monday sigh...

Waiting for Keira...


A beautiful Monday morning! Hope you all had a lovely weekend.
Keira was in the best of moods (which I have to admit, is pretty much every day, lol) and was looking forward to not just her swimming lesson but ski lesson as well which surprised us. We thought she'd protest the going up the ski hill and then having to ski back down all by herself with her group part but actually, she's been enjoying it. That says a lot about her instructor. Merci Antoine! Next week, she gets to use ski poles. Woot!

And now, the start of another week.. Keira had her best friend over yesterday afternoon and then they all decided that she would sleep over at their house last night. I have to admit, it's a strange empty house when Keira's not there. Eventually I know I'll have to get used to it but right now, her 'friends', the mister and I really miss her...

Do you think pigs fly? Even if they don't, this little piggie does. Keira loved him at first sight: Piggy bumblebee! I love his little antennae..

wednesday randoms

Hiya everyone! Midweek already. Huh. How'd that happen? Just wanted to share this image with you taken last weekend. Apparently, Keira is imitating me when I used to hold her when she was a baby. Lol! She's missing the unkept hair, bleary eyes and grey skin. But the expression is spot on!

I'm taking this week pretty easy but will be going full-tilt again by this Friday night. I was pretty tired yesterday and wanted to just sit on the sofa and cuddle with Keira the whole day. She let me do that for about 2 minutes before we had to leave for the day.

It's a beautiful sunny day here, here's hoping it's sunny where you are too!

happy new year!

Happy New Year everyone! It's the Year of the Dragon. What does this mean? Who knows, it's just another new year.

With all the comings and goings, the weekend activities... I have almost completely forgotten about this. But we met up with my sister and her family on the ski hill and while Keira had her ski lesson (her first time up the hill and back down, by herself - with her group of course!), we put in a few runs ourselves (egads but do I ever need more practice!). Afterwards, we had yummy chinese food at our place and my sister mentioned how our mom wanted to make traditional duk-gook soup for New Year's. Oh yeah! It should have been this weekend but.. we'll postpone it for another weekend. There is no rush. This year, I would like to eliminate the rushes in my life. I just want life.

Wishing you all a very happy, prosperous and wonderful New Year!
恭禧發財 


I'm also linking this up to Darcy's SweetShotTuesdays!

sneak peek + happy weekend!

I found this gorgeous nautical inspired summer dress the other weekend and Keira loves to pair with her bar-none-hands-down-favourite-Owl cardi (KLTworks!)


It's the weekend! How was your week? The first two months of the new year means.. trade shows. Everyone eager to showcase their new collections. That being said, my week at work was calm yet insane. Does that make sense? I tried to stay calm yet inside, I was screaming to go on a beach vacation. Yesterday I managed to leave work early. Press proofs be damned! lol. (My a/d was there to check those out, I'm not that irresponsible. Geez)




Speaking of beach vacations, here's a sneak peek on the freelance project I'm working on. It's been an exciting 2 weeks working with a dream client (who is also a friend that I grew up with)! And also working with an incredible photographer and her studio team (who I hope to feature here soon). Last week we had a fun filled photo shoot day. All I can say to describe this project, think: beach, sun, clothing for girls and beautiful gorgeous fabrics and embellishments.

Let's leave it at that for now! I'm working on the website right now and hopefully it'll go live soon.

Enjoy the sneak peeks! And have a fabulous weekend. I'm thinking of beaches but will enjoy the ski hills.

ski lesson day!

Apprehensive




Well, the weekend has come and gone and it's another full on week. Keira and I had a great fun day on Saturday.. we were at a photo shoot (more on that later, much later!). The temperature dipped to -17ºc or so and Keira was scheduled to have her first group skiing lesson Sunday. There wasn't much wind so it was okay to go!

It was really a gorgeous sunny day but my little taco had tears in her eyes! We were waiting for the ski instructor at the base of the hill and looking up, Keira thought that she had to ski down the big BIG hill by herself. Poor kiddo! I'd be crying too if that was what I was thinking.

