Is it just me, or are mini cupcakes totally irresistible?! Do you have a favourite flavour?

The Fountain – the only downside of penny extinction. I’m now shelling out the big bucks (nickels & dimes baby) to make my ladyloo happy!

Also, I love it when watered-down apple juice looks like a highball. Swanky toddler.

Slap a triangle dress on that small child and Ikea has signage for our soon to be family dynamic. Love that!

What pregnant lady can resist a $1 cinnimon bun? Ok, probably lots can. I have no willpower.

Some toddlers are very advanced. I kid.

I promise I’ll start wearing a different colour of nail polish for a while.

Black and white pillows tend to follow me home. It’s not my fault.

And, done. Nighty-nite. xx

I love to get away. Big or little, any kinda trip makes me pretty happy. So, last weekend, quite spur of the moment, we decided to pack our bags and head out to sea (and then land again).

What better way to start a little trip-trappin’ than a breakie of cold, leftover pizza?! YUM. And I know I already mentioned it, but I’m bananas for this nail polish (it’s much more forrest green in person). I topped it off with Debroah Lippmann On A Clear Day for extra an extra glossy finish.

Buddy the Bear was pretty stoked to be getting out of town as well! You can totally see it in his eyes right? I think he’s smize-ing, bear-style.

The little lady loved the ‘big white boat’.

Isn’t a sunny day on the water just the prettiest?

Why, hello Mr! It looks like you might have a secret you’d like to share…

…Baby number 2 is on the way!

More riveting photos of our getaway coming at ya soon! xx

Happy Friday my loves!! Who’s excited about the weekend?? Um, me please *hands up high*. What exciting plans lay ahead for you? We’re going on a mini road trip tomorrow. Just a little day jaunt to see a very special Birthday girl. Here’s hoping that cartoons on the ipad make 4 hours in the car a happy time for us all.

So, whoever thought up the first kid-friendly cafe has got to be a king among men, or a queen among women, or how about, a royal among humans…you get my drift. With the cold of winter, the little and I both LOVE Crumbsy’s. It’s a fantastic local spot, but you probably have something similar in your neck of the woods (at least I hope you do!). There’s toys (and cupcakes) for her, and amazing coffee and treats for me. I sit, she plays, we sanitize our hands like madmen when we leave (kids are germy little things), and the dark days don’t seem nearly as long.

So, there’s kid-focused coffee shops on one end, Starbucks in the middle, and then those hipster-cool coffee spots at the other end. (Where you are stared at like a leper if you walk in with a toddler. Um, with your giant headphones on you can’t even hear my kid singing Pop Goes The Weasel.)

Anyhoo…In the fall the little and I started having a weekly date at another local spot Cafe 932. And while not at all kid-focused, after a couple weeks of our regular patronage, they so thoughtfully produced a little basket of toys. Sigh. Isn’t kindness wonderful? Not to mention the fact that they seriously, have the best peanut-butter-chocolate-chip cookie on the face of the earth. I dare you to doubt me…I’ll mail you one.

And just to prove that after drinking all that coffee, we actually do get outside once in a while, I give you the wintery beach.

I’m going to out my inner nerd a bit here and tell you a funny(ish?) story. For ages, I had been mentioning to the hubs that I want a rock polisher (blush). I thought it would be fun! We often come home from the beach with weighed down pockets full of treasures. It seemed like a great parent-tot project, magically polish up a lovely little rock, all cold and smooth. Please tell me I’m not the only one who thought glossy rocks were cool as a child?!

So, the holidays come and go, and the we’re driving in the car one day and the Mr. mentions that he was going to get me a rock polisher for Christmas. Intrigued, I launch into a barrage of questions. And do you want to know why he didn’t buy one? (I’m sure the suspense is killing you.) Because it takes TWO WHOLE MONTHS to polish a rock!! And the machine makes NOISE the entire time. Because, hello, it’s tumbling ROCKS. AND, he read that sometimes the machines break down before your rock actually gets polished! Because again, it’s noisily tumbling ROCKS for TWO WHOLE MONTHS…inside your house. For some reason, I found this all to be completely hysterical. Maybe you had to be there?

So that’s it kids, if you made it through this whole blabbery post, you deserve a medal, or at least the bestest weekend wishes I can mentally send your way. xxxxxxxx

Happy Monday Buddies and Pals! How was your weekend?? What did you get up to?

Ours was happy and eventful. We made a mad dash to Vancouver and came home with a new stroller-luggage-furniture-tool-baby friendly mobile. And if that isn’t enough to make a girl happy, while we were there, some gentlemanly fellow yelled “Nice butt!” at me. Awesome. In fact, it was particularly awesome seeing as the day before I’d left the drugstore with a face sander, a fitness magazine and come home to make a hair appointment. There’s nothing like a classy catcall to perk up ones self esteem.

