Feeling Blue

I guess I'm a real sucker for punishment...

that and I'm running low on fresh fruit-- frozen blueberries may not have been the best idea...

On the bright side-- Eme's runny nose is much less noticeable.

As messy as this was-- they were a big hit.  Here Eme's saying-- "put the camera down and get me some more of those blueberries!!!!"

Or in Eme's words..."MOOOOOORRRR!!!!!"

After a good scrubbing she's now clean and in her bed.  Granted-- her hands do look like she has poor circulation and her chin looks like she has a bit of a five o'clock shadow...

Monday and THREE MORE DAYS!!!

So apparently chasing after two kids (love em!), having an interior decorating business (so fun!!), and planning a trip to Italy (three more days!!) has left me with very little time to blog over the past few days.  I hope you'll forgive me.

Anyhow-- how about another pretty kitchen?  This one may be small-- but it's still big on style :)

Love the wallpaper.  Love those chalkboards.  AND I've gotta have one of those vintage/industrial scales for my new kitchen-- a cool looking scale + lots of pretty cookbooks = a kitchen that looks like I'm actually a skilled cook :)

images via The Lettered Cottage

Well-- it's going to be a busy few days-- getting my hair done, gotta do a whole lot of grocery shopping to stock the house for the kiddos and their babysitters, have to finish organizing a few last minute trip details, laundry laundry laundry, and make sure all the items I'm going to need in Italy will fit into a 

18" x 22" x 10" bag-- yikes.

AND... Doug has an entire kitchen to install before we leave.  I have a feeling I may not actually see him this week until we're sitting on that airplane...

Happy Monday everyone!!

Take Two & More Answers

The before and after tour of our home-- take two.  Go on over to raenovate to check it out!

Thanks for the feature (x2) Rachel!

By the way-- I'd be okay if our family was no longer known as the "Toews family"-- but the "fearless renovating foursome".  It has a nice ring to it.. don't you think?  Just saying.

And apparently I have a few more questions that need answers...

Where did I get the blue and white duvet cover in our room?  Well... it's probably long gone-- but I found it at the Bay (Canadian department store) in the clearance bin for $20 a few years ago.  It's blue, it's flannel, it's cozy, it was a steal of a deal-- it's wonderful :)

But as much as I love it-- I'm already scheming up something new for spring... stay tuned ;)

Next questions... the wall color in Eme's room-- is none other than Benjamin Moore's Woodlawn Blue (HC-147).

It's probably one of my favorite blues because it's not an icy/cool blue, it doesn't get too washed out in the sunlight, and because it works well with so many other colors-- like-- pink!

While we're on the topic of pink...

...that kitchen picture from Pink Friday-- it's from the design portfolio of the super talented Samantha Pynn.  I love it too-- the kitchen is very simple and basic in its design-- but with so much pretty styling it's interesting and gorgeous.

That's it for today folks!

My Shopping Buddies

I had no plans for today.  So when the day began just a wee bit earlier than anticipated (please tell me I'm not alone in thinking that 5:45 am is too early to be dragged from your bed) I knew we would have to do something with our day.  I suddenly found myself with too many extra hours in the day to be sitting around at home.  So I packed up the kids and headed across the border for a morning of shopping.

They were quite angelic.  And we all had fun.  I decided to do without the stroller and let Eme walk.  It was the cutest thing ever-- strolling through the mall-- Eme holding my left hand, Caleb holding my right.  It was a bit of a gamble, but as it turns out we didn't need a stroller or any real agenda-- all it took was some french fries and a whole lot of love to have a good time.

Cutest shopping buddies ever-- if I do say so myself :)

Inspiration Overload

Have you ever been to The Cross Decor & Design in Yaletown, Vancouver?  Well I was able to pop in there over the weekend and let me tell you-- total and complete inspiration overload.  Seriously-- how can there be so many beautiful things in one store?  They've got artwork, accessories, gorgeous bedding, things for kids rooms, beautiful one of a kind furniture, and the most amazing throw pillows you'll ever see.  Pretty much everything in there is beyond my budget, but it is still worth the stop... totally inspiring to look at all the beautiful things and take in the gorgeous displays...

If you're in the area it's worth a stop.  And if you are not in the area-- you can always shop online HERE.

I did end up buying one very little thing for Emerson's room... just got to get it put together than I'll give you a little sneak peek.  But, for a little more Monday afternoon inspiration, how about a few pictures of rooms designed by The Cross?

The next few pictures are of Stephanie Vogler's home (owner of the cross) as featured on Design Sponge...

Ah, this kids room is adorable.  Can you believe that two young kids live in this white apartment?

This is from the home of Darci Ilich (owner of the cross) via Design Sponge...

And these pictures are via Style at Home featuring a Vancouver home designed by The Cross.  I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this home before-- but it's worthy of a repeat.

After seeing all that gorgeous-ness I came home and gave my house a good cleaning :)  Gotta start somewhere, right?  And now I feel like a project-- if I can't afford all that fantastic stuff-- I might as well make something!

Pink Friday

Today-- nastiest weather ever.  All day-- pouring rain.  It's cold-- and it started snowing like crazy as I was out and about all over town.  It's a good thing I decided to not blow dry my hair today-- because it would have been in vain.  I was soaking wet the minute I stepped out the front door.

So what does a girl do on a terribly grey rainy day like today?  Stay home in pajamas and drink tons of steaming hot coffee?  Nope.  You drive yourself to the nearest mall and buy yourself a pair of pale pink jeans.  Yup.  That's exactly what I did.

You can get em at the gap.  They are super comfortable.  trust me.  And they looked surprisingly good. I tried on the hot pink ones and it was like "WHOA, I"M WEARING REALLY REALLY BRIGHT PINK JEANS!!!".  The soft pink or "rose" ones were perfect.  Pretty and perfect.

So in honor of pink jeans day, I will leave you with some other pretty pale pink inspiration.  Because on a day like today, everyone need a little pale pink in their lives.

1/2/3/45

I've officially declared today pink friday.  Happy Pink Friday everyone!!

Lamp Twins

So I was on pinterest the other day (of course I was!) and I kept seeing pictures of this gorgeous stylish home-- and suddenly I saw a lamp that looked very similar to one of mine.

Monika Hibb's writes the blog The Doctor's Closet-- and she has quite the stylish bedroom...

Monika Hibb's home featured on the Glitter Guide

And now a picture of my living room (picture from another day-- it most definitely DOES NOT look like this right now...)  Do you see it?

I was intrigued-- of course.  So I did a bit of reading and found that we are indeed lamp twins.  I've always loved my living room lamp-- but somehow seeing it in a super stylish home that's featured on a super stylish blog makes me love it a tiny bit more.  Gotta love a good Home Sense find!  

Oh, and I was inspired by one more thing...

That outfit-- in Italy-- in 2 weeks.  I think yes :)