Fancy Five.. Wedding Inspired.

Today's Fancy Five in inspired by the Royal Wedding, and all the beautiful details that go along with weddings.  Did you stay up to watch it? I slept through the first part, but went to my mom's just before 6 to catch up on all the Royal details. :) A lot of people are tired of all "the fuss" but hello! It's a big day for them, and I love that we get to witness it. Here's five fancy wedding details...

1. Fascinators.

I sort of want to go to a wedding in England just so I can wear a fancy fascinator. Here are some really pretty ones from Love,Charlie.

2. Feathers.
I can't wait to see all the feather accents in Elsie & Jeremy's wedding in a few weeks! I love the vintage feather birds she posted today.

3. Lace sleeves.
My favorite part of Kate's dress was the Chantilly Lace sleeves.  This top from Free People is a casual way to wear lacy arms. Fancy!

4. Kate Middleton's Dress!

Fashion people all over the world are oohing and aaahing over the Sarah Burton for House of McQueen gown that she wore today, and I couldn't agree more that it was STUNNING.  The neckline is so pretty, and every detail of this dress is gorgeous. (side note: Pippa's gown was equally stunning with all the fabric buttons down the back, don't you think?)

5. Deco Drop earrings by Stella & Dot.

Inspired by Kate's pretty drop earrings, I wore my Deco Drops today.   

Have a fancy weekend!
xo holly

little love.

These two sweeties make my day so bright.  I love seeing them grow up alongside each other. My hope for them is that they will be close siblings and cherish their brother/sister relationship. :)
I just had to share this sweet photo.

Be back with my latest Fancy Five!
xo holly

Trend: Feather Extensions

(source)

They're popping up everywhere, and I don't think feather extensions are just for teens or Steven Tyler. ;)  I noticed quite a few ladies with feathers in their 'do at the Walk yesterday, and I must say... I think they're so pretty!!  Of course, in moderation.  The ladies I saw yesterday had natural hair colors, with a few of the grizzly feathers poking through their layers, or showing on the sides of an up-style. I love the unexpected texture in the hair!  It adds whimsy, and I can't wait to try them for myself.

Feather extensions can be treated as your own hair, and shampooed, curled, flat ironed (up to 450*), and last up to 3 months in the hair if well taken care of.  I don't think I like the fashion colored ones as much, but the natural ones are fantastic, and I hope some grads or brides try them at the salon this summer!  

Walk for Water 2011

The Walk for Water was a success, and I loved being a part of it! Winnipeg had such a large group... over 200 stylists/estheticians & salon staff!! Go Winnipeg!  6kms didn't feel nearly as long as I thought it would, the weather was perfect, and I felt refreshed!

*Interesting fact: Aveda has donated around $18 million to causes such as WaterCan in the past 5 years!! I love being part of such a caring network of people in the beauty industry. :)
Click here to watch MTV News highlighting the Walk (Clip #5 for April 27)

Off to bed... thanks for reading.
xo holly

Walking!

Tomorrow is the Walk for Water in Winnipeg! I'm really excited to go with Veronica (Salon Manager), and walk 6 kms to raise awareness for this cause for Earth Month! I'm so passionate about Aveda and what they do.  Read more about the walk here.

I'm a bit nervous about the walk, because it's a long distance (actually, it's the average distance a woman has to walk to get clean water in some parts of Africa), and I have a AVM(arteriovascular malformation, or intramuscular hemangioma) in my left leg & foot which causes me A LOT of pain on a daily basis (long story!).  I never run, and usually avoid any distance walking.... so why am I doing this, you ask?? Because I want to. :P A little Advil goes a long way, and I'm super excited to be a part of it.  I get to meet the CEO of Collega (Aveda Canada) and I'll tweet about the morning, so you can follow me here. :)

Easter Weekend Recap

I had a great long weekend! Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  

>> On Friday, we slept in, and did a bit of spring cleaning/organizing.  In the afternoon, I took Simon to the movies and we saw Rio. It was a fun mother/son time.  I've got the Rio soundtrack now, and Simon loves to dance to all of the songs, and sing along.  In the evening, my in-laws had us over for dinner to celebrate Easter and my birthday.  My Mother-in-law had me choose the menu so I picked my favorite: Cedar Plank Salmon and roasted vegetables with coffee flavored creme brulee!  We ended the evening with Yahtzee. :) Delilah wore her peacock blue velvet dress for the occasion. My MIL found a photo of her in the 60's wearing a dress made from the same fabric!

