Etsy @ One of a Kind Spring Show & Sale in Toronto

If there's one thing I look forward to every year it's the One of a Kind Show in Toronto. I've only visited the Christmas show, but I'm always excited when the spring one comes around because it means that spring is around the corner. Yay!

I'm excited to see the new talent that comes to the show every year especially the marketplace of Etsy sellers. This year you can take peek at the various sellers who will be on site. I took a look and made a little list of sellers I'd love to check out this year.

CRAFT COLLECTIVE

FLOWER POT DESIGNS

LOVE LETTERING (LIFE LONG LOVE)

THE TEENY TINY BAKERY

Happy spring shopping!

ps: the photos here are only representation of the items available on each seller's etsy shop and will not necessarily be available at the show. You'll have to go to the show to see what great things they have! ;)

Saturday

This past Saturday was a fun one. We went for a walk east along the Humber Waterfront Trail to a little park south of Ellis Avenue. It was a big walk, but the weather was beautiful so it didn't really matter.

The colours of the leaves were bright against the blue sky and goes to show that you don't need to go north to take in the colours of fall.

After Mila's nap we headed over to my sister's house where we left the kids for the night. Did you read that?? Overnight! My sister said she's been wanting to take the kids overnight for some time so we decided to bring them Saturday. It was so nice of her and her fiancé to take them.

My sister lives beside the GO train so we said our goodbyes and hopped on the train downtown to our favourite Italian restaurant Paganelli's (formerly Romagna Mia). We've been going since we started dating in 1998 (wow!) and have been back several times with friends and family.

Meanwhile, my sister and her fiancé Alex were carving pumpkins and making pizzas with the kids. So cute!

A photo posted by kdodge (@kdodge) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:00pm PDT

After dinner, we popped over to The Beer Bistro for a pint before heading to Massey Hall (my favourite place to listen to and watch music!) to take in some fantastic musicians as part of Dream Serenade: a benefit to raise funds for The Beverley Street School. It was amazing. We got to see so many fantastic musicians in one concert setting, all while raising funds for a great cause. My heart was bursting after this event!

Photo via Aesthetic Magazine Toronto

It was a wonderful day and evening! Thanks so much to my sister and her fiancé for making it happen! xo

Friday Find: Bird Apparel

via Bird Apparel on Etsy

When it comes to summer, I live in T-shirts, tanks and shorts. That's it really. They're easy and comfortable. So of course, I'm always on the look out for fun Ts and tanks. Yesterday I found this fun cloud T from Bird Apparel on Etsy. Then I clicked through and found more fun pieces (how cute is this girl's polka dot poncho?). The best part is that this is a local shop in Toronto. Love that.

Have a great weekend!

Belly Bootcamp

Happy Friday!

I just popped in to share something fun with you today. When Mila was about two months old I was part of a video promo for Belly Bootcamp, the program I had been part of since I was pregnant with Leo. The reason I'm sharing it now is because Belly Bootcamp owner Dara Bergeron just launched bbTV as yet another tool to help get new mamas into shape.

This was an amazing class for me and I highly recommend it to any new mother or soon-to-be mother. She has many locations now all over the city and in Mississauga so there might be one close to you!

Check out Belly Bootcamp here.

Steam Whistle Winter Farmers' Market in Toronto

I got a note this week that the Steam Whistle Winter Farmers' Market is going to start this weekend and I wanted to share the news. I love that we can still get local fruit and veggies in the winter and what a great way to spend a Sunday downtown!

The indoor market will feature Ontario farmers selling apples, baked goods, root vegetables, organic meat and cheese, beauty products, maple and honey products. Steam Whistle Pilsner will be available for sampling and purchase as well--yum!

The Winter Market starts this Sunday, December 22, from 10am to 2pm and runs until February 23rd. Make sure to check it out!

Mini Adventure: Roundhouse Park

After we left the aquarium on Friday, we skipped over across the street to Roundhouse Park: a dream for any three-year-old. The foggy skyline was the perfect back drop for the old steam engines. Next time though I think we'll stick around for a beer.

The Junction Flea

We took a little drive over to Bayview Ave. here in Toronto to check out The Junction Flea which was being held at The Evergreen Brickworks this year. Yesterday was the last day and it was a beautiful day for the visit. Not a whole lot caught my eye, but I did love the laser cut wood trivets and coasters from The National Design Collective (they also have the coolest piece called a ubagaan which is a bench and a toboggan!), as well as the sweet framed photos from Elephant in the Attic. Leo loved the red truck, and we lunched on ramen noodles and dumplings from FeastTO, along with the most delicious fries from Jamie Kennedy.

Hope your weekend was a great one!

BlogPodium bound

Like many other bloggers in this great country, I'm headed off to BlogPodium tomorrow. It will be my third one and I'm pretty excited to see what this year has in store for us. I'm excited to see Sarah Richardson speak and meet many of the bloggers I follow on a regular basis.

As for the what am I going to wear question: it won't be anything too crazy. There will be some green and a bit of leopard print though (in a small dose in the way of footwear) so come say hi if you see me!

See y'all downtown!

weekend fun: blue rodeo and romancing the rails

Hey there - hope you had a nice weekend! As I mentioned Friday, Friday night we went to see Blue Rodeo. It was a fantastic show and so nice to get out just the two of us.

