romance week?

i'm not typically a big romantic, but i certainly wouldn't shy away from little romantic gestures here and there. june second marks my third wedding anniversary, so perhaps i'll take a few days this week to highlight some goodies that bring to mind weddings + romance + love.

with that in mind, here is a [rather romantic] treasury i put together on etsy last night, inspired by an aqua june wedding. it's my first time making a treasury, and it was fun. i just might become a little bit addicted. i've shared a screenshot of the treasury below, as well as a few of my favourite items.

aqua i do :: treasury by smidgebox designs

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

small cake stand...azure lace cake plate :: vessels and wares

porcelain tea light delight :: wapa studio

pure white rosette trio hair clip :: brydferth

:: note to hubby. i really really love everything in my treasury. so [ahem] if anyone was wondering about a gift at all, there are a few ideas here. except of course the really wedding-y things. cause we already did that. ::

en promenade

these are just a few of the many many things i'd like to get from madewell, to pack with me when i jet off. where to, you ask? why, to france, to hang out with my friend sabine, drink cafe au lait, eat delectable pastries, and walk through the countryside in the glorious sunshine. bliss!

images via madewell

:: this, of course, is a fictional trip for now. someday, when renos are over and time is on our side, i do plan on doing these very things, and enjoying them immensely ::

west coast lovelies

yesterday i happened across the gorgeous work of helliwell + smith blue sky architecture, a west vancouver firm whose work seamlessly integrates nature with interiors. the views seem to leap in the floor-to-ceiling windows, local wood is incorporated all over their designs, curves and beams repeated throughout the structures. and the stairs, oh, the stairs! these two have a knack for designing a pretty set of risers.

here is just a taste of the west coast style that helliwell + smith bring to their work. visit the project portfolio for more. i'll be there, swooning as i flip through the pics over and over again.

images via blue sky architecture

dead daffodils

i was gifted these two daffodils by my son a couple months back [so sorry to the poor gardener who was missing a few blooms back in march...] and i had put them into a vase with a little water. they have long since dried up, but i'm reluctant to part with them. i love the way they are all crinkled up and papery. how the stamens are still coated in pollen, perfectly curled and boldly yellow.

i've mentioned my fascination with dead leaves here before, and now here i am ogling dead flowers. the daffodils are the perfect complement to that particular shelf, too, all dressed up in black + white + grey.

i kind of like how this last one turned out, it makes me think of a watercolour painting, softly blurred edges and muted tones. i've been enjoying playing with my camera lately, i'd love to take a class or two, but in the meantime, practice practice practice whenever i can.

a bluebird afternoon

it was a picture perfect bluebird afternoon in vancouver yesterday, and like many other like-minded folks, we spent it at the beach. warm sun [cause we've been seriously lacking warmth here this spring], sand in our toes, family + friends. what more could a girl ask for, other than to do this every. single. day.

sand, picked up, poured out. over + over again.

shoes + hoody quickly discarded, boy heading off into the ocean.

bliss.

i had a great weekend, even though the sun waited until our holiday monday to make a really solid + lengthy appearance. how was yours?

lookie here...

yesterday i took a rare day away from this space [unintentionally, just super busy around here!] but then found myself a few little pockets of time that i filled with reading more blogs than i have in a while. and there was just so much goodness out there, i thought i'd share a few links today to some of the things that caught my attention. enjoy!

popbar, a gorgeous popsicle spot in nyc, blogged at simplesong

papier mache, an online mag that is rather stunningly beautiful, blogged at bloesem kids {psst...papier mache has a blog, too}

this amazing tutorial for making your own fabric tape, blogged at creature comforts via maya*made

all of the fabulous nss wrap-up posts around blog land, in particular these pictorial round ups { day 1 :: day 2 :: day 3 :: day 4 } by eva of sycamore street press, blogged at poppytalk. i was especially taken by these lovely shops, from top, hammerpress, kamal, and pearl & marmalade.

grey! and stripes! and grey!

i saw this grey striped eating nook [by anyon interior design] on raenovate not long ago, and was totally smitten. i love grey, and stripes. does it get any better? seriously, i think this looks fresh + fun, and i'd love to have somewhere to try it out at home.

images via raenovate

and of course, i was inspired to find some grey stripey goodies over on etsy to match. i'm really feeling the scarf, i'll have to try to restrain myself.

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

grey and white stripe pillow cover :: hettle

grey and white chevron wood tray :: a fabulous fete

dip dyed and screen printed stripes scarf :: pretty penny designs

silk clutch purse, the feather stripe :: red ruby rose

centrifuge transit

such a fanciful name, you may not imagine it belongs to a mailbox. but this isn't just any mailbox, this one has style. love the bright pop of colour, these would look fab next to any front door.

images via modern caribou.

the centrifuge transit mailbox, available at modern karibou.

spring pretties

just a few additions i would love to welcome to my wardrobe, now that warm spring weather has finally arrived in vancouver.


images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

fresh current dress :: anthropologie

fully lined light blue pleated collar dress :: ananya

embroidered siesta dress :: j. crew

green linen dress with three pleats :: pamela tang

yellow tea dress :: sohomode

cool clock.

one of my mother's day gifts this year was a cool desk clock, which my husband picked out for my soon-to-come new work space, coming when we reno our kitchen in the fall. he knows my taste pretty well, and i love the clock. it's this one, shown on the top of the pyramid below. besides the fact that i love my new timepiece, i'm so glad he chose it, as he introduced me to tansy & co, a little company out of st. catherines, ontario. owner + designer sandy studied photography, interiors, and graphic design in toronto, and now creates awesome clocks + lamps [among other things] using her original photographs.

