sweet birthday cake - jag's sweet delights

One of the shows (that doesn't involve Hannah Montana, Selena Gomez or any other Disney personalities) Keira and I love to watch together is... Cake Boss with Buddy and now, The Next Great Baker. We get all nervous when they have to move the cakes and while the show's going on, Keira will grab whatever's around and 'make' her own cake (like, um, doing her own fairy themed 'cake' out of the kleenex box, christmas ornaments and paper).

I saw this incredible cupcake cake on Jag's Sweet Delights and I knew Keira would love it!

Jag is the owner and baker behind Jag's Sweet Delights and she is personable, incredibly professional and oh so nice. She even came up with alternative cake designs for me and while I loved them all, I just knew the cupcake version was the one. She even made an eggless mini cupcake version of the cake for one of Keira's friends who is allergic to eggs (and let me tell you, there were tears and fighting over those 2 mini cupcakes!).

As most of my friends know, I don't really like cake but I have to say, I ate a huge slice of this one! Seriously moist & chocolately with yummy buttercream frosting. You can see a slice leftover in the photo above but honestly, there was nothing left afterwards but crumbs. The kids all had seconds and some of the parents were secretly hoping there would be enough for seconds for them too (there was, barely).

Can you see Keira's reaction to her cake? Can you see everyone else's reaction too? They LOVED this cake! It was the highlight of the party. Keira especially loved the heart with her name on it.

Thank you so much Jag for making my little girl's day that much more special! 

If you're thinking of having a special cake made for your birthday, wedding or special occasion, I would highly recommend Jag's Sweet Delights! They don't just make kiddie birthday cakes.
Check out their website and especially their Gallery: Jag's Sweet Delights
And go ahead and 'Like' them on Facebook! facebook.com/Jags-Sweet-Delights

lucky girl, lucky seven! a birthday celebration

Happy birthday to my mini taco! This amazing gift from the heavens above turns Lucky Seven today!
The Mister and I count our lucky stars each and every day for this little spark plug.

She makes us:
Laugh, cry, smile, want to tear our hair out, feel years younger, feel miles older, feel like we're parenting by the seat of our pants, look like amazing parents when we're out in public (when we're not really), feel anxious, worry, swell with pride, do the crazy Elaine dance (sure in public too!), be a comedian, be a boo-boo healer, a tear wiper, be her biggest fan, cheerleader, be the tickle monster.. and most importantly...
She makes us incredibly happy.

Keira celebrated her birthday 2 weeks early with all her friends and cousins at the Petit Gym. What a wonderful place to have a party! They take care of everything.. activities (they make the kids run around like crazy so they go home nice and tired afterwards), cake cutting, opening presents and the cleaning up. So worth it! Check out Keira's birthday cake! I had it custom made by Jag's Sweet Delights (more on the cake in a post to come).

We knew she enjoyed her party because on the way to supper in chinatown, she spontaneous burst out saying, "that was my best birthday party ever! I love you mommy and Papa!". *melt*

It really was a terrific birthday party day.

Happy birthday my little taco. We will and will always be, your biggest fan.

And cuz I want to share my little girl's happy day, I'm linking this up with Sweet Shot Tuesdays over at My3Boybarians and Communal Garden.

  

our junior 2 girl!

Hooray! Keira passed her swimming and has graduated to level Junior 2! 
What a long way she's come from being that tiny 3 year old who hated being in the water and turned blue the instant her feet touched the water. Who redid at least 3 levels because she didn't like putting her head under water and was indignant every time her swim instructors deflated her floater. Now look at her!
We call her the torpedo and barracuda because she loves being underwater and silently kicks her way from one end of the pool to the other. We can't wait to see her continue her love for the pool and start learning the side stroke. Whoohoo!

saturday mix with kltworks

What better way to dress up on a Saturday than in her new bunny long sleeved tee? Especially paired up with some polka dots? Ah yes... Perfect!

Thank you Kristin for Keira's birthday surprise! Keira when she saw the bunny on the tee:
"oh my lit-tle bunny! he's shoooo cute!" (and then rubbed the bunny image). Lol!

