Tuesday 31 December 2013

The Little Lady...

this week I had the pleasure of going for 3D ultrasound to get a glimpse at the little lady!

 it was bittersweet because though it was just amazing to see her, I wish my hubby could have been there (he was being a champ & stayed with the little guy as it was nap time and due to a schedule change in the ultrasound, we couldn't find anyone to watch him). 
I cried the entire ride down there wishing he got to see her too… oh pregnancy hormones, you're the best.

he's made such a point to be at every prenatal appointment & every doctor's checkup that I think it was hard to not be together for such a big, exciting one but we made up for it in a full photo/DVD viewing party when I got home! 
did I mention he's the best dad of all time? because he truly is!

3D ultrasounds are INSANELY cool & here are some photos of the most beautiful little girl I've ever laid eyes on… 

her lips! those cheeks! her little button nose! she even gave us a little smile towards the end!
I could stare at these forever :)










Monday 30 December 2013

Merry & Bright...

merry christmas!
we're just coming down from the single most amazing holiday season of all time! 

I know everyone says that christmas is even more exciting watching it through the eyes of your children, but OH MAN- I was not expecting to have such a wonderful time.

we were surrounded by so many friends (many who live out of town, so it was so special to see them) & our beloved family. there was plenty of hot chocolate, christmas movies, sleigh rides (a gift from Henri's grandparents) & fun in the snow.

last year at this time Henri was only a few months old, so though the photos of our little elf were adorable & we had such a fun time picking out gifts for him- he really had no idea what was going on. fast forward a year later & it's as if the kids been taking lessons on all things holiday! 
he had the tearing into the gifts down to an art & even gently spent time enjoying each toy before moving onto opening the next. it was so special to watch him all day, he really is just one of the sweetest little souls I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. & he's ours to keep!

apparently the little lady in my belly got the memo that is was christmas as well because she was moving more than ever before all day long. with each little (or not so little) kick she gave me that day, I was reminded of the true gifts I've been given this christmas, & every single day for that matter… 
my two precious babies :)

here are a few of the photos from our special day, can you tell which toy was his favourite? 
my little music enthusiast!

enjoy!










Tuesday 17 December 2013

Growing By One...

so I realize it's been a while… & by a while I mean almost 8 months since my last blog post. to be honest I'm not sure if anyone reads it. but I've decided to go forth anyway & blog as much or as little as I want as a way to document our little families adventures. or so I'm telling myself in this desperate moment of procrastination where I should really be doing a thousand other things but I'm here… typing this. 

our family is growing! in March we are welcoming a little girl to the world & boy, do we have our work cut out for us. unlike my first pregnancy, I'm extremely laid back this time around which is great but we really do need to get our asses in gear if this baby girl is going to come home to her own (painted & decorated) bedroom… or have more than 2 onesies in rotation. nesting has kicked in though, especially these past few days. i find myself pulling apart pieces of our home and reorganising out of no where, but they're still relatively useless parts of our home (like our front closet) that don't actually help the whole BABY IS COMING IN THREE MONTHS situation. at all. but at least it's something!


it's been hard trying to wrap my head around how two littles running around will look. Henri will be 17 months old when she arrives and though I know my work will be cut out for me (as everyone reminds us every chance they get… I KNOW PEOPLE, I KNOW) I can't seem to picture it just yet. obviously it will be adorable to see them together, challenging at times & overall exhausting but it hasn't set in JUST yet… I'll let you know when it happens.

we celebrated Henri's first birthday back in October & our little guy is growing leaps + bounds everyday! we couldn't be prouder of our little man, he has truly brought us so much joy in the past year that words can't do our gratitude justice. our AMAZEBALLS & talented friend, Brie took some pretty amazing shots to celebrate his birthday. you can't find her website here & our favourites of the creative we did with her below…










hope you're all enjoying your week 

xo

Wednesday 1 May 2013

A Mother's Day Gift...


