Shop Update: A 2017 Thank You

December 31, 2017



First off, we would like to thank you for such an amazing year. 2017 was the first time that we traveled to another city for a handmade market, and we were welcomed with open arms.

It was also the first year that we took part in multiple markets -- including an online market -- and we were very excited to meet so many new people, and see some familiar faces.

We also expanded beyond paper this year, and, for the first time, we made t-shirts. Later on, we added enamel pins with the same image on it to the roster. It was unbelievable to be able to see our work on a t-shirt and a pin!

It was an incredible year for Little Shop of ElleSee, and we know that it would have been impossible without you. We wish you all the best in 2018, and can't wait to share with you everything that we are, and will be, up to. See you next year! 


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An ElleSee Christmas Music Playlist

December 17, 2017


My family's tradition is to wait until my Grandad's birthday (November 19) before we start listening to Christmas music. When he passed away 22 years ago, it became a moment for us to also remember him. A salute to Grandad. I'll have to admit that there were a few times this year that I listened to Christmas music before that day, but I was pretty close to sticking to tradition. 

I grew up listening to my parents collection of Christmas music on vinyl. My personal favourite was to put on some Bing -- I'm also a huge fan of the White Christmas film -- and as tapes and CDs were added to our collection, I loved listening to Amy Grant and Celine Dion. I also loved listening to the music in Christmas movies like Home Alone and A Charlie Brown Christmas. 

YouTube, and Google Play have since opened up many more doors to music, and now I have a massive collection of Christmas music that I didn't know about before -- plus there's all the music that has been added to the genre since I was younger.

Christmas music gives me a warm fuzzy feeling like no other type of music, and it really helps me get into the holiday spirit -- and sometimes mellow out -- so I made a list of some of my favourites to share with you. What are some of yours?

Oldies (The Classics)
White Christmas - The Drifters
The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks

From the Movies
Somewhere in My Memory - John Williams (Home Alone Soundtrack)
Christmastime is Here (Instrumental) - Vince Guaraldi Trio 

From Before
This Christmas - Donny Hathaway
Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney 

From Now
Christmas Lights - Coldplay 
Christmastime to Me - Jordin Sparks
Little Drummer Boy - Pentatonix
Maybe this Christmas - The Lower Lights



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What We Love: Fall 2017

November 03, 2017

source

I recently picked up a new pair of Sugoi running pants that has an inner fleece layer for colder weather, and they have become more than just my running pants...I wear them as my comfy pants too. I cannot get enough of these pants. They are so cozy, and the tighter feel -- being leggins -- makes my legs think they are getting a warm hug. (bonus: these pants are made in Canada!)



The guitar in this song got me. It got me real good. I have been a fan of Lights' music for a long time now -- I even saw her perform live while 4 months pregnant -- and this has got to be one of my favourites since she released Banner while I was on maternity leave.





I honestly couldn't pick one pin that I liked best from the shop Just Duet, so I picked three of my favourite foods to share with you (pizza cat, taco cat, burger cat). I highly recommend that you check out more of the adorable cat food pins in the shop.


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Shop Update: Free Shipping Within Canada Until Christmas

October 21, 2017
It may seem a bit early to start thinking about Christmas shopping, but when you're online it's good to start looking before it's too late to get what you need. 

We just wanted to let you know that you can get free shipping in Canada on orders over $25 from now until Christmas by following the link https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/LittleShopofElleSee?coupon=XMASSHIPPING, or using the coupon code XMASSHOPPING when you go through the checkout section in the shop.

Happy shopping!



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Walt Disney World Adventures 2017

October 15, 2017


This is the fourth time that I have been to Walt Disney World -- the second for my son, and who knows how many for my husband. This time we decided to make it a surprise for our son, and we told him all about our adventure soon after we had woken him up to head to the airport.

