{The Royal Winter Fair}

Yesterday, Jay took the day off and we took the girls to the Royal Winter Fair... It was a wonderful day!

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Kiki La Ru'

{Wildberry}

1. Sacramento Street's Anniversary

2. Mini Stained Clothespins

3. 'another year, another jar'

4. Parisian Apartment

5. Violet Dream Fine Art Print

6. Encased-in-Vines Cardigan

7. Blackberry Cupcakes

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Kiki La Ru'

{Kiki La Ru} Cake Bunting Giveaway

I met Dawn of 'Kiki La Ru' when I was shopping for Leah's first birthday... I happened upon her cake buntings and purchased 'Maddi' without hesitation, knowing it would become a feature at all upcoming birthday parties... When 'Maddi' arrived, I was more than thrilled... It was wrapped so nicely I could hardly bear to open it! 'Maddi' then had the honour of gracing Leah's first birthday 12-Layer Cake! For this week's giveaway, Dawn has graciously offered a cake bunting of the winner's choice + shipping! That's a value of up to $25! My friends, you won't be disappointed! 'Kiki La Ru' is one of my favourite shops... And Dawn is just as lovely as the buntings she creates! Head down below Dawn's interview to find out how to enter the giveaway!

{Shop}

{Shop Blog}

{Personal Blog}

Dawn has taken the time to answer a few questions:
What does a perfectly ordinary day in your life look like?
"My day starts with doggy and husband kisses. Morning walk in nature with my dogs Boston and Kiki...while they play I take photos and let my mind wander to creative realms; I get most of my design inspirations while on our morning walk. Emails, cake bunting, trip to the post office, house chores. Evening walk with the dogs. My husband and I love love love good food, so usually I plan a nice big meal for when he comes back home from work. Every night we cuddle up on the couch and either watch a movie or a favorite tv series on dvd. I love the rhythm of an ordinary day! And I love my life."

What time of year most inspires you?
"I am inspired by whichever season it is at the moment. Though Autumn truly is my favorite."

What do you think of as comfort food?
"Hot chocolate and cinnamon toast."

If you could hop on a plane, without giving one thought to your budget, where would you go?
"New England for autumn and Christmas."

What are five things you would like to do in the next five years?
"I hope and pray that God will bless us with healthy, happy children within the next 5 years. Other than that, my desires are pretty humble; I would like to use my cookbooks more often, be a good friend to the people I love, finish the children's book I've been working on, and learn how to not take things personal."

This giveaway runs from November 8th to 14th at 7pm (EST)... The winner will be chosen and announced on Sunday, November 14th

1. Visit 'Kiki La Ru', look around and choose your favourite digital design from the shop... Come back here and leave a comment along with your email address, mentioning your favourite item...

2. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on your blog, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

3. For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

4. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on Facebook, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

5. For even more entries, POST again (Blog, Twitter, Facebook) at any time later in the week, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

* YOU MAY ENTER UP TO FIVE TIMES FOR FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!

In order to keep offering these fantastic giveaways, I need to get as many comments (and visits for the sponsors) as possible... Please help me spread the word so we can keep a good thing going!

The winner will be randomly chosen and posted HERE on the blog on Sunday, November 14th... Please check the blog on Saturday to see if YOU are the winner! Enjoy... Please help spread the word and a dear thank you again to Dawn of 'Kiki La Ru'!

{The Little Happyshop} Giveaway Winner + COUPON CODE!

Congratulations to Sarah B, the winner of $45 in Singapore dollars (that works out to nearly $35 US) to spend at 'The Little Happyshop'... And thank you to Ruth of 'The Little Happyshop'!

And just in time for Holiday shopping: Ruth has also offered a $5 coupon for 'The Little Happyshop'... Just key in "HAPPYSHOP5$" upon check-out on a minimum purchase of $30 (Fine Print: Applicable for in-stock items only. Coupon valid until November 30th. Shipping terms apply).

Stay tuned for a brand new giveaway beginning at midnight!

Weekend Project {Earring Display}

I've long been needing to add an earring display to my life... I am forever searching for the matching earring in my jewelry box... This is a lovely tutorial for the earring display I have been longing for! Enjoy and happy weekend to you all... To make it an even  happier weekend, enter this week's giveaway with 'The Little Happyshop' and perhaps you will be this week's winner!

All images from kevinandamanda.com

{Goldenrod}

1. Shoes

2. Indian Summer Fine Art Print

3. Bedroom

4. A quiet spot for thought

5. Love Sign

And don't forget to enter this week's giveaway with 'The Little Happyshop'

Dorothy & Snow White...

This past Saturday, our dear friend Jess had a birthday party for Clara, who turned six! Clara shares her day with Halloween, so each year, the kids dress up for her party!

Little Leah was Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz'... Jess made her dress and the beautiful clip in Leah's hair! Bren was 'Snow White'... I purchased her lovely dress from 'Lover Dovers Clothing' and the hairband from 'Wendy and Peter'... It was a perfect day... And I think the girls looked pretty smashing!

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'The Little Happyshop'

New at the Shop... Monthly Clubs!

Ah... The holiday buying season is now upon us! And in honour of that, I'm sprucing up the shop a bit! This week, I've re-introduced the 'Ring of the Month Club' and added the 'Studs of the Month Club'... No, that's not a fireman calendar (as my husband suspected) but an stud earrings of the month club! Enjoy... And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'The Little Happyshop'!

Giveaway with {The Little Happyshop}

I first came across 'The Little Happyshop' three years ago when I was looking for a first birthday card for Brennah... Since then, I check back often to see what Ruth is offering in her joyful little shop! For this week's giveaway, Ruth has offered $45 in Singapore dollars (that works out to nearly $35 US) to spend at 'The Little Happyshop'... There are so many whimsical and wonderful things to choose from... And just in time for holiday shopping! Head down the page to find out how to enter this beautiful giveaway!