with mother's day just around the corner I wanted to share what we're putting together for the special ladies in our lives.


i believe in simplicity, beauty & personalisation when it comes to giving gifts!
this year we're putting together a gorgeous trio of succulents along with a little personalised keepsake & of course a lovely handwritten card.

i remember a few years ago when i first fell in love with succulents they were almost impossible to find, however they were relatively affordable (I spent $2 a plant 3 years back!!!). 
but since their ever growing popularity it's hard to find them for less than around $6! 

however... my amazing detective skills brought me to a staple store in our house, IKEA!, where we got our potted succulents for our mother's day gifts at $3 a pop, what a steal! & they're even grown locally!


 i live at the dollar store & was quite pleased to find these charming galvanised flower pots with a tray at $2 for the set! i find them so adorable & the perfect addition to any window sill


i then hammered small drainage hole in the bottom of the three pots, layered them with fine rocks, soil & then the plants. the drainage of these plants are important so please take the time to do this step!



 here they are all planted & looking pretty



i wrapped a beautiful ribbon around the tray, use what you have!



for the personalised portion of our gifts we used blurb to make a little keepsake book of photos of our son. what grandma, mom or even close family friend doesn't like to enjoy a few photos of your little ones? the interface is super easy to use & the shipping it quick!


i then hand wrote a simple little card on some leftover card stock I had laying around 


& our gift is complete! 


 some other options for the planters include:

... herbs! you can find these anywhere for very inexpensive.
 include a little handwritten recipe using all three herbs 
so the recipient has something to look forward to!

... flowers! to brighten any ones day!

... cacti! they also had the most amazing cactus collection at Ikea. 
so colourful & almost no maintenance required!

most importantly please enjoy your time putting gifts together for others. it's such a great feeling when you take a little time, creativity & heart 
when letting someone special know how important they are to you!

& happy upcoming mother's day to all the mamas out there!

***

Thursday 11 April 2013

Five Minute, Five Dollar, Faux Floral Crown...


i'm desperate for spring weather. 
so to get myself into the spirit i picked up some faux blooms for my local dollar store! 
at first i thought i'd maybe make something for my home or maybe even find some cute way to display them but no... 
i, of course, had to make them into a floral crown.

you might be wondering where i would wear such a beautiful crown... and my answer to you would be EVERYWHERE.
i wear is proudly all over my house while doing my mundane day to day tasks & it makes me feel pretty fab, i won't lie... & it drives my husband crazy ("why are you wearing that thing?") so that's a bonus!
anyways, should you be so inclined to make your own floral crown (i mean... how fun for a family photo shoot or to do as a craft for a little girls birthday party!?) 
here's the how to...




pick some blooms! and please don't pay for than one dollar for each of them. i kept it to two large focal flowers and smaller ones as filler. make sure that the stems are wired and easily pliable
take your biggest bloom (or which ever has the longest stem) and bend it in the shape of a circle and make it a few inches bigger than the circumference of your head (you'll need room for the other flowers to wrap over it)
take the end of the stem and wrap it a few times around the base of the flower... i used for pliers to make sure i had a tight wrap and that it would stay in place
decide where you want the big bloom on your head and take another bloom with smaller flowers and start to wrap it around your crown starting at the base of the flowers. once you have the stem wrapped, go back and twist each individual little flowers around the crown
it should start to look like this. put the crown back onto your head and see how your flowers are sitting.
adjust all you'd like!
for my accompanying smaller blooms, i cut the individual flowers off of the longer stem so it would be easier to control where i put them on. it also let's you disperse the flowers & colours a little better
at this point i threw in another larger bloom, don't worry about it being balanced. however you like it is the perfect way to do it! take the time when you're done to tuck flowers, stems & leaves any way you'd like. i cut the majority of the leaves off the stems before i started
i only took my blooms about half way around my crown but you could for sure go all the way around. just be sure to get plenty of smaller flowers to finish off the look
here she is all done!