Storage Wars....

So apparently I have officially run out of storage space on Blogger!  Didn't know that was even a thing.  Thought the whole thing was free??

Master Bedroom Makeover : Wall Treatment

Yikes, it's been a lot longer than I expected.  Cory went back to school and I had picked up an extra part-time gig to make a little more money. When that ended I volunteered to work on a tree for the Festival of Trees which called for some late nights!  Amidst it all, I found some time to take a road trip with my mom out to Saskatchewan to visit my brother and his family.

Now that all that is done, thought I would get caught up and back in the swing of things with daily blogging.  I am on some vacation right now from work, so I am eager to get going here!

First up, I wanted to share some photos from our start to the Master Bedroom makeover!  I was so excited and went to load up the photos, but apparently "someone" deleted them from the camera card :(

Luckily, I do have some poor quality shots from my ipod! 

First up, I wanted to start with something for the huge wall behind my bed.  I went back and forth before painting an accent color, wallpapering or just using a stencil.  Since I really wanted a pattern, I figured it would be a lot less expensive and headache-inducing to just stencil.

I ordered the Casablanca AllOver Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils and am super pleased with my order.  It included the main stencil, and individual stencil of the pattern and a top part stencil which made the job soooo much easier.


Well, it took an entire weekend to do the huge wall, but it was well worth it.  I knew I wanted it to be a little shimmery and kind of subtle, so I went with a tone on tone look.  Literally, I had the same wall color  - Antique Sterling by ICI mixed up with a glossy version.

I wasn't sure how it would turn out at first, and have to say I hated it when I first removed the stencil, but I stuck with it and once everythign started to dry, I was sooooo happy I did!

(excuse the shoddy shots...)

 

I really love the look overall.  It looks best late at night with just the nightstand lamps on, it makes it really shimmer!

 

 

I was really worried about whether or not Cory would be a fan, thank goodness he was!  Infat, he said it felt like sleeping in a fancy hotel!

 

But we also realized that the lamps just weren't going to cut it anymore.  They were not only too small, but the bright aqua color just didn't seem "sophisticated" enough for the space.

 

 

I swapped them out for these taller silver lamps I had in the offie, but just kept the white drum shades.  They look 100 times better than the other ones!

 

I was also going to get the headboard done the following weekend, but as soon as the wall was done, we realized the fabric we had, was ABSOLUTELY not going to work!  Again, way to aqua... so it is back to the drawing board.

 

Luckily, the duvet cover that I want to replace, doesn't look too bad in there for the time being.

 

For the headboard, I am thinking something in a bluey-grey, silver or even a linen color.

 

Thoughts?

 

Handmade Table Linens

My mom stopped by on the weekend to take me for dinner.  Her bithday gift for me this year was a little something for the house.

Her neighbour is a wonderful quilter who made me a small quilt a few years back.  She had me come out to the house and select some fabrics from her stash as well as look through some of the quilts she had made and select a pattern.

She surprised me with a set of table runners and placemats in some beautiful greys and blues.  It was an incredibly thoughtful gift and I absolutely love them, even though are quite a bit different than my usual style.

 

Everythng was made reversible which perfect for days when you have unexpected visitors - I can just flip it over!

 

 

Here's the reverse of the runner. 

 

My favorite part is actually the detailing on the front, especially the ombre stripes:

 

 

The gift included two runners and 2 placemats.  I wish there were 4 so I might have to see if I can get her to make a few more.

 

 

I really like them but I am too worried to get them dirty, so while I am eating on them, I have a paper towel between the placemats and my dish....  at least for now!

 

 

For an 80 year old lady, she really nailed down some pretty great fabrics for me.  This black and white one is even laced with metallic threads!

 

 

It's a great addition to the table, especially until I refinish it and no longer need to cover the scratched sections!

Last Day as a Twenty Something....

Today was officially my last day as a 20 something.   I've been ridiculously scared to turn 30 for some time now but now that it's here, I'm remarkably calm!

