{ rain, rain take me away }

It's a rainy day in Toronto today...it seems to be doing a lot of this lately. On rainy days I get thinking about other places I'd rather be in the rain and today, it's France (let's be honest, it's always France).

Here are some pics from a rainy day we spent in Versailles at the grand trianon, petit trianon and Marie Antoinette's estate a year and a half ago...

{ interest for pinterest }

I had been steering clear of pinterest for a long time because I thought I might get addicted. But I recently caved, joined...and I've been too busy with everything else going on to get addicted (so far, anyway).

Would love for you to follow along! 

{ must have }

I just discovered some fabrics that are amazing and I had to share because: 

a) they're cool; and 

b) my maiden name is the same as the designer's last name. 

Jorja Wilkinson designs some amazing retro-inspired fabrics featuring flora, fauna and animals.

Source: Jorja Wilkinson Design

Here are some of my faves:

All sourced from Jorja Wilkinson Design

She also has a collection of pillows, notice boards, lampshades, reusable shopping bags, stationary, tea towels and aprons.

Jorja is based in the UK so I'm going to have to figure out if I can get my hands on these on this side of the pond.

{ baby parka }

As a new mom, I'm learning about new products all the time. Some are cool and useful, some are cool and unnecessary but the ones that impress me most are cool, useful, space saving (perfect for small space living) and time saving. I recently had a great customer service experience with one of my favourites, Canadian-made, baby parka.

Screengrab courtesy of baby parka website

Babies are wiggly and squirmy, and with the cold weather, they're difficult to get into a snow suit and then into a baby carrier or stroller. Enter baby parka. You put baby into the carrier and BabyParka fits over the carrier to keep them snug and warm. Genius!

I learned about and picked up a baby parka at the BabyTime show back in September as a Christmas gift for E. When I opened it up, I realized one of the elastics that cinches up the length to customize the fit had a toggle installed improperly. Within 24 hours of emailing them, I heard back from the owners, they shared a photo with their manufacturer and the next business day, a new baby parka was hand delivered to my home. 

Amazing service, great concept and great execution. They are also recent recipients of an endorsement from Parent Tested Parent Approved. Well deserved! 

I love the baby parka and so does E!

{ fingers crossed }

For many years, I have been a fan of Sarah Richardson. One of the rooms she designed on her show Design Inc. was even the inspiration for my bedroom in our previous home. Here is Sarah's design:

Screengrab courtesy of the Design Inc website

And here's my version of it (accessories were scaled back for this photo because it was staged for our real estate listing):

Here's a funny story: while working on decorating my room above, I couldn't figure out which paint colour Sarah had used on the accent wall. It was never mentioned in the episode and it wasn't listed on the website. One day, I happened to be in a shop near my office and who should be there too? Sarah herself. I got a bit nervous because I didn't want her to think I was approaching her for the usual fan comments but I asked her if she happened to recall the name of the paint colour for the reasons above and she was very nice. She was surprised it wasn't listed on the website and pointed me in the right direction. Thanks, Sarah!

So what does this have to do with anything? Well, I've often told my husband I want Sarah to decorate our home and I just found out that she is casting for a new show in the Toronto area - perfect! So, after a couple goes at the application due to technical difficulties, I submitted it two nights ago in the hopes that we'll be picked to have our basement designed by Sarah and her team.

After the year we've had, and because I'm so busy with the duties that come along with being a new mom that I haven't had time to start feeling settled in our new house, I would love Sarah's expertise to help us complete one space. I think her aesthetic would be the perfect way to make this house start feeling like our home.

{ splurge }

It has arrived! I recently splurged on a small amount of Liberty of London fabric and bias tape. 

I have swooned over this brand of fabric for a long time after being introduced to it by reading my favourite blog, JUNKAHOLIQUE. I had intended to buy some when I first found out I was expecting, because I wanted to make some things for the wee one. The problem was, we were renovating and house hunting, I felt sick for a good chunk of pregnancy and couldn't stay up past 7pm, and I was working full-time. 

Sadly, craftiness was put on the back burner. 

Since E was born, he's pretty much been with me at all times. I am long overdue for a few hours off while D looks after him. So, I've scheduled a crafternoon with my friend Sarah next weekend and I cannot wait to make some cute things for E with this gorgeous fabric and some other fabrics I have on hand. 

Stay tuned for a post-crafternoon update...