the roman shade project

I've done it. I spent weeks searching for all the material needed to create a roman shade (Fabricville does NOT carry everything you need) and only needed the battens (or dowels). Mr C finally took me to the hardware store after he realized what I needed. Duh me. The roman shade I wanted was for our main bathroom upstairs.

First off, let me tell all of you that I had no clue as to what I was doing. I read the step by step instructions online, I watched the videos on youtube, I saw enough images to make my head spin.. I just headed to my sewing machine and started.

Lucky for me, instead of using black-out material as the backing, I used the existing 'damask thing' that was already hanging on a metal rod in our bathroom. That material was actually a table linen I had gotten at work for almost free and it was the exact measurement of the interior window (I also have a matching cushion pillow!).

The way it was.. Ai Carumba, who saw this but us anyways!

I set everything on the floor and started measuring out (okay okay at times, just by eye). I thought about it for a while and then.. just pinned and started sewing. Here's the thing: I didn't want to have to create the header block to install so I decided to get a larger dowel for the top and bottom (so that when I pulled on the string to bring up the shade, it wouldn't pucker in and collapse to the middle). I wanted to create a rod pocket below that to slip the new curtain rod through..

I had no idea what I was doing.. but it sure looks like I do!

Gluing down the dowels.. Should have created separate rod pockets for each..

Well folks, didn't I go and glue the damn dowel and had a miserable time sewing after that!?! Try putting a 53 inch width material with all kinds of dowels glued to it and running it through the sewing machine. I think I was about 2 feet away from my machine with my foot on the pedal trying to maneuver the whole thing through. It was hilarious! Well, now it's hilarious.. I wasn't laughing last night.

I also didn't understand how some of the crafters use their sewing machine to sew on the rings.. Seriously, how do they get all that fabric plus dowel in?? I just hand-sewed them on. I then pulled apart an old bamboo shade and used the cord for my new roman shade.

In hindsight, I should have measured out each dowel spacing and sewed a separate pocket for each and slipped them in afterwards.

I'm going to be creating a straight valance to finish this off.. as my next project! But I finally have a decent looking window covering in the bathroom and it actually works!

The finished result! Sorry for the horrible lighting. It was pretty late.

It works! 

tower of power

Came home from shopping this morning and found this! whoa.

bodie and fou

There are many sites I love to visit each week and Bodie & Fou is one of them. If I had a lot of disposable income, this is definately a site I would gladly spend my money on. There are so many incredible items here and lots of wonderful inspirations.

On one of their posts, they had written that they weren't crazy about pink in girls rooms. Yikes! Not that I'm easily influenced by others because I do what I want.. but it made me think. Did I paint Keira's room in a stereotypical way? But then again, if you know the story behind why I finally painted the room pink you'd cut me some slack. lol.

Anyways, back to the Bodie & Fou blog.. it wasn't the pink itself but rather the plastic pink decor. You know, total Barbie theme etc. It's very hard to get away from the Dora, Barbie, Hannah Montana theme. Especially if you have kids whining and pining for it watching all the horrible marketing traps on tv. Add to that extreme peer pressure (even at age 5!).

I am really loving the pink and soft greys colourway right now. Like here:

And even here:

Restoration Hardware: Baby & Child

Looking around Keira's room, it's already a hodge-podge style mixed into Keira now decorating on her own as well. I think if her bed wasn't so big and filled up half the room, I'd love to add more accent pieces like that ball chair (it also comes in fuschia!) and wall paper. Maybe if that penguin wallpaper came as wall sticker instead?? In any case, I still believe that you can decorate on a dime budget but adding special pieces, really makes the room.

Anime posters framed.. with her wall of cut-outs

And her super K desk! That ball chair would go great in this room!

quiet weekend

The Paris bank from one of Keira's aunts travels to France..

Early morning project

Making stovepipe flowers...

Can't seem to get rid of the Winnie the Pooh lamp.. too sentimental.

Finally, a weekend to ourselves. A beautiful start to it, plenty of sunshine and not too cold. Went to visit my mom again yesterday evening and she was looking much better. Next week, she will attempt to try to walk without the walker. You go mom! Thank you to the Ko's & Ahn's mom for visiting my mom. We so appreciate it! 

beethoven anyone?

Came home late today because I dropped Keira off to school this morning. Mr C had an appointment with the dentist for a root canal. Yep, ouch. Mornings are not good for the Keikster. She just hates going to school yet she has a great time with her friends and in class. This morning, we were super late because little miss wanted to change undies, whined that her stockings were falling down, her dress felt funny, her hair wasn't right. Had to redo her hair a couple of times because she asked for the side-swept single pony tail. But I didn't get it quite right the first couple of times as it wasn't on the side enough. Tschuh.

Tonight, I found Keira on the quiet side. Very contemplative. Only got an excited response out of her when I asked about school and she talked excitedly about Beethoven and Mozart (learning about the 5 senses and I guess they're on to music & hearing). She made me youtube Beethoven, we watched a bit of Amadeus too (not all of it cuz it gets pretty raunchy). She thought Mozart was 'cute'! And especially loved the hysterical laughing.