>> Saturday was full of work and a family gathering.

>> Sunday was my birthday! Ryan took the family out for lunch, and everyone enjoyed an afternoon nap while I made a big cup of french press Tribute blend and relaxed.  We head to the country for the evening for another Easter gathering.  We listened to stories and looked at photos from my uncle's trip to Vietnam, and had carrot birthday cake. :)

>> I extended the weekend and took today off.  It was a beautiful day, so I packed up the kids in the Croozer and we walked to a local drive-in for lunch with Stephanie.  I'm making dinner before Ryan heads to ground school and I'm having friends over for coffee tonight.

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes! xo holly

ps: I should really stop using my retrocam app on my phone and take some REAL photos one of these days... I'm thinking my new JoTotes camera bag (Thanks Dad!!) will motivate me to take out my slr more....

Cream Cookie Bunnies!

I didn't have a lot of time to make Easter treats this year, but last night around 11pm I got the urge to bake some of Ryan's favorite cookies.  I had picked up a bunny cookie cutter the last time I was at the grocery store, so I had to put it to good use. :)   Instead of "flooding" the cookies with a smoother royal icing, I chose to frost them with a fluffy lemon buttercream.  This made it hard to stencil, or add any detail, but I like the simplicity of these cookies. Sometimes a little colored sugar goes a long way. 

The recipe (from my Aunt Bev):

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups cream (35%)

1/2 tsp vanilla

5 cups flour

5 tsp baking powder

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Then add the eggs, and mix until well combined.  Add the cream and vanilla, and mix again.  In a large bowl, whisk the 5 cups flour with the 5 tsp baking powder.  Add half of the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix.  Then add the remaining half of flour mixture and mix until well combined.  Chill the dough for about an hour (this makes rolling it out so much easier!)  

After the dough is chilled, flour a work space, your hands, and a rolling pin.  Knead the dough just a bit and make ball, then roll it out to 1/2 inch thickness (or 3/4 inch if you like thicker cookies).  Cut out the shape and bake on an un-greased cookie sheet for 8-9 minutes at 350 degrees F. 

You can ice these with whatever frosting you fancy, but here is my reeeeally yummy buttercream:

1/4 cup room temp butter

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup cream

1/2 tsp pure lemon extract

Mix well, and frost the cookies once they've cooled completely.  Sprinkle with yellow sugar, and ENJOY!

Soft and pillowy, and a favorite in our household! I hope you can enjoy them too. xo holly

Happy Easter!

[source]

Happy Easter to you! I hope you're enjoying a fabulous Easter weekend! I'm 24 today, and the first thing I did as a 24 year old was bake bunny cookies. :)  I love Easter, and it's especially special this year to share my birthday with Easter.  The day we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, and celebrate our gift of salvation... the best birthday gift!

I also love all the cuteness of Easter traditions like dying eggs, egg hunts, baking, chocolate, and special dresses. Once the kids are older, I want to have a traditional annual Easter egg hunt. What's your favorite Easter tradition/treat?

Much love, and thanks for reading! Happy Sunday!

Weekend Recap & Walk for Water

Another great weekend. Friday evening was spent with family, and we had bbq supper despite the snow falling.  Snowy days make me want to drink tea, so it was the perfect excuse to use my Hidden Animal tea cup! It's my new favorite.

Saturday was really busy... I worked at the salon in the morning, and then drove to an out of town fundraiser that the salon was participating in.  It was our first booth that we ever set up for the salon, and it was a good learning experience.  I enjoyed the drive to and from, for quiet time alone to think, and to admire the fields of wind turbines. Saturday evening was live Supercross, and I enjoy watching that with Ryan.

