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. 

You know you’ve officially hit peak adulthood when you find yourself passionate enough about kick-ass cleaning supplies, that you feel compelled to write a blog post solely on the topic.

But I guess if you’re here reading this, it can’t be that odd to get a little jazzed up about easy and chemical-free ways to get a little shine in your house.

On this episode of Mugs & Jugs, we are chatting about all the fabulous newborn toys we found for the 0-6 age group. If you’re putting together a baby registry or buying for someone who is expecting, you might want to consider one of these items. We’re each sharing our top 3 picks for a complete must-have list.

After moving up from the city to the country, getting pregnant with our first country baby and welcoming Harlow into the Fournier Farmhouse, it seemed only natural that we celebrate her first birthday with a farm party.

Although it was hard to accept the fact that she was actually turning one, it did help that we celebrated before her actual birthday, because then I could still live in denial and pretend that we were just planning a fun party.

I am a huge sucker for tiny party details (you know, those little things that no one else notices but take a long time to make?), and I am really happy with how everything came together for this theme. So, I decided it warranted a blog post all of it’s own!

Today, we’re chatting about a number of momtroversies that we’ve come across during our brief (except for Dani) time as parents. From breastfeeding till your baby is 8, covering up to nurse, posting photos of your child online and foregoing vaccinations, there’s no topic we won’t discuss.

New mom-hood can be an overwhelming transition, and dealing with all the changes isn’t always the easiest. Today, we’re having a (somewhat) light-hearted discussion on hormones, sleep deprivation, baby blues, postpartum depression & accepting support.

What’s the deal with #dadbod?! We demand a hashtag that celebrates a mother’s body and everything it goes through to create & support a family! Enter, #mombod.

This week, we’re each taking turns sharing the one big thing that gives us mom guilt. After a couple episodes of light fluffy chatter and tons of laughter, we are digging deep, getting real, and dropping some #truthbombs. We hope you enjoy the raw mom-esty*.

Now that we’ve covered off a couple preliminary topics (introductions, birth stories, surviving infancy), we are starting to add some #realtalk to the momcast. This week we are discussing expectations vs. reality as we each transitioned into our new roles in parenthood, whether that’s from one child to two or from no children at all.

Ever since I posted a time lapse of me making baby food, I have been getting a couple questions about my process.

Choosing to make my own baby food has been one of the easier decisions in motherhood. It’s cost-efficient, doesn’t include preservatives, and makes me feel like I am doing something important for my daughter.

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by all 5 of us again as we make yet another list. This time, we’re discussing the things we couldn’t live without during the first three months as new moms. If you’re a new mom, expecting or have a ton of baby shower invites on your fridge, this is one you don’t want to miss.

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.

I’ll be honest, I have been meal planning for a while now because it’s what works best for our family (and our budget). But what I haven’t done before 2017 is actually stick to the weekly plan all the time. Most days, we would have something planned, but come time to make dinner, Will and I would look at each other and pray that the other one would offer to make dinner. If no one took it on, some days we would just end up with mac & cheese.

Being new parents, we understand that babies get a lot of great stuff from friends and family, and don’t necessarily need a ton for Christmas. So when we decided to do a Secret Santa gift exchange for the babies in our baby group (comprised of five other couples that we met through prenatal yoga), we knew we wanted to make something more ‘out of the box’ for whomever we drew.

Like any new mom, I am in awe each and every day watching this beautiful little girl grow and change. It’s so exciting to see her learning new things, responding to us with smiles, and becoming more aware of the world around her.

After what seemed like waiting forever for baby’s arrival, Miss Harlow Margaret Fournier came 8 days late on September 15th, 2016 at 11:17 PM, weighing 7 lbs 9 oz, and more perfect than I could have ever imagined her being.

Getting ready for mat leave was (and still is) a weird concept for me. For someone who has worked non-stop since turning 14, sometimes even three or four jobs at a time, the idea of taking a year off seems like a bizarre concept. What the heck am I going to do with all this time?

Call it nesting or just call it a phase, but I have been on a sewing rampage lately. If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have noticed my increase in sewing-related pins for both home decor and to plan for the baby.

In this episode, you will meet the 5 women behind the microphone and discover our personal reasons for participating in this new endeavour. I apologize in advance for our loud laughing. Apparently when you get five women together with some Thai food and wine, loud laughing is inevitable.

I’ve been so lucky to be surrounded by so many supportive and generous people during my pregnancy, especially since the first few months were anything but ideal.

Since the moment we found out we were pregnant, I knew I wanted to do a gender reveal party to discover the sex of our little Baby Fournier surrounded by family and friends. What could be better than hosting a party, cutting into a cake and discovering what our little bundle of joy is going to be when we meet it in September?!

Although I don’t have a child to hold in my arms just yet, I believe the pregnant wonder-women of the world are just as worthy of being celebrated as moms on Mother’s Day, as I believe that you are a mom from the moment you see those two pink lines.

So it’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to post on here, partly because I have had the worst morning sickness that leaves me completely drained after work, and partly because I didn’t know what to write without sharing our news that we’re expecting a baby in September 2016!

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:

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.

When Will and I decided to buy a house and take the next step together as homeowners, we knew it would come at a cost. That cost would be giving up our beloved apartment that we’ve shared for the past three years.

I have recently embraced the succulent life and am pleased to report I am actually keeping these little plants alive. As someone who can kill even mint (which is apparently very hard to do for everyone except myself), I am very proud of my little plant babies.