She also made me print out pictures of Beethoven and Mozart. I also found her humming this: da da da DAH! 5th Symphony anyone?

bummer weekends

Have been saying 'yes' one too many times to Keira because I feel guilty for spending so much time away from her the past 2 weekends. By now, most of you know something's up with my mom. Good news though, she is out of the hospital but in a physical therapy place. She looks much better and is beginning to walk better as well (albeit still with a walker). Hopefully she won't be in there for long.

Even though Keira begged me to call her friend's mom for a playdate, I was too occupied and even dragged Mr C and Keira to visit my mom yesterday. Total bummer day for the Keikster but my mom was really happy to see her.

Anyways, hopefully next Saturday I've got the playdate set and maybe I'll see my mom during the week to have my weekend free. Who knows...

my day's end

Wall colour: Benjamin Moore's Day's End (2133-30)

Images in frames will be replaced by this. 

Phone: Pottery Barn's Grand Phone (also comes in silver). Mini vase painted by Keira.

I think many parents are like us where our kids' rooms are more complete and quite frankly, better decorated than ours. Let's face it: our room is full of second hand, mis-matched furniture and Keira's is the first quality kind (that's what happens when a grandchild is born 10 years after the last batch, you get really great gifts).

This year, I've had enough of the college dorm room look with clothes strewn all over the place, clothes hamper in the corner piled high with dirty clothes waiting to be washed, ugly burgundy side tables and a very worn out duvet cover (complete with holes and pen doodles courtesy of a 2 year old Keira).

DwellStudio

DwellStudio's new line. 

Everyone loves the scandinavian all white/wood look and so do I but I just want to melt into our bedroom and cozy up in bed. To that end, I was inspired by the DwellStudio photo shoot for their new line and I love that black wall colour but once I saw how dark it was in store (Benjamin Moore's Black Knight), I couldn't go through with it. I found something slightly lighter.. it's a smoky grey called Day's End. And it really is my day's end.

I haven't finished with the room. I'm waiting for my prints to come in to replace the ones in the frames right now with this and I'm hoping to accessorize the bed with some of the gorgeous new prints from DwellStudio (see above). I also repainted the ugly burgundy side tables to grey which look okay but am hoping to go antiquing/garage sale for taller end tables and in wood. If I had the means, here are the side tables I really want! From MarsiaHolzer:

I'd also love to add some new prints on the opposite wall but.. that'll come in time. As parents, we all want the best for our kids but I think it's high time we start soothing our souls and remember that we're worth it as well. The best part about this morning project? It cost less than $200 (paint+bedding+accessories)!

dreaming

Just thinking and wishing I was vacationing right now.. Took a photo I took on our vacation 2 years back and resized it. Sent it off to print in 3's. Will be cutting it to size and putting it in 3 frames to create 1 triptych in our bedroom... Hoping to finish painting wall and repurposing our furniture to have our bedroom look like adults sleep there, not college co-eds. btw, that is Laguna or Newport coast.

supper outside!

Back in the saddle again...

Still a tiny bit of snow left..

Yes Chris, tortellini.. again!

I don't know how.. but today was such a gorgeous day! Sunny and unseasonably warm. I think it went up to +14º C! Incredible. We even ate outside today. Mr C has started running outside again. I need to start that up again too. Hope you all enjoyed good weather as well!

keira's been dwelled!

I tweeted & blogged about our new hooded bath towel and Keira's been featured on the Dwell Studio blog! Check it out. Thanks Dwell Studio!

easy bath times

Little Miss as top modèle.

Fits around the head above her ears.

Our treasured baby/kiddie shower cap

Here is something I wanted to share with all the moms and dads out there. There are some kids who couldn't care less if water was poured over their heads and who just love being in and around water. My two nephews are those types. Shower? Bring it on! Heads under water? Sure! Shampoo and water in their eyes? No problemo.

Sadly, Keira is not that type. She will never venture to put her head in water and if it happens, it was probably a mistake. Even in swim class.

When it comes time to wash her hair, it's always a big drama. She won't lean backwards, she needs a towel to cover her face and I have no choice but to pour water over her head and into her face. It's insane the amount of drama we get. When I was younger, I had a baby sitter who was japanese and I remembered she had this foamy plastic thing for her son's head when it came time to wash his hair. It was like a shower cap for his head. The water would pour around him and not get in his eyes or ears.

I searched alot of baby/kids stores to no avail, searched online and eventually found it. In Japan. Duh. But thanks to my wonderful friend Sayuri in Tokyo, she was able to buy the baby shower cap for me. She bought it at the big japanese baby/kid store Akachan (Sorry the site is in japanese only). You can even find it on Ebay.

You cannot believe the huge difference this has made for us. Keira keeps on playing and I just wash her hair. No fuss no crying. If you've got a kid like mine, try it! It makes for a really easy bath time. One thing though, I'm not sure what sizes these shower caps come in. We're lucky that this baby one still fits Keira as she has a petite head.

Sunday at the market & sad news

Oh yes, they have the yummiest desserts.