Outfit Details: thrifted top, Winners faux leather jacket, vintage belt, vintage ring, Uniqlo jeans, Aldo shoes

I’m wishing that this view was still just outside my window. Thankfully, I have loads of fun lined up for the weekend, from celebrating my Mumsie’s Birthday to a tea date with a fabulous friend. What’s on your agenda??

You gotta do, what’cha gotta do, when the mugs are just too tiny.

Packing up is far more enjoyable than unpacking. Does anyone want to send me a laundry fairy?

A the other day I came across an intriguing idea, rolling up your damp hair into a sox bun before going to sleep. A cascade of gorgeous waves was promised by morning. Results for me? CRAZIEST. HAIR. EVER. I looked like I had been electrocuted. My hubs laughed and mocked, my baby cried and ran away.

An O in my bed. Enough said.

This passed weekend we stayed in a really lovely ocean front suite. It was a bit chilly outside, but an early morning beach adventure was the perfect way to kick off my Mr’s Birthday.

Naturally, coffee came along.

With my little one scampering around the nearly deserted beach, I became somewhat disturbed when we noticed 3 very large bald eagles circling above us…giving us the eagle eye (ha ha ha ha).

I wish I had been using a zoom lens on my camera. They are such gorgeous birds (even if they do eat babies…which they totally don’t. Sorry Eagles!)

Here I am pointing out the Baby-Eating-Eagles to my baby and telling her to try not to appear too delicious.

Total fail. How could this face not appear delicious?! I pretty much spend everyday trying not to gobble her up.

‘Playing’ on the beach = Constantly trying to charge recklessly into the water.

Enough picture taking, Parents! This way please.

TODAY’S LOVE TIP: Leave a lovely little note in your husband’s wallet, your child’s lunchbox, on your friends desk at work, etc. It doesn’t have to be fancy. A happy lil’ Post-it is a sweet way to let someone know you care.

PS – I badgered my Mr. to think of a Love Tip. Yes, the one above came out of his man-brain, but only after this conversation:

Husband: What are you doing?
Me: Trying to think of a good Love Tip for this post.

Husband: When are you going to start including naughty tips???
Me: Pretty much never seeing as both our mothers read my blog. (Thank you both for doing so!)

Outfit Details: Zara top, Gap vest, Gap jeans, The Bay necklace, J.Crew boots, Ray Ban sunnies

Hello my sweets! Did you think that I wasn’t coming back? I have to be honest, I almost thought I wasn’t for a moment there. Life has been extra busy (in a happy way) and I just couldn’t keep up with the blog. I found myself feeling pretty guilty about it at first, thinking things like why don’t I have back up posts to use when needed and other bloggers seem to keep up with their blog, life, general fabulousness, why can’t I?

THEN, I just put the internets out of my mind. I focused on enjoying all the things I’ve had going on, our reno’s, my Mr. birthday, our out of town excursions, etc. And I began to feel much better.

UNTIL, I started thinking does my blog matter? There are so many amazing blogs out there, would anybody miss mine if I didn’t return?

FINALLY, I said, put away that tiny violin Nat!! That’s not your stylo.

So, here I am. I’ll be here for the rest of the week. And probably next week too. Because, I really do like it here. And I like you. xx

TODAY’S LOVE TIP: Slow down and recharge. For a day, a week, an hour, you decide. Read some cheerful chick lit, go for a walk with your family (holding hands a MUST in my book), take a couple deep breaths. Ahhhh…

Isn’t there something just so lovely and romantic about lighthouses? I hadn’t been to visit this one since I was a kid, so I thought it would be swell to drag the fam there this past weekend.

This is the light keepers boat. When the lighthouse was built there was no foot path. The keeper had to row out to tend to the light (or whatever it is that a light keeper does).

A somewhat akward shot due to the following conversation.

Me: are you taking it now?
Hubs: are you ready?
Me: are you watching the baby?
Hubs: you’re watching the baby.
Me: I’m watching the baby.
Me again: *insert whiney voice here* I’m never going to have fun ‘location’ shots for my blog like all the other cool kids do. *end whiny voice*
Hubs: what??
Me: Nothing, take the picture please. Ooohhh, why did I forget my sunnies in the car?!
Hubs: you don’t need new sunnies!
Snap!
Me: Oh man, I wasn’t ready!

The End.

Forget about outfit pics as usual, back to the fam. Aren’t they are cute pair?