Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Isabella's New Painting!

This past Christmas, Isabella and Presley's grandmother gave them paintings she had done. They are both beautiful. Isabella's is a horse and Presley's a bouquet of pink flowers. I thought about hanging them in their rooms but since they are both so young to really appreciate it yet, I decided to display them in the living room. Here is a shot of where Isabella's beloved horse has now found a home. Presley's is being hung on an art wall which I will post later (if I get around to actually hanging the pics this weekend!?). Enjoy...



This has nothing to do with my post but my first use of instagram. My girlies this past weekend. 


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

A Few New Items!

It wasn't a resolution, but with all the spending that happens in December I wanted to try to at least hold back for January. It's actually hard to do with all the sales out there! I have been doing okay but then there was today. Hmmm. I haven't been into the online shopping sales in a while but this one caught my attention this morning and I scored three items - each over 70% off the original price!! Always, a bit risky when you can't try it on, but the price was worth the risk. Okay, so I'm now not going to buy anything else this month (we'll see?). Enjoy....

Thought this would make a great spring coat - less than 30 bucks, come on!

I have seen this coat in person, it's a beauty, and only $36!

Nice spring top with animal print - very hot for the season and ready for this - $22!

clothes BB DAKOTA

Friday, January 13, 2012

Candice Olsen and her use of space...

It's Friday, though not the Friday I was hoping for. I have two little gals under the weather and my 4 month old had a fever last night and was waking up pretty much every hour! Thank goodness for coffee. The day was planned for lunch/playdate with a girlfriend and afternoon at the park, well scratch that, it's all about getting well today. Anyway...back to my post.

I am a fan of Candice Olsen. She is a designer in Toronto, Ontario. She was recently on a local talk show and discussed the idea of designing for a space you will actually use. Instead of your typical living and dining room she likes the "lounge" approach. Have a space that you can entertain in and may suit a lifestyle of more casual gatherings and well, lounging. I love this idea. I have a more formal living and dining space, which I do adore, but the idea of having space where people can put there feet up, take a seat in the corner to eat some food and generally relax in a cool atmosphere is very appealing. She combines the function of a room in an unexpected way. I've often thought of adding a desk to my living room area as it seems like it would be an inspiring place to sit. Here are some examples I found of her work and how she has combined function with fantastic style. Enjoy...

Love the banquet. Can't you see this area as the perfect place for a cocktail party!?

White and blue...love.  What a great space -  sitting area, desk, window seat.

Again, she's made the eating area almost part of the living room, so cozy.

What a great space!

Okay, this one is not really like the rest but I have basement/playroom ideas on my mind and like the feel of this...

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

A New Year - A New Powder Room?

I love making goals and resolutions. I used to basically write a book, with yearly goals and then break them down quarterly, monthly, weekly etc. I wee obsessive some might say and it actually caused me a bit of angst. The past few years, I've kept the goals much simpler and have been personally focused - you know things like start doing yoga again, learn to meditate etc, etc. Along with my journey of personal development are a few projects I'd like to get done around our home. One of these is re-doing our powder room. I have always disliked it's dark feel and want to create something that reflects the rest of the house. My hubby says he can do some of the labour (hmm...we'll see?). So, I've started on a bit of a search for inspiration. I'd like wallpaper as I think it's a great space to do something a little bold. I'm leaning toward a simple pedestal sink as we don't really need storage and a definite is going to be some great sconces. Here are a few pics that have caught my attention. If you know of any great powder rooms out there, please let me know! Enjoy...

Bold wallpaper, simple mirror


Kinda digging the black

This is my favourite so far. I love the wallpaper and sconces

Could go with a more ornate mirror

This is Sarah Richardson and I love anything she does. Like the idea of a little pedestal table.

Calm feel to this bathroom

Thinking about this wallpaper - nice calming colours but still bold?

Images via pinterest

Monday, January 2, 2012

A Quote to Start the Year!


Happy New Year! I'm so excited to start 2012. I have a great feeling it's going to be a terrific year. 2011 overall was a year of change for me and I think 2012 will be seeing those changes in action! I'm so happy to be with my little gals full time this year. I'm sure it will be full of adventure, challenges and joy. The quote above is one I first saw a couple years ago and i just love what it has to say. This year I plan to spend more time doing the activities, visiting the places and being with the people that fill me up! 

My first order of business is working on getting back to my pre-baby goal weight. I'm lucky, as with my first baby, that most of the weight seems to come off pretty quickly afterwards but then the same thing has happened this time - that last 10 pounds just sticks there! I've been complaining about it for the past couple months so time to take some action. My dear friend and hubby are there to cheer me on so now that I've put it out there on blog land this is it!

Happy 2nd Day of 2012!