Around the house

Lots of little, but exciting-to-me things have been happening around our house...(appologies for the poor picture quality - I have to take my photos at low-light times of day when I'm home!)

I bought a few more Bum Genius diapers to replace a few of my originals that had failing velcro snaps (the new ones have snaps instead of velcro)

I added to my 'Collingwood pottery' collection with this adorable little Owl - $2 at the Goodwill. The original pitcher and vase came from my Great Aunt Mary and Great Uncle Bert's house. I am not sure why it's called 'Collingwood pottery', but that is what my mom calls it...I'll have to ask her.

I put a new Japanese paper light in our office. It's from Ikea. My husband hates it when I buy Ikea lamps because he finds them very difficult to install...but they pack so much style per dollar. Both my sister and husband feel the light is a bit too retro for the traditional style of the office, so maybe it's a miss...oh well. PS - Excuse the mess in this room! I had purged it, but the clutter is creeping back!

I reorganized my daughter's shoe cupboard and added some Rubbermaid risers to double the storage space. They are brilliant!

I bought my Mom this pea-green Pyrex bowl for $2 at a garage sale yesterday. The seller's big sales proposition was that it's the best bowl you can buy for potato salad because the bowl stays cold. My mom makes a killer potatoe salad, so I guess it was meant to be.

I bought this real wicker basket at the Goodwill, and it fits perfectly on the bottom shelf of my bedside table...perfect for corraling books, jewelry, my iPad, and everything else that collects beside my bed.

I found this wood mirror at the Goodwill too - $10. It is perched on the top of my husband's dresser for now.

Now that I'm back at work, I have less time to braid my daughter's hair. I miss it. Somehow it is theraputic to feel her soft hair weaving around my fingers.

I bought another (it's my third) milk glass planter. I fill them with hot water to warm my 1 year old's bottle.

I recently purchased Bio Life tile cleaner from Shopper's Drug Mart, upon reading a positive reivew on AM Dolce Vita. Michelle was right - it did a perfect job cleaning my tiles and grout. I am a believer!

Spring snowballs

I recently rearranged the furniture in our living room

.....which meant that the placement of artwork had to change

...and while we were moving the art work, I decided that what was 3 photos should become a gallery wall of 6 images

.....and then I decided to swap the living room and dining room carpets.

Insane? Yes....this is my brain on maternity leave. The good news is that my husband exercises monumental patience and did a perfect job hanging the photos. They are all from a trip we took to Tofino, BC a number of years ago; I love art work that reminds me of something special and sentimental.

Do you have projects like this that snowball?

Gallery wall notes:

As per usual, I used Ikea's Ribba frames. They fit the bill from a price perspective, but they do have a few drawbacks. The hanging mechanisms for the larger sizes are difficult to match across multiple frames. As well, because Ikea frames aren't the pinacle of quality, they are often not identically sized and have some bowing to them. This makes a gallery wall very difficult to make look absolutely semetrical.

I had the prints done at Costco. I was able to upload the images online and the prints were ready a mere hours later. The prints were about $3 each....a steal!

1, 2, 3, 4...

...tell me that you love me more...isn't that Feist song addictive?

After sewing the new pillows for my living room (blogged about here), I was left with a little bit of left over fabric...just enough to make 4 little bean bags that will fit perfectly in a toddler's hand.

Currently my husband and daughter play soccer in the living room; I'm hoping they'll take to tossing these babies instead...not that these can't do damage, but at least there is a lower risk of rebounds smashing my lamps. ...and they match the decor, to boot! (my husband accuses me of sucking the fun out of childhood with such comments, but I can't help it!)

PS: I used beautiful dried white navy beans inside...they look like little perfect little pearls and are just the right size to make a delicate feeling bean bag....not dense or heavy. ...am I seriously writing about bean bags in such detail? Ohhh mat leave, what have you done to my brain?

Start the car!

I was perusing the "Finds" section of Sarah Richardson's website yesterday, and noticed her post about this graphic linen Kravet fabric, listed at $122.80 a yard. It reminded me that I had bought a remnant of this same fabric at Designer Fabrics on Queen West in Toronto for $5! START THE CAR!! (This is a quote from an Ikea commercial (view here) that my family frequently references when we get a killer deal....as in "I got this shirt for 60% off. Start the car!").

Anyways, I had totally forgotten about this fabric, as I bought it mere days before my now 7 month old was born while I was in the depths of crazed nesting...and then my baby was born and I forgot everything that had happened before that point in time.

Seeing the fabric again inspired me to make two cushions for our living room couch on Sunday night, piped and backed with a matching turquoise velvet. I rearanged the living room furniture this weekend and the new cushions finish off the new configuration and add a nice punch of colour!

Did you do anything fun around the house this weekend? Any START THE CAR moments?

TTC love

I have always had a soft spot for the TTC, despite them trying to expropriate my house (unbelievable but true; see here). So when I saw this piece of art in Crema coffee shop on the Danforth today, I just swwwwwoooned. I want it for my living room. It is tough to tell from this photo, but the finish is super glossy. I believe that it is a list of the original street car lines.

I did some research and determined that the artist is Christine Flynn. Not only is she local, but she also has what looks like an amazing vintage shop on Queen East (just West of Danforth). A selection of her finds can be seen here; I am definitely going to have to check it out soon....maybe I'll take the Queen streetcar!

This magnificant mess

Do you ever feel like you can never get ahead of the mess of children?

Every night I head to bed with the main floor cleaned and organized for the day ahead. ...and a mere 15 minutes into the start of the next day, it looks I've had 30 two year olds rampage my house. I guess my 2 year old is 'efficient' at creating mess. We're out the door most days early in the morning, so I barely have time to brush my teeth, let along do any clean up, until nap time in the afternoon. But it is so satisfying when at 3pm I get to enjoy a clean living room again....and then my daughter wakes up and we start the cycle all over again!...I think I hear her now.

In praise of turquoise

Does your house have a colour theme?

Mine started years ago when I inherited a series of vintage turquoise canisters from my Grandma. Ever since then, I have been adding pieces of turquoise to my colleciton.

(I had been collecting vintage turquoise Pyrex for years and had it hidden away in my cupboards...unitl I saw Shanon's display on 8foot6 and I was inspired to show it off....love it!)