To Market To Market...

It's official...I'm in love...with the St. Jacobs Farmers Market that is!

This past weekend my daughter Caitlin and I had a girlie weekend. We don't very often have the chance to spend time just the two us anymore, so this was a rare treat. I headed to Kitchener where she lives and goes to school. Now that she is living in a proper apartment (i.e. no more student digs) with a spare room, I was able to spend a couple of nights. Upon my arrival I was greated with the most wonderful aroma of fresh baked apple pie...yes she bakes and she bakes really well...it was so beautiful, I wish I had taken a picture with her lattice top and all, but we cut into it before we thought about it's blog worthiness.

Saturday morning we woke to a beautiful mild sunny day,quite opposite to what they were originally forcasting. We seized the day and decided on the short trip to St. Jacobs to explore thier farmers market...OMG! We were in heaven right from the word go. This market is huge with an outdoor flea market and both outdoor and indoor food vendors of all sorts. The colours, and scents were beautifully overwhelming.

Beautiful fruit and veggies and cabbage the size of your head...

Gorgeous fresh cut flowers perfect for the fall...

And a short break to catch our breath and enjoy an fresh made soft pretzel...

Absolutley divine!

We spent the better part of the morning at the market and probably could have spent more time, but we had lots we wanted to do. So we headed across to the antique mall which happens to be next to a TSC which is a hardware type store. For those who do not know, St. Jacobs is known for it's mennonite community. Seeing them in traditional clothing; ankle length dresses, and bonnets and dark trousers, and brimmed hats for the men was expected, as was seeing them travelling by horse and buggy, what I had not seen before was parking accommodations for the horse and buggy. This was at the hardware store, a fascinating and beautiful scene.

We spent another several hours in the antique mall enjoying the thrill of the hunt...and goofing around a bit as well.

We found a few treasures...I cannot share, as all mine are gifts for others. Needless to say we had a blast.
We left St. Jacobs and headed back into Kitchener for a lovely late lunch at Williams Fresh Cafe.

We then finished our day at Old Navy where they had a buy one get one 75% off...we did not come away empty handed.

Totally pooped, we came home, made pizza ate more pie and watched a couple of movies, the first was Everything Must Go with Will Ferrell but that movie was so depressing and without a point that we had to watch another so we could end our day on the high note it deserved. We decided on Just Go With It with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston. It was a light funny movie and was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Caitlin and I don't often get the chance to while away a day like that, and so it is that I chersih them when they happen. It was a wonderful day with a wonderful girl and I cannot wait to do it again!

I know it is now mid week but I hope you enjoyed your weekend past, or have wonderful plans for the weekend ahead!

Happy hump day all!

Busy Busy Busy....

Well it has been a bit since my last post and for that I do apologize.

Things have been a bit busy around here of late and I just have not had the chance to compile my thoughts into anything remotely understandable.

The biggest news 'round these parts is that Isobel started junior kindergarten this week.

Isobel Grace age 3-3/4 marched up to her school Tuesday morning fearlessly and with the greatest excitement. It did not matter to her that she is a full head shorter than her peers, she stood with the brightest smile. She looked up at me with wide brown eyes and asked 'can I go stand with the other children mommy?' and off she went. Jake and I hovered for a few moments and then realized that it would be better for us if we left...she was clearly fine. I made it around the corner before the tears came, as in the distance I could hear her roaring with the toy dinosaur she had found to play with.

When Jake and I returned home Lilah was waiting for us and looked at us and said 'my turn?'...poor thing. She is a bit confused by the whole thing, but I think she will come to enjoy her time without her older overbearing sister.

I impressed myself actually; the tears were short lived and I managed to not worry too much throughout the day. I was excited and anxious to go meet her at 3:15 and see how her day went. She was as excited at the end of the day as she had been at it's beginning, but a whole lot more tired...in fact she fell asleep in the stroller on the way home. After her brief nap she was eager to share everything...and I mean everything about her day. It was fun to hear her version of events and to listen to her tell us the same things over and over again because she was just so excited about it all.

I am still a little sad...she is still my baby...a little worried...she is still so tiny...but a lot happy that she is so eagerly going forward.

Hope you've all had a great week and wishing you the best of weekends!

I Love September...

I love fall...not that I dislike summer or anything, but I love the cool crisp and refreshing air after the heat and humidity of summer, just like we love spring and summer after the depths of the freezing cold of winter. However, autumn is by far my favorite season. I think of it as my New Year. I think it coincides with the whole back to school thing of years past. It was always a time to start fresh, and I still feel that way.

This time of year is special to me as well because I married Jake 3 years ago today in fact...so yet another reason to relate September to a new beginning. On this day three years ago I married my best friend and how happy he made me that day and all the days since. Jake has proven to be a wonderful partner in life, love and parenthood, and there are days I can't imagine how I ever managed without him, and then I thank my lucky stars I no longer have to.

Yesterday was Labour Day here in Canada and as this is the day of the exodus from the cottage (we live in Muskoka aka Cottage Country) we thought it would be safe to close the Gallery and spend the day as a proper family. It was magnificent!

It was a cool gray day but it wasn't raining, and although we had our sights set on a 'do-nothing-jammy' kinda day, but after about two hours we were bored and decided a hike was in order. The girls still being little we needed to decide on somewhere short and not too difficult, so we drove to Wilson Falls here in Bracebridge and decided on the trail that goes over the falls and along the river. This was the first time we'd taken the girls along so we weren't sure what to expect but they were awesome; clamouring through the woods, over downed trees, gnarly roots and climbing up rocks, and occasionally sliding down small hills.



just to note that I do not make my children bring place mats with them...
but in this case that mat sticking out of Izzy's backpack is her map for our adventure ;)



It was not a long hike, but it was fun and the girls really enjoyed themselves. Hubby and I enjoyed as well.

Today Miss Izzy went to meet her teacher and see her new classroom...I am okay so far, but I cannot promise I will not collapse into tears next Tuesday when we take her to school and say goodbye. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Happy Tuesday all...and Happy new year if it feels that way to you too!

A Bee in My Bonnet...

So in my last post I talked about being aesthetically confused...if you want all the details, you can find them here, but the gist is that I like too many design styles and am having difficulty deciding on a direction for my home. No biggy really, but it has me feeling stopped in my tracks...in a holding pattern if you will, and I don't particularly enjoy that.

Anyhoo, the day after my post I woke with a bee in my bonnet and it has been there ever since. It is a good bee mind you...it has me moving again and making things happen, even if only little things. I realized that I have been waiting for my kids to get a bit older before I make my home what I really want it to be...which is silly really because my girls are good, and don't make a habit of ruining things (at least not on purpose) so keeping nice things at bay is not really a necessity at this point.

So in the last few days I finished the shoe rack for the front hall and put it in place finally managing to contain our ever growing shoe collection (we like shoes...my husband included).

this is an old shelf thingy that was in our barn when we bought the house...
cleaned it up,sanded it down and here it is!
(also please note the baseboard is yet to be completed...
those orange bits; left over bits of the shag carpet that was used as baseboard...yup real purdy)

I moved the leather ottoman up to my bedroom and put the coffee table back in place in the living room, and I moved all the toys including the kids bookshelf out of the living room and into the playroom...I am lucky to have a great playroom so why there were so many toys in the living room is beyond me.

I pulled an old Ikea occasional table out and put it in between my two armchairs (which will at some point be recovered...if anyone has a good diy slipcover guide I'd love to know it), placed a plant and some flowers on it and viola the room is starting to look like grown ups live here.I am still waiting on my new area rug which should be here next week. And then this room will really feel better.

these chairs have been around since my early childhood...
they were originally orange vinyl and were recovered about 25 years ago.

In addition to the above I went through all of the girl's clothes, packed away what is too small, shifted things from Izzy's drawers to Lilah's and figured out what Izzy may need for the fall and winter. I cleaned out the front hall closet as well, and put the spare room back together.  I have been a busy little bee.

I realized that this was all stuff I had intended to do all summer but kept putting off...well this was the last week of summer as it were and so I think that got me going as well. I even cooked a meal or two along the way (which is good since Jake normally does all the cooking around here), and did every stitch of laundry in the house and put it all away.

Slowly it is all coming together...not sure I will ever get to the point in my original inspiration board

...and no longer sure I want to, but so it is that design is an evolution.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend...it is a long one here in Canada! Off to enjoy it with the best family a girl could ask for...and the most patient husband...bless his heart.

Aesthetically confused...

Let me first say that I love the blogging world. It has opened up so much to me that I cannot imagine why it took me so long to begin this exploration. Having said that, it has also left me confused.

Before I embarked on this blogging journey and started exploring others' blogs, I thought I had a clear vision for my home, and it's design and decor, I am after all an Interior Designer, but every day I see something else that inspires a new and utterly unpredicted direction for where I want to take my still fairly blank canvas of a home.

In my defense, I am primarily a corporate, retail, restaurant designer, that is what my background is, tho I did move to Muskoka to do cottage design...which I did but do not do anymore. Also in my defense, I am a Libra and we are notorious for being indecisive.