My mom came in last night to take us for dinner which was nice.  I will be sharing her birthday gift tomorrow.

She left early this morning and while I was supposed to work a furniture sale today, I managed to get the day off since it was slow and I had a migraine for most of the day, which I appreciated since I got to spend the day being lazy and hanging out with Cory. 

First up, he gave me my Birthday gift early!

The first thing (which wasn't technically a bday git but a replacement) was a new ipod since he accidently threw mine out a month ago. They no longer sell the one I had, so I got a better one!  YAY! Was starting to miss my pinterest and instagramming! :)

I also got the beautiful Coach bangle I'd had my eye on:

(via my Instagram)

Love me some zebra print!

 

Plus the sweet guy threw in a little something else, just because he knew I'd like it:

 

Simply Vanilla candle was the perfect thing to add to the desk in my office tonight while I was making my calls tonight.

 

It was just a little something, but with him going back to school, we're minding our spending and he listened to exactly what I wanted!

 

We spent the rest of the day at the dog park. What a great day to prepare for ushering in 30!!

 

 

 

Re-purposing!

A couple months ago Cory stopped by a buddy's house while they were having a Garage Sale.  He was picking something up and stayed for a few beers before coming home.  When he came home, he had little gift for me!

I was BEYOND suprised as it's been quite some time since he's shown up with a present out of the blue.  At first I thought it might be one of the neat items they had for sale that he sent me pictures of, like the old steamer trunk that would have been kind of cool as a coffee table, but I think that sold.

What he did have was a cute little bath product gift basket dealio, cause "I know you like all that bath stuff..."  :)  Now, in all honesty, those baskets can be hit or miss.  A lot of the times the stuff smells awful or the quality is kinda crappy.  But I lucked out - this set was huge, smelled good AND the creams were nice and nourishing.  Plus it came with a nice nail scrub brush, the mesh poufs, cotton moisturizing gloves and all that jazz.

But of course, this post isn't about the bath products, it's about re-using the container that it all came in.  That's usually one of the best parts of these things isn't it?  They always have it all packed into something neat that you can re-use.

In my case, this three-tiered wood caddy.  I was glad to see it was something nice, bur then stared at it for a couple hours before even having an idea of where to use it.

Then I had a brilliant idea.  You see, we have a couple of these weird little nook things in the house.  The first one in the main hall where they installed a corner shelf...??  And the second in the powder room, where they decided to extend the countertops all the way across, but not the cabinets...????

We've been in the house 3 years and the only thing that had ever sat there was a little basket that I used to throw dirty handtowels and rags from the kitchen into, as a hamper of sorts instead of tossing them down the stairs in a dirty pile.

Since the caddy was a gorgeous dark wood, it would blend nicely with the flooring and cabinets and would be the perfect size to hold extra hand towels.

Admittedly, the towels, when rolled are actually a little big for some of the shelves, but I crammed them in there and love the way it looks!   Plus, it makes the little nook space look a little bit finished!

 

 

Fall Porch

Usually, I keep my fall porch pretty reserved.  There's two reasons for this:

1. I don't have a lot of fall/harvest/halloween decorations to work with.  Plus I either never seem to have much of a budget to work with this time of year, or as is the case this year.  I forget that fall stuff comes out BEFORE fall and I fail to get in on the good stuff like hay bales (if you are in Edmonton and have seen them around, please let me know ASAP - Michaels South Common is SOLD OUT !!)

2. I never really know until last minute what I want to do.

This year however, I had the Monday off and Cory was working, so I thought it would use my day wisely and create something FUN for him to come home to.


The first thing to go up is always my wreath.  I made this beauty a few years back and am still absolutely in love with it!  It's super simple but really makes me smile!

I've been wondering lately if I should paint out front door?  It was actually SUPPOSSED to be painted a dark brown like our trim and garage door. But somehow that was forgotten by the builder and I didn't realize until last year when I was going over some paperwork.  We had a chocolate brown door in our last place and I loved it.  But this door has more glass.  Thoughts?

