Saturday, March 31, 2012

Gift Guide: The Green Mom

Mother's Day isn't until May but it's never too early to start planning for a gift for mommy, mom, mama. My interests are perhaps conflicted because this gift guide could come across as a strong hint, hint to my boys but I had to share these lovely less then $100 gift ideas! Through the month I'll have two more guides; one for the Classic Mom and one for the Tech-Savy Mom.  Some of these gifts are international in their origin so now is the time to do your on-line Mother's Day shopping!

Gift Guide: Mother's Day




*Even with currency rates these gifts should still fall below the $100 mark, however,  I did not take into consideration shipping costs.



Wednesday, March 28, 2012

It's Coming Along

Remember how I said Ben hates painting? Well, there comes a point when you have to dig your heels in and say, "Let's get 'er done." Ben is tired of sleeping on the couch, I'm tired of sleeping next to an adorable little baby that wakes up all night long. We're going to move a double bed in with Jethro so on bad nights I can be by his side but at least I'll have the option of cozying up with Ben like a married couple again in the converted sunroom. Our queen will fit snuggly, we'll cover up the windows and pray for peace on this household! 

Speaking of prayer, I do have a little story where if you don't have faith, maybe you'll be inspired. Ben and I could not afford to buy a double bed. We don't like to use credit and so one night we prayed for a bed. The next day Ben was walking home from the bus stop and he passed a double bed/sofa in mint condition on the side of the road. Our neighbourhood has a free corner. If it's there, it's yours. Ben grabbed a dolly and hauled that baby home. True story.


The new bed. Not bad, eh? 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I'm a Bean


The other day I was standing in the sun room checking on my painting progress when I realized I was perfectly warm in a tank top and bare feet. The sun room is soo bright and cheery, even when unfinished. It's amazing that we've wasted this space as storage for 2 1/2 years.

It only took one warm day for me to get out in the garden and begin pulling weeds. The beds are ready for seeds as soon as Spring hits. For real. We've only been getting hints of Spring and the other day it snowed. In all honesty, I've been having a terrible time lately. I don't know where to begin, or end, but I do know that digging up dirt, spreading manure, and imagining a garden in bloom lifts my spirits. I say continuously that a garden is a great analogy of life. It takes a lot of shit to cause us to grow. This year I'm going to plant pole beans so I'm already comparing God to the pole and the beans...to me. 

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Love Your Neighbour(hood)

I'm lucky I live in a neighborhood where I can walk to a tasty meal, peep into a toy shop, grab a cup of jo and browse through a thrift store all in one block. It's an especially great escape when I'm overwhelmed. Which is often. 
If you have an afternoon I recommend this little neighborhood tour for you. Begin at The Naam, Vancouver's famous 24 hour vegetarian restaurant. The Naam boasts a huge menu, gigantic portions and a cozy atmosphere. The Naam is always busy and expect to be elbow to elbow with your neighbor, but being forced to be friendly is part of the fun. I should mention that everything feels a bit sticky, 24 hours of food service will do that to a place. I swear it adds character. 

Next go next door to No Pirates Allowed. This little toy shop is full of eco-friendly products, learning games, as well as some of the more popular name brands. Unique to the shop is the website which shows up to date information on what products they have in stock. That way if you're looking for something specific for your little nugget, you'll come and not be disappointed. I'm in love with their front desk, carved like a pirate ship. Cute!

Walk a few more feet and stop for the best coffee in Vancouver. No joke. Momento Coffee House is a hidden gem, a little shop that carries the tastiest, most fresh coffee beans in the city. Each cup of coffee is individually brewed to perfection. Similar to The Naam it has a tight atmosphere, but I'm all about being up in your neighbour's beeswax. We've made some great friends through proximity.

