April 2, 2016

Playing along with the I ♥ Spring Tag



Today is not only the first Saturday of April, but it just happens to be my darling mother's birthday as well. As such, it's especially jubilant day for me and not a time for long or overly serious blog posts in the slightest!

The sun is shining, the birds are (quite literally) singing right outside my window, the first gleeful hits of green are returning to the landscape and the world feels both alive and abuzz and with excitement and joy right now.

Back in 2013, I started seeing a fun little blog and YouTube video tag about spring appear on various sites (including Miss Budget Beauty) and tucked it away on my "to write a post about" list at the time.

Jump ahead three years, and today, on this blissful day, it seemed like the ideal time had come to answer the twelve quick questions in the I ♥ Spring Tag, before starting a fabulous day of birthday celebrations for my mom.



Playing along with the I Spring Tag









1. Favourite spring nail polish? Tough call!!! I really let the pastel adoring side of my wardrobe run wild and free in the spring, very much including with my nail polish picks, so it's tricky to narrow things down to just one favourite. That said, I do return year after year to Essie's Lilacism. It's such a cheery, sweet shade of purple that suits this season to a tee.






2. Must have spring lip colour?: Although I think it's been discontinued for a while, I still have the better part of a tube (that is holding up great), so I'm opting for one of the only coral shades that has ever looked good on me (coral face makeup + pink undertones in my skin are rarely a winning combo, but somehow this one works): MAC's Made With Love (seen in this outfit post from last May).



3. Favourite style of dress for spring? Something lightweight, immensely feminine, and very likely floral print (like the 1950s Horrockses stunners above!).




4. Favourite spring flower? There's sooo many to love and appreciate. How does one narrow it down to a single favourite. Hard, so hard! :) For the sake of their sublimely pretty scent alone, I think that lilacs may very well emerge as the winner for me in this camp, but I'm also partial to roses, hydrangeas, sweat peas (my mom's favourite flower), tulips, and lilies.





5. Favourite springtime (fashion) accessory? A great vintage straw hat and/or handbag (extra bonus points if flowers are involved with either), as they really symbolize the end of winter and return of warmer, milder weather and the gorgeous fashions that this chapter of the year entail.





6. What spring trends are you most looking forward to? Given that us vintage wearing folks usually make our own trends, this question isn't per se that applicable to my wardrobe, but in general some elements of springtime fashion that I adore and get excited for each year include the aforementioned straw accessories and floral dresses, pastel and/or sparkly jewelry, open toed shoes, capri pants, sheer (chiffon, silk, etc) scarves, lightweight mid-century blouses, and a royal garden's worth of hair flowers.





7. Favourite spring candle? Ooohh, good question! I'm a very avid candle buyer and user and definitely enjoy pairing many of my choices with the different seasons. When it comes to spring, I'd say probably something light and floral or subtly sweet, such as a jasmine (Voluspa, whose entire line of products I madly adore, makes an especially sublime jasmine candle, pictured above), lemon, rose or peach scent.




8. Favourite perfume/body spray for spring? For the past about 14 – 15 years now, my go-to warm weather scent has been Romance from Ralph Lauren. It's a truly beautiful classic that I will keep reaching for each spring and summer for as long as it's on the market.




9. What is spring like where you live? It generally starts around the beginning of April, when we hop from snow to rain that will usually last into May. From that point onward, the days generally start to heat up quite quickly as we live in one of the warmest parts of Canada, and by the beginning of June, it's not uncommon to feel like summer is here already.




10. What is your favourite thing about spring? That it means winter is over! :D I'm only half kidding there, but more seriously, hmmmmm, there's so much to adore about spring! From the return of yard sale season to the dipping one's toes in the lake (or ocean) again to the seasonal produce, a bevy of blooms everywhere to the spring's various holidays, and of course all of sweet, gorgeous warm weather vintage fashions themselves, too!




11. Are you a spring cleaner? Majorly so! We did a lot of our spring cleaning and around-the-house DIY jobs back in January, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be busting out the ol' elbow grease at various points this spring, too.





