Moments

This year I am aiming to document a little more of our day to day lives. The raw, real moments that make up who I am. It is always nice to look back on posts like this later on, but my main goal is to also share with you more of who I am. I know we've been chatting together for over 4 years now, but I also know that I tend to keep a lot private. Not because I don't want to share, mainly because it seems pretty mundane. But I also think there is a beauty in day to day moments.

Instead of writing out lengthy, novel-length posts about what makes me tick I feel like a handful of snap shots every few weeks will speak a million words more than I could ever muster. And hopefully you will feel like you 'know' us a little better. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I am actually not much a of writer. So this is my way of 'journaling'.

[watching a light dusting of snow fall while I do dishes]

[a mid morning snack on the weekend, and mis-buttoned jammies]

 

[Sean's latest project. He plays with cars like I play with houses]

 

[I suspect he will be out here a lot for the next few weeks]

 

[ lazy day! sometimes our bed feels cozier unmade]

 

[I got a little out of control with the milk frother when I refilled my cup one afternoon]

 

[Wren got us dancing up a storm in the living room while she shined her flashlight on the disco ball]

[Saturday morning cartoons!]

Outfit Snapshots

Just a few little snaps of my favorite outfits last week.

I bought this J.Crew top (on sale here) for our family Christmas Eve gathering and it has become a staple over the past month. The stripe obsession is still strong!

 

Can we talk about fleece leggings? I don't see these on the website, but these ones from Old Navy have becomes my pajamas, my leggings, my pants. Basically they are a second skin. AND they were on sale in store for $10. Yup, I picked up enough to get me through a week without doing laundry.

 

No fleece-legging kind of day is complete without a fun, comfy shirt. I see she has discontinued this Holla! shirt, but my buddy Tessa always has the softest and cutest tees in her Cake For Breakfast store.

 

Chunky socks + suede moto boots = happy feet

I love these brown motorcycle boots from Zara, in fact I pretty much love everything when I go to Zara. It's a problem really.

 

No fashion-based post can be complete without my little fashionista (dress here). She is Valentine's ready, with hearts or pink/red on nearly every outfit these days. I think she has discovered her favorite holiday!

DIY Ceramic Valentine's Art

 

This year I wanted to do something sweet, but not as candy-focused for our Valentine's. Hard work for an admitted sweet tooth! 

I decided to come up with some personalized creations for all our friends and family using mostly stuff we had laying around. What is one thing I have laying around in mass quantities??? dishes, dishes and more dishes. Not that we host staggering numbers of parties, I blame the hoard-sized collection on cool thrift store finds, garage sales and loading up at my Dad's restaurants. There is no shortage of plates in this house. But if you don't have a ton to spare I highly recommend hitting the thrift store for a handful of pieces!

I found ceramic pens at a local De Serres art store (same one online at Amazon here) for $6 each to beautify all my plates.

 

And got to work. I didn't want things to look too perfect or polished, brush strokes and little imperfections just add to the fun and charm. 

 

a little dish to catch odds and ends on a bedside table or hall table was my first creation.

 

So many of my friends and family are music nuts so I thought it would be fun to incorporate lyrics into a lot of my creations.

A little mug duet.

 

For more of an eclectic, Anthro inspired look I took the pens to a few antique plates. 

For the awesome, single ladies in my life!

 

My Valentine to Sean, a nod to some R.Kelly, Ignition Remix, which is a running inside joke in our lives. 

Once all my creations were dry I just followed the instructions on the pens, letting them set for a day or two then baking them for a half hour. 

It is a fun, easy way to customize the perfect Valentine and an awesomely fun way to spend an afternoon.

Friday

Just some randoms from this week. 

Sending out thank you's to some blog friends. I obviously have Summer on my mind...

(stationary from Mara-Mi)

 

We did a family movie night and went to see The Nut Job. It was soooo cute and got lots of giggles from Wren. The best part is always the left over treats for me. 

