A Weekend at IDSWest & Blend

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope that October has started off wonderfully for you. I meant to share this post yesterday, but things have just been nuts around here. 

I had a great weekend attending IDSWest and meeting a ton of fabulous, talented bloggers at Blend2012. It started on Saturday morning. After dropping my parents off at the airport, B dropped me off at St. Regis Hotel downtown, and I met up with Christine, Amy and Sara. I clicked with these three lovely ladies immediately and loved spending the afternoon with them. 

We strolled down to the Convention Centre, had something to eat and then headed in to catch Tommy's talk at 1pm. 

He gave a great talk on making the most of small spaces, and even though our new home is much larger than our Toronto home, it still gave me a lot to think about when it comes to decorating. Afterwards, we strolled the floor checking out all of the beautiful booths. So much gorgeousness to admire - especially the Aya Kitchens booth (I'm sure you've all seen this kitchen around the blog world over  the last few days).

Trust me, I left that home wishing I could renovate... not just decorate. Especially after seeing some of those kitchens! Gorgeous! 

After our strolling, we made our way back to the hotel to rest up and get ready for our nights. For me, that meant popping into Starbucks before hanging out with Rosa and Michelle in their room for a chat, before finally getting prettied up. I had so much fun meeting so many new friends and bloggers at Blend, that I took no photos... except for one of Christine after she won her lovely Delta faucet - lucky girl!

She wasn't the only lucky lady though! I was pretty excited to take home this fabulous wall decal from Danielle's business Urban Walls. Since I don't know how long we'll be staying, I plan to find something a little more permanent that I can put it on and then take it with us when we move. 

I must say, Barbara, Victoria, Nancy and Karla did such an incredible job planning the evening for us. The venue was beautiful and the food was delicious! A huge thanks to IKEA for sponsoring our evening - it was so appreciated by all of us! I can't wait for a chance to hang out with all of these talented ladies again! 

What did you get up to this weekend?

A Winner & Some West Elm Fun!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. It was warm and sunny here, and we had a ton of fun exploring more with my brother. Keep an eye out for some of our adventures later this week. For now, I want to share with you something I got up to last Wednesday night... and then I'll share the two lucky winners of the Printique giveaway.

So it's official, West Elm is finally up and running right here in Vancouver. The brand new store is located at 2947 Granville Street, and I was so excited to attend the opening night last Wednesday. When I arrived shortly after 6pm the store was packed, the music was going (care of a DJ, spinning live), the cocktails were flowing, and the delicious apps were... well, DELICIOUS! 

It was an incredible night and I loved getting to see the new store first hand. Here's some of my favourites:

This wall of beautiful kitchen wares welcomes you upon entering the store. The styling was perfect, and I loved how they colour blocked the sections. It took everything in my power not to come home with stacks and stacks of pretty bowls. The perfect way to add some colour to your dishes.

Loved this mirror as soon as I spotted it. It was tucked away behind a bed display near the back of the store, so it took me a while to spot it, but I only wished I could've taken it home with me. Perfect for our bedroom, or the guest bedroom. The shape is unique, and could be almost nautical in the right setting. 

Speaking of bedding - I was in love with everything they had...

A lot of neutral and grey coverlets and duvet covers. My favourite being the polka dots in the top middle. There was a beautiful set of embroidered sheets in this section that I wanted to take home with me, but sadly they wouldn't fit our very deep mattress... so the search continues.

If we hadn't just bought our King Size duvet cover from West Elm back in March, I think I would've been scooping this pretty one up! Love the colours, and the pattern. Very pretty without being ultra feminine. I'm sure B wouldn't have completely veto'd it! (as this picture would indicate, many attendees had enjoyed this bed as well).

More beautiful bedding, and a fabulously styled wall. I was so tempted to bring home one of those sweater-knit pillows, to warm up our place for the fall (the dusty blue is perfect for our place), but we're tightening our belts at the moment, so I had to leave it be. They are perfect for the fall - especially in the Raisin colour - loved it!

These pretty and happy pillows would be sweet in any space, but I was imagining them in Halle's newly evolving nursery space. I almost brought home that little pink one peeking out the basket, but thought better of it. Little girl does not need any more throw pillows at the moment.

Overall, it was just a really fabulous night. I loved getting a peek into the new store, and I'm excited to shop there once again. If you're in Vancouver, make sure to drop by the store on Granville! It was also an excellent opportunity for me to catch up with some familiar faces, and meet a few new-to-me bloggers as well. I'm looking forward to seeing all of those lovely ladies again on the 29th a fabulous event being planned by some really incredible ladies! 

Now, for the party many of you have been waiting for! The winners of the Printique giveaway, as chosen by random.org! The first of our two winners was lucky #17 - Areta! And oddly enough, our second winner was #18! Cathy! If neither of you hear from me today, please shoot me an email and I will get you in touch with Monica from Printique right away so that you can go shopping with your $20 gift cards. 

For the rest of you, who would love to go shopping don't forget to use the code FANCY20 to get 20% off your order! Thanks to everyone who entered - I always love doing a fun giveaway for my readers!

