Mini Post

I LUUURVE getting mail. And the only person who loves it more than me is my daughter Ava.

She usually walks away from the mailbox in a funk (or with a pizza coupon I lie and say is for her) so the fact that today she got 2 pieces of mail addressed to her and one for her brother (who is too young to open his own) made her nearly beside herself.

I think the art of the letter (and good old snail mail) is dying. Let's keep it alive!

(On the other hand-if you read the letter it's some kind of pyramid scheme for children-guess I'm buying stickers and envelopes at Dollarama tomorrow!)

Roxanne

Ground Control to MAJOR Turquoise!

Can I just say how happy I am that turquoise is having a major fashion moment right now?

I love turquoise, I look great in turquoise, I feel it goes with everything and I always gravitate towards it in any jewelry store (be it real or fake).

The shot on the left is from the great blog Atlantis Home. They are actually selling the peices through their online store Atlantis Dry Goods (as well as some pretty amazing shoes) for a GREAT price. Check it out!

Atlantis Home and Atlantis Dry Goods are sister sites to another blog called Sea of Shoes (collage pic). If you are in any way interested in vintage fashion, or fashion at all, you must add Sea of Shoes to your favorites list. This girl (Jane Aldridge) is AH-MAY-ZING!

Another great turquoise moment happened on What I Wore this week (girl in skirt pic). How great does this outfit look? Loving! Denim and turquoise forever!

Speaking of whick-how gorgoeous is this month's Marie Claire spread (featured here on Denimology). I cut it all out of my subscription for my inspiration journal. It excites me so much to look at! It inspired this post and the dynomite jewelry that I wore to Ava's ballet class today (top picture-sorry about the quality). Totally rocked the waiting room! Take that stay-at-home moms!

Bisous, Roxanne

Kids Room

Enjoying the finsihed product! Crib set from Babylicious, baby clothes by Zutano.

Bed from Ikea, sheets (Sleeping Beauty) ordered on eBay, comforter from Korea (commisioned), white throw from Ikea and fluffy white pillows from nood.

Thrifted change table that I had Green Barn Gallery re-finish. Baby: my very own DIY project! And what a great way to store our much-needed bibs: right at hand!

Organization bins from Dollar Store adn hanging organziers from Ikea.

Picture was a gift from grandparents and butterfly from Coombs Country Market.

Flowers from Kotini, Princess frame from Disney store, other frames were thrifted. This is one of the dressers from Green Barn Gallery . Oh and awesome luggage from Heys. Now we need to get Jack one!

Betty Boop picture from Daily Planet in Duncan. Butterflies from Kotini (also in Duncan).

Frame from Black's Photography. Collage by Ava.

Bird decals from Army and Navy.

Crib is Stork Craft Ariel Stages from Sears (thanks dad and Lori!)

Hello all! I've been busy:

We live in a 2 bedroom condo so space is limited and I am CONSTANTLY rearranging furniture.

Yesterday, my mom came over and we finally set up my 7 month old's crib (he has been in a cradle and travel play pen in our room).

So now, him and his sister are sharing a room and I had to make all their toys, clothes, furniture and "ambiance" work. I hope I succeeded.

What My Kids Eat

Now that both my kids are eating food. Well, the 3 year old has been eating real food for a while but my little guy has been on solids for about 2 months, food around our house is scarce and somewhat stressful. What are the kids going to eat?

Like any good kid, my toddler loves "junk" and like any good mom, sometimes I find it's just plain easier to give it to her. But, I do also love love love serving healthy options. And I love when they enjoy things that I love.

Here are some snack I've served recently. The cheesies in the one pic were for my toddler and the healthy stuff was to make me happy. We ate this with grilled cheeses on a Sunday night after we had just finished driving 2+ hours home from a weekend with the in-laws. Mommy wasn't in the mood to cook.

The second was from breakfast this morning. My daughter may have her father's pallete (prefering salty over sweet) but she still digs my side of the family's fav breakfast : cheese and jam on toast. She likes it because the jam makes the cheese stick. Hey, I'll take it.

The Perfect Snack

I just finished reading A Year in Provence by Richard Mayle. It is a glorious read and through him (ex-patriot Brit) we learn the joys of Provencal French cuisine and way of life. It inspired me to write about one of my yummy favorites to eat.

My delicious snack/lunch came to me today at 10:45. I have to grab food while the baby is sleeping so I never quite know when that will be. And since we will be going to Whales Tales this afternoon I wanted to make sure I was fortified for the journey.

