Honest Scrap

Thanks to the ever so generous Margi from Between Loads of Laundry, I have been honored with my very first blog award. I won't lie -- I'm pretty excited about adding a little awards area to my humble, wee blog. Makes me feel pretty special.



Scrap means left over, fragments, discarded material. Many times truth and honesty are discarded material, considered fragments and left over. People like us need to tell it like it is, and let the scraps fall where they will.

When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to said person so everyone knows he or she is real. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have 7 friends. Show the 7 random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Weblog.” Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. List at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!

Sounds reasonable to me! Here we go:

Ten Honest Things About The Fawn
01. All things medical and pertaining to hospitals make me very uncomfortable. This is one of the main reasons why I am choosing to have a home birth. I know that I will feel better in a situation where I have more control over the care of my child & myself. I also trust my midwives 110% and know that they will do what is best for us.
02. The hair colour that you see now is not in fact my real hair colour. I'm actually very blond.
03. I have lived in the same city since I was born. Sometimes I feel like this might be pathetic, but then I remember how much I actually like this silly place. It has everything I need right now & I have no reason to leave it yet. Someday, yes. Just not yet.
04. I have a joint degree in Philosophy & Cultural Studies with an Emphasis in Image, Sound & Performance. This is just a fancy way of saying I have a BA.
05. I have a bit of a weakness for Diet Coke & Coke Zero, despite all of the aspartame badness. Allow me one guilty pleasure, please.
06. I have an incredible partner who is supportive, handsome & makes me laugh every single day. I know how fourtunate I am to have someone like him.
07. I'm a little bit addicted to Twitter.
08. The three most expensive things I've ever spent money on are my university tuition, my camera & my dog.
09. I want to breastfeed my daughter as long as I possibly can & I know that I will be devastated if I am unable to. I also know that I have a wealth of support at my fingertips & have every reason to believe that I will do just fine. Support will be everything & I am grateful to those around me who offer it.
10. I absolutely cannot wait to meet my daughter & to see my partner holding our daughter for the very first time.

The Next Seven Fabulous Recipients
01. A Cup of Jo
02. Making it Lovely
03. The Life and Times of the Plume
04. Wish Wish Wish
05. Operation NICE
06. Girl's Gone Child
07. Lumière

There you have it, folks. I can't wait to read ten new things about the new recipients! Thanks again to Margi & I hope you all have a fabulous evening.

The Journey, So Far

Week seventeen to week thirty six.

As of today I am thirty six weeks & four days -- just twenty four days to go. I have a midwife appointment this afternoon to have some blood work done. Cross your fingers that this last test will show my iron peaking to new & glorious heights so that my dream of a homebirth may come true.

Time to shower, enjoy some tea & face the day. Happy Tuesday, friends. I hope it's a lovely one.

Late Night Tea Time

♥ earl gray
♥ raspberry leaf
♥ pretty red kettle
♥ one chocolate macaroon
♥ one peanut butter & chocolate ball
♥ my favourite mug
♥ my favourite spoon (with the handle that looks like silver bamboo)
♥ cherry blossom tea pot
♥ fresh fruit
♥ time for bed
♥ guten nacht

Pretty, Pretty

Happy day after boxing day, mes amis! It is very rainy here (there was actually thunder & lightning earlier) and we have holed ourselves up in the office with hot coffee to enjoy our time off from work. The boy is also enjoying the Bailey's on my behalf (which smells delicious & is a bit of a tease).



Speaking of the boy -- this is the gorgeous, amber ring that he picked out for me for Christmas. I will think of him every time I look down at my hand.

What special present did you get this year?

Thirty Six Weeks

Today I am 36 weeks pregnant & I am so ready for her to come out. I've officially hit the too uncomfortable part of the pregnancy. I keep running into people who think I've dropped a little, or who say they are sure she will be early -- I can only hope these are truths.


Sir Winston is watching from the hallway.

I love looking down & seeing her move around, and feeling her little hiccups, but I'm ready for her to come out now. I just want to be comfortable again.


I have no idea why there is a tangerine on the back of the toilet.

