Progress Report: Kitchen Shelves

Progress in the kitchen… finally!  I kind of lost interest in my kitchen update project this summer.  Well, I kind of lost interest in all of my projects, actually. 

However… my Dad had time yesterday to install my floating shelves, and I LOVE them!  It totally changed the room.  And it kind of got me motivated again.  

 

The shelves are from IKEA, and I just spray painted the brackets gold.  (What a difference gold spray paint makes!)

Things to notice:

1.  The switch plates are missing because during the grout debacle I got grey grout all over the switches and now it won’t come off so they need to be replaced.  Balls.

2.  The two big bowls of fruit… I can not BELIEVE how much the 4 boys are eating!!!  They’ll power through a huge bowl of fruit in a day (plus a ton of other stuff).  They want to eat every 5 minutes.  Are all boys like this??? 

Insta-File: 08.19.2012

Aaack!  We’re at that point in the summer… the days are just slipping by too quickly! 

I’ve been enjoying hanging out with ‘the 4 boys’ (two of my own, two of my sister’s).  I love watching these guys play together.  They are the best of friends, and never get tired of one another (seriously!!!)  They make my job too easy! 

They’ve been loving the playground, but have also had fun playing tennis, building sand castles, and riding in a bike parade!  Click through to see more…

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Fugly or Fabulous? Olympics Scrunchies

OK… I think that gymnastics is the best event to watch in the summer Olympics.  In fact, it’s the only event that I really make a point of watching. 

I just have to say… I’m super intrigued this year by the abundance of hair scrunchies in women’s gymnastics attire.  Is the scrunchie making a comeback?  Or is this an Olympics-only trend? 

Join me after the jump for way more photos and commentary.  I’m curious to see what you all are thinking about this important fashion issue. 

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Insta-file: 08.02.2012

So… we went on a road trip with the kids down to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.  I consider it to be ‘my lake’… where I spent summers growing up.  I love taking the kids there, and want it to be a special place for them too.

 

OK, I’m trying something new.  I’m splitting my posts, so don’t stop reading… click through and see the rest of our adventures after the jump!

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Zipping

Ok you guys, if you live anywhere near Cypress Hills, you need to check out Cypress Hills Eco-Adventures.  Jeff & I went for a zip line canopy tour on the weekend and it was amazing!  Here are the dets:

INSIDER TIP… You should ask for Rhett to be your tour guide because he’s my cousin the best!

You start out by climbing a big scary 40’ rope ladder up into the tree tops.  Jeff was nervous, but I was a total pro because I did this last year (hahaha).  Here we go…

 

Admittedly, it’s kind of hard to step off that first platform, but then you’re flying through the air, which is super fun!

 

Part way through the tour, you climb from one tiny platform way above the ground, straight up a pole to another tiny platform!  EEEK!  I don’t even know how high up you are at this point.  Let’s just say super high.

Somewhere along the way we got brave enough to go backwards… Carolee (my sister) is loving it!…

… and then we did the ‘Superman’… nice form, Jeff…

… and then we hung upside down!

It was a fabulous tour.  I was WAY cooler about it this year.  (If you want to see what a freak I was last year, check out this post.) 

Here’s the video from last time, too:

 

Anyways, you HAVE to try it.  It’s mandatory.  You will love it!!!  Go to the Cypress Hills Eco-Adventures website to see more.

* all photos courtesy of Cypress Hills Eco-Adventures

Today…

I’m working on the WORST JOB EVER.

Otherwise known as scraping the chippy old stain off of my deck. 

My boys are on holidays at the lake with Grandma & Grandpa, so I feel like I should be doing something WAY more fun than scraping and re-staining.  Blurg.    

My Wink of Pink Painting

We all know Christine of Bijou and Boheme, right?  She’s one of those people that always makes me think “… seriously, is there anything this girl can’t do???”  She has the most amazing home, styled to perfection.  Her blog is full of gorgeous inspiration, but is also personal and sometimes funny (she has a way with made-up words like ‘pooptastic’).  And… she can PAINT.  Man, I admire artists.   

Christine’s paintings just keep getting bigger and better.  Go see them at Wink of Pink.

I ordered this fabulous little painting a couple of weeks ago:

It came tied with a pretty ribbon and a handwritten thank-you note. 

Here’s a closer look:

Awesome, right?  I love it.

ps… I read that you should choose one instagram filter and stick to it for ‘branding’ and ‘consistency’.  But, omg, I just can’t decide, and plus, doesn’t that take away some of the fun of instagram?  But then I end up with a different one for each shot.  Gah.  Now I kind of get it.

Insta-file: 20.07.2012

Snapshots of my week via my instagram. 

Design Plan: Black, White, and Gold Guest Bath

My Mom and Dad are ready to start the second phase of their house renovations, including the bedrooms and bathrooms.  The first room on the agenda is the guest bath.  My Mom is looking for something dramatic, and fortunately she and I have very similar taste! 

Here are the inspiration shots: 

photo sources: 1-Ace Hotel NYC, 2-Cafiero Select, 3-Barrie Benson Interiors

We are going for a black, white, and gold scheme.  We love the gold fixtures and the double curtain in the Ace Hotel room, the black tile border in the David Cafiero room, and the dark vanity with the gold sconces and mirror in the Barrie Benson room.  We haven’t decided on a wall colour yet… maybe white?  maybe light gray?

We already have the sconces, and they are so fabulous!!!  Can’t wait to see this room come together!  I wish it was going in my own home!