I am by no means a Disney expert, but I noticed that this time around I was able to pay attention to more of the little things in all of the different lands in Walt Disney World -- I always describe it as a city with it's own transportation system and different districts to explore. Instead of being in awe of all the big things that grab your attention when you first go, I noticed things like how you can see Space Mountain and Cinderella's Castle from the top of Thunder Mountain Railroad. 

It definitely made for a different experience -- for those that think it might become quite dull going so many times -- and it made me appreciate the attention to all of the most minute details that the people of Disney take into consideration. It truly is a magical experience, and one that you must experience for yourself in order to understand what a wonderful vacation destination it can be.


*I also got to see the clock on the It's a Small World ride for the first time. I didn't even know it was a clock!





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Forget Her Not: World Alzheimer's Month 2017

September 01, 2017


My grandparents lived in Australia for most of my life. They were ex-pats in search of adventures that took them around the world with their family, but life brought them back home as they began to age and wanted to be near family. Not too long after they moved back, my Grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and she moved into a wonderful care home where my Grandpa would go and visit her every day.

If I'm being honest, I never really knew my Grandma. Having lived in Australia and only visiting a couple of times until I was in high school, the opportunity to get to know her before the disease took over was never there. Most of what I do know comes from the stories my Grandpa and my Dad have told about her, as most of the time that I spent with her she didn't talk to me. She sounds like she was an amazingly strong woman with a fantastic sense of style. I love looking at old photographs of her as her posture suggests that she was sassy, fun and full of life.

What I do remember are little moments that I had with her, and parts of her personality that she used to conceal what was happening to her. I remember her laugh that she had when someone asked her a question she didn't know the answer to, and she would look to my Grandpa for help. Or that time I looked after her while my Dad took my Grandpa to the symphony, and she answered the phone upside-down and didn't remember that she had to say "hello".

The one thing that I know she had no difficulties with, until she lost her voice, was singing songs from yesteryear while my Grandpa sat at the piano accompanying her. They would be there for hours making music together, and I know this was a very special time for them because he would visit her at the care home and continue to play music for her to listen to -- even after she had passed, my Grandpa would continue to play music for the other residents, until he could no longer go.

It is this life. It is this memory of the most pure joy, the most pure love, that brings me back year after year for the month of September to donate 15% of the shops profits to the Alzheimer Society of Canada to provide support to those who are suffering from the disease and their families, and to promote research. Help support the cause and give a voice to those affected by Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Forget them not.



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Read It: Go Set A Watchman

August 13, 2017


I started reading Go Set A Watchman last summer, and, as much as I enjoyed reading the memories that Scout shared from her childhood -- believe me, there was a hilarious story she shared with Jem and Dill that I still think about -- it was was one of those books that I easily put down in distraction of other books. But, I picked it up again this past winter and learned a few life lessons as I continued reading:

I found that there were some startling parallels between a book that was written in the late 1950s and what was going on at the time that I was reading it. It blew my mind that the world has not changed much in the 60 years since Go Set A Watchman was written, and that the things that has been sitting under the surface are still there. Harper Lee was acutely aware of things that a lot of people kept, and still keep, hidden in society.

One thing that a lot of people were upset over was the fact that our dear Atticus Finch is portrayed as racist in this novel. But, what some people are not remembering is that this book was written before To Kill A Mockingbird, which means he always was racist, it just wasn't evident when we first met him. To assume that there is not an ounce of racism in him simply because of his actions and words in To Kill A Mockingbird is unfair, and Go Set A Watchman shows us that we truly do not know the inner workings of the minds of others. To have put Atticus on a pedestal was a big mistake on our part, and Go Set A Watchman sets all of us straight, including Jean Louise.

I thought a lot of my childhood and the moment that I grew into my own person while reading the conversation that Jean Louise has with Dr. Finch, her uncle. That moment when you no longer hang on to the thoughts and ideals of your parents and realise that you have created your own. When you become your own person. It was when he called her a bigot that it really got to me, and I realised that I am the exact same way:

"Dr. Finch bit his under lip and let it go. 'Um hum. A bigot. Not a big one, just an ordinary turnip-sized bigot.'

