CoffeeTalk Vlog: Juggling Your Time

I’m continuing to answer your questions, whether they might embarrass me or not.  Today there’s two quick questions that I’m answering:

1. How are you so cute? Seriously!
2.  How do you juggle your time ?

Keep those questions coming.  I really appreciate them. Email me or leave a post comment.

The Bike Weathered Winter Though I Did Not

Sweater – Kensie  //  Cardigan – Gap  //  Pants – Skies Are Blue  //  Shoes – ModCloth  //  Necklace – Ruche  //  Jacket – Old Navy
The first nice day of the bike season my baby was out of the shed and cruising around town.  It handled the winter well, and was more than ready for the Spring.  All the guy at the shop had to do was tightens a few gears and put air in the tires.  Me however?  Not so much.  I had to run around town like mad and ended up biking for a total of 3 hours.  And I live in a very hilly area.  The bike may have held up well, but my body did not.  Granted the hour and a half kung fu class certainly didn’t help. 
I love Spring!
Quote of Today:
“My knuckles are bruised and I’m bleeding a little bit.  Awesome!”

Daily Exuberance

Top – ChiQle via Bicyclette Boutique  //  Tank – Gap  //  Skirt – Ezra //  Tights – HUE  //  Boots – Feet First  //  Scarf – Street stand  //  Necklace – I forget (old)
Baby Girl goes to the shed with me every morning.  We open the doors and reveal her pink tricycle in it’s nightly slumber.  This reveal is accompanied by a very over pronounced and energetic, “Oooooooooh!” Followed immediately by, “Wow! I like my bike!!” I just love how this simple event evokes such joy from her.  
How do we lose that as we age?

Reveries in Silence

Top -Gentlefawn  //  Jacket – FreeWay via Lace Affair  //  Jeans – Gap  //  Shoes – Aldo  //  Necklace – c/o TwillyPop
Toronto is a big city.  The fourth largest in North America.  It’s busy, noisy, alive, and ever moving. Yet, in this busy, and at times chaotic city, there is an order that is predictable and fastidiously kept.   The business district on a Sunday afternoon for instance.  Since I’m freelance/ self-employed I have no set schedule and often don’t think about the impact of such a thing. But when I found this deserted square in the ghostly silent business district I was harshly reminded of the routine that most people keep.  It was a potent pathetic fallacy that the concrete, stones, and streets keep the same hours as it’s inhabitants.
So there I stood, an outsider to this fluid rhythm of life. My camera the only companion to this moment of reverie.

Hair Tutorial: Princess Leia Double Buns

CoffeeTalk : No Pictures of Baby Girl

A few of you have already written in with some questions for “Ask Me Anything.”  Thanks so much for that.  I really enjoy getting your questions.  Today I start answering them, and the first question comes from Chelsea over at Sunny With A Chance of Sprinkles.   Here goes!

Q: What lead you to the decision to keep your daughter out of your blog and to not use her face in pictures?

Good question.

When You Love Something

Jacket, Sunnies & Belt – F21  //  Dress – Lace Affair  //  Tights – Hansel From Basel  //  Shoes – Payless  // 
Necklace – Ardene  //  Turquoise Bracelet – H&M  //  Gold Bracelet -I forget
Clearly it’s Spring, and clearly I’m kind of addicted to this jacket.  I’ve worn it in the last two posts *here and here* For some reason, and despite the fact that I have plenty other jackets, I seem to be gravitating towards this simply beige pleather piece.  I love the softness of it, and the leather look – but there’s something about the creamy color of it that calls to me whenever I head outside.  
I swear, other jackets will show up soon, but for now, I’m enjoying the simplicity of this one.  When you love something why not wear it out.
Quote of Today:
“I do it! Myself!”

MASH For Hard Times

Jacket – F21  //  Top – SammyDress  //  Jeans – Gap  //  Boots – Feet First  //  Necklace – H&M Icon Collection
Have you guys ever seen MASH?  I haven’t, but I’ve been watching it recently from the very beginning and I must say I love it.  The quirky, campy feel of it, especially considering the subject matter, hits a perfect note.  I think it’s especially applicable considering the tragedies that happen all around the world today.  Even in the worst places, and the worst times, joy and humor can be found.  They help us get through it. 
Thinking of you Boston.

State of Mind

Tee & Jeans – Gap //Vest – AE //  Jacket – F21  //  Boots – Feet First  //  Necklace – don’t remember
There are days when all I want is to go into a downtime mode.  That’s when the classic jeans and a tee come into the mix.  It’s when you just want to be casual and low key, and perhaps reflect the calm, serene look of your clothes into your mind, that the classic of jeans and a plain tee never fail. 

