10Oct

Top 10 Kid-Friendly Indoor Activities To Do In Ottawa During The Winter

Sweater weather is here! and the outdoors is still a great place to be with all the fall colours and warmer days. BUT since our weather in Ottawa is usually super cold during the winter, as beautiful as it sometimes can be, it keeps us cooped up at home and we can tend to get stir crazy. I have compiled a list of the top 10 kid-friendly indoor things to do in Ottawa during the winter so we can adventure out into the wild without worrying about the frigid Canadian cold. I’ve also got a bunch of honourable mentions that are great for date-night or out with friends sans-children.

03Oct

How I Potty Trained My 6-Months-Old

Nope. Never thought I’d be thaaaat mom. You know, the one who makes her newborn take a sh*t over the toilet. Hell, I would’ve bet money against it! But lo and behold we found ourselves with a six-month-old who happily takes dumps on the toilet like an adult–in more ways than one!

19Sep

Summer Reading: Chore or Privilege

For as long as I can remember, books were a chore because they often led to an evaluation of some sort. The problem with this is that I love to learn new things, and most of the time knowledge comes from a book. So, I have decided to try and incorporate reading back into my life, and take back the task as a privilege.

12Sep

Mom Hack: Preventing Diaper Blowouts

In your past life, you probably would look forward to the treat of a blowout because it was often accompanied by a night out enjoying yourself and looking fine. Now that you’re a mom, that term probably scares the crap out of you (pun intended!). Have faith, I’ve got a great easy and cheap solution for you.

thrill of the thrift bought new black romper jumper mom pushing uppababy stroller with itzy ritzy caddy
22Aug

The Thrill Of The Thrift

If you’ve known me for long enough, you knoooow that I don’t hide the fact that I buy almost everything used (I do draw the line at underwear), and I happily share my finds with the world. Back in the day, thrifting was out of necessity because as a broke-ass student I refused to choose between a new outfit or groceries. This way I got to sport a new-to-me item AND afford the real cheese for my (homemade) mac&cheese dinner.

Peach Ricotta Medley - Baby Foods That Adults Want To Eat
05Aug

White Peach Ricotta Medley

The white peach ricotta medley is a great way to experiment with new textures, and to incorporate dairy into baby’s diet.

01Aug

Baby Foods Adults Actually Want To Eat

Introducing new foods to baby can be a daunting task, or a fun challenge depending on how you choose to look at it. We really didn’t want to do the boring purée thing, especially since we wanted to give her homemade food, so the challenge we decided to embark on is to create baby foods adults actually want to eat.

25Jul

Baby’s First Foods

With all of the ever-changing guidelines and recommendations and fads out there, it can be super daunting to try and figure out what is best for your baby. While I am no expert, I have spoken with a Registered Dietitian and the additional information I was given was astounding, and reassured me over so many fears that I had from reading all the things on the internet. So I figured I would share a few tidbits along with our journey through food with little miss.

14Jun

Postpartum Comes In All Shapes And Sizes

The thing about postpartum that most don’t understand is that it isn’t always depression at all, and that there is a spectrum of each of the emotions involved.

One of the most common ones is anger. Not necessarily angry at your baby, but BIG anger at the smallest things–like when your husband throws out the rest of your coffee when you were busy in the next room feeding your baby, or when he is snoring obnoxiously next to you while you are awake at the crack of dawn for the third time to feed your little monster, or when your baby’s noises just annoy the f*ck out you in that very moment, or when the mailman doesn’t read the sign and rings the damn doorbell that one time your kid actually decided to nap. Patience wears thin, and not just because the sheer lack of sleep… Sometimes one good scream in the next room is all you need to regain your composure and deal with your screaming newborn for another hour before they decide to settle on a whim. Because you have tried everything several times to soothe them. Every. Damn. Thing. More than once.

20Feb

Baby Is Here!

She’s here! She is beautiful and strong and growing so fast. If you want, you can read all about our birth story but for now, a big thank you to our photographer, Lisa Johnson, for these amazing keepsakes from our first family portrait session. They are the perfect pair with the gorgeous barnwood frame we got our hands on for our home, and I love walking by and smiling at it every day.

acrylic sign dear north designs christmas tree cream vintage settee moments white stand
26Dec

Christmas 2018 – Keeping Up With The Holiday Traditions

Holiday traditions are always a fun thing to hear what other families do differently than yours, to hear about similarities, and to get great inspiration from completely out-of-the box ideas. When it comes to Christmas, I have got a boatload of traditions that I want to keep going, but this year felt like the perfect year to get a little crazy and do all the hosting before baby arrives. And of course, we kept our little ornament tradition alive!

