Take a Gander Tuesday #8 - Jessica Rae Gordon

Work =  crazy right now.  But we did just have a long weekend, so I was able to prepare some blog posts and I'm almost finished some new nail art (they're pretty tight butthole...*hint*)

On the weekend, I was looking for Archer (the TV show) illustrations/art on Etsy to find something for a gift.  Using "Archer" as your search word also finds listings related to Archery.  One of the archery illustrations led me to the work of Jessica Rae Gordon who, small world, also lives in Toronto.

Here are a few pieces that are listed in her Etsy shop that caught my eye:

Hope everyone had a great weekend! (and for my Canadian friends, a good Victoria Day)

Alex & Arthur

Take a Gander Tuesday

Oh my goodness it's been awhile since I've made a blog post.  I'm so exhausted from TIFF, I don't understand how people can go to tons of movies and still find the time to post about them-- they're troopers.   I'm going to do a final write-up of some of the highlights but I still need to decompress.

So this is a new thing I'm trying -- it's inspired by my Sponsor Swap post (re: Nicole's blog Happy Pretty Things).  I'm calling it "Take a Gander Tuesday" and I'm going to be writing about various blogs, twitter, or websites I think you should check out.  (Also, I wanted to use the word gander)

Will it happen every Tuesday? Given my track record of creating posts on the proper days, probably not.   

Will you only post recommendations on Tuesday? I'm going to try to stick to Tuesday but I can't make any promises. I'm one of those people who feels the need to give people gifts as soon as I purchase them regardless if his/her birthday is weeks away...so if I see something cool, I'm going to want to tell you right away.  In fact, the whole reason I decided to do this post was because I wanted to tell you all about PonyChops.

 So why should you take a gander at PonyChops? Two words: Zelda Shoes!

Aren't these amazing! This is only one example of PonyChops' awesome shoes.  You can see the rest of her work on her adorable blog or you can check out her etsy store.

I'm definitely hoping that I can get a pair of shoes.

Hope you're all having a wonderful Tuesday so far.

Alex & Arthur

Five Favourite Friday Fridays

Is it cheating if I post this? I prepared this post for Friday but for some reason I couldn't get Blogger to upload it.   As I haven't quite figured out the final details of my flux capacitor yet it will be a while until I master time travel.  Until then, I'll have to cheat. So rewind, it's Friday!

Red Panda Totem Figure

If you've ever seen a red panda you'd know they're one of the cutest animals (next to Arthur of course).  They look like cuddly stuffed animals.  So imagine how thrilled I was to find this adorable red panda pocket in HandyMaiden's equally adorable etsy shop.  The Badger of Honour military decoration is also a favourite.

Handy Maiden's Red Panda Pocket Totem

Alexander McQueen - Ivory Canvas Spike Tote

Not something I'd ever own but I can dream.  This bag is beautiful!

via Liberty London

Quilling

I want to Quill (not Quills, I'll leave that to Geoffrey Rush *shudders*).  Quilling is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.  The paper is wound around a quill to create a basic coil shape -- hence the term "quilling." 

I remember creating some pretty bad-ass Valentine's cards for my parents using this technique in grade 3 but I want to learn to create more intricate designs.

Like this:

via Sweet Spot Card Shop

or this:

via Little Circles

or even this:

via Suzy's Artsy-Crafty Sitcom

La Boom's Etsy Shop

Look at these adorable Shadow Box Frames, Light Boxes and Pedestals from La Boom's etsy shop.  I want.

Mylk Uncookies

I'm going to post more about this coffee shop later in the week when I recap last Thursday's lunch time adventure but man do I love this place.  I've been there before to pick up some of their vegan goodies (try the hot chocolata cookie) but I never tried anything using their house made almond mylk.  Man, it's good! I never want to drink another kind of almond milk again.  I had a Walnut Ave. tea latte. It was house made almond mylk mixed with Walnut Ave. tea from Tealish.  It tasted like a warm, creamy nut milk -- but actually good and not all groody/pervy my description makes it sound like.  

Maybe I'll convince Dan to drive out that way after work so I can get my tea latte on!

*Author's note: We did not go to Mylk Uncookies on Friday :( *

So there we have my Five Favourite Friday Findings....from last Friday.   Sorry for cheating!

I checked with Arthur to see if he had a problem with me posting a Friday post on Monday.  He said no, but he's always so laid back and relaxed.

Hope your weekend was as lazy as Arthur's!

Alex & Arthur

Wednesday Wonderful

I saw a few really amazing things on Etsy today that I feel compelled to post here, so I'm going to start Wednesday Wonderful.  A collection of things that I love or would love to own.

 
Ever since I saw Annyen Lam's artwork at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition this past summer, I've been completely enamored with papercutting.  I dare you to search "papercut" on etsy (in the handmade section) and try to find something you don't absolutely love.

Source: Annyen Lam

Source: Holler & Whistle

source: Papercut Art & Jewelry by Tiny Tarnoff

I've been meaning to buy Arthur this adorable doggie food and water bowl station for quite some time now.  I absolutely love the turquoise colour and it would look perfect in the kitchen or dining room.  (I'd get the non-smoking one of course -- don't want to be teaching Arthur bad habits)

source: These Creatures

Owning one of these rings has been on my bucket list for a few years.  The jewelry (the rings are my favourite), made by Jeremy May, are comprised of hundreds of pages laminated together which are shaped and laminated to a high gloss.  They're absolutely beautiful and each piece is unique and impossible to replicate.

I'm just trying to figure out which book I'd like, something by Neil Gaiman perhaps.

source: Littlefly

I was searching Ruche yesterday to apply for a contest on A Beautiful Mess and I came across these super cute tangerine rain loafers.  I've been searching for rainy footwear for some time and I love these shoes.  My goal was to find something that I'd wear regardless of the weather and these shoes fit the bill.

Source: Ruche

 Arthur plus elf hat = enough said.  This photo is pretty much my favourite thing at the moment.

I need to retake the photo for the front of my x-mas cards (I'm late this year, I know) and I'm thinking that Arthur should be sporting this hat in the photo.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Alex & Arthur