Birthdays and New Beginnings

Every September, an aperture reveals itself and we begin a slow journey of returning to life as before. It is the season of back-to-school and business as usual, the end of summer holidays and the time for new beginnings. While I have not attended school since my postgraduate days at the University of Leeds (some 10 years ago now...) the ritual still exists for me - a gentle reminder of resuming life where you left off, a distinct re-definition of self that vows to be prepared and ready to take on whatever challenges are ahead, a blank sheet of looseleaf stuck in a 3-ringed binder.

This September in particular is a noteworthy one for the Niko & Nonnie family. Our daughter recently turned five! On the eve of her birthday, we read her the following poem. It is so lovely and I am quite certain that we will continue to read it to our children every year....

When I have said my evening prayer,

And my clothes are folded on the chair,

And mother switches off the light,

I'll still be __4_ years old tonight.

But from the very break of day,

Before the children rise and play,

Before the darkness turns to gold,

Tomorrow, I'll be _5__ years old.

_5__ kisses when I wake,

__5_ candles on my cake.

Interpretation of a traditional Waldorf birthday ring

Needle felted birthday crown 

Adorned with stars, flowers and hearts

Five! Still in disbelief.  She has also started going to elementary school - French-immersion kindergarten to be precise. I would be lying if I said that the transition has not been palpable around here.  For the past five years, I have been a SAHM. While I continue to stay home and take care of our son in addition to working on N&N while she is at school, I suddenly feel like I am missing an appendage. We all miss her like mad (and vice versa) but we have been assured by her teacher that she is doing well, jumping in with both feet and full of enthusiasm and energy for her new class.

For my husband's part, many changes have been happening at his work as well. He is the Restaurant Chef of YEW at the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver. Let me first begin by saying that he is a brilliant chef! Yes, yes, you would believe that I am biased (and of course, I am!) but I assure you that his cooking... well let's just say: swoon.  You can read a recent feature on him, the re-vamped restaurant concept and his cleverly conceived new seafood dinner menu here. There's even a little video link where you can learn how to prepare a wonderful meal of albacore tuna at home - not to be missed! <3

In N&N news, I wanted to let you know that Niko & Nonnie was selected to join the Natural Kids Team! If you are not familiar with this particular team, it is a consortium of 60 artisans from around the world that are committed to making eco-friendly and healthy toys, decor, clothing, etc. All of the shops are absolutely lovely and I am honestly overjoyed by the warm welcome N&N has received thus far - it's an outstanding collective, really. I am so honoured to join in, especially with it being such a respected Children's team on Etsy. For more information, be sure to click on the following links:
www.naturalkidsteam.com
http://www.etsy.com/teams/6447/natural-kids?ref=pr_teams

If you've visted www.nikoandnonnie.com lately, you'll find that the look and feel of the website has been changed significantly. The functionality of our online shop has also been altered so finding handmade treasures should be even easier.

Set of (5) Jingle Soft Toys

There is a definite bite in the air this evening, so I think it very appropriate to showcase some autumnal hues before I bid you all good night! Here are some photographs of new items, WIP projects and the like...

Harvest Collection

Pillow WIP

Needle felted pumpkins now available in the shop