cake, party hats and a rousing game of musical chairs

Yes, it was Henry's first birthday party on Saturday. We invited a small group of little friends and family to toast the birthday boy over Devil's Food cake, Oh Henry bars and plastic flutes of apple juice. A fine fete indeed. I love theme parties too, but I usually plan my parties around colours. I can't help it. I like things pretty.


I liked the varsity feeling of these blue and red checks and stripes, so with about $25 worth of fabric I made the invitations and this bunting:




The "hurray for henry" banner is just different fonts and colours printed out on card stock and strung along a length of ribbon. Crepe paper streamers from the dollar store are a must. So are balloons.



Mmmm. Buttercream icing + apricot whip. I had plenty of fabric left over to fashion a table cover, decorate party hats and stitch up little favour bags filled with sweets for the ride home.



The man of the hour was distracted by an erupting molar for most of the party, and there were cries of foul over the winning stab at pin the tail on the donkey - not because it wasn't the closest but because the winner had already won two prizes in musical chairs and the egg hunt - but it was otherwise a delightful afternoon.

of helmets, chaperones and saying no

I may be the first parent in history to say such a thing, but I miss the days when parents were under-protective. I don't mean looking the other way when your 13-year old daughter hitchhikes home from the beach (ahem), or your six year old microwaves an egg still in the shell. I mean everyday stuff. I'm talking about letting kids climb the monkey bars at the playground or take a bike ride around the neighbourhood. Being a kid back then was more dangerous, perhaps, but was it also more fun? More instructive? Did it teach us to make better decisions and accept responsibility? I still cannot believe my parents let my 7-year old sister walk me to kindergarten everyday. Or how many summers we swam unsupervised in some murky old pond on my grandparents' farm. To say nothing of driving a tractor at age eight. No harm came to us. Nothing "bad" ever happened. Does that make it OK? As a parent, and a borderline over-protective one, I'm conflicted.

There was a terrific article in Maclean's a few weeks ago. In it the author comments on how he rarely sees kids out exploring the neighbourhood, unless they're right in front of their house. Aside from missing the opportunity to develop common sense, learn to cross the street and navigate around the neighbourhood, I just found it terribly sad. I have such fond memories of growing up a street urchin. In the 70s, Saturday mornings meant my mother played her Barbra Streisand LPs and Pine Sol'd the house. She shooed us out and, seriously, locked the screen door. We were not welcome back until the floor was dry and she'd belted out "The Way We Were" twice, at least. So we hung out. On the street. Rode our bikes. Built a fort. Bugged someone else's mom for freezies.

Tomorrow I'm accompanying Stella's class on an outing to the local library. It's exactly one bus stop from her nursery school. But we're not walking. We're taking the bus because parents have voted against teachers taking the children for walks off school property. I'm not judging individual parenting decisions. I just think we've got to find a way to say yes more often.

tag sale kerfuffle

Oh dear, it seems I've chosen a complicated and not very efficient way to run this tag sale. I thought I could respond to comments and update what's sold on these pages, but I was wrong.

Trina, please email me (nicole@honey-bunch.com). Mummi Mummi, the Offi Rocker is now sold. As are the flower fleece blanket + pillow, the cloud blanket and several of the hair accessories.

If you're interested in anything else, please email me!

Tag Sale!

Things are bad indeed when a four-year old sniffs: "I can't work here. Your office is too messy." and leaves to find an uncluttered spot (good luck kid) to colour.
And so it's high time I clear out the odds and ends to make way for the two dozen new products on route for the new shop.

These are all new items. Some were once sold in the shop and some were products that didn't fly. All are priced waaay below wholesale. If something catches your eye, leave a comment here letting me know what you'd like. Your email address isn't visible to anyone else, just me. I'll get back you by email.

First item on the block: hair accessories. Super-sweet, in happy Easter colours. Handmade from silk, felt and beads. Hair bands $3 (retail $12); clips $1.50 (retail $5).







Earred Hat + Bib. KooKoo Design. Hat fits up to 9 months or so. $10 for both (retail $34).



More hats! Nana Knits. 100% cotton, handknit hats. $10 (retail $24) Available sizes:
Pink Fiesta Hat - small (newborn - 3 months) x 2
Yellow Fiesta - medium x 1
PomPom Hat - medium x 1, XL x 1



T-shirts! Don't let the creases fool you: these are really cute.
American Apparel Ts screenprinted with vintage illustrations from the Happy Hollisters series of books. $9 (retail $24).
Available sizes:
long sleeve: 18-24 months, campfire girls
long sleeve: 12-18 months, Pam in race car
short sleeve: 2T, Pam in race car
short sleeve: 2T, campfire girls






Crib quilt.
This is a one-of-a-kind baby quilt sewn by Carolyn Murphy of Baby Ben, in Toronto. It measures 45" long by 34" wide, not including that adorable pom pom trim. It's pieced together with chenille, vintage-inspired cotton prints and solids then quilt-stitched in a lovely swirly pattern. 100% cotton, machine washable. These sell for $295-$395. Buy it here for $125.





Fleece cuddle blankets + pillows. Washable. No-fade, no-pill, no-shrink fleece.
Monkey pillow: mauve + cocoa brown $10 ($24 retail)
Blue cloud blanket $12
Or buy the monkey pillow + cloud blanket for $20.
Yellow flower blanket + pillow $20/set





Floor Model Offi Rocking Chair
Go here to see. It's the blue and white chair with lift-up seat. It has one carrying hole in the back, not the perforated back in the photo. It's been to one or two shows, so it's not brand-new but it's in excellent shape. It's assembled it can't be shipped, you'll have to make arrangements to pick it up in Etobicoke. $25 ($110 retail).

