Fancy Friday Love

Happy Friday once again!! I truly enjoyed having this week to sit back and stay caught up on all of my favourite blogs... which of course means, lots of fancy finds! Check these ones out...


Last Friday on Bliss, we got a look inside of this gorgeous Wilton, Connecticut home. Though the entire thing was lovely, what really caught my eye was this outstanding table that was placed in the kitchen dining space...

Love the shape and the reclaimed wood! (of course those grey windows and that lighting fixture also make my heart flutter...)

This find is actually from last Thursday, but my google reader is acting up a little and showing me posts a little late. Regardless, I was thrilled to find the shop Olive's Friend Pop via A Little Sussy! How cute are these baby clothes?

On Monday Christine shared some shots from the portfolio of the talented Katie Leede and I instantly fell in love with all of the beautiful rooms. To see more, head here - but for now, check out this stunning bathroom...

On Tuesday Kirsten shared this stunning little nursery that she designed for a client and her little girl...

I think we could all use a little dreaming of a trip down the river Nile on The Sun Boat 111, that was on Verdigris Vie mid week. Not only would the location be gorgeous, but the boat itself is beyond anything I could ever imagine...





Hello beautiful nautical room with lovely views! Will you please be mine? (via 79 ideas)

Desire to Inspire introduced to me to another fabulous architect this past week when they shared some photos from the portfolio of California based Lewin Wertheimer. You need to check out this post... and his portfolio for yourself!

This weekend, we have a golf tournament and BBQ Jack n' Jill for my brother and soon to be sister-in-law! I cannot wait to go. I'm sure you can guess who will be golfing, and who will not. Worked out well though as the maid of honour needed a pair of left handed clubs and just so happens I golf left... glad I could be of some use. Should be fun, and I look forward to sharing some photos with you next week (hopefully). 

What fun and fancy things do you have planned for this lovely summer weekend?

Ruby Red Rooms

Unless our little bundle is very late, she will be born in July (God I hope she arrives in July). While thinking of this the other week, I went to double check what her zodiac sign should be, along with what her birthstone will be. She'll be a Cancer (as long as she arrives before July 22, otherwise she'll be a Leo), and her birthstone will be a Ruby. In honour of our little girl's red birthstone, today I wanted to share some inspiring red rooms. It's not always an easy colour to do right, but I think these rooms nailed it right on the head!

This tone on tone space from House to Home. may not be to everyone's taste but I think it's done quite nicely. The bold red is broken up quite well using a neutral sofa, and the neutral carpeting. With just a coat of paint on the wall, and couple changes of inexpensive pieces, the whole look of this room could be completely different!

Another bold space, this time from Style at Home. Some of you may recognize this beautiful dressing room from one of their "high-low features" (we all love 'em, right?). Much like the first room, with the flooring and many of the accents kept neutral, this room could easily be transformed with a coat of paint... but really, I love the cheery shade of red in this room!

For those of you who are not so much into the bold spaces, this kitchen from Style at Home might be a little more to your taste. Rather than going all out, this room incorporates a hit of red with some gorgeous wallpaper, which seems to pull the red tones out in the wood. A hint of red, done tastefully - I like it!

I think that this red bathroom (found on this blog) is absolutely adorable. I'm always a fan of white subway tile in washrooms. The hardest part about changing this room around, would be committing to a red tub. Yes, you could have it painted again down the line if you so desired, but that may involve some more work and money than simply slapping a coat of paint on the walls. Regardless, this room gets two thumbs up from me!

What do you think of red used in rooms? Would you or have you attempted red in your home? 

Backyard Inspiration

As yesterday morning's post would indicate, we've spent a lot of time recently focusing on the front of our home. Well, our backyard is one of those spaces that could probably be really nice... if we tried... harder. Not to say we haven't given it any TLC since we moved in. I mean, it's already quite an improvement over what it used to look like, but it has a long way to go still. One area in particular that I often dream about sprucing up is our back deck area...

{All photos taken circa April 2010}

Here's some inspirational photos that have me dreaming about what could be...

{via Lonny}

A seating bench, pretty throw pillows, a vintage patio set, lovely lanterns and the perfect patio covering that allows the sun to shine through, but would protect our deck in particular from all of the "stuff" that falls out of giant tree in the yard (we're pretty sure it's a walnut...)