 

This skeleton in a cage found a home on the handle to the screen door.  Mostly because I broke the hook and needed something to wrap the "chains" around.

 

 

 

Next to the door, we have the little cream table that sits out there year -round.

I decided to keep the enclosed black lantern I bought this summer and was about to change our the flameless candle that melted and got all wonky in the extreme summer heat when I realized it might add to the Halloween vibe.  I threw in some fake leaves that came off a garland.

The scarecrow I've had for a couple years.  I was gonna stake him into the shrub bed, but thought he added a nice friendly touch up here.  Especially with his hand wrapped around the doorbell!

 

The skull and pumpkin were new purchases this year.

Skull -Value Village (new) - $5.99

Metal Pumpkin Tealight holder - Dollarama - $2.00

 

 

I had a couple lengths of leftover leaf garland from when I did my wreath so I just wrapped them around the railing and up the pillars for some color.

 

 

 

My newest and favorite addition this year is the basket of "harvest goodies".  The basket has been sitting in our basement stairwell for a couple years now.  I got it as a planter from my boss' wife but really wanted to tidy it up and possibly spray paint it.  I'm really glad I didn't as it adds the perfect touch here!

 

 

 

The mini pumpkins and gourds and from a box of assorted decor I bought at http://walmart.ca>Walmart years ago.  It has definitely served me well.  I threw in some natural colored raffia balls from Dollarama, some faux berry springs and some orange and gold pheasant feathers. along with some more errant leaves.

 

 

 

Taking place of a hanging pot on the hook is a strand of skull and cross bone garland.  Kinda spooky lol.

 

Last but not least is one more mini scarecrow.  I wasn't able to find any potted mums today (might be too late in the season).  But my current pots still had a few blooms hanging on, plus I thought the dead ones added to the spooky vibe, so I stuff him inside!

 

 

 

 

Lastly, an overall look at the whole shebang!

 

I'd love a little Harvest or Welcome sign to hang on the siding above the table.  I might take a look later this week for some good sales.

 

Oh and of coourse, can't forget my pumpkins.  The white one is a brand new find today at Michael's on sale. The orange one is a plug-in jack o'lantern, but I flipped him around.

 

We'll also be carving a few later this month so those will get added to the bunch!

Hope you're all having a great fall day!

 

 

 

 

Down Came the rain... of glass!

A couple weeks ago, I got a call at work from Cory (who had the week off) and the first words out of his mouth were "don't be mad...."


Sentences that start like that, never go well, so I braced myself and just went with a simple "what?"

Apparently Finley had decided to chase Greyson and ran right off the bed, smack into the 7 foot tall mirror we have leaning against the wall directly across from the bed  :(

Yup, my gorgeous, leaning mirror, custom built by my mom.

The good news was, that even though the mirror shattered into a million and one pieces, the frame remained intact.  Save for the very attractive blood smear on the back of it, from where Cory cut his hand while trying to pick everything up and get the animals outta the way.

I originally thought we'd wait a little bit before we got a new piece of mirror cut as I know they can be pretty expensive but I have been going insance these last few weeks without the mirror.  It is the only full length we have in the house and since our bathrooms are so small, we can't even get a good look.  I had taken to standing on the bed, peering into the master bath if I needed to get a good.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a good option and yesterday I sported an outfit that really should have stayed home!!

So as of tomorrow, I will be calling the glass and mirror company we use at work and getting a  new piece cut.  A girl at work used them to get the glass fronts for her new kitchen cabinets and said they were reasonable.  Plus, the installed them for her, which is good since there was a tony bit of damage to my frame.  You know, and the fact that it was homemade to begin with, so probably isn't the most sturdy construction.  haha

I can't wait!  What other "decorative" items around YOUR house have become indispensible items for you?

Thankful!

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving!  The best part of which, means I am NOT working! I opted out of doing a dinner this year.  But we did go on Saturday evening to Cory's mom and dad's and had a very low-key dinner there. 

