Don't Forget Dad!

We're still busy getting things in order around here, but I just wanted to pop in and remind you that 15% off at Minted on all of your Father's Day cards and gifts ends tomorrow! So head on over, create something special for Dad and don't forget to use the promo code FTFDAD15 at checkout!

A Thrifting Score

Over the long weekend at the beginning of the month, the three of us got out to do some thrifting. We hit up a few places and the first two were an absolute bust. When we arrived at the final store, I knew right away that we were going to find something good. There was all kinds of furniture and great pieces, but we didn't find our special piece until we headed up to their loft known affectionately as "Discount Alley". Discount Alley in a Thrift Store? That is right up my alley! 

As soon as I saw this couch marked $20, I knew it would be coming home with us for the sunroom. The space has a tendency to leak when there is a big rain storm, and our landlords have no sense of urgency to fix it. At least if part of this piece gets a little water damaged, it won't be the end of the world.

I'm hoping for a relatively quick turn around on this project, after all, I think we'd both like to use this space before the cooler weather returns - possibly even during our month of visitors. Thankfully, the wood is in fantastic condition which means I have no plans of doing anything to it.

The only thing we need to do is recover those cushions. I have some plans up my sleeves to hopefully use the fabric we had originally purchased, from Tonic Living, for the seating bench in our basement in Toronto, and never used. We have some measuring to do, but if we can make it work we may even switch up the seat cushion a little.

The other item that needs to be addressed, is the canvas bottom of the sofa. It looks like the previous owner made a little haphazard "repair" that we should do something about - though that may come after we recover our cushions - we'll see how this all plays out. 

For me, this really signifies the start of making our sunroom a usable space. Let's just hope that that roof is addressed and the leaking can stop so that I can feel a little more secure about adding nicer pieces to this space.

Is there a room in your house that needs some sprucing up on a dime? Where do you shop and look for great deals when you are trying to revitalize your space for less? 

Worth the Wait

Good Morning friends. It's a holiday Monday here, hence the late post. We've been soaking up some gorgeous weather this weekend and spending a lot of family time together. I am, however, finishing up a few projects that I want to share with you later this week. In the meantime, I have a small surprise (for me) update that I completed on Friday.

The last time I shared our living room with you, our arm chair was still a big honking black eye sore...

For ages now I've been on the hunt for a slipcover to replace that old black one. I'd mostly been searching on craigslist and in the As-Is bin at IKEA, but we'd had no luck. Until last week. On an impromptu trip to IKEA, I finally found the beige armchair cover in the As-Is bin for half off! I snatched it up, and home it came to complete our living room...

It's nice to finally have a lighter coloured chair in this room, and be rid of that old black slipcover that we've had since 2009... and was second hand.  It's also a nice spot to keep our pretty "HOME" pillow, from Honeymoon at Home.

I loved being able to do something to spruce up the home that wasn't even on my to-do list. It's a small thing that really does make a big difference in our living space. 

For now, I need to get back to my projects, so I'll leave you with my favourite photo of our weekend. This one is from Friday night and it puts a huge smile on my face every time that I look at it. 

Also, if you missed my announcement yesterday, First Time Fancy is now accepting sponsors. For more information, click on the "Sponsorship" link in my navigation bar at the top of the page.

Take A Seat

I know it's been silent for a while around here. We've just spending some time enjoying being together as a family, so I can't apologize for that. Even with lots of family time happening, we managed to finish  the bentwood chairs last week! Just to give you a little refresher, here's how they started out...

I was clearly drawn in by the lines of the chairs and their potential. After painting them a beautiful Cornflower Blue, by Martha Stewart, the fabric hunt began. I originally hoped to use a fabric that I already had on hand, but it turned out that I didn't have enough of any one fabric to cover all four seats. I'll be honest though, I didn't complain too much about having to go fabric shopping. So, two weeks ago now, we piled into the car and headed to the closest Fabricland. I made a couple laps of the home decor section, double and triple checking every single fabric that caught my attention. Finally, after getting the okay from B, I landed on this fabric...

I loved the pattern and the colours, and I knew that it would be mess friendly. After sitting on it for a few days, last week B and I finally got around to recovering those old seats. (Have I mentioned that B is the best? Totally supporting every little project I undertake, and always willing to lend a hand. Yup - THE BEST). Anywho - here's how it all went...

{B set up the compressor and my staple gun and then tested it out quickly before we got going}

{Halle hung out nearby and supervised the whole thing. I think she was telling B what to do here. Seriously, little miss has quite the personality}

{Pretty self explanatory - don't you think?}

{Halle was more than willing to lend a hand when B reattached the seats for me}

I guess that leaves little else to share except for the final product. So let's take one more look at the original chairs...

Followed quickly by a reveal of our final chairs...

I LOVE THEM! I love them in the awful, ugly sunroom, but love them even more in our slowly progressing breakfast nook...

I love that little hint of blue in our kitchen, and I think they will look even better once I get those two end chairs painted up as well. Something I should consider getting started on this week. In the meantime, since not a whole lot has been progressing around here, I do hope to share some more of our adventures with you this coming week.

