Basement Makeover: The Vision

These past few weeks I've been itching to spruce up our basement living area. Every time I go down to look for tool or sort through my holiday decor, I remember why I don't like to hang out there...DRAB.  We have furniture from a past life (and not in a chic vintage way) that I can't get rid of fast enough. 

Here's what it looks like now.

I started to think about just how much I would love one of those sofas with a chaise lounge attached...and it all spiraled from there.  I whipped up a little inspiration board, these are just my fave things ever to make!  According to hubs, I'm "allowed" to redo the space on the condition that we add some colour - he's a bit sick of my usual black, white and grey palette. Pourquoi? Anyhoo... I went WILD and landed on blue, lol, I don't know...it just felt right. 

The existing items I own and need to work with are the ever-glorious Eames lounge and ottoman, industrial-ish side table and black lamp and that's about it, it's open season on the rest! I felt this space should be a bit more comfy than the rest of the house, so I toned down the glam a wee bit and tried to keep it a bit masculine, because let's be honest, I send hubs down there most of the time to watch sports...although...the chaise lounge may change that?!

The wall colour is still settling with me, but never fear, of course I managed to squeeze some black and white elements in :) 

My Master Bedroom Inspiration: Pink, gold and fowl all over

My, my, my....talk about silence over the airways, sorry about that. I've been busy at work and the change in the weather/pitch black darkness by 6pm, has lead me to lots of -feeling sorry for myself-couch surfing-snacking situations at the end of the day.

Anyhow, I'm climbing outta my funk and have managed to think a bit about our master bedroom project, I've ordered the wallpaper, step one, and now I've finally finished a vision board for how I'd like it to go down.

I was inspired in Paris by all of the beautiful shades of pink, gold details, busy wall coverings and of course by Versailles! I want a girly space, but I have to keep the hubs happy, so I tried to keep the basics neutral and used pink just for accessories.

Not all of this furniture, nor the art piece, will be placed against this one wall - was hard to show.

I own most of the items in the room already, bed, curtains, dresser, mirror, chandelier, rug and side table, I got a bit hasty when we moved in and bought all kinds of stuff without a plan (as you know), so I'm working with it and I think it's going to be ok. P.S. stay tuned for my DIY gold leaf ceiling medallion project, WOWSA, it really turned out well!

This wallpaper for me will hopefully be the biggest payoff, it's SOOO dramatic and I'm hoping to direct all of the focus to that wall. I've mentioned this before but Lowe's wallpaperstudio.com is awesome! I ordered 2 rolls of this for $120, which certainly beats the $1000 I paid for the hallway wallpaper (that's including designer discount), so let's see when it gets here if my selection was the right one.

Ok, time to get off the couch and make this happen....

CHIC, BUDGET FRIENDLY THANKSGIVING TABLESCAPE

It's amazing what kind of decorating goodness you can find around the house when you put your mind to it. I wanted to whip up a budget friendly, but still ultra gorg, tablescape for our Thanksgiving festivities, using items I already owned.

On hand; our wedding china (always use it when I can), white cloth napkins (an absolute staple when it comes to entertaining), fancy gold glassware (you can never have too many glasses), mason jars (if you don't own a few, stop reading this and go out and buy them right now!) and good old kraft paper (so many uses).

I filled in the gaps with some seasonal foliage (only $10.99) and spiced them up (pun intended) with some cinnamon sticks - these normally just sit in my cupboard because I generally have absolutely no idea what to do with them!?

The cinnamon sticks made another appearance as a decorative place setting detail on the napkins; simply wrap 3 sticks with twine, and place, that's it.

I scattered the table with mini white pumpkins ($3) and a couple candles to add sparkle. I got really adventurous (not) and painted a bit of gold on a green gourd ($5); gold is my world!

