Category Archives: Uncategorized

Last Weeks Loves – May 7th to 13th

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by in Inspired by Bloggers, Uncategorized

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 Hi Kids!

I hope you all have lovely weekends! Monday again, and another episode of Last Weeks Loves is here…..

1. That Beatrice over at a Crafty Bee is so talented!  Look at this amazing necklace DIY she made to replicate one she saw in a store. So pretty.

2. I want to live in this gorgeous seaside home in Sweden that was posted over at Wicked and Weird last week. I want to live there.

3. Loved the little feature on turquoise and red I found here at Coco & Kelley.  Not a combo I would have thought I would like, but I definitely do!

4. My fave Yummy Mummy blogger, Sarah Gunn created this AMAZING rug using an IKEA rug and a stencil…..a freakin’ stencil people!  No wonder she is a superstar DIYer on Cityline! You can find her post here, and from there you can find the link to watch her showing how she did it on Cityline!

Sorry, it’s little short this week, but I spent a lot of the weekend photographing my room and putting my post together for my room redo which will be revealed later this week!!

And don’t forget to vote for my design board in the EQ3 Contest, only a couple of days left!  Leave a comment to vote!

Have a lovely day!

Over the Moon for Ostrich

02 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Decor, Fabrics, Inspired by Bloggers, Uncategorized

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Good Morning! I was recently reminded how much I like faux ostrich fabric, after reading this post over at Redesigning Sarah about how she fixed her damaged leather cubes by having the top reupholstered.  Check out how great they turned out!

Great huh?  This inspired me to find more faux ostrich loveliness….but it was hard finding an abundance of inspiration.  However, I did find a few things…

Like these chairs….

This bag…

These chairs, specifically the seats (from the home of Ms. Meredith Heron, designer extraordinaire as featured in Style at Home)

These flats….

This bench…

These heels….

These stools…

Can you believe that bench was a DIY project? You can see it here. I do love to see people having success with DIY re-upholstery, and that one tuned out amazing! Oh yea, and I would give my right ear for that bag…for realsies.

You just gotta love a little (faux)….

Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

I’m over the moon for ostrich…

Have a great day!

XO,

Poppies and Seedling Update

27 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in DIY, Garden, Uncategorized

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Good Morning!

Ahhhh, Friday….here again.  Love it.  Today I’ve got a little update on my seedlings for you. Yes people, I’ve got germination. I now have little sperm-y looking sprouts coming out of many of my seeds. It looks like starting seedlings in the fridge is working fabulously! Now I have to plant them and try not to kill them…no promises.

Check out my cosmos….

A zinnia sprout….

And the flower I’m most excited about is the poppy…

I’m a huge fan of poppies. They are so delicate and come is such gorgeous colours. Not only are they lovely but they are also highly symbolic and political.  Firstly, in Canada they are a symbol of remembrance for fallen Canadian soldiers and are a common symbol around Remembrance Day in November.  However, the papaver somniferum variety of poppy (the opium poppy) is far better known as the culprit from whom the illegal narcotic drugs opium and heroin originate.  These flowers are more than just a pretty face.  That being said, I’m going to focus on their pretty for today….

Photo sources:  1, 2 (discontinued), 3, 4 (narelle), 5 (sold), 6, 7, 8 (Jamie Beck), 9 via, 10, 11

Love the chair by etsy seller Green Gage Vintage (unfortunately it’s sold), and I’m not big on tatoos but that poppy tat is truly body art.

Have a good weekend!

I’m a Sleepy Liar

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

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OK, so I’m a big fat liar.  I said I was going post on Last Week’s Loves today, since I posted about the baby shower yesterday buuuuut, I think I’m (*gasp) skipping it this week.  There, I said it.  I know, it’s bad, but I started to go through my Reader and I was overwhelmed and couldn’t get through everything to pick my “loves” from last week.  I just have been pretty tired the last couple of days and, really, all I want to do is this….

I’m not a great sleeper so when my body tells me I need sleep, I usually try to listen to it.

