Mix it up

Mix it up by mad-me

aden + anais

I've been putting this off for far too long, and it's really getting around that time when I need to start making my list for all the things we need for the baby. 

First thing to go on my list--and really the first thing that got me excited about all the impending shopping--is aden + anais. All the products are made of muslin, and quite frankly, I want them all! Baby will be born in the middle of summer, so light, breathable muslin sounds just right. And once the colder months arrive, I can always switch over to their classic dream blankets, made with four layers of muslin.

Not to mention, they're stinkin' cute. What I love most of all about aden + anais are the colours and prints. Very soft, simple and understated. I especially love the classic collection.
(Am I the only out there that's over all the garish colours and prints they use for baby stuff?)

 

 

 

 

And guess what?! They have a line of blankets, albeit a very small line, for the home! So mum and baby can cuddle up comfortably, even on those hot summer nights.

 

 

 

 

bringing home gold

Before we moved in to our new place, I spent ages scouring interior design magazines and websites for inspiration. The one thing that I never hesitated on was the powder room. It's quaint (i.e. tiny), so I knew I wanted a huge impact.

We decided we would go super dark walls, gilded accents and a stunning wallpaper for that back wall. We thought we knew exactly what we wanted... All we had to do was find the wallpaper. Fun, right? Wrong!

I considered, bought and returned so many rolls... I thought I had finally settled on one until the other day, when I looked at it and decided that I was over it.

A few weeks later though, I found it. The perfect wallpaper! All grey and gold, calming yet lively. It was just what I was looking for!

The Wabi line from Rachel Mosler and Nick Cope's Calico collection, meant to convey the feel of water flowing over pebbles, has just the right amount of metallic sheen to add the impact I wanted!

If you're looking for something with even more drama, check out the Night line, which "conjures the feeling of obsidian shimmering in the moonlight".

Or Lunaris, if space is more your thing.

Either way, you gotta admit they're all pretty stunning. For more info, visit New Wall's website.

lemonade for winter

With temperatures plummeting to ridiculous lows--with the wind chill, I've seen it go down to -38--all I can think of is the refreshing smell of spring, warm summer nights and curtains blowing softly in the breeze. And all I want to wear is short skirts, flowy tops and sun hats.

But just the thought of even wearing stockings with a skirts and braving this barren wasteland we, for some reason, call home makes me shiver. So, I turned to Polyvore to help me fight these winter blues, and maybe begin my summer shopping list a little early.

 

 

Click the images for more info.

 

 

picture folder clear out

During the months leading up to the wedding, I spent a fair deal (major understatement) of time browsing Pinterest, wedding blogs, event blogs, fitness blogs, lifestyle blogs, fashion blogs... OK, I may have gotten sidetracked a little. 

Anywho, I saved a lot of pics during this time and now it's time to clean out the proverbial closet that is my hard drive. But I couldn't bring myself to delete all those months of hard(ish) work, so I decided to give this blogging thing another go, and start off with something as simple as posting pretty pictures.

Here's the flower edition:

what did you do super bowl sunday?

I made food.

I admit it! I'm not a football fan. I was rooting the '9ers because I think San Francisco looks like a swell city. But parties will be had on Super Bowl Sunday, and that's always a great reason to eat delicious, decadent and fried food.

I may not get the game, but I get food (mostly the eating part). I am especially proud of my peanut butter and chocolate star (notice how I'm cleverly avoiding saying Reese's Pieces) and my gingerbread marshmallow fondant mini football.

And that's the cheese ball I mentioned on Friday in Link Love. I halfed the cheeses, and probably quadrupled the green onion and pepper and it was delicious. So my suggestion: follow this recipe very loosely.

I also made pita chips to spread the cheese on. So easy and so yummy!

 What's your favourite Super Bowl recipe?

link love

I wanted to post this last night, but wine and a desire to watch The Mindy Project made me reconsider. So to kick off the weekend only a little belatedly, a video is in order. You may have seen it and it's not very weekend-y, but sometimes a really good song by a great band is all you need.

You just know in the first 30 seconds that this song is JUST SO GOOD!

Ok, that's enough with the Mumford-gushing. 

Here are some interesting links I came across during my Internet wanderings this week.

