happy new year!

I'm very excited to ring in 2011 - it's a new year, which means new adventures and experiences!

I want to wish all my friends, family, readers and pandacub customers a wonderful end of 2010 and a great start to 2011.

I'm not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions, because it always seems that they're more of a joke to everyone, so I'm just going to make a list of things to look forward to, including:

1. new pandacub products: I took my pandacub Etsy shop offline in December so that I could relax and focus on my family and friends. When I come back online in later in January, there will be old favourites, some new products and some other changes to the shop.

2. new contests: I already have a big contest planned for pandacub for January, plus I'm also going to be running some really cool contests on my other (beauty) blog, Cinnamon Kitten.

3. a new goal: For the past two years, one of my personal goals was to read 50 books in a year. I failed two years in a row (haha), although I did come close this year, ending the year with a whopping total of 44. This year, I'm going to try something new - I'm going to take a photo a day and post in on my Flickr site. It will be interesting since it means I'll be documenting my life for a year, plus I think it will be fun to see what photos I come up with on those "regular" days, when my routine is pretty boring (go to work, come home, sleep, LOL).

4. lose some weight: ok, ok, this is very much like a typical New Year's Resolution, and so, yes, I'm guilty of falling into the cliche of making one of these, but seriously, I want to lose 10 pounds in the next 3 months (is that unrealistic?)

5. some other personal goals:

- focus more on my career

- buy a house

- grow both my blogs

- spend more time with family and friends

What are some of your goals for 2011?

p.s. if anyone wants to join me in the "photo a day" goal, send me your Flickr link - I'd love to check out your daily photos too!

celebrating...

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're spending the holidays with your loved ones!

where did December go?

Wow, I can't believe that December (and 2010) is almost over! I've been really bad with keeping up with my blogging this past month, but work and the holidays have been taking their toll on my time management skills! LOL

I do promise to try to blog more regularly in the new year.

In the meantime, I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season and spending some time to relax with friends and family!

50 books in 2010 - update 7

Eeek! WIth only 9 days to then end of 2010, I'm SO close to my goal to read 50 books this year...and yet, I know that with the holiday season in full swing, I'm very likely NOT going to finish...but I'm very happy with the amount I have been able to accomplish this year!

1. The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper, finished January 13

2. The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser, finished February 7

3. Lamb by Christopher Moore, finished February 12

4. The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner, finished February 20

5. There Will be Dragons by John Ringo, finished February 26

6. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, finished March 2

7. Emerald Sea by John Ringo, finished March 3

8. In a Time of Darkness by John Ringo, finished March 3

9. Against the Tide by John Ringo, finished March 9

10. East of the Sun, West of the Moon, by John Ringo, finished March 15

11. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith, finished March 15

12. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, finished March 16

13. Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, finished March 18

14. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte, finished March 18

15. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished March 24

16. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, finished April 1

17. The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn, finished April 11

18. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, finished April 27

19. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist, finished May 10

20. The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy, finished May 24

21. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished June 5

22. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld, finished June 10

23. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, finished June 15

24. The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn, finished June 21

25. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay, finished July 3

26. The Shadow of the Pomegranate by Jean Plaidy, finished July 25

27. The King's Grey Mare by Rosemary H. Jarman, finished August 13

28. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, finished August 24

29. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 2

30. Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 18

31. Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 22

32. The Queen's Captive by Barbara Kyle, finished September 23

33. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, finished October 10

34. The Twylight Tower by Karen Harper, finished October 15

35. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, finished October 26

36. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory, finished November 2

37. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, finished November 6

38. The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, finished November 10

39. Crocodile on the Sandback by Elizabeth Peters, finished November 26

40. Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay, finished November 30

41. The Thorne Maze by Karen Harper, finished December 6

42. The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith, finished December 14

43. The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell, finished December 21

50 books in 2010 - update 6

Here's how I'm doing so far in my goal to read 50 books this year...

With only one more month to go, I'm going to have to do a LOT of reading in this last month to make my goal of reading 50 books! And as it's the holiday season, and that means a really busy time of year, it's going to be tough, but I'm going to give it my best shot!

1. The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper, finished January 13

2. The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser, finished February 7

3. Lamb by Christopher Moore, finished February 12

4. The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner, finished February 20

5. There Will be Dragons by John Ringo, finished February 26

6. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, finished March 2

7. Emerald Sea by John Ringo, finished March 3

8. In a Time of Darkness by John Ringo, finished March 3

9. Against the Tide by John Ringo, finished March 9

10. East of the Sun, West of the Moon, by John Ringo, finished March 15

11. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith, finished March 15

12. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, finished March 16

13. Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, finished March 18

14. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte, finished March 18

15. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished March 24

16. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, finished April 1

17. The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn, finished April 11

18. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, finished April 27

19. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist, finished May 10

20. The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy, finished May 24

21. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished June 5

22. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld, finished June 10

23. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, finished June 15

24. The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn, finished June 21

25. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay, finished July 3

26. The Shadow of the Pomegranate by Jean Plaidy, finished July 25

27. The King's Grey Mare by Rosemary H. Jarman, finished August 13

28. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, finished August 24

29. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 2

30. Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 18

31. Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 22

32. The Queen's Captive by Barbara Kyle, finished September 23

33. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, finished October 10

34. The Twylight Tower by Karen Harper, finished October 15

35. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, finished October 26

36. The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory, finished November 2

37. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, finished November 6

38. The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, finished November 10

39. Crocodile on the Sandback by Elizabeth Peters, finished November 26

Currently reading:

- The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George

- Great Harry by Carolly Erickson

- The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten

big plans for the weekend

Since I'll be closing the shop for a little while starting December 1 (read more about that here) I've decided to hold a really big sale this weekend to coincide with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.

I'll be marking down lots of items in my shop - this will be the biggest sale pandacub has ever had, so I hope you'll come check it out.

Also, if join my Facebook pandacub fan page you'll get information on how to save 10% off your entire order (and yes, this will be valid for this weekend's sale too!)

On top of all this, I'm thinking of holding a big scavenger hunt in my shop through Twitter, during which you can win lots of cool pandacub goodies - stay tuned on the blog and Facebook page for more info on that!

refreshing the shop

I'm going to spend December focusing on the holidays and my family, and also taking some time to refresh my shop - checking inventory, updating photos and introducing new products, which means that I'll be taking my Etsy shop offline for most of December.

If you want any pandacub products for the holidays, please shop early! :)

As an added bonus, I'm having a huge sale from November 27-30 (to coincide with Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales) in my Etsy Shop - so happy shopping!

The pandacub Etsy shop will be close for the holidays starting December 1, but I'll still be around to blog, email and answer convos!

lest we forget...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

- In Flanders Fields by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

which house are you?

So, Harry Potter fans - are you excited for Part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows coming on November 19?

I'm a big fan of Harry Potter and was inspired to create some bobby pins to represent the 4 Houses of Hogwarts. All 4 sets are available in my pandacub Etsy shop.

The 4 pairs of bobby pins encompass the House colours:

Gryffindor: scarlet and gold

Hufflepuff: canary yellow and midnight black

Ravenclaw: blue and bronze

Slytherin: green and silver

"You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart.
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil.
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind.
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
to achieve their ends."
- J.K. Rowling
from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

So, what House do you belong to?

sock monkey power for the holidays

Want to add a cute touch to your holiday gifts, as well as help out a good cause?

Normally every time someone buys a sock monkey brooch from pandacub, I donate $1.50 to Operation Sock Monkey (which is 50% of the selling price of the brooch), but for the entire month of November, I will be donating 100% of the selling price ($3.00) to OSM!

Operation Sock Monkey, run by my friend Lindsay, is an initiative that supports Clowns Without Borders South Africa (CWBSA). CWBSA is an amazing organization that provides laughter, hope and healing to communities affected by HIV/AIDS. I'm hoping that with your help, we can help OSM and CWBSA continue to bring smiles and laughter to children who are in much need of it.

The sock monkey brooches are available in 3 different colours and 3 different poses, so why not add a brooch to your gift packaging this year. You'll add a touch of whimsy to your gifts and help out OSM at the same time!

vacation photos

I'm the laziest vacation photographer in the world. Well, not really. I love taking photos while I'm ON vacation. I just don't have the energy after I come BACK from vacation to upload all the photos, go through them to delete any blurry ones, then crop the good ones and upload them onto Flickr.