XO,

Photo Sources: unknown original source via, leslie mk Flickr, Cassie Kammerzell Flickr

Yesterday’s Guest Post and a New Project

11 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Inspired by Bloggers, Uncategorized, Upholstery

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Good Morning!

Before I share with you my new project, I wanted to let you know that yesterday I was over at First Time Fancy doing a guest post.  If you didn’t know, Kerry and her family are moving to beautiful BC next week so she is crazy busy packing up her lovely home.  She was looking for some help with posting during this crazy time so, to help out I put together a little post all about florals.  If you didn’t see it yesterday, you should check it out.

Now, moving on to the newest upholstery project that I’m working on over at Re:style Studio.  It’s going to be a big transformation – but here a little sneak peek.

I’m taking this condo-sized sofa belonging to my friend Amber….

and transforming it into a sofa that is a cross between this….

via

and this…

via

It’s going to be fabulous when it is all done, and I cannot wait to show you the final product!

Have a fabulous day!

XO,

Osborne and Little’s Wallpaper and Fabrics…oh my….

16 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Design, Fabrics, Uncategorized

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Good Morning to you!

This week I spent some time doing one of my favourite things…perusing fabrics. I normally prefer to do it in the store, but this week it was online.  One place I like to look at fabric online is Osborne and Little.  Not only do they have great fabric, but they also have an excellent selection of wallpaper.  Today I’ve put together some of the fabrics and wallpaper that caught my eye.

I love this ombre-ish patterned fabric in this soft subdued colour palatte

I’m a fan of interesting toile and this Asian-inspired fabric is a great example.

Usually I’m not a fan of plaid, but this one is so simple and cozy looking.  Makes me want to curl up in front of a fire.

Love the colour and bold pattern on this one…

This pretty velvet fabric with a raised flower pattern would add great texture to an upholstered chair or throw pillow.

 I’m 33 and a verified cougar so I’m going to stop apologizing for loving animal prints.

The soft colours and bold pattern in this fabric would make a great upholstered headboard.

Generally speaking, I haven’t really gotten on board with the whole Chevron trend, but  I am loving this interesting take on the pattern in this fabric.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

The slightly flourescent colours really pop out of the gorgeous foxglove patterned wallpaper.

This snakeskin wallpaper is actually made of vinyl which I think would add such interesting texture to a room.

Bring the outdoors inside with this nature inspired wallpaper in a pretty coral.

Ah, the cameo – classic and beautiful – but this wallpaper takes a modern turn with shape and colour.

Gorgeous fabric with amazing pattern and colour.  And I love me some gold accents, and this wallpaper has just the right amount of glimmer.

I thought this salamander print could be great in the right kids room…it’s just so freakin’ fun.

I thought this pattern which features perfume bottles on a shelf is just so unique and beautiful. I’m not sure the best room to use this in, but perhaps a powder room.

Snakeskin wallpaper in a mellow yellow.  Gotta love it.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Have a great Friday!

Tuesday in the Trenches

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Inspired by Fashion, Uncategorized

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Good Morning Lovelies!

It is supposes to be a gorgeous day in Toronto today, and I’m giddy.  It is amazing how the weather can affect mood, no?  And with the early signs of spring we are seeing, I’m in the market for a new trench! I’ve started perusing the internet to find styles I like, and I’m happy to discover that there are lots of great choices out there.  My personal preference is the classic double-breasted style, but in terms of color, I’m not set on the classic khaki.  I always like clothes with a twist on the classic.

Today I’ve put together a few of my favourites from the search so far. There is a range of styles, from the totally affordable at a price point of $100 to $300 to the totally unreasonable price point of $800 to $3100.

