Sunday, April 27, 2014

ode to my grandma


On Wednesday, April 16th, 2014, my grandma passed away. I want to say a few words here for her, because as far as grandmothers go, this one was pretty special.

Always beautiful and elegant, and so well-dressed, she was wearing heels until her final weeks at 90 years old. My grandma created a magical world for us when we were kids, and 'fairies' were always leaving us little presents or notes. She had a strange gift for finding four-leafed clovers and could always pick us a few from any clover patch.

I can thank her for any artistic genes I may have received. She was the original Martha Stewart, and could sew, knit, decorate, paint, or sculpt anything really. My grandma was a fabulous cook too, and her presentation of any dish was stunning and usually included a cherry tomato, or some sort of vegetable, carved into a little flower.

She was a story-teller, and a master at word puzzles, often beating her computer program at Scrabble.

She was a successful, independent woman. At a time when it wasn't the norm, she went through a divorce and worked to support herself and her two daughters. She did well for herself too, even putting her kids through university.

She was a fireball, clever and so witty - even during her final weeks she had us very amused with her funny little quips. 

She was caring and took care of everyone else. Up until January of this year, she was dropping by with a ready-made meal to help out.

Such a talented, interesting woman. And such a good friend. One day I hope to be a grandmother just like she was. She will be, and already is, very missed.




Wednesday, April 9, 2014

100 sales on Etsy!



I just noticed my Etsy store, Olive + Iris, has reached 100 sales. Hooray! And along with a new Etsy banner, I've just added another invitation to the store as well. 

This polkadotty invitation was created for my daughter Finley's upcoming second birthday party. She is obsessed with ladybugs, so we are having a Ladybug Garden birthday party. I'm in the process of planning {how I love planning and designing kid's birthday parties!} but I was eager to add this design to the shop, with it being Spring and all. 

Ahhh Spring, by the way. The smell of mud and cow poo is making me very happy. So nice to have made it through that marathon winter!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

cousins



 


If you can believe, on my husband's side of the family, there are six girl cousins, 5 years old and under. My husband and his two siblings each have two girls. That's a strong family X chromosome! 

One morning in March we armed ourselves with colourful tutus, treats and bribes in order to take a photo for my in-laws, Grams and Grumps. The morning ended up being quite fun actually, and the girls were amazing. The photos turned out great, and we enlarged one and had it printed on a giant canvas board. Just a little something we will cherish as the girls grow up. Especially during the scary teenage years.