{a trip with a lifetime of memories}

I’m officially home from Egypt, and I had an amazing time! Still recovering from jet-lag, but that’s to be expected. Not to mention I feel freezing being back home, I went from about 45 degrees Celsius in Aswan to a mere 17 in Vancouver!! We took tons and tons of photos while we were away, and I thought I’d share a few just to give you a glimpse into our trip.

We traveled to five different cities, our first stop was Alexandria {on the Mediterranean Sea}; here was our view from the hotel room:

Here is an ancient Roman Theatre {4th century AD} in the city centre; you can see that the street level was a whole story lower than it is now! I wonder what other ancient structures are buried underneath all those modern apartment buildings?

In Cairo I made a new friend {who I promptly named Mounir, even though I think he already had a name}; and got a chance to get up-close-and-personal with the Sphinx.

Round settees were present in almost ever hotel lobby!

Not to mention herringbone floors … the dark stained distressed wide-planks were particularly dreamy:

We saw the poorest of the poor living alongside the richest of the rich, what a contrast.

On the right, a place called ‘Garbage City’ where the poor live and sort metal, glass, etc from the garbage to sell; on the left, King Farouk’s summer home {1936-1952} in Alexandria.

I was enamored with the Hieroglyphic relief techniques in the Pharaoh’s temples, so impressive!

And the amount of color that remains on walls that were painted almost 5000 years ago, I couldn’t even believe it. Can you imagine how fabulous these walls looked in their glory days??

We visited several cathedrals, as well as a church carved into a cave, hidden away from any possible persecution:

Our hotel in Luxor had an amazing view of the Nile River:

The Red Sea in Sharm El Sheik was incredible, the water was crystal clear and the colorful fish were abundant. I highly recommend this spot to any snorkeling/diving fans out there!

Thanks for taking a peak at my trip, I loved every place we visited and I would travel back to Egypt in a heartbeat! I’d love to hear about your recent trips…any places you would recommend to others??

PS. Don't forget to enter to win a copy of Domino, The Book of Decorating here!

{a dash of color: my living room}

I’m so monochromatic! I always find myself using neutrals, grey, and white in my own spaces even though I am drawn to lovely punches of color in other people’s rooms! So I thought is was high-time I get myself out of my 'boring-in-beige' box and throw a dash of color into my living room, the space I inhabit most often. You might have taken a peek at this room when I posted about making over my living room with paint, so here is the space now, with a lovely shade of turquoise added in:

It all started with this cute little artichoke-inspired vase, what a perfect shade of turquoise! And at only $12 {from HomeSense}, I had to buy a pair!

Then came my sweet little side chair, isn’t she pretty?

The turquoise floral pattern on this chair changes during the day depending on the lighting, look how punchy it is in the evening:

Mix in some Moorish tile pillows, and 2 side lamps with turquoise shades, and I’ve added color to my room without breaking the bank! Just a few accents and the whole space reads in a totally different way.

And I chose lamps with a white base rather than lamps with a turquoise base so that when I inevitably change up my color scheme, I’ll just pop off the shades, and voila! A new life! I’m thinking they would also look great with a black shade and white piping…uh oh, that’s my monochromatic-self trying to come through again … ha, ha. But seriously, I am thrilled to finally be surrounded by this lovely dash of color!

Don’t forget to enter your name in to win a $50 Gift Certificate to CSN Stores by clicking here!

{my dining table}

I am so exciting about a recent addition to my dining room décor! Almost 3 years after moving in, I finally have a dining room table and I love it! I was on the hunt for a small sized round table (as my dining room is not that large), in a dark wood, and with a nice meaty base, here’s an example of a table I had been eyeing from Liberty:

This table was a bit out of my price range so I had to be patient! A couple of years later, this amazing table with similar styling popped up for literally less than 1/3 the price of the one that I had been coveting! Such a great deal…so I say it pays to be patient!! This table is from Sears, and it comes with a leaf to make it a larger oval shape when needed (bonus!):

And just look at the pretty base!

There in the background is our DIY aquarium that I posted about here, and just for fun, (and because everyone loves a good before and after!) here are a couple of before photos of the dining room before we purchased our home:

And now, aaahhh....much better:

We changed the flooring, painted, changed up the light fixtures, added baseboards and of course got rid of those crazy window treatments!

Here’s my little fur baby trying to get in on the picture taking action:

You can see we still have tons to do in here. I have so many plans in my head, but one slow step at a time. I can’t wait to reveal a fully finished dining room to you! Now I need dining chairs, and again I am on the hunt for a specific style, and trying really hard to be patient. Here are some dining rooms with the shape I am lovin’ right now:

via theLennoxx

via Candice Olson Divine Design

The chair I am coveting most:

So yummy right?? The exact chair pictured above is the one I am lusting over, and it is not quite in my budget ($800 and up each, Liberty). There are several comparables, but I am waiting for a better deal to pop up! Here’s what I have found so far:

Restoration Hardware's Martine Chair ($349 and up)

Even Costco is carrying a chair in this lovely shape (and at a very reasonable price, $379 for 2) but if only there were fabric options!!!! Darn! I am dreaming of a velvety charcoal grey.

Has any one come across any similar chairs out there?? Well, for now, I am one step closer to a completed dining room with my yummy new table! Thanks for taking a peek! I'll be linking this post to Metamorphosis Monday's over at Between Naps on the Porch, be sure to head over there for some amazing before and afters!

{before & after: curb appeal}

Spring is in full swing! This often brings our attention back to our outdoor spaces and gardens. Last year my husband and I did a re-vamp of our front lawn to improve our home’s curb appeal. All the reno’s we have been doing in our home thus far have been carefully selected to get the most bang for our buck when it comes time to sell, and I think a home’s first impression should always be way up on that list! Here’s an idea of how the front landscaping looked when we first bought the home:

The front garden left a lot to be desired… the plants were looking a little bushy, and we were constantly at war with a plethora of weeds! We decided to rip everything out and start from scratch:

The first thing that we had done was some decorative curbing to define the space:

Both my husband and I are not quite gardeners per se, so in order to minimize our on-going battle with weeds, we opted for a heavy-duty liner topped with large-sized river rocks. It’s been working great so far! So here is how it all turned out:

We did a few other things including replacing the worn roof. As well we did a quick and inexpensive upgrade by changing the light fixtures in front of the house, the new ones were from Home Depot. Good-bye 1986, hellooo 2010!

We chose plants with some structure to them, a Pom Pom Juniper (I call her our cheerleader!), a Japanese maple, and a hedge of boxwoods.

In a few years the boxwood hedge should fill out and will then be trimmed squarely together.

Here you can see a close up of the stamp and coloring we chose for the curbing. We pulled some of the coloring out of the brick in the front.

In the spring, we get a nice little touch of color, so pretty:

Since spring has arrived, it has been so much fun to watch things grow. And the best part of all is how low maintenance the landscaping has become. I’m hoping we’ll get a return on our investment in the future! I'll be linking this post to "Metamorphosis Monday's" over at Between Naps on the Porch. Be sure to pop over there to see tons of great before & afters!! I will also be participating in the "Bring In The Spring!" party over at Posh Pieces, you can head over there for some serious spring inspirations!