1.Coral belted trench by Jane Norman 2. Light Pink Short Trench Coat from Zara 3. Yellow Striped Trench from Loft 4. Stretch Garbadine Trench by Burberry 5. Belted Trench by Paul Smith 6. Khaki Cotton Blend Belted Trench by Laundry by Shelli Segal 7. ‘Topliner’ contrast trim lady trench coat by Kate Spade 8. Belted Double-Breasted Trench Coat by Tommy Hilfiger 9. Trench Coat with Double Buttons by Zara

My mom says that even when I was a little kid, when I would walk into a store I’d always be drawn to the most expensive thing in there.  So, not a huge surprise that my very favorites below are 4 (Burberry, about $3100) and 7 (Kate Spade, about $700).  Try and tell me that the cut of those 2 coats aren’t amazing…..try, I dare you.  See? You can’t.  But the reality is, those are just not in my budget, so I’m leaning toward 1 from Jane Norman and the two from Zara (2 and 9).  Loving the pale pink one.

Anyhoo, hope you have a great day!

XO,

Friday DIY – Spice Jars

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in DIY, Uncategorized

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Good morning!

Remember when I started writing my Mighty Life List? And then in this post I said there were a few things I thought I could do fairly quickly?  Well, up until last night I hadn’t really completed any of them. In my defense (yep, here come the excuses…) some of them were worded as “do more of this, this year”, so I have started a couple. But this morning, my friends, I’ve actually completed one – I organized my spices! OK, so it might have been the EASIEST of the items on my list, but it’s done.  And today I have a little DIY to share with you about what I did.  But first, for the sake of showing the extremes, I’m going to embarrass myself and show you just how terrible my spices looked before…

Seriously, it looked crazy, and was taking up a whole shelf in my cupboard.  They are in various containers, disorganized and just plain ugly.  I needed them to be be in containers that were pretty enough to move them to my open shelving. So, I took a trip to one of my favourite stores….um, Dollarama….and bought the pretty jars below. And then made a stop at Canadian Tire and picked up some chalkboard spray paint.

Next, I took painters tape and made a square outline on one side of each of the jars, and I sprayed each of the squares with the chalkboard paint and let them dry over night.

After they had dried over night, I removed the tape and I had a whole bunch of these…..

Last but not least, I used chalk to write on the spice names and filled ‘em up!

So much better, no?  My spices are ready for their coming out party!

I’m so excited about how they turned out.

The best part?  More cupboard space!  Next up, re-organizing my cupboards, which I’m actually excited about doing.

Wow, talking about re-organizing my cupboards is a really pathetic way to end a Friday post….so instead I’ll end with this….

via

Have a great weekend!

Kisses,

Last Weeks Loves

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Inspired by Bloggers, Uncategorized

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Good Monday Morning!

Alas, the weekend has come and gone now back to the grind….boo! But I had a great time over the weekend celebrating my birthday so I can’t complain too much.  Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties with my camera, I have no pictures to share, but I can assure you it was a fun time.

As I think many bloggers do, I draw a lot of my inspiration from other bloggers and this past week there were lots of great posts by my fellow bloggers, and today I’m featuring a few that caught my eye….

1. I love this painted lampshade DIY posted by Jenny over at Little Green Notebook.  I’ve actually been searching for a new lampshade but now I might actually tackle this on one of my own lampshades instead!

2. Rosa over at Flutter Flutter found these adorable little paper clips at Daiso and posted about it.

3. The ever style-saavy Victoria over at VMac & Cheese did a great post about lace shorts.  I personally love them but it would take the right style for me to buy a pair and  actually pull them off.  She provided a great list of style options here.

4.  Brittany at My Daily Randomness always has such great recipe posts, but this Sour Cream Coffee Cake made me salivate.  I love a good coffee cake, it makes me feel warm and cozy.  I’m not the greatest cook but I love to bake and this one is now on my to try list, fo’ shizzel.

5. I always love the fun finds in the posts written by Lisa at Wicked and Weird, and Saturday’s post on Lost Type Co-op, a site featuring super fun retro style fonts (in which the designers get 100% of the earnings from the purchase of the fonts) was no exception.  Here is an example of one of the fonts that Lisa featured.