I'm ready for walking without a waddle, skin that doesn't feel like it's going to tear at any moment, panel-less pants, being able to bend over & put my boots on without being in agony & sleep -- oh sleep, and being horizontal position at all without aching & being so uncomfortable. (I make this sound incredible, don't I?) The truth is, I can't be too annoyed since I've had such a great pregnancy, but hey, I'm ready for it to be over. I want to have my little baby girl squirming around on the outside & away from my precious organs.

I still don't know where my stomach is hiding. Perhaps it's somewhere near my spine.


Just four more weeks.

We are pretty much prepared for her arrival. Our bassinet is coming soon (this week?) and the other furniture for her room will arrive shortly after (not that she will need it all right away). Other things I'd like to do include: washing all of her clothing & blankets, organizing her room a little better (including finding her a bookshelf) and cooking up some casseroles & freezable food so I won't have to cook when she's brand new.


The boy was so tired after work today that he fell asleep a short while ago. Sweet dreams babe.

I hope your holidays went well & to all of the pregnant ladies reading -- I hope you're feeling comfortable & happy & healthy! Have a fabulous evening & send comfy thoughts my way. Peace.

Christmas Eve

I hope you're all having a fabulous holiday evening, cozy & warm with loved ones & some hot chocolate.


With love from my family to yours.


Winston loves the holiday season too.

Happy holidays! Guten nacht.

A Package From The Plume

Thank you, again, to the lovely Jillian Lukiwski! A little while ago I won a giveaway on her blog & today the mailman brought this:



I can't wait to choose something so fabulous from your shop. Merci, merci.

The Waiting Game

I am a sleepy, sleepy girl & have been called in early to work tomorrow, so I just wanted to post a couple new photos before I crawl under my duvet. At about 35 1/2 weeks I'm starting to get pretty uncomfortable, but things are going well with the little one. I have no idea where my stomach is anymore (how could it possibly be hiding in there?) and I still can't breathe (drop please!) but, really, this pregnancy has been really great & if I have to suffer one month at the very end I think I can handle that. I could do without the pregnancy induced carpal tunnel (considering I work with my hands most of the time) but I will suck it up if in one month's time I have a sweet, healthy little girl in my arms.


35 weeks & 2 days: Hanging out on my couch with my laptop. Hello baby belly.


35 weeks & 3 days: The photo is rather dark, but here you can see the belly shelf in action. She's holding my decaf coffee from Natas.

Sigh. I feel as though the rest of my pregnancy went by fairly quickly (aside from the first trimester before we told too many people) but now this last month has slowed to an absolute crawl. I hope you're ready to come out soon, little one! Each Braxton Hicks makes me so excited about the day I'll finally be able to see that little face & kiss those little cheeks. Just. One. More. Month.

ps. I dream of the day where going from sitting to standing does not result in having to run waddle ferociously to the nearest bathroom. Hoisting myself off of my bed in the morning ought to be an Olympic sport.

Congratulations

It is time to announce the winner of the 100th post giveaway! The boy & I were much too sleepy to do the draw last night, but we did it this morning before heading to work and (drum roll please) the winner is:

elsa.elsa!!

You are the lucky recipient of a special selection from my shop!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered -- I will definitely be doing another giveaway sometime in the future.

Early Present Love

Christmas might be six days away, but today I received two rather unexpected presents:

01. I won a beautiful merino scarf from a contest on A Cup of Jo. If you've never been to her blog I urge you to take a look -- so many lovely things are happening over there. Thank you Joanna!

02. I opened our hydro bill to find that they had refunded a little over $100 of our original deposit. Woo! I'll consider this a rather kind present from the utilities commission.

Have you had any early presents this year? Have you given any?

Little Fawn

Happy Thursday, friends. My lovely friend Iris held a little baby celebration shindig at her apartment for me this afternoon. We had punch in a real crystal punch bowl & my incredibly talented friend Karen made the most fantastic cake.


The cake says Welcome to the World Little Fawn.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to spend the afternoon -- thank you to Iris, especially, for trying to throw me a surprise party (even if facebook thwarted her efforts). I am so grateful to have friends like these -- amazing people to share my life with & strong, positive influences for my daughter.

I hope you're all having a fabulous Thursday evening

ps. Just 36 days til our due date. Tomorrow shall mark week 35!
pps. I've already started to mentally plan her outfits.

