Runs on Coffee and Cream

Over the last few years we talked about getting a dog. I grew up with two dogs and knew how much work they can be so I was hesitant. But Adam has always wanted a dog and kept pushing the idea on me. We thought we might get one after the embryo transfer so the dog would be trained and comfortable by the time the baby came. Well, after the transfer failed, and we were both sad and depressed, the idea of a dog became even more appealing.

9 weeks old

It's a new year which always feels like a new beginning to me; a fresh start. I've never been one to hold myself all that accountable for new year resolutions. I wrote down a few goals I'd like to work on this year, but honestly, the only things that matter to me this year are making memories and doing what makes me happy.

We have some fun plans this year, some set in stone and others that we need to finalize. Emma will be walking this year and she's already proved 2019 to be interesting since she's now crawling and trying to stand up. I can only imagine how many new adventures we'll encounter this year with her.

Source

I've also found new inspiration in my creative life - artists, creators, crafts, fabric. So many things have sparked new motivation in me. I haven't felt that in a while to be honest. It's nice. It's nice to feel these things again which make me want to spend time in my craft room or sit at my laptop and write .

My first step in my newfound creative world is starting a new Instagram account; one that will focus solely on my creativity and interests - sewing, crafting, reading, geeky things, and blogging. I've always held myself back a little bit on Instagram knowing that the people who follow me might not want to see a lot of Etsy posts, book reviews, toys, or new fabric pictures. Now, I feel free to spam the heck out of my 'creative' account.

The other thing I want to focus on is streamlining my social media presence. I'm taking a break from Twitter. I have found I just scroll on there; not really interacting or sharing my own thoughts. The next is Facebook. I've backed away from Facebook this past year a bit. I go on randomly only because most of my family is active on there and it's a way to stay sort of connected. But I don't want to get lost in that timeline either. So my goal is to connect my new Instagram account to my Facebook page. That way I can still share things without really having to log into Facebook.

I apologize and also thank you in advance while I navigate this new inspiration and try to find the voice I want to share online.

xo Jen

One of the things I love about being off work? I can attend all those weekend events that happen around the city. Working retail typically means you work all weekend, every weekend. There's always local craft shows I want to check out but I'm at work.

Not anymore!

A couple of Saturdays ago I did errands in the city with Emma. We made our way downtown and hit up the Makers North: The Spring Show late in the afternoon. Going to the event with a stroller made me realize I'd probably be a pain in the butt taking over a lot of space. So I figured going later in the day made the most sense since craft shows die off towards the end. There'd be more space for me!


I wanted to buy from pretty much every vendor. I think if it was closer to Christmas and I had gifts to buy for, I would have walked out with a lot more than I did. There were amazing smelling soy candles, personalized wine glasses and wool socks, adorable prints for the wall, handmade jewelry, and baby clothes.


The items I bought were ones I was eyeing up prior to the event. Things that I spotted on Instagram and Facebook.

The first was a pillow from Penny Goods. I had been eyeing up the dinosaur pillow before the event but after seeing pictures of their set up from the start of The Spring Show, I'm kicking myself I didn't go earlier. I clearly needed to buy Emma the big orange cat pillow. But luckily, I can just watch for them to do another local craft show and buy her another pillow!




I also bought a couple of hair bows from Alfie + Iris. I completely fell in love with them when I found their Instagram. Their bows are so pretty. And the material... ugh! As a fellow fabric addict, I want all the hair bows because of the fabric! They use gorgeous vintage-looking fabrics. I'm a little mad I didn't pick up their new Malibu Barbie-looking print bow. But again, maybe at their next show.


And because I was hungry and they actually had product left, I went home with 2 donuts from Beards Bakery! We try to visit their bakery regularly to try new things and they were set up at the show across from a friend's booth, so it was fate!


Whether I apply for future Makers North shows this year or not, I'll definitely attend them to do some shopping and to check out the local vendors. The feeling at these shows is so energetic and they inspire the crap out of me. I leave them with creativity bursting from me. It helps keep me in check when preparing for my own craft shows that I'm vending at.

Speaking of which, I'm off to cut out some new projects for my next show!

xo Jen

It's hard to believe it's June already. I'm not too sure where the time has gone, but here we are.

May

May was a great month. We went to Hamilton for the first time since Emma was born. It was a successful visit and the 5 hour drive there and back went well. Emma slept for most of the drive and we had interesting adventures at rest stops changing diapers and feeding her. We also had my mom up for a longer than normal visit which was nice. There was no rushing. Just hanging out and enjoying ourselves.

We played many games of Catan in May.

Matcha Lemonade season!

Lunch at Twiggs.

The summer heat showed up this month. My walks around the neighbourhood with Emma were now sunny and hot walks. I officially have tank top tan lines. We also went to Bell Park a couple of times. The most recent time was somewhat of a picnic with friends. Too bad their were a gazillion (I'm not kidding) tent caterpillars at the park trying to join us. It was a little annoying.



We ended May with Paramedic Week here in the city. We attended the proclamation last Monday to start off Paramedic week so of course I took a ton of photos of Emma and Adam with the ambulance since this was the first time Emma was at Daddy's work.

Sitting in an ambulance.

June

Source

June only just started but so far it's been a rainy month. I'd really like for the sun to come back now! We have a lot of fun plans for this month. Graphic-con is this Saturday, which is my first craft show of the year. I've been able to sew a bit with Emma around so I have faith that I'll be able to get back into sewing more and more as she gets older. There's two weekends that family is coming to visit us, Father's Day, our wedding anniversary, and the month ends with a friend's wedding. So it looks like it'll be another busy month.

Can you believe this cutie is 3 months old?!