6. I loved this light featured here last week on Design Sponge (and many others) from Apparatus lighting.

7. Oh, how I love a good art find, and Christine over at Bijou and Boheme is the BEST at discovering talented artists and sharing them with the world.  She and I also share the same brain when it comes to art, so I always love her choices.  This past week she featured a giveaway of a print from Zoe Pawlak whose work is crazy gorgeous.  The giveaway is over but you NEED to check out Zoe’s website to check out beauties like this one.

8. And finally, I saw these paint dipped wooden utensil DIY on House of Earnest via this post on Poppytalk.  How cute!

Have a great day!

XO,

Alt Summit Recap – Round 1

28 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in Conferences, Conferences and Meetups, Uncategorized

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So finally, today, a week after the end of Alt Summit and a few days after I returned from my post-Alt mini vacation in Utah, I’m happy to report that my blogger’s block seems to be gone and I’m ready to write again.  I don’t think I can possibly put all of my takeaways from the summit in one post so today I’m just focusing on the overall experience.

I cannot stress enough what a great experience Alt Summit was for me.  I learned so much, met truly lovely and insanely talented people, and had such a amazing time.  So, in other words,

(images via 1,2,3)

I had a kick-ass roomie, Miss Jennifer from Rambling Renovators, and whether it was mingling at the parties or having deep discussions about blogging, we had a total blast. The added benefit of having Jenn around was that she knows everything. I’m not kidding…she knew who people were, what blogs they were from, which people were on which panels, where we were to eat breakfast…everything.  This fuzzy photobooth picture depicts the essence of Jenn and I at ALT….Jenn doing it right while I have no idea what is going on.

(via photo booth sponsored by Epiphanie Camera Bags)

I attended many sessions sessions including the business of blogging, how to grow a readership, building a personal brand and a roundtable discussion on how to quit your day job.  Some of the best design bloggers out there were sitting on the panels, and let me tell you, these men and women truly know what they are doing.  There were some amazing keynote speakers including Ben Silbermann, founder of Pinterest and Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project. And to top it all of there were crafty courses on the Saturday – everything from calligraphy to photography.

Clockwise from top right: Jenn and I just before we met Ben from Pinterest (via Jenn’s camera), swag from the party (via me), Ben Silbermann doing his keynote (via b.a.d. photography), Alt shoes (via Justin Hackworth), Panelists Jordan (Oh Happy Day), Kelly (Design Crush), Nicole (Making it Lovely) and Maggie (Mighty Girl) (via me), helpful graphs (via me), Gretchen Rubin closing keynote (via b.a.d. photography), my textile design course (via b.a.d. photography), the crowd during a session (apparently I thought something was hilarious here) (via Justin Hackworth), the lovely Miss Emily Henderson of Secrets of a Stylist speaking during a session (via me).

After the first day I had an overall feeling of, holy sh*t, I am doing everything wrong! And I heard similar sentiments from many other bloggers.  But I came away with so many tools to improve my blog that it was hard to feel anything but inspired the whole time I was there.

Oh, and have I mentioned the amazing parties ….namely the “dinner en blanc” on Friday and the mini parties on the Saturday. Super fun and beautifully decorated…..

Clockwise from top right: Jenn and I in the Method “Smilebooth” with props, Dinner en Blanc (via Justin Hackworth), Jenn and I and some new/old friends Kathleen, Jason, and Cole (via Jenn’s camera), Chinese New Year mini party decor (via b.a.d. photography), the Girls with Glasses Parisian mini-party decor (via moss and issac), Jenn and I at the dinner en blanc (via Jenn’s camera), decor at the Wilson Art mini party (via me).

I was one of about 400 to 500 women (and 10 to 15 men) at the summit so one can imagine that it could get competitive or catty, but it was so welcoming and supportive.  The ideas of collaboration and community came up in one form or another in all the sessions I attended. I have always been amazed about the community and support given by the smaller group of Canadian design bloggers but I’m happy to say it is present even in the broader blogger community.  I feel very lucky to be a part of it.

In subsequent posts I’ll talk about some of the specific things that i took away from the Summit, but for now, I have to go figure out what to wear to the Canadian Design Bloggers Meet-up tonight at Brassai.  Can’t wait to see some of you there!

XO,