Giving It All Away...

I must say, our little Halle girl is pretty lucky. She'll be getting two big birthday parties this year. One with B's family and friends in Massacusetts in July, and one with my family in Toronto in August... and  we may even do something with her, here in BC with the few friends we have made... we'll see. While B's Mom took care of planning Halle's party there, I'm busy pulling things together for her party in Toronto. 


I am so excited about it and have even started working on a couple small projects here that I will be transporting back to Toronto with me soon. My first project is to transform these...

I picked all six of them up at our local Value Village to adorn the table at her Puppy Themed party. She goes nuts over these little dogs right now and exclaims "UP!" (and sometimes we could swear she's saying "PUP!") every time she see's them. Yup, she's crazy for puppies! 


I also purchased this fabric from fabric.com a while back when they had an "Animal Print Sale" on - it was perfect timing. 

I also found some pretty cute "Thank You" note cards at HomeSense a couple of weeks back, that will be perfect for after the party. I cleared out all four boxes that they had. Now, just for the invites!

I opted not to do a Puppy Themed invite, since I had a discount card from Shutterfly. So I used one of the photos we had of Halle & created an invite on their site. I ordered the invites back on June 3rd and they shipped out on June 5th. They weren't here by yesterday morning and I had a bit of a freak out and after Halle's morning nap we drove over to Michael's and I purchased all of the supplies I would need to make some new invites...

But of course, when we got home and I walked up to the front door I discovered that the mailman had come late yesterday, and of course my package from Shutterfly was waiting in our mailbox. Why wouldn't that happen? I'm so happy they made it on time, because look how precious they are (if I do say so myself...)

I also decided that since I had gone shopping, I would at least make use of one of the item's I picked up. So to just give a little hint of the party theme on the invite, I put a little paw print on the bottom left hand corner of each of the invites that I mailed out, and I think it looks pretty cute...

So, there you have it. The first peek at what I have up my sleeve for Halle's party. I'm excited to really get into all of the fun projects, and start putting things together.

Are you planning any parties or celebrations for this summer? Anything that you are excited about hosting? What would you do if you were planning a Puppy themed party?

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?

The Big Heartbreak - Round 2

Yesterday was the big game! An especially big game for our household. Four years ago, B and I watched the SuperBowl together for the first time - Brady vs. Manning. Yesterday, Halle saw her very first SuperBowl with us - the rematch of Brady vs. Manning.

{via}

Sadly... the outcome was the same for both games, leaving us heartbroken. We have thrown a SuperBowl party every year since we have lived in our home, and this year we were not going to let a bathroom reno stand in our way! Saturday, B and my Dad motored through a ton of work in the bathroom (watch for updates tomorrow), and Sunday we were up bright and early with Halle cleaning and prepping food for the big game. With everything ready, all three of us got decked out in our Patriots gear before our guests arrived...

Of course, those smiles were relatively short lived (except Halle... she had a great time playing with all of our guests). I planned on sharing some fun details of the game, but Halle was all stranger danger, and only wanted me to hold her (No B or her grandparents either), so there are no other photos.

Did you watch? Who were you cheering for? Did anyone else's heart sink when Welker missed that catch? Or in those final seconds when the Patriots ALMOST scored a winning touch down on Brady's last pass? I mean, as a fan of Toronto teams I am used to losing... but to experience this twice with such a great football team is just devastating! I'll be back tomorrow with bathroom updates... the bathroom progress has really made up for this heartbreak...

Canadian Design Blogger Meet-up - 2012 Edition

Good Monday Morning to all of you! What a FANTASTIC weekend! After a glorious Saturday morning of being pampered at the hair salon, I was thrilled to head down to Brassaii Restaurant for the Canadian Design Bloggers meetup!

Not only was it fantastic to see so many old friends, but I loved meeting new blogger friends, as well as finally putting a face to a number of blogs that I already read! What a treat. Vie and Daniella did a fantastic job rounding up some incredible speakers. We got to hear from Cameron MacNeil & Lisa Murphy of House & Home, Cassandra LaVallle of coco + kelley AND the man himself Brian Gluckstein! Seriously, it was mind blowing and invigorating being in one room filled with so many inspiring and brilliant people.

The line-up of event sponsors was beyond impressive: House & Home magazine, Delta, Cottonelle, IKEA, C.I.L Paint, Gluckstein Home, Aya Kitchens & Bath, green light district, Rowenta, CB2 and Kravet! I know right! These lovely sponsors sure hooked us up with our swag bag as well...

Halle's favourite part of it was the Jonathan Adler toilet roll cover from Cottonelle...

 

I have to admit, I decided not to bring my camera with me to the event. I don't get out often to chat and see friends on my own anymore, so I was excited to go and just meet people, chat and catch up. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to be a part of such a positive, inspiring and supportive group of bloggers! I came home feeling fabulous and completely re-energized! I know this is short and not very detailed, but to be honest I think I am still trying to process the whole thing.

