Weekly Favourites

 1. pretty vintage tin plates

 2. cozy wool throw

3. adorable vintage holiday ornaments from Japan (I know it's too early, but I cannot help it)

4. super cute Fall decorating ideas. Toadstool pumpkins/gourds? Yes, please!

5. are we sensing a theme here? Out of all the holidays we celebrate, I have to admit that Halloween is probably my least favourite. This year I'm actually excited about it for the first time since I was a child. I finally convinced Jer to do a matching costume thing and we're having some friends over for a viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. We're retiring Lola's hotdog costume in favour of a Snoopy one.

6. cute vintage Fall coat.

7. Loving this Fall gourd garland and wishing I had a wooden fence to string it from.

 8.Still giggling over the hilarious Westie races from the Westie Walk. I cannot wait until Corrie gets the slideshow up.

 





















9. Colourful fall leaves.

10. Bright and cheerful vintage Pyrex fridgies. I have started three new 'rainbow fridgie' sets for a few friends.


sources: 1. oldetymenotions; 2. pinkshirtsncarwrecks; 3. rswvintage; 4. Martha Stewart; 5. paper piggy; 6. my soft parade; 7. Martha Stewart; 8. Westies in Need; 10. pinterest, although I think this may be one of Jeni's pictures. Please let me know if you find the original owner of the photo so I can give them proper credit.

On Infertility

I have wanted to share a little about this topic for a while now, but I never know where to start. I've hinted here and there, but never really shared our story. When I think about it I am just overwhelmed with everything we've been through so far, and to be honest, I feel a little vulnerable putting it out there even though it's mostly friends and family who read this blog. There's just so much. I figure the basics are a good place to start. Six years ago we knew something was wrong, one year ago we started fertility treatments, four months ago we switched specialists after we found out our first had neglected to run the most basic of tests and lied about our test results, and in a few days we will start our first IVF cycle.

Our issues are not completely clear, but are a mix of PCOS and extremely low Anti-Mullerian Hormone, or AMH, levels (basically my ovaries think they are 48 years old instead of 28) - which is a very strange combination (normally women with PCOS have AMH levels that are off the charts) - and although Jer has what our doctors like to call "Superman sperm", they may have a bit of trouble penetrating an egg. When we do IVF we are doing something called ICSI, where one sperm is injected directly into an egg.

So far there have been a lot of procedures, a lot of tests, a lot of needles, a lot of heartache, and a lot of judgement - often with good intentions. We have been through six Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) cycles. Three using a medication called Femara, and three using injectible medications. Although we've had a "perfect cycle" each time, neither protocol has worked.

Not everything has been negative. It sounds strange saying that, but I think we would be lost without trying to find the good in a bad situation. During a time where it would be easy to fall apart, our relationship has only grown stronger. We have learned so much, although I do think we have learned all we can and can this just please work already! I have met an amazing group of ladies in an infertility support group, and sharing our stories and lending support has helped keep me grounded. Although I hate that they are going through something similar, it has been such a blessing to have a group of women who really get it. We also have hope. As hard as it is after a year of disappointments, and previous struggles and losses, we do have hope that this will still work and we will be parents.

I also found ways to channel the pain and discomfort into something beautiful - wedding planning (think of all those little flowers) and I began hand sewing a hexagon quilt during one especially painful cycle. I discovered working with my hands was a good distraction.

I will share more about our journey, in more detail in future posts. I'm thinking of a 'what not to say' kind of post next.

Cottaging

Jer and I have been trying to get up North to my cousin's cottage all summer, but it just hasn't worked out. I've been without him, but we wanted to go together. At the last minute, this weekend just happened to work out so on Friday evening Jer, myself, and my cousin Annette piled into our car and headed up. It was cold and rainy, and we were concerned about our packing jobs which were all light on the sweaters and warm socks, but once we got out of the city the skies cleared up and we were surrounded by a dark, star spotted blanket. I know it's enough to make some people cringe, but I love driving down a dark, deserted highway at night. The Sunday late night commute under the stars was one of my favourite parts of my year in Peterborough for this very reason.

We pulled up to the cottage just before 10 and were greeted by a pair of deer outside the front door. We turned off our lights and waited until they fled into the forest behind the neighbour's. After unpacking the car, we started up the fireplace, made some hot chocolate, put on a movie, and cuddled up for the night.

Saturday was cold, but beautiful. After relaxing a while, Annette set herself up with hours of homework and Jer and I went into town to get out of her way. I was excited to see the earliest of the changing leaves (have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Fall?). We followed the signs for an advertised Fall Fair, which took us on a long and confusing journey which ended with a tiny parking lot carnival with an $8 fee to park. We decided to skip it in favour of a walk by a river, some antiquing, and lunch at a local restaurant.

Sunday morning Annette was back at her pile of homework and Jer situated himself with a book on the deck. I decided to go exploring. Even though I know the area well, there are always new places to see. Down a side road I found a wooded trail, so I texted Jer to let him know where I was and spent an hour or so wandering around (and even spotted a deer!) before I let the story of a neighbour's recent bear sighting scare me into leaving. We've never known there to be bears in the area, but this neighbour feeds the deer (even though it's frowned upon) and found a bear at her 'feeding station' one morning.

