New Year, New Look

I thought it was time for a little shake up around here. A new look. It's funny how small changes can make a big impact. And something simple like changing up the look of my blog kind of reminded me why I enjoy blogging. It reinvigorates me to get back to posting a little more. I can't make any promises as far as amazing, creative content, but simple things like quick snaps and notes on life are why I started and where I think I'm headed with blogging again. A slightly word-ier form of instagram I suppose.

This winter has been a good one for me, and I have been really inspired by it so I'm guessing it's pretty obvious where my inspiration for the look came from. You can't fight mother nature, and when you accept it I've discovered it's easier to appreciate the beauty around you. Although in another few months I may feel differently if it drags on well into spring LOL.

Anyway, happy Wednesday and thanks for popping by!
holly

Quesnell Heights, the befores

I have had the keys for a bit now, and we are already finished all the demo, but I realized that I didn't go get all my before shots at Quesnell Heights, and I definitely haven't shared them so today I am taking you on a tour of what things look like when I am down to my blank canvas. There actually wasn't a ton of heavy demo, just mostly removing old flooring/cabinetry/trim.

When you walk in we have a bright, double door and large windows on either side of the front door!

The foyer is a large room actually, with a closet, bathroom and hallways leading off it.

The back door is at the end of this hallway to the right. We took out the garage closet to make the hall brighter and more open. It kind of stood out like a sore thumb before.

Down to the fully finished (which we will be updating) basement.

Back off the foyer is the large, bright living/dining room.

This room is so cool, and has the perfect minimalist/mid-century feel.

Seriously, how cool is that fireplace???

And what you pay the big bucks for, the ravine (the house is on half an acre and even has a pool out there!), out these gorgeous windows.

The kitchen is where most of our efforts will be spent in this house, along with the master bath. Everything else is just paint and flooring because I don't dare mess with perfection!

The kitchen was original and it was time, but I will say that it was ahead of its time. Subzero fridge and simple white cabinetry with hidden handles. The original owners (who we bought it from!) had oodles of style.

The hallway to the bedrooms/bathrooms.

The main floor has two bedrooms and a master, and there are 2 more bedrooms in the finished basement. I just love the light and windows in here.

The other bedroom is a mirror image.

And whoever is paying for the house has the sweetest spot with a close up, private view of the yard.

We removed a closet addition to make for more option on bed location, and allow more light from this window in. There are so many windows in the master!

And the master bath is ready to be glammed up in an understated, elegant look.

The main bath for the other bedrooms holds the one thing we salvaged: a newer tub LOL.

And just because I was freaking out a little last week when a coyote wandered into the yard and came right up to the windows while I was there, then stuck around for about a half hour doing this:

I knew there was a lot of coyotes in the city, but this guy totally spooked me!!

Thanks for coming on my little tour today, and have a great week!

2014 - 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR! yes, I know it's been a while. The tail end of 2014 was crazy (as I'm sure it is for everyone!), between the last work at Laurier, working on Quesnell Heights flip, and Birthday's for Wren and yours truly amidst all the holidays, volunteering and general chaos, sitting down and writing here just seemed like an impossibility. I have some really big, exciting plans for the first half of 2015 that I can't share just yet, but I am hoping you will understand that while my blog isn't the same as it once was, I won't be disappearing anytime soon. But in the meantime, I thought I would do a nod back to the blogging days of old with a mix of decor/fashion and general life (of course, you can always catch up with me on IG where I share all of this stuff daily).

In no particular order, here were a few outfit highlights of December:

Forever21 jacket, Joes Jeans, Splendid loafers.

Madewell sweater and jeggings, Joe's Jeans suede boots

Zara jacket, Forever21 sweatshirt and jeans, Spring boots

Zara tribal sweater jacket, Theory leggings, military boots from Claire's (who knew they had shoes in there?)

And just days before the calendar switched over to 2015 I decided to try a totally different look and dyed my hair a silver/violet shade. TOTALLY out of character but I LOVE it. New Year, new look.

Rebecca Taylor sweater, H&M sweats.

hmmmm, what else is new??? Oh yeah, Santa came by. He was very good to Wren since she was such a good girl this year. There was some Frozen toys, a sled, and a giant Lego head to help sort and store her growing Lego collection. She loves this guy so much, as you shake it the different sized pieces are all sorted in different levels.

The super cute toys bags are from Etsy seller Tellkiddo, and they are perfect for those of us who have toys littering the whole house in various forms.

ANNNNND, I suppose one of the biggest changes, challenges and reasons I don't have nearly as much time for blogging is the fact that Toffee went from being an only-dog-child. To having a sister.

Ruby came along in October. Sean has been wanting a big dog for years and time and a litter of puppies seemed to finally align, bringing Ruby into our lives. She is a puppy, so obviously LOTS OF WORK. It's been a while since I've dealt with puppy stuff and I forgot just how busy they are. 

Then just a month later, around the time of my last blog post this little man came into our lives.

Mr. Bean came into our lives after running into traffic and I nearly killed him. Once I stopped and checked to see if he was alive and if he had a collar (he didn't) we saw that he was injured. It turns out he was most likely attacked by a coyote just an hour or so before we found him and he had multiple punctures and attack wounds, along with signs of previous abuse ( I won't go into detail, but it was horrific). It turns out he was microchipped and his previous owner declined to care for him, so we decided to help him back to health, and after a week or so we just couldn't part with him.

He is a spunky, funny little man and while he still has some anxiety after his attack he has come so far in the two months we've had him we just can't imagine life without him.

All of Wren's fur babies! Wren is the one who is most in love with all these guys. She is such an animal lover and to have three dogs to play with and train is a dream come true for her.

2014 ended on such a full, happy note and I am so excited to make 2015 amazing. 

xoxo
Holly