Travel photography so beautiful it's almost as good as travelling

I love Etsy! Much like Pinterest, I could browse Etsy for hours. Sure, there's lots to sift through that might not be right up your alley as far as taste is concerned, but when you find an artist you love, isn't it fun to look through all their work and dream about where you could put it in your house? I do this all the time.

Yesterday, I found a photographer that produces the most lovely work. A lot of them are abstract, but not so abstract that you can't get an idea of what they're of. They're just sort of quiet and dreamy and they have almost a vintage quality about them! I think they would be so beautiful in just about any space and would be loved by both kids and adults.

The shop is EyePoetryPhotography, and the artist, Irene Suchocki, though based out of Montreal, takes photographs of Paris, Venice, NYC and nature. My favourite snap I think is the balloons over Paris seen here, but I definitely recommend a visit to her online shop to check out all her work.

Happy browsing!

25 rules for mothers of boys

For anyone who is lucky to have a little boy at home, you might find this list of 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons worth a read. Team Studer put together this list after reading a similar list about Fathers and Daughters and it is really sweet. I always thought I wanted a girl first (and I would still love one), but after having a boy, I kind of want my own little team of them! They are so fun! To quote I Don't Know How She Does It, "a mother of a one-year-old son is a movie star in a world without critics."

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Wednesday morning pick-me-up

It's a cold and grey morning in Toronto today and I needed a bit of a pick-me-up. My school schedule this semester has me in class all day Tuesday and Wednesday, and I have to start the day at 5:30, which, in the winter, is the worst! To make it easier, my mom, who watches the baby while I'm at school, keeps Brigs on Tuesday nights for a sleepover which I know he loves, but I miss him like crazy. It gives him the chance to hang with Daisy, their dog, who is his favourite creature ever, and his first real word (I thought he was too young to say anything other than "mama" and "dada", but sure enough, the other day he pointed to her and said her name - crazy!).

Anyway, I'm sitting in class learning about building code regulations, staring at a grey sky and missing my boy like mad. I need something cheery!

Here are a few things that have put a smile on my face this morning.

Wouldn't this be fun!

This underwater hiking trail is what happens when the snow melts in Austria. Amazing! Oddity Central.

What a fun kitchen! Re-Nest

A city with a sense of humour. My Revelment

Take me here!

This is a bit contagious! So adorable. See More

So sexy.

A dreamy view. House of Turquoise

A happiness motivator! 30 Rock Things

All the images missing a source were found on Pinterest.

Confessions of a bad-ish mother

We're trying really hard not to be totally overbearing, helicopter parents, but this morning, our attempts at relaxing parenting techniques hit a low point, and, at the risk of serious judgement for even admitting this on an online forum, I can't help but share.

Brigham has been so determined to get to the cat food bowls since he learned to crawl a few months ago. Every morning he makes the same repeated attempts to sneak his way to their bowls while we're getting his breakfast ready or trying to get ourselves organized. Too bad for him that he doesn't understand that we can hear his hands 'clapping' along the hardwood floor as he makes his dash for the food.

It's not a huge deal to scoop him up right before he hits his target, but their bowls are not too far from the top of the stairs leading to our basement, and we really don't want him hanging around that part of our house. On top of that, we don't really want him eating their food!!!

But...our thinking this morning was that if we let him try a tiny bit of their tuna, he'd be really disgusted and never do it again. WRONG. He took a huge handful and stuffed it in his mouth. The giant smile on his face while he chewed it was either because a) he loved it or b) he thought the gagging, choking, totally disgusted noises that we were making were funny.

I feel like the worst mother ever.What's more, their food is the stinkiest, yuckiest smelling fish you've ever smelled, and I feel now like every time I go near him, it's all I can smell.

Does anyone else have any mother confessions they can share so that I don't feel like the worst person ever! Please! Thanks!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Big Boy Bedrooms

Brigham is 10 months old today (sob...they grow too fast!) which I truly can't believe, and as I was putting his laundry away earlier, I was looking around his room thinking it has all of a sudden become much too sweet for him. Don't get me wrong, my kid is super sweet, but he's such a boy now that it really doesn't suit him anymore. It's too precious! He's a total bruiser! And I'm thinking that his room doesn't reflect that much!

I should mention that I really, really love his room. Every inch of it was planned and executed with so much love and anticipation for our baby boy or girl (we didn't know) and I still feel the same affection for it whenever I walk into it. It's just that now that I've met him, I feel like I can better tailor it to his personality! If you'd like to see pictures of it, you can here. 

It's probably way too soon to be planning his next room - I'm pretty sure I was positive that we were making all the right moves for long-term room potential when we planned his nursery in the first place - but typically I'm bored if I don't have a zillion little projects on the go, so I've started thinking about it.

We're hoping that one day soon we'll also be planning for another nursery, so my grand plan is to move Brigs into our third bedroom - currently used as a garbage dump for sad, never used household products, and keep the nursery as, well, a nursery!

Inspiration for big boy bedrooms is everywhere! Here's what I'm loving so far:

Is that not the coolest closet door ever! I'm so doing this for his closet and bedroom doors. Check here for more images of this bedroom

I really love the yellow lockers. 

I really like the stripe on the walls and the simplicity of the furniture. See more here.

Love, love, love these prints. Image from Babble

This is such a cozy space in my mind. And so boy-ish! From Babble.

I think the horse wallpaper, found here, would be such a great accent wall, and I love the cheery yellow rug too.

I know I've posted about this Paperboy Wallpaper before, but I sort of can't get enough of it.

I love the idea of a room full of stars. Image from A Cup of Jo

To be continued....

Happy New Year

As the year comes to a close, I have a great big smile on my face (a good way to end the year, I'd say). While 2011 wasn't free of sadness (I lost my grandfather in June - one of my most favorite people) , I can't help but smile at the great circle of life as I hold his one and only great-grandson in my arms, born 4 months before his death. Right now I'm missing many that have left us, but treasuring those that surround me. I feel very blessed today, and I sincerely wish the same feelings of happiness to everyone out there. I hope 2012 brings nothing but joy to you all.

Happy New Year!

xo Sara

we'll drink a cup of kindness yet for times gone by
(we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne - Robert Burns)