Can you believe? Yes I can

It's been almost 2 years since I posted on here. So much has changed. Can you believe it? Yes I can!

Last march we welcomed our second little love. She is so sweet. We adore her. L loves her so much and thanks us for having her. Such a good big sis she is. And in the midst of pregnancy we decided to build a house! We finally moved in last week!

Wow

Well yes. Been way too long. Have neglected to write. Life became busy as I added work days to the week and it has honestly been like a hurricane since. I feel like I haven't had time to breath.

Liv has grown my leaps and bounds. Can you believe she is about to turn 3? My goodness. She has become quite the girlie girlie, to my husbands dismay (he wanted a tom boy). Loving her my little ponies and playing tea.

Sure I can say I have some resolutions for this year. But posting them on the blog last year didn't get me doing them any better. I can only hope to have a good year with creative and interesting projects and focus on health and happiness.

Vrse

Well I know last year I promised to share my artwork for Vrse's calendar. I must admit I was a little less than happy with what I produced so I was reluctant to post my illustration. This year again I was happy to be asked...and thankful I was able to produce a piece I could be happy with. The girls over at Vrse are wonderful. I went to college with both and have always found them highly creative and inspiring. Check out their site and buy a calendar. Its for a super good cause. As well there are six featured illustrators (including me) plus six illustrations from Jess from Vrse. This is still a work in progress, just colors to tweek. I will post the final when done...this is just to get you excited and wanting to buy one!

Cool June

Well, we have felt the warm breezes of summer. They came and went. It is now very cool and not feeling much like true summer is around the corner. Can you imagine snow in June? I must admit it could happen!

So much is happening in our little world. It seems like to many decisions all at once must be made. They all seem to be riding on the next....if only we could confidently make the first one and all the rest would fall in line like domino's. We are looking at different alternatives for finding a larger home. We love our home but it has quickly grown far too small, especially if we want to add to our little clan.

Liv is growing by leaps and bounds. Talking and communicating so clear. She is so not a baby anymore. Such a little girl. The park is now the favorite, a daily trip is now required. She now wants to ride her tricycle but alas her feet dont quite make it all the way around on the petals. We need those old retro blocks they had when we were kids....do they even make these anymore?

Spring is here...well lets hope so!

Finally it seems that spring has arrived. The snow has finally gone and the birds are busy and cheerfully chirping. We experienced a wonderful freak blizzard last week and even though it was very beautiful, heavy clump like snowflakes, we were ready to be done with winter. Who can blame me when I see wonderful spring pictures on many of the blogs I adore. We are probably one of the last places to get spring (we are in the prairie region of Canada).

Easter came and went and we celebrated with an egg hunt for Liv and decorating easter eggs. I am so happy she is now the age when we can start doing craft oriented projects. She was totally into dipping the eggs in the colored water and seeing them change colors. Auntie Lindsay was a great assistant with both the egg hunt and the egg decorating. There was also lots of chocolate which is Liv's favorite...but now we need to get back on the healthy track.

I sense that our days will be filled with time outdoors, and seeing spring come into full bloom. I see tulips starting to sprout from the bare dirt and hope that the trees will start to sprout green.

Love in Color

I came across the work of Jennifer Ramos of Mady by Girl a while ago and have fallen in love with her style and typographic work. I hope she doesn't mind I borrowed a pic from her site to show you all some eye candy. I totally can see any of her prints in my home. Check out her blog...she provides more than just what she is working on. She discusses design in all aspects and what she is inspired by. I love checking to see what is new and get inspired.

Gratitude

I have started to think its time for me to be more grateful. Its too easy to fall into the hum drum of everyday life and let the little things get in the way of true happiness. It can be easy to miss those glimmers of silver lining, I know I miss them all to often. I hope this year I see them more and by keeping a gratitude log I will recognize those moments I easily miss and sometimes discard.

I am so grateful for:
1. Family - amazing people you are. You are my rock.
2. My Daughter - one of a kind. The most gentle and lovable person ever. I hope to enjoy and treasure every moment with you my beautiful girl.
3. My Husband - I hope we continue to grow together and learn to laugh more.
4. Friends - no explanation needed :)
5. My Home - its may be little but its a good home.
6. Creative Inspiration - all the blogs and sites that give me a visual boost on daily basis.
7. Cars - safe and warm transportation.
8. Sunshine - light and warmth to our world. Could you imagine a dark world? I don't want to.
9. Pets - patient and loving. Always a companion.
10. Chocolate - a little literal sugar in a already sweet life.

What are you grateful for? This makes me realize how lucky I am.

Resolutions

Well here we are with a new year and I look back and feel sad. I so neglected this blog its not even fair. I have decided that this year is my year... and I am putting forth many new resolutions. I plan to put myself first for a very long time. I have started to work on my eating habits and exercise again. My other focus is to get back to blogging. I do feel intimidated at times because there are so many great bloggers out there but... this blog is for me and for Liv, so my goal it to write if not every other day then once a week. So much happens in our little world and I dont want to forget any of it.

Grosgrain

Nantucket Weekend GIVEAWAY!!!!

Found this wonderful site via Design mom and couldn't help myself. Kathleen designs and sews outfits and then gives them away! Her work is lovely! Check it out!

Summer

Wow, what a busy summer. The weather has been kind. Storming at night and lovely during the day. We took in the Capital Ex and the sites and sounds that go with it. We experienced 100's of butterflies flying around us in the butterfly pavilion. But the events don't end there. We have birthday parties and more city events coming our way. Its been wonderful taking Liv out on the town. So much to see and do.

