big box o' beanies

Like a opening a box of jelly beans. The first shipment of beanies arrived today. I'm packing up orders this afternoon, so those who got in on the flapper fun early should have their hats in a day or two.

Now if only it would stop snowing...though I quite like the image of a bunch of minis in colourful caps against all this white. We had our own snow day yesterday, Stella and me. I knew she was feeling poorly Sunday when she watched the Oscars with me for two hours, long after my husband retreated to the basement. And when she sweetly asked "Is that you mommy?" when Kate Winslet appeared on screen I knew it was time to check her temperature. A sort-of fever. A tossy-turny night in our bed. A morning--and afternoon--spent in pyjamas. A miraculous late day recovery when the neighbourhood kids came home and everyone congregated on the lawn of the house with the tobaggan-friendly slope.

this just in

Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I'm my own best customer. It's more fun than Christmas (for me anyhow) when the postman arrives bearing boxes of fresh goodies. I had a deadline this morning for a little writing job, so as tempting as it was, I put the box aside to open as my reward this afternoon. It was worth the wait. I love everything here:


For weeks after Stella's birth I recorded details of her feedings, diaper changes and mood on a notepad. My bleary-eyed scribblings don't make for very exciting reading (nursed for half hour. fussed. slept for an hour. nursed for an hour. fussed. slept for two hours) but it definitely takes me back to those early days, and I'll never throw it out. Of course nothing was that organized with Henry. But he was a more laid-back baby - coincidence? I love this Feed Me journal for first-time parents. I know they'll use it.


And this "notes for the babysitter" pad. Which is exactly what it says: a fill in the blank pad so you can dash off quick instructions for grandma. Love it.



Tiny pastel t-shirts with crocheted ice cream cones. Perfectly adorable.


Progress on the new, souped-up shop is being made. Now that all the back-end tech stuff seems to be done, I'm working on design next week and hope to start stocking the (virtual) shelves soon. We're still aiming for an end of March opening. How does one host a grand opening online? It's not a party unless there's prosecco and mushroom tartlets. I'll have to think about that.

reclaim, recycle, reuse

I've been thinking lately about coming up with a useful + pretty alternative to paper gift wrap. We accumulate dozens of gift bags after each party and while they're sturdy enough, I always feel a bit cheap reusing them (am I alone in this?) but I can't stand to throw them out. So they pile up in furnace room (it's best not to ask) until the annual street sale in May when I use them to package purchases.

So how about a fabric gift bag? I can think of, oh, at least a hundred re-uses for this post-party. I made this pouch with thrifted fabric on the front and natural muslin on the back and lining. It's a Celine Dupuy pattern. I think I'll make them in a few different sizes and lots of different fabrics I've thrifted over the year: corduroy and ticking stripes, toile, old linen tea towels, pretty florals.

Thanks by the way, for your encouraging words about my decorating woes. I'm not quite ready to call in the professionals: I'm planning a second attempt this weekend. In daylight. With extra glue.

technical difficulties

Our master bedroom has empty picture hooks (from artwork relocated two years ago and never replaced), one blue wall (a colour-blocking experiment gone awry), three walls painted smoggy grey - with a slash of tester paint on one - and a brass ceiling fan so big, so ugly we call it the Franken Fan. It's the room we close the door to when company comes over.

Now there are some very good reasons - time, money, energy come to mind - why this room has been mid-renovation for three and half years. But enough's enough. So at precisely 7:00 last night we embarked on phase one of the master bedroom reclamation project: wallpaper.

The master bedroom reclamation project came to a crashing halt at precisely 8:00 last night. I'm not normally one to admit decorating defeat, but even I recognized the whole thing had the air of a Holmes on Homes episode: me sandwiched between the wall and the bed blindly rolling paste onto a nine-foot length of very expensive wallpaper. The dodgy plumb line didn't help. And I couldn't find the wallpaper smoother that I know is somewhere in the basement, so I, ahem, improvised. I really couldn't say for sure why the paper wouldn't stick to the wall.

But by then my Captain Ahab instinct kicked in and we forged ahead to certain folly. We couldn't match the pattern. It's paisley. And metallic. It has a 36" repeat. The crummy light from the Franken Fan made it impossible to see. We couldn't agree which end was up. It did not end well.

