weekend pics

the highlight of the weekend was spending time with the phillips family.  i have posted about them here and here.  stefan cooked up a delicious meal that included roasted ham, hand-made gnocchi, and roasted veggies.  dessert, made by our friend's daughter, aadishri, was an orange infused chocolate torte.  i am not usually a fan of chocolate but this torte was just right.  i indulged in another slice while doing the washing up once the phillips left and my boys were asleep.

my entertaining cutlery

 

stefan and kai had fun playing with hot wheel tracks (under jude's supervision). for christmas i bought them a car building kit and being the car enthusiasts that they are it was a fun activity for them - kai wants to be a car designer when he grows up!

 

the cats hanging out

on sunday, while kai was snowboarding, i was yoga-ing and window shopping.  it was a very rainy day on sunday which didn't make snowshoeing very appealing.  hot yoga was the perfect remedy for such a wet and grey day.  afterwards i went shopping.  i visited edgemont village which is located at the base of grouse mountain. because i am usually on the mountain with kai i never seem to make the time to visit this quaint neighbourhood.  i had a lovely stroll with a chai latte in hand.  one of the shops i wanted to visit, tartooful, was closed.  i bought an awesome side table from them a few years ago and hoped to find some cool stuff for kai's bedroom makeover. here are some of products they carry in their shop that could have followed me home:

blankets for the home

art for kai's room

a springtime pendant for me

dollars and sense

allowance was something i used to be opposed to.  i believe that children should do chores around the house just the same as adults without the promise of getting monies for it.  growing up i was expected to wash dishes, tidy and clean house every saturday, etc. without ever getting a penny for doing so.  so when kai brought up the subject of getting an allowance (how did he even know about the subject!), i immediately said 'no way'.  but i have since changed my mind after doing some research on the subject. 

i wanted to know if it was possible to separate monies from basic expectations of contributing as a family member.  i have a smart boy and i wouldn't put it past him to, for example, decline clearing the table because he didn't want his monies that week.... uh, i don't think so, you clear the table because it's the polite thing to do when you part of a family.  right? 

the main benefit of an allowance is raising financially literate children.  children who are savvy with their monies and know how to save, share, and spend.  kai, for the most part, already has some understanding of this.  i have always talked to kai about monies.  like the 'sex talk', i am not shy about letting kai know about the family finances (he knew all about the uterus, egg, and sperm when he was three!). 

save - i opened a bank account for kai a couple of years ago so he could deposit his birthday and xmas monies.  he loves watching his account balance grow.

share - when kai was littler he had a piggy bank he used for pennies.  when a friend's charity - hands up for africa - was collecting pennies for their annual event a few years ago, kai agreed to give all his pennies.  at his toonie birthday party last year, he donated half the monies to unicef's school program.  he started a 'papa's bad word' jar and once it was full he donated half the monies to the spca.  he has another such jar on the go (it's for a good cause and the bad words aren't really all that bad, really).

spend - when kai wants a toy i ask him if he is willing to use his money to make the purchase.  most of the time he will say no. if he does want to use his own money (and the purchase is reasonable) i will take him to the atm to make his withdrawal (if i pay for him, i take him afterwards so he can pay me back).  also, when we grocery shop and he wants something, i will always talk to him about it, 'yes, i think we can spend the extra $5 for that purchase'  or 'not today, we will have a big grocery bill this time'. it works well.


what actually sold me on trying this allowance thing out was when i read that it would provide structure and consistency in children's exposure to money.  i really like this idea.  practice makes perfect, yes?

so how do i give an allowance without tying it to chores?  kai and i came up with the idea of $8 for extra awesomeness.   kai receives $8 a week when he goes above and beyond the basic expectations i.e. getting ready for school without distractions, taking extra care of his things, putting his clothes away in the hamper or hanging them up (i don't want to find his underwear under the bed anymore).  when there has been little or no display of awesomeness during the week it will effect the amount of his allowance.

we also spoke about allowance expectations.  kai is aware that he will use some of his money to save for a rainy day (or university fund), to give to charity, and to spend.  we picked up the perfect 'piggy bank' (although i wish it were see through). we will keep a log so kai can tally his earnings.  we plan to start next week, i will keep you updated!

have a great weekend, spend wisely!

jello pops

kai didn't recover from his fever and croup as quickly as usual.  instead, he stayed home from school for a few days.  today is his first day back.  while at home kai slept alot, we played some card games, watched movies (the bee movie was our favourite), read books, attempted to knit again, and snuggled lots.

my priority was keeping him hydrated those first couple of days when his fever was highest.  he managed some sips of water but with no popsicles around i relied on jello.  i whipped some up, poured it into our popsicle molds, and stuck them into the freezer.  kai deemed them a success.  i was curious and tried one too - tasted just like jello.  yum! 

with stefan away i was kai's sole caregiver. single parenting makes me appreciate that i have a partner in childcare. even miles away from us, stefan was available to me and what a relief to touch base with him. it is easy to freak out when the littlest person you love is not feeling well. i also had great support from my awesome neighbours who periodically checked in on us and provided invaluable advise.

i am also grateful for kai's general good health.  it's easy to take for granted when all is well.  he had lots to complain about these last few days but didn't.  he was a trooper.

