West 4th and the sleeping baby

We had a great day today – we started it with brunch at the IHOP, my first time and it was surprisingly good! T&M were raving about it and I told them not to talk it up because heightened expectations often end in disappointment. Not this time though, as it was yum.

We went home afterwards and chilled for a bit before we 3 girls headed out into the city to shop. I didn’t come out thinking I’d do any shopping beyond browsing for home accessories and other small pretties that I could bring home with me at the end of the week. But I did good today. I saw some great stuff and was able to restrain myself from buying too much, particularly when it was my first day.

We shopped along Vancouver’s West 4th Ave after I had been tipped off about a store called Bed that sells hand-dyed cotton muslin bed linens. This store is fantastic, with its wall of bed sheets hung in all the colours of the spectrum. (I’m kicking myself because I didn’t take a picture but perhaps I’ll be able to stop by another day in the city to take one for you.) I bought a pair of blue and white printed pillow cases here that have totally inspired my bedroom scheme which I’ll write more about it at a later date.

I also bought a pair of silver bird tealight holders from Paboom (they carry a lot Torre & Tagus here, more than I've seen in Toronto in one place, but I suppose it isn't all that surprising since it's a Richmond-based company), and a blush pink and brown patterned dress with a lovely chocolate brown sash that teased me in the store window of The Urban Rack, so now I’ve got to find me a pair of brown heels to wear with it.

Little Miss Fire Piglet as sleeping sumo wrestler

Throughout our 4-hour trip into the city, Little Miss Fire Piglet remained peacefully asleep, a rare occurrence, which served her well since the rash that had reddened her cheeks cleared up quite a bit. It wasn’t until we were in the check-out at the Real Canadian Superstore that she awoke wailing and she seemed inconsolable until we got her into the car and were on our way because the motion lulled her into sleep again.

We spent the rest of the night relaxing at home. M went out for an evening with the boys and my sis and I stayed in. She made pasta and I played with baby. After Little Miss Fire Piglet was put down for the night the first time, T went in for her own bath, something she hadn’t been able to do for months because E wouldn’t allow it. But with me there, I could cover off. So when I heard her crying over the baby monitor, I got up to do my auntie thing and rocked her to sleep – something I had to do 3x(!!) in less than 30 minutes because the first time I put her back into her bassinet, she immediately woke up and started wailing again. The second time, I made the mistake of sitting down and she began to cry, but third times the charm. When she fell asleep, I stayed standing, rocking and swaying until my sister came out from her bath and was able to relieve me because Little Miss Fire Piglet is a solid baby at 14lbs – and she’s only 10 weeks! At this rate I’m going to have lean and tone arms by the end of the week.

It amazes me how much I love Little Miss Fire Piglet, and I've known her less than 48 hours.