I've never been one of those people who really ever acknowledges what she is thankful for come Thanksgiving but this year was a really tough one for me so I thought it was due time.

Earlier this year, well actually it started last year - mom got really sick.  No one knew what was wrong with her she was in a lot of pain and got down to a very sickly looking 85 lbs.  She was gaunt and fraile and freezing cold all the time.  The only part of her that was big, was her stomach.  What initially started as a lump that popped her belly button out like a baseball, turned into her stomach being so enlarged that she looked about 12 months pregnant, WITH TWINS!!!

She was barely able to walk, was in a lot of pain and could barely go any amount of time without rushing to the bathroom.  She saw all sorts of doctors and specialists and was in and out of hospital.  Despite not knowing what was really wrong, they took to draining her stomach to get it down to a "normal" size.  But it never really went down all the way and of course, it would fill back up in no time.  Of course, mom's will to live worsened and she was pretty sure she had some sort of cancer that they hadn't been able to diagnose.

Then, earlier this year, I got a call at work from a nurse saying that my mom was being transported by ambulance from her small town of Smoky Lake to the city and should be in, in about an hour.  Needless to say, I left work.  When I met her at the hospital, tears came.  She was in ridiculously bad shape.  It took hours, but they determined that she had a hernia and part of her bowel and intenstine had gotten twisted up in there.  They were recommending surgery that evening.  However, with her ailing health and of course the pre-existing heart conditions, she was definitely at risk of complications.  The biggest one of course, was that her heart would not be able to handle the stress of things.

Again came the tears.  Years ago, when my parents separated, my mom thought it was time that she speak with me about her wishes and presented me with a copy of her living will.  She had always expressed that if her health failed and all that was keeping her alive, was machines, that she would not want to live like that.  So, as she was unable to do so, I spoke to the doctor aboout her wishes. They read out some options and she advised them of her wishes.  I asked if there was a form we needed to sign and they told us no, they would indicate everything on that chart.

It was getting late, so I headed home. They said that surgery would probably start around midnight.  The whole way home, I cried on the phone to Cory, worried that something bad would happen and maybe I should just stay there.

When I left the hopsital, I called my brother and my dad to keep them up to date on everything.  I had a rough time sleeping that night and was woken up very early by the phone.  It was my mom's doctor.  The surgery was complete and mom was in recovery.  There had been a few problems but she seemed to be doing well. 

When I arrived, I noticed mom was hooked up to many machines, which surprised me, but I kept quite.  I spent the next few days at the hospital, sitting by her bedside.  Mom was in and out most of the day and on a lot of painkillers.  So I broguht magazines and read, just being there.  It wasn't until 2 or 3 days later that we found out she had "coded" on the table in surgery.

When I heard this I was confused.  I was under the impression that as part of my mom's instructions, that she was not to be assisted if her body was unable to continue on it's own.   I immediately had the doctor paged to find out what was going on - turns out her wishes had not been relayed to anyone in the operating room.  They had proceeded as they would with any other person when her heart stopped. 

Relief was the only thing I could feel.  As much as I was mad at the hospital for not respecting her wishes, I was soooo glad they hadn't. 

Fast forward 8 months, mom is doing remarkably well. They diagnosed her with Celiac's disease shortly after her surgery and having made a complete 180 in her eating, mom's recovery is pretty much a miracle!  Her stomach never grew big again, and she has gained all her weight, and then some back. She is able to do simple things such as clean her house and got lots of gardening done this summer.  She also likes to assist the other ladies in her community with odd jobs - gardening or painting, etc. 

This year, I am most thankful that a hospital error is the reason my mom is still with us.  Although the family opted out of doing a Thanksgiving dinner this year, we are all happy and healthy which is the most important.  Mom will be visiting me next week for my birthday so I look forward to seeing her then!

