High Five for Friday! - Freebie Fridays & PPH Print Shop Feature!

I have always been envious of those who are able to blog uber consistently ... I on the other hand ... I'm motivated on Fridays (lol) & because of this Five on Friday link up! Here we go again!

// one

Who doesn't love freebies! If you're an uber cheesy, sentimental mama like me, who makes their kid pose for first day of school pictures, these are the perfect prop. Frame 'em, stick 'em to a wall (with some washi tape!), or simply have your kid hold up the sign! At first I was super proud of myself for thinking about the first day of school when I still have almost 2 weeks left (go me go), but now I realize that the American kiddies have already started! Ek! Well, maybe pin these or save em for next year! and to my fellow Canadians, print & snap away! :)

Click here to down these first day printables!
Pretty please, these freebies / printables are for personal use only! Please do not sell, distribute or recreate, xo.

// two

Don't you just love when your babies co-operate during a mini impromptu photo sesh? Just my two favourite littles in the whole wide world posing it up! Aiden's mastered how to tie his shoes after practicing for one night (he's super proud, and obvs - we are too!) & Miss Sadie has finally fit into the chucks that my cousin bought her for her birthday :)


// three

If you haven't creeped the non-book sections of Chapter's Indigo, you definitely need to! I've seen a few previews for their holiday collection via Instagram that hasn't made it on it's way to their online site just yet, but I am totally diggin' this, this & this. And free shipping with no minimum until Sunday, woot!


// four
A little deja-vu! I'm even more excited than I was this time last week :D

PPH Print Shop is being featured on PS I Adore You starting tomorrow! 

For a limited time, some of my favourite prints from our shop will be available for sale at a discounted price! If you haven't heard of PS I Adore You, be sure you check them out. They showcase great (usually handmade) products while offering them as a deal! Oh, and the best part ... they spread the word & raise awareness about childhood cancer. How awesome is that?! Happy shopping!

// five
Christmas Eve is in 4 months and 1 day ... #justsayin

follow along: BLOGLOVIN' | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER 

Retract! PPH Print Shop Feature

FYI. 

Not gonna lie, I was pretty bummed when I got the news. But awesome things are worth the wait right? :)

High Five for Friday! - Ikea Love Edition & PPH Print Shop Feature

Another Friday, another Five on Friday link up!

For the months of June and July, I was in complete birthday party planning mode. But now that it's all over, I've been on a serious home tip. I'm dreaming up plans to get our house looking more like a home - it only took three years, oops!

Since the Ikea catalogue came out early this week, you better believe I jumped at the chance to go! Lucky for me, Sadie girl fell asleep on our way there. Sleeping Sadie is my favourite when I'm out and about ;)

There were so many other things that caught my eye while I was browsing the aisles. But it was definitely challenging to maneuver around with a 13 month old. Sadie woke once I got to the Marketplace. I realized I couldn't really haul anything as I carried her and pushed the stroller. I attempted to place a rug in her stroller as I carried her on my hip (LOL) and the sweetest lady offered to help me, looking beyond concerned & probably thinking I was ... insane. Ha! This was not going to happen. Soooo, I went back to the car - put her car seat and stroller away and went back into the store with Sadie in a shopping cart ... (insert sweat marks right about here).  Also, has anyone noticed the magical sideways shopping carts at Ikea?! Oy.

I grabbed the things I could carry & that I knew for sure would fix into our car ...

1. SOCKER vase - I've been eyeing these for some time now, but they were just never in stock at my local Ikea. Yay for me being able to grab them during this trip! I will probably use them on the kitchen counter for cooking utensils and such.

2. LAPPLJUNG rug - I almost bought this during my last trip, but looked at it in the store and thought maybe it was just too big for the space I was thinking of. This time, I took the chance & I'M IN LOVE.

If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen the photo above. Sadie girl just kills me. This room in our home has been empty for far too long. The kiddies love it cause they roll and run around in the space but I'm itching to get it furnished! I'm still on the hunt for the perfect seating - I'm thinking either some accent chairs (this one is my dream) or a smaller love seat. I'm hoping to find something with a reasonable price tag. Everything I've looked at has given me serious some sticker shock ... sigh.

