Friday Fancies : Pastel Pretties

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with pastels. 

Right now, I'm in love.

Especially if the weather starts to co-operate. 

The peplum top above would be a nice start. Such a great transitional piece.
And I am loving the idea of a pretty pastel hued necklace.

Have you entered yet? Ends Wednesday! 

 + lots more!

Wishing your families a lovely Easter Weekend.

 

What the boy Wore

The other day, I was going back and forth with a fellow blogger about kid's fashion and how much we LOVE to dress our little ones. 

Maybe more than we enjoy dressing ourselves.

Some say boys are harder. I say nay. 

I have always had so much fun dressing Jules. 
Typically, I radiate to H&M, Zara Kids and Mexx Kids for him. 
Boys are so much harder on their clothes and I find these brands are built to last. Even in the knees.

Julian wears:
shirt and jeans - Mexx Kids

He may or may not be wearing popped-out 3D glasses in these photos.
And we may or may not have agreed to one silly pose for each serious one.
Hey, whatever works. 

My mom is 81 years young today! 
Love you mama, even if you didn't keep these gauchos. 

Croatia, circa 1981

What I Wore : Pistachio & Danielle Nicole

Dear Spring,

I feel as though you are teasing us. 

It looks like you are here but then...we come outside and sadly, this is not the case.

Thank you for the wee bit of sunshine. 

Please come to stay soon. 

sunglasses - Michael Kors | shirt - RW + Co. | earrings, necklace - RW + Co. | cardigan - French Connection
trouser jeans - one5one | shoes - Tory Burch

I received this pretty bag by Danielle Nicole via The Shopping Channel and couldn't wait to test it out. 

It checks off all of the wants.

 Lots of space for everything a busy mom totes around including room for a cell phone AND a sippy cup. Brilliant.

Made of a leather alternative, it's super easy to just wipe clean.

Oh! And can we say...matches perfectly with my favorite Tory Burch ballet slippers?

Yes. Yes, we can. 

Linking up here and here.

Celebrating Three

You know when you plan and plan something. 

And then it goes even better than you hoped?

That happened.  

Know that it had nothing to do with the planning. The fact that I got all DIY on everything.
{It may have had a little bit to do with Ava's ensemble. I mean, really}.
But, it had everything to do with the company. The mood of the day. 
I can't explain it.
But it was perfect.

PS - In case you're wondering, {because I would be!} the Minnie Mouse cake is by Cakes by Adriana in a chocolate with dulce de lecce caramel filling. So, so good. 
Linking this post up here

I LOVE the Birthday Girl Group Giveaway

So, it's someone's birthday today.

And she may or may not be the namesake of this here little blog.

In honor of this, and Christina from The Olive Tree's sweet Lyla's FIRST birthday {eeek!}, we decided to put a little gift together. 

From all of our lovely friends to you.

Easy rafflecopter entry ::open to residents of the US & Canada. 

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What I Wore : Daily

Gettin' real on the blog today. 

After having coffee together earlier this week, I figured you might like to see what I might have been wearing. 

top - Talula by Aritzia
chambray shirt - American Eagle {find it here}
scarf - Esprit
knit leggings - Mendocino
boots - Zara

 And likely, what I'm wearing on this Wednesday. 

Linking up here and here and here.

Home Tour : The Heart of the Home

If I could do things over, and was just buying a home today for the very first time? I would focus on such different things.

First off, the kitchen. 

We fell {well, mostly me} head over heels in love with ours when we first saw the house. 

I didn't focus on important things like say, counter/prep space or cupboard storage.

I, like most women, got caught up in the emotional part of it. 

Look how pretty it all looks! 

Look at the color! The back splash! 

Needless to say, I still love it. 

But try to get more than two people in the work area and it's all bad. 
Probably why I prefer to cook solo. 

Secondly, closet space.

I know that doesn't have anything to do with a kitchen. 

But since we're talking heart of the home and where you spend most of your time?

