Living Room Design Board!

Life is busy! Feels like a long time since I've posted. I have so many ideas and have started making a list, the hard part is actually sitting down to post them. Well, here is one off the list. Back in August, I reconnected with a friend who I have known since we were kids. She moved into her beautiful Vancouver home over a year ago and since then welcomed her second baby boy and had little time for decorating. She asked if I could give her some thoughts on her living and dining room and this led to two things. The first being we have had so much fun getting to know each other again and have been able to get together with our little one's and secondly we embarked on a fun adventure of decorating her living and dining room. We were on a tight timeline with my baby due 2 weeks from when we started...yikes! So here goes...she had an existing couch she was keeping that was neutral in colour and has a sort of damask pattern to it, so we built the rest around that. Here are some ideas I came up with and she has been having fun putting the items together. Enjoy...

Oh To Dream...

I had, what I might call, a perfect afternoon last week. I visited our local Lottery Show Home followed by a tapas lunch at one of my favourite restaurants (and my littlest babe slept peacefully the entire time!). This show home is across the street from the water and was designed by the amazing Kelly Deck. The pictures almost don't do it justice - so if you live in the Vancouver/White Rock area it's a must see! The kitchen is a total dream for me and the master bedroom and bath is out of this world. I'm not much of a homebody but if I lived in this house you could never get me to leave! Here are some dream worthy pics of what I've been drooling about. Enjoy...

Master Bath - the marble, the tile, the chandelier, need I say more! Oh yes, all with an ocean view...

This is the master bedroom - I could live in just this space!

The elegant dining room

The kitchen - I'm so in love. I'm imagining cooking here with my favourite people relaxing at the Island...sigh!

Another shot...ohhh, that marble!

I love that there are 2 seating areas, one for TV watching the other for entertaining, so smart!

Another angle - lots of grey, cream, brown. Sophisticated and comfy!

My Lack of Blog Posts!

Is due to these two little cuties! Being a new mom to 2 little girls has been exhausting and all consuming but this past 7 weeks has been the best time of my life! I feel so lucky and can't wait to watch these sisters grow. Thanks to all our amazing friends and family who have brought us food, looked after our kids, cleaned up our kitchen and have been so excited to get to know our newest daughter.

Weekend Agenda: a visit with one of my favourite gals and her little ones, pizza making with my daughter and my girlfriend (might attempt to make homemade dough, we'll see?), some pumpkin carving (that will be on my hubby's agenda), a baby shower and hopefully a few things around the house (have some good blog posts on some fun new items soon!).

Have a wonderful weekend...Enjoy!

Fairy Party!

My girlfriend (for over 23 years - wow, that makes us sound old!) is the queen of party planning. Our birthdays are 6 days apart and we used to hold our Sweet 16 and 21st birthdays at her house. Now, we are both moms to 3 year old girls and she recently hosted a fairy party for her daughter that was not to be forgotten. There was balloons, flowers, poms, a tea party (where she actually served the kids with real china - brave!) and the best part of all -  a 'real' fairy who visited the party to dress up the kids, paint their faces and of course sprinkle some fairy dust on the birthday girl. Here are some pics of this amazing party. Enjoy...

No need for the Martha Stewart poms - all homemade

Sugar for the tea party with handmade edible flowers

Delicious cupcakes

Treat cup at each place setting

Adorable birthday girl getting her face painted

Magical visit from the Fairy!

My own little fairy princess who perked up after a bit of sugar! :-)

Designing for a 3 Year Old...

via designers attic

I have a 3 year old daughter, Isabella. She somehow has caught the decorating bug and goes around our home rearranging and "decorating" as she calls it. We recently moved her into a big girl bed and are now in the process of decorating her room. I haven't gotten very far because anything I do she seems to not like and rearranges it to her own taste (yes, it's true!). Anyway, while on blogland - I found a picture that gave me some good inspiration. I have a large white frame like this one and love the idea of framing one of her little dresses. Her room is very shabby chic and I think this would work well.  Let's see if she approves? Enjoy...

Baby Girl!

We are thrilled to welcome a little girl into our family! Presley Amelia was born on September 1st. She is tiny and precious and we can't get enough of her. We feel so lucky. As a dear friend said to me - our house will be now filled with the 'squealing delight' of two little girls filling our home! Here is a pic of my little love. Enjoy...

Kyla Baker Photography

A New Fall Bag?

So, I'm thinking of treating myself to a new bag this fall. As I won't be buying many new clothes until I loose the baby weight, I thought I a new bag might help me feel at least a little stylish. Here is the one I'm obsessing over at the moment. Sort of that boho look that I hear will still be popular for fall. What do you think? Enjoy...

JCrew

Sofa Table Style and A Pic to Love!

Yesterday I was given a challenge. My mom bought a sofa table (at her go to place - Homesense)  and came over to look after my daughter for 1 hour while I went on the hunt for things to accessorize it with. Being 9 months pregnant, I wasn't sure I was up for the challenge - but took it anyway! Within 1 hour and 3 bags later I returned. My mom is what some might call picky or let's just say not shy to hide her opinions. Well, I'm happy to report that of all the trial items there is only 1 thing going back (a wicker basket which I'll probably keep for my place). Here are some fuzzy i-phone photos of what I came up with along with a picture I found that really has nothing to do with sofa tables but I just adore the look of this living room. Enjoy...

New brass pulls to be added...

One of my favourite items I found for the sofa table - at Indigo book store!

I'm obsessed with this pic. I want to find somewhere to add a desk like this.
Image via pintererst

Owls!

My love. I have never really collected any sort of animal. That has changed. Now, I know the owl is a popular bird these days, but original or not, I still love him. I started collecting him when we moved into our house last summer. I'm trying not to go overboard with our love affair. But, here are a few of my favourites. Enjoy...

My lovely owl vase at my entry

My silver owl 

Camomile tea from my owl teapot - perfection

A little owl bling (necklace)

An owl print purchased in Montreal

My favourite owl of all (is dressing up my daughter as an owl means I went too far?)

New Items for the Nursery!

A couple weeks ago, we finally got a good start on our gender neutral nursery. Months earlier I had searched for the kind of look I wanted to go for and since we don't know if it's a boy or girl, it was a little more challenging but I'm lovin the way it's coming together. I wanted something fun, fresh, modern, happy and could be easily updated with a few touches once our little one arrives. So far, so good. I ordered a few more items yesterday and one more trip to Ikea and it may be pretty close to being done for now. As for any of the actual "essential stuff" for the baby - got to get on that one! Enjoy....

Material for Roman Shade

Fabric for pillow that will go on the glider (never a fan of those gliders!)

A fun and loveable print to hang