 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, collecting some acorns for crafting, and cleaning before heading back to the city for a family dinner to celebrate the Jewish new year (we are a culturally diverse family!), a recent retirement, and an even more recent engagement. I'm so glad we were able to get away this weekend. It was the perfect break from the city.

(the Pyrex was an antique shop find from Saturday)

Some views from previous cottage trips can be seen here and here.

Vintage Sheet Quilt

You got a sneak peek of this project in my last post.

A while back I received several vintage sheet fat quarters from a friend. I had intended to start an Oh My Stars quilt using them, but I kept putting it off because I knew it would be a big project and I have several of those on the go already. A few days ago I was craving and quick and simple project, so I decided to dip into that stack.

Using a queen sized vintage flat sheet as a backing and a thin cotton batting in the middle, I made an easy patchwork quilt. It's the perfect weight for warm nights, and is just thin enough that it's easy to roll up and take along for picnics.

I only used 20 squares total for the quilt top. To keep things simple, I didn't use any binding. I just stitched wrong sides together with the lining on top, flipped it right side out, and closed up the hole with an invisible stitch (or blind stitch). I also didn't do any actual quilting. I tied pieces of yarn through the layers at each corner to help keep things together. In total it took about three hours from start to finish. Cutting and laying everything out was what took the most time.

I'm still planning on making an Oh My Stars quilt, but it may have to wait a while longer.

We got to test this quilt out this past weekend at the Westie Walk, and we just loved it! It was the perfect size for everyone to sit on during our picnic (my parents come to the walk with us so they can participate in all the events with Lola while I'm running around and snapping pictures) and the perfect size for two to lay down on and stare up at the clouds. Well, if everyone is willing to share that is!

Lola also approves, which probably means this will be another quilt claimed by her and Charlie.

Aside from the fat quarters I had, the rest were cut from vintage sheets found at thrift shops. If you have trouble finding the perfect sheets, there are many options on Etsy. I sell full sheets in my shop, which work great if you want to keep to a few patterns. For fat quarters, my favourites are thought and found, vintage sheet variety, ironsea, and happy notions. If you do a search, there are many more shops with beautiful sheets to be found.

Even though the weather is shifting, I'm hoping we can get several more picnics using this quilt in before the end of the season!

The Westie Walk

Ever since we got our little Westie, Lola, we have been attending the Toronto Westie Walk each Fall. This was our fifth year at the walk, and my third year volunteering to take photos. The first walk was held many years ago with just 7 dogs in attendance. This year it has grown to 320 Westies! It has become one of our yearly traditions that we look forward to every September. Jer and I are hoping that next year we will be able to begin sharing this tradition with a little one of our own.

The walk itself is a short trip around the park and down the road where passers by stop and stare at all these white dogs walking by. Dogs and families make their way around the park in many different ways.

After the walk there is the Parade of Rescues to honour all the special rescued dogs (many of them from Westies in Need, the organization who puts on the Westie Walk), and then lots of fun and games, including our favourite - the Westie Races.

This last one was Lola's race. She's second from the left.

During the raffle there is always time to relax and admire the tiny ones. There are prizes for the oldest and youngest Westies in attendance, the family that travelled the furthest, and those who raised the most money..this is the resuce's main fundraiser after all!

I don't remember Lola ever being this tiny!

After a long day, families begin heading out, however they arrived..

After thanking Corrie (the wonderful lady who runs the rescue and does all the planning for the walk) for a wonderful day, we always lay out a blanket and have a picnic lunch, enjoying the early fall weather, before we leave.

At the Thrifts

 



Meet Diane..

 

She's the newest member of our little family. Her name comes from her brand, Diana. I already have a Diana in my life, so Diane it is. She was a lucky thrift store find from earlier this week. I had been searching Craigslist and Kijiji for a dress form as I was having trouble finding models for my vintage dresses, and displaying on hangers just isn't the same. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in a price range I was comfortable with, so I held off and it's good I did. She didn't have a stand, so I set her on an old ash tray table that belonged to my grandmother. It's too short, but it does the job. She's currently standing in our dining room, wearing that shiny turquoise dress from the first photo.

 

A dress form makes such a difference..

 

You can see more of her work in my shop. Now I just need a solution for dresses smaller than an 8.

There have been lots of dresses, linens, and vintage goodies, meaning lots of mending, button sewing, and touch-ups for me. There have been a couple huge shop updates, along with some collaboration work with a friend on a new look. Hopefully I'll be able to share that soon.

There have been lots of great finds lately. I'm so glad since Fall and the start of the school year will mean a lot less trips, and a lot less time spent with my favourite thrifting partner - my mom. She picked out my first piece of thrifted Pyrex in a long while, a red Hostess dish. It's in perfect shape aside from a couple chips in the paint, which I rarely see with those red pieces. Speaking of Pyrex, I have discovered the wonders of Bar Keeper's Friend, but that is a topic for another post!