You can find the bunny tee here: KLTworks

bon matin!

Here are some of Keira's fave gifts she received for her birthday.. Lalaloopsy doll and Monster High... We will be clearing out some of her older toys, clean it and give it away to someone who will love it again.

Bon matin everyone! Apologies for the lack of posts lately. I haven't been inspired lately. The weather has made me want to hunker down, snuggle in and want to hibernate. We had our first snow fall yesterday and seeing all the white stuff has the kiddo excited and me... not.

We celebrated Keira's birthday early by having her party last weekend. She loved it! I'll put together a post soon and share some pics.. The cake that I had made for her birthday was gorgeous! I shall show soon.

Lately I feel like a tire stuck in snow with my wheels turning in motion. I'm turning as fast as I can without actually getting anywhere. Anyone else feeling the same way? I can't wait for the weekend.

oh butterflies!

Last weekend, I added this butterfly comforter to Keira's bed. The nights have been getting chillier and even though I know Keira becomes a human heater when she falls asleep, I know that once that first hot spell wears off, she can get chilly as the night wears on. My mother brought this beautiful satin and silk comforter from Seoul a few years ago. At first, my sister received it and then, as her 2 boys were born I guess the theme of 'butterflies' didn't exactly mesh well with a 'boy' bedroom theme. So I became the lucky recipient of this beautiful and quite heavy comforter.

Keira and I love to look at the embroidered butterflies and choose which we love best. All of them!

P.s. You may have noticed the different placing of her bed. Keira decided she wanted her furniture the way it was before the 'big girl' room. So the bed is placed by the wall again. To be honest with you, there is much more space now and everything flows much better. 

a fall weekend

a fall staple: the fournier scarf

Nothing completes a Fall look than this luscious and beautiful hand-made Fournier scarf. So pretty!
Thanks Anabel...

Folks, it's almost Friday.. it's been a wonderful week for us at home. Here's wishing all of you had a similar kind of week and hoping you all have a terrific weekend!

preparations for an upcoming birthday

I can't believe how fast Keira's birthday is approaching. Has it been a year already? My 'baby' will be turning 7 soon. Gah!

Since there seems to be no stopping to all the rush projects at work, I decided to plan and put together Keira's birthday party last October. I had already designed and sent out her invitations last month even though the party itself will be held closer to the end of this month.

This year, Keira decided she wanted to have her party held at a gym place which is great for me as well. I won't have to deal with a messy house and the gym place will take care of all the activities. Yay!

I also put in an order for a very special birthday cake that will be a surprise for Keira. I can't wait for her to see it!

Keira helped me fill up the loot bags 2 weeks ago and I made a frothy, tulle skirt for her to wear made from leftover tulle and fabrics.

As you can imagine, I have a very excited little girl who can't wait for her birthday celebration in 2 weeks time.

an indian summer day downtown

Day 2 of 3 of my break from work and Keira from school...
We spent the balmy, gorgeous indian summer day downtown having our hair cut and styled at the salon. There is nothing I love more than to spend a day with my girl!

1/ A stop at DKNY at Les Cours Montréal
2/ Checking out the aerial sculptures before heading to the escalators up to the salon
3/ Quiet as a church mouse she was...
4/ Outside on Ste Cath.. notice the curls in her hair?
5/ A stop at Indigo bookstore where she picked up a copy of Geronimo Stilton
6/ Yep, curls still in place.. off to The Bay!
7/ After lunch at Il Fiori for pizza, we went in search of chocolate ice cream. Keira got her fix at Laura Secord at the Eaton Center
8/ Indian summer day downtown. We also bumped into a lovely wonderful friend and someone we rely on at work for amazing retouch work! Allo Alex...
9/ After an amazing morning and afternoon downtown, we took the métro back home. What better way to spend the ride back than reading her new book?

Hope you all had a lovely day too!

La Petite, Issue 6

This cover is incredible! Photography: Karolina Henke, La Petite Mag

I'm in love with these black & white images.. Photography: Annabel Sougné, La Petite Mag

Another great article by Kristen L. Theiss of KLTworks!

