Thank You

I wanted to thank everyone for the kind comments and emails you sent. It's nice to know other people understand what you're going through and sympathize. I received a particular touching email from someone who witnessed the accident, and wrote to let me know that Atticus was surrounded by people trying to comfort him before he was taken to the vet. So nice.

I've been finding comfort in my other animals, Boo and Pepper, and letting them know how loved they are. Pepper and I have been going for a lot of walks through the forest lately, and she's been having the time of her life. The good things, ya know?

Atticus Finch

On Saturday night, I was headed downtown to meet friends for dinner when I got a call from the Emergency Veterinary Hospital, saying they had my cat Atticus and he had been hit by a car. Tears welled up in my eyes the second they said those words, and I drove right over.

When I adopted him as a kitten, the shelter I got him from implanted a microchip in him, so the vet was able to track me down as a result. The phone number they had was out of date, but luckily I had listed my mom as an alternate contact, so they got a hold of her first. As soon as I got off the phone with the vet, my mom was calling to say she was on her way over too.

They let us into one of the exam rooms and brought Atticus out. By the time we got to see him he had been given some pain medication, and was wrapped up in a purple towel and lying on top of a heating pad to bring up his temperature. He was in shock.

We got to wait with him for about an hour, all while waiting for a vet to do an examination and see what was going on. I knew from the second I saw him, things did not look good. I'll never forget seeing him lying on the table in that towel, all four legs splayed out, because he could not put any weight on them. For the hour my mom and I waited in that room, he just lied there, occasionally looking at me, and often times just putting his head down and closing his eyes. It was heartbreaking. I kept rubbing his head and trying to let him know I was there.

After what felt like forever, the vet took him away to do an exam. I knew not to expect good news, but when he came back and said "I have bad news for you" my heart sank anyway. I don't think I stopped crying for the next 2 hours. Atticus had shattered his pelvis, injured his spine, and was showing neurological symptoms that indicated there was nothing anyone could do.

A few minutes later I was alone in a room with Atticus saying my goodbyes. He had a tiny IV in his paw, and would be given an injection that would put him to sleep. I put my nose up to his, like I do when I'm carrying him in my arms, and tried desperately to let him know I was there with him. Then he was given a needle and taken away. My poor baby.

Atticus was an absolutely amazing cat. I know everyone says that about their cats, but that's because we all love them so completely. I have so many amazing memories of him.  Most recently I've been completely in love with the way he sits beside Doug on the couch, and always rests his paw over Doug's arm while he's playing xbox. Or how him & Boo will run beside me while I'm walking Pepper, darting across neighbours' lawns and through bushes.  Lately, Atticus had taken to catching birds & mice, and then waiting patiently with them for me to open the front door. As soon as I did, he would charge at the door, bird in mouth, and try to sneak past me.  This always resulted in me screaming and trying to shoo him away. Man, good times.

When I adopted Atticus, I had gone to the shelter because I saw a picture of his brother, Boo and fell in love. When I arrived, Boo was terrified of people and scared to move out of his crate. Atticus practically burst forth from the crate and climbed into my arms and immediately started purring. I decided to take them both home. From day one, that has been his personality. Scared of no one, constantly purring, and always looking to cuddle. He's also been an amazing brother to Boo, teaching him to hunt outside, fending off Pepper for him, and generally being adorable. I keep looking at Boo now, trying to figure out if he has any sense that Atticus is gone. I've been giving him extra special pets and cuddles.

It's been a rough weekend, made rougher by the fact that Doug is away in England until Friday, and was sound asleep while all this was happening. I'm so thankful the vet called my mom's house first, because I probably would have gone there alone otherwise, and been even more of a wreck. I am still a wreck, but at least I wasn't alone. Good friends have also been amazingly supportive throughout this super sad time.

Through all of this, I can't stop thinking about how lucky I am that my cats had microchips implanted in them. Atticus had only been outside for a couple of hours when this happened, and without the phone call, I wouldn't have even been concerned until he didn't return home today. By that time, he would have already been put to sleep and the animal hospital would probably have no record of him. I would have never known what happened to my poor kitty, and he would have been alone. I am endlessly comforted that I got to be there with him in the end.

P.S. I know people have very strong opinions about indoor and outdoor cats, but can I please please please ask that this not be to the time to leave comments about them.

Keep It Up

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - it's crazy how much new stuff we have coming in these days. I can barely keep up. Non-stop drool factory over here, guys.

Kiss and Make-Up bags from Erin Templeton in the most luscious leather, and absolutely the best colour lines. These bags kill me. I die. I'm dead.

