Sweets for your Sweetie

It's one week until Valentine's day, and I can't get my mind off of red hearts and pretty things...

 

So cozy, from Mjolk.

To make baking even sweeter, from Huset

This belt from Urban Outfitters is darling!

West Elm has a place to rest those pretty feet...

Quasi Modo has the perfect place to cozy up.

This ring from Etsy  had me at hello...

I suppose these are things I like, sorry if you were expecting ideas for the man in your life! But as the old saying goes, "if you can't love yourself..."...

Happy Shopping!

Strider Balance Bike Review

Balance Bikes are pretty common at the moment and are designed to help toddlers learn to balance on a bike without the complications of pedals. If you believe the hype, your kid will be a bike-riding prodigy and will be riding a two-wheeler without training wheels before their trike-riding peers. There are several types available and quite a few are adorable and wooden (Skuut, for example). We decided to get a Strider because it seemed stronger and more bike-like.

As you can see from this photo, we've had the Strider Bike since the spring. When we first bought it, Eleanor was about 2.5 years old. Initially, she just walked on it very slowly and it kept falling over. Now, several months later, she has progressed to walking fast and sometimes slow running. She also sometimes tries to lift her feet, but she doesn't quite have enough speed to balance well.

The bike itself is very sturdy (I have heard that some of the wooden ones tend to break, especially the handlebars). It's welded joints are neat and strong. The tires are foam filled so won't go flat. There are fake valves for the look factor. When we bought the bike, the headset was adjusted quite tightly - I suppose this prevents your toddler from becoming frustrated as the handlebar sharply turned.

It comes is quite a few colours - pink, red, green, blue and orange. Naturally, we chose red because it goes the fastest. The paint does scratch somewhat (the bike does spend a fair amount of time on the ground), but doesn't seem to chip easily. It's definitely made to last and will be passed down to Emmett and other kids.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the Strider and always recommend it. I will be quite curious to see if it makes training wheels redundant.

Have you had any experience with these, post-toddler?

(Excuse the dents on my car!)

A Vintage Road Bike in progress

I wanted to find a vintage road bike for my husband to ride for fun. He has a very sensible hybrid bike which he uses for year-round transportation (including through the harsh Canadian winter!). He also uses it to tow our kids in the Chariot. But, like lots of people he does like to go fast sometimes. I think it irks him that old men can pass him on the bike trail as his main bike is a total slug.

As I've mentioned before, he's a rather leggy and tall fellow so finding a bike to fit can be a challenge. So I was pretty happy to find a diamond in the rough on kijiji:

Whoa, I hear you say! To say it was a filthy mess was an understatement. But underneath all the grime there was a pretty good bike. Mieles are a Canadian bike company and used to be very high quality. This bike seems to be a mid-range, mid-eighties road bike designed for really going fast. Plus, the chrome forks really do it for me.

So what I did next was a huge learning curve for me and quite a lot of fun. I took almost everything off the frame - the pedals, crank etc. I then took out the bearings and cleaned and greased them. I also got to buy some cool tools, like a crank puller (I think this is the funniest name for a tool ever). I have also been spending way too much time at the bike shop (Rachel's husband's one, natch) watching them work and asking my stupid questions. The thing was so crusted with filth that I had to use a screwdriver to carve the old grease out of the nooks and crannies!

Anyway, it is almost done! Here is what it looked like a few days ago:

Quite an improvement, wouldn't you say? Since then i have added white bar tape. New brake hoods are on the way. But what I really need is a nice white vintage saddle for it.

Stay tuned for the next installment!

Henry's "Industrial Cool" Corner

I have talked about my love for the industrial look for children's rooms in the past; while I couldn't see this look for Holly, Henry has always had that rebellious, rock and roll attitude that suits this look perfectly. With his new shelf painted with chalkboard paint, we decided to do some re-arranging (mostly because Henry wanted to impress his Grandma, who visits today). Here it is!

 I absolutely love the size of that industrial desk (the sides also fold down to fit into little corners). The vintage chair relates to his red shelves on the other side of the room...

And yes, that is a mini flying V! Henry has loved music all of his life (the faster, the better!). I think this look suits him perfectly. Everything (except for some of the toys) was thrifted as well. Here's the breakdown:
Desk: $10, garage sale
Chair: 2 for $5, already red!
Shelf: free (side of the road), spray paint and chalkboard paint left over from other projects
Typewriter: $2, garage sale
Art: Cash print, gift from grandpa, Clash poster from Henry's Mom's first apartment.
What do you think?