3. KASSETT box with lid - I have a couple kraft ones that are sitting on our Expedit. You can't have too many cute boxes right?  

4. RASKOG kitchen cart - totally swooning over this cart! It's super cute, durable and functional. Oh & it's my most favourite colour in the world. I'm not so sure how or where I'll use it just yet, but most likely for something crafty!

5. POTATIS plant pot - this is one of my new favs! A must for hiding cleaning up toys. I still in awe with just how many toys these little buggers have. I swear, I don't even buy them any toys! Ha!

I've been using the Ikea app to keep track of my wish list. It's super helpful, especially for a Mama to forgets ... everything. Oh Ikea, you've done it again.

***

Also, because I'm beyond excited & just can't hide it ... 

PPH Print Shop is being featured on PS I Adore You starting tomorrow! 

For a limited time, some of my favourite prints from our shop will be available for sale at a discounted price! If you haven't heard of PS I Adore You, be sure you check them out. They showcase great (usually handmade) products while offering them as a deal! Oh, and the best part ... they spread the word & raise awareness about childhood cancer. How awesome is that?! 

Happy Happy Friday!

follow along: BLOGLOVIN' | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER

Pixel Paper Hearts on Instagram!

Yes folks, we're moving on up on this world - Pixel Paper Hearts is (finally) on Instagram! Woot!

I kept telling myself ... heck it's time to create a "business" account & attempt to gain a following for our work. Then other things "get in the way and I forget about it, letting it drown in my list of to-dos. But don't you love when you just get that burst of energy to complete your tasks and start checking things off your lists?!

I'm staying focused, determined and inspired. The best is yet to come. I'd love to share sneak peeks, our work, any features, what we're currently loving & of course, any discounts / promos via Instagram!

We'd love for you to follow along!
Also, be sure to tag #pphprintshop, we'd love to see who you style your prints :)

***

Who We Are & What We Do
Pixel Paper Hearts
A brother / sister duo who have a shared interest in design & all things creative. The bulk of the work we do is custom, allowing for us to connect & collaborate with our clients on a deeper level. So whatever the occasion, we'd love to start creating with you!
contact: projects@pixelpaperhearts.com

PPH Print Shop
An offspring of PPH - creating happy and modern wall prints & other paper goods to help spruce up your home or workspace. Available for purchase via Etsy.
contact: pphprintshop@gmail.com

Simple Breakfast Go-To

I wasn't always a big breakfast kind of gal. In my teens, I would skip it completely. I always found myself saying that I just didn't have time. Such a rebel I was then. Or maybe I just hadn't discovered how awesome breakfast could be. Being a Mama, I definitely instil that breakfast is tres importante. Plus I feel so frail & weak when I skip it, not an awesome way to start the day with two high energy, rambunctious kiddies.

My favourite breakfast dish would definitely have to be egg benny with either bacon or smoked salmon ... YUM. I would beg Ryan to make me that for breakfast & considered it a treat. Those eggs slathered with rich, thick hollandaise, resting upon some sweet smoked salmon or crispy bacon on a lightly toasted english muffin ... drool. I've recently discovered just how easy it is to poach an egg. One morning I asked Ryan what the trick was to poaching an egg (have your water lightly boiling & add a splash of vinegar to the water). I chuckled at how simple it was and I was feeling gusty enough to try. I was honestly proud of my (simple) achievement - I poached an egg! Woot!

And each morning I do it, I smile. I'm totally perfecting it ...

That's my breakfast go-to these days. It's delicious without a whole lot of fuss. Simple ingredients: a poached egg, 1/2  an avocado, some cherry or grape tomatoes (those ones happen to be from my neighbour friend Rachel's backyard garden, score!), some bread (whatever we have on hand, typically whole grains with quinoa or sprouts or an english muffin ... on the rare occasion I buy white bread, it just taste better when we want to make french toast!), some black pepper & sriracha on occasion. Nothing crazy fancy, just the ingredients for what it is.

Oh, I'm also a sucker for yogurt parfaits in the morning too.

What's your breakfast go-to?  

