Feeling Sentimental

It's been an incredibly busy few weeks for us.
So busy!
Amidst all the madness our Poppet got her retainers. Yes, two of them. Honestly she was so excited about getting them and has had the most amazing attitude about this. She's really blown me away.
We picked them up last week and she popped them in her mouth and I burst into tears. 
Partly because I'm so proud of my girl and how open she is to the concept of wearing horribly uncomfortable metal and plastic things in her mouth. ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT! She continues to wear them with little complaint and never needs to reminded to put them back in. She's amazing.
But mostly, I cried because my little girl looked about ten years older as soon as she put her retainers in. That metal in her mouth made her look so grown up!
It's as if she packed her bags and moved out for college right before my eyes. I wasn't prepared for the way it would make me feel. So whilst she's moved on with her life and is thinking of other things (possibly the Fibonacci sequence she was Youtubing with her Dad the other night) I am dragging my heels and doing my best to adjust.
I even asked her to have lunch with me the following day for some reassurance but she turned me down.
Her confidence has grown exponentially over the past six months, and I am really feeling the tug of that invisible umbilical cord.
Taking her out for a cup of tea and some cake after school to try to hang onto her for a bit longer.
I haven't take a photo of her with the retainer yet but I will. And I'll share it.
It will be good for me.

I guess I still see her like this...

No doubt I always will.

We just watched "Father of the Bride" with her the other day and this scene really sums the week up...

Bringing a Little Sunshine

It's a grey day in Toronto so I thought I'd share a little sunshine.
Here are some shots of the beautiful flowers friends and family have sent me this week for my 40th birthday.

And here are the Poppets I finished up this week which are equally sunny...

I've had a lovely birthday so far, managed to fit in a haircut and some shopping as well as getting some work done. Poppet is on holidays for March Break next week and we're looking forward to some relaxation (and maybe a little painting at the new house). We are finally feeling better after the virus from hell struck us down last week.

Tonight we're off to a friend's place for my birthday party. Isn't that nice?

If we're not too hungover tomorrow we'll grab some sample pots and splash some paint around the house.
I have a big post about the house which is almost finished, and I'll share some photos too.

Enjoy your weekend!

Got Some Stuff Done...

If you follow me on Facebook, you're no doubt aware that we've recently bought a house (yay) which needs reno-work so I've been pinning like a madwoman for inspiration.

Somewhere amongst all that I managed to finish a wholesale order for the lovely Beadle store.
It's a super cute place which is super close to our new house (again, yay).

I was going to drop the stock off this week but our house was attacked by an evil lurgy.
Poppet went down first and had a fever all weekend, she's still not better so we're off to the doctor in the morning. I spent all of Monday in bed and Husband spent all of Tuesday in bed.
Somehow we managed to pull it together enough today to sign documents to finalise the transfer of the house. We get the keys tomorrow!

A very big thank you to Cherie from Beadle for walking over this morning to our place with her dog to pick up the Poppets. It's incredibly cold out there (-24 with windchill anyone?!), we've got at least another

So here are some photos of all the lovely little Poppets I finished before the lurgy hit.

Not a bad looking pile, eh?

Oh, if you're waiting to hear back from me regarding testing those patterns, don't worry I haven't forgotten you. It's been quite the week so it will take me a while to catch up.
And real soon I'll finish that first blog post telling you all about our little house.
But for now, lurgy be gone!

Furry Felt Friends

Over the past few Saturdays I've been teaching some kids to sew up their own felt pets.
I worked out a quick pattern for their use and now I'm offering it up to some of you lot to test it.
If you would like a chance to make your own Felt Friends simply comment on this post and you'll be in the draw. I'll announce the names on the blog at the end of the month.

Aren't they adorable?
The only condition of entry is your willingness to give me some feedback on the pattern if you manage to win the draw.
Best of luck.

Brrrrrr

A few weeks ago Toronto went through an ice storm.

At the time I had no idea what that meant, but you basically get what it says on the packet.
Ice and lots of it.
The roads and sidewalks were a complete nightmare. People were out with salt doing their best to chip away at the ice but it's only just disappeared a month later when the temperatures lifted briefly to zero.
Madness!
And we've had some seriously cold weather.
We drove to Blue Mountain ski resort a few weeks ago and it was -30 outside with the windchill, our car's defogging system just couldn't take it and we scraped ice from inside the windows with a credit card. We were laughing all the way, at least it wasn't snowing as well.
Another cold snap is upon us and it's averaging -25 with the wind chill (which is so important to mention here in winter, that's the actual temperature for us mortals) and the school walk is a challenge. All the layers in the world and my toes still feel cold. Three pairs of socks and snowboots no less!
That's most likely because the schoolyard is still covered in ice so you have to stand on it to wave farewell to whichever bundle of scarves and snowpants is yours. A lot of time standing around in -30, there just aren't enough socks in the world!
It's only five minutes home from school but I happily accepted a lift home from a friend yesterday.
The furnace in our house just can't cope, there isn't enough insulation either. Not usually a major problem but just too cold for the house to cope. There's been ice on the inside of our stairwell window too!

But I still love it. I find this weather invigorating. I must be crazy...

Poppet's new balaclava has come in very handy this week!

I'm happily staying inside working on an order for one of my stockists. And watching "Kingdom".
You just need a bit of Stephen Fry in your life whenever possible.
No?