I'm recovering from a crazy weekend today, even after my coffee I still feel like I could crawl back into bed, and Halle and I have some visitors dropping in shortly. Be sure to come back tomorrow for some bathroom updates... and let me warn you - there has been quite a lot of progress since last week!

What to Wear...

So, next Saturday is the Canadian Design Bloggers meet-up here in Toronto. It will be filled with so many faces I have met before, some whom I only only met online as well as a bunch that I am sure I will have the pleasure of knowing for the first time ever. Of course, on top of these ladies the place will be filled with some really great sponsors and guest speakers...


So, aside from needing to book myself in for my spa treatments this weekend (kindly gifted to me by B for Christmas), I need to find something to wear. Being at home all day with Halle, my everyday uniform is sweat pants or yoga pants, with a tank top and sweater. If we go out, it's jeans and a tank top or t-shirt with a cardigan. I need help remembering how to dress in social environments... PLEASE!

My parents bought me a dress similar to this one below, for Christmas. It just has a little gold in it. I'm dying to wear it, just wondering if it's "too much", for this event... and what shoes would I wear?

{via}

But maybe this Lace Overlay skirt from Jacob is a better alternative if I want to add this feminine touch to my outfit?

I also have some money to spend at H&M, so I've been browsing their website for some inspiration as well...

I love the colour of this blazer, but I'm not too sure if throwing this on with a pair of jeans is too close to my usual outfits that I want to try and steer clear of?

I'm not so great with this stuff, so I would love to hear everyone weigh in. What are other bloggers wearing, and what should I wear! I'm excited to wear something fun, that I normally wouldn't wear when I'm with baby... and I'm pretty excited all of my baby weight is gone, so I'd love to feel and look pretty again. Who wants to go shopping with me?

Canadian Design Bloggers Meet-Up

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm here to share with you all of the fun that was had this past Saturday evening in Toronto at the Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup at Brassaii! Alright - so fun is an understatement indeed, I'm pretty sure we can all agree that it was absolutely fantastic.


I was so happy to run into so many familiar faces, like the girls I'd met at Nate Day in NYC back in September - Sarah (who has great style, I must say), Vanessa, Christine and Lisa! And I loved seeing so many other familiar faces like Lindsay, Jen, Janice, Christine, Brittany, Staci and Wendy, along with some new faces too like Sarah, Heather, Heather, Lindsey, Lindsay, Emily-Jane, Amanda, Carolyn and Jennifer... the list seriously just goes on! SO MUCH TALENT IN ONE ROOM! (If I missed someone I blame it on my baby brain... I'm actually pretty impressed I remembered to put all of the these people above!)


The venue was gorgeous, and I wish I had taken more time to get some photographs of the space. However, I got way too caught up catching up with old friends and meeting new ones that I barely snapped any photos at all. I know... slap me on the wrist. After a whole lot of chatting though, we were all entertained by a fantastic talk from the one and only Tommy Smythe. Yes - he's just as funny and charming in person as he appears on TV. We all loved him!

Yeah... that was pretty much my view. That's what happens when you're the short one in flats at the back of the room. I didn't mind though, I still got to see all of Tommy's beautiful and inspiring travel photos, and got to hang out with Staci and Wendy. So worth it. 

Afterwards, we had a ton more time to mix and mingle...

And then it was onto the prizes! Seriously, not only did Vie and Daniella do a fabulous job finding an awesome venue, and a great speaker - they also found some incredibly fantastic sponsors who were beyond generous with their fantastic prizes! IKEA, Delta and CIL offered up some great prizes - and even I won a great little prize offered up by Kravet fabrics! 

We also got a great little grab bag to head home with which included the latest copies of House & Home and Style at Home, as well as some great little gifts from CIL and IKEA! Thanks you guys - it was so fun to check everything out after I returned home and raved to B about how fantastic the evening was.

I couldn't have been any happier to have the chance to get out of the house and see so many lovely and inspirational ladies! I loved chatting and laughing and interacting with a room full of like-minded people... and of course enjoyed some seriously delicious food! YUM! (Mini grilled cheese anyone?). So a HUGE thank you again to both Vie and Daniella for all of their hard work, and to the fabulous sponsors who helped make the evening so special!

To check out some of the professional photographs from the event - you can find them here on the Canadian Design Bloggers site! Some seriously great shots of lots of wonderful bloggers! I'm already looking forward to a chance to do this again... even with a baby on the way, I am determined to make it to the next event! 

Design Fights Back

Last night I got an email from Krista over at Hopeless Chest... and I must say I am so glad that she sent it! Right now, Krista's Mom is working hard on an event called "Design Fights Back".

They are still looking for designers to participate, to create one of the 33 dynamic dining tables at the Sheraton Centre Toronto on April 2, 2010. To find out more information click on the link above or the Design Fights Back logo.

Not only am I a huge fan of design, but I have so many family and friends whose lives have been affected by Cancer. In the past I both volunteered and participated annually in the Oshawa Relay for Life - as a team captain, and also as an event photographer. A seriously worthy cause, and event that I hope has all of the success in the world.

Please, even if you aren't able to participate as a designer at the event, let's spread the word and help this first time event truly shine!