 

Nothing beats having a little girl in the house. There is never a shortage of stickers with super cute animals on them and random little crafts/creations hidden around the house. Sean took Wren on a 'dollar store shopping spree' last weekend. This box of stickers came home along with silly string, lots of gum and a dart gun (I wonder if her daddy had any influence on that one...). 

It's always the simple things that seem the most special. 

I don't believe in Resolutions, BUT...

I have never set New Years resolutions. Not once in my life. I just don't believe in trying to change things or expect myself to stick with it, so I just keep on keepin' on. And this year is no different.

But a couple weeks before Christmas Sean and I had a fairly deep conversation. I can't even remember how it all started, or why but it somehow evolved into us telling the other person what single thing we would change about them if we could ( these can be dangerous waters guys! tread carefully!).

I told Sean I wish he would try not to sleep in so much on the weekends. Trust me, I know I live a charmed life when that is my one complaint. But we love hanging with him since he works so much during the week, so we want any extra time we can get!

Sean's wish was that I try learning how to be a better cook. It is a totally valid wish, but if you know me, you know it is kind of a lost cause. We don't eat out all that much, but I have learned to HEAVILY rely on a local dinner service that pre-portions all the ingredients for a meal and all I have to do is follow the simple instructions and cook it. I love this because I feel that every time I attempt a recipe I need $50 in ingredients I didn't have laying around, and what doesn't get used will almost always go to waste.

But since we each picked one thing I promised to try my darnedest to whip up something creative a few nights a week (Rome wasn't built in a day...).

I have a pretty decent cookbook collection from Williams Sonoma (which I now see is entirely online here)

so I have been picking a couple meals every week to attempt.

{ probably the first time this sink has given spinach a bath }

 

The reviews from both my test subjects have been good, or they must be great actors with iron clad stomachs, and I think I may have turned a corner in my hatred of cooking. Something about seeing them enjoy dinner time so much makes me almost enjoy it. Almost.

lunch time is a totally different story though...

Do you have anything you wish you could change about yourself? Or more importantly, your partner LOL?

Cottage K Open House

We are busy little beavers this week! After two sales unfortunately falling through on CottageK since it went on the market a couple months ago we are still looking for a buyer so we are having an open house this Saturday. And preparations are under way.

 

If you (or someone you know) have been looking for an adorable little cottage in an established, historical neighborhood in Edmonton drop me an email and I'll be happy to share the address!

 

I won't be able to make it, but my amazing Realtor will be hosting from 2-4pm.

If you want any more details or want the address just drop me an email at inthefunlane@gmail.com

xoxo 

Holly

1 dress, 3 outfits

 

I stopped into Old Navy last week for a few pairs of leggings for the Wrennie girl. I think that was the first time I set foot in there for like a year! I pick up the occasional item for her there but rarely look around for myself...mainly because, well, one too many jean try-ons have gone wrong there for me (not to say they don't look amazing, but I think fancy jeans have ruined me for run-of-the-mill denim. Goodness, that sounds horribly pretentious, doesn't it?). But I quickly glanced through the ladies items when I saw that all sale items were an extra 30% off and found this adorable J.Crew-esque denim dress. 

On sale for $7.99... PLUS 30% OFF! are you kidding me? (here is the link, but it doesn't seem to reflect the in-store price)

I literally walked out with about 5 outfits for Wren, plus this dress and a pair of leggings for me and it was about $60. Yeah, I felt pretty impressed with myself that day.

I tend to buy very few new clothes throughout the year, instead I invest in a handful of quality, long-term pieces every Winter (for the Spring/Summer) and every Summer/Fall for the Winter and then I'll toss in a little bit of trendy stuff from places like Forever21. 

Since I only invest in a few new things, my closet really isn't all that packed with options and I prefer to rework my basics in different ways or with accessories. And a basic like this is so fun and easy to make different outfits with.

Outfit 1

-roll the sleeves

-add an infinity scarf (from Gap last summer, similar here)

-layered over leggings or tights 

Outfit 2

- Layer crewneck sweater over top (mine is a cashmere Rebecca Taylor sweater from last Spring, but here is a nearly identical one at a great price!)