As many of my regular blog readers know, at the end of September, I travelled to Hong Kong with my husband, sister and brother-in-law for a two-week trip (with a short excursion to Tokyo).

Ginza district at night, Tokyo, Japan

My friends, co-workers and family have all been bugging me to get something, ANYTHING online to share with them, so I finally managed to get a few shots up onto my Flickr site.

I actually have 2 Flickr accounts, in case anyone wants to add me as a contact (and I'll return the favour). pandacubcafe is the account I use to show off all the lovely things I've made for my pandacub shop. My newer account, sc_wanderlust, is more just vacation and personal photos. I've been slowly moving my personal photos from pandacubcafe to sc_wanderlust, but, as I said, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to Flickr (trying to change that!)

A cleansing pool outside a temple, Tokyo, Japan

Nan Lian Garden, Hong Kong

Anyhow, I had an absolutely AMAZING two weeks in Hong Kong and Japan and wish it were much longer. As you'll be able to see in my photos, there was a lot of eating and good food to be had.

I used to go to Hong Kong almost every other year when I was younger, but I haven't been back for over 15 years and it was by husband's first time there. It was also both our first times in Tokyo, which was really cool.

The iconic Star Ferry with Hong Kong island in the background

I've only been back for less than a month but I'm already daydreaming about our next trip! Although, I must admit, we'll probably choose somewhere that's a little closer to home - those long-haul flights are just a pain in the butt (literally!).

To see more of my vacation photos, visit my sc_wanderlust Flickr account, or click Hong Kong or Tokyo.

The Hong Kong skyline at night, as seen from the Kowloon side, Hong Kong

jet-lagged

My 2-week vacation/trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo was FABULOUS! I still need to upload my photos and sort through them, and I plan on sharing some of my trip right here on this blog, but I'm suffering from jetlag so have been slower than usual.

I got home early, early Sunday morning and was back to work today, so my body is suffering pretty badly. I'm wide awake when I should be in bed and during the day I get very exhausted and my eating pattern is out of whack too (Hong Kong is 12 hours ahead so my body is totally mixed up).

*sigh* I'm hoping to be back on this blog regularly in a few days with lots of great photos and fun travel stories!

leaving on a jet plane...

pandacub is officially leaving the country!

I'm leaving later today to fly to Hong Kong with my hubby, sis and brother-in-law! Very excited as it's a 2-week trip and I've never taken this much time off work.

I'll try to get onto the blog at least once or twice while I'm away, and hope to share some photos with everyone soon!

While I'm away, I'm leaving my pandacub Etsy shop open, but no purchases will be shipped until Oct 12, when I'm back. To make up for the delays, I'm offering free shipping on everything in the shop!

See you soon!

september giveaway winner

Just a quick post to say congratulations to Thifa - the winner of my September giveaway for a pair of autumn-inspired bobby pins and matching ring!

I'll be doing more giveaways soon, so keep an eye out for them!

Giveaway: Eyedews Under Eye Treatment

I've been really tired lately thanks to a combination of extra day-job work, trying to get my Etsy shop ready for the holidays, planning for my 2-week trip and just the usual chores and every day life. My eyes are really feeling strained lately, and although I'm usually lucky enough not to get bags under my eyes, they have been feeling really dry and weary lately.

How about you? Is your hectic lifestyle giving your eyes a tough time? Well, I have just the solution! I've been given FOUR sets of EyeDews Under Eye Treatment to give away over on my beauty blog, Cinnamon Kitten!

All the info you need to know in order to enter is over on this Cinnamon Kitten post, so go enter now!

a vacation - oh my!

I'm super excited! It seems like I haven't been on a real vacation in years and I'm finally taking a vacation - yay!

The last trip I took was last November, to Las Vegas, that lasted several days. The last week-long vacation I took was in 2006 to London, so I'm definitely overdue. I've taken a few long weekends here and there, but nothing long enough to really "get away from it all".

Anyhow, this Friday, my hubby, my sister and my brother-in-law are hopping on a plane and jetting off to Hong Kong for 2-weeks! While we're there, we're going to take a side-trip to Tokyo for 3 days.

I haven't been to Hong Kong since I was 16, so it's been a long time, but it will be my first time in Japan. It will be my husband's first time in Asia, so it's going to be a lot of new experiences for all of us.

