♡ sophia grace & rosie

I'm sure you know this 2 duo sensation who made a splash last year when she sang her rendition of Nicki Minaj's Super Bass on Youtube. They've been on the Ellen Show a few times now since then and I gotta say, I love Sophia G's super hyper hilarious ramblings and Rosie's silent sweetness! I also love how Sophia G can really bust a gut singing. Just sit back and enjoy the super cuteness.

weekend in review

We have snow! I think my entire office at work was excited seeing the white-out outside our windows, everyone itching to get outside and go skiing.

After supper on Friday night, the Mister headed outside with Keira to make their first snowman of the season. Nothing makes me silly happy than watching Keira and her dad have fun together and sharing moments like these. Where was I? Doing the dishes silly!



This is how I found Keira Saturday morning. Snug on the chair, reading her book with her Hello Kitty pantoufles on. Have you heard about the series Geronimo Stilton? Apparently, this series is all the rage at Keira's school. The book has fun illustrations with some words that are coloured, highlighted and colour blocked. Plus, it's a book about mice and cheese. Cheese.. need I say more? lol. I bought Keira a new book Friday night following a terrific report card & teacher meeting Thursday! I'd say she really worked for it. 

Keira had a jam-packed Saturday: a birthday part at the local bowling alley which I pulled her out of a half hour early to make it in time for her swimming lesson. I didn't want her to miss this class because I knew she was going to be nervous after last week's incident and also, I knew the 2 instructors would feel awkward as well. When we got to the pool, my instincts were right: the 2 instructors who had temporarily lost judgement last week looked sheepish when they saw me, pretended to not notice Keira in the pool and looked decidedly uncomfortable. They warmed up really quickly after they saw Keira swimming about happily and smiling up (goggles on!) at their faces. Ah my Keira! After that, all was well and back to normal.

What to do with all this snow and a snow man to put back together (the head fell off over night!)? Call your best friend to come over and have fun! Which is what Miss B did. Fun in the snow, crazy dance upstairs, yummy supper (regular pasta for the girls but oh so yummy moules et frites for the hubby and me! Made by hubby, so good I didn't take the time to take a pic) and then watching Spy Kids All the Time in the World together. Oh! And how's this for best friend love: Keira gave away one of her Monster High dolls to Miss B.. I was shocked.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday.. It was seriously awesome, most of it spent outside on the ski slopes where the sun was shining and we finally skied on snow! Not ice. lol.

Hope you all had a terrific weekend too! What were you up to?

la petite mag ♡ issue 7!

 I adore this image photographed by Justin Badenhorst. By far my favourite images in the entire issue.

 Sigh, palm trees, dessert landscape.. Reminds me of our trips & family back in Cali.. Photography by Karolina Henke

 I LOVE everything styled here! Especially that Thunderbirds figurine! Don't all the characters (women included) look like Burt Reynolds? Room by Muswerk.

 I want to check out La Mer featured above.. I think one of Keira and my favourite books to read together is the Martine series, and especially Martine en Voyage. One of our favourite stories is Jean-Lou et Sophie découvrent la mer. So beautifully illustrated and I think would go well with Kristin's selections featured in the newest issue of La Petite.

The latest issue of La Petite Mag is online now! Here at home, winter has finally woken up and taken charge of the weather with wet snow and chilly winds. Which makes going through the newest issue of La Petite that much better. Definitely loving the beach vibe and west coast sunshine on its pages. Kudos to the entire LPM team. Above are just some of the images that inspired me.. I also love checking out Kristin's For the Love of Books feature as she always showcases some really awesome books for kids (of all ages!). And a new surprise, fellow Montrealer Celina Bailey of Petit à Petit and Family blog shares her picks on the pages of La Petite as well.

This entire beach and summer theme ties so well into the project I'm working on right now.. I'm inspired by every page!

Hope you all enjoy it as well!
La Petite Magazine

All images: La Petite Mag

milk n soda: new collection in!

    I've been seeing some new items for Spring & Summer being shown on Milk & Soda's
    facebook page and Leah also kindly emailed me to let me know new items were being introduced to
    the online shop. And what goodies!

    This Sibella Riding Cap caught my attention as well as Paravian Trilby Hat. I could see Keira
    wearing both, the Sibella cap with a mod dress and the Paravian Trilby with a fitted tee and flared
    gathered jean skirt maybe.

    There's also this gorgeous polka dot scarf for us moms!

    Sigh.. Daydream it, love it, Pin it, buy it! Thanks so much for the head's up Leah.
    www.milknsoda.com.au/
    All image credit: Milk & Soda

weekend flash

Writing a birthday wish for a friend.

