It's taken a while for me to gather my thoughts together to write an update on our business, and even though it's still not perfect, I thought it was worth it to go ahead and share our news regardless.

Long story short, we have decided to close our wee business and focus more on fostering our creativity in other ways, while also allowing us more time to dedicate to raising our littles.

Fair warning, it's a bit of a read, but I promise to try to minimize the rambling.

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and October 15th is recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. In honour of this, I am sharing a little bit about how running a small business helped me through one of the hardest seasons of our lives, after we became members of a heartbreaking group of mothers and fathers grieving the loss of a baby. 

When I first got pregnant, I wasn’t looking forward to mat leave. I was nervous about leaving work and being out of touch with the industry. Now, I couldn’t imagine anything less than having a full year with my constantly changing daughter.

If you’re like me, you might hoard creative ideas on your Pinterest board, but not actually get around to making anything or expressing your creativity on a regular basis.

If so, here are some intentional ways to be more creative this year:

Last year, I posted a gift guide for the crafter on your Christmas list. This year, I am switching things up and posting a round-up of all the awesome gift guides from around the web for last-minute gifts for all the loved ones on your list.

Here are the best of the best when it comes to gift ideas for the holidays:

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas at the Fournier Farm House! Between decorating the house, a busy season at work and having less daylight, I’ve found myself reading a little less this month. Perhaps the train has been lulling me to sleep more often than I thought! Or maybe this time of year has me wanting to spend more family time with Will and Oliver.

I promise I’ve been reading more books than just scrapbooks and adult colouring books this month!

We just recently got our new ID cards in the mail with the new address on it, but still haven’t had a chance to make it to the library. No worries though, with the new book exchange I initiated at work (totally not for selfish reasons at all…) and a bag of books my mom dropped off, I have had more than enough to read.

For those who don’t know, my husband Will is a super talented photographer. Although he makes his living shooting commercial and product photography, he has recently re-introduced himself to the family, wedding and newborn photography scene.

There’s a wonderfully quaint doughnut shop up the street from us called Glory Hole Doughnuts that Will and I have absolutely fallen in love with. They have the tastiest doughnuts in Toronto, and provide nice weekend treat for when we are in the mood for indulging.

And it wasn’t exactly what I had imagined.

On Friday afternoon, after a week of flexing at work to make up for the extra hours away from the office, Will and I packed ourselves into our (new) car and headed over to the Creativ Festival at the International Convention Centre in Mississauga.

This past week, I went to Chapters looking for some ideas to start my own Bridal Binder. With my Starbucks in hand and a pile of inspirational bridal books, Will and I went to work researching all the things I should have in my binder.