I'm still debating whether or not to leave my Etsy shop open while I'm gone, but I definitely won't be around on the blog unless I can sneak onto a computer during my vacation. I can't wait to share my vacation photos with all of you!

I'm also going to see if I can snag some fun craft supplies while I'm over there - you know how many cute kawaii supplies they have over there!

tea oh!

I'm trying to wean myself off coffee lately and attempting to drink more tea, especially green tea, since it's much healthier for me and seem to calm me down more than coffee does.

So recently I took advantage of a deal where I could get a $20 gift card to Tea Oh for $10. I bought two of them and used them recently to buy several different kinds of loose leaf tea. I figured, if I have a variety of teas to choose from, then I'll be more prone to drink it.


They came in baggies, so I have to find some nice tins to store them in, but I bought:
Jasmine Flower Green Tea
Sencha Ceremony Green Tea
Decaf Sencha Ceremony Tea
Creamy Earl Grey Black Tea
Naked Pomtini White Tea
Great Gunpowder Green Tea
Mint Condition Herbal Tea

Yummm..can't wait to start brewing!

wordle wednesday

In honour of My Boys (and its untimely cancellation), my Wordle Wednesday is based on the show.

and another show bites the dust

I love great TV. And there has been some GREAT TV in my past. LOL.

I don't have a specific genre (although I'm not a big fan of reality or talent shows) - I love CSI, NCIS, Star Trek, Family Guy, Mythbusters, White Collar, The Sopranos, Dexter, The Tudors, Firefly, etc. I've also lately discovered some great BBC shows - Hustle, Sherlock, Keen Eddie and so on.

As you may have noticed, some of the shows I mentioned above are no longer, and now I must add another to the list. Another of my favourite shows - My Boys - was cancelled today. :(

I'm quite sad. The show was really funny and appealed to me because I'm not really a girly girl, I love sports and growing up, most of my friends were guys, so I totally related to the lead character, PJ. Plus the writing was witty and funny and very realistic.

I'll miss you My Boys. Thanks for the laughs.

cameo love

I love the look of cameos - they make me think of old-fashioned romances and gentle courtships.

Whenever I pick up a cameo to create something new, it always ends up being something very feminine and pretty, although once in a while, I end up with something edgy as well.

There are quite a few things in my shop that feature cameos. I love them so much that many of them are part of the "cameo collection".

beauty giveaway

Just a short post to let you know that over on my beauty blog, Cinnamon Kitten, I'm giving away a jar of MD Perricone Cold Plasma cream, worth $150 USD.

If you want to try out this award-winning cream, go enter now!

wordle wednesday

Time for me to play with wordle again!

A Wordle is "a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text as well as words that were used more recently.

Instead of making a wordle using this blog, which I've done for the past couple of Wordle Wednesdays, I decided to "wordle" my Etsy shop with some cute results. :)

(If you click on the image, you can view a larger version so you can read the words more easily.)

Next Wednesday I'm going to "wordle" another Etsy shop, but which one? Maybe yours! Leave a comment in this post with your shop link and you may see a Wordle made just for you next week!

september giveaway

I'm kind of sad that August has come to an end. The start of September means that the summer is pretty much over and it's time to start thinking of cooler weather and *ugh* the impending winter.

The other day I squeaked in horror when I saw 3 red maple leaves on a tree that had otherwise green leaves. Oh no! The leaves are changing colour already? I'm not ready! I'm not ready!

I guess there are some bright sides to September:

- I have a trip planned for the end of the month (more on that later!)

- I have lots of pretty jackets and sweaters to wear

- the NHL hockey season is starting up again

- ....ummm....

*sigh* Ok, I can't do it. I'm still in "summer mode".

I know that some of my readers are on the other side of the world from me, so as I move into the cold seasons, they're moving into their summer (lucky!), so no matter where in the world you are, I want to know - what are you most looking forward to this September/October?

I'll do a random draw from all entries received for this lovely autumn inspired bobby pin and ring set.

Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what you're looking forward this coming season (whether it's getting cooler or warmer in your part of the world).

Want extra entries? (you must complete the first step above before doing these)
- 1 extra entry: Follow this blog. Leave a comment telling me that you've become a Follower (or that you were already a Follower).
- 1 extra entry: Become a Facebook fan at http://www.facebook.com/pandacubshop. Leave comment telling me that you've become a fan (or that you were already a fan).