A Quick Note Before I Retire For The Night

♥ The voting is open for the Christmas tree contest over at The Life and Times of the Plume. Vote Tree II Electric Boogaloo! All of the entries are so fun & I love seeing so many different trees in one collection. I also love the common thread of cats & Christmas trees.

♥ There is still time to enter my 100th post contest! The deadline is December 19th, so be sure to get your entry in on time. Thank you to everyone who has shown their love over the past few days! It means so much & I can't wait to announce a winner.

Bye for now, friends. Sleep tight & sweet dreams.

Update: Congrats to the winner of the Plume's contest! View the results here.

The Fawn's One Hundredth

Oh my word the day has come to post my 100th post! Back in August I wasn't quite sure what I was starting here but it is morphing into something that I love more & more each day. Thank you so much for your patronage.

In honour of my 100th post I have decided to do a little giveaway to say thank you for reading & visiting & sharing my blog.

As some of you may know, I work at a little soap shop where we make all natural bath & body products. My shop is full of fabulous things which make your skin happy & healthy & delicious smelling. The winner of this giveaway will be treated to an assortment of goodies from the shop in their favourite scents.

Now, your 1st entry is simple -- just leave a comment on this entry letting me know how you found my blog & also list a few of your favourite scents so that if you are the winner I can hand select some lovely items from my shop (note: we do have some unscented, or lightly scented products as well & be assured that our products contain nothing artificial -- just all natural essential oils & earth friendly ingredients). You may enter the giveaway a 2nd time by subscribing to my blog's feed & letting me know in your comment that you did so.

The deadline to enter will be December 19th at midnight (ie. Friday night) and the winner will be chosen at random by my partner from a bowl of your names.

Best wishes to all who enter & thank you again for being a part of So Fawned. I can't wait to see what the next one hundred posts shall bring.

♥

ps. Today I reached 100 followers on Twitter as well! How serendipitous.

More Christmas (Tree) Love

One of my favourite ladies is having a Christmas tree photo contest so tonight I took some new pictures of our tree. I should have put a little bow on Kitten while she was relaxing under there.


Christmas tree & Kitten love.

This is the photo that I have sent in for the contest. You can enter here up until the 16th. Best of luck friends -- I can't wait to see all of the fabulous tree entries.


I'm really happy that I chose to place the tree in between the kitchen & living room. I love how it breaks up the space.

Today I cleaned & cleaned to get the house ready for the company that is coming to stay later on this week. I wanted to get a head start & finish unpacking.


There are four hundred multicoloured lights on that tree.


Our two very special new ornaments.

We each chose one special ornament each this year -- he chose the surprisingly heavy, blue, metal star & I the shiny, peacock coloured sequined number. Every year we'll each choose a new ornament for the tree & next Christmas our little one will be able to pick one out too. I'm very excited about our first new holiday tradition.

What sorts of holiday traditions do you have? Will you dream up any new ones this year?

Christmas Love

Last night the boy & I finished up our decorating.


These white lights are now in the window of our office.




We picked out peacock coloured balls for the tree & Kitten posed with her light show.


Merry Christmas love.

This is our favourite time of year.

Inside/Outside

The view from my living room window.

Thirty Three Weeks & Four Days

Taken yesterday.

The Fawn Has Some Good News

This afternoon my midwife called with some rather happy news: my hemoglobin levels are rising.

At the beginning of my pregnancy my hemoglobin was at a healthy 122 but dropped down to a somewhat unnerving 98 a couple weeks ago. I immediately started taking a liquid iron supplement & today my midwife called to say that the blood test from last week shows that I'm up to 105.

Insert a sigh of relief.

The cutoff level for having a home birth is 100, but she would like to see me holding steady at 110 (just to be safe). I am so happy to be one step closer to having the birth that I want.

Today I have also been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions which make me feel like I have an oversize bowling ball in my gut & right now the little one is having a bit of a hiccuping fit. She's rather obvious about her actions these days & I can't wait to meet her -- I feel like I'm already starting to understand her personality. Did anyone else feel like this? Like you already knew the little one in your belly before they arrived?

We can't wait to meet you, little one. Just 45 days to go.

Aujourd'hui

Today was love.