My mom has recently lost a bunch of weight in the past month and a bit (20+ lbs! Go mom!) and she did it through regular workouts at Curves and watching what she eats (not really counting calories...but kind of).

She is the one who introduced me to the glories of Wasa bread and with the addtion of low-fat herb & garlic cream cheese, sliced dill pickles, avocado, tomato and a sprinkle of pepper I have created a delicious treat.

The whole glorious gourmet moment makes me think of Adam Sandler's amazing sandwich in the movie Spanglish. The one he doesn't get to enjoy because of his kids, etc. Hmmmm...sounds familiar.

And what could be better than a sweaty bottle of San Pelly? I read in a magazine that Gwyneth's favorite trainer/friend Tracy Anderson always carries a bottle with her as she hates regular water and has a big appetite. This way she gets her 8 cups and curbs her appetite. It just makes me feel fancy!

Speaking of fancy, aren't my R table by Rosanna plates amazing. They have little cupcakes on them and say things like "sweet cake" and "doll cake" and most importantly they don't get brittle in the dishwasher. Hear that IKEA?

Bon Appetite!

Cookies!

My 3.5 year old daughter and husband went to the movies today and left my 6 month old son and I with nothing to do at home.

After watching Phantom Gourmet I needed something sweet and baked so opened the freezer and pulled out the packages of Terry's White Chocolate Orange and white Lindor balls left over from Christmas and got to stepping. (Somewhere along the lines my mom found out that I didn't mind white chocolate and since then I've been the happy recipient of every line of chocolate that comes in white...love ya mom!)

I found an easy chocolate chip cookie recipe and just substituted my chopped up white chunks for the semi-sweet tollhouse. And I added some yummy walnuts I had laying around. (Now I kind of have a hankering for trailmix cookies...especially since the day before I tried to get one in the Tim Horotn's drive-thru and they were out).

Basic Cookie Recipe (add what you like...or have lying around):

3/4 cup sugar

2/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup softened butter

2 large egs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350

Mix first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl (no need for electric mixer)

Stir in remaining (but not your "special ingredients")

Now stir in chocolate/nuts/whatever bit by bit to ensure they really get mixed in well

Bake 7-10 minutes depending how soft you like them (keep your eyes on them or they'll get over-baked fast!)

Let cool

Enjoy!

Check out my latest submission to Island Child magazine (before it's even published!)

So, what did you do all day?

The question I loathe to be asked and loathe even more to answer. How can I describe to the insensitive cad who has asked it, that I have accomplished many miniscule miracles, but none that might impress them.

Being a stay-at-home mom, even for a finite period of time (Mat leave) is a tough job. We have all heard that. Most of us moms know that. But what about everyone else? What about the dear spouses, who ought to know better, but who still come home after their day of work and conversationally ask for a list of today’s activities. Or the ever-hopeful, "What’s for dinner?” Ha!

And then there are the family members, co-workers, friends...who insist you regale them with an extensive list of your goings-ons. Because, what could you possibly be doing all day while the rest of the world actually works? Well, if you must know, the baby ate peas for the first time, I avoided ten possible stains on the carpet, we actually ate lunch around noon for once and (drum roll please), I finally got to have a shower! Alone!

Okay, maybe this doesn’t sound so impressive to the average Joe, but to any mom, it’s going from base camp to the snowy peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in 8 hours. In flip-flops.

Getting anything of note done, amoungst feeding, pureeing, bathrooming, rocking, sanitizing, cuddling, singing, bathing and never-ending diaper changing would be a wonder. Heck, I’m proud if I can run a vacuum cleaner over our foyer or find a second to respond to an email.

And all joking aside, I am truly happy and lucky to be able to stay at home with my kids, for any amount of time, because I learn more from them than any class or any job could teach me. And it is probably just frustration and lack-of-sleep that makes me hyper-sensitive to the ignorance of others. There’s probably a bit of guilt in there too. Why don’t I get more done?

The most dangerous thing I can do is compare myself to others and their impeccable homes and well-mannered children. Their babies who sleep on a schedule and toddlers who love spinach. But, I am intelligent (really, I am!) and I do know that comparisons aren’t fair because everyone is different and appearances can be deceiving.

To heck with anyone who looks at my busy day and finds it lacking! (Including myself).

And the next time someone asks me what it is I do all day, I’ll simply drop my kids by their place for a weekend, and then they’ll really know.