Whew!

Time really goes by quickly. First it's Thanksgiving and next thing you know it's the middle of December and you've purchased ZERO gifts for your loved ones. The end of last week the boyfriend and I stopped by our favorite neighborhood bike shop. Where one of our buddies asked if we were Christmas shopping - because, you know it's 2 weeks before Christmas. It took some time for that to sink in - which is why I'm still not completely finished with my shopping. But I'm proud to say that I have only two more things on my list to purchase and then I'm DONE!

This year I actually broke my rule of internet shopping only. I made quite a dent by going to UniqueLA over the weekend. It was a crafts fair featuring all handmade goods, many by local people. Unlike other more rustic crafts/street fairs I've been to, this one was very LA in location. The top floor of the California Marketplace which is a very tall building in downtown. There were over 200 vendors selling everything from funky T shirts to tiny insects portraits to hip melamine dinnerware. Lots of fun and unique items in a wide price range. I was especially excited to see a backpacking buddy doing so well in her new business of creating portraits, drawings, as well as felt animal hats and wristbands. Go Kat! Aside from Kat's creations, I was most excited by the Sweet Meats booth. Here, there was an entire butcher's shop of cuts of meat. Except all the meat is realistically rendered stuffed fabric. So instead of getting a stuffed teddy bear give me what I really want, a stuffed T Bone steak. Along the same lines is I Heart Guts. Basically all the major organs as well as glands (pineal gland anyone?) from the human body, rendered in a cute stuffed animal form. My favorite is the testicle, with the epididymus resembling a little Elvis hairdo. Unfortunately it isn't pictured on the site, but trust me, it's cute! The mammary glands, unfortunately, are not so charming in appearance.

Now, just two more items, ship the presents, and I'm done!