natural pod

How cute is this little sheep? It's made from organic wool, and is from Natural Pod, a Canadian company based in British Columbia. Many of their prducts are made right in BC, and they have beautiful toys, craft items, and other lovely things to promote creative play for babies and kidlets.

I updated my sidebar links and added a bookshelf widget from Shelfari, so you can see what books I have on the go. You can set up an account there and keep track of books you've read or hope to read, and connect with other people who have read the same books. Social networking for bibliophiles, I guess you could say. It's easy to set up, and you don't have to disclose any ridiculous information.

I'm at home for lunch, so I should scoot. Happy Thursday!

stopping to smell the flowers

Our little goofball turned 15 months old yesterday. Adam took this picture of him stopping to smell the flowers.

mesh produce bags

Look what arrived in today's mail! I'm very excited about these mesh produce bags I ordered on Etsy from amkdesigns. They're the kind of thing I could absolutely make myself, but know that I would only get around to in a very long time. So I took a little piece of my soap profits and reinvested in a fellow Etsy seller. Here's the deal: I hate those thin little plastic produce bags and haven't used any for a very long time. Translation: I've been chasing my plums, oranges, mangoes and kiwis down the conveyer belt and frustrating cashiers who can't keep them all on the scale at the same time, because they're not bagged up. Not to mention trying to keep the tomatoes from falling down between the other items in my Lee Valley totes and getting squished. There are six beautifully made mesh bags which weigh next to nothing, and they come with a nifty Amy Butler print carrying bag. Which very thoughtfully has a clip so it can be attached to your reusable grocery tote or purse. Nifty, eh? You can see amkdesigns' shop here.

september first

"September first" has always sounded so clean and fresh to me. It inspires thoughts of sharp new pencils and blank notebook pages. New school outfits and cool, crisp weather. Somehow it seems even better that today is a Monday, and that the weather is indeed cool and brisk.

Houseguests have come and gone, the lawn is mowed (mown?) and we're in the midst of tidying up, as well as rearranging some of the rooms here in our little home, which is always fun. We made this recipe with some sweetened whipped cream for fun, and it was a hit. And so easy! I'm also cleaning out closets and sorting things to give away or save for future babes. That's what September does to me.

The hydrangeas are in bloom outside the window where I'm sitting, the black-eyes Susans are in full force, and so are our phlox and clematis. What are your favourite things about this month?

Happy September!