Issue 6 of La Petite mag is out and it is really one of the most sophisticated and chic issues to date. The photography, styling and layout is incredible. Kudos to the entire La Petite team as well as all the stylists, photographers and everyone involved in the content and making of! It's a gorgeous issue.. Click here to view the issue: lapetitemag.com


All images courtesy of La Petite Mag

3 day break!

Today begins my 3 day break with Keira! I feel so at peace.. I wish I could win the lottery so I could stay home forever with her. Yes, she asks me a zillion questions and yes, I do have to help her put on those darn rubber clothing on Polly Pockets. Sure I have to get her a blanket when she's feeling cold, then some drinks and snacks when she's hungry. I have to put in the discs of all the movies she wants to watch.. The house becomes a super mess. Yeah, and so?

Day 1 begins with "Annie", some breakie and then off to a warehouse sale with Keira's aunties.. then off for a lunch together and sadly, a stop back at the office for some work. But after that, we're free! Have a great Monday everyone!

ski stance

Have you turned back the clock? Is that not the most annoying and confusing thing ever? I barely felt the weekend. The usual running around but we did spend time with family and got Keira her skis for the upcoming winter season. She'll be starting ski lessons in January but it's better to get skis now before everything is gone. Buying new skis at this age is pretty moot and useless as kids will outgrow the boots and skis by next season so we rent. You can either rent older or new models. Le Papa decided to rent his princesse new skis so she could choose what she wanted. Hm. Whodathunk she'd choose skis with a hummingbird and flowers on it? Uh huh.

And now, 3 whole days with my buhbee! Who cares if I have to work a bit from home... 3 whole days with my Kiki!

happy friday!

Kitty cat Keira. Tee from KLTworks


It's Friday! Friday. One last push at work and I get to be with my Keira for 3 whole days next week. Sometimes, I don't like to think how lucky I am with her because I don't want to jinx anything. I certainly don't take this awesome little kid for granted. This week, Keira came home with a 'meritas' award for excellence in english class! She's climbed the top of the merit calendar in her class twice since school began. Um, competitive? Methinks a bit. Perfectionist? Yes, slightly. But she's also a goofball and able to create quite a mess. Perfection in chaos.

Happy Friday everyone, enjoy your weekend!

anorak mag at drawn & quarterly bookshop

Last weekend, I decided that it was high time we headed out to Drawn & Quarterly. A publisher of independent comics (graphic novels?), they also own and operate a bookstore by the same name. I knew they carried Anorak kids magazine but I just never found the right time to head over to their shop. Well, we finally made it! I think Keira and I could've stayed in their kid's corner for a few more hours.. They have quite a serious and wonderful selection.



Keira picked up Little Mouse Gets Ready which she has loved reading ever since. She just finds it funny that the mouse has to put on his clothes, just like she does every morning. But there's a hilarious twist to the story! You'll have to read it to find out.

I also picked out a book for a special little someone.

I bought Keira 2 Anorak mags: one in english and one in french so she can practice reading both. She has really picked up on reading now and in the span of a minute or so, she can go through teary frustration to complete and utter elation. This morning, she picked up a mini chip bag from her halloween loot and read out loud: "Do-ree-tos". Doritos! lol. Actually, her reaction was more like, 'doritos? what the heck is that?'. Um, one of your favorite chips!




Last night, we were colouring in a page in Anorak that Keira and Papa finished off this morning. She finds all the colours and drawings fascinating in the magazine but what really holds her interest are all the colouring pages and text games. It's really an interactive static book! And the fact that it comes in both french and english versions is really a bonus for us. Papa gets to read the french version to Keira and I, the english.

If you're interested, you can pick up Anorak through their online shop or check their stockists to see where you can purchase yours.

If you happen to have an iPhone, they have a superb app as well! Download yours at the Apple app store.

And of course, if you happen to be in my home town of Montréal, don't forget to check out Drawn & Quarterly over on Bernard street (west) in lovely Outremont. It's a tiny little shop but I think well worth it. They also carry the awesome Uppercase magazine!