{via Canadian House & Home - September 2010 issue}

We always talk about putting in double doors at the back of the house, and I just wish we could have a beautiful patio built up like that. Everything about this yard is absolutely gorgeous! What a perfect summer entertaining spot.

We've talked about putting in a prettier privacy screen and a seating bench on the side of the deck that faces our neighbours (in the above picture, it's the side with the cheap lattice privacy screen and our old BBQ). A pretty seating bench like this perhaps...

{Urban Grace Interiors via 6th Street Design School}

As for the privacy screen idea, B and I are both in favour of horizontal wood - kind of like this...

{via}

I only hope that our deck can look as pretty as the one above one day! What a great place this would be to hang out with our little fam and entertain extended family and friends!

I have always adored blue and white together and think that this little backyard is just lovely!

{via}

What's not for me to love? The grey, blue and white combo would work perfectly with our home, and B and I always talk about putting double doors from our kitchen, and a nice wide staircase on our back deck! I also like the way they used some plain pavers and made the lower patio look spectacular! 

At this point, it's quite clear that we will not be getting around to any major back yard changes this summer, with our little girl set to arrive whenever she pleases - but we'll store these ideas away and can start planning next spring.

Do you have any big outdoor projects underway at the moment?

Dream Home - A Penthouse in Prague

Well... it's been quite a while since I've had a Tuesday afternoon escape to a Dream Home somewhere. I figured that this first Tuesday of my maternity leave was the perfect time to get back to it. Since I'm trying to stick close to home until Peanut arrives, it's nice to imagine getting away somewhere exciting... and today is pretty exciting. I've found a gorgeous Penthouse in Prague, somewhere I always dream of travelling to, and of course I found it on Sotheby's lovely real estate website. 


This single family penthouse is 5,673 square feet and is listed at $8.7M US! But with the stunning views and incredible indoor pool, right in the city - I'd part with that (if I had the money of course)! Before I get to the real selling points, lets take a look at the interior spaces...

A bright, modern, clean lined kitchen... what's not too love?

Also - lots of warm wood tones used throughout the rooms...

Maybe a bit too much wood used for my taste in the bedroom, but you could always lighten it up with a lighter bed and area rug, and also some artwork. I think a huge upholstered headboard would make all the difference in this bedroom!

My favourite room on the interior would have to be the spacious dressing room...

Check out those windows... and the lighting in the FLOORS! Fantastic! Just like the bedroom it would be easy to make it more feminine with a lighter area rug, some pretty window treatments, and maybe even a fantastic chandelier. 

Then, heading up to the roof - this is what you would find first...

I wouldn't mind taking an early morning dip in this indoor pool... followed up by breakfast in my rooftop garden with stunning views...

Not a bad place to spend your time, and so close to a bustling city! Not your kind of place? Where do you dream of living? Leave me a comment or shoot me an email - I'd be happy to search our your Dream Home for you!

Project Curb Appeal Continues

Last Thursday when I went to go and see my baby Dr, she told me now was the time to keep busy with doing things that I / we wouldn't do once baby arrived. So Friday morning we did just that. We got out of bed, ate quickly and got to work out front... painting the siding. 


B had come home on Thursday asking me to go to Home Depot with him to pick up all of the stuff he would need to paint our red siding out front, as well as the railing on our deck. I later asked him if this project was his way of nesting and he replied (probably jokingly) that yes, it was. I won't go into a lot of detail here... I mean, there isn't much detail really, as all we did was paint, so let's first take a look back at the front of our home from before we began "Project Improve our Curb Appeal" last fall...

Yup... all of it was pretty sad looking. That pathetic excuse for a front entrance... that not too pretty garden and the mish-mash of colours that we had going on (please don't judge... we tried to work with what we had and failed miserably, so decided not to invest any more money until we were ready for the big change).

Then of course, last November we ripped that off and B and my Dad built a beautiful new (and warm) front entrance and front deck, which by itself, drastically improved our curb appeal. Come this spring - the front of our home looked a little something like this...