Was I the only one who didn't know about the Montreal Zombie Walk!?

...which reminds me, there's a drug that turns people into zombies? WHAT? The zombie apocalypse has begun!*

Who says we have to wait for summer? Have summer in a glass with Pimm's, Britain's favourite summer drink. 

Anyone going planning on braving the cold and attending Montréal en lumière this year?

Mauritius: a veritable utopia

Looking for a fun appetizer to bring to your next dinner party? Try making a cheese ball (but, from personal experience, please half the recipe!)

*In no way has the zombie apocalypse has begun.

a trip to ikea later

 As planned, I have already started making some small changes around the house. I'm trying to keep the cost low and the impact big. 

First thing on my to-do list was a table for the entrance. Something that suited the space without closing off our entrance. It had to be longer than our tiny bookshelf, but thinner. A glass console table fit the bill perfectly. After browsing a couple of Home Sense's, I turned to ubiquitous Ikea. 

 The Vittsjo laptop table wasn't perfect, but the price was right (more than right, it was way below budget!) and it was too fitting to refuse. I wanted to keep my Beatles print, but add some green elements to tie everything together with the living room. 

 Our couch may not be elegant or refined, but it's the most cozy, comfortable piece of furniture I have ever had. I love the corduroy and I love the colour. It's massive so I wanted to offset that with a round and airy table.

 So keeping in the same model, I got the Vittsjo coffee table. Round, thin with a glass top. I was worried it would diminutive, but I think it highlights our couch's cushy, while complementing it's bulky frame.

And I threw in a new side table for good measure.

I wanted to avoid Ikea as much as possible. Don't get wrong, I love those Swedes. But there comes a point where it's enough. Hopefully, we haven't reached that point, but the great thing about the Vittsjo pieces is that they can be easily re-appropriated or totally revamped. I'm looking at you, Ikea Hackers.

where i make a plan, sorta

 I've been in a bit of a slump lately. I'm in a transition period and everything feels unsettled. My home, my finances, my career, my priorities are all changing—or about to.

While I can't avoid the motions of starting a new job or the responsibilities that come with growing up, I can settle my home situation.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, we're entertaining the thought of buying a house, so it seemed wasteful and counterproductive to change the floors and revamp the kitchen in our current home, but if the Internet has taught me anything, it's that giving a room a new look can involve some small tweaks and a few reasonable purchases.

I can't change the 1970s tiles in our foyer? That's alright. I can cover them with a surface rug that can be easily moved! Maybe ripping our kitchen out and starting from scratch is too pricey. Fine, I'll paint the cupboards and change the hardware myself!

I've got lots of plans, and some are frighteningly ambitious. I've decided that instead of worrying about how I can screw up, I'll focus on what I can accomplish. I didn't see it for it was before: the perfect opportunity to learn! A drawing-board home as practice before we move in to the real thing.

To start, I've started (belatedly) to do Apartment Therapy's January Cure. It's pointed me in the right direction and now I have the outline of an idea.

How's that for direction? An outline of an idea. Very fleshed-out.

I'll be documenting my projects here, big and small alike. I hope you check back in from time to time to see how it's coming along.

 

Maybe by the end I'll have a great looking kitchen with lots of light and a modern feel.

 Hey, a girl can dream.

{images: design*sponge}

{ikea live}

wish for sun

For those of you outside of Canada, you may not have heard about the deep freeze sweeping the Great North.

It's so bloody cold that the Internet keeps crashing. I don't know if that's even possible, but it's happening.

The temperature at the moment is -28°C with wind chill, which is -18° in Fahrenheit. How crazy is that? We've been experiencing this arctic cold since Monday and it won't be letting up until next week (according to the Weather Network, so maybe that's true and maybe it isn't).

The heat is blasting, I'm snuggled under my blankie (when it's this cold, it's no longer a blanket, but a blankie. Soon I'll be in the fetal position and sucking my thumb. When I'm this bone-cold, all bets are off!), sipping some hot chocolate and it's still chilly!

I'm really dreaming of Venice right now. Those couple of days I spent there when it was so scorching hot that my gelato was melting faster then I could eat it; the sights and sounds of summer everywhere! How far away those blissful days are now.

 

{images: my flickr}