It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Yes, I am very, painfully, aware that so far Spring has been the mother of all disappointments.  Seriously Universe - ICE PELLETS?  Yeesh.  But, although the tulips are slow in poking out their heads, the Garage Sales have begun (Cue the music! Start the skipping!).  That is right my thrifty friends, yesterday my mother-in-law and I went to my first yard sale of the season, in the posh area around Old Mill.  We were there just at the end, which means we probably missed some good stuff, but got some great deals.  For example, this cheerful, hand-stitched wool shawl.  No holes, no snags.  $5.  Perfect to inject a little colour into a room or outfit. Love it.

Cherry Blossom Boys

The cherry blossoms are out in all their glory here in Toronto, and although it was a cold and windy morning, the boys and I decided to go have a picnic under the trees.  It was a pretty wonderful morning, one of those where I count my lucky stars I am able to spend so much time with these two little people. My camera came home stuffed to the gills!

The trees and flowers and birds were all lovely of course, but I think 70% of my photos still ended up being of these guys.  Can you be obsessed with your kids and still be a good mom? :)

Spring is sure to follow

Someone mentioned this proverb to me the other day, and it has stuck in my head.  I thought I would use it to practice my photoshopping skills.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely Easter weekend, we had a lot of fun at our house.  It sure is awesome to have kids (and grandparents!) to celebrate the holidays with.  And a couple of extra days to hang out with Daddy is always appreciated. :)

One of a Kind Spring 2012

I was lucky enough to be invited to the One of a Kind Spring show on this weekend at the Direct Energy Centre.  It was a media breakfast and we were treated to a one-of-a-kind breakfast from raw food restaurant Cruda Cafe.  From juices to muffins, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and scrambled-tofu enchiladas, it was all raw (nothing heated or cooked in any way) and very fresh.  The lemon-poppy seed muffins pictured above were divine.

After breakfast I roamed the aisles with my blogger buddies.  Of course, we all have similar taste and ended up stopping for photos at the same booths.  The images below were the sorely tested my mission to "admire not acquire" - especially the handwoven blanket from New Brunswick (1).

1. Megely Weaving (J-21) from Drummond NB - Those two blanket hanging had me hovering...

2. heyday design (E-29) from Vancouver - I have loved these since I saw them at Granville Island a few years ago

3. MoonRox (Q-32) from Toronto - they had the best brass-and-bright-colours jewellery.

4. Mara Minuzzo (I-36) from Caledon - I loved these paintings of Lego figures for the boys' rooms

5. Atelier b (K-36) from Montreal - I admire them every time I see them at OOAK, this skirt looks so perfect for spring.

A few other pieces caught my eye, including:

1. & 2. Good Wishes Quilts (H-34) from Kelowna - I have a weakness for hedgehogs and love that pillow for a kid's bed.

3. & 4. eikcam ceramics from Vancouver (N-08) - such pretty, simple things and I love the porcelain keys.

Hamilton's Jenna Rose (I-16) is always a favourite, especially those cloud and bird pillows above and that sea-faring bag...hoo boy I love that one!

This photo isn't great, but I did love the photos and the booth of Images of This and That (F-39), especially that YYZ one and the Boys are Awesome print.

In terms of booths, Sharalee and I were discussing how important the merchandizing is - it can make the difference between stopping to look and drifting on.  There were a few booths that stood out with their merchandizing, including the ones below:

Avril's booth (L-05) is like a burst of sunshine in the un-naturally lit cave that is a convention centre.

Patouche's booth was beautifully decorated with adorable fabric trees and cute little manequins. 

I think my favourite booth was this spare, beautifully-lit, and exquisitely-merchandized booth by Renaud from Ateliers Des Cent-Ans (H-06).  Sharalee and I stopped to admire this oasis of a space, and when Renaud handed us his card we became drooling paper geeks (or at least I did - Sharalee is much more sophisticated. :) )  His cards are about 1/16'' thick (I measured) and are beautifully letter-pressed.  They are heaven in a business card, and show the exacting and careful thought that goes into his art.