- throw on a bright, chunky necklace (I found this J.Crew one at Goodwill once upon a time)

I find I layer like this A LOT in the winter, wearing even Summer dresses with sweaters over top. Since our Summer months are so short in comparison to Winter I feel like I need to get my use out of them somehow and this is an easy way.

Outfit 3

-add a military style jacket (this one is from Antropologie a few years ago, similar here)

-a few long necklaces

-throw on some motorcycle booties (from Zara)

I can already tell you that the last military look will be my go-to this Spring. I tend to add some sort of military inspired item to pretty much every outfit these days, usually in the form of combat boots. But this a much girlier version of my usual military obsession.

Like, Want, Need ($20 and under edition)

Today's 'Like, Want, Need' is kind of fun, because each item is under $20. So hey, if your heart so desires indulge in one of each!

How cute is this treasure map basket? I think it would be great for rounding up toys.

Screen Print Basket

Angela Deane is a creative genius in my book, and I always love to see what she's creating. My all time favorite piece of clothing in my closet was designed by her, and while she no longer does fashion her creativity is incredibly inspiring, and always fun. This banner is perfect for any time, but Valentine's would be a good excuse to put it up.

BanterBanner

I am DYING over these sconces at Ikea right now! The black and white cord, the white enamel shade, the gold/brass details. It is a slam dunk, and only rings up at $19.99!!! Now to find a spot we need a couple sconces...

Ikea Renarp Lamp

Friday

A few little blooms of color around the house are all I need to hold on a little while longer. Until the days when I can just wear a jean jacket or sweater (without the parka on top), until the days I need sunglasses later than 4pm, until I can pack up the shovel until next year.

Sean surprised Wren with her own little garden last week.

My own little potted garden is giving off the most beautiful fragrance. Nothing on earth comes close to the scent of a freshly bloomed hyacinth!

Meanwhile, outside we have been floating between Winter's deepest, darkest days...

bouts of sunshine, and even a little taste of Spring in the past day or two.

But like the quote below says so eloquently, at this time of year it is no coincidence that I feel very content to spend my days at home. These are the days I feel no desire to explore the city, treasure hunt, or even focus too much on where my next flip may come from. These are the days I find myself home centered. 

May your weekend be filled with a little of everything above.

Let's spread the word!

 

In the past I will admit that I totally sucked at keeping track of Sponsors, when ads should go up and down, when to collect payment (which also made me cringe a little, it just isn't in my character!!). So for the most part I've left that business to my ad network. But for 2014 I decided I really want to embrace that side of blogging a little more. Not only offering an outlet for blogs and small businesses, but also putting myself out there a little more! It's all about raising and building each other up more this year.

I discovered PassionFruit Ads this past Summer and was impressed, set up a page... then never really focused on it. But it really does offer a great service to us Bloggers (trust, they aren't paying me for this, I just think they are awesome). Because I really want it to be more about spreading the love than anything else all my ad spots are relatively large by blog ad standards, and most importantly: affordable! 

So affordable that a handful of them are actually free. Every month, 4 of the available spaces are reserved for trade among fellow bloggers. I am hoping we can all discover new and fun blogs, friends and ideas this year and this is my way to get out exploring in Blog-land a little more. 

If you are interested and want to find out more

And thanks so much for your love and support all these years of blogging later.

Possession Obsession: Hay Box Box

My Nordic obsession is in full bloom. Currently, my design crush is by one of the iconic Copenhagen trend setters: Hay. 

In particular, I have been obsessed with their stackable boxes, the 'Box Box Desktop' sets. They come in sets in various color combos, everyone of them as yummy as the last. I think I may take the plunge and place an order, the only issue being which color set to go with!

via

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Nothing says 'I want to get organized in 2014' like some new storage. So they are kind of a necessity, am I right???

(hint: 'yes' is the correct answer in this case *wink wink*)