Les Douceurs du marché carries an incredible array of fine oils, spices, condiments etc. 

Even jamaican pasties!

Today my mood pretty much matched the rainy, depressing weather outside. We met up with my sister for lunch at Premier Moisson at Atwater Market. It's really a boulangerie but most of them have their own cafés where you can order soups, salads, sandwiches.

I was supposed to go alone with my sister but on weekends, I really do want to spend most of my time with Keira. Seriously, during the week I get to see her for half an hour each morning and then 2 hours max each night. It sucks.

But lately, things have been spiraling downwards and out of my control. My mom is still in the hospital but doing much better. She has the face of a 60 year old but the body of a frail 90 year old. She will still need physio-therapy to regain the ability to walk on her own. My other mom is now in another hospital and sadly, this might be the end of her wonderful journey on God's great earth. I only learned about her being in hospital last night and we were making our way to visit her today. What with my mom's drama and being in hospital, we hadn't been able to receive news on our other mom. I call her my 2nd mom because she helped raise my sister and I along with her 3 boys. We grew up together. I'm heartbroken.

Keira did not come with us to the hospital. She went back home with her Papa. I think she's still too young to be exposed to sick patients in hospitals. Plus, I still need to explain heaven and earth with her.

It's incredibly hard to see a very proud, strong woman in the hospital like that. We welcome any positive thoughts and prayers for her.

p.s. Audrey, these pics are for the homesick you.

new kids catalogue

If you liked the hooded bath towel, sign up for Dwell Studio's new Baby & Kids catalogue! 

Can't wait to get mine. You know me, magazine & catalogue freak.

swell dwell studio

I love these small details like the hippo tag! So does Keira as I am no longer allowed to touch it. 

I never know what I find in her bed in the mornings. At night, she sometimes wakes up on her own and either flushes her toys to the floor or adds them to her bed to sleep with during the night. I only found Rosie under there..

I made an impulse purchase this week. My busiest, craziest, wackiest week ever at work and at lunch I like to head out and walk. Just to get away. My coworker found out and now comes with me on my walks. Which is great!

So this week, while out walking with my coworker at the Old Port we went to check out Le Baldaquin. It's a lovely little shop, full of textiles, bedding and home accessories. There were so many lovely goodies there! And in the back, I spied the cutest kids bathrobes & baby accessories. I ended up getting this Dwell Studio hooded towel for Keira (it's the Gio Lemon one). For my sister and I, these hooded towels end up serving 3 purposes: for bath time (what they were intended for in the first place), as a doudou when our kids get sick and/or sleep at nights and as superhero capes!

Picking out our favourite animals this morning.

Keira loves the animal shapes. We were picking out our favourite animals this morning and as I picked out the squirrel she said, "les animaux en gris sont pour les garçons seulement" (translation: the grey animals are for boys only). So there. Her favourite animal on the print? Why.. the hippo! So the next time both her cousins and Alex come over.. they will ALL have a hooded 'cape' to play with and for bath time!

bonding time

There is a reason why Mr C doesn't want to get rid of this hideous rocking chair. This is why...

Every morning, I leave the house in a rush trying to catch the early morning bus to the métro and from there on to work. Every thing has to be timed or else, I hate trying to make up time at lunch (my only hour where I can relax and eat) and then it's another mad dash to leave by 4:30 to make it back to Keira's school to pick her up by 5:30.  It's why Mr C takes her to preschool each morning. He can take a bit longer.. so what do they do? They watch cartoons (damn you Treehouse & Nickelodeon!), play games, colour. Of course, all of that is Keira's ruse to delay going to school. Not sure why she hates going cuz once she's there, she's as happy as a clam!

I love seeing Mr C and mini Mr C together. You don't have to guess who's the *real* boss of the two.

sophie & lili love

I love the patterned back & check out Keira's name sewn on the back!

Ever since Keira turned 5ive, I've been inching towards more and more handmade products. I'm not really on the eco-chic/all-things-must-be-handmade-down-with-mass-production band wagon (though we do try and do our part with the reduce, reuse, recycle bit).

No, it's more trying to find things that will last longer than a year. Choosing things that I will eventually put in the time capsule and Keira will look back and remember those items with fondness.

So I was excited to get Keira this Sophie & Lili doll! It's 100% handmade with love. It really does look like it's made just for her doesn't it? I started to tweet with it's creator, Jen V on twitter and from there, saw her site and fell in love. Ok, alright not with her but her dolls! They're bright, sweet and so easy to fall in love with.

I also got her these ponytail holders and another set for her friend.

I sat down with Keira and she chose her doll from the Sophie & Lili shop. Big pink flowers? Check! Pink headband? Check! Wearing a dress? Check! Her name is Rosie (née Rosa) and she's easy to cuddle with and is the perfect sleeping buddy. If you're worried about all the polyester plushies out there (or whatever else they're made with) touching sensitive skin, there's no need to worry about Sophie&Lili's dolls: they're made from 100% cotton.

You can check out the Sophie & Lili website here and shop here on Etsy or here on BigCartel. Be sure to catch Jen on twitter!

This will definately be something I will make sure to keep for her for later..