Archive for February, 2009
Etsy Addict [Weekly Etsy]
I have an all-consuming addiction to Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade and vintage items.
I am still relatively new to the site. I stumbled upon it a year ago and it was love at first site. Since that time I’ve bought items from around the world – handbags, jewelry and more. I feel like I’m becoming more and more alienated from mainstream shops. I’m tired of wearing the same clothes as everyone else. With Etsy I purchase items that are more original and as a bonus, I’m supporting independent artists rather than some corporate behemoth that may or may not use slave or child labour.
I think people often assume that handmade means more expensive. While big companies can make large savings in using sweat shops in the third world to manufacture their goods, you pay for shipping, warehousing, marketing, and then a retail markup. I find that most of the stuff I find on Etsy is very well priced and the quality tends to be higher than that of the mass-produced mall crap.
But that’s just my opinion.
So, I thought it would be fun to do a weekly review of some neat stuff I’ve seen on Etsy. This week: Oh Canada.
Toronto
anirtak.
These blue feather earrings popped out immediately when I was browsing.
They’d look stunning with a simple black outfit or spice up a cute summer number.
Montreal
irenesuchocki.
I found it very difficult to choose which image to show. Her photos are beautiful! There are at least a dozen that I’d display proudly on my walls.
Halifax
ViveroGlass.
Often it’s the photography of a particular item that catches my eye, more so than the item itself. I love the contrast of the deep red against the bright green. ViveroGlass has a great selection of original handmade glass pendants.
Vancouver
mehran.
Love this bag. Pink is my least favourite colour, but I find it completely unoffensive in this bag. Mehran has a bunch of nice bags on her site, including a beautiful pale yellow bag.
So, next time you’re needing something new, check Etsy first, you might save some money and make a new friend in the process.
Next Etsy post I’m going to try some of the northern sellers, I’m sure there are fabulous things just waiting to be found in Nunavut, the Yukon; and Northwest Territories.
V-C-I-T-O-R-Y
Best line on Hell’s Kitchen tonight?
The pickings were slim, but I’m going to go with:
“look at it, it’s like a fucking pair of knickers”
In fact, the best lines tonight came out of the contestants. My favourite was Ben’s “You couldn’t cook my dick” – at least I thought it was dick. Dumbass Fox censors!
The best TV show ever
Sigh, if only Banzai were still on the air. I was thinking about the Top Chef finale and the signature “Place your bet NOW” line popped into my head. and I had to look up some of my faves on YouTube.
Squirrel Fishing:
Supermarket Trolley Jousting Tournament:
Lady One Question vs. Roger Moore:
And personal favourite, The Stupid Dog Sausage Challenge:
I admit, this humour is not for everyone, but it absolutely KILLS me.
B-I-N-G-O
I had a ton of fun looking up Ramsey-isms to go in this. Some brilliant quotes were simply too long to add in. Best one: “Fuck off you, you fat, useless, sack of fucking yankee-dankee doodle shite.”
That kills me every time I read it!
Back to bingo – I’ll confess I haven’t played it much – the idea of a room full of women with lucky trolls terrifies me. I assume there are drinking variants but am too lazy to look up the rules (having spent way too long finding the above quote again) so we’ll say do a shot each time you get a line. And maybe a bonus if you get Forrest Gump – like another shot. Yes, I have no imagination.
I’ll be keeping my ears open for another good quote tomorrow night – maybe we’ll do a weekly “best Ramsey-ism”.
Holy mother of Obama, that was good.
tastiest idea ever
I’ve been hearing about this tortillas for a short while now – par-baked tortillas you finish off at home. My curiosity got the better of me tonight and I popped by Nancy’s Cheese to pick some up and stock up on cheddar.
Nancy (at least I think it was Nancy) informed me they sell as fast as she can stock them. When I came in there was only one package of small flour tortillas left, but they normally also stock corn tortillas. Corn! In Canada!
She told me that they froze well too, which I said was great considering I’m taking off on Holiday in a few days. She said that they may not last that long. My goodness!
All you need to do is put them in a non-stick skillet over medium heat for about 20 seconds. You see it bubble and start to brown slightly which, I’ll admit, produced a bit of a giddy feeling.
40 seconds later, I was filling them with cheese and tossing them back on. The results were mouth watering. Nancy was right, these won’t last long at all. Every dinner until Sunday (except for tomorrow since I won’t be home) will be tortilla based, dammit!
See my ugly plates
The picture is a bit underwhelming, but this was majorly tasty! I balanced out the cheesiness with a simple cucumber and red onion salad tossed in olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Look who’s got a brand new website!
Yes, I’ve been meaning to get to this for a while now.
Stay tuned for a custom theme, news and maybe even a competition featuring me & my sister in a cooking-style dueling banjos thingamajig. Or not quite.
Anyway, I’ll leave you with this a video that seems suitable, although, for the record, I am not a Ryan Adams fan.
