Thursday, March 27, 2014

Dreaming of...

We aren't really close to worry about it, but when you have wood floors you will inevitably have to refinish them. Our floors are so dark they almost border on being black and I've always loved the contrast against all our white furniture. But lately I've become enthralled with the idea of going white!

I know, I know. They aren't for everyone, and they do require upkeep. But when you see the loveliness of these rooms you may not think I'm entirely crazy. Close, but not entirely crazy.












Friday, March 21, 2014

Office Update


I have been working on my little office for the past few weeks on and off, and while I still have a little left to finish (do a little dance, hang a little art) I am in the home stretch and have been excited to show you!

Every crafty blogger needs a little space to let their imagination run wild, and while we already had this set up as an office, most times my craft zone would somehow end up in the dining room. Thanks to some awesome finds for staging CottageK that I brought home I was able to use a lot of what I had, and what I didn't have I bought at Ikea or Target to keep the makeover from getting too costly.



It made more sense to use a table instead of a desk in here. I like to have room to spread out and have enough room for both me and Wren. Plus I sometimes paint on large sheets of paper or need to wrap larger gifts, so a narrow desk wouldn't work well for things like that.

Some happy pink Poppin pens, and dollar bin pencils and bucket from Target.

Assorted cards and a couple notebooks that are too lovely to keep in a drawer, along with various office supplies I use often enough that it makes sense to keep out.

I found the garbage bin in the As-Is section of Ikea for $5.

I looked pretty hard for a tall basket to corral all my wrapping papers but only found one I liked in red at Target. It is from their Beaver Canoe line and was only $10 so I simply spray painted it black.
The dresser was salvaged from our old cabin for free, but was in rough shape so I did a glossy white finish on it.

Every office needs some good storage, but I tend to forget what I have or don't have so I need to keep things out and visible. I have yet to even go through all my stuff, but so far these EKBY Gallo shelves from Ikea have kept me from forgetting what might be hiding in the back of a forgotten drawer.

A momento from my Bestie, Alexis's Bachelorette party weekend getaway to Santa Monica.
(it's a happy hour flyer on the other side!)

I actually found this Besta Burs shelf in the media section of Ikea. I thought it would make a nice 'console table' since it hides a lot, but I like that it doesn't take a lot of real estate up in the room, and it is not too deep.


A Poppin tray and pretty target $1 bin office supplies.

For me, I like a blank canvas. It keeps my creative juices flowing! So I didn't want to clutter up the room or over style it. Simple, but yet still pretty was all I needed.

I know I've mentioned it, but I LOVE washi tape. My favorite few colors get used pretty frequently, so I decided to find some tape dispensers. I did find some gorgeous lucite ones, but they were in the $20 range each. These standard Scotch tape dispensers are $3 at any office supply store, and while they might not be quite as pretty as say, this one, but they work just perfectly without breaking the bank.

I couldn't bring myself to splurge on tape dispensers, but I did splurge a little tiny bit on some of the small storage. These Chewing the Cud bins are a favorite and gave me just the little hit of color I needed.


Like I said, I still have a few details to work on, but so far we have been loving the new office! Who's up for a little afternoon craft party in here? I think that is the next step to breaking it in.



Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Give it away, give it away, give it away now.

Today I have some fun little giveaways!

I had a great time hosting at Nest in the City last Saturday! I was a little over prepared and have a couple extra pin wheel kits left over. So I thought why don't I do a few happy mail packages? I have six in total and all you have to do is enter below!




Also up for grabs is two set of  2 tickets to the Home Show this weekend! The show is this weekend so you only have two days to enter this awesome giveaway. 


Sarah Richardson and plenty of amazingly talented designers will be speaking and exhibiting at the show, including my friend, Leanne, and her shop AppleBox Boutique. In fact this giveaway is courtesy of Leanne (THANKS LEANNE!) and you can catch her on the main stage on Saturday and Sunday!


AppleBox is actually located just a couple blocks away from Northlands in the historic 112 ave block. 


Good luck!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Like, Want, Need!


My latest crushes seem to be pretty graphic and bright. I think Spring is making me feel a tad more adventurous!

I love the small but powerful hit of color on this otherwise neutral little planter.


I love pretty much everything at BabaSouk, and especially love that it is a Canadian store, but this sweater has me longing for fresh watermelon on a hot day.

This has been calling my name for a while now and when I finally decided to get it I saw it wasn't in her store anymore! So I sent a bit of a panicky message to the seller and she reassured me the listing had just expired. WHEW! crisis averted.


Friday, March 14, 2014

Friday


Polka dots on the wall and ceiling thanks to the disco ball. I always feel a little happier when I come down in the morning and this greets me.

What a fast and crazy week, getting ready for Nest In The City tomorrow, and pulling together the new office. I can't wait to share photos next week of the current status. I am close to completion, just waiting on some art to arrive, and Wren and I have been breaking it in pretty good all week so I hope it will still be tidy for photos. But I'll show you anyway.

Have a great weekend!


Thursday, March 13, 2014

Come Make Pinwheels with Me!


I am excited to be hosting a 1 hour workshop this Saturday at Nest in the City at the Enjoy Centre! We will be making pinwheels, in garland form as well as the real deal. Seats are limited to only 16 spaces so you need to sign up as soon as you get to Nest in the City! There will be tons of cool local vendors if you want to do some shopping, and plenty of other awesomeness to check out (the lovely Christine from Just Bella Blog is also hosting a tassel workshop you won't want to miss!)


All the workshops (and supplies) are free with admission, so come say hi and have a little fun this Saturday!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Outfit Snapshots

It's funny, when it comes to shopping some people just love digging around and to other people that is just too time consuming and frustrating. I can see how some people would feel that way, and many of my friends tell me that is why the get so overwhelmed and frustrated with stores like Forever21. If they don't see it on a display they don't dare start searching the hundreds of racks. But I totally enjoy that type of shopping and have a blast killing an hour doing that.

My only complaint is the 6 item rule for the fitting rooms! I love trying various combinations on and my pile is like 20 items deep at any given moment. 


I fell in love with the pattern on this skirt, but as a casual girl I decided to find a cropped sweatshirt to pair it with. This way the awesome silhouette is still visible, but I feel like I'm not too over dressed.
sweatshirt, skirt, necklace from Urban Outfitters.


It's like my favorite outfits from the early 90's are back. Leggings and sweatshirts. Just based on comfort alone I have no idea why these took so long to come back.

sweatshirt, Zara cargo pants from last spring.

Since it can still be cool here sweatshirts are my staple. Seriously, you've never met someone who wears as many as me. Sean just shakes his head.
My Beyonce obssession reached new levels when I found this one. Sean thought I was just a big Ice Cube/Westside Connection fan... He obviously doesn't understand the Queen B love.


Yeah, I think I'm set for Spring to finally make her debut. 


Monday, March 10, 2014

Possession Obsession: Rachel Castle


I recently fell in love. HARD. I discovered the vision and talent of Rachel Castle. Her sunny Australian outlook mixed with clean white backdrops make her creations nothing short of perfection. She is primarily an artist, but also has a fun line of bed linens and cushions. I immediately knew I needed a piece from her insanely happy line so I settled on the HELL YEAH seen above. Bad words never looked so good!

I would be more than happy to fill a whole house with her creations. Just tell me this doesn't make you happy!
(I won't believe you)

Rachel at work in her studio.







Check out Rachel and her beautiful creations here, I promise you will leave with a smile.
 
Blogging tips