Custom Songs!

Here's Laura, the mastermind behind Custom Songs!

As promised, I am now going to give you the opportunity to hear the awesome song I had comissioned for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. As a preface, I'd like to say that he is a Classic Rock, Epic Journey kind of guy (so you've been forewarned )...just click here! to listen in on the fun.

Pretty in Hot Pink

The Milkman's Daughter got a little brighter with a fresh, vibrant new colour for spring--and it happened on Valentine's Day! From pink to REALLY pink...

Makes for a pretty backdrop.

Another new addition to the shop is this fabulous 'BarnYard' coffee table by local artist Tim Hoey. Awesome :)

Ah, Spring! It's here, right?!

Valentine's Day

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade... When you can't find the Valentine's Day cards you want... you make your own.

I was thinking about elementary school--grade 2 to be specific. I was in Mrs. Gamache's class. We would prepare for Valentine's Day by decorating small paper bags from the grocery store and hanging them on our desks. Then all at once we would all get up run around franticly delivering our drugstore-bought valentines to our friends. After the chaos of thirty kids flying around, we would relax and eat special treats, like rice crispies covered in chocolate, while reading our valentines. It was a special way to show your friends you cared about them, and it felt really good to know your friends cared about you, too.

I decided I want to feel like a kid again, so I made some special cards for some special friends that represented our age now...and the spirit of being 7 years old.

Valentines Day Breakfast

I like to put my boyfriend's initials on his plate whenever I use hot sauce as a side. Silly I know, but it's the little things that count, right?! So, I was happy when I came across the photo below showing someone else using condiments to spruce up a plate. This idea comes by way of the blog Cute Food For Kids. Not a site I (with no children in my life) would normally peruse, but it has come to my attention a few times via other blogs, and each time I smile and think "Yeah! Cute food is fun for all ages!"

Here's their idea for a sweet Valentine's Day breakfast.

Vancouver Shop: February Window

I collect heart rocks.

I admit it. I find them cute and fascinating, and I see them everywhere. I used to keep them as worry stones - you know, the ones you keep in your pocket to rub when you feel tense. It was reassuring to find that cold heart-shape in my pocket and rub it until it, and my demeanor, became warm.

I was surprised to find that Nicaragua was the motherland of heart rocks. I don't think you'll find it described as that in any guide books, but the place is covered in heart-shaped rocks, and things (I'll have to post the photos I took of cracks and mildew and peeling paint that I saw forming heart shapes). I came up with the idea for the February window while picking up rocks on Maderas Beach near San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua.

The Main Street shop window now prominently displays a portion of my collection for VD, you know that day when restaurants are overbooked, dinners and roses are over-priced, ill fitting lingerie becomes a respectable gift, and people attempt to express their feelings for their significant others. I have to admit to wavering between being repulsed by the Hallmark holiday, and looking forward to the knowledge that people will take time out to express their appreciation for their partners and bask in the knowledge that they too are loved. In the spirit of the sweetness of Valentines Day, here's the window display (complete with Anatomical Heart Duvet!):