The show is lovely and exhausting as always, and is on until April 1 at the Direct Energy Centre.  I would love to hear your favourite booths!  Here are some round-ups from Lindsay and Vanessa - I did warn you we have similar taste! :)

Emma's new room

Oh dear... Toronto blogger Emma just revealed her new bedroom on Marion House Book and I am in love...and of course thinking of how I can redo our room.  I mean, it's spring, isn't it?  Refreshing, renewing, redecorating - it all goes with the territory.  Just look at this lovely, soft, organic space and then try to tell me it doesn't inspire you!  Head on over to Emma's blog for all the beautiful details of how she put this room together - she does such a great job of sharing the whole process.



And doesn't she just take the most beautiful photos?  So light and airy...

Spring Weekend

I think it really might be here this time...

One of a Kind Spring Show

I had a lovely time at the One of a Kind Press Breakfast - dining on delicious artisan crepes and fresh fruit with Lindsay, Jennifer, and Emilija.  We had so much fun chatting that I didn't get to meet the other bloggers that were there, and I had to race through the show!  But I did snap some shots of some booths that caught my eye - in case you were thinking of going.

These gorgeous hand-embroidered dresses were tucked on the end in booth A-54.  Theye were so excited that we stopped by!  It is their first show - their first time showing their clothes at all!  So you know if you get one it will definitely be "one of a kind"!  The fabrics are all Japanese linen and the embroidery detail on them is exquisite.  If I had girls....oh man, I would be so broke!  Definitely go visit these lovely ladies.

I only snapped this one shot of Chari Cohon's booth - I wish I had time for more.  Her lovely textured white ceramics with the vibrant insides stopped me in my tracks.  These were cups I believe but her vases were lovely as well, and her booth was a vision of white.

I think if I had to pick a most-tempting booth, it would be this one by Georgie Russell of Hand & Shadow.  Her scarves were sooo lovely... if I didn't already have a hundred I would definitely have gotten one of hers.  In fact, I still might!  They look batiked but she tells me the designs are actually bleached in so they are wash and wear.  Georgie is at booth E-38, in the Craft Community section, where she was nominated by the Emily Carr School.  And she is so cute!

Also in the Craft Community aisle is Shuyu Lu, whose textile art was my favourite and most unique thing I saw all day.  She is currently artist-in-residence at the Harbourfront Centre's Studio and has a BD in Textile from OCAD.  These delicate pieces are screen-printed with two separate designs and put together in an embroidery hood, before being hand-embroidered.  In addition to the workmanship, her art is whimsical and colourful, and is full of local Toronto references. The garbage strike is one of my favourites, although I also love the one with the streetcar.  Definitely don't miss her stuff - Booth E - 29.

I also loved the work of Hugo Didier, and his Not Made in China porcelain collection.  The cups and mugs came in every shape and size and the poutine cups look just like the styrofoam cups I used to get my Deluxe poutine in... mmmmmmm.... poutine........

Well Deluxe poutine makes me think of New Brunswick, and how thrilled was I to see these gorgeous woven linens, stop to take photos, and then find out they are from New Brunswick?  Honestly, these blankets and dish towels were incredibly beautiful.  Made by Lyne Levesque of Drummond NB, they are serious works of art, all woven by hand on a big loom the slow and methodical way.  Her card is photocopied, she has no website, and I am pretty sure her husband was working the booth.  So if you are looking for a small crafts person with unique, high-quality, and affordable goods, you have to stop by booth J-23 - and not just because she is from New Brunswick!

I was just reading about Cindy Cantin and C Comme Ca on Bess's English Muffin Blog this week and was thrilled to stumble on her stuff at the show!  Bess highlighted her felt bowls, which are lovely, but I was dying for one of those gorgeous wallets.  And the laptop and iPhone cases are amazing and really sturdy.  She is at booth K-40.

There was another booth that I loved but I seem to have lost their card.  :(  If I find it I will add their stuff tomorrow.  All-in-all another great One of a Kind show, I highly recommend it as always.  :)