Sunday we slept in, and then drove to the city to celebrate my Grandpa's 85th birthday! He's so awesome. The family enjoyed good food and took turns sharing memories we have about times with our Dad/Grandpa.  Everyone there hadn't seen my kids in a long time, so it was really nice to visit.  Simon was gifted a Spiderman action figure that used to belong to my cousin, and he was SO pumped. (cute!)

While we were in the city, I dropped into Danier again to pick up that pouch purse that I had my eye on! I was happy they still had it. :) Getting a new bag feels great! The previous one has since been filed under "G".. ;)

>>>

I wanted to take a sec to talk about Earth Month, and how I'm taking part.  Our salon is an Aveda salon, and every year Aveda supports WaterCan, to "give water - give life" by creating access to clean water in suffering parts of Africa! They say that for every $25 raised, that's enough to provide clean water access for 1 person for LIFE! Pretty amazing.  So I have been raising money (through raffles/prizes at the salon, and taking pledges online) and wanted to give you a chance to help this amazing organization.  If you click here, you can see the Walk for Water site, scroll down and click Donate, and look up my name to pledge me for the Walk. :)  We're walking 6km on April 27th.  (6km is the average distance a person walks for clean water in some parts of Africa).  This is my first Walk for Water, and I'm really looking forward to taking part. :) xo holly

Are you doing anything for Earth Month? 

Julian Louie for ALDO

My lovely sister Lauren brought it to my attention that the shoes from the photo of the orange Moroccan bag below (from 5 inch and up), are from ALDO! I was surprised because she's a European blogger, and most of the items aren't from around here, let alone at the mall where Lauren works!

Lauren, I'll buy you the Deanna pair, if you buy me the Sobeslava pair. Promise! Deal?

SO pretty. Read more about the fabulous collaboration here.

xo holly

Fancy Five..

Here's another five things I fancy this week...

1. Chevron Silhouette Plate from Aedriel Originals Etsy

2. This knit Missoni inspired blanket. [by Kelly Kingston via Hey!JenRenee]

3. Drawstring Pouch Purse from Danier. I saw this bag when I got my leather jacket on the weekend, and I fell in love with it! I may just have to go back there to pick it up.  I am in the market for a new bag anyways.  Speaking of beautiful hand bags....

4. These GORGEOUS Moroccan bags have my heart! [photos from 5 inch and up - via B.JonesStyle] By the way, 5inchandup is a new favorite blog... there's some seriously inspiring fashion and photos there. love.

5. New E-Courses over at Red Velvet! You won't want to miss Rachel's "Style Your Space" e-course if you love Rachel's decor and her ability to do it on a budget.  The Dream Job e-course is perfect for anyone interested in starting a creative business, or anyone who wants to learn a thing or two (or more!) from the amazing sister team that is Elsie & Emma!

>>>

I've managed to come down with a cold... (bummer) so I treated myself to a latte from Jonny's Java (BEST lattes I've ever had) and that made the day a bit brighter. ;)  I had a great day at the salon though. I went through some serious foil, but had so much fun creating beautiful hilighted do's. 

Simon is getting his first fillings done at the dentist tomorrow, and he's SO excited. It's really cute.  He chose to get blue fillings, and he can't wait to go (and get a new toothbrush!)... funny guy.  I hope he still loves the dentist after his appointment!

In other news; my Delilah is on the move! She can crawl! It's so fun watching her get more and more mobile each day. 

Happy Thursday. xo holly

[Weekend Recap]

[my favorite Gelati from GG's on Corydon Ave, WPG]

My favorite flavors are Pistachio + Tiramisu

I love weekends. Nothing makes me happier than spending time with family.  On Friday we had supper at Ryan's parents house.  We usually do on Fridays. I like having routines. Thursdays are at my Mom's, and Friday's at the in-laws, it's pretty awesome.  Simon LOVES going there, and asks to play with games. We're teaching him chess, ha!  Saturday I worked at the salon, and made a few new clients as well! Saturdays at the salon are always super busy, and everyone is flying around and it's a great atmosphere. Feels good to have those days. :)  Saturday evening Jenna & I went to a Cancer Fundraiser/Social and were eeeeasily the 2 youngest gals there. :P It was still a lot of fun, and I got to dance to some live rock music (Summer of '69! lol) ....in my vintage heels! Probably not the greatest idea, but oh well.

Sunday we took a trip to the city for shopping and a visit with my Dad.  I think Simon's favorite phrase in the world is "We're going to see Grandpa McKenna today!"
We took a different route than usual, just to peek at the rising flood waters.  When we got to the city, our first stop was Urban Barn because their area rugs were on sale, and they had a Turkish rug with my name on it.  Before we got there, I got a surprise early birthday present!! Ryan bought me my first leather jacket, (the jacket I was wearing was falling apart at the seams, literally, lol) and I love it soooo much. I didn't think leather was my thing... until I tried it on. *love*  I feel kinda biker chic, and I'm ok with that. ;) It was so fun to try on all the different styles.
After Urban Barn, we went to my Dad's place, I gave him a haircut, and we had a typical Canadian casual supper out... Tim Horton's! Ryan & I grabbed gelati for the way home (we have "car dates" when it's inconvenient to bring the kiddos inside places, hehe) and both littles snored the whole 90 minute ride home.

I hope you had a lovely weekend, too. :)
xo holly

[Fashion] - Aritzia s/s faves.

[Zev Sweater]

[Kiki Color Block Shirt]

[Le Fou Dress by Wilfred]

[Dauphine Jacket]

These are my favorite pieces from Aritzia's Runway looks for Spring/Summer.  That horse sweater is adorable, and I've never really loved horses! (riding them at least, but I still think they're gorgeous) These looks are pretty casual, and something I would wear any day this season. 

It's raining here today, and rainy days are my favorite. Time to get stuff done, and make a pot of tea. :)

Happy Friday! xo holly

Music Love- Oh Land

My ears delight in the lovely sound that is "Oh Land". Her flowy top is almost as beautiful as the song is. *swoon*
<3<3


I think Nanna's got fantastic style.

I love finding new music that I love.  Have you been listening to anything new and lovely lately??
xo holly

The good stuff.

This is a wooden plaque that I had in my bedroom as a little girl.  My Mom would say this prayer with me before bed every night.  I have it for Delilah's room now, just waiting to put it up.  When I had kids, I hoped that they would enjoy bedtime prayers as much as I did, so I have just recently started saying this Prayer For a Little 'Girl'(or Boy of course) with Simon at bedtime.  I have probably said it maybe 10 days now.  He always just listens, with the occasional "Amen" after I finish.

Last night, Simon did the most unexpected, and sweetest thing.  After the daily story-time, he cut me off and said "No Mommy, I want to pray." So I just closed my eyes, and let him say whatever he wanted to pray, and to my DELIGHT, he recited the Prayer for a Little 'Girl' WORD FOR WORD.  I tried to keep my eyes closed and not let him see my dropped jaw.  It gave me goosebumps to hear my little 3 year old saying the prayer that I said everyday.  I guess I just thought it would take more time before he would say it on his own (read it, it's long! lol) Mama was proud.

That's the good stuff.
xo

Delilah Fawn - 11 months (almost)

Delilah will be 11 months old next week! I can't believe how fast this past year has gone. It has literally flown by.  She's got 6 teeth now, and is slowly making progress with crawling.  She doesn't like to stand or use her legs, and is perfectly content to sit and play for long periods of time. 

Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, and apple sauce, and she loves to groove to any kind of music... it's the cutest!

She's also gotten very good at clapping.  She's my little doll, and I love bringing her everywhere.  She's not always super fast to show a smile, but her personality is showing through more and more each day.

We love her more and more everyday, and I'm starting to plan her birthday party for Mother's Day weekend.  I'm thinking blabla dolls, cake pops, and lots of pretty buntings are in order for my special Fawn. :)

We're having a chill Sunday (my favorite kind), just hanging out and playing with the kids. Here's a photo of my boys.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! We're watching The Tourist tonight for movie night.
*Delilah wears: Vintage dress from 3ringcircus