Early Christmas Treat

the Christmas presents i got for myself finally arrived today. i feel so giddy as i saw the package on my work desk this morning. these were ordered through Avalon.ph. where they have one-of-a-kind book selections, not to mention more affordable Moleskines. great service too! they were kind enough to double-check my mailing address, turns out i forgot to include the floor of my office building (not that we have too many floors).

now on to the goods, i got a large Moleskine sketchbook and The Heart of Faerie Oracle by Brian and Wendy Froud. i think it was about time for me to get a Moleskine sketchbook. i do have a lot of notebooks and sketchbooks, i have tried using Moleskine planners and cahiers but i just had to try Moleskine to see why so many are using it as a sketchbook (they're darn expensive!).

and as i wanted someting exotic, i got myself The Heart of Faerie Oracle. it has a book and tarot-ish cards to "read", with AMAZING artwork. back when i was still a book buyer i encountered Brian Froud in book catalogues. of course i can only marvel at miniature versions of his art. now i can enjoy his art one at a time, in every piece of oracle card. and who knows, i might dabble in the art of the oracle someday.

The Queen of the Golden Bough leads the pack



it's the most wonderful time of the year

yes the most wonderful, not to mention busiest, time of the year is here. it started in our house last week, but since our christmas lights were busted, i only got to don the new ones on our tree this weekend. and here are the results.

our christmas tree has been with us for over a decade already, with the same tree and decors. i only added ribbons to border the tree and as a topper as we lost the angel topper last year.

my son is also excited for Christmas, as much as other kids are. it is. after all their season. so yesterday we went to the toy store to look at probable gifts for him. so far, these are on his wish list:

• Hot Wheels Wall Tracks - i find these interesting also
• Scan2Go race car -  intriguing, but do we really need a card to make the car go faster?
• Bumblebee MechTech action figure -  ok maybe not this one as it's super expensive
• Bakugan action figure -  absolutely no! i don't like this toy/series

he'll get just one out of these from us (his parents), and probably a book or two of his choice. :) honestly, the prices of toys these days can make a parent's eyebrows go at the top of their heads. whatever happened to the simple marbles and tops?