So we continue to sleep under the mocking eye of the Franken Fan, nail holes in one wall, tester paint slash on the other and, now, a single crooked, creased and peeling panel of very expensive wallpaper. For now, it seems, the bedroom door will have to stay closed.

it must be love

How else to explain driving Devil's Food cupcakes in a snowstorm (to say nothing of making whipped cream at 7:30 a.m.) to the school Valentine's Day party?

I'm back to playing around on the sewing machine after picking up this gorgeous, project-filled book.
And a little something for Henry. I had planned to make three or four or twelve of these squares and fill them with different things - lentils, popcorn, beans - so they'd have interesting texture and weight, but after spending all of How Not To Decorate, the 10:00 news and Rome trying to piece together the "modified log cabin" pattern this deceptively simple square called for, well, it was time to call it a night on this project.


For the grown-ups? Pasta bolognese and a bottle of this chianti. Happy Valentine's Day!

the planet has enough furniture

So begins the sort-of manifesto of the Brothers Dressler. It's a bold statement coming from two guys who build furniture - gorgeous furniture I covet - but twin brothers Jason and Lars make a good point. And so they've created a successful, small-by-choice building practice guided by the desire to create beautiful objects with purposeful design and minimal ecological impact.

Their philosophy resonates. On my daily walk to the post office I pass a couple of Store for Rent signs. I get the occasional call asking where I'm located so, naturally, opening a physical shop is something I've considered. But then I wonder would anyone come to my store? What would I fill it with? How can I be there seven days a week and still have a family life? The conversation always ends when I ask myself "Does Toronto need another baby store?"

Feeling a bit of pressure to add new things to my online shop, I attended the Gift Show last week. Imagine the entire International Centre's 9 cavernous rooms given over to booth after booth after booth filled with stuff. I've only been to the show once before, three years ago when I first started Honeybunch, and I knew within minutes last week that I was in the wrong place. Not that all of it was awful, but just so much that was...nyeh. So I left, empty-handed but with a renewed sense of purpose.

I realize that I don't want to be big. I like being small. I like personally answering every email. I like selling things that I love, that I use, that are designed with purpose. I like having the time to cook risotto from scratch on a Thursday night. Taking an afternoon nap with my son. Missing the 8:00 airing of Lost and staying up with my husband to watch it at midnight. Enjoying a snow storm instead of worrying about having to drive home in it. So for now, at least, I'll stay small. And, hopefully, purposeful.

I *heart* beanies

I seriously cannot wait to have my retooled shop open for biz. April, please come soon! Until that happy day, please bear with my creative "workarounds" (as they're called in the programming biz, I've learned). To wit: beanies for sale. If you're in the honeybunch newsletter loop, you've received a special offer this week for these fabulous handmade cotton flapper beanies and visor caps. These are the various colour options. Happy shopping!

p.s. If you're not on the list, what are you waiting for? Sign up here.

Baby, it's cold inside

My furnace conked out last night. I woke up to a house that was 16.5 degrees at 5:30 this morning. Thankfully both kiddies were wearing extra-toasty fleece sleepers and it's really only me who's complaining. So I sit. And sit. And wait for the furnace guy to come. Thinking it might actually be warmer in the sunshine, I headed outside and discovered my poor viburnam and boxwood encased in ice. Why didn't I build those cute burlap teepees I saw on Martha? I really am such a careless gardener.

As I was straddling the blue fescue to take pictures of my very frozen but pretty shrubs, the mailman arrived. After giving me a curious look (rightly so. it's damn cold out there) he handed me the mail, which included the March issue of Canadian Family. And lo, there on page 25 is one of my canvases . The paintings are just so lovely. I don't know if most folks realize that they're actually hand-painted - they're not screened or digitally printed. It's acrylic paint on canvas, so you can see the brushstrokes and texture and they're just an amazing way to live with a favourite photo. Love them.

all yellow

Henry's lunch of wholewheat couscous, egg yolk and steamed broccoli. Banana chunks and blueberries for dessert. Yummy goodness. I've been in a sweet potato-and-grilled-chicken funk lately, but I was inspired to try something new after my conversation yesterday with Lulu Cohen-Farnell, founder of Real Food for Real Kids.

Lulu is the French-born founder of a fantastic little catering outfit that provides pro-organic, pro-healthy, pro-natural foods to enlightened Toronto daycares. Things like Morrocan chicken, quinoa, wholewheat cookies, tilapia filets. Quite a departure from the saucy, meaty, processed fare on the typical daycare menu. I remember picking up Stella from her (otherwise excellent, I should add) daycare one afternoon and seeing Timbits under "snack" on her little menu card.