In the meantime, what's the consensus on our chair transformation? I'd love to hear what you all think....

Treasure Hunting

Ummm - hello gorgeous weekend! Okay, I guess I should be saying "good-bye". So sad to see it go, but really it was fantastic! From the moment I got up on Friday morning and saw the sun shining, I knew that it was going to be great. The type of weekend that I just had to devote a post to, especially with all of the fabulous treasures I brought home.


Halle and I started off Friday with a trip to our local HomeSense. We popped in and were able to take our time strolling around (yes, she will usually handle this pretty well) and looking. Though we saw a few things I would love, right now I need to focus on things we need, so when I spotted two lovely glass table lamps, for $39 each, they had to come home with us...

They are perfect for our bedroom, colour shape and everything! The textured white shade is exactly what I wanted, and the coloured glass is subtle enough that it doesn't compete with our colourful West Elm duvet cover. Now we just need to find some nightstands.


The rest of the day was spent playing, taking a nice stroll, and then enjoying dinner on a patio not too far from home. I LOVE that it's still daylight here at 9pm, so that on gorgeous days we can enjoy the views of the mountains. Seriously - LOVE IT.


Saturday morning we woke to another gorgeous day. B was off bright and early to his softball tournament and Halle and I left shortly after to make the drive out to Abbotsford. It was a beautiful drive, and so worth it to pay a visit to Scout Vintage & Handmade Market. Halle and I arrived just before 10am (opening time), and I am so glad we did... there was a huge line already waiting for them to open, and I know why. The finds were incredible! I had a very small budget for my first trip ($60!), but I came home with some pretty great things. 


I broke the ice with these 3 sweet cupcake stands, from raggygirl vintage, for $20! So cute, and I knew they would be perfect on our mantel and/or our entertainment centre to display things. Love them. 

My next stop was a quick visit to Victoria of Edin Home & Co. She was one of the lovely ladies out here who welcomed me warmly and invited me to stop by and say hello to her. 

We did a bit more wandering, which included taking in the lovely sights of twig home's booth - I seriously wanted to bring that gorgeous map home with me (along with numerous other items of course)! 

Our next purchase was from Crystal Clear Boutique...

What did we get? The most adorable turquoise bow headband for Halle. She actually picked that one herself when I gave her the choice of pink or turquoise... smart girl. Look how sweet it is...

My next stop was a HUGE success. Right across from Crystal Clear Boutique was the lovely set up of Red Wicker...

Monica was the sweetest, and I was happy to take this lovely mirror off her hands, as well as the sweet #1, that I plan to use for a shadow box of Halle's first year. I was smiling ear to ear when I left her booth, and definitely could've walked away with way more, but my $60 budget helped to keep me in check! 

Our final stop on the way out (Halle had, had enough of the crowd) was at delish magazine and general store. I picked up some striped and polka dot straws for Halle's 1st birthday party! So cute...

Aside from these fabulous booths, there were so many incredible treasures that I wish I had, had more time to dig through! Lily & Rachel, of Birch + Bird, did such a fabulous job pulling this event together - I couldn't say enough good things about the whole experience! Everything was worth stopping to look at, and I had to tear myself away from all of the booths with tasty baked goods (as I knew I had a yummy Raspberry Truffle Tart waiting at home for dessert that night). This whole experience made me feel so happy about coming out West! Though I was sad to leave behind so many great and inspiring women from the blogging community back in Toronto, I have been welcomed so warmly by the talented ladies out here (big thanks to Barbara for helping make the transition easier on me! She's the best!). 


So there you have it. Despite some continued fussiness from our (we assume) teething babe - I loved, loved, loved this weekend! I have also just about finished our bentwood chairs, and plan on sharing them with you tomorrow - so make sure to come back and check out the final product! 


What fun things did you all get up to this past weekend?

Cozy Up the Nook

As I mentioned yesterday, we got right back into working on the house as soon as we arrived home. The first space we really focused on was our little breakfast nook. The last time I shared a photo with you, it looked like this...

What really inspired me to dive back into setting this space up was the discovery of some new chairs for the space. Despite arriving home in the wee hours of Sunday morning, we were out again that day (on our now common hunt for a dresser) when I spotted four chairs at a thrift store we were popping into. Before we left, B inquired about how much the owner wanted for the chairs. His response? "If you want them, just take them. Someone left them here and they need a little work. They're yours". Yup... FREE! Check these babies out...

I love the shape, and they are solid wood. Could it possibly be any better? I already have plans to clean and paint them up, as well as replace the fabric on the chairs. This whole project should help bring a little more colour into our little dining nook.

Sunday night, we also managed to get some stuff hung in that area. We got some curtains up on the garden window (4 WILMA panels from IKEA - can't beat the price). They are pretty sheer, so they still let in a lot of light, but they help obscure the view (at least a little) from our neighbours yard, into our kitchen. I also got my Betsy Benn print up - I think it's perfect for this little nook...

