a peek inside the fishbowl

The mail carriers and UPS dudes and All Other Delivery People will FINALLY be able to figure out which house is ours again:

Can I just take a moment to tell you how much I love our new house numbers? I love the curve of the belly of the five, the straight-as-arrows lines of the four, the moon-shaped zeeeeerohhhh.

I bought them at Preston Hardware, which I seriously recommend for all your door-related hardware needs. They are AWESOME at Preston. The selection is fantastic and the service is stellar. I just wish we’d figured this out earlier in the game. Oh well, now you know!

The numbers were twenty bucks each. They come in silver and black but we went for the silver. One more thing struck off the list! Woot!

Related: check out these great house number ideas on Houzz.

Well, the house is coming along although not much has actually changed since my last reno-related post. We’re still waiting for a side fence, driveway, mirrors, and our breakfast bar. And yes, blinds for our bedroom. After our long and painful experience with Home Depot recently I’m still feeling a little gun shy in that area but I am forcing myself to get out there and get it done this week.

We spent some time re-arranging stuff in the basement yesterday, a part of our house which seems utterly insurmountable, but funnily enough when push came to shove we actually accomplished quite a bit in the short time we were down there.

And then there’s this:

That’s our office. It’s terrible: boxes that still need to be sorted into piles, cords that need untangling, and papers that need to be shredded. The hardest is knowing where to begin, but knowing that this is one of the most important rooms in the house (at least for me, because this is where I work!) is a big motivating factor to getting it done sooner than later.

There used to be a sofabed along the right side there but the sofa has found a new home in our living room. We clearly need a piece of furniture in here that will store our papers/cables/office supplies… of which there are many. I’m still unsure what this piece will look like, or how “office-y” it should be for that matter, or where we’ll find it, but I will say this, at this point in the game we’re striking things off our list if they they can’t be defined as an urgent purchase. It hurts me to be pulling out my credit card at this point in time, especially after the busload of money we spent on our renovation.

That’s why I was pleased to find this, begging to be rescued at the side of the road:

Both girls desperately needed desks for their room, and the fact that we came upon this one was sheer destiny. I think it’s pretty cute. You should have seen us trying to get that thing into our Prius, but we did it, and now it’s part of the Sarah’s bright blue bedroom. She still needs a proper little desk chair, a lamp, and shelves… but they will come in their own time when I can snag some deals.

So… Black Friday huh? How about celebrating Fair Tuesday instead? :)

Longtime Fishbowl readers know that I’m a huge advocate of mindful consumerism, especially this time of year. This method of shopping (if you can call it a method) basically comes down to this: if you’re going to buy stuff, make it GOOD stuff.

“Good stuff” can mean any number of things, such as:

• the item is a well made, good quality product that’s going to last
• it’s environmentally-friendly in any number of ways: e.g. not over-packaged, not made out of cheap plastic, not tested on animals, doesn’t contain toxic chemicals
• it’s made out of sustainable materials
• it’s locally made
• it’s Canadian made
• it’s a fair-trade item that supports artisans in economically-challenged areas in other parts of the world

Jolica is the newest Fishbowl patron and I’m very happy to welcome them to the Fishbowl today.

Jolica is a Canadian company that was started in 2005. They’re dedicated to conscious commerce and giving back. (I urge you to read about their Fair Trade policies online here.)

Isn’t it great to be able to give a gift that is meaningful in so many different ways?

Check out their e-store here (online shopping is my favourite way to avoid the crowds!) but note that the last day to get in orders to guarantee delivery by Christmas is December 13.

Interested in fundraising opportunities? You can also host a Jolica party to raise money for a cause that’s important to you, such as your child’s sports activities or school charitable projects, or even if you happen to be helping a friend going through an illness. 20% of the sales raised through the party will go to your cause.

And although I don’t want to scoop one of Canada’s largest magazines, I will say that that THIS turquoise scarf from India will be featured in A Particular Large Canadian Magazine’s January issue. ;)

Jolica pieces are fab; elegant and sophisticated… just how I like ’em. Just look at these beauties:

The packaging is also handmade from recycled products (paper and cloth!) from Nepal, which I think is cool. You can learn more about the company that makes Jolica packaging and watch other videos about Jolica’s artisans and products on their YouTube channel too.

And of course, you can follow Jolica on Facebook and on Twitter for extra gift-giving inspiration! Stay tuned for a giveaway too!

Thank you Jolica!