We've completely stock up in all of the exquisite leather pieces from Erin Templeton, including a sweet little rucksack, lots more purses, card cases and moleskine journal covers. Be prepared to lose it over each and every one.

I collected dolls when I was younger, and I still get the urge every so often to buy myself a really beautiful art doll. I'll admit, I have acted on that urge a couple of times. And if that's creepy, hey, whatever. I like dolls. I think more grown up people should like dolls. Especially if they have the ability to possess an uncanny resemblance to someone in your life, like the dolls from Simpli Jessi. I can't count how many times these dolls have been purchased as a gift because they reminded the giver so very much of their dear friend. And I think that's totally sweet.

Exquisite porcelain maple syrup containers from Marianne Chenard. They come in two sizes and are adorned with Canadian images. Beauty with function. Perfect.

iswas+willbe makes really delicate and really beautiful lengthy beaded necklaces. These look great layered or on their own. They also make me crave the Californian desert, for some reason. There must be some mysticism contained within.

Fun bangles from Voz in great geometric patterns and bold colours. Funny, these bracelets actually come to us from California. I must be subconsciously trying to bring the west coast to me, if I can't get to it myself.

Snoozer Loser scarves are close to our heart because they were one of the first things we got in the shop, and we were so excited to carry them. You can bet we still are! The Sewing Scissors scarf is by far our most popular, but I'm quite partial to their new Unicorn print. Lots of bold jewel tones to brighten up these dreary days.

This is our second round of BRFC screen-printed handkerchiefs in. We're always trying to find more things to carry for the stylish men out there, and these fit the bill perfectly.

Drop in this today or tomorrow for our Holiday Merry-Making event for some yuletide cheer, some crafting, some baked goods, and a peek at all these great handmade pieces.

Making Merry

This weekend will be full of fun festive activities at the shop that we're really looking forward to. Tommorow night in preparation, I'll be making batches of popcorn to bring to the shop on Friday to string and make garland. Can you believe that I've never actually made popcorn garland?! Come make some for your halls too, they're looking a little bare.

Saturday we'll have a good old fashioned holiday bake sale with Cake & Loaf bringing a selection of delicious goodies from their divine Dundurn Street bakery. They'll be joining us from 1-5, or whenever they sell out!

We'll have extended hours, along with many other shops on the street. Make sure to stop in at Mixed Media, Relish, I Fiore, Humblepie, Chaise Musicale and Hawk and Sparrow for more fun holiday times! We'll be open 11-9pm on Friday and 11-7pm on Saturday. Drop by if you're in the 'hood!

Santa's Workshop

The Santa area is all set up in Jackson Square, but as of yet I haven't seen the old man there. It's kind of neat to look at every day, and I think it's going to be pretty awesome to see kids visiting all the time once that gets underway.

I was at my mom's the other night and she pulled out a bunch of old Christmas photos. These santa ones were my fave. Those are my two brothers, Kevin and Mike with me and they were rocking some pretty serious sweat pants in all of them. I guess I am too. One month and three days until Christmas... can you believe it?

Wish List

Oh my, is it that time already? I'm sort of in Christmas denial over here, because everything seems to be moving so quickly! At the shop, we don't really like to buy into the whole retail idea that the Christmas Season starts the day after Halloween, so we have avoided doing any holiday displays or Christmas themed posts just yet. That doesn't mean we aren't thinking about it though, and that doesn't mean you shouldn't be either....

Every year we get a ton of last minute shoppers on the 23rd and 24th. Not to make any judgements here, but I would say those last minute shoppers are about 95% male. Guys shopping for their ladies are one of my very favourite things about holidays at the shop because it's just so darn sweet to see those men trying to figure out just what their lady would love. Sometimes its hard for them so, so we decided to make it a little easier for everyone with a White Elephant Wish List!

See how great this thing works? That's a live demonstration above, with me being thrilled over the lovely things I'm going to get as gift now that I've filled out the wish list! Anyone who wants can sign their name to the wish list, along with a list of lovely things they have their eye on at the shop. When someone comes in looking for a gift for that special someone, BAM, they have a whole list of things waiting for them. A registry of sorts, for no occasion at all!

Starting this week we also have Christmas cards out in the shop. Did you know that etiquette states you're supposed to have your Christmas cards in the mail by December 1st? I didn't know that either, but Hollie loves etiquette. She's my go-to etiquette guide when Emily Post isn't available. We recently got in some amazing new cards from Rifle Paper Co., Fugu Fugu Press, Dutch Door Press and Fine Day Press, so you won't fail your etiquette lessons this year.  We're looking out for you.

Come start your holiday shopping at White Elephant! We promise we won't overkill you with Christmas decorations, but we might be full of cheer.

Quiet Tones

Life things! Life is good.

A little while ago I attempted to design my own embroidery sampler. I took some tracing paper, a transfer pencil, and a ruler and made a pattern based on different embroidery stitches that I wanted to practice or teach myself. I then transfered it onto a nice piece of slate coloured linen that I had. Being a huge perfectionist (which probably draws me to the meticulous nature of embroidery in the first place) I can see flaws all over the place - whether from my stitching or my initial drawing of the pattern. But I am generally pretty pleased with how it's turning out.

The slope that my satin stitches are taking is quite troublesome though. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and remove most of those stitches for a do-over. I'm not even going over my pattern lines anymore. I'm re-watching Mad Men most of the nights that I'm working on this, and I think I've turned my attention more to Don Draper than my piece of fabric.

Towards the end of the summer, I started to get anxious about how much I had canned this year, since eating responsibly is really important to me. I felt like there was never enough time, and that this summer was going to slip by me. And then one day I looked up at my kitchen bulkheads and I realized I had captured summer just fine for Mike and I.

I'm super happy with the amount of harvest that I preserved. For only a second year of knowing how to can, I really took full advantage of my developing skills. I was also graciously given a number of preserves as gifts this year, which was really special and thoughtful. So, I didn't do all that canning. Seven jars in that photo were gifts from lovely friends. But I did can a pretty darn good amount. Pickles, relishes, jams, sauces, whole fruits and vegetables. A good bounty.

Now I KNOW that they shouldn't be up there. The kitchen only has one window and the room doesn't get much natural light. We need to do a house reorganize and get shelving and then they will live in the basement. We're getting to it. I'm also kind of holding out to get the ball rolling on taking out the shower in the bathroom off of our kitchen and putting in my dream pantry.

And you have to admit that they look kind of pretty up there.

BUT I WILL PUT THEM IN A COOL DARK PLACE SOON.

The last thing that I preserved was my first attempt at apple butter. I did a big batch, using two slow cookers, because I had holiday presents in mind. Instead of chucking all the peels and cores in the green bin from this process, I decided to try and use every last scrap for something. Using these instructions I made my own apple scrap vinegar, which I imagine to be close to apple cider vinegar. 

I don't cook with apple cider vinegar very often, but I do use it on my hair as a rinse.  I only wash my hair once a week, and when I do I only use baking soda and apple cider vinegar. For almost a year now, I've cut out buying shampoo and conditioner, in favour of a more natural solution. Now I can cut out one more thing that requires a trip to the store. The vinegar still needs to ferment for six more weeks before I can use it, so I'm pretty excited to start 2012 off with a bigger push to get back to the basics with a lot more in my life. 

This is an outfit I really love right now. Jane originally found this vintage Eaton's blouse for Ainslie Wood Co. and I'm having a hard time thinking about parting with it now that I've tried it on. 

I paired it with slim black cigarette pants (not exactly "slim" with my thighs and booty), my Amy Kenny belt, dotted tights and brown oxfords, and I feel all kinds of fancy. I may have worn this outfit three times last week to different functions with different crowds. Don't tell.

I feel a little Edwardian and a little gothy, and it's just the perfect combination at this time of year. Foggy and dark and mysterious all day and all night.

I've put one more piece of jewelry into my limited rotation lately. When Jane and I were in Ottawa, Regine and Kate gifted me this awesome vintage "Holly" bracelet that they found. They knew it wasn't the right spelling of my name, but they couldn't pass it up. I wear it all the time.

As a child, I could never find the correct spelling of my name on all those novelty friendship bracelets and pocket mirrors, so I often ended up taking home the Hollie-with-a-Y option. It reminds me of one of my favourite pieces of jewelry I had growing up - a porcelain heart brooch with "Holly" written in black script surrounded by delicate painted flowers. I hadn't thought about that in years until they handed me this bracelet. A very welcome bit of nostalgia.

Yup, life is pretty beautiful right now.

Some Things

This is my aunt, the babe. I was going through some boxes I keep meaning to unpack last night, and came across my special box of... things. It's a box full of the kind of stuff I absolutely love, can't bear to ever part with, but have no idea what to do with right now. These pictures, along with a hand full of others, were in there. I just love how babe-y my aunt looked.

My grandma, also a babe. She can be seen here too.

I found these at a flea market this summer and nearly peed. Original paper moon post cards, that have been written on the back and mailed. They are so so sweet.  Prior to Hollie and Gary's paper moon shoot, I had never ever come across these in real life.

This is a vintage hankie that Hollie embroidered my initials on. Ridiculous pretty, right?

Some photo booth pictures I have carried around forever. That's me and my oldest brother Kevin, who can usually be found here jumping off mountains. He's kind of hard core that way.

A vintage post card that I absolutely love. This has been displayed somewhere in my apartment/house ever since I got it, almost 5 years ago.  I don't know where it is, but I absolutely love it for the colors and the super awesome canoe.

Finally, some favourite jewels that I don't wear too often, even though I should. These weren't in my box of treasures, but rather sitting on top of my jewelry box, begging to be included in this post.

The little boy pendant was a gift from the girls at Victoire, almost a year ago today.   I loved it at the time because it was so bizarre, but when I wore it last year to an annual Turkey Day Party, I quickly realized it looked like a baby picture of our friend Doug.  Fast forward a year later and I'm living with Doug, so having a makeshift baby Doug pendant around my neck feels more special, and slightly creepy.

The green pendant is one I "borrowed" out of my mom's jewelry box in my teens, and still wear on occasion. It's pretty, plus she had a fairly good story behind it once that I can no longer remember. The third pendant is one I picked up a flea market years ago, and was solidly worn as my only piece of jewelry for a very long time. It's retired now, but I still love to look at it.

And that's that.  Do you have a box full of treasures you don't quite know what to do with?  How often do you go through it?

In The Shop

In the last week, we've been slowly adding some of the amazing vintage dresses we brought back from Ottawa to the shop. Tons more of these beautiful pieces will be going into the shop over the coming weeks, so keep checking back.

In the meantime, can we all please agree that the top dress in this post is probably the prettiest thing any of us have ever seen? Thank you.

Hippie Hippie Shake

Amy Kenny is one of the most uniquely talented people I know.  She is a writer, a painter, a leather-worker, a bread-baker and a surfer, amongst other things. She is a lone wolf. A real hippie babe in the absolute best way.

She recently settled into her new studio and invited me over for a peek. Up until she moved into her new digs, her studio was crammed into a tiny space in her home. It's actually kind of unbelievable that she was able to be as productive as she was there. I'm so happy to see her have the space she deserves - an expansive room in a heritage building downtown, full of natural light and character.

Amy primarily uses her studio these days for her leather line, Shoot from the Hip, which we very enthusiastically carry at White Elephant. But it also serves as a painting studio, as well as storage, and backdrop for photos for her vintage clothing shop Lake and Larch. The day I visited she was working on her first pair of leather moccasins, which turned out amazingly.

Amy likes to experiment, frequently doing custom orders for customers. Mike carries an Amy Kenny wallet, and most recently, I asked her to make a belt for me based on a favourite (but tiny) vintage belt that I already own. What she provided has become my favourite belt, one that I wear everyday, and that makes me pleased to think about how lovely that leather will age and mature with me.

Amy sources her leather and tools as close to home as she can. She's found a huge resource in downtown business Tundra Leather. But Amy is interested in every part of the process. She recently acquired her hunting license with the intent to one day be able to source her own leather. She has plans to hunt up near Terrace Bay soon with her uncle for deer, and then has a local butcher lined up to take care of the meat and a local tanner who will take care of the hides. Her interest in hunting is not soley based on sourcing her own leather, but more from a desire to connect wholly with her food source. To prove to herself that she deserves to eat meat. Pretty rad.

Everything that Amy creates is bold and vivid. Her paintings are striking and usually done in contrasting colours. Her western-inspired leatherwork draws inspiration from traditional styles, but is stained in brilliant shades. She is enthusiastic and passionate and determined. And it translates into her personal style as well. I'm always really impressed with the different colours, textures and patterns that Amy combines into amazing outfits for herself. Like a modern, gem-toned Annie Oakley or something.

A strong Canadian theme flows through a lot of her work, and it's no surprise because if she's not in the studio, you can usually find Amy outdoors - cycling, surfing, hiking, camping. It's evident that she has a true respect and connection with our earth. Naturally, it comes through in her work.

And I can't possibly go on about Amy without mentioning the love of her life, Memphis. He's happy to spend his days alongside Amy at the studio. I'd be pretty happy to spend my days there too.

Check out Amy's work online, or come down to White Elephant to see in person what one of a kind items we currently have in stock from this incredibly talented Hamilton artist.