Finally, cross the street to My Favorite Thrift Shop and begin digging for treasures. You may have to dig deep because the store is haphazardly organized and full of weird miscellaneous (Various animal tails) but we've found some great household items amidst the chaos. 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Cloven Heart

The conversion of our sun room into a bedroom has begun. Slowly. I've realized that we all have chores that we hate to do and for Ben, painting is it. I don't mind getting my hands dirty with paint so I've been taping, scraping, cleaning and prepping for the first coat. I've already posted some of my inspiration pics and I'm truly excited for how this little project will turn out.

Between the babies and the bedroom life is pretty full but I wanted to take the time to share a great new Etsy shop with you that happens to belong to my dear friend Tami. Tami is one of my style icons and has incredible taste so I've been waiting in anticipation for The Cloven Heart to open. The theme of the shop is vintage clothing and curiosities and let me tell you, the store is curated beautifully! Here are a few of my favorite items from The Cloven Heart.






Gorgeous, I know. You can follow Tami on her blog.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Fashion Friday: Two Outfits, One Skirt

I figure it's never too late for a bit of dress-up fun. As I shop for an item I try to picture how it can be used to create multiple outfits. For example, this floral mullet skirt can be part of a casual chic uniform or punked up with a bit of leather. While, I own none of these pieces, one can dream. And play on Polyvore ; )
Two Outfits, One Skirt

Friday, March 9, 2012

Live

Instead of a Fashion Friday I experimented with an Iphone video, giving you some live action mommy musings. I had way too much fun with the new Iphone video app I downloaded so please forgive me for my obvious delight in my latest toy and for my annoying habit of hair touching and smacking my lips together.

Experimentation from Michelle Gadd on Vimeo.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Exhaustion

I'm going through a rough season. Jethro is coming up to 6 months and I've never had more than a three hour stretch of sleep. Some days I don't think about the sleep deprivation and we motor along but other days, like today, I feel the exhaustion to my core. My back aches, my eyes burn and I've done a whole lot of emotional eating (sugar, sugar, sugar). So I feel like crap. Crap. Crap. I need to pull up my socks and keep trucking but Father, Son, Holy Spirit! This is hard (You know if I named the whole Trinity it's a serious lament). Which leads me to our latest half-completed projected, a baby free place for me to sleep if needed. Our rental has a sun room that has served as junk drop until now. We realized we needed a third room to serve as a bedroom. Or at least a room with a bed. Thus the conversion began. We're almost done clearing it out and miraculously our queen size mattress will fit. Of course I can't just throw in a mattress and call it a room. I told Ben it had to be a lovely place of refuge. Poor Ben. My inspiration comes from the pictures below. I'm envisioning glossy white floor and ceiling, pure white walls and trim and a white duvet cover. Ben is going to shutter the windows because there is no insulation and some how I convinced him to do artistic cutouts to let light stream in. I don't know what kind of colour I would add but right now, all I want is a bright, fresh, clean feel. 

We don't know how long we will be in this unit before we hopefully move upstairs, but I can't live any where with out making it feel like home. We have free wood, hopefully we will find some free paint and the whole project can be done on a dime. 


*To find sources for images visit my Pinterest.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Tasty Tuesday: Swiss Chard and Olive Pasta

Lately when Levi has been calling me, "mommy" I find myself wondering, when did I became mommy to this grown up little boy. It freaks me out. And then he had the nerve to call me, "mom, " with a mischievous glint in his eye. Before I know it Jet will be all boy and no baby. He was sick this past week with a stomach bug and everything else fell off my radar while I nursed him back to health. Almost everything. I did notice when suddenly my .com was gone replaced by a holding site until I renewed my ownership. I don't know how that slipped by me but I'm not exactly computer savvy so it took many phone calls to get elasticpantcity.com back. With all that said, here's a very belated Tasty Tuesday.

Swiss chard and olive pasta. I love sneaking greens into Levi and chard is waste free because you can use the whole leaf, including the stem. Making my own pasta sauce is one of my favorite foodie activities because I find tomatoe based sauce gives me a tummy ache. I found the recipe here.