I'm pumped for the summer with Emma. I have so many things I want to do with her. If you follow me on Instagram, I apologize in advance for all the adorable baby pics! I've been trying to keep them separate in a private account on Instagram. But they keep leaking back into my main account. Whoops!

xo Jen

I wanted to be a mom for a very long time. Luckily, being in Canada, I have a year off to stay home with my baby. No one really knows what to expect when their baby shows up. Plus every baby is different, including their personalities and habits. I've lucked out with a good baby; she sleeps well, she's not too fussy and we haven't experienced colic. However, she still prefers our arms than a bouncer or swing. But we both get decent sleep (her more than me. I'm functioning though. Most days. With multiple cups of coffee).


I figured after we got into a routine I'd be back to sewing and baking. In my head I was so going to nail this staying at home with the baby. I also had plans to meal prep, scrub the house from top to bottom weekly, start working out... this is so not the case.

Quickly you realize how much you need to and want to entertain your baby and show her the world around her. I've taken to making animal noises, singing to her, and pointing out colours and shapes around the house. Yep, she definitely thinks her Mom is a professional singer with how much I sing to her. Then there's tummy time, the multiple feedings each day, and the never-ending diaper changing. Because she's reached the age where she 'talks' a lot now too, I also feel like I shouldn't watch TV as much. I need to interact with her and have silly conversations.


Don't take this as complaining. Watching her face - her eyes lighting up, her mouth copying my mouth, the sounds she makes - are all worth every single moment I spend away from cleaning, cooking, and even trying to eat (my meals all seem to get postponed due to Emma time).


I know things should get easier (and harder in a sense) once she can hold up her own head, hang out in her exersaucer, hold her own bottle, etc. I should be able to multi-task a bit better. Hopefully. That's the plan. But who cares? As long as she's happy, I'm happy. We'll make this work. 

xo Jen

Spring is always a short season here. It shows up late and then before you know it summer pops up in June with some scorching hot days. Don't get me wrong, I love summer and everything that comes with it. But spring is nice for walks and hikes and to work in the garden. I feel like May is already filling up with plans which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it means this month is going to fly by.

Source

After sitting down with Adam to discuss some things coming up, we realized there's a handful of things we'd like to do before the hot summer shows up.

Spring To Do List:

• Go for a hike or two! Summer brings mosquitoes which makes hiking trails difficult without being eaten alive. So we want to head to a couple of hiking areas before all the bugs show up.
• Work on the outside of our house - put down grass seed, plant flowers in the gardens, decide on what vegetables we want to plant and start picking up seeds and plants.
• Have a bonfire. Before we get too hot evenings, we figure we'll take advantage of the cooler evenings with a bonfire. 
• Get our bikes out of the shed! Fill up the tires and start going for regular rides.
• Start making iced tea regularly. Iced tea is definitely a summer thing, but with Davids Tea promoting all their iced tea products I'm ready to start making pitchers of it regularly. It's refreshing after a warm walk or bike ride.

Source

2015 is almost over. This Friday is January 1st, which means a new year will be upon us. At the end of the year I enjoy looking back at what happened over the last 12 months - the good and bad. I like to see how I've grown, what mistakes I've learnt from, and how things have changed. From this I find inspiration for the new year. Motivation, inspiration, life lessons. I don't necessarily set goals for myself for the new year, but I do jot down ideas, dreams, and things I'd like to try during the upcoming year.

This is my list:

Baking

Baking is a huge passion of mine. I've definitely grown and become more adventurous but I have so many more ideas that I'm excited to start working on in 2016. I started a notebook a little over a month ago where I've been writing down all my ideas for treats. I'm beyond excited to start baking and decorating which is a really good thing. Though, I'll have a lot of sweets on hand, so please come over and eat some!



Crafts

This past year I attended a few new conventions and craft shows where I sold my products. I really enjoyed myself and did well at these events which means I'm planning on selling at these shows again in 2016. Because I was selling to a new crowd or at a different type of event, I made note of what was selling better than other things so I definitely have some ideas on how to properly stock for these shows next year.


Home

We worked on our house and yard a lot over this last year. But for the upcoming year we already have plans to paint 3 rooms and replace some of the flooring. It's super exciting for me because I've been itching to start on this process and it seems like it's finally going to be happening in the first half of the year. I cannot wait to have freshly painted walls where I can finally hang art and photographs.



Health

I'm starting off the new year having my carpal tunnel checked out. It scares me so much since I rely on my hands for everything I do and love. But I cannot keep waking up at night due to pain in my hand and pins and needles in my fingers that make me cry. I'm hoping getting this looked at will be the start of a positive and healthy year for me.

 




This was definitely my highlight of the month because since then I feel like I've been living at work and in a time crunch when I'm at home.

I hope you have a good weekend! I'll be at work and doing my best to stay in the Christmas spirit!
xo Jen

It blows my mind every time I look at a calendar now. Where has the time gone?! At the rate things are going, it'll be Christmas before I know it! So like I've done the last couple of months, I took some time at the beginning of the month to sit down and figure out what I want to do over the next few weeks before craziness hits and Christmas activities take over every day.

Autumn has pretty much disappeared here and a cold, dark Winter is slowly creeping in. So I want to do some things that'll keep my spirits high and keep out the dark, depressing days.

To-do:

- finish my first cross-stitch project which happens to be a Christmas ornament
- decorate the house for Christmas including putting up our first Christmas tree together
- make mulled apple cider
- have a movie night in with hot chocolate, popcorn and lots of blankets
- have a board game night


Do you have any special plans or traditions for this time of year?
xo Jen

 





It's bittersweet that Autumn is pretty much over and Winter is upon us. But Winter means Christmas so I'm ok with things changing.
xo Jen