how the woodgrain is running vertically on the heel.

Winter solstice

It's officially the first day of Winter. Today will be the shortest day of the year and then they begin to creep longer again -- yay! These short days could drive me mad.

After a weekend full of holiday parties that left me exhausted, I am planning on spending the rest of today with a big pot of tea, holiday treats from L. (too insanely delicious) and crafting and creating for the last few people on my Christmas list.

Check out these beautifully wrapped gifts found via The Dieline by Summer Watkins on Style Me Pretty.

Winter goodness

It's the last weekend before Christmas. All but a few odd things of my pre-holidays MoonRox frenzy have been taken care of and I'm ready to relax! These are perfect days for spending time with friends and family.

The first photo is a random shot of the back side of the window display at Anthropologie in Yorkville. On Thursday I had lunch with the 'rents and then roamed around with my Mom. I just have a thing for the tissue pom-poms, and when I saw that the whole store window was filled with them, I could not resist taking a photo. Lately when shopping, I find I like display and merchandising items/ideas better than the actual merchandise a lot of the time.

The second picture is of the box of gorgeous cookies and treats that I received from L. last night! So pretty and delicious too! Yummeee!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Better late than never! Gift Certificates now available!

Christmas is very fast approaching. There are only a few shopping days left and even fewer business/shipping days left. For those who have not done all of their shopping, I have added some MoonRox Gift Certificates to the MoonRox Etsy Shop. Currently, there are $25 and $50 certificates available, but just get in touch if there is another amount desired.

Also, for Canadian customers only, a Shipping Upgrade is available. For this Christmas, any Canadian orders for in stock MoonRox items placed by noon will be shipped out by Expedited Service the same day or the following day. The last shipping date will be December 22nd, meaning orders need to be in by noon on December 21st, 2009. Just add the Shipping Upgrade to your shopping cart before checking out.

The Gift Certificates and Shipping Upgrade will remain in the shop after Christmas, but are all super handy right now!

O Christmas tree

How sweet is my lollipop Christmas tree? I got it in the 80's at the One of a Kind Show and have brought it out every few years. I wish I remembered the maker's name, but that was far too long ago. Usually I don't know where to find lollipops at this time of year, but Dollarama saved the day... er... saved Christmas!

Brr!

The cold has definitely arrived here. It's all manageable if you are prepared. I have enjoyed sporting my new earmuffs and an assortment of hats. I was thinking I need a new Winter coat, but need is perhaps not the right word! This coat is not what I was thinking, and I know everyone has one, but after a day of sidekicking with my Mom and Dad in the cold, it looks pretty cosy. It's the Canada Goose Trillium Parka. Next year I will start the search for a coat in August like all smart people!

MoonRox at Chasse Gardée

Tonight I popped into Chasse Gardée (A Private Hunting Ground) at Queen and Dovercourt for their holiday shopping event, and to say hello to wonderful owner Daniela. They have some MoonRox items that even I am sold out of. Scoop up the Loop Necklace or the Starry Necklace amongst other MoonRox goodies. While you are there, check out the array of sought after shoes and bags that are not common in Toronto. They carry lots of great names including YMC, Jeffrey Campbell and Swedish Hasbeens. As you can see, the store is beautiful! For more info on Chasse Gardée, check out their website HERE.


Chasse Gardée, A Private Hunting Ground

1084 Queen Street West

Toronto, ON

416.901.9613