Saturday afternoon we took Leo and Mila to see a model train show in Liberty Village here in Toronto called The Romance of the Rails put on by The Model Railroad Club of Toronto.  He loved it! It was amazing to see all of the work and finite attention to detail that has gone into making this village. Apparently there are 5000 feet of track - unreal!

If you or your little ones are interested in going, the show is open for a few more weekends before everything is moved to a new location. Check out the site for more info.

Happy Monday!

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february first

via

Happy Friday Feb First!

We're off for our official February date tonight from our Twelve Dates Project: Blue Rodeo at Massey Hall! If you've never been to Massey Hall for a concert, I highly recommend it. It's my go-to place to see music. The sound and atmosphere are amazing.

We're hoping to get a little bite to eat in too, but we'll see how this putting the baby to sleep thing goes :).

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

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Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@lealoulemonade)

Makers and Eaters Unite: 100 farmers, 1 city

So I don't talk about this too much on this blog, but if there's one thing you should know about me, is that I'm pretty passionate about food and what goes into the ol' bod. Included in that is a love for eating local. The problem is that eating local and organic is not readily available to everyone in this city.

I just heard about a very cool project called Makers and Eaters Unite: 100 farmers, 1 city. Fresh City Farms, the organization behind this project, aims to get 100 farmers growing one million pounds of organic produce in Toronto within the next two years. It's the ultimate urban farming project.

But in order to do this they need our help. They're asking for as little as $1 to get their project funded and going. One buck!

I think we'll be happy we contributed to this cause over the next several years as food prices begin to soar - we'll be able to easily get yummy food from our own backyard.

Watch the video above and learn more here.

Oh and don't forget to eat your fruits and veggies!

What a Wychy Weekend

This weekend I'm heading to mid-ish town to the WychCraft Market to sell more of my bags and hang out with cool and crafty people. My sister is coming with me which will be fun. She can help me set up my table and lift anything that I can't (or don't want to as a result of my belly getting bigger by the minute ;)) but really it'll be fun just to hang out with her.

As you know, I haven't had any motivation to sew, but I have managed to cut out a few more bags and zip pouches that I'll be putting together tonight and tomorrow night.

My lack of motivation right now seems to be coming from the latest book I've been reading: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Honestly, I don't know why I pick up these books because I have a really hard time putting them down. I've talked to my brother-in-law about this a few times as he's a mega reader as well and there is just something about picking up a book and not wanting to do ANYTHING BUT READ the book. It really does take over my life. And the worst part is that there are at least two more of these freaking books after this one so I know I'm going to keep busy this summer reading (when I should be sewing).

So, what was I talking about? I've gone and lost track again.

Oh yes. This weekend.

So if you're in the St. Clair and Bathurst area this weekend (I think the construction is all done!) come by the WychCraft Market and see what's going on. I think there is a woman there who sells chocolates... at least there was last year. Oh and someone who sells iced coffee. There is also a really cool farmers' market around the corner at the Wychwood Barns that I'm sure you'll love.

Once I get my current bags done I'll upload some pics. I'm using the rest of my Ikea fabric from my pillows for one bag and some REALLY pretty Alexander Henry fabric that I'm going to have a really hard time parting with for another.

Until then, have an amazing weekend and talk to y'all soon!

friday finds {cute}

I found this shop and had to share -- so cute!

joojooland





Get these cuties here, here and here!

Happy Friday!

friday finds {charming accessories}

There's no doubt about it -- I'm an earring girl. But I often dream of covering myself with the many other amazingly beautiful accessories I see in stores, and of course, on etsy. Here are some things I found this week.

This has to be one of the prettiest accessories I've ever seen. Le Collier Antoinette by cocoboudoir


Oh to be bold enough to wear flowers on my head. Peche Brouillee from the same designer Le Collier Antoinette by cocoboudoir


I actually would wear this if it didn't say "Cathy" on the back (see alternate pics on etsy). Vintage. 70s Tooled Leather Belt with Metal Buckle from raretreasure


Bring the outdoors with you with this Original Tree Photo Ring from My Belle Bijoux.


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So what are you doing this weekend? We're welcoming a new member to the family today! My sister-in-law is having her second baby today we can't wait to meet the little guy! Other than that I have lots more sewing to do so I had better get to it!

Have a great last weekend before Christmas everyone!

friday finds {cozy cowls}

Happy Friday! One thing I love about the winter weather is wearing cozy things around my neck. I love scarves and I just love all of the cowls out and about this year. Here are my Friday finds:

the winter run cowl in LINEN by thehouseofhemp


the accidental cowl in SLATE from thehouseofhemp


Orion Moebius Cowl/Barley by lizziemac7


I want to put all of these on at the same time, sit by the fire and sip hot cocoa. Ok three of these around my neck might be much...

This weekend I'm locking myself in my sewing room to get some stuff done and then on Sunday I'll be heading down to the City of Craft event on Queen Street.

Have a great one!

friday finds {pretty jewels}

Leaf and Raw Pearl Necklace by NamesakeDesigns


pretty blue bracelet by cserdan


moraccan style earrings by thehouseofhemp

friday finds

tasty chairs from avrilloreti


pretty bird earrings from fabriquer


upcycled mittens from thingsbySLO

friday finds

Perfect travelling companion.

Pearson Pillow by NicoleTarasick

I should probably get this.

From Zippster

Be practical and cute on the subway.
From BrookAlviano