- 1 extra entries: Follow me on Twitter (pandacubcafe) and tweet about this contest (use the tag @pandacubcafe so I can see your tweet). Leave a comment letting me know you've done this.
- 10 extra entries: Buy anything from my pandacub shop. Come back and leave a comment letting me know what you bought and your Etsy username.

Remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Notes:
- This contest closes at midnight (ET) on Friday, September 17, 2010.
- Winner will be announced on this blog shortly after the contest closes.
- This giveaway is open worldwide.

GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE!

star sign rings - update 4

As we start moving into the fall seasons, I'm already starting to plan for my pandacub Etsy shop.

As most people can imagine, the holidays are a pretty busy time of year, so keeping on top of what's going on in my shop is really important - if only to make sure that everyone gets their purchases in time for the gift-giving season!

So, just a reminder that my very unique star sign rings are in limited demand so shop early to avoid disappointment!


Even though I've been searching constantly, I still haven't been able to find any more of these stunning vintage intaglios, so I can definitely say that these rings are VERY rare and unique. As I've mentioned on this blog before, I only made 2 of each symbol and unless I can uncover more intaglios (and it doesn't look good), this will be it. Many of the zodiac signs are already sold out, so get yours before it's too late!

Check out this great Look Book outfit that includes my Taurus star sign ring!

Here's an update on what's available:
Aries - 1 available
Taurus - SOLD OUT
Gemini - 1 available
Cancer - SOLD OUT
Leo - SOLD OUT
Virgo - SOLD OUT
Libra - SOLD OUT
Scorpio - 1 available
Sagittarius - SOLD OUT
Capricorn - 1 available
Aquarius - 1 available
Pisces - 1 available

wordle wednesday

Time for me to play with wordle again!

A Wordle is "a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text as well as words that were used more recently.

I get the prominence of "Sherlock" and "Holmes" considering I just did a feature on Etsy sellers inspired by Sherlock Holmes, but look how big "finished" is! It must be because of all the books I've "finished" reading in my quest to read 50 books in one year.

(If you click on the image, you can view a larger version so you can read the words more easily.)

50 books in 2010 - update 5

Here's how I'm doing so far in my goal to read 50 books this year...

1. The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper, finished January 13

2. The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser, finished February 7

3. Lamb by Christopher Moore, finished February 12

4. The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner, finished February 20

5. There Will be Dragons by John Ringo, finished February 26

6. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, finished March 2

7. Emerald Sea by John Ringo, finished March 3

8. In a Time of Darkness by John Ringo, finished March 3

9. Against the Tide by John Ringo, finished March 9

10. East of the Sun, West of the Moon, by John Ringo, finished March 15

11. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith, finished March 15

12. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, finished March 16

13. Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, finished March 18

14. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte, finished March 18

15. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished March 24

16. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, finished April 1

17. The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn, finished April 11

18. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, finished April 27

19. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist, finished May 10

20. The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy, finished May 24

21. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished June 5

22. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld, finished June 10

23. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, finished June 15

24. The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn, finished June 21

25. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay, finished July 3

26. The Shadow of the Pomegranate by Jean Plaidy, finished July 25

27. The King's Grey Mare by Rosemary H. Jarman, finished August 13

28. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, finished August 24

29. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurst, finished September 2

Currently reading:

- The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George

- Great Harry by Carolly Erickson

pandacub wants...sherlock holmes (and watson too!)

My husband and I have just finished watching the third episode of the absolutely brilliant Sherlock series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman (from the British version of The Office) as Watson.

I love reading Sherlock Holmes (my favourite is the Hound of the Baskervilles), and have watched several different interpretations of the characters through the years. This one is a modern take on the characters (Holmes is quite fond of texting and Watson has a blog), it's very well written and acted and I'm quite upset that the first season (or series, as they say in the UK) was only 3 (yes, THREE) episodes long.

But I'm super happy and excited to find out that on Aug 10, they just renewed Sherlock of a second series so there will definitely be more great episodes to come!

In the meantime, I'm browsing Etsy for Sherlock-inspired items.