So I joined the daycare's board of directors at the first opportunity. Fresh fruit everyday (why why why are our kids being served tinned fruit at all but especially at the height of summer?) and getting rid of the croissants, waffles, muffins and trans-fats laden baked goods are my legacy. There are something like 500 daycare centres in TO; Lulu serves 42. Lucky kids. She doesn't cold call centres, she believes change should come from parent pressure. And she's right. Call her. She'll fire you up.

a piece of quiet

It's my birthday. Guess what I wished for?

art therapy

Our very cool, shiny new Specktone iPod speaker was mint for exactly two days. A game of solo hide-and-seek that inexplicably turned rambunctious (I was out of the house, naturally) ended when the Specktone took a 40-inch dive off the shelf, landing with a crushing thud on bare hardwood. It was all re-enacted by both husband and daughter upon my return. I really couldn't say who was more bewildered or upset. Thankfully, the only injuries were sustained by the poor Specktone and the floor.

Stella came home yesterday with this drawing. It's the first time she's drawn tears. E is for empathy.

blinded by the white

After painting my fifth white/cream/pearly white/off-white/cloud white bureau this week I have a serious hankering for some colour. (Full disclosure: Henry's dresser is white. But in my defense, I painted it when I was 35 weeks pregnant and I was in no mood for adventure.) I'm already planning the redesign. And it will be colourful.

Need some real life inspiration? Take a peek at The Nursery: Baby Rooms at Home , Go To Your Room, and Vintage Playrooms on Flickr. So many sweet ideas. Love this, this, and this - that little storage idea is clever.

Yes, white furniture is timeless. It's neutral. It's simple. I understand the appeal of white furniture, really I do. But will anyone take a chance on vermilion? Or jade? Carrot or taxi cab yellow? Imagine what a cheery punctuation mark that would be. Any takers? I'm game if you are.

[photo of teal bureau used with permission from Uma B.]

synchronicity

I love our local library. The children's section is chock-full of original books from the 50s and 60s, so browsing is fun for me too. Last week I spotted a pair of books by Keizaburo Tejima, an author I'd never heard of but, as it turns out, he's a wood cut artist of some repute from Hokkaido, Japan. He wrote and illustrated a handful of children's books about the forests of his home island. The stories are quiet and folky and the pictures beautiful and intricate. They're lovely books. And a nice change of pace from the Buzz Lightyear oeuvre that's required reading around these parts.

So. A week later I'm poking through books at the local thrift shop and gadzooks! There's a Tejima! For .99!




Yesterday, during a rare quiet moment in the afternoon, I linger over this photo in the January MS:



It's Hokkaido, Japan. How strange. I think a new collection has just been born.

decisions decisions

JK registration is here. It's not as straightforward as you'd think. I hope this t-shirt curries favour with the person in charge of the waiting list.

snowed under

How apt for Mother Nature to smother Toronto with snow, ice pellets and a dash of freezing rain just as I'm climbing out from an avalanche of Globe-related email. Folks, I am grateful, thrilled and flattered that you've found my little shop and I will answer every email. Really, I will. I just need a few days to get caught up on the 100+ inquiries that came in over the weekend.

Here's the inventory scoop:
I am fresh sold out of ready-to-go painted dressers. Gone. I have a stash of dressers waiting for a lick of paint, but these won't be ready for a month. Latex paint needs 30-days to cure properly or it won't be a durable finish.

I do have several cute farmhouse chairs looking for a new home. And I have some non-furniture items too:

Tin panels (from the ceiling of an old, old hotel in Brantford) that would be fab hung in a row.
1930s-ish glass ceiling fixtures: clear/cut glass, blue and a nice minty green.
1950s ceramic animal planters: a favourite. I use them to hold cotton swabs and baby things. I have a couple of lambs, a doe-eyed deer and a bunny
Reclaimed frame mirrors: these are old frames that have been painted (lilac, pink, white) and fitted with new mirror.
Some pretty embroidered pillow cases
Window panes: old casement windows fitted with a mix of vintage and new fabrics behind the glass. A cool alternative headboard hung horizontally, or a neat-o decorative piece. I like to add hooks along the bottom to make them extra functional.

That's about it right now, I'm afraid. The dead of winter is not prime vintage season; I'll have lots more come spring.

I'm also working on a mini sale of samples, discontinued items and a few odds and ends. I'm not sure how best to conduct the sale,since the quantities are limited, so it'll likely be through the blog so stay tuned!