Japan holds its many cherry blossom festivals between March and May every year in different regions of the country.

Although it is one of my dreams to visit Japan during cherry blossom season, I am more than happy to take in the beautiful blossoming that is taking place at home as I write this.

The weather combination of a few sunny, warm days followed by a few wet ones has got Toronto in full bloom.

This is the perfect time of year to don those sandals for the first time, hop on your bike or take a walk around the neighborhood and literally stop and smell the flowers. Have a lovely week!

7:30 am-set up starts!

On Easter weekend I helped Diana out at her 2^nd annual yard sale. I brought a bunch of stuff along to sell and at 7:30 am we got things moving for our 9am scheduled start!

Getting prepped in the middle of the week.

I love a good garage sale and have been to many but this one was spectacular! It was a week’s worth of prep on Di’s part and it was worth it. A little attention to detail took this sale from good to great! Here are a few of her tips:

our first customer

Di started advertising the sale about 5-6 days beforehand on craigslist, Facebook and Twitter. Social networking sites are a fast way to get the message out. Putting up posters outside neighborhood coffee shops and by parks also brought in lots of people.

grab bags

Remember birthday party grab bags? Di packaged up groupings of items and put them into grab bags, labeled them, priced them for a buck or two and watched them fly off the table.

memories....

My favorite grab bag was filled with the make- up Di used in the show “Cats.” It included a picture of her in her show make-up. It was hilarious and a big hit.

fantasies for a quarter

All the items were priced clearly – cute and fun signs gave a clear place for the bargaining to start.  They came in handy when it got busy!

coffee is on

We set up a coffee stand selling Kicking Horse coffee for a buck. Such a great idea!

pretty picture

We had muffins too, but they got eaten…mmmm muffins. I think I had 2 before 8am.

table set up starts

We set up tables to ensure there was an easy way in, out and around the sale creating a natural flow of traffic.

bright and cheery

Di used lots of old suitcases as displays, which were really eye catching and she had a mirror set up for people trying on clothes.

this rolling rack came in so handy

We kept as many things off the ground as we possibly could so people didn’t have to bend down too much…. just little details.

hats off

We rearranged items as things sold to create easier access for customers.

and it begins...

Hands down the best part of a garage sale was meeting people and listening to their stories.

working the coffee bar

People told me about their kids, why they were buying the items they were buying, told me jokes, reminisced about their childhoods, passed on little bits and pieces of their histories and random bits of advice about parenting.

Di models my favorite item: the whoopee cushion handbag.

I laughed a lot and had some really great conversations.

the free pile

At the end of the day we put out the remainder of items on the lawn…and popped up a “free” sign next to them.

wrapping it up

We had been at it for 8 hours and were pooped. I came back later that night and almost everything was gone. What a treasure to walk by a house with cool stuff in front of it with a “free” sign on it!

Me and the bun: making the big sales.

I can’t wait to start garage sale-ing myself next Saturday! Hey, are you planning a garage sale this year?  Want to share some of your tips?

After the $25.00 coffee cake debacle, my friend Maureen said not to fret, it wouldn’t be long before I could make the no-bake Avocado Key Lime Pie again – which is a big summertime treat! Maureen had brought this pie to a picnic last summer and I had been hooked ever since. So, for her birthday last week I decided to make her the first pie of the season. Of course I was 3 days late with it because my avocados were not ripe (take note!)

Here is the quick, easy, delicious, raw recipe for a pie that I will be making all summer long! I found this online recipe last year here. I have modified it to my tastes, but feel free to play around!

You need:

Oh wait! Don’t throw out those avocado shells! The lady who does facials at a local organic spa I go to, told me to rub the inside of the avocado shells on my face, leave it for a few minutes and then rinse for a super moisturizing at home mask!

Thanks to Maureen for introducing me to this delicious pie!

And now for a shameless plug!  A touch of  vintage is having a spring cleaning sale on our entire online shop april 1-4th. Buy 2 or more items and get 25% off your order! Check out the site for more information! www.atouchofvintage.etsy.com

My Gramps.

On Tuesday March 30 my Grandpa Maurice is turning 90 years old. I am writing about him today to share with you his joie de vivre, his curiosity, humor, his grace, resilience and flexibility. The way he lives his life is an inspiration to me.

Gramps and his car.