Imprintalish Interview and Coupon Code

I have a fabulous lady  *and sponsor* here today.  Alicia from Imprintalish.  She makes great accessories from upcyled materials.  I have one of her necklaces and I just love it; it adds just a little bit of something to an outfit.  Plus, they’re made right here in Ontario, Canada.  Love that.
*psst, there’s a coupon code just for you at the end*
 

Describe a typical day in your house.

I’m so lucky that I
get to stay at home with my kids right now, so our weekdays are pretty
relaxed. Most of my days start when my husband leaves for work around
7:30, I usually lounge around in bed
till I hear his morning ‘knock knock’ on the ceiling telling me to get
up 🙂 Once mama gets up, the rest of the house follows! Our mornings are
pretty routine, cuddles on the couch followed by Cheerios &
cartoons for the kiddos, while I try to get most of my
‘internet life’ out of the way. The rest of our day could fall into
either one of these categories-lazy or productive, SO, for excitement
sake let’s pretend we are having a productive day. 
Dishes from the night
before get put away while Grayson, my 4 year old,
decides that after an hour of procrastinating, he really does need to go
pee! By 9:30am, I’d have thrown in a load of laundry as we head out the
door to walk to a morning drop in program at the school nearby. By
11:30 we’d be on our way back home. We are a
one car family, so if we need to leave the house it’s on our own two
feet! The laundry from the washer gets put into the dryer and lunch is
in the works. On the days when we are out of the house, peanut butter or
grilled cheese sandwiches are the go to lunch
of choice! The kids usually watch a bit of tv or play while I clean up
the kitchen. Westyn, my 2 year old, still has a nap in the afternoon, so
once I get him to sleep around 1:30, I set up Grayson with markers or
playdoh, which frees me up for some creating
or blogging or cleaning. Once Westyn gets up we usually head outside to
play or come up with some silly game inside. 
Prepping for dinner
involves me juggling some computer time with pots boiling over on the
stove while the kids run around! By the time 6pm rolls
around, my husband is strolling through the door and supper is served!
Then it’s playing, bath time, stories and  bed for the kids by 8pm. My
husband is the dedicated bath giver. It’s my least favorite task, and am
very thankful that he loves it! After that
I am usually creating, in front of the computer or packing up orders
till about 10:30pm, while Mike spends sometime with his Playstation. We
have a rotating schedule for date nights with friends of ours {which
involves child care too}, but sometimes we forgo
our ‘hobbies’ and just watch some good ole’ TV together after everyone’s
tucked safely in their beds!

What’s one thing that people wouldn’t expect from you?

I am incredibly shy!
In my own environment I can hold my own, but out in public…I smile a
lot, but barely say a peep. I work in retail on the weekends and I am OK
in that type of environment too, even at
craft sales where I am surrounded by my product, I’m fine. But if
someone stopped me in the grocery store, or if I have to go anywhere ‘new’, or had to speak in front of people-I’d probably
shrivel up and die!

What prompted you to open your own Etsy shop?

My Etsy shop kinda grew as an extension to my blog at first. I’ve always had a love for making things and being creative so I started selling online a few years ago with some Digital
Photocards and Handmade Greeting cards. At first it was just kind of a we’ll see what happens thing. As
a SAHM I was looking for some extra money and what better way then to
sell from the comfort of your own home-remember I’m shy! After
awhile
I added in some of my Photography prints and then last fall I took
another leap and revamped my shop and started creating upcycled
accessories, and so Imprintalish Handmade was born.

What inspires you to make your creations? Where do you get your inspiration from?

Oh, anything
and everything! I get a lot of my inspiration from photographs,
interior spaces, outfits, anything that has interesting color combos.
Flipping through magazines or catalogues always
triggers the creative cycle too, people watching or discovering new
shops, spending time outside, even discovering a new blog! I’m always
thirsty for creative inspiration wherever I go and on the look out for
some great used tees 🙂

If you could throw an imaginary dinner party, who would you invite (living or dead) and what would you serve? 

I wish I could think
up some fabulous celebrity type people to invite…mmm. Truly though I
would love to just invite my 3 best friends. We live hours from each
other and I don’t see them enough!! That’s not
a very exciting answer…

UM.

Mmm.

Ok, if I was
going to go all out and embrace the imaginary part…how about Madonna,
Betsy Johnson, Nate Berkus, and Steven Tyler…and can we just order
pizza?

One trivial thing you can’t live without.  (AKA Things you need that are not essentials or family etc)

Nailpolish!!!

If you would like to get yourself a nifty handmade piece from Imprintalish, use code “modamamalove” to get 20% off!  Right now, I’m loving this necklace and this cool one.

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