Simons Maison: Whimsical, Elegant Home Wares!

A few weeks ago  I received a flyer for <a href="http://Simons.ca">Simons</a> Maison and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at a few cute homewards and their reasonable prices so of course I went online and had a better look at their wares. Of course I saved it and then promptly filed it away and forgot about it until now! 

The item that originally grabbed my attention was of course this tablecloth.

Feathers are my jam! Even better that this one was grey and white, absolutely perfect for my space! At less than $20.00, I will most likely be snagging this beauty for my house! 

Of course they also have the matching napkins. I'm thinking I could use these for pillow covers or something else fun around the house.

I also really loved this throw blanket.  I've seen plenty of grey and white chevron throws elsewhere, but this one is a great price at $19.99! 

Since all my picks were looking a little grey, I of course had to throw in this cute turquoise ombré mat. I need a new one for the back door, and $9.99 is a pretty sweet price.

Of course I also have a thing for campy, whimsical animals in home decor so it's no surprise that I loved this antler duvet cover set and pillow cases.

I loved the message on this simple cushion that also comes in a a throw.

Lastly, there's something so strikingly elegant about this velvet feather cushion.

 I don't know about you, but im am truly loving these great pieces, and think they'd fit in perfectly in my home. I'll be checking them out in person very soon! 

5 Years!

A few weeks ago I celebrated 5 years of getting the keys to this house. The ex and I built it as our first place together, well we has rented together but it was the first place we'd built from scratch and my firstly owned property.

While the boy is gone, the house is still here and I am pleased to say, all mine! It's been a tough go this past year, but after a lot of hard work, sleepless nights and some help from a lot of amazing people, the house I have loved so much over the past five years and very slowly made tweaks and changes to, is MY home! 

At only 1250 sq ft, it is very modest but the perfect size for Finley, Greyson and I to call Casa Thibault! We spend time together, cuddle, watch tv, act lazy, be creative and crafty, host friends and family and just live, very comfortably in our little duplex and I can't wait to continue to modify the space to make it a true reflection of who we are.  I have to admit, that I've been hesitant to invest too much time and money into new things for the place over the last little while as I was worried about whether we would be able to stay living here, or if we'd have to move, after the ex moved out. 

I was scared to paint walls or add wallpaper, figuring I'd just have to reprint or remove it to sell the place. I was leery of replacing fixtures, just to put them back up if I had to sell.  I had large items for the walls I hadn't hung cause I didn't want to patch more holes than were already there. I had started to grow resentful of the retaining wall I had been investing so much sweat into, as I worried it would be someone else's to enjoy, and they might just rip it down and my work would have been for nothing! 

 But now that it is going to stay mine, I'm excited to move forward with all the plans in my head.  The ideas sketched out in notebooks will be built.  The materials for projects half-started will be purchased and finally (some of them years in the making...) will be finished! 

I'm excited to share with you the upcoming projects and look forward to getting back to a regular blogging schedule, that sadly took a backseat as I was getting my life back in order! 

Bedroom Addition: why did this take me sooooo long to do?

For the last 5 years, I have NOT had a TV in my bedroom. I don't know when exactly this came about, but it's just how it's been for so long, I just kind of got used to it!  I mean, I grew up with a tv in my teenage bedroom , and even had one in my apartment when I lived alone.  In fact, we even had a small one in the condo (before this place) when we first moved there, but it eventually just got taken out as we just never watched it.

 The ex was an early to bed guy who just did not enjoy hanging out in bed, so we just never did.  Plus with just the two of us, we mostly watched tv together, so there was never really a need.  When we did want to watch separate programs, he preferred watching on the big, big tv in the basement so that worked for us. We also didn't have another cable box or an appropriately sized one for the bedroom and couldn't justify the expense, so we just didn't even bother.  

In fact, I had gotten so used to it, I didn't really think of it until the guy I was dating thought it was weird that I really only used the one in the living room.  He pretty much couldn't fall asleep unless the tv was on, so I got reacquainted with snuggling in bed watching a movie and remembered how much I loved it!  I mean, the living room here is just not condusive to couples watching tv! Then I realized how much more sense it would make most nights of the week, when I was alone and could just watch my shows, in bed while folding laundry!  I asked around, and apparently I was the only person I knew who didn't have one..... So I started researching....