Happy Shopping!

a party

On Willie's birthday, as you see,
these little boys came to tea.
But, oh! how very sad to tell!
They have not been behaving well.
For ere they took a single bite,
They all began to scold and fight.

The little boy whose name was Ned
He wanted jelly on his bread.
The little boy whose name was Sam
He vowed he would have damson jam.
The little boy whose name was Phil
Said, "I'll have honey! YES I WILL!"
But
The little boy whose name was Paul
While they were quarelling, ate it all!

This pair of birthday books, 1960s I'd say, and probably from Australia judging by the Marmite sandwich recipe, is one of my favourite yard sale finds: 10 cents each! And so chock-full of zany yet moderately dangerous games (everything involves tug of war, racing through the parlour or balancing eggs) that they only idea I dare use is pass-the-present. But still. Such sweet illustrations. Boys in bow ties and Oxford shoes. Girls in crinoline dresses with Peter Pan collars. And an irresistable blue donkey. Look at those sad eyes.





If you're game, here's how to play Oranges and Lemons:

Two players, one "orange" and one "lemon" - hold hands to form an arch. The rest of the party-goers line up and march under the arch to the tune of Oranges and Lemons (I have no idea what this song is. Something else must work). One player is caught in the arch and asked in a whisper to choose an orange or a lemon. Then he lines up behind the orange or the lemon. When all the children have been caught, the oranges stand behind oranges, lemons behind lemons and there is a tug of war between the two sides.

loving...

I have been on the hunt for two weeks for the new issue of Blueprint. Not even Indigo had it on the weekend, so I feared the worst: canceled like my beloved MS Kids. I'm still not over that. Why Martha? Why?
It's not exactly kid-oriented but Blueprint is great. It has all of the lovely photography and wish-I'd-thought-of-that ideas without that undertone of disapproval that makes reading MS Living feel more like a to-do list than a leisurely read. My dark, perpetually disorganized linen closet, which is either completely overstuffed or emptier than Mother Hubbard's cupboard, makes me feel like I don't belong in those pages. So Blueprint. Cute models living in cute, cramped spaces I can totally relate to.

The best cover I've seen, well maybe ever. Must. Have. That. Wallpaper.
But it was this genious idea that caught my attention. When I worked at a magazine we called these plastic envelopes "job bags" and used them to circulate layouts and pages among the team. Who'd have thought to use them to hang art? I tried to find job bags at Staples this afternoon - no luck. I've got to track these down, but if anyone knows a source offhand, do share!

365 days old

It's Henry's first birthday in a couple of weeks. There is something so special and sweet about first birthdays, isn't there? I'm quite excited to start planning and making. It's a red, blue and white party. First order of business: invitations. I found this great varsity font here for free.
Next up: fabric favour bags. They're just 11" x 8" lengths of fabric sewn up one long and one short side, right sides together, pinked across the top and tied with a contrasting fabric bow. Easy-peasy, reusable and adorable, if I do say so myself. And it would not be a Morell production without colourful banners hung from the rafters, so those are cut and waiting to be stitched together. Some other goodies are in the works; I'll post as I go along.

A year ago I'd have been at a complete loss for a party theme. You see, boy-ish things never appealed to me. When the ultrasound revealed we were having a boy my thoughts turned to decorating. As in bad decorating: planes, trains and automobiles. Dinosaurs. Power Rangers. Or, gasp, The Leafs. It must have been kismet that Sarah Richardson happened to be sitting two chairs away from me when we got the you're-having-a-boy news. I wondered if she was having a boy, what would she do? I imagined pale grey pinstripes and baby chick yellow. Robin's egg blue and orange. All white. Or cream with hits of red. It turns out that she had a girl. And the nursery is luxe. But it all comes out in the wash: it seems that I do like boys and boy-ish things after all. Just my kind of boyish.

over the hills we go

With any luck, this will be the last weekend to dash through the snow on a horse-drawn sleigh. It is that time of year. I have had my fill of indoor playgrounds. We've worn out our welcome at Ikea's ball pit. And we have seen Happy Feet. Twice. But we're a year or two away from a family ski weekend in Muskoka, so what's left to do but find some local--and cheap--amusement. So tomorrow we are heading off to The Ranch for a sleigh ride through the snow-covered countryside. Hot chocolate and a campfire included!

Closer to Niagara, there's also this place suggested by my sister, but I can't quite bring myself to spend an afternoon at Uncle Porky's. No matter how good the hot dogs are supposed to be. Bad marketing, Uncle Porky. Bad marketing.

If you're game for a nice little drive and a low-key farm outing, I recommend Lionel's Pony Farm north of Markham. No sleigh rides, but the hay-filled barn and free petting zoo are good fun. Be sure to bring lots of carrots and veggie goodies for the goats and donkeys.

Happy weekend!

flying the coop

To be honest I've been looking forward to this day for quite some time. I've needed some uninterrupted time to do, well, to just do. As charming as my little companion is, as much as I enjoy his company, it's rather difficult getting things done with an almost-one-year-old at my heels. So off Henry went this morning to his new homecare/daycare where he'll spend two days a week in the company of three lovely ladies, leaving me to contemplate my very long list of things to do. Which in some ways, involves doing less.

Weeding my overgrown collections and only keeping things I love.
Making a beautiful + healthy lunch. For me.
Contemplating more.
Organizing. Really!
Writing and reading more.
Saying goodnight to the computer at 5:00 p.m.
Wishing a safe drive home to everyone today.