And there you have it, for approximately $20 out of pocket, I made a pretty, seasonal tablescape out of items I already own.  Try it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

FETE || inspired by provence

Hello! Right now I’m in Provence (well at least that’s where I’m supposed to be accordingly to the carefully crafted schedule).  I’m most excited about taking in the lovely French countryside and enjoying a slower way of life. Entertaining in Provence would be so easy, the countryside as your backdrop, fresh lavender stuffed into vases, and the purest ingredients straight from the local market.

This is what al fresco dining in Provence looks like to me…  

How to pull it off:

Create the Perfect Cheeseboard         Linen Table Runner              Lavender Cupcake Recipe 

FETE || inspired by paris

Bonjour, I’m in Paris now, likely stuffing myself full of cheese and baguette and falling in love all over again.  When I think of Paris I think of Versaille, when I think of Versaille I picture myself as Marie Antoinette living the luxe life of decadence. 

This is what my Parisian dinner party would look like….

How to pull it off:

 

        Macaron Recipe                        How to Build a Champagne Tower         DIY Gold Frame Decor

FETE || inspired by london

It’s official, right now I’m on vacation!  It’s a biggie, London, Paris, Provence and the south coast of France. I know, amazing right? This is my first time to Europe so I imagine I’m fainting over all of its beauty, and wondering why I ever waited this long to go.

I didn’t want to leave you with nothing while I was away (I don’t want you to forget about me- I’ll be gone for 19 days) so I thought I’d put together a few inspirational posts for you to peruse.

My obsession with parties and entertaining got me thinking. If I lived in London, Paris or Provence, what would my dinner party look like?

In London this is how I see it….

How to pull it off:

Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe                 Gold Flatware                     DIY newspaper cones

Jewel tones, decadence, proper place settings and classic recipes is how I imagine the Brits get down.

FETE || party like you're kate spade

* Dang this entry was supposed to post on Friday, I thought I scheduled it to automatically go live while I was away...read on with that in mind, rookie move*

This summer has been pleasantly hectic, jam packed with  lots of travel, and this weekend is no different. I'm leaving the Big Smoke and setting out for the Big Apple for some fun, fashion and food!  Well... actually I'm in New York right now hopefully stuffing my face with food truck eats, keeping my balance in my new heels and if I'm lucky, spinning around the city on a fun green bicycle just like this one! 

I wanted to leave you with some cheery New York eye candy while I'm away. When I think of New York style, the spunky designs of Kate Spade pop into my head.  Fresh and colourful, peppy and preppy, I love everything this playful brand creates.  

Not only does Kate Spade rock the fashion world, they've got the most crush worthy collection of   housewares and other 'must have' party essentials like stationary, barware and some killer hostess gifts. My Kate Spade inspired fete might look a little something like this....  

I heart KS NY...

WEDDING WEEK || champagne slushie recipe

Nothing says celebration quite like champagne.  I absolutely had to have bubbles at our wedding, but I wanted to do something a little different; my second favourite drink in the whole wide world, is anything slushie!  So… what do you get when you put ‘em together, a champagne slushie! Divine right?  

Here’s the recipe (via) for this pretty concoction, this can be modified with whatever flavour you fancy, we went with cherry and it was to die for!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cherries, pitted (frozen is ok too)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon agave

DIRECTIONS

- Place cherries in a food processor and pulse until almost puréed. A few chunks is ok 
- In a small bowl combine lemon and agave with a whisk
- Add cherries to bowl and stir together
- Pour mixture into a shallow metal dish or pan
- Freeze for 1.5 hours scraping with a fork every 15-20 minutes

Now the fun part (not part of the recipe above)...scoop a couple tablespoons into your champagne flutes and top with the bubbly goodness, serve and enjoy - trust me you will!

WEDDING WEEK || modern glamour wedding decor

What a weekend, whew, celebrated two milestone birthdays with two very special people; it was delightful and all, but I'm spent.  I'm still in the milestone mood though, my two year wedding anniversary is tomorrow, so I thought I'd share some of my fave decor pics from our "Modern Glam" inspired wedding.  Black, white, gold and glamour was on the menu for our luxe meets DIY day.