I woke up early to have breakfast with some friends before we headed out into the snowy country for our first art class.


A friend in the big, big snowy outside.

Today was day one of a sort of journey that we are going to take over the course of the year & I already have so many good feelings about it. We are meeting once a month to discuss, inspire & break ourselves into something new -- we're all at a different point in our creativity & this facilitation is going to be our driving force. I'll continue, each month, to share the process & experience with you.




After each class we have tea time.

After the class I spent some time at Buttercup, then went home to organize my newish furniture. I say ish because it's not new, just new to me -- the best kind, perhaps. Anyhow, my living room is now completely set up & though our furniture does not match, but any stretch of the imagination, I love it anyhow. I promise to share more photos over the next few days.


Winnadog's new favourite spot.

I also put up our Christmas trees -- one big, one little. The boy & I plan on buying decorations & more lights this weekend. Fabulous.


Pretty, white lights on the big tree.

Have a good night -- this sleepy girl is about to nod off. Peace.

Less Than Seven Weeks To Go

This evening I realized that I hadn't taken any belly pictures in over a months, so I figured it was about time.


The girls at 33 weeks & 2 days.

I think I'm starting to waddle a little these days & (whether it's wishful thinking or not) I sort of have this feeling that she will come early (perhaps the 2nd week of January). I realize that it's more common for first babies to be late, but I feel like I've been pregnant forever & can't wait to meet her.


Hello roots -- this girl needs a dye job.

I really ought to be sleeping right now, but I had a cup of tea as well as a hot chocolate tonight and I think this caffeine combo has me wired. I feel like my eyes are too open & the little one is certainly not asleep either (not that she sleeps when I do either). She's taking up more room in there these days & still love feeling her move around, except for when she's pushing directly down into the bladder/cervix region -- this is less pleasant & makes the boy giggle a little at the faces I make.

I'm also feeling incredibly clumsy & incoherent at times -- I keep stumbling over my words & turning sentences to mush, and I'm breaking things left, right & center. For instance, tonight I knocked a glass off of my desk when I was moving my laptop. The glass smashed over my camera which was sitting atop my computer tower and little bits of glass ended up inside the case. Thank goodness for the boy who cleaned it all up while I sat & frowned. Did anyone else feel like an accident waiting to happen while they were pregnant?

Hmmm, time for sleep, methinks. Sleeping & snuggling before a very exciting morning (which I promise to tell you all about). Guten nacht.

Our Cheeks Are Nice And Rosy

The Santa Claus parade took place this evening downtown & I watched from my shop window while sipping hot chocolate. It was adorable in all sorts of ways & made me think of watching the parade when I was a little girl (since I've lived in this city my entire life). The float for Santa hasn't changed in my whole lifetime, nor the lifetime of my coworkers. It was all very nostalgic & sweet. I even ate a candy cane today, with my hot chocolate. I love this time of the year.

What are some of your favourite holiday memories?

This year will be all about making memories & less about consuming. This is our last holiday season sans bébé and we will enjoy it together, being thankful for what we have and the family that we are about to start. I hope that we can create traditions for our family around the holidays that don't involve manic spending & stressful shopping sprees. I want our child to grow up in a family where the holidays are all about quality & not quantity. Presents? Yes -- but not the towers of gifts that my mother worked so hard to give me. I am grateful for everything she did for me as a child, but she stressed so much & I wish that she would never have to feel that way. I'm so thankful that my close circle of friends and I are all starting to make this kind of a switch in our holiday thinking. Handmade vs. purchased, green & eco friendly products -- love, family & friends instead of spending, stressing & all of that worrying. Who needs it? I would much rather enjoy what we have, give meaningful gifts (even if this just means spending time with loved ones) and to make the holidays a stress free time. Ahhhh. All of this is putting me in a fabulous mood & I think I'll be off to enjoy my tea, which I'm certain has finished steeping by now.

Have a lovely, snowy evening. It's been snowing here for almost an entire day & I love how everything outside is sparkling right now. This is the part of winter that I adore.

ps. By some miracle of the earth we now have internet at our new apartment! Ah, what a relief. I'm pretty sure the boy made a rather forceful phone call to the company which sped things up (since they'd already made three mistakes with our move order). However, I don't care how it happened -- I'm just glad that it did.