12. Any plans for spring break or upcoming vacations? None at the moment (boo!!!), but one never knows what exciting travel adventure is waiting for them next, and even if a bigger getaway isn't in the cards this spring, I suspect Tony and I will try to get in a weekend road trip or two now that roads are becoming a lot safer to drive on again.




I'm not going to tap anyone specifically, so all means, if you'd like to play along, too, please do!

Spring is a stellar season and one that doesn't necessarily get as much love on the blog/YouTube video tag front as the other three, so I say we shower it with an April shower’s worth of blog tag answers this time around. :)



{To learn more about a specific image used in this post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}






Here's to the start of April and what I hope will be a brilliant fourth month of the year for everyone! I have oodles of fun things in the works for both this month and the rest of spring - including lots of exciting warm(er) weather outfit posts - and can hardly wait to share such happenings here with all with you.

First though, I'm off to celebrate the birth of the woman who gave me life. My sweet mama, who I love, cherish and am grateful for beyond words - and whose birthday has always ensured that April kicked off on an especially happy note for our family.

44 comments:

  1. What a great post! I may do this one this week, although we got snow this morning, so hopefully I can get back in the spring spirit. I love those capris and I do love the smell of lilacs. We had them on our farm when I was growing up. We lived 2 miles from the Canadian border; Sherwood, ND. :)

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    1. Hi sweet Laurie, oh no! I'm sorry that you're still dealing with snow this last in the year. That must be very "ugh" inducing for you. Fingers crossed that it wraps up soon and that you get treated to a warm, wonderfully sunny spring. We had our first taste of such weather here this weekend (it was enchantingly lovely!).

      That's so cool! The closest that I've lived to US border so far was in Abbotsford, BC, which is mere minutes from Washington state. We're not that far - about an hour - from Wash. here, too.

      Many hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  2. Happy Birthday, Jessica's mom! And thank you Jessica for these delightful images (and your kind words on my blog).

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    1. Thank you very much, dear Ally. You're always so sweet! My pleasure! Many thanks in turn for each and every fantastic comment that you bestow on my blog.

      Wishing you a terrific week and whole month of April!
      ♥ Jessica

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  3. Spring has sprung down in Oregon, and I am loving the warmer weather, the sunshine, the birds singing, and the wonderful fresh air coming through the windows.

    I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating your mom's birthday.

    Sarah
    sewcharacteristicallyyou.weebly.com

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    1. Thank you very much, honey. For the first time this year, we had weather this weekend that felt like spring. Sunny, fairly warm, and no hint of iciness to the breeze. It was marvelous and certainly helped to make my mom's b-day all the lovelier.

      Many hugs & joyful April wishes coming your way,
      ♥ Jessica

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  4. Whoa.. 3 months have passed, so fast!
    Dear Jess,
    FIRSTLY: give your beloved mom a huge hug from me and tell here there's someone living too far to hug her herself, but I'm doing it "virtually" :)
    Now, when it comes to spring..
    Let me just tell you that today I've: washed windows at my mom's hose, weeded the flower garden for her, did some digging, rode the bike, took a long walk with a friend and had a first ice-scream for this year (it's "lent-proof" - just water, sugar and aroma!) :)
    ...so, when it comes to being a Spring-person I like to say I "spring into action" :)

    Have a magnificent first weekend of April!
    M.

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    1. Haven't they though? My stars, it's just amazing! Even with February feeling long at points for me as I waited patiently for my new computer to arrive, the first quarter of this year absolutely flew past.

      Thank you so much for the loving birthday wishes for my mom. Her birthday was a delightful one that saw the nicest weather we've had so far this year - a festive gift unto itself for sure.

      It sounds like you've been welcoming spring with open arms and being a very busy bee lately. Way to go! Yum! I haven't had my first ice cream of the season yet, but as the temps continue to climb, I'm sure it won't be long now (especially since ice cream is one of my absolute favourite foods ever).