Did the weekend pass by in a blur or am I blind? Wow. No idea where the time went. I stayed up way too late Friday and Saturday nights working so by Sunday, I was too tired to head to the ski slopes with the Mister and Keira. It was such a gorgeous day too!

This is Keira pretending to be Draculaura drinking blood out of a goblet. Sigh.. I know. Crazy.
I can't help it, I like these dolls! They're freakishly so well done.My personal little vampire. The light always hurts her eyes...

There was a crazy incident on Saturday though. Keira had her swimming lesson and at the end of each class, the swim instructors (all of whom are in their teens and early 20s, all certified) try to do something fun for the kids. For instance, take out the big foam carpet, add some crazy foam noodles and make the kids swim out to it, once they're on it the instructors move and shake the carpet and then the kids flop into the water. Well, they did that and then it looked like they decided to add something 'extra' as well. They made all the kids line up on the edge of the pool, had 2 instructors hold them up and then tossed them back into the pool (like a cannon ball thing) and made them freestyle it back to the other edge of the pool. Some kids ended up belly flopping (ouch!) or flipping and then continuing on. Most of the boys loved this. Most of the girls were... meh. Not so crazy about it.

Well, when it was Keira's turn, I could tell she was nervous. The kid weighs a little more than, oh I don't know, a peanut? I exaggerate but she doesn't weigh that much. Well, doesn't she get tossed waaaaay up high in the air, hangs there for a second or two, which is just about enough time for her to panic and then smack right into the water on her right side. I mean, all of us parents heard the THWACK! and there was a collective grimace and "ooh!". Then all the parents turned to me and said "Oh I think she needs her mommy". My kid came out of the water crying, her goggles & bikini top askew and her right side from her waist to her knees red and sore. Yeeouch.

Ah well, she was fine. She lives! lol. And she will continue her lessons next week. But it took some convincing to avoid a smackdown between the Mister and the 2 morons who threw her in. Talk about lack of judgement! They came to see me afterwards, red in the face and sheepishly apologized to me and to Keira. S'all good. Let's hope there won't be any 'surprises' next weekend!

In other news, I'm the new owner of this old mannequin I spotted at work! We're going through another reno and this mannequin was just hanging around. So I bought it. For 30$! Wonder what new sewing project I should start??

lalashoes: sweet baby girl shoes

Image credit: Daria of Lalashoes

A few weeks ago, my niece gave birth to a sweet sweet baby girl named Emma Soo. Talk about an international heritage! My grand-niece (!) is part italian, korean and jewish american. That's from what we know. But what I do know is the entire mix has created a sweet little girl. We hope to meet her soon, very soon!

In the meantime, I wanted to get my niece some baby gifts. What better excuse than a newborn to go shopping right? When Daria of Lalashoes showcased her new collection on her Facebook page, I knew her newborn baby girls shoes would be perfect! My niece is quite the girly girl and I knew this would melt her heart. Who's heart wouldn't melt at the sight of these oh-so-cute ecru & pink heart tiny shoes?

The shoes are hand-made to perfection using only pure wool felt. Something that will keep those tiny toes nice and warm. The seams inside the shoes are closed so that baby's feet won't rub against anything that will irritate or cause friction.

There are so many beautiful designs to choose from, I also loved this beautiful soft grey version with butterfly clasp:

Image credit: Daria of Lalashoes 

Or how about this colourful version?

Image credit: Daria of Lalashoes 

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Not only was Daria a dream to connect with but she took care of everything for me. Including adding a beautiful gift wrap knowing this was being shipped straight to my niece's home (which is on the west coast of the US). The care with which Daria took care of this for me, the craftmanship, the attention to detail and of course, the gorgeous designs... I just had to share these shoes with all of you.

My niece wrote to me saying how much she adores these shoes. I hope these will be loved and kept and eventually, stored away to be kept as a keepsake.

Welcome to the world Emma Soo. We haven't met you yet but we love you.

For any enquiries or even for custom-made shoes, I'm sure Daria will be able to work something out for you! Contact her here at her etsy shop: Lalashoes or on facebook: Lalashoes Facebook.


Daria is also one of the nicest people on the web so go ahead and connect with her on twitter! Trust me, she'll reach out to you in no time (world time zone permitting!): @Lalamonde 


Thank you so much Daria! 


http://www.lalashoes.com/

♡ happy valentine's day!

I found this Valentine Monster High doll for Keira.. is she happy about it? Um, yes.
Can I just say, I love these weird looking dolls too?