And in the meantime, brought up my old teenage bedroom tv from the basement! Where it stayed and worked wonderfully, if not a bit too small for the space for the last 2 months... (But apparently I accidentally deleted all pics of it) 

That is, until Father's Day when I had dinner at my dad's house and noticed the new tv he had in his Family Room - accompanied by the old tv just sitting on the floor next to it, accumulating dust! So i asked him what he was doing with it and long story short, we were loading that monster tv into my car immediately after dinner! 

Here it is after I got the neighbour to help lift it into my front entry!

Uh yeah....way bigger than the one I had been looking at buying! 

Here's where it ended up:

It's actually a really nice size for the space! The room is pretty large and the large screen is perfect for lying in bed!   The only real issue is that you have to ensure that the door stays open otherwise this happens:

However, once the animals are in bed with me for the night, it's usually not a problem, but I have gone ahead some earlier nights and put a makeshift door stop in the floor to keep them from busting in the room and blocking my screen.

Ideally, mounting it on the wall would be better, but this thing is so darn heavy I worry that it would come crashing down. It's a plasma, so much heavier than any tv I've ever carried, that's for sure! 

It's also a little weird in that the tv itself is different than any other I've ever seen. Firstly, it does not have  internal speakers, which wasn't an issue once I got a nice boy to hook up some from my downstairs surround sound that weren't being used.  It also has a media receiver, which is kind of a pain cause instead of plugging your digital box directly into the to, everything goes through a separate box.  Thankfully, I've been able to hide all the media components directly behind the tv. 

Yes, the big gap from the wall is weird, but you don't notice it unless us are standing at the washroom door, and it's only me who would so it's fine! 

This little corner used to function as my vanity table so that has been moved to the closet for the meantime.  I've yet to properly set it up, just quickly moved it when a friend was over to help me carry the thing, but it's serving it's purpose just fine! 

That dresser was used by the ex and I've slowly been taking it over.  Since I wasn't really using the hanging space on that side, there was more than enough room for my mirror and the jewelry tree! 

Overall, I'm super happy with this addition and love watching movies in bed! Tell me, what are your thoughts on a tv in the bedroom? 

Loss...

I had every intention on posting about a lovely new house purchase tonight, but life had other plans for me....  

Warning: This post will be heavy on the photos and also on emotion.

Earlier this evening, I discovered that one of my cats, the handsome Mischu Isaiah, had passed.  There are no words to describe how I feel right now other than heart broken.  He was 8 years old and had been with me almost since his birth.  I don't know how it happened, or honestly, when.... This is a fact that makes me feel guilty and irresponsible, both things  I am not! However, my grief right now is blinding and I don't understand how it is possible for me not to remember the last time I saw someone I loved so much..... Was it Wednesday night? I swear he ran under the bed when I was watching Netflix....no wait, he sat and watched me get ready for work one morning this week, what day was that? I hope it wasn't long and I pray he felt no pain... It must have happened Thursday when I was at work...... Or maybe just this morning? I will never know for sure.

When I found him, he looked peaceful. It was as though he had gone for a nap in his favorite chair in the basement, and just never woke up. I'm glad he chose his favorite spot, tucked away, as it is now my final memory of him and it was quintessentially "him". He was an independent boy who, admittedly never fully adjusted to our getting a dog 4 years ago and therefore kept to himself a lot. It wasn't unusual for you not to see him as often as his "siblings" and that suited him just fine.

He was such a sweet little boy whose favorite method of greeting was a head butt, and they weren't always gentle either. I was woken many a morning, thinking my nose was broken, just to stare into this sweet little face! 

 Mischu came into my life unplanned.  A gf of mine had a roommate who had gotten a kitten, and then decided she was moving out into a building that did not allow pets.  She said she had tried looking for a home but could not find one and was going to surrender him to the Humane society. Upon hearing this I immediately said, "as long as he gets along with my other cat, I'll take him!"   So we drove over to my place to do a test run.  He was so tiny he fit in one hand and when we brought him in, there was initially some tension between the two and some hissing, but we left the two of them together to sort out their differences and when we checked in on them, we found them kind of like this:

There was no question, he was part of the family!

The two of them were pretty inseparable    as kittens and I loved that they kept each other company. He was my little "diamond-back" boy, as he had a beautiful marking to go with his lovely coat. He had tiger stripes on his back and cheetah spots on his belly. And boy was he cute!

He was curious as all get and one of his favorite things ever, was a box! He'd use any excuse to pop himself into any box, or box-like item lying around.  They were his safe place....

A poker set would suffice...

A Christmas tree box was more than enough!

He was even carted around a party one year as "Cat-weiser".... Boy did he make me (and everyone that night) smile! 