After living his entire life living on a farm in Northern England, my grandfather embraced the decision to move into town and start a new life there- an enormous change. Although I know he misses the farm a great deal he has adapted to his new home with excitement and gusto!  Rather than plowing fields, he now potters in his pretty garden. He still takes his daily walk, no longer down winding country roads, but to the little café in the heart of the town.

Grandma and Gramps.

My Grandmother passed away last year. My Grandfather still grieves very deeply but he still gets up, puts on his dress shirt and pants, his smart vest, his tweed jacket, his polished dress shoes and jaunty cap and starts his day. He still looks like a perfect gentleman. He says he does it for my Grandma.

My sister Anna and Gramps.

My Grandfather goes church every Sunday where he has met many new friends. Afterwards he enjoys lunch at the quaint hotel in the centre of town as a treat.

Gramps goofing with my sister Emma.

My Gramps loves to sing and recently has been known to strike up hymns robustly whenever and wherever the mood hits him. The Rivers of Babylon is a current favorite. He also loves to recite poetry.  He learned Wordworth’s “Daffodils” as a child in school and still recites it by heart. I think my love of flowers comes from him.

At an early 90th party a couple of weeks ago.

This week my grandfather’s new laptop arrives. He has never used a computer before, but can’t wait to get his e-mail account working! Did I mention he just got his passport renewed? He is also practicing for the local rugby tryout this spring- at least that is what he told me on the phone last Sunday…

At the market teahouse with Emma.

My Gramps is much loved. He has a constant stream of Canadian visitors coming and staying with him, often for extended periods of time.  I think my Dad and Jenny spent as much time in the UK last year as they did on Canadian soil. My sister Emma just got home and my youngest sister Anna is there now. She is documenting all of Gramps’ stories: the Second World War, his life growing up in England, stories about my Dad as a child. This takes place over gallons of tea and jaffa cakes. I feel blessed that as adults, we are getting to know our Grandfather in person, after a lifetime of letter writing.

Gramps and Vic now.

My Grandfather is proof that you are never to old to embrace change, to seek out adventure, to open your heart even as it breaks, to laugh and sing and enjoy every precious minute of this life.

Gramps and Vic then.

Happy Birthday Gramps. I love you!

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

As you know the first day of spring is this Saturday March 20^th. Call me nuts if you like, but one of the reasons I love springtime is spring-cleaning. After months of hibernation, it is refreshing to sweep out the cobwebs and prep the house for a busy, vibrant spring and summer ahead.

Wait for the first warm day and open the windows to get a bit of fresh air moving around. Remember you don’t need to  clean everything at once! Do a little task a day and get outside and enjoy that spring weather. Here we go!

Clutter:

• Batteries, light bulbs and any toxic materials can be taken to the safe disposal/recycling sites. (Some shops like the Home Depot and Ikea take batteries and light bulbs. Or check for proper disposal sites run by your city.)

• Old or rarely worn clothes, shoes and gently used house wares can be donated to Goodwill or local charities or you can sell them on craigslist or eBay for some extra cash or list it on freecycle to give it away.

• Old newspapers, junk mail, phone books and paper collected over the winter can be put into the blue box. Old magazines can be donated or passed on to friends or family.

Storage:

• Thick winter rugs, blankets and duvets can be washed and put away and replaced by their summery counterparts. Or leave floors bare and sparse for the spring and summer.
• Winter jackets can be repaired/ cleaned and put away- see ya later!
• Spring clothes can be put to the front of the closet while bulky winter-wear is put to the back.

• Shovels can be put away!  (Ok I know I am tempting fate with this one.)

Clean it!

• Windows and screens can get washed inside and out. It may seem like a total pain but well worth it when all that sun is able get through unhindered!

• Cupboards, cutlery drawers, can be wiped out (I know, it’s only once a year and mine got nasty this winter.)

• Hey that stove needs a cleaning. I am not looking forward to this one but after this winter of entertaining it really needs some love.
• Get your hardwood floors shining! There are lots of natural wood soaps on the market these days.

Reminders:

• Diana C. replaces the batteries in her smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors every spring so she doesn’t forget.
• Snow tires on your car can be replaced with your flashy summer ones!
• Books, movies, dishes can returned to lenders with a thank you card.

• It’s a perfect time of year to get your bike tuned up before the mad rush starts at your local bike shop! You can give it a little scrub too it you have been winter riding.

Freshen Up:

• It’s a perfect time of year to touch up any scrapes in the paint around your place, fill holes from old nails or add a coat of paint to freshen up a room!
• Take articles from one room and put them in another- it makes them feel brand new!
• Change your furniture around to give you a fresh perspective!

Fun tips:

• Want to make cleaning a bit more fun?  Try using real lemons to infuse your house with a fresh smell. Lemons, baking soda, borax, and salt and vinegar make a wonderful cleaning kit; Michael Dejong the author of the humble art of Zen cleaning even uses the lemon as a scrubber. Check out his sweet little video here: http://www.youtube.com/zencleansing

Do you have any indoor spring-cleaning rituals you love? Send them my way! Happy cleaning!

Well March did not come in like a lion at all this year.  We have been enjoying sun and warm temperatures for the last few days here in Toronto. I keep wondering if March comes in like a lamb, will it go out like a lion? Lambs or lions, March is one of my favorite months of the year- winter is soon behind us and spring is on our doorstep.  Here are 5 great reasons to love March.

#1. Daylight Saving Time- March 14, 2am. You know how it goes: spring forward, fall back. Yes, we set our clocks forward one hour and lose an hour of sleep, but it’s hard to be too grumpy when you get an extra hour of daylight. Mmmm daylight!

#2. First day of spring: March 20. Spring is officially here. Gotta celebrate! If it’s lovely out, maybe a bike ride is in order?  If not, how about an indoor picnic with fresh flowers?

#3. St. Patrick’s Day: March 17- A great excuse to wear your most fabulous green accessories, leave work early and drink green beer.

#4. Earth Hour: March 27, 8pm- Join with people around the globe and shut out the lights at 8:30pm local time. Organized by the World Wildlife fund, last year over 88 countries and 4000 cities shut off their lights for an hour to bring awareness to climate change. Read more here: http://www.earthhour.org/About.aspx

#5. If you happen to be in Toronto over March 17-21, come and check out Canada Blooms. I think the website says it best:

The Flower & Garden Festival invites you to visit a paradise bursting with six acres of stunning gardens in full bloom, more than 100,000 square feet of green thumb shopping and more at Canada’s largest and most prestigious flower and garden festival.

Ok one more:

#6. March Break: the kids are out of school and it’s a great time to take that road trip you have always wanted, or take your nephew bowling or your niece rock climbing. Remember how much you loved March break as a kid? Channel that energy and get yourself out there!

Drop me a line and tell me what you love about March.

Monday was March 1^st and to celebrate February being over and the one-year anniversary of owning our first house together, I decided to bake! The inspiration behind my choice of baked goods was this great vintage bundt cake pan I had borrowed from Di a few months ago. I have been dreaming of coffee cake since Christmas and today was the day I was finally making it!

I quickly realized I had no ingredients, so I took in the sunshine and headed to the store and spent $25.00 on things I would need. I prepped my ingredients, shooting as I went along as I always do.

Things seemed to be taking me a bit longer right from the get go. It took forever to peel and core these apples, and then I had to sift (what?) the flour.

Hmmm no sifter…would my strainer work? Why not?  It’s all an adventure!! It took about 20 minutes to sift 2.5 cups of flour, but I persevered.

I let things sit when they were supposed to sit, and mixed as per the directions, but something was not feeling right. I wondered if I should add some more liquid- water, oil or another egg? I usually would, but this was my first attempt at baking so I stuck to the recipe.

The real turning point came when I realized this recipe called for a shallow long pan, not a bundt pan. The bundt pan was the whole reason for making the cake in the first place! We do not have a shallow long pan.

This was the only pan we had, so I went ahead and used the bundt pan and decided to cook it a little longer. My coffee cake fantasy was not going as planned.

I had a deep sense of foreboding as I went to put my little coffee cake in the oven. Even someone who has never baked before (like me) knows when it says “pour the batter into the pan” and you have something the consistency of baked turkey stuffing that you have to “scoop” into the pan with a spoon, that no baking miracle is going to save you.

Needless to say- I made a disastrous $25.00 coffee cake. It crumbled out of the pan, dry as a bone.

Mike was sweet and said he would try it as it had taken me 2 hours in total to put it all together. Upon eating it he said,” Wow, It tastes like hot flour.” He was being kind.

But the afternoon was not a complete ruin. Mike and I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. Might as well enjoy your failures along with your successes.

Have a great week. Isn’t March grand?

When I found out I was pregnant, Mike and I made a list of things we wanted to get done around the house before my due date. So far we have had the last remaining rug in the basement pulled up and laminate and tile put in, a little kitchenette ripped out and a closet installed in its place and a bathroom repainted.

upperc.drywall@gmail.com- that's Alejandro's e-mail.

(Many thanks to the amazing Alejandro!) We also hope to get a new downspout and put in a fence before the end of April.

Two rolls of vintage wallpaper for the back wall of the room. Thanks to Diana!

Needless to say I hadn’t even started to think about pulling together a baby’s room… or at least that is what I thought.  Without realizing it, I had been gathering things for this little nest…and the feel of the room is quickly, organically taking shape in my head.

My old cedar lined trunk-dragged home from a vintage store in 1996. With a little paint a new toy box will be born. 7 years of taxes need to find a new home!

My goal is to buy as little new furniture as possible and to get my creative juices flowing!

Sarah's baby chair from her childhood (and long before that) on loan to us!

I hope to repurpose what we already have, move things from one room to another, re-use, re-paint, paper, find thrift shop jewels, treasures in the trash, hand make crafts, pull out old things from childhood, swap items with friends and let it evolve naturally.

Mike's first camera.

I am very lucky to have many friends offering to pass on pieces of furniture that were much loved by them or their children or pieces that they no longer use! Very lucky indeed!

The vintage red Samsonite cases will make for bright storage!

You don’t need to be decorating a kid’s room to get creative – any room will do!

From the bedroom to the baby's room.

Please feel free to pass on any ideas or inspirations my way!

Childhood essentials from Mike!

**Watercolor by Michael Chan.

Wednesday: Be mine, little jam cookie.

A mid-February experiment: Since last week’s post I took a picture everyday of something that made the grey February days feel a little brighter. It really worked! Rather than concentrating on how overcast and cold it was, I found myself on the look out at all times for little bits of beauty in my daily travels. Looking for the sun amongst the clouds.

Thursday: A shop sign on Carlaw.

Give it a whirl!  You really don’t need a camera- take a mental picture. It can be anything; noting a random act of kindness, a funny sign, a conversation you had with someone, a great meal, a delicious sleep, a phone call or a new pair of shoes!

Friday: Scones, clotted cream, butter and jam.

You may find that in all this grey, you are surrounded by pretty moments, lovely inspirations and delightful opportunities. How very spring like!

Saturday: Tulips from the market.

Before you know it, spring will be on the doorstep with the promise of sun, fragrant lilacs trees and fresh, breezy afternoons.

Sunday: Plasticine tigers.Happy New Year!

I wish I could take pictures of the all the lovely moments of the last 7 days:

Monday: Lydia, Joel and Arnault's Toc Toc Toc space ship. (They made it from an old Mr. potato head!)

Meeting my Mom for lunch, high tea with Kim and Viv, driving my sister to the airport, celebrating Chinese New Year weekend with my In- laws, having a whole day to spend (without work) with my fella, seeing my lovely Dirty Dancing Family again, meeting a group of theatre school students and being wowed by their energy, openness and kindness, spending time learning the world of etsy and feeling “the bun” move in my belly for the first time….beauty on a cold, grey week in February!

Tuesday: A bag the colour of red tulips. A new handbag always makes the day seem brighter.

See you next Wednesday.

Happy Yogini!

We have a new guest blogger joining the SC team this week: Emma Fletcher. Emma juggles an wide array of activities in her daily life; she contracts as a Project Manager and Corporate Trainer, dabbles in holistic and energy work, is a certified yoga teacher, world traveler and is currently studying for her Canfit Personal Trainer Specialist designation. Did I mention she is also an IT whiz who loves studying astrology?

Emma is also very funny, refreshingly nutty and gorgeous. She doesn’t leave her yoga practice or philosophy on her mat but weaves it into everyday life.

She recently took a road trip to The Kripalu Center in western Massachusetts for a weeklong restorative yoga-teaching course. She shares her solo road journey with us today!  Thanks E!

Have a great week! Happy Valentines and Happy Chinese New year! Both February 14^th!

See you next week and scroll down to read Emma’s first post!