My choices for my home have always been a little sedate and neutral, which is strange because I love colour!

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I would love to have this in my home, and yet my kitchen is neutral as seen here. Now don't get me wrong, I love my kitchen (well if I could afford to reno it I would but all things considered...) but as hard as I try I always end up choosing neutral...and not white neutral, beige neutral. In my living room I have this Ektorp sofa from Ikea. Again I like the sofa; it was inexpensive, comfortable and slipcovered, but it is, at the end of the day, beige.

Which is why I want to add this area rug to the living room...

But cannot spend the money on it right now...so I have ordered something more along these lines...

Anyhow I digress...I am all over the map when it comes to design these days.
I love white rooms and I often say I dream in white...


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I love the simplicity of this (above), and yet I also love this (below) for it's ordered chaos and colour...


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 There is this...

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And then there is this...

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Sigh...I just don't know which direction to take...sometimes I think I over think and when I do that I get overwhelmed and then it is just easier to do nothing (and it is cheaper too).  So as I sit here doing nothing I will continue to ponder which direction to head...and hopefully after some more blog reading and more 'pinning' a trend will emerge and all will become clear...fingers crossed.

Happy Wednesday!

So I couldn't decide what to blog about today and I thought well then don't blog...then sitting here I figured why not share the happiness this Wednesday!

1. Lilah finished her swimming lessons today and she passed...okay so she is only 2 there isn't much to pass and she can't actually move to the next level until she is 3, but she did really well, and we had lots of fun in the pool this summer


Lilah last winter in the pool...no underwater shots this time around

 2. One of my closest friends just shared that she got engaged earlier in the week. I cannot tell you how happy I am for her. She is one of the most deserving people I know, she gives of herself every day and has been instrumental in my journey to a healthier life. The added bonus her fiance is a wonderful man who has made her truly happy in the time they have shared thus far. I am positively over the moon for her.


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3. I lost 1.1kgs today and that is putting me right back on track after falling off the rails for a bit.



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4. Another dear friend who has just recovered from knee surgery has asked me to walk with her to help her get back into shape. She said in her message to me that I inspire her...well she inspires me too, and we will start walking together soon.



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 5. Blueberries...yes blueberries...real ones from those lovely roadside stops, not the imported ones from Mexico or wherever, but real wonderful sweet little blueberries. My oldest daughter came home with them the other day and oh am I enjoying them...in everything, my oatmeal, in yogurt, by themselves, we even had blueberry cream cheese sandwiches yesterday. Loving the blueberries!

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So there you have it. My 5 reasons for a wonderful Wednesday! Happy day everyone!

Okay...am I missing something?

So lately there has been a buzz in the air about Jenna Lyons and J. Crew. I first read an article in New York Magazine last week, and then in the Toronto Star over the weekend. Now don't get me wrong...love the J. Crew look and clearly Jenna Lyons is haute chic but what has me gobsmacked is the price tag.

Okay so clearly I am not a fashionista...and I know very little about the world of fashion, so much so that I thought J. Crew was a simple catalogue business much like Sears...shows what I know eh? Anyhow after reading all the hype about J.Crew which is set to open it's 5000sq ft. store in Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping centre, I moseyed on over to their website and though I love the look particularly this sweater and these pants

link here

 I cannot fathom in my world being able to spend over $400 on the sweater and then another almost $300 on the pants. I really really wish I could, I lust after these things but my pocket book is more the speed of Old Navy where I can get a whole wardrobe for that amount.

As I write this I think I must sound so simple. Maybe I am. Am I backwards for seeing value in spending this amount of money on art but not on fashion? I would rather spend that on a fab rug for my house or on a new chair, but on one outfit it seems a bit...well...wasted. Now maybe I am wrong...maybe because you spend the money you get the quality that makes these pieces last a lifetime...but then are they timeless? Maybe for someone else, but I don't think timeless and fashion go hand in hand for me. I like change. I like to be able to wear something new every few seasons...not because it is the latest fashion but because as I said, I like change. It makes me feel alive and fresh and as if I am evolving.

Maybe if I ever make it in the blogging world or I am making tons of money and my gallery is bursting at the seams with customers 12 months of the year, maybe then I will understand spending this kind of money, because there sure are a lot of bloggers out there coveting J.Crew and Jenna Lyons in particular, but for now I will stick with my Old Navy wardrobe and be thankful that I can afford even that and the change up it allows every few seasons.

Here is my Old Navy take on the J Crew outfit I loved...all for under $50.



Old Navy Sweater $24.50



Old Navy Pants $20