Let me tell you, these little additions may be small, but they really got me motivated to get back to decorating this house. I'm ready to start adding more touches of "us" to this rental, and make it feel more like home. I spent yesterday starting some more projects that I will share with you over the next few days, and I'm also planning out some additional changes to this room - like a faux roman shade to go over that giant window. 

With this fire under me, it's time for me to sign off for another day and get back to work! A lot to get done around here... and I just can't wait to share it all! 

What projects have you been motivated to work on these days? Any great finds or new additions you've added to your home?

It's That Season!

GARAGE SALE SEASONS! This past Sunday was absolutely glorious weather here in Toronto. By 8am, I was wide awake and itching to get up and enjoy the sunshine! B was up shortly after me as I attempted making breakfast in the kitchen. After a quick bite to eat and cleaning up, we were dressed and out the door to try and hit any garage sales that may be on. We lucked out at one in particular, picking up the following...

As soon as I saw this round coffee table, I KNEW it had to come home with us. I've been looking for the right one for some time now for our living room, to break up the lines of the space. It looks like someone tried their hand at refinishing it before, as it's not too pretty looking at the moment...

B and I figure we'll give it a sand down and see what kind of shape the wood is in (yes... it's solid wood!). If it's in good shape, we'll stain it. If not, paint will be the answer. For $7, we just couldn't walk away from it!

At the same sale, B spotted this light fixture before I did...

We both loved the pearlized finish to the glass. Originally, I considered it going in the area of our living room close to the staircase. However, when we got home and I walked past the peanut's nursery, I could completely see it living in there (which is awesome as I've been hoping to replace the current light fixture in her room). For $2, not too bad. I hope to spruce it up with some paint before we hang it.

One more item came home from that sale for a whole $3...

My parents had one just like this for us when we were kids, so when B pulled it out and suggested we bring it home for our peanut I was all on board. Can't wait to bundle her up in it and enjoy the winter months.

We hit one more sale before coming home where we picked up five footed sleepers and two little hats for the peanut (really cute ones, and everything this lady was selling was in fabulous condition. The little sleepers smelt like they were straight outta the dryer, so I wasn't hesitant at all to bring them home).

For a grand total of $17, we feel we got some pretty great deals on Sunday. Have you gone out to hit up and garage sales recently? Have you been finding anything good?

OH! If you missed it yesterday, make sure to enter my Ramsign giveaway for a chance to win one of their custom Porcelin Enamel signs! Find out how right here!

Our Boxing Day Scores

This Boxing Day, B and I decided to brave the Boxing Day sales... at the big box home stores. In other words - no crowds to deal with. Thank god. We got some of the obvious first time home owner things - more lights for our Christmas tree and a few ornaments to help fill our tree next year. But with those purchases aside, we had some big ticket items we were on the hunt for.
As I've been writing about for a while now, we have plans to renovate our basement laundry area. That means that the #1 purchase on our list was a new water and energy efficient washer and dryer pair. After scouring all of the after Christmas sales (via flyers), the best deal we came across was for an LG washer and dryer pair at Home Depot. The LG 3.5 Cu. Ft. Front Load Washer (WM2010CW) and 7.0 Cu. Ft. Dryer (DLE1310W) - $886 for the pair (regular $1296) + an additional 10% off! So we saved over $500 on the pair, plus with over $70 in gift cards - we're only paying roughly $830 of our own money for the pair, after taxes! It was definitely a great way to start our shopping trip and put both of us in an excellent mood for the remainder of our excursion. 

Once we had finalized our purchase at Home Depot, we headed over to Lowes to pick up a toilet that they had on sale for $148, for our basement bathroom (regular $208). The toilet is exactly the same as the one we purchased back in July for the upstairs bathroom. It's a low flow, American Standard toilet - and the best part? The city of Toronto offers $75 back on our water bill for purchasing the toilet - so essentially, we're getting it for $75!

We also took a chance to see what they had in the way of deals on Dishwashers. We weren't sold on buying one, but thought we'd take a look since the one that came with the house is not only not very efficient... but also doesn't do a very good job cleaning dishes. Well, once we saw the Bosch dishwasher they had on sale for $698 (regular $1198) - we WERE sold! We overhead one of the sales associates telling someone there were only two left, so we snapped one up immediately, and we LOVE how it looks in the kitchen (for now anyway - it'll look way better in the future when the kitchen is actually redone!)

We also made a stop at RONA to pick up some plain white subway tiles for the new tub enclosure and a lot of other fun stuff for our whole tiling job. Was nice since we not only got 10% off everything, but we also got 4x the Airmiles on our purchases, which gave us a good number of bonus miles - who knows, maybe we'll cash them in for something nice in the house somewhere down the road!

So, that is how we made out during the Boxing Day sales - and we are extremely happy. But with all of that out of the way, it's time to get down to business on the basement reno! As my previous post showed, the demo is well underway - for the first half of the basement anyway (laundry room and bathroom). I'm looking forward to sharing some updates - as Day 2 of the demo has been quite successful so far! Keep those eyes peeled!