We had guests sit at 25 foot long tables to encourage conversation and to create a more intimate atmosphere, oh and P.S. we ate with gold cutlery, my fave "decor" item, try convincing your future hubs that this is a pure necessity, no small feat I tell ya.

Here are just a couple of the 14 million DIY projects I did for our wedding, including painted, wooden table numbers, and personalized, hand stamped menus.

Check out the chapel we were married in; the first time I saw it took my breath away, in fact the second time, same thing, I was basically doing lamaze down the aisle. 

Can you believe how in sync we are, both cringing during my dad's speech in our plush thrones, a splurge item for sure.

Some more of my DIY handy work and my fave glittery gold bourgie lamp *swoon*

I had such a blast planning the decor for our big day, but most importantly I have a blast everyday with the love of my life who puts up with and encourages me in all of my gold and glamour antics...

WEDDING WEEK || custom homemade cookie favours

With my 2 year wedding anniversary just around the corner - July 24th for those of you who would like to send gifts ;) - I thought I 'd take you on a lil walk down memory lane. To clarify, "wedding week" is more like "wedding couple of weeks", I have lots to share; tips, DIY's, a couple delicious recipes, oh and about 1500 pictures from our special day, JK!!! only a few fun pics, hopefully I didn't lose any of you there :) 

chowing down on street meat, I was sooo hungry: this pic makes me giggle 

I want to talk favours; I know favours have been getting a bad rep lately; they're becoming synonymous with tacky, cash sucking, junk. I totes agrees if you're ordering random trinkets online that are meaningless to you or your groom.  If you're giving a favour, which personally I think is a nice touch to thank your guests for coming, they must be meaningful. We customized ours in a way that related to our theme AND had special meaning to us.

Our favours were little brown bags, stuffed with each of our favourite cookies, homemade by our moms the day before the wedding, we included the recipes too.  For me this was the perfect combo of  cost effective, meaningful and custom.  We (and by we I mean I) customized them by hand stamping each bag and fastening them with mini chandelier buttons that I had made to fit.

FETE || chic canadiana party

Happy Canada Day eh! My long weekend was pleasantly packed full of family, food and fireworks; my fave things ever...and in that order.  We hosted a Canada Day party on Sunday in our backyard; I had an idea to honour this special day in a way that included more than just red and white paper flags. Chic Canadiana was the theme, think woodland wonderful, beavers and moose, beer and bacon, all things coined classically Canadian. I get ridiculously excited by any occasion that allows me to let my inner party planner, crafter and hostess rear its' obsessive head, and this patriotic celebration was no exception. 

I dug out my wool Hudson's Bay Co. point blanket, with its iconic stripes, and used it as the inspiration for my master plan, bwah ha ha ha.

I prepared a food and bevy line-up that was quintessentially Canadian; Canadian Bacon Burgers, Poutine,  and Moose Tracks Ice Cream with a Maple Cookie topper.  We sipped on Canadian beer from our famed cottage country in Muskoka and cocktails infused with fresh Ontario strawberries.

I also got my craft on; I ordered some of these cute moose gift tags from Etsy and glued them to red take-out boxes from Michaels (I also raided Michaels for scrapbook paper, glue and string), made a catchy celebratory banner and wrapped vases with scrapbook paper to add a little oomph. 

I wanted to keep the classic Canadian red and white colour palette alive, but I freshened things up by using some pretty patterned paper. We handed out maple suckers and sparklers as party favours.

After the feast, we headed out the beach to take in the annual fireworks show, it was a lovely way to cap off the evening. 

The party was a success, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we all left feeling uber proud to be part of the true North strong and free.

FETE || backyard dinner party inspiration

Happy first day of summer! The weather here in the Tdot is perfectly suited for this special day as it’s a scorching 43 degrees C (110 F)!  To celebrate the first official day of summer I tried to organize a big bash with friends; that went over like a lead balloon. All of my lovely pals had prior engagements such as traveling to Scandinavia, New York City and Vancouver, ya I guess these trump our backyard party ;). It’s a busy time of year as we all know, but I’ve managed to round up a few of our besties for a more intimate dinner party next week instead.

