{bits & pieces: my life lately}

Guys, I am having WAY too much fun over on Instagram. I know I'm likely preaching to the choir when I say this, but it is an incredibly inspiring place to share & view lovely images. Here are bits & pieces of my everyday life via my Instagram feed:

{the fabulous display of tulips at my local market}

 

{my collection of ginger jars}

 

 

{#tbt - a London snapshot from my 2012 trip}

 

{workday outfit planning - I adore all black & white stripes!}

 

 

{my dining space on a sunny day}

 

It's fun to have a social media outlet that forces you to think creatively and see the beauty in the every day. I've also had a lot of fun playing with editing apps - so far I've downloaded Mirrorgram, Instasize, Picfx, and PicFrame. Any others you recommend? And any IG accounts that are a must-follow I should know about? Thanks for all your tips in advance!

 

I'd love for you join me in my Instagram adventures, hope to see you over there!

 

{my trip in photos: the bahamas}

Happy new week! We are mid-way through February already - can you believe it? Call me crazy but I think it's about time to be counting the days down until spring! I felt totally blessed to get a good dose of sun in the Bahamas earlier this month, boy does that change everything. I feel refreshed and renewed and ready to hit the ground running again. We had so many neat experiences, including swimming with reef sharks {I can't believe I did that!}, feeding iguanas, snorkeling, sun-bathing, and taking afternoon naps. We even saw Beyoncé and Jay Z's house from afar!

We purchased a GoPro Hero3+ with a GoPole before we left, and we are so thankful we did! Not only did it take amazing photos underwater, but above water as well! They say the pole keeps the camera more stable, and a bonus is that it floats *just* in case you were to drop the camera while under water.

You can see the pole in this 'selfie' shot:

Seriously, what more can describe this place better than 'Paradise Found'? Here are some additional photos I posted on instagram:

Speaking of Instagram, I'd love for you to leave me your info in a comment so that I can find new people to follow! I feel like I'm missing out on all the action as it's all still so new to me. And who are your favorite Instagram accounts that you follow? I'd love to know!!

I would definitely go back to the Bahamas in a heartbeat. We visited Exuma and Nassau and both were completely stunning islands. Have you been to these, or other islands nearby? I'd love to hear your experiences so that we can start making our wishlist for our next vacation! One of the things I TRULY wish we could have done was swim with the famous pigs in Exuma - but alas we were just slightly too far away to travel to them by boat. If you haven't heard of these swimming pigs please do me a favor and watch this video on Youtube, it will be guaranteed to put a smile on your face today!

{a new york minute ...}

I've finally sifted through some of my favorite shots from NYC. As I looked through our photos, I quickly came to realize we were quite smitten with all of the fabulous architecture at every turn! We did a lot of the classic tourist-y stuff, as my hubby had not been to New York before. I was happy to have a second chance to take it all in:

viewing the Empire State from the Top of the Rock

The view from our hotel room window was pretty incredible:

Fifth Avenue

Upper East Side

Bryant Park

Grand Central Station

Grand Central Station, that breath-taking ceiling!

The iconic Chrysler Building

Times Square

Taking in Lady Liberty

So as you can tell I was basically bundled in my down-filled coat the entire time, it was chilly!! And boy it was a whirl-wind of a trip - we packed in a lot of sights, sounds, and tastes in a mere 3.5 days, but it was so worth it. I'm already dreaming up what I would see and do on the next trip! What are your favorite things to do/see in NYC? I'd love to save your suggestions for the future!

{idswest 2013}

Hi friends! Hope your week is well so far. I've got a quick little recap on all the sights at the IDSwest show in Vancouver this year. It's always a great place to see what's new and get inspired about interior design {sorry for the blurry iPhone pics! I took my DSLR camera to the show without the battery!! Genius}.

a lovely vignette by van gogh

 

Truth be told, I went to the show specifically to hear the talks this year. Canada's beloved designers Brian Gluckstein and Tommy Smythe both gave a seminar which was quite thrilling for me. Tommy was entertaining as ever, and I loved the tips he gave. For example he explained that "impatience is the enemy of good design." His point of view is to be thoughtful on what you buy, and take the time to find the perfect pieces. If you look at his own homes you will see a testament to the statement, he re-uses his favorite pieces in different ways with every move!

 

 

 

Brian's talk was just as informative, his design philosophy is largely based on good bones creating a special space, and neutrals neutrals neutrals! He shared a few of his favorite paint colors with us, including Benjamin Moore's Natural Cream, Horizon, Marilyn's Dress, November Skies, and Blue Note. I literally felt like I could have sat and listened to his design stories all day long. If you ever have a chance to here him speak make sure you do!! {interviewed by Mark Challen of House & Home on the right}.

 

 

Brian described these massive walls of pin boards on every floor of the Gluckstein Design head office, where himself and his staff pin inspiring photographs and often stand around to discuss. I can only imagine how thrilling it would be to work in a place like that. Just look at what the office looks like on the outside ... amazing ...

 

 

There were several furnishings that caught my eye at the show as well:

 

brass and wood art deco table with brass chairs by Home Couture

 

Wood and Lucite! A fabulous combo by Autonomous Furniture Collection

 

Urban Barn's gunmetal tufted sofa is only $999!

 

The Monogram Dinner By Design event showcased fabulous dinning tables created by several local designers.

 

by Filosophi

 

 

by Robert Blaney Design

 

by Kelly Deck

 

by  Sophie Burke

 

And that is my round up! Another great show that left me feeling very inspired. I was itching for a project by the time I left so I take that as a sign of a job well done by the IDSwest show organizers. Until next year!

 

PS. Thank you for your votes for my brother Andrew this weekend, your support seriously meant so much to me. He came in second place, however what was honestly more important to me was all of the kind emails and comments I received from those of you who listened to and enjoyed his beautiful song.

{our mini patio project}

Hi everyone! Hope your week is off to a great start :) I've finally got images to share with you on what we did to spruce up our patio this year. If you remember my post back in June, I put together a little mood-board on what I wanted the space to look like:

 

As you can see, I was dreaming of a blue & white space! BUT, the problem was, an old rotting deck was standing in the way of that dream:

 

 

 

Slightly embarrassing to show that to all of you, we knew when we bought the house 6 years ago that we planned to tear that thing down ... but as you know, life often gets in the way. So finally this summer we gathered up the troops for a tear down party! Meet the team:

 

 

And the tear down began!

 

This needed to be a tight budget project, so we removed the rotting wood, revealing the concrete pad below and decided to do some simple primping and accessorizing to make this an inviting space without breaking the bank :) And voila ...

 

 

 

 

I adore my chinoiserie stools and navy blue Sunbrella pillows from O.co, it's those kind of details that really pulled things together on a project that was really all about the accessories. We particularly get compliment after compliment on the garden stools, they are so chic! A huge thank you to O.co!!

 

 

 

One thing I absolutely love about this modular type of patio furniture is that you can constantly rearrange it, a design dream! A daybed configuration has proven perfect for lazy afternoon naps.

 

 

 

Throw blankets in my DIY dip-dyed basket, ready for those chilly nights.

 

 

 

Night time is quite inviting with the string lights aglow!

 

{isn't that little head peeking out the cutest?}

 

 

Project sources:

 

Blue & white garden stools {c/o O.co}

Navy blue Sunbrella pillows {c/o O.co}

Blue & white patterned pillows {Ikea}

String lights {Restoration Hardware}

Patio set & outdoor rug {Canadian Tire}

Basket {HomeSense}

Greek key tray {c/o Joy & Revelry}

 

All in all we are very happy with what a little elbow grease and zhushing could do :) As always thank you for stopping by!