Jean Louise rose and went to the bookshelves. She pulled down a dictionary and leafed through it. '"Bigot,"' she read. '"Noun. One obstinatly or intolerably devoted to his own church, party, belief, or opinion."...'

'...What does a bigot do when he meets someone who challenges his opinions? He doesn't give. He stays rigid. Doesn't even try to listen, just lashes out...You have a tendency not to give anybody elbow room in your mind for their ideas, no matter how silly you think they are." (p.267)

Reading that passage was a real "a-ha" moment for me, and reminded me of this article that I had previously read about false-consensus bias, people that believe in a different point of view than you, and the fact that our opinion might just be wrong. I am one of those people that does not give in easily when fighting about an opinion that I believe is right, and it is something that I am truly working on. -- "This is not to say the Other Side is “right” but that they likely have real reasons to feel that way. And only after understanding those reasons can a real discussion take place...And you won’t convince anyone to feel the way you do if you don’t respect their position and opinions."

Go Set A Watchman was more than just the "sequel" to a good book, for me. It surprised me by being incredibly relevant. It also taught me that I still have a lot to learn, and made me question if I have truly set my own watchman.

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All About Food: The Valuable Lesson I Learned From My Visit To Cuba

August 07, 2017


When it came to what we were going to eat in Cuba, I didn't know what to expect -- see my vacation here. The reviews of our resort were mixed between saying that the food was bland, or that there was nothing wrong with it at all. I knew that we wouldn't be getting French cuisine while we were there, and I'm not much of a sauce person so bland food doesn't bother me anyway. 

What I discovered while we were there was a buffet full of fresh fruits, meats, and some vegetables. I am assuming that over time the resorts have figured out the kind of expectations that we have when it comes to food, and have tried their best to provide us all with food that it similar to what we eat at home as there were definitely foods that were imported -- like the jams and jellies that I liked to put on my crepe-like pancake as there was no syrup.

But this is beside the point. The food that I ate in Cuba was fresh and -- mostly -- local, and I lived my days eating foods that I wouldn't normally be eating at home. I ate very little meat and focused more on the fruits and salads, breads and rice that were available to me -- because there was no junk food for me to gobble up, except for colas.

What I didn't notice then, that I figured out once I was back in Canada, was that my body was detoxing from all the foods back at home, and, as soon as I started back into my old habits at home, I got sick. 

While I was laying at home sick on the sofa, I watched a couple of documentaries on Netflix -- I loooove documentaries on Netflix. One of them was a show about food and the effects that it has on our body called Hungry for Change

As I was laying there exhausted from the illness that I had developed from the food that I had eaten when I came home, and realised that I had been exposed to such fresh food -- and nothing else -- while I was away, I knew that I had to go back to what I was eating like in Cuba.

I'm not going to lie to you, I still eat chips, drink pop, and go out for supper to places that we really shouldn't be going, but my main focus is on vegetables and fruits. I eat salads and fresh cut veggies every day, and I eat fruit and nuts on my porridge instead of brown sugar. I have made little adjustments here and there in my diet that have made a huuuuuge difference to my body that I would have never figured out had I not gone to Cuba.

Most of you that have been following along for a while know that I have been going through a weight loss period for about five years now -- read the history here. While I haven't done a "Weight Update" in quite a while, you can consider this my newest one. 

Around this time last year I decided I wanted to lose a couple more pounds -- the last of my weight loss goal -- and I did it by counting calories, etc. It was difficult, and took me a long time to achieve my goal. Some days I felt like I was practically starving myself, but I never felt good, healthy. My asthma became a serious issue again during my pregnancy seven years ago, and I was still relying on my steroid inhaler a lot -- which is something I don't like to do.

Since I began making vegetables and fruits my main focus, I am so proud to be able to tell you that I have not used my inhalers -- steroid or Ventolin -- once since my visit to Cuba back in January. I do not remember the last time that I became seriously ill, and as soon as I feel myself becoming sick, I do a mental check and realise that I have been eating really junky and get back on track again and the sickness goes away. I have lost the last couple of pounds for good, and even a couple more that I was surprised about.