I’m sticking to the summery theme and will be stylin’ it up like a Palm Springs dream. As you will notice almost all of my parties, décor items, inspirations and loves are somehow related to the Palm Springs aesthetic; every time I try to veer away I end up back where I started, oh well I love so let’s roll with it.

Here’s what I’m thinking, a playful and coulourful palette with a summery menu to compliment.

I’m going to attempt to make these delicious looking ice pops from this month’s Sweet Paul mag.

via

This will be our first official dinner party in the new yard – which I haven’t fully shown you yet, I was waiting until we had the trees planted to take the “after” pics, but we aren’t moving quickly on that so I’ll work on pics next week for the reveal! 

via

And so it’s official, summer is here, time to let your hair go wavy and put the champagne on ice, let’s celebrate!

1 ITEM 3 WAYS || jonathan adler porcelain bowl

When was the last time you were swept away by an item in a store that you absolutely HAD to have? You love it beyond words and your brain starts playing out all of the wonderful ways in which you could use it, place and pair it? 
Ya, this happens to me all the time; my home accessory obsession has left me with buckets full of ceramic animal heads, candles, silver trays, and so much more.   I often look at these items and think hmmm “where else could I put you?” or “what else could I do with you?”. Sometimes when an item sits in one place for too long you become immune to its beauty.  So….I like to mix it up, use one item in many ways, change the scenery, let it spread its wings and fly.

Take this wonderfully happy-chic Jonathan Adler porcelain bowl (P.S. my most prized Home Sense find of 2012) my initial thought was “score! I can use this as a lovely decorative bowl”.  

Then my mind began to wander…what about as a vase, after all it is peony season, hot pink peonies would look smashing!

Then I made brownies, and I thought, hmmm, why not? A makeshift cake stand, cute!

I tried something with my jewelry; I put rings, watches and bracelets inside and hung/clipped some of my prettiest earrings on the side. It added a nice pop of colour to my dresser and showed off some of my fancies.  I like! 

The bowl will live here for now until I move ahead with finishing the bedroom, the last room in the house to complete.

It’s fun to take an object and show it off in different ways, get creative and don’t limit yourself to what it’s sold to you as or “intended” for.  

LANDSCAPE CHRONICLES || industrial glamour inspiration

Talk about beautiful weather, these past few days have been lovely; the sun brings with it both freckles and anticipation of our upcoming landscape overhaul!  Yup, we’re tackling the great outdoors; a full chicification of the backyard and front of the house.  When we moved in last summer we had a mud-pit out back, but coming from a teeny tiny condo we were pumped about any type of greenish/brown space; as for the the front of the house, let me tell you, she’s not a looker.

So, we’ve decided to make it more functional, do some soft and hard landscaping and turn it into something FA-BU-LOUS! What’s on the list (P.S. lists are my life, drives hubby insane): painting the fence, porch and back deck, adding a limestone patio to the backyard, furnishing a lounge and outdoor dining area and planting the gardens with all new foliage.

My fave part of his whole project, creating a vision board of course, I give you  “Industrial Glamour”.  

I completely heart these ghost chairs, but the seats are narrow and they aren’t the most comfy so I didn’t want to commit to them for our dining room, but I’m thinking they might work for outdoor dining? Pairing them with an industrial style sawhorse table will be tres chic.

I'd also love to hang a cool light fixture – the one above from Design Within Reach, is a great mix of industrial and glamour with the brass finish and exposed filament. We’ve already purchased a Cane Line sofa for the lounge area (it has charcoal coloured cushions), it was the floor model and was such a STEAL so I snapped it up.

Our budget for this project is decent, but most of it will go towards labour so I’ll need to get creative with the decor – apparently according to hubby this or this is not in the budget, boooo. We have some DIY projects on the horizon which will help keep the funds in check and allow us to splurge on a natural gas/propane fire pit!

Lots of decisions to make in the next few weeks, time to roll up the sleeves and dig deep into the savings account!