      Here's to a joyful, productive, fabulous spring on both our ends!

      Oodles of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. Lovely springtime questions, thank you for sharing. I have seen your mum a couple of times on your blog and may I say, she is utterly gorgeous. I hope you all had an amazing day together, how beautiful to spend time celebrating in such a lovely season. Many hugs and best wishes xx

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    1. Thank you deeply, dear Emily. She truly is a beautiful woman, both inside and out. I couldn't possibly love her more and feel so blessed that we have the strong, wonderful relationship that we do these days.

      Scores of hugs & happy wishes for each day of April coming right back at you,
      ♥ Jessica

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  6. Hope your mom had a great birthday! That nail color is so pretty :)

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet lady. I'm happy to report that she definitely did. We got treated to some dazzlingly lovely springtime weather this weekend which just helped make her big day all the more special.

      Many hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

      *PS* Agreed! I reached for my bottle of it again yesterday. How can one not have purple nails come April? :)

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  7. Ooooh, what a great collection of questions. I completely relate to what you said about the coral lipstick. Although it's a colour I like, it rarely looks good on me. One that I've found that looks sweet though is Lipstick Queen's Jean Queen, which is more of a pinky coral, and looks rather similar to the MAC one that you pictured.

    As for Spring candles, my favourite one is from Geek Nest. It's called Quidditch (I'm such a Harry Potter geek!) and it smells like greenery and freshly mowed lawns. It's subtle but so refreshing.

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    1. Yum, that sounds sensational! Fresh cut grass has to be one of the best scents on the face of the planet. Thank you for recommending that candle and lovely lipstick shade (I recently learned that Lipstick Queen's offerings are gluten-free, a must for me a a celiac, and I want to try them even more now; I'll definitely share here if/when I do).

      Sending tons of hugs & happy April wishes your way,
      ♥ Jessica

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  8. Yay for Spring! I tend to associate hair flowers with summer, but now I wonder why because Spring should be just as appropriate! I may change that this year :) we had the most perfect spring day yesterday and it just happened to be one I was spending with Porcelina as I'm in Wales (in her lovely house!) as I write. I'm so thankful for the change of the seasons :) xx

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    1. Ooohh, how awesomely exciting! I adore both of you lovely ladies to no end and am totally happy that you got spend a picturesquely beautiful early spring day together.

      Have a stellar week!
      xoxo ♥ Jessica

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  9. Spring is such a lovely season, I feel it brings a real sense of renewal and possibility. And I hope your mum had a lovely birthday!

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    1. Well said, lovely Melanie. It truly does, and you know, I feel like I need that sense of renewal immensely right now (as the first quarter of the year was a fairly heavy and very, very hectic one), so I'm just revealing in spring's return and the lighter, brighter days and mindsets alike that are calling April home.

      Many hugs & joyful April wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  10. I also love that winter is over. Seriously, I love winter (I love all seasons), but if I could I would want to cut a month or two of our winter, and I would want more snow. Here in Denmark it is just a marathon of cold, wet, windy, and dark weather. I love the light is returning and with it my energy. This was a beautiful post, dear. As always I agree with you on most of it. I always celebrate spring with a lily of the valley perfume, most often from Dior. But lilacs are my all time favourite flower. Now I've read, commented and ate my lunch at the same time - on to more sewing. :) I'm sewing new upholstery from my garden furniture which will move into my fantastic green house soon. I can hardly wait. Wishing you a lovely day, and say "tillykke" (congratulations) to your mom from Denmark. :) XOXO

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    1. Seconded completely! I appreciate and enjoy elements of each season, but winter is usually the toughest to get through and longest lasting here, so when spring finally arrives (as it did here this weekend from a weather perspective), it's all I can do not to dance in the streets from jubilation I feel.

      Aren't lilacs incredible? They're one of my very favourite flowers, too, and their scent always seems to brighten my mood. Unfortunately, they give Tony a headache (interestingly, I've known several guys, but far fewer women, over the years for whom such range true), so I usually only bring a small bunch inside and keep them in my wee office/craft room downstairs so that they don't trouble him.