Happy Valentine's Day! What a gorgeous sunny morning to celebrate it.
As usual, the mister and I were scrambling last minute to spread extra ♡ today, especially for Keira but I think we managed to get her to feel the love. Keira spent yesterday evening writing out valentine cards for her classmates signed 'Keira' for her friends but 'Keira-Mae' for her 'special' friends. We noticed she wrote this for 2 boys in her class. lol.

Nutella heart breakfast!


Pin It




After she went to sleep, I took out all her craft glue, glitter and watercolour paint set and made her a mini valentine card to add to her lunch box today. I hope she likes it! And even though chocolate is banned from school, I did add a tiny chocolate heart in there. Surely they'll let her have it. It is Valentine's Day after all. Today is also pink & red day at school and Keira made sure to wear something pink and glittery. Hope she has a wonderful day.. and I hope you all do too!

This is, my SweetShotTuesday!

sunday evening out

How was your weekend everyone? Hopefully good. Our spring like conditions turned glacial overnight on Friday and the entire weekend felt sub-arctic. I think Keira over exerted herself last week as she woke up Saturday feeling pretty tired and sick. In fact, she missed all of her weekend activities and spent most of the time alternating between the sofa in the playroom and sleeping in her bed.



I had planned on going to see a friend for supper last night and had planned on bringing Keira with me but wasn't too sure seeing how she felt. But came with me she did because she didn't want to miss out seeing and playing with her new friend Miss Em. Miss Em could be Keira's little sister, they look so much alike! She is one squishy, kimchi-eating cutie with a spunky spirit. I like her! And so does Keira.

That's Keira with Miss Em.. her could-be little sister! 
Nummy! Pa Jun

Bulgogi, jap-chae, rice and salad. 
They're pretty cute together huh?

Keira didn't eat much of her bulgogi meal but the rest of us dug into our meals: bibimbap, pa jun, panchan and dolsop bibimbap.. mmm.. I found the kochujang (hot sauce) not spicy enough but.. that's about it. The rest was pretty yummy!

I can say one thing about Keira and korean food... she's not a big fan of it. lol. No matter how hard I try, she just won't take to it. I think there's just too much deep flavour for her.  Ah well..

Thanks Miss Em and Monica for a great evening out! Hopefully we'll do this again.. soon!

winter ladybug

I found this ladybug in our spare bedroom upstairs, chilling out on the bed spread last weekend. It's winter. I have no idea how he got in the house but he surprised the heck out of us. I didn't have the heart to kick the little dude out in the cold winter air so he's been chilling out in this jam jar this entire week. Along with a piece of cucumber and lettuce leaf moistened with water, I also added some fat juicy raisins in there since I don't have a ready store of aphids to whet the little dude's appetite.

Lately winter has been feeling more like a slightly colder spring and so I'll release this little guy out into the air soon. Today even! Let him spread his wings and fly away.

It's been a topsy turvy week for me. There was a wonderful Sunshine goodness on Wednesday and a bit of sadness at work on Thursday.

Let's hope the weekend brightens up. Thanks for stopping by this week. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

shine on! the sunshine award

via Stephanie Rausser Photography

Sometimes I wake up and end up having an extraordinary moment during the day. Today is that type of day. I was awarded a Sunshine Award by fellow blogger Bianca aka Scandinavian Mum! What a sweet surprise. I peruse Bianca's blog on a weekly basis as it covers everything scandinavian in news, fashion and even cooking! I'm also constantly confounded by the fact that here's a busy mum of 2 and she constantly looks so put together and (dammit!) looks amazing. I always want to try her recipes but.. I am way too lazy and am ever always hopeful someone else will cook for me. Thank you Bianca for passing forward this award, it truly brightened up my day and for your extremely kind words towards me. I am *still* blushing...

This is a daisy chain kind of award and I'm supposed to forward this ray of light to 5 more people (very hard to choose only 5 by the way). This is easily the best way to share the light with as many wonderful people as possible and I can't wait to pass it along! Here then, my answers to the Sunshine questions:

Favourite Colour: Hm.. pink & green, white & blue, orange & silver (I like duos).

Favourite Animal: I love dogs but they also scare me at times. I especially love puppies. Puppies & Keira are so similar in nature: cute faces, always underfoot and tripping over themselves. lol.

Favourite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Sadly, a diet soda or something bubbly. Am working hard on eliminating the diet soda stuff!

Facebook or Twitter: Sometimes both, sometimes neither. Twitter has been good to me though. Facebook is more about intimate sharing amongst my family and friends.