Here’s the design board:

Sources:

Visual Comfort Sconces

mirror

vanity

Martha Stewart for Home Depot cabinet hardware

Kohler Fixtures

The Insta-File (Snapshots of my week)

I started using Instagram when I got my iPhone this spring, and I’m totally hooked.  I’ve been having fun documenting simple moments every day.  It’s so much easier to snap a quick phone pic… I find that I’m capturing things that I used to miss when I had to run and find my point/shoot.  Here are some shots from our time at the lake last week:

*** I used PicMonkey to make the collages and add the words to the photos.  It was so easy to use… I’d recommend giving it I try if you are looking for a simple photo editor***

You can find me on Instagram under fabdesignfile… or you can click here to see my feed!

This morning...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My new/old luggage

I found this great luggage set at my neighbor's garage sale. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it. I think it's probably from the '70's because my parents used to have suitcases like this when I was a kid. I always thought that they were so stylish! Don't even get me started on the makeup case with the built in organizers! Jackie (my auntie) would bring hers home from university, and my sister and I would watch her whole makeup routine with complete fascination.
Anyways, I think Jeff was a little annoyed when I brought home five old suitcases... But even he agreed that they were kind of perfect for packing up for the lake this week!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Main St W,Meota,Canada

Alt Summit Online

There is always talk around the blogosphere about amazing blogger conferences.  They seem like such a great way to make real-life connections with online friends, and are also a chance to learn from blogging experts. 

I haven’t had the chance (yet!) to attend a conference, but guess what?  Alt Summit is offering courses online!  And in July, thanks to Bing, you can take up to 4 Alt Summit Online Classes for free!  Go here to find out how!

There are a bunch of classes to choose from…

I have my eye on “The Organized Blogger” with Victoria Hudgins… I need to go on a major organizing spree around here, but don’t know where to start.  This course ends with a 10-day blog organization challenge!  Perfect!

I’m also excited about “Growing Readership” with Nicole Balch.  I heard great things about her talk at Blogpodium, so I’m thinking the online course will be awesome too.

So… anyone want to join me for an online class???

My Kilim is Here!!!

My kilim arrived on Friday!  I LOVE it!!!  I ordered it from an ebay seller in Turkey, and I have to admit I was a little bit nervous that it wouldn’t be what I expected when it arrived… but it is perfect!  According to the listing it is 80 years old, made of natural wool, and vegetable dyed.  The colors are so gorgeous!  Just what I wanted.  It arrived in less than 2 weeks, which also surprised me.  Here’s a close-up:

Summer!

It’s finally sunny and warm!  Woo hoo! 

And my peonies are blooming…

And I’m on Instagram… look for me under “fabdesignfile”.  Or click here to see my feed online.

Happy weekend!

A “why didn’t we do this sooner?” Project

Brace yourselves, people.  This isn’t a ‘pretty pictures’ post.  I’m giving you a glimpse into my basement. 

It’s a huge open room famous for it’s bright red switch plate covers and dark red carpet:

 

There is, of course, an abundance of oak (my nemesis)… even on the ceiling!  I should also mention that the kids have free run of this room.  This is where all of the big toys are kept, and where the kids play indoor hockey, basketball, baseball, golf, etc.  There is no organization. It’s total chaos.  So prepare yourself.  Here are the ‘before’ shots:

Jeff has been wanting to fix up this part of our house for ages, and I finally gave in agreed.  I spent the weekend patching floor hockey holes…   

… and painting!  I am always AMAZED at what a difference paint makes.  I painted out every piece of oak.  It's now all fresh and white.  I can’t believe how much changing that one detail just opened the room right up!  It feels so much lighter and bigger.  Such an improvement.  

I don’t think the pictures really convey how amazing the transformation is.  In real life it’s quite shocking.  Here’s a side-by-side:

 

I’m working on painting the walls this week, and new carpet will be installed early next week.  We will probably install a few more pot lights.  And I’m thinking I also need to do something about those toys.  Anyone have an awesome toy organizing solution that I should know about?

For now, it feels great to make so much progress over the weekend.  I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner!

Summer Trends

I’ve been feeling like I need to inject some ‘summer’ into my home.  I have worked hard this year to establish a neutral backdrop in my living room and kitchen (which is almost finished!)  I find that the black/white/neutral scheme is super cozy and calming for the winter.  However, now that it’s summer, I’m ready to liven it up with some color. 

I have to say, the trend predictions at Style at Home are exactly what I had in mind this year!  Well, at least two out of three…

1. Aegean blue – the perfect summery blue shade for accessories

2. KILIM – we all know I’ve been obsessing over this trend lately!  Spoiler Alert… I ordered one!  It’s on it’s way from Turkey!

3. The third trend is Country colours – probably not going to happen in my home… but perfect for the cabin! 

Here’s the plan for injecting some summer trends into my living room:

1 – The KILIM!  The star of the room!  I ordered it from this seller on ebay.

2 – Kid Art.  This is a pencil crayon + water color map of South America made by Beckett at preschool… can you even believe how perfect it is with the colours in the kilim!?!

3 & 4 – Vases from West Elm and Indigo

5 – Tie dyed / sequin pillow from Indigo

What do you mean you don’t like white trim???

My sister in law is repainting her condo.  When she told me that she wanted gray walls, I was totally in favour.  I immediately pictured something like this:

Rockport Gray with white trim:

via Young House Love

But Jodi wanted something darker, like Chelsea Gray:

via Architectural Digest

… and she absolutely DID NOT want white trim!  Eeek!  Now what?

Luckily, I like to do a lot of mindless Pinterest browsing research, and was able to find some new inspiration pics:

Bernard Ande Photography

House Beautiful

Apartment Therapy

Jodi and I both love the gray walls with gray trim.  Can’t wait to see how it turns out… the trim is already painted, and the wall colour is going on today!