Almost Home Sweet Home

Welcome to a little tour of our apartment so far. It's in a state of flux, with so much to be done, but I'm already falling in love with this place. Please, enjoy a little glimpse into our life.


The baby's room -- somewhat icky pink carpet, but I think with the help of a throw rug or two it'll be just fine. This closet doesn't have a door, but I might put up some curtains -- however, I can't complain about the closet size and all of the shelving (which is mimicked in all of the bedrooms).



The baby's room -- I'm doing just one wall & the back of the door in this lovely "buttercup" yellow (the same colour that graces the walls of my friend's shop). I just started painting it last night & I'm almost finished aside from some little touchups here & there. I absolutely love this colour -- it's just so happy! Also, here we can see Winston trying to get in on the action (aka wanting to explore one of the room's that he's not actually allowed in).


The foyer (as I like to call it) -- I'm so happy that we have this little barrier between our apartment & the hallway. There's even a spacious coat/shoe closet out there so that none of that muck has to come onto my nice maple floors. Bliss.



Here we can see the living room full of boxes (since the only living room furniture that we own at this point is one bookshelf and one coffee table). This room will eventually be full of comfy seating and be the main area for relaxing, tea time & entertainment of sorts. If we end up buying a television at some point (we don't own one now) it will go into the den so that it's not the focus of the living room. I'm just not that kind of girl. You can also see my pretty maple floors here (again, bliss) and Sir Winston who followed me around the apartment while I snapped photos.



Our bedroom -- Pretty simple, just our bed & two side tables (mine is the really high one). Please excuse the rather ghetto blanket arrangement in our window. It is there to help keep some of the streetlamp light out of the room at night so that I can sleep. I enjoy total darkness when I'm going to bed & so far that hasn't happened. I can't wait til we get some nice, thick curtains.



Kitchen/dining room -- Do you see all of that counter space? I'm in love with this kitchen (and I will be more in love once it's all tidy). We don't have a table yet, but once we do I'll have to figure out the whole eating situation. Not sure how to arrange it so that the flow in the kitchen remains.



Just a quick shot of my beloved fawn print beside the door to the foyer. Pretty, pretty. I can quite remember who gave it to me, but if my memory serves me right it's actually a notecard.



Another shot of the kitchen -- can you see my double sink? I haven't had one in years & I love it. There's also SO much cupboard space. I haven't even begun to fill it.



Hallway -- on the left is part of Winston's crate, at the end of the hall is the den, followed by the office and then the bathroom on the right, beside the calendar.


Laundry closet/room -- this closet has laundry hookups in it, but until we get a washer/dryer it will house some boxes, some laundry baskets & the dog's crate. You can also tell how terrible a shape the doors are in. The previous occupants were here for about 15 years & there is that much grime on the doors. I am most definitely painting them all.



Our office -- the boy's computer to the left and mine on the right. This is also the only room with linoleum, which isn't great, but again can be solved with a rug or two (something that will really tie the room together).



The office -- my computer on my squeaky old desk. Look at all that shiny linoleum.



The office -- a view from the corner and of many boxes which need to be sorted through once we get some storage space in there.



Then den -- hunter green carpeting & my sexy cruiser. The boy's bike is still parked outside of our old place, but I could only ride one of them back from downtown yesterday (in the snow, which was a mistake).



The den -- this room will eventually have a single bed, for company, and possibly a television if we decide to buy one. I suppose we'll need a way to watch movies now that we don't have a computer in the bedroom or the living room.



The bathroom -- rather spacious & I still love my doggy shower curtain. Sadly, two of the holes at the top have ripped & we're in the market for a new one.



The bathroom -- Hello to me, 33 weeks pregnant today & trying to hide the huge zit on my face with the side of my hand & the camera. Very clever. Also, you can see my beluga painting back there on the wall -- there's a rip in the canvas, which you can't really see here, but I love it too much to throw it out.



Hallway -- the view from the opposite side, standing with my back to the den.

So there you have it, folks! Tons of work to be done, furniture to be acquired, walls & doors to be painting, boxes and storage to be organized -- a home to be made.

And a home it shall be.