Preserving memories is something everyone does, whether it’s by posting and sharing on social media, storytelling, or in a more obvious way – by creating memory books. No way is more right or effective than the other, and finding the way that’s right for you and your story is just a means of trying new things and discovering what works best for you and your story.

While on our honeymoon in Ireland, Will and I tasted the most delicious scones. The cafe was in a quaint town by the countryside, where we stopped to soak in the stunning sights of the Irish countryside on a hiking path along the outskirts of the town.

Dear Oliver-Sebastian,

We just celebrated our first National Puppy Day together and I could not love you more or be more grateful for your presence in our lives. I had the urge to write you a letter and even though you’ll never be able to read it, I am positive you know exactly what it will say.

Every so often, I find myself getting into a cycle of late nights, early mornings, and a messy lifestyle. It can become especially hard if you’re living alone or with a partner who doesn’t mind the clutter. My husband, for example, often keeps a massive pile of clothes in the bedroom that we have even started referring to as “The Mountain.”

With the colder fall weather making an appearance here in Toronto, Will and I thought it might be time to start looking into jackets for Oliver-Sebastian (our Great Dane puppy)

Thanksgiving is always a time to slow down and reflect on the many things we have to be thankful for (other than the long weekend!). This year, I have TONS to be thankful for, and thought it would be a good idea to make a list of the top 10 things – although it’s going to be very hard to narrow it down.

Last week, I celebrated my 24th birthday. It was my champagne birthday (turned 24 on the 24th) and although it’s not a big milestone like a 30th would be, it was still a reminder that the years seem to be passing by quicker with every year. Since there’s only less than one year left until I am a quarter of the century, I thought it would be a good time to make a bucket list of the top 25 things I want to do before I turn 25.

I first started thinking about writing this two nights before the wedding as I was nose deep in sewing a stuffed goose, putting together the seating chart, creating the vow books, and the many other projects I was scrambling to finish. I decided against it, mostly because I had no time, but mainly because I needed to wait and see if it was all worth it.

Canadian summers are nothing without delicious Canadian s’mores. Who doesn’t wait all winter for that one moment when the marshmallows, graham crackers and melted chocolate come together in perfect harmony?

Since I haven’t had my wedding yet (and because Will actually reads everything I write), this post obviously won’t be very image heavy. Regardless, I thought it was a post worth writing before the wedding, so that the dress shopping experience was still fresh in my mind.

If you’ve ever had a long conversation with me, chances are the topic of my craft room has come up! I am absolutely in love with how this room has turned out, and although it becomes a dumping ground for wedding crafts and storage at times, it is the one place where organization is key.

This week was so very exciting for so many different reasons. As we inch closer to the wedding, each RSVP that we receive makes the whole thing feel so much more real. As a result, we are starting to really buckle down with our to do list so that our guests don’t show up to an empty venue on the day!

I’ve always known that when I got engaged, I would DIY our invitations. When it finally happened, I immediately started designing and testing out different styles, and within the first couple months, we had our design finalized. We placed the order for the invitation pocket folds and envelopes, and forgot about them for a couple months until we had more details confirmed.

Immediately after getting engaged, Will and I ran out and bought a bridal binder to help us navigate the wedding planning process. As I was flipping through it, I noticed a section dedicated to writing thank you cards, including a number of sample notes written from “the couple” to their “guests.”

Since moving to Toronto almost two years ago, I haven’t been able to buy scrapbook supplies in the city. There weren’t any local Michaels stores and I found that boutique art stores had huge markups with a small selection. I stopeed looking for new stores until I found...

My girls’ weekend in Buffalo could not have come at a better time. I’ve never been so grateful for such an amazing weekend than I was after my super busy week on Friday. I got to spend some quality time driving down to the states with my Mom and had countless laughs with my mom, aunt, sister and cousins throughout the entire weekend. I didn’t realize how much I missed spending time with just the 6 ladies until we were all together again. 

What a productive week! As you may have noticed, we had a lot of changes around here. I am so thrilled to have made the change from Polkadot Pirates to Sweet Green Studios and can’t wait to see where this goes.

Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate those special women in our lives that clothed us, fed us and loved us through thick and thin, for years and years, to make us into the people we are today. Mothers have the hardest job, and growing up with a single mom, I can appreciate all the crazy things moms have to deal with.

The interesting thing about 100 days is how quickly they pass. When I signed up for this challenge, 100 days seemed like forever. But here we are at day 35, and I am still excited to be capturing great moments every day. This weekend was super busy with National Scrapbook Day, the MS Walk, and a surprise bridal shower that was thrown for me by my wonderful Auntie Karen. 

I can’t believe how quickly these #100HappyDays are flying by! I am already at day 27 (as of yesterday), which means I have officially completed just over a quarter of the challenge.

We recently had to move my Grandma to a nursing facility, and my Mom and Aunt have been trying really hard to make her feel at home. This is hard to do for many obvious reasons (i.e. you’re moving a whole home into one room, you need to go through everything and sort things out, etc.), but hardest of all is not being able to bring many things into the new room with her. 

There’s been a lot of talk lately about what spring in Toronto looks like. To many, this means dusting off their bikes and going for a ride around the city or going for a run on the docks. But, with only 30 days left until the MS Walk, spring looks a little different to me.

Often times I find myself doing pages for other people; whether its my mom, my cousin or the dude sitting on the street corner, it seems like I am always finishing scrapbooks for everyone buy myself.

Do you ever want to make a scrapbook page for an important family memory or hobby, but don’t have any pictures or keepsakes to go with it? Happens to me all the time.