Top row:
1. Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...mini wooden library book - hand made from scratch...from the elloh public library...one of a kind...keychain or miniature wall art, $24.00 by elloh
2. Sherlock Holmes Tote Bag, $20.00 by chibitoaster
3. Sherlock, $15.00 by boisdarc

Middle row:
4. Sherlock Holmes, 8 x 10 art print, $13.00 by Larriva
5. Sherlock Holmes - 13 inch Version - Macbook Vinyl Decal, $12.00 by TheDarkMonkey
6. Sherlock Holmes, $50.00 by Jtnee

Bottom row:
7. Sherlock Color Graph Afghan pattern, $3.20 by CrochetChest
8. Sherlock Holmes Tie Tack - Come Watson - the Game is afoot, $8.00 by pretentiousjewelry
9. Sherlock - Etching on Clay Brooch, rolled edge setting, $35.00 by Musetypes

wordle wednesday

I've just spent 30 minutes playing with Wordle and I'm addicted. So I've decided to start Wordle Wednesday so that I have an excuse to play with Wordle at least once a week.

A Wordle is "a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text." I've also noticed that the Wordle also gives prominence to words that have appeared more recently - so I guess I've been talking about Shakespeare a lot lately. LOL

If you click on the image, you can view a larger version so you can read the words more easily.

50 books in 2010 - update 4

Here's how I'm doing so far in my goal to read 50 books this year...

1. The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper, finished January 13

2. The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser, finished February 7

3. Lamb by Christopher Moore, finished February 12

4. The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner, finished February 20

5. There Will be Dragons by John Ringo, finished February 26

6. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, finished March 2

7. Emerald Sea by John Ringo, finished March 3

8. In a Time of Darkness by John Ringo, finished March 3

9. Against the Tide by John Ringo, finished March 9

10. East of the Sun, West of the Moon, by John Ringo, finished March 15

11. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith, finished March 15

12. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, finished March 16

13. Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, finished March 18

14. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte, finished March 18

15. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished March 24

16. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, finished April 1

17. The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn, finished April 11

18. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, finished April 27

19. Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist, finished May 10

20. The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy, finished May 24

21. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, finished June 5

22. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld, finished June 10

23. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, finished June 15

24. The Queen's Sorrow by Suzannah Dunn, finished June 21

25. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay, finished July 3

26. The Shadow of the Pomegranate by Jean Plaidy, finished July 25

27. The King's Grey Mare by Rosemary H. Jarman, finished August 13

28. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, finished August 24

Currently reading:

- The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George

- Great Harry by Carolly Erickson

hmmm...i think more training is needed

Although my husband and I have been trying to eat healthier for the past couple of years, but every so often we like to cheat a little and be very bad.

One of our weaknesses is McDonald's and so whenever we go, I tend to get a Big Mac. Mmmm, Big Mac.

Anyhow, the last time we went to our local McDonald's, we did the drive-through so didn't see our food until we got home. So when I opened my Big Mac box, this was what was waiting for me:

LOL! The person who put my Big Mac together put both patties on the bottom. Seriously? How hard is it to put together a Big Mac? So basically, I tossed the top bun and turned it into a double cheeseburger.

It's funny, in a really sad sort of way.

pandacub wants...more shakespeare

As I blogged about on Sunday, I was lucky enough to have tickets to watch Christopher Plummer as Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest on Saturday, so I have a little bit of Shakespeare on the brain.

I was never really interested in the Bard in high school (there's something that turns me off whenever I'm "forced" to read something) but now that I'm a little bit older, and wiser, I can definitely appreciate more the witty wordplay and cultural impact of Shakespeare.

Let's see what a search of "Shakespeare" turned up on Etsy...

Top row:
1. Exit pursued by a bear, $1.00 by beanforest
2. Shakespeare Art Taming of the Shrew 8.5 x 11 Print, $18.00 by thedreamygiraffe
3. Shakespeare Smarty Pants Tie, $20.00 by inhope

Middle row:
4. Shakespeare- 8 X 10 Digital Print, $20.00 by Goobeetsa
5. Tempest Journal - Shakespeare Leatherbound Blank Book, $35.00 by immortallongings (this is the second journal that I've bought from immortallongings - they're even more stunning in person!)
6. To Be Or Not To Be, $20.00 by CupcakesAndMace

Bottom row:
7. sterling silver ring engraved Love all,trust a few, do wrong to none. size 6 1/2 (M1/2), $120.00 by pocketfullofpoesy
8. A Plague on All Your Houses Shakespearean Pin Brooch from Hoolala, $4.00 by hoolala
9. William Shakespeare's Hamlet 'To Be Or Not To Be' Brass Cuff, $38.00 by JezebelCharms

brave new world

Yesterday some friends joined me and my husband and we travelled to the lovely town of Stratford a little west of Toronto to check out a play at the Stratford Festival. (Yes, for you Bieber fans out there - this is his hometown).