Global Inspired Dining Nook

I'm back!  I took on a little part-time contract work as well as picked up a few extra shifts helping with setting up some showhome (since we have 10 opening in 2 months) right when we got back from vacation. 

I've obviously been ridiculously busy and am just now able to grab a few minutes here and there.  But unfortunately, my computer is broken again so need to send it in.  

I did however want to share an "in-progress" shot as we were staging the Global Inspired house.  The art isn't hung and the window treatments hadn't arrived and there are baskets sitting on the sideboard waiting for a home, but for the most part it's there.  Excuse the poor quality of the phone shot, I didn't plan to share, I was just shot so I could reference later.

My favorite thing about this space?  The silvery velvet dining chairs and of course, the centerpiece, created by me!  A simple bronze honeycomb vase with a few faux cherry blossom branches and some curly wood sticks!

I'm Back!

We finally got our "Summer Vacation" taken care of and spent some time in Waterton.  I will share more about that later in the week.  I'm also struggling with not being able to access the internet from my laptop again, so I have to sneak Cory's when I can!

I am currently ridiculously busy working a ton of extra hours as we prepare to open 10 new showhomes in the next 2 months!  I have been helping our designer (and good friend) and am loving the work!  She got most of the stuff purchased already and I am just working towards filling the holes and helping her actually put everything in place and actually "stage" everything.

Tonight we started setting up a new one.  It's got a kind of Global/Zen/Morroccan vibe going on and is quite the departure from my usual personal style and I am really loving the challenge! 

I have a huge list of stuff we need to get to finish the house up and will be shopping the entire weekend.  Since we have to be finished by Monday and time is limited, I did a little online re-con tonight to help me source out the best items!

Of course, since we're working with a "Global" theme, my first stop was the Pier 1 site.  I have a fair bit of art, accessories and a handful of larger pieces to buy.  Figured I would share a few of the pieces I have my eye on:

We need a chair for the master bedroom and I have my eye on this beauty - but have to double check the wall color tomorrow to see if the brown will be too much or not.  The majority of the room is pretty neutral, rustic wood platform bed and dresser.  Branch-like iron based lamps and apparently very simple bedding in cream or white.  There are also some statement zebra cushions.  The big accent color for the entire house is red and I like that this picks up on that, adds a little fun and pattern, but isn't too in your face!

 

 

Another option I like, but don't necessarily think will work is this handsome guy:

 

Very Morroccan in style, the colors are definitely too much for the space, but I still love it!

 

We need a ton of artwork still, especially in the master bedroom and ensuite and we really want to bring some bright color into the space.

 

 

"Shimmering Leaves"

 

 

 

"Stunning Simplicity"

 

 

 

 

 

While not colorful, I love the texture that this Banana Leaf wall panel adds!  Wish the photo quality was better...

 

Rust Aged Medallion Wall Decor 

There are 3 different ones of this style and I think a grouping of three, vertically on a wall on the main floor, outside the powder room will be a nice touch. We'll be having a kilim rug in the great room and I think this would play off that nicely.

 

 

This capiz panel is very similar to some of the metallic pieces she already has in there.

 

We used the tiniest amounts of teal throughout the house and I think this is a nice look for over the gorgeous ensuite tub!

 

Of course, you can't forget the accessories.  We already have the requisite lanterns, buddha statues and tons of candle pieces, in extreme moderation of course. 

 

o

 But you can't do a global theme without the tiniest touch of mosaic. I am loving this bronze frame for a besdie table and it's color keeps it understated.

There's a tween boys space in the house and it desperately needs a few accessories. With bunk beds and a pair of exagerrated letterpress stamp art pieces in greys and oranges on the wall, we are desperately in need of some masculine accessories. 

I was immediately drawn to this great ottoman/pouffe.

I like the idea of these nice wooden boxes (this one is actually for watches I believe) cause little boys would have secret places to keep things.

 

That's just a little insight into what I'm liking for the space.  I'll share some info and photos of the space when it's finished!

 

Have a great weekend!

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!!!