22Dec

Stephanie & Alex’s Maternity Photos in Nepean Woods

For those of you who know me well, you are aware of my weird allergy to water and cold (yeah, good luck living in Canada right!?). So you can imagine the sheer determination it took to go out into the snowy woods to get our maternity portraits captured. Where there is a will (and photoshop), there is a way! Our photographer Emma Haider did such a fabulous job at capturing our excitement and love for
07Nov

Baby Shower & Gender Reveal Party

Looking back, this post is actually a pregnancy reveal to for many of you, since the majority of our parenting adventures have been posted on my belly and baby blog …oops. Surprise! We’re expecting a little one in the new year and we’ve been busy getting everything ready.

27Sep

Are You Focusing On The Right Things In Your Business?

With the recent mass power outage in Ottawa, there are a ton of stories being passed around, recounts of adventures, and despite all the negative things that have happened, there is still so much positivity in the air. I am so proud to be a part of a community that lives that way. And, of course, I’ve got my own story to tell–but it isn’t about ME, it’s about YOUR business.

I was lucky enough to be able to photograph all of my clients over the weekend with natural light, and that my studio was at an acceptable temperature throughout the day (thankfully no newborn sessions, just older babies and expecting mamas). I had all forms printed out beforehand, and batteries charged, so I was well prepared. See mom; my Murphy’s law mentality DOES come in handy! Had I not previously practiced with natural light instead of my strobes, I do not think the days would have gone so smoothly.

My husband on the other hand, was not so lucky with his work…

07Aug

Getting Ready For Baby

When it comes to choosing to be parents, you’d think you’d have more time and focus when it comes to getting ready for baby to arrive. Nope. You let time pass by thinking you have so much left, and then it hits you that you’re over 30 weeks in, and have less than 3 months to go to get everything done!

19Jul

We Built A Shed!

I will let the photos do most of the talking on this one, but we are very proud of this shed that we helped my dad build, and we truly made it feel like another room in the house. Well, from the outside anyway–the inside is unfinished and just your garden variety of utility shed. It’s got dirt, planters, shovels, and will eventually house a patio set if we ever buy one, ha ha.

So what you would never know from these images is that the majority of the wood used to build the actual shed, not the outside (siding & shingles) was actually re-purposed from my uncle’s deck. 

19Jul

I Know I’ve Been MIA, Here’s Why

So the last post I published was about our Christmas holidays–over 6 months ago, yikes! But don’t let that fool you into thinking I’ve left the blogging world. I have simply been busy with life & work, and haven’t quite found the balance that allows for me to keep posting about my personal life. That and I stopped inventing or recreating recipes, and opted out of the 365 project for 2018. BUT now that things have settled a little bit after moving into the new house, and while I am much busier with my businesses, I have more of a streamlined process and have a little more time to start writing again.

First things first, I have transitioned from eating keto to eating low-carb and healthy. What does that mean? I now enjoy sugar-free smoothies in the morning that include bananas or cherries, and a tasty glass of [pure] orange juice on the weekends. I still avoid pasta and potatoes, and other culprits like bread and any processed sugar or sugar-substitutes. So yes, some nut-free, sugar-free recipes might be in the works in the future. But for now, I am just focusing on eating healthy, and finding foods that don’t make me feel like crap. So far, so good.

tree-ornament-red-knitted-stocking-wool-knit-sock-holiday-decoration-christmas-decor-crop
26Dec

Christmas 2017 – Favourite Holiday Traditions

Holiday traditions are always a fun thing to hear what other families do differently than yours, to hear about similarities, and to get great inspiration from completely out-of-the box ideas. This year was the first my partner and I spent together as husband and wife, and in our new home. When it comes to Christmas, I have got a boatload of traditions that I want to keep going, but this year felt like the perfect year to just do ‘us’, before the family and children come into play. And of course, we kept our little ornament tradition alive!

07Dec

Honeymoon in San Francisco – Our Trip In Review

Honeymoon in San Francisco

Our Trip In Review, With Photos

for purposes of easy-lists, everything per category is in alphabetical order

[more photos at the end of the page]

We spent a full 10 days on our honeymoon and I must say that it was a well-needed vacation, and a chance for us to reconnect after a stressful few months with the move to the new house. We did something new and exciting every single day, and took the time to relax when needed. Great company, good food, and a ton of fun. I’ve put together a list of all the cool things we did, where we ate, where we stayed, and gave recommendations and a review where I could. We loved San Francisco, and I highly suggest you add it to your travel list if it is not already there!