The Christmas Recap

As everyone knows, the days after the holidays are all about doing the "Present Recap" (also known as the "Present Scorecard" in some circles).

We have tons of lovely friends who gave us delicious treats and sent some beautiful cards. Our gifts out were one of our favorite cookies - Lavender Sables - which are kind of a French shortbread and so so yummy. If you want the recipe, just drop me a line.

We have out gifts to other co-workers and family members, most of which we had to ship because they all live far away. As for the husband and I, we don't do a huge bunch of gifts for each other usually because we get stuff all year long. Plus we just had our amazing trip to the Grove Park Inn, so it was pretty sparse beneath the tree this year.

We also don't like to buy a lot of "stuff", so we try to get consumable or services. In his stocking this year he got a grapefruit knife,



and spoons (four of them).



He also got 2lbs of thick cut peppered gourmet bacon from Nueskes. (Who the heck gives someone bacon for Christmas??? I mean, seriously? Yeah, we do. We're weird like that)





He also got these amazing organic really sweet grapefruits from South Tex Organics. Now the knife and spoons make sense, right?

We had some delicious bruleed grapefruits when we stayed at our friends' bed & breakfast (the Adora Inn) in Mount Dora for the wedding we were both in. They were so delicious, I wanted to recreate the meal. And they are really good. And I don't even typically like grapefruit.

I also bought some Meyer's lemons, which I'm going to make into delicious lemon gelato and lemon curd.



The hubby also wears a lot of t-shirts since he works from home and he also loves funky fun shirts. Threadless is a wonderful resource for unique shirts, and they aren't that much either.

I got him this shirt which is per-fect for him. He kind of likes the creepy stuff. This one is called "Ad Noctum" You can click on the images to see them bigger.



He also got this shirt which I think is weird yet adorable. It's called "Star Men in Moon's Milk". How cute is that????



His "big" gift was this book. It's the iconic Albertus Seba "Cabinet of Natural Curiosities".



This is, yes, a reproduction but it's still amazing and filled with the best illustrations. We have some actual vintage illustrations like these throughout our house, so this is perfect. It's also a book you will see in many professionally decorated homes because the colors are just so great. It's a perfect book for us and our house.

Here's a little bit about the book:
Albertus Seba's "Cabinet of Curiosities" is one of the 18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time.

Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection - from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon.



So that was kind of it. I got lovely and fun things as well. My parents gave some $$$, which I've totally spent already, and a new picture of them which I need for my office. One of my co-workers gave me this adorable mushroom timer from FredFlare (you have to see my office to know why this fits in - I have a ton of pink in there to liven up the boring grey cube).



hello!

My in-laws gave me a big 'ol Target gift card, because, ya know I love the Tar-get!



In my stocking from the hubby I got some treats - single serve Nutellas!


Yummy!

I also got an iTunes gift card - furthering my iPod library investment.



My "big" gift was a necklace from Ananda Khalsa necklace. When we were at Grove Park Inn, they have a store featuring all kinds of goods from local artists. Ananda does these amazing jewelry pieces which are made from little paintings that are then set in silver or 22kt gold with hand-ground glass. My three-strand necklace is in the "Bluebirds with Plum Blossoms" series and has aquamarine briolettes under the pendant and at the clasp.



It's so lovely and perfect because I love unique jewelry, as well as supporting local artists. It will be perfect to wear in the Spring.

As you can see, we all do a lot of shopping online but we also supported a lot of artists and artesianal companies. Not only do we get unique gifts but we support the hand-made, small scale movement.

I can't wait to see what gifts other folks got and what they gave.

Beauteous Bespoke

Bespoke is defined as:

- adjective
British.
a. (of clothes) made to individual order; custom-made

One of the great things about the Internet is the ability to connect with new up-and-coming designers from around the world and to be able to purchase items that are unique with amazing craftsmanship. You can collaborate with these designers and have items halfway around the world created to your specifications and then shipped directly to you.

One designer that I was completely taken with is Hetty Rose shoes. She has beautiful and interesting designs, but what sets her apart is that she creates them using vintage kimono fabric. I fell in love with the Amalie style. It really shows off the design of the fabric. What I also like is that both shoes will be different based on how the fabric drapes on the shoe.



After speaking with Henrietta about the shoe I wanted, she sent me a list of measurements needed. So we traced my feet, took some pictures, filled in the dimensions and sent them off to her to match up with a last in my size.


Henrietta had just gone to Japan on a fabric buying trip and provided me of pictures of 5 or so fabric options to choose from. I have to tell you - it was difficult to decide. The designs were beautiful - so full of color and interest. I debated a while between a two of the fabrics but in the end I chose this pattern.



The colors were very vibrant and I liked how the white background would make them pop!

Then it was time to pick my heel. I had four options to decide between: a skinnier heel, a more curvy chunky heel, the wood heel below or the wood heel covered in fabric as it was shown on the website. Because I wanted to showcase as much of the fabric as possible, I picked the wood heel covered in the fabric.



Henrietta sent me updates about how my shoes were progressing and event sent me photos of the work in progress. Here is my fabric on the last and cut out ready to be assembled. We did have one running change when she found a small smudge on the toe fabric of one shoe. It was easily solved by adding a signature Hetty Rose peep-toe. You can see the proposed placement in the top image.





A few weeks and they are done! Henrietta sent me pictures of my finished beauties before carefully wrapping them up and winging them away to America! Didn't they turn out great!



I love the mix of black, yellow, pink, salmon and red.



The leather inside is very very soft and the hand-stitching around the peep-toe and the edges is a playful touch. One of my favorite parts is that the sole of the shoe says "Hand Made with Love by Hetty Rose".

They are so eye-catching. I got tons of compliments and inquiries about them.

Prices vary by style and fabric, etc., but they well within the range of other non-custom designer shoes. I would highly recommend her. Plus, how often do you get to say that you have the only pair in the world of these shoes.