{Shop}

{Blog}

Ruth has taken the time to answer a few questions:
What does a perfectly ordinary day in your life look like?
"Oh, I love ordinary days. My kids wake me up (they're early risers) and I get them ready for school -- Elliot's in kindergarten, Shanae's in pre-nursery. We walk to school, which is just a couple of minutes away from where we live. Then it's back home to sip on my latte and off to work! I reply emails, pack orders, and ooh-and-ahh at the new items on catalogues, and work out which are best to bring in for my store. I punch in figures, do some basic accounts for my gifts distribution company Happy Things. On a good day, I try to organise my physical inventory too for Happyshop, which is challenging b'cos I recently moved, and my home-office space's halved. I also work on a couple other things, like real estate, so I spend some time making calls and researching the market for my clients. Work consumes me till about mid-afternoon, when it's time to get the home ready for the family: house-cleaning and cooking! I walk the kids home sometimes; other times my husband picks them up en route home from work. Then it's playtime, dinner, cartoons, storytime and bedtime. I like to watch TV late into the night (Mondays and Tuesdays are my current favourites: CSI, Fringe, Mentalist; House re-runs all weekday midnights). If there isn't anything riveting on TV, I usually try get some more work done before calling it a day."

What time of year most inspires you?
"Christmas! Love love it. Creatively, there seems to be more inspiration everywhere: I love reading the magazines, adoring the fancy ads and commercials, and thinking up of fun things to do and daydreaming up my next pet project. On the family front, my husband's work is winding down (he's a teacher), and we spend more time with our kids outdoors: the zoo, the park, the beach ... I love the Christmas mood everywhere, and shopping gifts for the family. I get a lot more ideas for my work and my life, and feel recharged for the new year. Pity Christmas is just one day!"

What do you think of as comfort food?
"Ah without a doubt, all of my mom's cooking! She was a working mom, but she always made sure we had great tasty meals on the weekends and on special occasions. As a kid, I loved tagging along to the trips to the market and helping her cook in the kitchen. I have vivid memories of standing in a corner with all those bags of meat and stuff, waiting for her as she zipped quickly to the last stall to get the last thing on the list. I started asking from her recipes of my favourites after I got married eight years ago -- Asian dishes like stir-fried yellow noodles, stir-fried bee-hoon (rice noodle), claypot chicken rice, braised duck, popiah (a wrap filled with turnip, shrimp and other yummy stuff) and broiled chicken wings. The day my mother passed away (she had leukemia), I couldn't grapple with the fact that she was really gone, and I turned to cooking to remember her. For the two days, I cooked and brought my favourites to the funeral palour, to share a meal with my father. I choose to honor her this way because among others, this represented her love for me, and it's a way to relive the connection I have with her."

If you could hop on a plane, without giving one thought to your budget, where would you go?
"My first thought: Nagoya. It's the fourth-biggest city in Japan. I loved my trip to visit Shinzi Katoh sensei and his wonderful team last year, and wish my trip could have been longer! I basically zipped in and out of Nagoya in a hurry, cramped in as much as I could, but just simply didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked. I'd have loved to take time to sit at one of the pretty cafes that I saw in town, and maybe ask to view the nice garden at Shinzi Katoh's office, and spend some leisure time visiting the Nagoya Castle and museums and art galleries. I'll definitely bring my new Sony baby along this time and go snapping crazy at the sights and sounds. The food's great, weather's fine, and shopping is always rewarding. Just thinking about this makes me happy."

What are five things you would like to do in the next five years?
"Raise my children to be happy and confident people, expand my distribution business, play the violin again, start sewing again, and finally send my thousands of family photographs to be developed (printed) for my album collection."

This giveaway runs from November 1st to 7th at 7pm (EST)... The winner will be chosen and announced on Sunday, November 7th

1. Visit 'The Little Happyshop', look around and choose your favourite digital design from the shop... Come back here and leave a comment along with your email address, mentioning your favourite item...

2. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on your blog, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

3. For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

4. For an additional entry, link to this giveaway on Facebook, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

5. For even more entries, POST again (Blog, Twitter, Facebook) at any time later in the week, come back here and post an additional comment with the link and your email address...

* YOU MAY ENTER UP TO FIVE TIMES FOR FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!

In order to keep offering these fantastic giveaways, I need to get as many comments (and visits for the sponsors) as possible... Please help me spread the word so we can keep a good thing going!

The winner will be randomly chosen and posted HERE on the blog on Sunday, November 7th... Please check the blog on Saturday to see if YOU are the winner! Enjoy... Please help spread the word and a dear thank you again to Ruth of 'The Little Happyshop'!

{Mignonne Handmade} Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Mallory, the winner of last week's 'Mignonne Handmade' Giveaway! Thank you to Jenn for sharing her work with us!

And please stay tuned later tonight for a brand new giveaway (perfect for Holiday gift buying)!

Weekend Project {12 Layer Cake} Completed!!!

Last Friday, I posted about my plans to make a 12-Layer Cake for Leah's First Birthday Party... The cake was so much fun to make... And much to my surprise, everything went flawlessly... The 12-Layer Cake was an enormous hit! Perhaps I'll make it again!

Inside the cake!

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'

Leah's First Birthday Party {Part II}

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'

Leah's First Birthday Party {Part I}

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'

She's One!

On Sunday, our dear Leah turned one... I can hardly believe it... The day that Leah was born was one of the best days of my life... There is no way to put into words how much I love this little girl... Her smile could melt the hardest heart... Happy Birthday Leah... I thank the Lord daily for bringing you into our lives!

And please take the time to enter this week's giveaway with 'Mignonne Handmade'