      Three big cheers for sewing and updating your garden furniture. Your backyard is going to look so amazing!

      Tons of hugs & thanks for your wonderfully nice comment,
      ♥ Jessica

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  11. Happy birthday to your Mum, Jessica. Love the Horrockses dresses! I hope that some day I will own one. We do have lilacs in our garden, such a heavenly scent! I am looking forward to spring, although I am not much of a spring cleaner, I'm afraid.
    Many hugs. Ann xxx

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    1. Thank you sweetly, dear Ann. You're such a lovely person. I really hope that a coveted Horrockses dress is able to land in both of our closets one day. They're such gorgeous works of mid-century fashion art.

      Many hugs & joyful wishes for each day of spring!
      ♥ Jessica

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  12. Happy spring, and the happiest of birthdays to your mother! I couldn't be welcoming spring with wider arms if I tried, there's something so wonderfully renewing about the season, more so than new year I think personally. It's so easy to feel lighter of step when the birds are once again singing and sun is beginning to peek through the clouds. I agree it's a completely overlooked season!

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    1. Beautifully said, Freya darling, there really is a great sense of renewal and lightness to this season. I swear, I'm craving such with every ounce of my being right now and find that the brighter days are helping to grow a bounty of creative ideas in my mind, too, so I'm even more grateful that spring is here once more.

      Big hugs & blissful April wishes!
      ♥ Jessica

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  13. Hello dear Jessica,

    I do hope that your mother had a lovely birthday. How precious it is that you have a close relationship with your mother. You remind me of how good my own daughters are to me.

    So many lovely things here about spring. I do love spring's perfect weather, but it usually is very fleeting here in California; summer's heat is around the corner.

    I never heard of Ralph Lauren Romance, but that photo certainly makes it look like something I should try :)

    Lilac is definitely my favorite spring flower - I love it' fragrant blossoms. I once picked a branch and it stayed fragrant for months. I fell in love with it ever since.

    What a great picture De Soto photo - love the green convertible! Wouldn't it be fun to take a spring road trip in that?

    Good night dear friend,
    ♥Hope


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    1. Thank you sweetly across the board, dear Hope. "Romance" is a powerfully beautiful scent. Not too strong or cloying, nor saccharine sweet. It's elegant, mature, and truly appealing (to me at least). I suspect that as long they keep making it, I'll be a loyal customer.

      It really would be! I can count on one hand the number of times I've thus far ridden in a convertible in my life and can think of few cars I'd love to own more than a vintage gem like that beauty. It would suit our sizzling hot Okanagan summers sooo well. Perhaps some day!

      Tons of hugs & joyful springtime wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  14. all my best birthday wishes to your mom!!! <3 <3 <3
    love your list here! and i have definitely to store away the winter clothes now! i´m so ready for linen and cotton dresses! and our weather plays along!
    xxxxxx

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    1. Thank you very much, darling Beate. My mom had a terrific birthday that was, quite literally, brightened up all the more by the fact that we got treated to the best weather of the year so far on the 2nd. Today is grey and very rainy, which is springtime-y unto itself of course.

      I hope that you had a great weekend, too, and that each day of April smiles on you, my dear friend.

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  15. These items are lovely links to spring. I also like Romance from Ralph Lauren. Don't you just love the commercials? Essie makes such pretty sheer pastels and they are quick drying as well.

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    1. Very much so! I've always greatly liked Ralph Lauren's ads and commercials in general, but those for Romance are definitely my favourite. There's such a powerfully beautiful fairy tale like quality to them.

      Sending tons of hugs & joyful April wishes your way,
      ♥ Jessica

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  16. The Aerin line from Estee Lauder has a beautiful lilac fragrance line. It is called Lilac Path. I'm enjoying it this spring. Anything lilac, rose, honeysuckle is so pretty.