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival runs from April to November and is very well known around the world for it's productions of Shakespearean plays. The Festival does put on other plays (for example, Peter Pan is currently on right now as well), but Shakepeare's work typically counts for about a quarter of the Festival's offerings.

We were lucky enough to get tickets to see Shakespeare's The Tempest, which is pretty much sold out. It's a popular draw this year because the amazing Christopher Plummer was playing the lead role of Prospero.


Stratford is a sweet little town and obviously, a lot of its economy is based on the Fetival.

Here's the large Festival Hall, one of several theatres that hosts the plays (Festival Hall is the largest one)


This is a metal statue of Shakespeare that stands in the Festival Hall gardens. It's actually a little spooky - it has kind of robotic "Terminator" eyes. haha.


The play itself was truly amazing. I'm not one for plays, but this one was spectacular. Plummer is a powerful presence on stage and I can understand all the acting accolades he's received in his lifetime. What an experience!

tennis, anyone?

I'm not a big tennis fan, but when I was given a pair of tickets to the Rogers Cup tennis tournament here in Toronto, I was excited to go because Roger Federer was playing. Hey, if I'm going to watch my first live tennis match, it may as well be to watch one of the best, right?

The Rogers Cup tournament annually takes place in Toronto and Montreal and alternates every year - this year the men play in Toronto and the women play in Montreal and next year they flip.

Currently ranked number 3 in the world, Roger Federer has won 16 grand slam tournaments (a mens player record) and was playing against Juan Ignacio Chela.

Look at the crowd! I think the stadium was full (it holds 10,500, according to their web site) on a Tuesday night!

Federer won 7-6, 6-3 and I'm now officially a Roger Federer fan. :)

get a free pandacub button headband and 20% off your next purchase!

It's our birthday, but you get the gifts!


Do you own something from pandacub? If so, I need your help! To celebrate the pandacub 2-year anniversary, I'd love to put together a page of fan photos, but I can't do it without your help!

E-mail me a photo of you wearing a pandacub item and receive a free pandacub button headband and 20% off your next purchase! Here's all you need to do:

- email a photo of you wearing something you bought (or received as a gift) from pandacub to pandacubshop@gmail.com. Include your name and full mailing address in your email.

- in return, I'll send you a randomly chosen pandacub button headband and a discount code that gives you 20% off your next purchase from pandacub (each code will be unique and can only be used once)

- The 20% discount will be applied to your entire purchase (not just one item), but will not be applied to shipping costs

Do you own more than one item? You can submit more than one photo! For EACH different item you send me a photo of, you'll get a different code! That means if you send me 5 photos of you wearing 5 different things, you'll get 5 codes to use on 5 future purchases! (Sorry, only one headband per person)

So, what are you waiting for? Grab those digital cameras and get snapping! I can't wait to see your photos!

This offer is available until August 31, 2010.

Please note: by submitting your photos, you give me permission to post them on my blog / Facebook page in order to help promote my shop (I will not post any personal info, but may use your first name to credit who submitted the photo)

Images include a sample of some of the headbands I've made (the one you receive will be randomly chosen and may or may not look like the ones shown in this post).

lotus blossom

More photos from our weekend away - check out the cool lotus blossom that was in the koi goldfish pond in front of the back deck of the cabin.

The evening we arrived the blossom was closed:

And the next morning:

annual weekend away

Every year for the past three years my husband, sister and brother-in-law have spent a weekend at a lovely little bed and breakfast about 1.5 hours outside of Toronto. Besides having the entire cabin to ourselves, the cabin itself is nestled on a conservation area, which includes a 7-hole "natural" golf course and an organic vegetable garden.

We usually spend the entire weekend outside, golfing and relaxing. This year, we had a little "visitor" - one of the farm cats, who has the run of the place, decided to join us for the first couple of holes of golf. She was so cute! She's only a year old and loved dashing after the golf balls and batting them around after they landed. Being a young kitten, she lost interest pretty quickly and would dash off from place to place.