images via tansy & co.

these goodies and more can be found in the tansy & co etsy shop, as well as a selection of retailers across canada and the us.

one for my baby...

after spending an entire day in bed, i was pretty happy to be feeling better last night. so much better, in fact, that i had it in me to whip up this little

oliver + s tea party sundress for my baby girl [who's not such a baby anymore, almost two!]. my only regret with this pattern is that i didn't make one sooner! i'm not sure if i felt daunted by it or what, but it was simple, straightforward, and the results look deceivingly fancy, if i do say so myself. all in, i'd say it only took me about two hours, including a hand-stitched hem and my super-slow cutting skills. [oh, and a couple mistakes + unpicked seams along the way. i guess i wasn't feeling super swift after all]

please excuse the wrinkles. it seems my iron + i have a bit of a love-hate relationship.

i've made a couple of oliver + s patterns before, and each time i am super happy + impressed by the clear instructions and beautifully thought out details by designer liesl gibson. she makes a beginner's pattern look like a professionally finished garment, thanks to simple details like a lined bodice and faced hemline. it just looks so much cuter than a turned up hem!

i couldn't resist using these little apple buttons, i thought they looked sweet with the colours [my old fave combo of orange + pink] and went with the whimsical tree fabric perfectly. now i can only hope that little d will wear this willingly, maybe even with her sweet red mary janes, as i can't imagine the effect would be the same with her preferred rubber boots.

:: thanks so much for the get-well notes yesterday, i think they worked! ::

feeling a little ill

here are a few things i could have used to make it through yesterday...

lucky for me i have an amazing husband who stayed home to look after the kids. there's just no way my head was leaving the pillow.

green aromatherapy eye pillow - swing toss :: boutique karma

relax and detox aromatherapy sea mineral bath salts :: sweet petula

bright pink cut out 'get well soon' card :: storyshop

my mom, and her gift to me

when i was young, my parents had a photographer come to our house each year to take photos of the family. these were always relatively formal pics, we'd get all dressed up and sit nicely, and be on our best behaviour. i don't remember these sessions very well, the pictures seem to taper off after i was about six. this doesn't surprise me much, i was a bit of a fireball!

i found a few scans of my favourite childhood pictures, and thought i'd share them here. [thanks to laura for showing hers last week, she inspired me!]

that's me in the middle, looks like i'm dying to get away! looking at these pictures again, i realize how much my baby girl looks like me. it isn't always easy for me to see the resemblance, as she has golden blonde hair + green eyes. but there's her little face, mischievous but sweet. my mom saved that blue dress for me, and i put it on my babe when she turned one. i'm so glad that mom saved her favourite clothes for me, and i plan on doing the same for my children.

i can guarantee that both those burgundy jumpers in the top pics were made by my mom. in fact, they probably are from the same fabric! i love my brother in this collage, his stance up top screams cowboy to me, and his 'oh, dear!' expression down below cracks me up. it's hard to see, but in that bottom picture my sister and i are wearing matching pink terry cloth shorts.

i wonder if it drove her crazy that i always wanted the same clothes as her? this was also the year mom cut my hair like a boy. there i am, rocking the dorothy hamill.

i definitely have image memories of that little oriental-inspired jacket on the top left. do you have memories like that, like a flash of an image, or a feeling, without actually being able to recall an event? i am also quite certain that i squirmed + fought when my mom tried to put my hair in pigtails, just like my little one does. and yet i persist, because it looks so darned cute! i love the bottom pic here, my mom gazing adoringly at us as we have a rare moment of quietude at the beach.

this has always been my fave of the family pics. i found several outtakes from this session at my parents' house. many of them with me wiggling or putting my dress up over my face. these little dresses [made by mom, of course] are still around. my nieces have worn them a few times. check out those ruffled cap sleeves! an of course the lacy knee socks, those were so awesome! i love my mom's dress here, too. i'm sure that she must have made it, the fabric reminds me of a vintage tablecloth [in a good way!] and i think she looks so chic.

the inspiring women in my life. my gaya [bottom left] and nana [bottom right] were the most incredible women i could imagine. both raising larger families, homemakers extraordinaire, amazing cooks. always dressed beautifully, always with a smile, kind words, and impeccable manners. both timeless beauties. i am so thankful for their example.

and my mom, as she + my dad walked me down the 'aisle' at our wedding three years ago. at that moment, i was just about to lose it and start to cry, and she of course had some ridiculous thing to say to make me laugh instead. it's not the best picture i have of the two of us, but it is certainly a telling one. thanks, mom. you always know just what to say!

it was fun to look through these pictures, especially to see my mom's handiwork in many of them. she made the majority of my clothes, casual + dressy, until i was about 11, when i probably told her it wasn't 'cool' anymore [what did i know, anyway?]. my mom taught me to sew when i was young, maybe around 7 or 8, and i am forever thankful to her for that. she likely put up with a lot of whining, complaining, and 'i can't do this'. but she persevered, and now i can't imagine my life without my sewing machine. this week is the kid's clothes week challenge hosted by elsie marley.

i definitely plan on setting aside some time to whip up a few items for my kiddos. i promise to share some finished products here. while i can't imagine i'll ever have the time to make everything my kids wear, i would like for them to have an appreciation of handmade clothing. hopefully they will appreciate it in the same way, looking back at pictures twenty-some years down the road.