     

today life is back to business as usual - i will be at a workshop (will post about it later), stefan is back, and kai is in school.  so lovely...

boxwood

i really want a green thumb.  my dad was an awesome gardener, tending to his vegetables daily.  it was his mission to keep the squirrels away from his garden - he made me laugh with his antics.  my mom can grow any outdoor flower or houseplant.  so you see, it's in my genes.  deep in my genes.  i have little luck with plants.  i have had the same two houseplants for years but they seem to do fine without me - when i notice their leaves a little limp i water them and they come alive again.  easy.  when i have tried to bring in other houseplants, they apparently want my undivided attention and when it's not given they perish. not so easy.

so, when i came across preserved boxwood globes at restoration hardware the other day it got me thinking about bringing preserved plants into the house.  they didn't look waxy and are actually real.  i am not a fan of fake plants, especially fake flowers. 

having a north facing home, it doesn't get a huge amount of light so the preserved boxwood globes would be perfect - a little splash of colour, easy to care for (apparently a monthly mist of water), and not too expensive.  i just might be making a purchase soon!

coveting ikat

i love the ikat print; always have.  it is great for everything; from decor to clothing.  it is available in a variety of colour and pattern.  and all of it bold, beautiful and uplifting.

ikat has been around, i think, since the eighth century.  there is a great legend about this textile i found here: many centuries ago, there was a king with a beautiful daughter.  a poor local weaver fell in love with the woman, but the king refused to let them marry.  the king joked with the man saying that if he could create a cloth that exceeded in beauty those that came on the silk road from china and india, the king would reconsider.  the weaver was so upset at the king's teasing that he spent the night by the side of a lake and cried.  through his tears, he noticed how the full moon on the water created a blurred reflection of the trees, he was inspired!  after a night of dyeing and weaving, the weaver presented the cloth to the king, who liked it so much that he allowed the two to marry.

i was shopping for ikat printed wallpaper for kai's room when i came across these other gorgeous images featuring ikat. i wanted to share... hope you enjoy them.



chairs from here





dress from here





lamp from here





bowl from here - i am coveting this one!





purse from here





blouse from here







image from here





fabric from here





bowl from here - i have this one sitting on my dresser





pillow from here







teapot from here





wallpaper from here - i am coveting this one too!



weekend pics (chocolate and ibuprofen)

a quiet weekend was inevitable - stefan has worked longer hours than usual and is mentally exhausted while kai has been under the weather resulting in a fever by weekend's end.  kai generally has a very good immune system.  it is rare that he is sick and when he is it lasts no longer than 24 hours.  hopefully, this time will prove the same. 

we did manage to get outdoors a couple of times to indulge in some hot chocolate.  local chocolatiers dream up weekly hot chocolate flavours for an entire month.  on friday night we picked up some hot chocolate to go to share with friends - cocoa nymph dreamed up an unusual flavour that was sesame based.  although its very earthy taste didn't appeal to me, the chocoholics in the group drank it up.

on saturday we went to gastown primarily to visit the beggar's banquet, an antique market, but it was more clothing than home decor (my boys didn't want to stay).  instead, we took advantage of being in gastown, vancouver's oldest neighbourhood, and walked about the streets.  gastown is a mix of kitschy vancouver souvenir stores, lovely home and clothing shops (most are independent businesses), and a great selection of very good restaurants.  i coveted alot of stuff during our stroll!  we also had more festival hot chocolate from mink chocolates that was yummy (rosemary with fleur de sel). 



 

 

 

on sunday, kai's snowboard lesson was cancelled due to high winds.  this was fortunate as by the afternoon kai was in full sick mode.  instead, we ate ice cream, played cards (a new fun game called s'quarrals), and watched kung fu panda 2.  stefan cooked up a lovely wintry chili full of flavour (poor kai ate toast), i wish you could smell it - just gorgeous.  perfect for our rainy, grey day.



coffee ice cream for me - one of my favourites





visit stefan's blog for more information about this delicious stew







apple tarts for dessert, homemade by the grandmother of one of kai's best buddies at school



yunnan and coconut

stefan and i had a mini dinner date this week.  after dropping kai off at circus i picked up my hubby from the office and we dined at wild rice (yes, again!).  we stayed local this time and visited their cozy, modern place downtown. 

image from here

serving many chinese goodies it is always hard to choose but my favourite is their kung pao dish.  but this night i found another favourite - the seared albacore tuna on ginger, shallots, and pickled daikon was so very delicious.  if you live in the vancouver area, go try this dish!

wild rice serves a nice selection of vegetarian dishes and i actually got stefan to agree (it actually was not too hard) to try a tofu dish - a lovely spiced hot and sour soup.  we ended the evening with a a most yummy dessert, banana pudding, and the best peanut butter cookie ever!  wild rice also has a great selection of teas - stefan had yunnan, the mocha of teas, and i had a coconut tea.  all in all a great meal.



taken with stefan's iphone



we'll be enjoying more goodness this weekend - the hot chocolate festival!  have a lovely weekend.

camera ready



an inspiring photo book that i have on my wish list

i thought i would tell you about the photo class i attended on the weekend.  firstly, claudette is so sweet and was very patient with us.  i loved that she spoke to us as though we knew very little about photography and she gave us answers!!!  i have taken photography classes before and this was the first time that ISO, shutter, and aperture - the three languages of photography - made sense to me.  i think with practise i may finally get a handle on it. 

photography, claudette says, should be simple.  her tips for photography and shooting kids in particular made total sense to me: change perspective ~ have a vision but adapt ~ let go of the idea of spontaneity ~ find constant light ~ story tell ~ capture movement in the photo ~ use colour ~ use the rule of thirds.

i was relieved to know that those professional photos of children and families that look candid actually require prep work.  i don't know why i never knew this before. claudette introduced us to one of her favourite photographers, anna kuperberg, who has taken those 'candid' photos that i love so much.  aren't her photos awesome?