There are things around the house that I will never look at again the same. The things he found amusement in, that I would find about, and sometimes (just sometimes...) would even let linger longer on the floor, just for him: hair elastics, bottle caps, he also had quite an affinity for newspaper, magazines and crossword puzzles! You couldn't read around here without his interference.  His poor Grammy couldn't get a break doing her puzzles as he was always there to assist.

I always felt that he had been taken from his mom a little too soon as there were things he just never quite understood.  One of those things was that he insisted on suckling on a blanket for the first couple years I had him.  His favorite blanket of course, was also mine! 

I not sure when exactly he stopped, but I guess he eventually grew out of it.  His favorite thing to be doing was to hang. As in literally letting his limbs hang down over something. Our last place had plant ledges that ran around the perimeter of the loft-like ceilings. I know he missed them immensely when he moved here and instead found his safe perch on the  half wall at the top of the stairs! 

While not actually hanging here, it is one of his most recent photos and represents him well! He also really lived a good photo shoot, when he was around to be in them....

While it is evident that I am torn up about things, I don't actually know if his "brother and sister" really get that he is gone.... I mean they definitely know I am upset and I've referred to him a lot tonight. I feel like Grey kind of knows. I feel like he tried to tell me last night and I didn't clue in.... I brought him down to say goodbye before my friend came by for moral support and assistance. I'm not sure if that went good or bad, but I felt like it needed to happen, so I did it.  But I thought it wise to keep Finley out of things, I feel like they never quite bonded so it just seemed appropriate,  It hurts my heart to think about and I can't help but picture the times that he and Greyson spent together, before the dog came around, when they were twinsies.

But again, it wasn't unusual to find him napping alone, often in some compromising position:

:) 

I understand that some people do not like cats, or understand how on earth anyone can be this torn up about an animal and to them, I hope they just keep that to themselves.  Everyone is different, and as someone without children, who has had pets since the week I first moved out on my own, the only thing I can say is that he was my baby boy. He absolutely always will be. Losing him today was tough. One of the hardest moments of my life, and no, I'm NOT being dramatic! I probably would have gone crazy had I not had a warm little buddy (or three) to cuddle up with, and hug tightly when I was sad or sob onto the back of when I was hurting, and talk to when I am alone to make it be less scary to be sad, heart broken and lonely.

As with each of my pets, we had our "things".  The stuff that we did together that I didn't do with any of the other babies. With Mischu, in addition to the head butt, we fought over his unrolling the toilet paper most mornings as he watched me get ready.  He also sat on my lap, on his bum, like a person. We'd usually do so in the washroom, so he could watch in the mirror. He'd look up at me and I'd kiss his head and I would just hold him, sitting there, for as long as he'd let me. 

Good grief, I am practically a teenager in this photo, but that's kind of how we'd do it.  Just sitting together, letting me rub his belly :). I'll miss that little spotted belly!

I still am not 100% sure what I want to "do" with him now.... I did some research and spoke with friends who shared stories and experiences and expressed their sympathies.  I feel confident that the next few days will be tough but that in the end, my heart will make the decision that suits it, and him, best.  He is fortunately/unfortunately, my first baby to leave me and I am so incredibly confused on top of all the other emotions of grief I am feeling. 

There's a few ideas running in my head right now, on some way I'd like to memorialize my boy.  I'm  sure I'll be sharing those as soon as I am feeling up to it, and able to put them into fruition.

As I get ready to try and sleep tonight, I know my boy will never be forgotten. He will always have a piece of his momma's heart that can never be replaced. Oh Mischu, my Emmy, my Shuey, Meems, 

" I carry your heart with me ( I carry it in my heart)..." - E.E Cummings

Xoxoxo - mommy 

Patio Wall Baskets

I had a friend over this evening to assist with shifting down a few fence boards to prevent Finley from digging underneath when she plays with her ball.  While he was here, he offered to hang a few things on the deck for me.

I  really wanted them up last year but the ex wasn't sure that drilling into the siding was a good idea... since he's gone, they're up!

While they don't look like much right now, I'm sure that once I pop some blooms in there, they'll really be something!

While he hung them all as baskets, they are technically convertible and can be flipped over and hung as shelves. I got the set of three a few years ago when I was a Princess House consultant and they have just been sitting on the deck waiting to be put to use!

I'm thinking lots of little pots with some trailing vine-like plants and lots of lush, leafy plants to add some greenery to the huge expanse of beige wall!

Anyone have any plant suggestions?