And of course, there were the spectacular breakfasts that we were served each morning!

*cough, cough*

Ugh. If you don't follow me on Twitter, then you probably don't know that I'm really sick. I came down with a sudden flu last Thursday and now it's turned into bronchitis. :(

So please forgive the lack of blog posts while I try to rest and recover. It's taking all my strength just to catch up on emails and my day job responsibilities that whenever I have a spare moment, I'm either sleeping or brewing more tea.

I hope to be back up to semi-regular health by this weekend, which would be great since I have a weekend away planned with my hubby, sister and brother-in-law (hopefully the weather is nice and I'll have some photos to share!)

Stay healthy everyone!

pandacub summer sale

Summer is when pandacub is really in full swing - it's a time when everyone is sporting fresh, fun accessories in lots of bright colours and pandacub is full of affordable, bright pieces that can easily add a little "pop" into your summer wardrobe.

So to celebrate the nice hot summer months, I'm having a summer sale and it's pandacub's biggest sale yet! There are lots of items that are on sale in the pandacub Etsy shop - all items in the summer sale are at least 25% off and many are customer favourites.

This is a great chance for you to stock up on some sweet accessories at great prices.

I'm constantly adding pieces to the summer sale section, so check back often! The sale will end on August 20 (which just happens to be pandacub's 2-year anniversary on Etsy).

unscientific giveaway poll and celebration giveaway update

pandacub is celebrating its second anniversary on August 20 (yes, the store opened on Etsy almost two years ago - how quickly time flies!) and I'm already thinking of a spectacular giveaway to celebrate, but I want your input.

Leave me a comment and help me think up creative ways to hold a giveaway! I need help with two parts:

1. What should people do to be entered? Something simple, like the usual "leave a comment"? Or something more involved?

2. What would you want to win? Would you prefer specific items from the shop? Or a gift certificate so you can choose what you want to get?

The more suggestions, the better, so start those creative thoughts and comments coming!

And an update on my previous giveaway that just ended:

Congratulations to the winner of the celebration giveaway - dhesh!

Dhesh chose the flaunt bobby pins in purple (a very popular choice). They're already made and on their way to South Africa!

pandacub wants...ice cream

Toronto has just gone through a week-long heat wave. And since last winter, when it was -39 degrees C and icy, I vowed never to complain about the heat again, I didn't say one negative thing about the heat. But I did have lots of cold drinks handy!

One thing I didn't have a lot of, and would like more of, is ice cream!

Top row:
1. Crochet Pattern - FRUITY ICE CREAM - Play food, $5.99 by skymagenta
2. Ii is for Ice Cream, $14.00 by ModernPop
3. PDF Printable- Kawaii Pink and Green Ice Cream Trucks, $2.50 by paperglitter

Middle row:
4. Personalized Ice Cream Ice Cream Man Bowls with Handles (set of 4), $55.00 by happiestdaysdesigns
5. Roscata Pastel Ice Cream Cone Purse Charm Bag Charm, $18.00 by roscata
6. Big Scoop, $50.00 by CharleneFreemanArt

Bottom row:
7. Cat Art- Stolen Cone - Print, $18.00 by amberalexander
8. with a cherry on top - 5x7 fine art photograph, $15.00 by heidiherrera
9. Grape and kiwi ice cream cone post earrings, $8.00 by mmagda

super smooth legs and a Skintimate contest!

I hate shaving, but I love having nice smooth legs, especially in the summer. So having a great shaving cream is ultra important as it makes the "chore" of shaving legs a little more bearable.

Skintimate has given me a great gift basket to give away to one lucky reader of my beauty blog that will definitely make shaving a little bit easier to handle!

Want a chance to win the gift basket, which is valued at over $80? Go over to my Cinnamon Kitten beauty blog and enter (sorry, this one's for Canadians only!)

Happy Canada Day!

Yay! I'm so happy to have 4 days off!

Today is Canada Day so I wanted to take this oppportunity to wish all my fellow Canadians a very special (and hopefully fun-filled day!)

I will be spending the day relaxing with my hubby after a very long and hard couple of weeks and am looking forward to doing nothing at all.

How about you? How are you spending the holiday?