Yesterday was an exhausting day and night. My son picked up some very short lived bug that caused him to have a tummy ache and a fever. It came on as suddenly as it left, THANK GOD!!!! My poor little guy was absolutely miserable so much so that he asked to sleep in our bed. This kid never sleeps with us, so you know that he was sick. Another indication that something was amiss was that he didn’t want his weekly hot chocolate. We have a weekly hot chocolate/coffee date and he didn’t want it. We spent the day lying in bed watching movies. He slept with me in our bed, Wednesday night,and let me tell you it was exhausting. Imagine sleeping with a 4 year old who likes to spread every limb out as much as possible and who sleeps horizontally across the bed. Guess how much sleep this poor, tired, exhausted Mama got last night? The good news is that he was feeling much better in the morning and I was able to take him to preschool.

I’m excited to be meeting up with a good friend and her son today for a play date. We met through work and our boys are quite close in age. We had a play date last Summer and the boys hitted off well, which makes me happy. It’s nice to able to have play dates with moms that you know and like and that the kids get along, otherwise it’s kind of awkward. This is what I am wearing today: black and white striped short, a simple white tee, and white sandals. It’s absolutely gorgeous today and it’s supposed to stay that way all weekend. Thank God!!!!

Shorts & T-Shirt (Gap). Necklace (My Name Necklace). Earrings (Ruby & Ink). Sandals (Aldo). Purse (Coach). Bracelet (Gigglosophy).

I realize that I wore a jacket everyday except for today. Broke the pattern :).

This is a quote a friend sent me. She told me it made her think of me. I couldn’t agree more

I recently stumbled across a fabulous little company called Ruby & Ink based out of Langley. The company is run by Lisa and Nicole, both mothers of three. Their earrings are whimsical, dainty, pretty and feminine. Their prices vary from $2.50 to $5.00/pair. I picked up my order yesterday and I love them. These would make a perfect gift for a little girl. Below are the pink rosettes I am wearing today.

Here are pictures of some of the other earrings they carry. Stop by Ruby & Ink and you can see more of their fabulous earrings.

I love supporting local moms, especially when they make great products.

I would like to introduce you to a local musician called Natalia Pardalis, who just released Cup of Tea from her second cd, which will hopefully be released in September. Here are my first impressions of the song Cup of Tea:

• whimsical
• has a good beat
• love the piano accompaniment
• the lyrics are sweet
• nice tune
• love the idea of meeting your true love
• it’s a sweet song about finding love

Who Is Natalia Pardalis? She describes herself as Fresh. Expressive. Unexpected.

Natalia’s mother once taught her, “No musical mistake is a mistake, but rather a journey to create beautiful music”. The singer, songwriter, pianist, and musical educator has emerged from the cocoon of the classical world to reach diverse audiences with her unique story and sound.

Taking inspiration from such distinctive artists as Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Nina Simone and a touch of Mozart, Natalia blends her most powerful influences to create a new fusion of sound and soul. She delivers a bold take on the familiar sounds of classical, jazz, the standards, and Greek folk music.

Her debut album Life, released to iTunes in December of 2011, is full of soul-tinged songs that are set to resonate with all who hear them. Produced by Juno award winning engineer, Rob Shallcross, the album contains a variety of sounds, instruments, and guest vocals. Anchored together by her incredible voice and impressive piano skills, Natalia takes the listeners on a personal exploration of her life throughout the past 10 years.

As well as graduating from several musical training programs in both performance and arts education, Natalia has just completed her Bachelor of Performing Arts degree (Capilano University, Douglas College, Langara College and Vancouver Community College) - the first of its kind in Canada. Natalia is now working on a Teacher’s ARCT diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Natalia’s vast performance experiences include Trinity Western University’s gigs with Vancouver Chamber Choir and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra which she lends experience and knowledge to aspiring artists. Having studied with the best of the best, Natalia’s teachers included Ron Moir, Ay Lang Wang, Chad Louwerse, Ingrid Suderman, jazz sensation Dee Daniels, and international opera singer Joseph Store.

Natalia is an award-winning composer. Last year, Natalia along with a group of friends won three awards (Critic’s Choice, People’s Choice, and Social Media Award) from the Greek American Foundation’s 24 hour Short Film Festival for their film O Tharraleos. To make deadlines, Natalia had to composed, performed and recorded the score in only 24 hours. As they say, “the rest is history.” http://youtu.be/jQoXiNpmN8k

In Spring 2013, Natalia was nominated for a Vancouver Island Music Award - BC Wide Artist of the Year. She is both honored and thankful for this recognition as an artist.

Jazz with a touch of Greece

Vintage-inspired!

You can find Natalia at the following social media links:

You can purchase her song: Cup of Tea and CD here: http://nataliapardalismusic.bandcamp.com/

Stop by Natalia’s Facebook page and say hi and go on and purchase the song.

Don’t forget to enter my $25 Sephora Giveway. Click here to enter.

Don’t forget to link up to my weekly Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday Link Up. Click here to link up.

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May this blog inspire you to check out Ruby & Ink and Natalia Pardalia.

Happy Friday & Weekend Everyone!!!!