New Addition: Outdoor Edition

Back in the spring, when Zellers was closing down, Cory and I went in almost weekly to check out the Closing Out Deals.  I was pretty fortunate to get a fair bit of stuff on sale and had almost forgotten about my biggest purchase until I was doing some painting in the garage yesterday. 

I had picked up this outdoor rug intending to use it on the lower patio when we eventually get around to working on it (next year hopefully).  The goal is to eventually find a reasonably priced, conomfortable outdoor sectional and coffee table on the one side under the window.  One the other side, I think I want to build a DIY Potting Bench/Entertaining Bar.

But since I wasn't going to get around to using the rug on the lower patio this year, I figured why not see how it works upstairs!  So I unrolled it yesterday and REALLY LOVE IT! It's not necessarily the best color match for the deck, but I like the idea of a rug so it'll stay for the rest of the season.

When I bought it, I actually thought it was a green & grey striped rug so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is a light and dark grey stripe.  Even better since now I am not forced to work green into my color scheme :)

For now, we have it on the "lounge" side of the deck (which is really just a foot behind the dining table) and I think it helps to define the space and add a pretty, decorated feel to the space!

Here's a close up of the colors.  Seeing this photo, I can see why I thought the lighter grey stripe was greenish, but in real life, it's the most perfect grey.

Excuse the mess of random plant pots on the floor.  I'm using ones in the corners of the rug to help flatten it out, since it's been rolled in the garage since I bought it. 

Oh, and those two metal scrolly looking things need to get hung up.  I've been asking Cory to do it all summer.  I'm determined to have it happen this weekend!

I really wish I had been more on-the-ball at the beginning of Spring and found some bright (blue most likely:)  ) outdoor cushions to really liven the space up and make it even more cozy.  Unfortunately, by the time I decided to get it done, there was nothing attractive left anywhere!  I will definitely get on it next Spring, or maybe this winter, online, if I am lucky!

So far, Grey Approves! I'll be sad to see this one get moved downstairs and will definitely be on the lookout for one for up here for next year!

Ikea Pin & Win!

Some of you may know that Ikea launched their 2013 catalogue this week!! 

In addition, the lovely folks at Ikea Canada let me know that they also launched their Pinterest page yesterday.  Plus, they've got a great little contest going on, Pin & Win!

The rules are easy:

Pin: Pin your favourite pages from IKEA Canada’s Pinterest boards to your own boards.

Win: Win IKEA gift cards that can go towards the purchase of some of your favourite items.

They'll be drawing one winner every day until August 26th. Winners will receive an IKEA Canada gift card worth $100 for one of the items on their board!
 

My wish list is super long, so I'd definitely love to win this!!

They've broken up a lot of their new items into a bunch of "trend" categories : Glam, Tribal, Loft, Swedish Country, Boutique Hotel, Turquoise and DIY!

I managed to find a hundred something in each category that I love.  So, of course, I will share them with you here.

Glam

It's hard to see in this photo, but this 3 drawer MALM chest is completely MIRRORED!!

These would be perfect as a glam touch in a bedroom as nightstands (like what we've done) or in a chic dressing room.

Tribal

Love the pattern and piping on these Lappljung Ruta cushion covers.  Very similar to stuff floating around the blogosphere right now!

Loft

Isn't this Ikea PS 2012 coffee table the cutest?  It comes in white and this dark turquoise.  I like that the casters make it possible to move them around wherever you need them. Perfect for a small space.  Push two of these together to create a larger table.

Swedish Country

I am a HUGE FAN of the Berta Ruta (buffalo check) fabric in black.  I have an old ikea duvet cover in a blue, red and white plaid and it is so heavy duty and works in so many different decor schemes.

Boutique Hotel

Love the sleek look of this Folldal Leather bed.

Turquoise (* my fave)

I absolutely LOVE this Raskog trolley.  They have it marketed as a kitchen trolly, but I could see it in EVERY SINGLE ROOM in my house.  I am gonna check it out in person.

Another MALM, but in one of their new colors: Grey-turquoise.  So perfect for our house!  Gonna have to figure out a way to get one (or more) of these in our house!!

DIY

This Eivor fabric is actually not new, but it is new to me, so I am including it in here.  I`d love to use this fabric stretched over a canvas, as some pillow cushions or even as drapes, with some fabric paint to color  specific items like the birds to customize them to your space.

I am actually loving each item here and even better, think they would look so awesome together... maybe you`ll be seeing some of these in our place really soon...?

So, if you haven`t already rushed over to Pin your favorites, get over there now!!!

Feline Feeding Station

When you're a pet owner, there are a few things that will always just be part of your life:

1. Pet hair on soft surfaces and little dust bunnies flying around when the fan is running.
2. Dusty paw prints tracked across your very dark flooring from the front door straight to the back door.  Especially visible mid-day when the sun is shining right thru, highlighting your lack thereof for domesticity....
3. Pet feeding stations being visible and ugly.