Since it was the beginning of the ski lesson season, they had all the ski monitors and instructors come skiing down the hill in front and it was quite impressive! Ski Mont St Bruno has the largest ski school in Canada (they have over 500 ski instructors!). And while many of these instructors look like they're still in their teens, they are really really good. Especially with kids!




The instructor for Keira's group came down, took roll call, gave us all the information needed and then proceeded to take the kids to their little hill. Their procession looked like a mother duck and little ducklings behind. It was really cute.

I watched the lesson for about a half hour before I headed off to the chalet for some hot chocolate. heehee.  When I went back to pick Keira up, she had a huge smile on her face and told me she had a great time. The best part of her day? Going up on the T-bar! And proudly telling me she didn't fall off, not once. Apparently, some of the other kids did. lol.

So there you have it! Our own Nancy Greene in the making.

First Interview of 2012! Meet the lovely Peggy of Paul and Paula Blog

Paul & Paula blog. Credit: Peggy Juche

As promised, here is my first Q&A of the New Year. And I couldn't be happier as it's the wonderful Peggy of Paul&Paula kid's fashion & design blog!

Peggy! I love this photo of her, it shows her fun
& creative side. 

Peggy writes and edits what feels to me a long established kid's design blog yet it's only been in existence less than 3 years. There is a distinct style and feel to her blog in which every single time you log on, there's a guarantee you will learn and see something fresh and different. It's a mom and fashion/design lover's perspective on everything kid related! Peggy has also started a separate blog to post her beautiful photography.

Over the past year, I have been lucky to have gotten to know Peggy a bit better. She is sweet, friendly and open and judging by all her travels, work and taking care of 2 little children... very energetic! I wanted to ask her.. how does she do it all?? Let's snoop & find out more about Peggy!

Peggy, your blog Paul & Paula is a relatively new blog but reads more like an experienced one. How did you get started and what was your inspiration behind it?

Wow, thank you... I started my blog really out of the blue. Somewhere whilst browsing the net I saw a “button” on a page that said “make your own blog” (or similar). I just turned around and said to my husband: I will write a blog. I instantly knew what I will write about and that the name will be Paul & Paula. My first ideas and instincts are generally best so I did not think much further. This is how it started. I had no clue about blogs and this whole awesome world behind it. No clue what to do really, no connections... just me, my husband and lots of trying and sleepless nights. 

d.nik shop in Berlin. Photo courtesy of Peggy Juche/PauletPaula blog

Has living and traveling in and around Europe influenced your blog? Where do you find most of your inspirations and are there any sites or places that inspire you on a daily or weekly basis?

Well I guess that living and traveling to many different places definitely changed and influenced my life, so YES... it does influence my blog too. I love to discover, learn, hear life stories and look at beautiful things. Writing about them, search for them and see many more on all the blogs I read on a daily basis is just really awesome.

My inspirations come from everywhere. My own kids of course, reading magazines, cycling through the city, waiting in front of the school gate and having a moment to just daydream and so on... there is no fixed “stop” I go back all the time... What I read on other blogs, and of course I do have my favorites, does inspire me but more for myself. Maybe I will change something in the house because I saw a neat idea or I cook a recipe after I saw mouthwatering pictures...

The über cute kids of Peggy! KleineR and KleineA. Photos courtesy of Peggy Juche/PauletPaula blog

Your kids are so adorable! And extremely stylish.. Since you showcase so many amazing brands on your blog, are you more influenced by them or do you have a base of brands you love and always go back to time and again? 

Thank you again! I really only show brands that I like myself. So yes I would say I am influenced because it is really hard to not to shop the whole day as I am always browsing all kinds of great online shops, look books and so on. I do have “classic brands” (lets call them like this today). For example nearly all underwear as well as simple tees (even for myself) are from Petit Bateau. If I am close by I always have a look what H&M and Zara kids have on the shelves. But apart from that I mix everything. Pieces where I really could not resist whilst surfing the net or finds when we traveled. You're gonna laugh but most sneakers for the kids we bought during traveling. :)

Oh and when I am in Paris I always go to Bonton and I never leave without a new bag. (Swoon! I wish I could do the same!)

All photos, courtesy of Peggy Juche/PauletPaula blog

I know you’re a busy mom of 2, with a full time job during the day. Where do you find the time to work full time, do photography, your blog and be a mom too?! Do you have a set routine or special recipe you can share with the rest of us?

No I don’t. Really not. But it might be nice to hear that I actually quit my job just recently and can focus on my blog and all other projects I am busy with and will be revealed in 2012. But to come back to your question: I am organised yes, I am German haha, so the school lunch box is ready in the fridge for the next morning. The clothes are all out and ready to put on as well and for work I still use a kind of “old fashion” note book where I keep track and write down ideas. I would be lost without that book! And I do believe that if what you do is what you like and you are passionate about things always fall into pieces, find a way to get into your schedule... and so on. It is not always easy and there are still evenings that I spent behind the screen but seeing the results is just so rewarding.

And believe me, working from home is really nice but often I have to find my path again too...

PS: if anyone has THE recipe please share :)

Advent Calendar, Photo courtesy of Peggy Juche/PauletPaula blog

And lastly, because you’re from Europe, I wanted to ask you if there is a special holiday that is especially celebrated where you’re from? Do you have any special traditions that you love to get your kids involved with too?

This is the question that I had to think the longest, really... To be honest before kids I did not care much about holidays at all... I would never have painted eggs for Eastern or cut out snowflakes for Christmas, having kids makes it the biggest fun ever.  My husband is from France and I am from Germany and on lots of occasions we actually find the middle of both rituals for special holidays. And the kids are involved in all of them. For example in Germany we have “Nikolaus” who comes overnight from the 5th to the 6th of December. You put your shoes out, nice and clean and the next morning you will find a little surprise. In France they do not do this (or just in the parts very close to Germany). Here in The Netherlands they actually celebrate Sinterklaas on the 5th in the evening and it is the main event for the kids (instead of Christmas eve) with big gifts and so on... Now... not so easy to find a way here... plus it is my husbands birthday on the 6th as well : ) In the end we put the shoes out, they got a little gift and hubby got his birthday presents on the 5th in the evening :)))

Peggy, Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I think it's safe to say that you've probably inspired more people to take the time to find their passion and tentatively put out their own blogs and test the waters. 

To get your daily kids fashion & design fix, head on over to Peggy's blog: Paul & Paula blog and also check out her photographic journey over at Paul & Paula Photo! Check out both NOW as she's at the Kleine Fabriek trade show.

Peggy is also incredibly friendly and would love to chat with you! Head on over to twitter and find her there: @pauletpaula and check out her fab pins over at Pinterest: PaulPaula

the holidays in snapshots

Has a week gone and passed? A little more than that! I feel I'm finally experiencing the New Year. Keira got sick on New Year's day and got progressively worse as the week wore on. It was a week of sleepless nights (where she was alternately extremely feverish or shivering with chills) and of course, our backup to take care of Keira during the week (she had an extra week off from school) bailed on us. While I do have an option to work from home, I really needed to be in the office as there are many projects to finish up before the big triple trade shows.

I did bring Keira in to work with me for a day along with 2 big bags full of 'stuff'. I even brought in our bean bag and I'm so glad I did! She was able to sleep on it during the afternoon. In fact, I hadn't even noticed she fell asleep until, the office fell silent and someone asked, 'is, is.. is someone snoring?'. Uh, yeah. That would be Keira. lol!

Ah well, she had some kind of really bad virus and is finally back to her normal self though she and I have been needing some extra zzz's lately. I think we all are right?

Here are some snapshots of our time off taken together! Obviously, all taken before Keira got sick. We saw family, ate a lot of food, visited a chocolaterie in the Eastern Townships and went tobogganing. We haven't really gotten much snow so far so the tobogganing was half on ice and half on grass!

Along with the extra work at work, I've taken on some more freelance work that has gotten my creative juices flowing! I hope to post about it soon.

This month is also the start to some very hectic weekends as Keira will be starting up her Junior 2 swimming classes, continuing her ballet and now, ski lessons! whew.

In the meantime, hope you're enjoying your 2nd week of the new year!