For the love of design

I found this wonderful site via Design Mom and felt more than compelled to write about it. Harmonie interieure sells posters and wall stickers. The typography is tight and visuals sweet. Love the organic feel to their work. The poster above is a limited edition and I love the color, would look wonderful in my office.

Oh my...

Oh my, it has been almost a month since I last posted. Tisk tisk... I can't believe it, I neglected my blog for too long. I hope never to do it again. Much has happened in our little lives in the last month.

We had a low key Fathers Day....actually we celebrated a day late as the man had to work on the actual day. But it was nice to spend some quality family time. Hun, if you read this...your an awesome father to Liv and a wonderful hubby.

We also had a very sick cat, Mia. She was diagnosed with diabetes and had the most difficult decision to put her down. She was of good age, a true friend to Liv and she will be sorely missed in our house hold. You never truly know how ingrained a pet is or really anyone for that matter is until they are gone.

Liv, I and grandma also took a road trip this past weekend to Calgary to try to get some R&R after the loss of Mia. It was a good little getaway but glad we are home again with the hubby.

Spoonflower

Wow! I found this great little place via one of my daily haunts decor8. I am so excited! Spoonflower will print your fabric for you! Right now they will only do limited runs but if your into creating one ups etc its great. The prices are reasonable and they ship within a week!

I cant wait, I signed myself up. Now all I have to do is design the pattern. Thats the hard part!

You can also keep an eye on there blog. They give you a window to what they are working on.

Ohh Baby! Day 10

You thought I forgot about ten didn't you? Nope.


I think she deserves a post of her own. I think it is so important to get a maternity and baby photographer. Time flies and you honestly forget to get really special pictures of you and your little one. Kristi Larson of Blueframe Photographics is amazing. She is super relaxed and patient - she knows kids can be alot of work. I have known her for a long time and was so happy to have her take pictures during my pregnancy and of Liv when she was born (and until now)! Check out her site.

If you poke around on her blog and site you may just see a few pics of Liv.

Ohh Baby! Day 7-9

Well the week caught up with me. As well as trying to get all the things done to assist with the shower, I got a cold. How lucky for me. But I did get a majority of what I had hoped to get done and the shower was a success.

So of course lets finish this top ten list today should we?

We love our stroller and it was made by Peg Perego, its the P3 Classico. Its very light and easy to use. Our only quirp would be that we can't rotate our handles so that baby can face towards us or away. I went to there site to find an image and found a fabulous new stroller, called the Skate. I wish this one had been around when we were purchasing ours.


Another fabulous book is Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. I had read this book as a child and Liv loves it. We read it almost everyday. Cute story and classic illustrations.

We had purchase this Garden Chime toy by Lamaze for Liv and its so cute. It plays music and intices the child to interact with it. The music is cute and it lights up.

Ohh Baby - Day 4 to 6

Well...so much for that hey? Today is attempt at catch up - yet again!

When I saw the books by Ian Falconer named Olivia, about a colorful little pig I knew they would be a hit in our house. Not only does the feature character have the same name as Liv but the illustration and the stories are delightful! I only wish I could find more! My only fear is that Liv will think she is a pig...I know I know, silly momma!


You can check out the range of Olivia books here.


I had bought these slippers by Padraig for Liv in baby size and had comments on them everywhere. They were great as they stayed on her feet. They were warm for winter and cool for spring. They even wash up great! I need to go purchase the next size up!


They are all natural and Canadian made! How can you go wrong!


And finally to bring todays post to an end The Angel Brush. I have actually bought about 4 of these! They are great for teething and for ofcourse for brushing your infants teeth and gums. They are soft and rubbery and easy for little ones to handle. And you can freeze it for when they are teething.

Ohh Baby - Day 3

I am a bit behind aren't I? Three to be exact. So today is catch up day to get us back to where I should be! :)


First of all we bought these bottles by Green to Grow with the scare of BPA and Phthalates being in baby bottles. And we love them! They were so easy for Liv to change to. I must admit we were using glass bottles before - but they can be so heavy to lug around. I love the design with the little berry on the front and the fact is they are super easy to clean! I also loved the packaging the bottles came in - so cute! It was like a little milk carton. The more I learned about this company the happier I am that I purchased these bottles - such as the bottles to babies program.

Ohh Baby - Day 2

I LOVE the Splash bottle drying rack from Skip*Hop. So fabulous! We received it as a shower gift as well. We love how it keeps the bottles, rings, nipples and the brush all contained. It easily comes apart to clean and it is fairly compact.


Even if you don't have it full of bottles, its still looks like a piece of art! The designer in me says it has both form and function! Sweet.

Ohh Baby!

There is a baby shower coming up for us to attend and that got me thinking. What were the items I received that I loved? So the plan is to post for the next ten days coming up to the shower an item a day!

Today is day one! So here we go!


We received this wonderful mobile for Liv at her shower. Its by Tiny Love. It plays music with the best quality we have heard on any baby product so far! The animals are cute and colorful but modern enough they would easily fit into a modern nursery. Its easy to put together and now that Liv is too old to have the mobile hanging we have left the music player on her crib. She turns it on and loves the music.

Guest Artist

Well lucky me! I have been asked to be a guest artist again for a very special calendar! I get to work on a piece of art for one of the months in the vrse charity calendar. The wonderful girls at vrse asked me last year and again this year and of course I couldn't say no. How could I resist the temptation to pull out the paints! I will post the progress of the work as I go! So you may be lucky to get a sneak peak - if Jess and Joanne don't mind!

I hope all of you will order one and support a worthy cause!