hairy christmas!

My christmas present came two days early when my terrific brother-in-law, Gavin, mixed up his very own cotton candy pink and slathered my canary yellow locks in it. You can visit him for your own mermaid hued hair do at his salon (owned by his pops) in Phoenix!

Visit Gavin here!

Off to eat mountains of cheese and paint ornaments!

<3 

Sophie and Eloise

Some pictures from back when beautiful Sophie was visiting.

We're off to Arizona tomorrow morning and from there onto Ottawa (a very confusing suitcase this is going to make for). I've still loads of packing, cleaning & eating to do before we head out at the happy 4am hour! Hopefully I'll have a chance to update a few times more before Christmas but just in case, a very merry christmas to all of you! I hope you all have a fantastic time with friends and family this holiday season. <3 Here's a little mix of songs that I listened to on repeat this year: in love.

Gift Guide!

This holiday season I wanted to shine a much deserved spotlight on some of my incredibly gifted friends in hopes that folks will be drawn to seek out handmade (or local) presents for their loved ones.

1. Alexandra Grecco: (no stranger around these parts) Alexandra's whimsical floral crowns and sparkly hair accessories would make for most beauteous present toppers, girlpal gifts or special somethings for the brides-to-be in your life.

2. I am in such awe of Anja Verdugo. This year she has managed to start her own clothing and accessories line while maintaining a popular vintage shop and blog and still finding time to nurse a very promising photography career. Anja can honestly do no wrong right now. Pop over to her shop to find leather kitty head coasters (seriously), phone cases, clutches and more.

3. Fieldguided: Kitty calendars pretty enough to frame! What more can I say? DREAMCATS!

4. This one is near and dear to my heart as I've had the privilege of watching this extraordinarily talented young lady grow into the artist she is today (yay livejournal friends)! You can find both prints and originals of Caitlin Shearer's artwork at her shop (and even request a custom portrait).

5. Another dear friend, Tara-Lynn (also no stranger around here). Tara-Lynn's deliciously soft, incredibly unique, one-of-a-kind knits would make the perfect gift for any northern dweller (she has goodies for warm weather folk too).

6. The candy hued jewels from The Vamoose slay me. I want to eat her website.

More handmade goodies to investigate:

Ambit, for stunningly structured handmade apparel, hats and jewelry.
Frances Baker, for adorable handmade dresses and underthings from down under.
We Never Sleep, for gorgeous handmade jewelry (she'll be selling at the Holiday Sale this Saturday, see flyer after the jump for more details).
Nadinoo, I just want everything for myself!

Vintage Shops to investigate:

Vintage Shoe Love, for an incredible selection of vintage shoes.
Golden Fur Vintage, Emily's sherbet hued collection of vintage dresses and separates.
Kennedy Holmes, for an affordable collection of hand selected goods put together by the beautiful Kennedy.
Heart City Vintage, one of a kind goodies from the 50s up selected by my Philadelphia twin, Hannah!
The Exhausted Etiquette, a sweet selection of vintage attire. (That star blouse, I want it!)
Shop Lawrence, beautifully curated by a beautiful lady.
Fancy Fine Vintage goodies selected by the charismatic Ashley Ording.

Local Shops to investigate:

Catbird, the best gift shop in the neighbourhood! For perfumes, candles, jewelry and much more.
Dalaga, lovely sister owned shop with a beautiful selection of apparel, purses, jewelry, footwear and more (including The Loved One as of last Friday)!
End of Century, for locally made apparel and jewelry along with vintage furniture and monthly artist exhibitions.

More...

Worn Fashion Journal, a fantastic, Canadian run publication that discusses fashion in a way that I've not seen any other fashion magazine do (more on them coming up as I review their latest issue :D).

Vegan Secret Supper, a Brooklyn supper club hosted by the best vegan chef I know!

I'm sure I'm forgetting some pretty spectacular people, feel free to share links to your own small business/handmade creations in the comments!

Please consider supporting your local business owners this holiday season :).

art presents?

Dear friends, see something you like? Contact LandonMetz@gmail.com for inquiries.

We've found ourselves in a bit of a pickle as we wait on unpaid invoices and would be eternally grateful if you were to consider making a home for Landon's art. These are the smallest pieces available (and therefore the most affordable) but if there is something that catches your eye on his site please don't hesitate to ask about it!

Thank you!

Sophie Davidson

Talented and beautiful Sophie Davidson popped over to Brooklyn one Sunday afternoon and followed me around the neighbourhood (and into my friend's house where she offered helpful tips to keeping my Sim awake). I'm so inspired by this incredibly talented young woman and am especially taken with her portraits of the seemingly endless amount of pretty young men she has about her.

Follow Sophie's blog here and view her website here.

The very lucky (so jealous) winner of the Greatest Friend giveaway is rather fittingly another incredibly talented overseas photographer, Elkie Vanstiphout! Congrats Elkie!