The kitchen is first and {ahem} the closet is a close second.

Winner of the $1000 visa gc has been chosen and will be announced here soon! 
So exciting.

A Coffee Date

We've yet to have a coffee date this year so I figured it was definitely time.  

In case you were wondering, I prefer regular coffee to say a Starbucks latte, especially first thing in the morning. And I prefer bought coffee to a home brew. Always. I take mine double-double. Although I am trying TRYING to cut the sugar part.

Not so easy.

I would tell you that this past weekend, we moved Ava into her "big girl" bed. We donated her old crib {which was Izzy's...and then Julian's...} to Habitat for Humanity.

She keeps telling anyone who will listen that it has gone to "a new baby".
The first night didn't go so well.
As we anticipated, she wouldn't stay put and kept coming downstairs.
So, we let her fall asleep on the family room carpet and then moved her.
A few hours later, the throwing up began.
We won't talk about that part.

The kids were home last week for Spring Break.
And honestly? I prefer it. 
No super-early mornings. Company all day.
And other than feeling like a taxi-driver some days, it was a pretty fun week for all.

Thursday, the older girls {that would be Izzy and I} went out to get our hair done. We're still trying to manage her new love for lighter hair with my love for keeping her as natural as possible.
With that in mind, we've compromised with highlights on top only. 
And now? It's far too light.
That's the thing with color. You never really know where you might end up.
Oh. I ended up with ombre.
And Isabella? She will end up back at the salon on Tuesday for some low lights.

I was recently asked to do a little video review for Silver Speck. It's gone out to their entire mailing list which is ridiculously exciting! And of course, you can see it on you tube right here. 
If you like the necklace, be sure to visit on Friday. Trust me on this one. 

Julian kept insisting last night that school did not start again today.
Tuesday, he said. Very convincingly I might add. 
I'm sure that may or may not have something to do with the fact that fifth grade speeches start this week. 
Not his favorite thing.
And I can't say I blame him.

We're busy planning our celebration of the big "3" this coming weekend! 
And I love that every time I ask Ava what she wants for her birthday, she says "candles on it".
So loving this age.
She can tell me what she wants, if anything hurts and best of all, will randomly give kisses. 
I will say "I love you". And she will say "I love you too".
To which I reply, "I love you more".
And she says "in the whole wide world".
heart.melts

If I could have coffee IRL with any of my blogger friends today...I might choose this girl, because she loves Dunkin' almost as much as I do. Or this girl, because I know she wouldn't mind the extra sugar, in fact, I think she might even talk me into a chocolate donut. 

Yes, both girls after my own heart. 
If you can, take a moment to share a coffee with a friend this week.
Sometimes, it really is the best therapy.

Friday Fancies : The Perfect Trench

Spring is almost upon us and here in Toronto, this usually means about 3 weeks of semi-warm, "can't go without a jacket weather", before the summer heat kicks in.

But, and this part is important, you MUST be prepared for this time.

And by prepared, I mean, you have to own a classic trench...particularly if you are a working woman.
A reader {and dear friend} recently asked me to help her on the search for the perfect trench coat.
Know that she has 2 children under the age of 4 so comfort, versatility and affordability are key.

The iconic, classic Burberry trench.
The one which all others are measured against.
And yes, you could splurge on this beauty. It would definitely last a lifetime but really, do you want to spend what could very likely be your entire Spring shopping budget on one item?
Not so much.

Here are a few great options: 

J Crew $344 {J Crew Factory : option}

Forever XXI $29.80 

Zara $139

Jacob $169.90 {sign up for their online newsletter & receive $20 off your purchase}

The Gap $128 {less 30% right now} 

I also saw a huge {and fabulous!} collection at The Bay that included tons of great looks by London Fog. Definitely worth checking out. 

My favorite above has to be the leather-trimmed version by Jacob. It's classic but with an edge which I always love.

Which one would you choose?