Via Hunt Studio

Favourite Number: 8 & 28

Favourite Day of the Week: I don't really have a fave day of the week. Maybe Thursdays since for some reason or other, that's the day my friends choose to have a night out.

via Stephanie Rausser Photography

My Passion: Photography. I wish I had more time to devote to learning more about it. The photography classes I took in school seem so far away, my memories are filled with cobwebs. I'd love to take an online course and be able to take proper photos. I could spend all day taking, editing, retouching and looking at photos.

Getting or Giving Presents: Both! I love giving but feel awkward getting. Is that a korean thing??

Favourite Pattern: I love to see a mix 'n match approach. I love seeing crazy patterns on rugs and would love to have them scattered all around the rooms in my house. I need to win the lottery in order to do so.

Via Pinterest here and here

Favourite Flower: Poppies and peonies! This is the true nature of Capricorns non? It's never one or the other, it's got to be both!

via Will Bryant

And now! Sharing the love.. I really can't just choose 5, there are so many blogs and people I love.. the ones chosen below I hope they will pass forward to ones not mentioned.. and the ones not mentioned I hope they don't feel left out. Because I love you all so dearly!

Kristin of KLTworks: I feel nothing but happiness when describing Kristin. A true artist with an eagle eye on design and to all things modern & vintage. She also has a heart of gold. I mean that. She's a giver, 100 percent. On top of being sole creator of all things KLT, she's also a fantastic mom to Sayer who's quite the artist as well as we see his style evolve over at her blog (can't blame the little guy, both his parents are amazing artists!). Kristin is an incredible friend and wealth of knowledge and I just can't get enough of her! Kristin's been spreading her wings lately and has a regular feature in the La Petite online magazine as well as regular guest posts over at the La Petite blog.

Nath of Mimimouse: I fell in love with Nath's online shop and tees the instant I saw them featured over at Bloesem Blog. Simple modern designs on pure cotton tees. I bought 2 for Keira and she's still wearing them! Not only that but when I had questions about business and mom related things, Nath answered all of them, openly & honestly. She has a terrific blog where she showcases many of the wonderful places she takes her gorgeous daughter in and around London and also where she showcases many of the clothing she makes (which are all so gorgeous!) modelled on her gorgeous green-eyed lil' gal.

Sheri of Happy Little Bento, Lilian of Acquiring Taste, Lia of Bentolicious, Shirley of Lovelylanvin & Haejn of Yobodish: I've only named a few but these ladies have kept me in stitches laughing, smiling and generally feeling happy each time we connect on twitter. Which is pretty much almost every day! Honest, sweet and always positive, they are my cheerleaders even when I don't deserve it, lend an ear when I'm sad and basically are wonderful people through and through. I also get almost all my meal and bento ideas from them! Check out each of their food blogs and guaranteed, you'll have a meal idea for over a week!

Florence of Pirouette Blog: Ah yes, you know my love of Pirouette blog. And honestly, I am a big fan of Florence as well. There is no snobbery here. She is a giver as well, 100 pourcent! She has such a passion of design and fashion, that she is able and willing to share this knowledge with you and me alike. I am so glad that Bianca passed along the award to Linda of Smudgetikka and Vanessa of BozAround.. because these ladies are serious about kids fashion and travel with families. These 3 ladies have the inside view of the kids fashion biz and are pretty passionate about it too! Plus, they are all so darn amazingly nice!

Peggy of Paul & Paula: What's not to love about Peggy and her blog? There is constant motion happening at her blog and her passion for everything kid-related can be felt as soon as you land over to her site. She's a champion of the underdog and will undeniably help you out if you ask for it. She's open and honest and driven to make her blog as fresh and fun as possible. She's welcomed me into her world and I'm very glad she did. Tweet with her and she'll tweet right on back! With a slight delay for those of us not in the same time zone. lol.

Anabel of And So I Whisper blog: Anabel is one of those people who you are immediately drawn to: warm, funny, open. When she tweets with me, I can see her gesticulating with her arms and talking with expressions on her face in that south american way! I had the good fortune to meet her last year in New York city and was so glad I did. She was showcasing her newest collection at ENK trade show and even so, made sure to take care of us. What a lady! I'm in love with her hand-made beautiful accessories and love to visit her blog where we get to see both north and south american sights, food and her designs. She is a real sweetheart and wonderful person!

winter sun

Winter sun, in full colour! You will see this gorgeous blue wave tunic top in full detail later on. Dreaming of summer days at the beach already.

just dance!

What happens when the cousins come over with Just Dance 3 in hand? Some crazy awesome dance moves from the kiddos, that's what! Caleb can especially bustamove. Keira loved it so much she made us go out and buy it the next day and I have to admit, in between working during the day, I busted a few moves maself..

en noir et blanc

Winter sun.. with days growing longer.

This is my SweetShotTuesday: