my bouquet du jour

Greenery in a bouquet is vital for adding bulk and serving as a backdrop to the colour of the flowers.  Here I wanted a very quick bouquet on the terrace, didn't have time to scout around the garden looking for interesting foliage, turned around towards our enormous lime tree and   Bingo!

The lime tree 'flowers' at this time of year to the delight of the garden bees.  The pale flower or seed heads actually hang beneath the leaves on the tree, but for the arrangement I turned them the other way up, added some tiny apples, and my irreplaceable Pierre de Ronsard rose.  I liked the effect with the bottle of rosé wine, soft and summery!

Banana for Boxes

This past week has gone by much too quickly. Aubrey and I been searching for the right fridge and console.  We got our Dining Chairs delivered. (I'll post them next week!) I've also busy with work getting ready to launch some new product. But during the days Oscar and I play and go for walks. I got my delivery of shipping supplies so Erin, Hudson and I made a fort in our backyard.

I have a feeling my monthly delivery of shipping supplies is going to be a big hit with the boys.

Oh, and PS. Nicole gave us a little shoutout on our Ikea + Toy = Cute art post. Thank you! xo

Happy Friday

It is hard to know what is really drawing me to this picture:

A. The White Dress- that I am dying for

B. The Shoes- which I am dying for

C. The Hamburger- that I am dying for

Let's be honest, it is mostly likely C at the moment.

Image from ?, it was a recent ad but I am drawing a blank for what company

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Happy 2nd Birthday to my baby girl, Matilda Jane!

I guess when you turn two, you're not really a baby anymore and I'd definitely say this little lady has graduated to toddler status in the last six months.  She's been a little slow growing in the hair department so she still kind of looks my baby.  But boy does she have some serious personality coming through.  She is a ray of sunshine every day and I can honestly say she is a joy to parent.

There are just a few things that I would like my sweet Matilda Jane to know about what she is like on her 2nd birthday:

1. You have some of the best expressions that make your family smile ear to ear.

2. One of your favorite phrases is "I do it!".

3. You love and adore your sister, Savannah Rose.

4. You give the best hugs.

5. You make people smile wherever you go.

6. You look adorable with your little pig tails.

7. Your favorite television show is Caillou and your favorite book is Look and See Sesame Street.

8. You sleep with your stuffed Elmo and lamb every night.

9. You love your binkie and your call it "B".

10. Whenever your sister says something, you say "Me too!"

11. You like to spin around and around until you are so dizzy you almost fall over.

12. You love playing baby dolls.

13. We call you "Missy Boo" - a name that your sister, Savannah, came up with and it has just stuck.

14. You are incredibly snuggly and loved to be cuddled on the couch.

15. You don't like bugs.

16. Your favorite foods are hot dogs, pretzels, macaroni and cheese, popcorn and all kinds of berries.

17. You like to dance and love showing your mama all your ballet moves.

18. You love your cat, Lily and are always looking for her.

19. You have the sweetest looking face after you wake up from your nap.

20. You light up a room and bring joy into our hearts.

So, again, happy birthday to my baby girl!  We are all looking forward to your "Tea for 2" birthday party tomorrow.  Thank you for being such a sweet, loving child - you are such a blessing to our lives!

We love you,

Mama, Daddy and Savannah Rose

garden favours

The first show of annuals is fading away in the garden, leaving behind their seed pods and making space for the next wave.

This is a good time to make some very personal favours, gifts to special friends, thank-you's to a dinner hostess.  I've found an idea that seems to please, costs nothing and takes less time than required to write this post !!

 To make these little packets of home grown seeds, you'll need some greaseproof or waxed paper, a sewing machine, paints and ......  some seeds.  Here I chose seeds from a pink lupin.

To create a tiny and very simple watercolour, don't get ambitious, keep it simple, naive even.  You're not looking for a botanical print - unless you're clever enough to do that, then just go for it !! - For the lupins, I first painted in some rough lines showing the position of the lupin heads and some foliage beneath.

Next I dotted in some of the lupin colour, blotting with kitchen paper as I went to keep everything soft.

I painted in the name of the flower, again as simply as possible

To make the seed sachet, I simply folded a piece of waxed paper in half and machine sewed each of the long upright sides, making a sachet open at the top.

I popped the seeds into the sachet, you don't need very many, and sewed the little painted paper onto the top of the sachet to seal the seeds inside.  Voila !  I told you, it was quicker than this post to finish !

Oh yes, and just for fun I added the words 'de mon jardin'  -  from my garden.

Any flowers will do for this,  providing they are easy to draw - Nigella is good because they are so vague and fluffy!  Have fun!

Console Table, Part 2

Here are three more consoles to throw into the mix thanks to some reader input. Shannon sent me a link to the one console (1) on All Modern ($449) white which is super beautiful and the right dimensions. (It is also available in Toronto at Urban Mode but for $597). This table led me to research the line of tables from Blu Dot and found the (3) this gorgeous console that looks like marble on top. Another commenter, Anna pointed me to this blog post showing me the console table from Urban Barn that used to be $439 and is on sale right now for $200

All three are contenders but I'm trying the Urban Barn first, because the price is right. But the problem is I can't return it if it doesn't work, because they wont accept returns on sale items. (banging head on desk)

But the store did say that I can take the floor model on loan to see how it will work...which I may do. Sadly, I don't think it will be long enough for what I was thinking, but I may rent the floor model to try it. Thanks for the feedback and help.

Ps., We did consider the DIY route and I got quotes from welders to make the base. Sadly, the quotes were higher than some of the more expensive tables in my earlier post. :(

Sew Along Design Contest Finalists

Thank you to everyone who entered the "Sew Along Design Contest" through The Cottage Home Flickr Group.  There were some very creative entries which made it very hard to choose, but we narrowed it down to the top five.  In no particular order, the finalists are..........

Natalie from Our Old Southern House

 From Mama Reita

Amber Lou from The Paisley Cupcake

From Jessica

From Stiej

Voting is now open in the left side-bar of the blog underneath the "welcome" section.  So vote for your favorite look and the person you want to win the $50 gift certificate to Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops.  Voting will be open until Sunday, July 10, 2011 at midnight (CST).  Good luck to all the finalists!