SLEEP!

I have never felt so consistently tired in MY LIFE than I have in the past week.

Ivy has decided to completely abandon her well established and amazing sleep routine of sleeping 5-7 hours straight each night (for a few months it was even 8 straight hours). For the past two weeks or so she has been waking up EVERY HOUR!!!

I haven't made a post for days because my brain has been sleeping while my body has been walking around like a zombie.  My limbs hurt, and so do the back of my eyes.  

But she always wakes up with a huge smile, and then beams all day long.  Oh Ivy....

I put up some new listings today...

Boys collarless denim shirt
4-5T

Red and white gingham dress
1-2T

Handmade royal blue cardigan sweater with plaid buttons
6-12 months

80s swimsuit
12-24 months

body politics: pregnancy weight gain and postpartum recovery

Hi friends,

Tomorrow Ivy will be 7 months old! Yeah Ivy!

Ivy modelling this psychedelic romper this morning

Ivy modelling this corduroy romper

It was a slow journey, but my body is starting to feel like it's back to normal...  I'm about the same weight, all my pre-pregnancy clothes fit and I no longer feel like my internal organs are floating randomly around in my torso. They are back to their original locations. 

However, I am surprised at how little I basked in the glory of being able to do up my jeans again after months of pure leggings wearing, at how quickly my internal dialogue reverted right back to my pre-pregnancy mindset of wanting to just lose 5 pounds.  Arghh!  I spent what felt like 5 minutes feeling relieved and excited that my body was returning to normal before I went right back to being dissatisfied. 

Despite gaining more than the recommended weight during my pregnancy, I was able to resist the pressure from others to obsess over my weight gain. I felt great and I loved my pregnant body. During my pregnancy and after Ivy was born I would look at photos of my pre-pregnancy self and curse myself for not appreciating my body. I swore to myself that I would not let my self-image get so distorted again. 

I thought maybe I had turned a corner in my life and was over the whole body hate thing. 

me at 35 weeks

38 weeks preggo

38 weeks preggo

And of course, I have no photos of myself. I have no time, or interest, in taking photos of myself when Ivy's around. 

bye for now...

Some nice songs and new listings.

I am sitting in my dark house, working on getting some new listings up in my shop with iTunes on shuffle and Wilco's On and On and On came on... and I remembered this amazing video made by high school students I saw back in the summer that uses a mix of old family videos and hand drawn animation. I think it's beautiful. 

Then Cass McCombs song County Line came on. I'm a total sucker for that sad, nostalgic, rhythm. 

Oh yeah, and I put up some new pieces up on my shop today.

Pink frilly and floral romper with little bows on the pockets.
0-4 months

Another pink romper, with a cute/weird print
6-12 months

Minty green hand crocheted sweater with hood
0-3 months

Knit overalls with embroidered duck riding a scooter
6-12 months

Weirdo pot holders

Bye for now

Dino sweater, sailor outfit and more... another shop update

neon dino sweater
2-3 years

little Oshkosh puffy short overalls
3-6 months

you may remember this pic.  Ivy's crazy surprise face.

handmade red sweater with white hearts
2-3 years

Sailor outfit
3-6 months

I (heart) hearts

Phew!  The babe is finally napping. We're both tired after a sleepless night. Ivy was sleeping in our bed, tossing and turning... (well, not exactly turning as she isn't flipping over yet) Every time I opened my eyes she was wide awake staring at me.

What was I thinking with this crazy outfit? At least the plum stains on her pants match her onesie.


Today I found two handmade beauties today, this cute little sweater and this little summer shirt:

These finds inspired me to make my first treasury list on Etsy, called I (heart) Hearts. Here are some of the pieces I included. I would wear all of these things if they came in adult sizes... especially the puffy sleeved 80s/early 90s sweaters. Come to think of it, I had a white unicorn and heart puffy sleeved sweater in my adult years...

From Funkoma Vintage

From Little Wooden Hangers

From Sweetshop Vintage

From Gnarly Numeggers

from Beehive Babies

From Pirates B00ty

Call Me Anytime vintage shop

Bye for now...

Planning a new LazerBaby photo shoot + The Milk truck is in T.O!

Boy, is taking photos of my vintage collection to put up on Etsy turning out to be a big job.  The photos I took a few days ago were just taken with a few muslin Aden and Anais blankets covering my bed. I'm happy with the shots of Ivy, but not so happy with the photos of the clothing laying flat, alone in the frame, especially when the piece of clothing is light in colour.

This morning I visited a park nearby that has very 70s playground equipment to take a few test photos. It was soooo windy, grey and chilly out, and of course, Ivy woke up from a stroller-nap as soon as I started shooting, so I only took a few photos and was rushing.  Not sure which ones I like better. I think the ones I took today would have turned out better if there was more sunlight.

I picked up this blue wool vest, along with some other awesome pieces, yesterday afternoon. I can't wait to show you what I've found!

I'm hoping to get to Mercer Union this afternoon to see the Milk Truck, part of the New Maternalisms show at FADO Performance Art Centre.  Go here for more info. The truck is in Toronto tomorrow as well. 

And then we're off to a family slumber party at my mother-law's place, with my bro and sis-in-law and their partners. Ping-pong and cesears!! WOOHOO!!!

Happy Saturday!

Black is the new pink...

I love seeing babies, especially girls, wearing black.

Ivy wearing a black and white polka dot bandana from Funky Giraffe Bibs UK. Her black and white striped leggings are from the Gap and were found at the Cowanation street sale in Parkdale (Sat. May 28th! Hells yeah) .

Ivy in a black shirt, looking like a Russian mobster, in her passport photo.

I came across Montreal clothing designer Yana Gorbulsky's creations on Etsy this morning.  I love her consistant use of black in her designs and in the styling of the shots of her clothing. And who can resist that foxy print?

(All of the following images are from Yana Gorbulsky's Etsy Store)

Bye for now...

P.S. thanks to all who gave me "silver fox" love and encouragement....