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    1. That sounds gorgeous, April, thank you very much for letting me know. I've definitely have to see if Lilac Path is available up here in Canada. I haven't caught wind of it before, but that certainly isn't to say that we don't have it here.

      There are some honeysuckle trees in our neighbourhood and I all but try to live outside 24/7 when they're in full bloom. That scent is late spring and summer in a nutshell for me. Swoon! :)

      Oodles more hugs & thanks again for the recommendation,
      ♥ Jessica

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  17. Ooh what a fun post! I have definitely been loving lilac this spring, and funny enough just painted my nails a lovely shade of lilac. I love how happy and alive everything feels in the spring, it's certainly a lovely time of year!

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    1. Oooohh, how fabulous that you have lilacs already! We're just starting to get the first touches of new spring greenery here, so hopefully the ones in our neighbourhood will be popping out soon, too.

      I adore that about this time of the year, too. After a bit of a rocky start to 2016, I feel like I need all the renewal and fresh creative energy that I can get.

      Big hugs & joyful April wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  18. Happy birthday to your mom and happy start of Spring to you! :D I love seeing your excitement about the warming season! <3

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    1. Thank you very much, sweetheart. I really am jazzed about spring's return. We had some real, proper sunny weather here this past weekend put me in the best mood!

      I hope that spring is smiling on you, too.

      Oodles of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  19. This post is making me so sad that it's autumn in Australia and not Spring!! But only because I love warmer weather so much and don't enjoy winter at all. But I guess you've had a really long, cold winter so it's about time you get some warmth! I love Essie nail polishes, I actually have a really similar shade called Go Ginza on my toenails right now, even when it's cold I love pastel colours so I can pretend it's spring for me too, haha.

    jessica - littlehenrylee.com

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    1. If only we could set the seasons as easily as flicking on a TV channel, eh? How handy and fun would that be? I madly adore the season you're experiencing now though. Fall is my favourite, hands down, and I openly admit to craving it (intensely) all through the rest of the year.

      Essie polishes rock! I own more of them than any other brand and rarely go more than a few months without adding a new one to the collection. Go Ginza is really pretty, too. I like how it's slightly more pink toned than Lilacism. That makes it especially nice for pink, red and blue based outfits.

      Many hugs & thanks for both of your wonderfully nice blog comments yesterday,
      ♥ Jessica

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  20. I adore ice cream colours for nail polish, I have been wearing a lovely lilac shade lately.

    And happy belated birthday to your lovely mum xxx

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    1. Thank you sweetly, dear Melanie. I'm happy to report that she had a terrific birthday weekend, complete with the first real hit of springtime sunshine of the season. Hard to believe my own b-day is now less than three months away. How time flies!!!

      Big hugs & happy mid-April wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  21. I hope that your mum had a lovely birthday. Those Horrocks' dresses are marvellous, I would happily wear every one of them. Choosing a favourite Spring flower is very difficult. At the moment I am enjoying seeing the magnolia trees come into flower.

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    1. Oh how marvelous! Magnolias are absolutely gorgeous! Are they the pink more creamy white variety? Either way, they're such breathtaking springtime blooms.

      Thank you very much. She had a really lovely birthday celebration that included the first truly warm day of the season, which was certainly a delightful gift unto itself.

      I hope that you're well and enjoying a sunny, splendid April, too, my sweet friend.

      Big hugs & many thanks for each and every one of your awesome recent blog comments,
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. Most of the magnolias in the gardens locally are the whiter ones but I have seen one pink one. I am playing blog catch up as I was away for just over a week. Got it down to about 10 days behind now! I love having so much to read!

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    3. How exciting that you were away for a week! Tony and I just got back last night from a quick, massively needed "homemade long weekend" to a region of BC called the Kootenays (he'd never been there before and it had been about 20 years since my last visit, so one was definitely due!). We had a terrific time and I'll be blogging about our travels in at least a couple posts here later this spring. I hope that you had a wonderful time away, too, my sweet friend.

      Tons of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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