a peek inside the fishbowl

I am very happy to welcome Red Chair Kids to the Fishbowl family. This store has had a special place in my heart for a long time. Somehow they manage to embody a philosophy that I carry with me and think about a lot: Our Things Should Be Beautiful. And this is what really makes them stand apart.

Red Chair has been a fixture of West Wellington Village for a solid five years. They’re right near the centre of all the action – the Ottawa Bagel Shop, the Herb and Spice, Saslove’s – shops we love to support because there is SO MUCH TO LOVE THERE. Every time I am out buying our weekend bagels, and/or dinner fixin’s I pop my head into Red Chair to drink it all in. You see, Red Chair is my favourite kind of children’s boutique. They (a) focus on only the best, and (b) it’s clear that everything in store is chosen from the heart. The owners, Monica and Sarah, and I must be on the same design-related wavelength because when I cross the threshold I catch my breath and my heart goes GALLUMP and I choke back that constricted feeling in my throat that happens when I am surrounded by beautiful things. And this just does not happen in big box stores, you know?

I can’t even begin to tell you about all the great stuff we’ve bought at Red Chair: puzzles and games, plush bunnies, toys and baby gear for expectant parents, repositionable wall stickers for bedroom walls (you know the kind) … I could go on. One of the things we haven’t bought there is bedding and nursery furniture. This is where I have to shake my fist and howl, with a note of sadness and remorse: RED CHAIR, WHERE WERE YOU 12 YEARS AGO. Twelve years ago, when bedding for children was all so boring, lame, and populated with Barbies and badly drawn kitty cats.

Perhaps I was just ahead of my time? Nevermind. I digress.

Red Chair is the only Oeuf retailer in Ottawa, a brand that is renown for its classic design and simple lines. They carry Stokke furniture too, which is so smart I want to cry. (Once again, I am SO sorry we missed the bandwagon for this stuff.)

It’s good to know that one of the two owners is always in the store, and that they offer free in-store design consultation too, which is a real help to frazzled parents (like the kind I was!) who need a hand to hold while they’re in the thick of it all.

Can I point out a few of the things on their website that I really like (and I think you would too):

• 3 Sprouts Mouse Caddy – for toys, or diaper supplies, or socks… whatever! It is terribly cute.
• Oeuf Library – easy to reach storage for kid’s books and precious collections.
• P’kolino Giraffe Rocking chair – oh man.
• Heirloom Eco Friendly Baby Rattle – made from wood that has been sourced from an Ontario sawmill. And is filled with corn kernels! Not only is it adorable, but it falls into my “toys should last A Very very Long Time” philosophy. It would make a great gift.
• Petit Collage Owl Family Mobile – Hoo hoo!
• Skip Hop Tree Top friends Pillow – just look at those colours. Those are my colours!
• Plan Pull-Along Snail – I bought this for a friend… isn’t it sweet?

I’ve often joked with my friends that Red Chair almost, almost makes me want to have another baby. Unfortunately (or fortunately) that is not going to happen, so I will have to make do with the goods that are geared to slightly older children, and continue to shop there for friends with younger ones. :)

Anyway, thank you Red Chair Kids for coming on board as a Fishbowl patron! Your support is appreciated very much.

Sometimes I ask myself: what’s my job, as a parent? The way I see it, part of my job is to make sure my kids are safe, that they have good memories, that they are healthy, and that they are prepared for what lies ahead of them along the path of Life. Part of my job, I think, and this is rather abstract, is to help make my children’s dreams come true and to help provide the match that lights a fire within them.

As parents we don’t know what that match will be and when it will strike. It could be a newspaper article about a tsunami in a faraway county that leads to a career helping others. It could be a trip to the ER that kickstarts a lifetime of saving lives on the operating table. It could be a trip to the planetarium that launches a young Carl Sagan on a journey among the stars … whether it’s literally or figuratively.

Who knows.

I can only speak for my own match. I remember my heart turning over upon itself the first time I saw my name in print. It was perched quietly on top of a grey column of words, words that I had chosen so carefully. That feeling of my heart turning over never left me. That was my match.

I’ve had the opportunity to provide my daughter with a match too.

Some of you already know about 4Cats Arts Studio. They’re a blog patron. I’ve written about 4Cats a few times before. The girls have taken workshops there and Sarah had a birthday party there too. A few weeks ago the owner, Emaly, sent out an email to a group of us, wondering whether we wanted to lend a finished canvas or two to a special art show taking place at Chinatown Remixed. Our answer had to be yes.

Ever since she was small, Sarah’s had a thing for art. She’s come up with the most incredibly imaginitive designs, doodles, projects. And they just keep coming. It’s clear that art occupies a vast space inside her, so much so that I know that some day this is what she’s going to do for real.

To see your art hanging in a public space for everyone to see, well, that’s just amazing. Perhaps it will be a match.

And the desciption of the event (which is tonight!) makes it sound all the more official: A vernissage with young 4Cats artists of Ottawa whom are displaying their prized work for the Chinatown Remixed Art Festival May 15 – June 15th. Showcasing masterpieces created by the talented artists from 4Cats Arts Studio Hintonburg.

It’s at Shanghai Restaurant. Look for the blue-petalled flower if you happen to be there.

I am so glad we are able to do this for our dear Sarah. I can’t wait to see where she takes it.

Iced tea reminds me of summer. This week has not felt very summery at all. The wall-to-wall cloudcover is killing me softly. That’s why I’m looking forward to Saturday. They’re forecasting sun, and I’m hanging on to that forecast with everything I can muster.

The other day I realized that if I made a two-cup measure of tea I can drink one cup while it’s hot in the morning and stick the rest of it in the fridge for afternoon consumption. Smart eh?

It’s pretty simple, and MILES better than the powdered stuff you buy in the can. (WTH is that stuff made of anyway?) Boil some water, add your teabag of choice and as much lemon juice and honey as you like. Voila.

No wonder it reminds me of summer. There is ACTUAL SUN in this measuring cup:

It is lovely served with lemon ice, and/or when it’s made in a retro coffee carafe.

Oh where are you Saturday?