It's so hard to explain, and not sound super preachy about it. Just know that I learned a valuable lesson that I know has done my body good.



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What We Love: Summer 2017

July 31, 2017


This romper has been one of my main go-to outfits so far this summer. I tried it on on a whim thinking that it wasn't quite my style, but ended up loving it. It feels like a dress, fits nicely in all the right areas -- I especially like how snug it is in the torso -- and is not so short that it reveals too much when you bend over. Plus, it is a romper that my husband actually likes.



I honestly couldn't tell you where I first hear this song, but I absolutely love it and think that it is a perfect song for summer. It's got a sweet beat that you have no problem dancing to. In fact, as soon as the song comes on, my body starts to move involuntarily.



I have always loved the water. I lived in the next door neighbour's pool while growing up, and enjoy taking my son to our local outdoor pool -- and the lake -- every summer. It wouldn't feel like summer if you didn't spend a little bit of time in an outdoor pool. This art print from Helo Birdie take me back to my summers at the pool every time I look at it -- it also makes me wish I was on a tropical vacation! 



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Shop Update: Three Prints and Malala Fund

July 09, 2017


I am so excited to be able to share with you that not only are there three new art prints available in the shop, but $1 from every purchase of those three prints (Malala, Frida, and Nasty Woman) will be donated to Malala Fund which advocates — at local, national and international levels — for resources and policy changes needed to ensure all girls complete 12 years of school.

As you know, I am a big fan of Malala Yousafzai (Read It and Inspire Me), and, as I was trying to figure out which organization to donate proceeds from the Nasty Woman art print to, I came up with the idea to create a couple more art prints with quotations from the two woman that have inspired me recently and donate proceeds from all three to support education -- which is something that is near and dear to my heart as an Early Childhood Educator.



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Waskesiu Day Trip 2017: The Hike

July 08, 2017


We went on a hike through the forest of Prince Albert National Park on a trail called Boundary Bog -- read more about our day trip here. It was a longer hike for my son, but he prevailed and we were rewarded with a lovely view of the eye of the bog.

I am always humbled by a hike in the Boreal forest. I love the feeling of walking among the trees that have stretched as high as they could towards the sun, and, as you can see, I am a big fan of taking photos of fungi -- including my son. The things that grow, are capable of growing, and the things that happen in the forest are absolutely fascinating. You could almost say it's magical, and it's transformational for the spirit as well.



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Waskesiu Day Trip 2017: Town Site

July 05, 2017


Since our visit two years ago, we have been yearning to go back to Waskesiu. We made a day trip this time around, and stopped in the town site after a hike to be able to explore the beach -- where we saw a ton of butterflies -- and get yummy treats from the local bakery. 

One of our favourite stops is the Prince Albert National Park Nature Centre. We were fortunate enough to have visited just after the centre re-opened after some renovations. It was a lot of fun the last time that we were there, but now it is beyond what it originally was. As you can see, we were really drawn to the dress-up area, but there was also a puppet theatre with a pretend fire pit where we made up a couple of little plays, a miniature canoe, and a game where you toss fish into a pelican's mouth. 

There were also a lot of areas set up to learn about the environment of Waskesiu. There was a spot where you could listen to different bird calls, and try to lift elk antlers -- which are a lot heavier than you can imagine. Because the centre has created an environment centred more around the cultures of the peoples originally from the area, we were able to learn about the 6 Seasons of the Woodland Cree, which I think we should adopt instead of the four season we currently use -- among other things.


Stay tuned for photos from our morning hike.



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Read It: Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

June 19, 2017


I bought this book straight off the shelf in the bookstore. I had never heard of it, or the author, before, but I was intrigued by the content and possibilities of learning that would come with it. I was not disapointed. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote a beautiful letter to a good friend and her newborn daughter, and was kind enough to share it with the world. And for that, I am grateful.