#3 is the only one we've tackled so far.  I mean, the visible part comes and goes.  We sometimes move the feeding station to the basement but then when we run late, we forget to sometimes feed the boys in the morning and that never goes over well.  So, it's been back in the kitchen for the last little while and we decided to make it at least pretty.

We used to have plastic cat bowls.  You know, the generic grey rounded square ones...  But since both my boys are scratchers (they like to move their bowls to specific spots while eating) they were scratched up - plus then Finley decided that she wanted to gnaw on them.... so instead of buying new ones we just used dishes we already had.

Firstly, we put their dishes on this cute little Ikea tray.  The blue caught my eye and I liked the whimsical elephants.  We find they help  to control the mess of little bits of cat food.  They certainly don't get it all, but things are kept a LOT cleaner with it. 

Then on top, I am loving these individual sized casserole dishes I found at HomeSense.  Absolutely love the blue color plus the ombre look is a nice touch!  They also have the little handles so I think the boys will find them useful when they are moving their dishes around ;)


Since they're a necessity, I think it's nice to have something cute to look at.  Plus, I like to think the boys appreciate using real dishes.  Ha!  Are your pets spoiled as well?

Current Seat-uation :)

Two weeks ago, Cory was working so I decided to do some "window shopping" just to get out of the house (and admittedly be in an air conditioned space).

As I've mentioned before, I am on the hunt for some dining chairs (4-6) to replace the set in our nook currently.  They're about 7 years old now and were purchased as a set with the table very cheaply cost effectively from Jysk when I moved out of my parent's house.  Albeit, for the price I paid (possibly $350 for the entire set), they have served me well and the table is pretty sturdy still, just needs a refinishing.  However, several of the chairs have cracked and one has a seat that doesn't properly stay on.  I realize this could be fixed but I admittedly am over the set and just want something new. 

So when I came upon these chairs outta the blue - I actually just about missed them and had to do a double take, it took everything in me not to buy them on the spot.  Simple - linen with dark legs and nailhead detail.  I also think now that there may or may not be a stunning door knocker style pull on the back (but I visited many stores and saw many chairs that day....)

Super <3 a="a" and="and" anything="anything" big="big" cursive="cursive" fan="fan" french="french" general.="general." has="has" i="i" in="in" it="it" like="like" linen="linen" looks="looks" m="m" nailheads="nailheads" nbsp="nbsp" of="of" on="on" or="or" p="p" stuff="stuff" that="that" with="with" writing="writing">

They were exactly the right style and they were soooo comfy, and of course, ON SALE!!!  I can't stop thinking about them!!!  My only worry is the linen color.  We will eventually be getting a grey sofa in the adjoining living room and the linen will no longer match the used to be cream sofa we have currently.

I am thinking of doing 4 in the plain linen and 2 of the accent ones so that it isn't too much and I don't tire of it.  Plus, I could use the accent ones in other spaces when we don't have company.  However, it might take some coaxing as Cory wasn't too sure.  I think he thought they were too fancy for our everyday nook.... as he was worried we would just muck them up and ruin them.

What do YOU think??

Grrr... and a Wedding!

I've been busy so I've been shooting off some posts via Blogger mobile..... strangely enough, they're nowhere to be found. I'm working on fixing the issue.  But seeing as I have no idea what it is, that might be a little tough.

In the meantime, part of the reason I was busy is that I was busy attending wedding events for this cute couple:

My girlfriend's sister got married this past weekend and I got to tag along as her date as her boyfriend was out of town for work.  Score for me!

Danielle (the bride) was so easy going and non-chalant about the whole wedding planning process that she pretty much let her sister plan the entire thing.  So of course, I gave ideas and the like.  One thing she did want was 4 different colors, so they did yellow, green, blue and purple, as seen here on the girls' dresses:

(disregard the terrible, un-posed shot)

They also decided a slightly vintage vibe would be cool so Jill rolled with that when doing the super simple decor.

This gorgeous sign guided guests the right way.



Love these bikes!  I have been wanting one sooo bad now for the last 2 years!!  It took everything for me not to ride one home!

The super simple Mr & Mrs banner hung from the head table.

Jill crafted the card box for the occassion.  It had multiple compartments which was neat.

The super simple table decor included these cool tree stumps, mason jar filled with sand and a cable, the table number and a mason jar with wildflower esque arrangement (my idea) and these vintagey frames (I had purchased one for Jill for xmas) each featuring a different photo of the bride and groom and in each one they highlighted the specific color for that table (ex. this one was yellow).  They also had a little card with each guests name on it, and the meaning of their name which was a nice little gesture.

The cake was made by our bosses' wife.  It was GORGEOUS!!  4 tiers, 3 different flavors and the detailing was outta this world.  Simple ribbon with vintage brooch as decoration, in addition to the various decorated layers.

All in all, it was super simple (as per the bride) but it was a really good time.

And last but not least, since I had my camera, I tend not to be in a lot of photos, so I asked Cory to take a slew of me photos before I headed out.  This one is my favorite: