a paltry sum

Annnnnd I’m back! Hullo internet!

Bwa-ha-ha! So the wifi DOES work at the hotel. I’m currently kicking it in the hotel suite, the smell of sugar cookies wafting through the air…. God bless hotels with kitchenettes! We did have to make a mad dash to the grocery store for a cookie sheet and some ingredients and it was a madhouse to be sure, but the reward will soon be delicious, warm cookies!

Our plans to go hiking went right out the window, as I thought they would. Especially since it’s rainy and gross. Meh. Butttt, you know, that is perfect weather for hot cocoa and cookies.

Our tentative plans are to scarf some cookies, be a bit lazy, go see a movie (cough cough Yes Man cough), and then afterwards… I think Adam (the bro) and I will recruit whatever friends I have left in town for some delightful drinking, maybe at my favorite Oakland bar, Radio. Assuming it’s open. Merry Christmas to all!!

So, I’m gonna do this thing… I’m using my insomnia and free time (the family is asleep— jet lag!) to post here about it. So, I’m going to do an actual weekly feature on specific etsy sellers… you know, the whole shebang! It being Christmas this week, I certainly won’t be expecting to have any takers… OR time to pursue them. But just an fyi!


For now, to get yourself even more firmly into the Christmas spirit, check out the art over at ArtJumble! They’ve got some awesome ‘A Christmas Carol’ character designs up this week.

by robert islas

My parents and brother are here! Yay! I also must say that retail is the cruelest invention by humans ever……

Oh, I know what I wanted to ask—

Does anyone know anything about screenprinting?


k thx!

The fam arrives tomorrow morning! Unfortunately I hafta work a half day, but knowing them it’ll take at least that long to maneuver from the SFO airport to their hotel. So it’s not a disaster that I’ll be at work. I have to put in one full day Monday and a half day Tuesday. My awesome co-manager worked something out and Wednesday I’m free the whole day. Honestly, I don’t know what we’ll do. We don’t do presents on Christmas Eve. So who knows. Dinner, obviously… drinks? Maybe. Maybe my bro and a friend or two will find a place that’s open while the parents konk out. Thursday morning is presents of course, and then brunch, and then sightseeing and then a movie. My parents are fighting over what we will see. I want to see

But my parents want to see

My parents fighting with me to see a Jim Carrey movie is a far cry from when I was 13 and dying to see ‘Dumb & Dumber’. My bro will be the deciding force and I feel like he’ll lean more towards Carrey than Pitt. Oh well. Heck, I won’t complain so long as my mom bakes the hell out of some Christmas cookies. Gimme a ziploc of those to take to the theater and I’ll sit through a snuff film.

Holy crap. I haven’t been online in basically a week.


ALSO holy crap:

It is a friggin loch ness monster necklace!!!! And it’s PRETTYYYY!

Tegan emailed me that this morning and of course I ran (clicked) straight over to etsy to stare at the items this person has to offer… they all look quite striking, and well made. They’re pretty creative, even by etsy standards if you ask me. I mean, there is a Godzilla Robot necklace. So definitely, check out VeraMeat.etsy.com. Fun!


Hrm… what else… Oh, hey, actually check out Stela’s latest over at Life of a Bird
. The pouches are so awesome.
I ought to really be getting ready to run errands… but.. I kinda just wanna lie here in bed.

Yayy! I just got in from shopping and catching a late matinee of ‘Bolt’. And yeah, maybe I went to the movie alone. I enjoyed myself, it was a fun little flick.

I’m more than happy to have had today off, and tomorrow too! I’m going to Ikea in Emeryville to scout out some new sheet sets. My room’s all gray basically so I need to get something bright.


Is this blog boring? Hellz yes! I need to scour some etsy stuffs. :)

I have seriously been nuts lately, working everyday, and TRYING to do shopping afterwards. My parents just booked their tickets and they’ll be visiting me this year since I can’t abandon the ship at Christmas. Awesome!! I haven’t seen them in a few months. And who am I kidding? I am a total kid still; I need my parents! They’re thankfully checking into a hotel with kitchenette in the suite so… what THIS means… is… CHRISTMAS COOKIESSSSS.

Seriously, in the bleak horror that IS the retail industry DURING the holiday season… this is something epic to look forward to.

I managed to bargain with my co-manager and he’s gonna work Christmas Eve so I can have the 24th and 25th with the fam. Niiiice. We are considering driving out to Monterrey or Carmel on the 24th, but that may be a bit of a trek with holiday traffic. Dad likes to hike… maybe I’ll just deposit him on the mountain and watch mom bake the cookies.

I’m totally missing out on wtf is going on with blogs and etsy and boooo. I think what I may do to get in the swing of things again is to ***feature*** an etsy shop here. Just to keep things lively. Keep the blog from disappearing down the drain along with my social life in December…. ;)

I mean, honestly, it’s 7pm on a Saturday night. ALLLLL I wanna do is give myself a pedicure, watch ‘The Office’ on dvd, and sip some hot cider.

It’s been a long week, and they’re just gonna get longer. Slow economy who!?

I can’t believe I’m dragging myself to work and missing Cyber Monday Sales.


Is anyone who pops by here having a sale?