High Five For Friday! - Font Love Edition

It's Friday again, woot! (okay, I lie ... we totally love Mondays over here)

I'm linking up for Five on Friday once again! This time instead of blogging about just 5 random things (which I am notorious for doing), I've decided to give some font love to my 5 favourite, most used fonts! These fab five are totally my go-to fonts for designing and creating right now. Oh, did I mention that they're all free?! Weeeeeeeee!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Click on the links above to download the fonts :)

My love affair with fonts is deeply rooted. It possibly sprung up around the same time I discovered MS Paint for my school projects. And now, years later, I'm still playing around with fonts and typography. Just not with MS Paint, lol. Font love has definitely contributed & inspired me to open up my Etsy shop. And since I've started Project Life - I'm loving creating my own PL cards along side using the Midnight Edition Core Kit. I'm still playing a bit of catch up, but I'm excited to start sharing my pages & such.

Making your own PL cards can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. I'm opting for the simple route - only because I could literally spend hours on end creating just one 3x4 card. All I did for this one is use the Shape Tool and Type (text) Tool in Photoshop ... easy peasy lemon squeezy. I'm definitely no expert in Photoshop. It takes a lot of fiddling around and trial and error. If I can't figure out how to something, I usually google it and super helpful tutorials and video pop up! For all you Nursing Project Life Mamas, click here for the PL card! 
& of course, I couldn't help but make a PL card with these words ... everyone feels this way right?! :)

Enjoy your Friday!

Yes, It's True ...

I quit my job job (working in the HR department of a Canadian fashion retailer) for my favorite job (being a Mama). 

A little over a month ago, I did it. I emailed my resignation to my boss and simply said I wasn't returning to work post my maternity leave. It wasn't a shock by any means. We chatted about it, tried to come up with alternative solutions, but ultimately - the decision was made by Ryan and I (after creating excel budget spreadsheets, pros & cons lists and constant battles about whether this was the "right" thing to do).  It was as simple & as complicated as that. 

I loved my HR job. I started off at the company as a Sales Associate when I was 18 years old. Became a Floor Manager while completing my undergrad & took an Associate Manager position post university. I didn't see myself ever becoming a Store Manager - though that was the natural progression. So when some info leaked about the HR team hiring, I jumped at the opportunity - with both feet. I was at the right place at the right time and things for my "career" feel into place. My job from day one was challenging. Working in a remote support office (our counterparts are in Vancouver, 3 hours behind) definitely had its fair share of challenges. For a long time, I was the HR team out East - just me, myself and I. It got lonely but I loved it. I occupied myself with a lot of unfinished projects, spend some time drafting and creating new initiatives and read up on HR practices, hoping to maybe pursue my CHRP at some point. I loved the satisfaction of "winning a case" and getting kudos for it too!

And then came our Director, my new boss. We had a wicked relationship. It was nice to finally have some mentorship, someone to learn from on a day to day basis. Our time together was short lived since I was due to leave to mat leave about 6 months after she came on board. But the learning experience was beyond measurable. 

I am definitely sad about leaving the company. I have met some of my best (life) friends there. We always joke about how we literally grew up with the company - from wearing terry cloth track suits, spending Monday nights eating pounds and pounds of wings and pretty much having no cares in the world (well, except for our wardrobes & boyfriends) to having careers, marrying those boyfriends, being homeowners &  having babies! I will miss the culture, the lingo & the fashion. But most definitely - the people. What a way to spend a decade.

I posted this last week on my Instagram & meant every word.

So, what now? 

Well my new title, as society defines it is "Stay at Home Mama". Where these guys are my new coworkers, LOL.

Now, I get to focus on creating and designing. I am forever thankful that Ryan has been able to make this possible & definitely consider us blessed that we're able to make it work for our family with one income. I will continue to have my little shop with hopes of expanding my product line & will continue to take orders for custom work (invitations & stationary) with my brother here. I get to do what I love with who I love. So really, I prefer "Work at Home Mama" :) Of course, I also get to do all the laundry, cook our meals, sweep & mop the floors, scrub the washrooms & toilets ... all that lovely glamourous stuff that comes with my society defined title. Haha - let the adventure begin!