Playroom: A Before and Almost an After...

I'm determined to get back on the blog bandwagon! My littlest daughter is going through a 'needy' stage and literally occupying all my attention and free moments these days. It's all a stage though right? I'm excited to share some pics of my little Miss P's 1st birthday and some beautiful family photos my girlfriend took of us last month. But, for now I wanted to share a little peek at a playroom I've been working on...

Way back, I posted this inspiration board and as all these things go it takes a bit of time to get it all together. As you can see from the photos we still need to actually fill the frames, take off the price stickers (yes, it's still a work in progress) get bedding for the new amazing daybed and add the finishing touches. I'm loving the way it's coming together. I've included a few before shots of the room which didn't really have a kid playroom vibe going on. It's now bright, fresh and fun for the kids (well, I should point out it's for the grandkids - it's my parents playroom). More shots to come! Enjoy...

The Inspiration Board!

The Before...

The Before take 2...

And here we go (please ignore bedding etc, but you get the idea :-)

Started the bookshelf styling - one of my favourite things to do.

Start of the gallery wall. We added the moose last minute but I love him - adds some whimsy to the room.

City or Suburbs?

That is the question...

My hubby I lived in the city of Vancouver for 12 years before moving out to the suburbs (near where we both grew up) 2 years ago. We love our house, the area, the school, friends...but...we miss the city! With 2 little girls now added to our family and the oldest one starting kindergarten next year (yikes!) we are really starting to think about where we want our girls to grow up, what we want to expose them to, what we enjoy personally (you know, all those deep life thoughts :-). So, that rambling actually leads me to a blog post about design. We went looking at some homes in Vancouver to see what our vibes were saying about are we 'city or suburbs' and we came across the coolest decorated home that has me totally rethinking my style! I was in LOVE with the way the owners had styled their home, you got a real sense for who these people were and I love when a home represents it's owners. It had me thinking that I want to add a bit more whimsy and eclectic pieces to my place. Adds personality. Here are some pics, which really don't do complete justice to the cute details. The owners had put different wallpaper on each stair with numbers - so fun! Enjoy...

Dining Room - painted a beautiful dark blue/grey

Kitchen was cute (and white how I love them)

Such a great living room. Lots of fun pieces that would make for great conversation but was also inviting.

Fun bedding, funky painting

Love the mix of midcentury and industrial. So eclectic

Cutest kids room with stripes on the ceiling.

Photos courtesy of MLS

Whistler decor!

My family and I have been spending much of our summer in Whistler, B.C. It's a fantastic spot for a family with tons of outdoor activities, lakes and kiddo stuff - not to mention some great restaurants for us parents! While here I have been working on a design board for a Whistler condo. It's been fun as the needs of this place are of course style but it also needs to be comfortable and functional. I usually like colour but we are going more neutral on this space to match the rest of the condo. I'm also trying to incorporate some fantastic mid-century modern chairs I found last year and have them prettied up a bit! They will be used for a reading/coffee nook in the corner. Here is the rest of the room. Just a start at this point but excited about continuing to plug away at it. Enjoy...

Cute Idea!

A love a simple, cute idea. The problem is too many ideas and not enough execution of them though. I've decided that let's just face the facts that summer will be a write-off in getting things done. We are finally getting some nice weather and I want to have fun! My daughter was running through the sprinkler in her underwear last night - a true sign that summer is here!

Okay, back to the cute idea. Love these little book shelves for a kids room. And best of all, the way to get this look is so simple. Ikea sells wood spice racks about this size, just give them a little paint and viola - you have a perfectly sweet little shelf that costs less than 5 bucks! Enjoy...

via daffodil design

Lovin' this Rug!

My mom and I have been working on decorating their Desert home. It's been a lot of fun and interesting to see how our opinions on things can be very similar and very different! Well, this one we were both in agreement on. I encouraged her to order this gorgeous rug for the dining room. Most of the time I'm not a huge fan of a rug in the dining room but if it's big enough and thin enough, I think it can work. She was in the desert last week and sent me these photos. I love the colour and pattern and think it adds a pop of fun to an otherwise quite neutral room. I guess we went against all the design "rules" ordering the rug last but it worked out well. Lovin' this rug! Enjoy...

Lovin Yellow!

If someone asked me if I liked the colour yellow I would probably say not really. Well, at least that's what I thought until I started looking around my house and realized how much yellow I have. My kitchen, family room and bedroom all have bits of yellow. Maybe because it's Spring, maybe it's the dreary Vancouver weather we've been having but I now want to kick up the yellow factor a bit. I found a couple photos of a den done by none other than Sarah Richardson a few years back. I always loved this room and realized my family room has some similarities with all the neutral furniture. I'm thinking yellow drapes. Too much? And while I'm on the yellow bandwagon, Flourish Design + style posted a great outfit shot today featuring yellow that I really want to wear. Cute heh! Happy Yellow...Enjoy!

Gratitude Journal

I am a big fan of Oprah. I watched her show daily and even flew to Toronto last month for the once in a lifetime opportunity to see her live! Well, you know how these things go, you come home with lots of ideas and then life takes over and some of those ideas take a little longer to get started on. One of those was a gratitude journal.  Oprah and her guests spoke about gratitude and how starting a daily journal of things you appreciate can be life changing. Well, I had a few other 'life issues' I wanted to conquer when I got back and put this one aside. Then, my husband took my daughter shopping for my birthday and she picked out a journal (she knows me well!). I decided to make this my official Gratitude Journal and have been writing 5 things I'm grateful for each day. I have to say, it's been very eye opening. It has forced me to recognize some of the joyful things that happen in a day and forget (well, at least try) about some of the other crappier stuff. Anyway, I highly recommend starting one. Enjoy...

This is NOT my journal (just in case you were wondering :-)

Palm Desert Decorating!

We recently came home from the smokin hot destination of Palm Desert. My parents have turned into snow birds and spend quite a bit of time down there in the winter. Last year, they purchased a new home and my mom and I have had a lot of fun decorating. Every trip we add a little more here and there and slowly but surely the house is really coming together. It's soft, relaxing and functional with bits of glamour and some unexpected finds. I finally took a few shots to share of the rooms we've been working on. Good old HomeGoods has been our number one stop to shop! Enjoy...

Dining Room: We added the mirrors to each side which brightens the room and fills in the space. We also just picked up that crazy tree in the corner and a pop of yellow to the table.

Some sparkle added to the bar area of the house - happy hour anyone!?

This is the morning coffee spot. There are 2 chairs and we got this amazing little table this trip. Need to replace with a new lamp though.

Coffee table finds...

The family room - Yes, those are wood giraffes! So cool! Mom picked those up at Anthropologie. Love to add wallpaper behind each one.

Disneyland and some Fabric Love!

I've been MIA for a bit. We took a family vacay to Disneyland and Palm Desert. Isabella (our oldest) had no idea we were going! We woke her up at 5am and headed to the airport for a few days of fun (and let's be honest, slight exhaustion from the buzz of Disneyland). She had a blast and our littlest traveler was a great sport along the way. The hilarious part is out of all the rides at Disneyland, her favourite was the carousel. I guess she enjoys the simple things...ha, ha.

We just got back and I was excited to see a welcome delivery of my new roman shade to go in our kitchen. Here is a little sneak peak...I'm in love with this fabric and looking around my house to see where I can add more of it! Enjoy...

My Disney babes! Yes, this is how my now 4 year old likes to take photos

Dreams do come true....

It was a long line,  but Minnie was well worth it!

And here is my dreamy fabric (picture doesn't do it justice). Can't wait for it to being hung in our kitchen soon.

A Party for my Almost 4 Year Old!

I love babies. I am a baby kind of girl. And I'm coming to the realization that my oldest daughter is definitely no longer a baby, not really a toddler anymore and turning into a true kid! Don't get me wrong I'm excited to see her grow, and all the funny stages, but it almost makes me slightly sad to see her getting so big. Her birthday is May 15th and we are having her party today with all her little friends (it's great - many of our friends have kids her age). Besides dealing with my baby turning 4, I'm also letting go of my control freak party mama ways this year. I usually do a party at the house for her and I have to admit, I end up getting into all the little details that she could care less about and by the day of the party I'm stressed making sure everyone else has a great time. You can see pics of last year's shaker here. This year I decided to do it at a different location, an art studio, and really make it about her and having fun (instead of me kinda turning into one of those 'Party Moms' you see on reality TV). I have to admit, I'm feeling a little uneasy with this loss of control and guilty that I'm not running around like a chicken with my head cut off preparing, but it also feels kinda nice! Anyway, here are a few shots of birthday pasts. Have a great weekend. Enjoy...

This was the best! On her actual 1st birthday my hubby and I bought separate presents for her that we didn't know about and had a picnic outside just the 3 of us. Love.

We had family and friends to celebrate our babe turning 1. She was a little overwhelmed.

With mom and dad at her party. Yes, that's a bouncy castle in the back - perfect for kids!

Birthday #2. Loved this one. Beautiful sunny day, had a family party and she loved every moment.

Not sure why we put so many candles in the cake when she's only 2??

Decorating cupcakes

Last year's Garden Party. Loved this theme (minus the pouring rain!)

Had a bit of problems with the cake, but a plastic Princess Belle came to the rescue.

Always have to have a piñata to end the party with a bang!

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