happy father's day

It's funny how sometimes certain "Hallmark holidays" can bring the craziness out of people.  Rushing around to get gifts, cards and organizing to get together to celebrate a "holiday".

I'd like to think of Father's day as something more than celebrating the role of being a father.  Everyone's definition of a father's role is different, although strangely enough, all the father's day cards have things like golf, sports, bbq's and sailboats (how many men sail?) that are supposed to represent what being a father is really like.

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For my husband, I'd like to see a card that takes us back to the feeling of when we first found out we were going to be parents.  The anticipation.  The unknown.  The strangely existential feeling that we're never going to be alone anymore....whether the kids are in the house, or in our heart when they "fly the coup".  The sheer joy.

The life altering moment when our children first arrived...part adrenlinen, part euphoria...that complete feeling of exhaustion, but at the same time, the feeling of not wanting to go to sleep.  To capture every moment.  To reassure that everything is and will be, alright.  To hold on to our children tight, forever.

I know those sentiments are often found in Mother's Day cards...I know though, that a lot of Dad's feel the same way too.  I've often used photographs instead of cards (or gift card holders as shown here), to evoke those emotions.  So, to my husband, this is a kiss from one of our kids....

...and to all the Dads out there, this Sunday have a...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day

Simply Pretty Mother's Day Table

First came love, then came marriage…now let's honour the ones who push the baby carriage.

Usually men don’t organize parties (although I have a friend who’s husband loves to organize parties, so he’s a rare breed...but I digress)…so when Mother’s Day comes up, my husband usually takes care of details like what we're going to eat (usually BBQ if the weather is nice), but decorating the house “pretty” isn’t usually top of mind (and no, vacuuming and re-arranging chairs does not constitute decorating for a party).

When we hosted a Mother's Day get together at our house last year…the night before everyone was to arrive, I was in search for a quick table centerpiece.  As I was putting together little gifts for the Moms, I thought, why not put flowers in a gift bag like it's a vase?

I like that it’s easy to coordinate the colour to a party theme, table cloth or the flowers.  And it costs almost nothing.  And it looks cute on the table, with not a lot of effort.

Pretty simple.  Simply pretty.