A little better - but still some issues with the grey siding on the new entry, the red up top and that pinky coloured stone veneer that was put onto the home at some point in the past. So yes, ladies and gents - this past Friday was the day to address this issue. When we had gone to Home Depot the day before, B had brought along a sample of the board and batten siding on our new front entrance and had it colour matched to Behr exterior paint. Friday morning after our quick breakfast B headed outside and got the scaffolding all set up to get to work...

Though we planned to only paint the siding that day, once B was done we looked at each other and agreed it was also time to tackle that old stone veneer. B took some of the white we had picked up for the deck railing (which I had been working on painting) and mixed in a bit of grey, to cover up that stone. Though most of it was complete by Friday evening, we had to come back to the project on Sunday (after taking Saturday off to spend at my parents house celebrating Canada Day). It was a lot of hard work (especially painting that stone veneer) - but it was well worth it now that our home looks like this from the front...

Yes - you may notice that the outside portion of the railing in that last photo is not yet painted. We'll have to take it apart in the future to get the whole thing - but for now, we'd say the house is looking 100% better than it did before. We're so thrilled with the transformation, and I'm so thankful for all of B's hard work over his long weekend. Now the next project...

... adding some colour to the front door. Once we get that colour on (which we've already picked out and purchased), we know it will help to set the tone for the rest of the front. But for now, we're feeling like our curb appeal has come a long way since we first got the keys two years ago.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July! Alright, I know what you're thinking - "Hey! Canadian! How come you didn't do a special post on Canada Day, eh?". Um, good question. Possibly because it would interrupt my usual Fancy Friday Love post, and I'm a creature of habit - what can I say?

Anywho, I thought I'd so a little something special for the 4th of July for my American readers, but mainly for my main squeeze, B. He gave up a lot to come north of the border and start a life with me, and I know how much he desparately misses celebrating Independence Day with all of his family and friends. Since he means so much to me, I usually do what I can to make the 4th something special for him... here's a little of what I've whipped up in the past to celebrate...

In 2009, I used a Barefoot Contessa recipe, and whipped up this pretty flag cake for a little Canada Day / July 4th celebration that we held at my parents...

Last year I didn't go quite as big and elaborate, but instead we made some simple cupcakes and used the store bought icing and sprinkles that we'd picked up during a visit to the States.

We also added a couple little pieces of decor that we had picked up at Target on the same trip.

I don't have a ton up my sleeve for this year - but I do hope to pull SOMETHING together for B (who is currently at work). We'll of course have some tasty treats and grill up something delicious - no fireworks this time.

What are your favorite traditions for Canada Day and/or Independence Day? Do you do the same thing every year, or make a tradition out of changing things up?

Oh and make sure to come back tomorrow! B and I got up to a very exciting project over the weekend that I can hardly wait to share with all of you! 

Fancy Friday Love

Happy Friday... and HAPPY CANADA DAY! It's a holiday Friday here in Canada, and while that doesn't mean much to me since I am now officially on maternity leave, awaiting the arrival of our little girl, it means that B will have today off and can spend it with me, doing whatever we please. While we soak up this lovely holiday Friday, I hope you enjoy my lovely finds for this week...


First off, I've been eyeing this lovely diaper bag from Kate Spade for quite some time. Of course, we already have our lovely Eddie Bauer one, but I think this one is just beautiful... and of course completely out of my price range! 

Who doesn't love the Friday Feature of "Steal this Idea" over on Brooklyn Limestone? I adore the fabulous ideas that Stefanie shares, and last weeks has to be one of the best. Who couldn't use this Old Lock Set Coat Rack from Kara Paslay Designs? It's GENIUS!

Jen shared another beautiful project from her beautiful home last week. How lovely is the colour she picked for her hutch? Also love how she styled it - girl has taste, doesn't she? (She also revealed the before and afters of her living room and it looks stunning! Check out all of her photos right here).

A fun pastel kitchen from desire to inspire last Friday - so fresh!

... and a pretty Anthropologie bench from Lotta Agaton...

I wish I could've attended this event with Julie... how gorgeous is that table setting?

I want this gorgeous cottage kitchen featured on House of Turquoise on Wednesday! Isn't it beautiful and sunny and bright?

What fun things do you have planned for this long weekend? Taking off or keeping it close to home? Any traditions that you stick to for your holiday weekends? I'd love to hear about them!