Let me start off by saying that I like how she wrote the book in the form of "suggestions" and not "rules" on how to be a feminist. There is nothing pushy, or rude about the way that she approaches the subject, and you can take what you want from what she shares. How I grew up, my own life experiences, my self-assessments all play a large part in how I view myself as a woman, and how I view other women -- this is true of everyone.

As the mother of a young boy, I read this book as a way to raise my son as a feminist without any changes to the suggestions -- as if they were only meant for girls. Obviously there are some things I will have to alter slightly as he will grow up with society teaching him that he is better in every respect simply because he is a boy. But, the changes I mean are subtle, like respecting women that want to be a full person; keeping a household and raising children together with his spouse; supporting his spouse in all of the choices that she makes and not "allowing" her to do them -- assuming he will marry a woman. These are all suggestions written in the book, but the way they are written is for a woman fighting to make these a reality, not for a man that is going to help her.

I believe he sees a lot of this in the marriage that my husband and I have, and we have surrounded ourselves with strong people that show him a positive influence, but we all slip up sometimes. This book is a good reminder of which direction I want to go myself, and which direction I want to raise my son.

The book also made me realise how fortunate I was to grow up in the household that I did. I was never told that I couldn't play ball, play rough, show an interest in woodworking, or even learn how to fix things that were broken. I was never pushed in a certain direction that was considered more feminine. I was never told I couldn't do something or wear something because it was "for boys". I was allowed to discover and explore the world in which ever way that I wanted, and for that I am truly grateful. My parents probably never realised that they were raising me to be a feminist, but I appreciate that they fostered my interests and this book helped me to see that.




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Shop Update: Paris of the Prairies T-Shirts

June 17, 2017


We are so excited to announce that Paris of the Prairies t-shirts are now available at one of the shops where our cards are stocked in Saskatoon, Soul Paper. It is available in two styles: women's crew-neck and unisex v-neck in sizes small-large -- for now.

This has been a project a long time in the making, and it feels good to finally be able to reveal what we have been working on. We also have a few other ideas up our sleeves -- pun intended -- that we can't wait to share with you!



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Exploring Elk Ridge: Focusing on the Positive

May 29, 2017


A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege to listen to Darci Lang and Darren Lang speak at a conference for my day job. I didn't know what to expect going into it, but I came out of that weekend with a different perspective, not just of my job, but of my life.

We went for a walk through Elk Ridge in Waskesiu after the first day, and it was incredibly uplifting. I couldn't have gone on such a walk with anyone but the wonderful and talented women that I work with and am proud to call my friends. 

Darren Lang was the first speaker, and he was fantastic. He spoke about stress in your life and how you can cope with it. As someone that has gone through mental health issues himself, he was really good at guiding us through ways to reduce stress -- the concept of "chill and choose" was a big take-away from his session. 

Darci Lang spoke on the final day of the conference, and I wish we would have been able to see her all day. She really knocked it out of the park. Darci had a way of speaking that is incredibly hard to explain, but she instantly connected with everyone in the room in a way that you would have to experience to understand -- she travels around the country doing public workshops, so it is possible to see her if you're interested.

Darci talked a lot about seeing the positive things in your life -- the 90% -- and focusing on those instead of the negative things in your life -- the things that take up the other 10%. Easier said than done, right? But Darci doesn't make you feel that way. She has such a positive upbeat attitude and demeanor -- that in no way feels fake -- that you come out of her session with a renewed perspective on life that really makes you question what makes you happy, and how you can look at it differently so that it does make you happy.

I love my day job. I get to work with children every day and see how they change and evolve as human beings that love to explore and engage with their world. I love how each day is different and the children are always doing something new -- sharing a new story, a new skill. Darci asks you if you love your job, and, if you do but you are unhappy, how you can look at the positive aspects of what you love about your job instead of the negatives. The only person you can change is yourself.

That is the jumping off point. There are so many other places and aspects of life to explore with the 90%.



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