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 :)

Something New

There's been a new addition to Eme's gallery wall in her bedroom.  It was created yesterday by the little lady herself.  Caleb was painting yesterday morning and I figured it was time to introduce Emerson to the world of fine arts.  She actually did a pretty good job-- only tried to eat paint twice. 

She watched her big brother very carefully, studied his technique, and created her first masterpiece.  I decided that it needed to be displayed in her room-- it's the pink and blue number there at the bottom.

I just love that my kids love to paint and create.

And if you've been reading my blog for a while you will notice that the dresser is new in there too.

Previously, we had a white change table with open shelving... but Emerson was getting too long to lay down on it and the baskets/open shelves were becoming a nightmare to keep neat and tidy.  Plus-- Eme has A LOT of clothes.  I don't buy that many for her, but she gets quite a few hand-me-downs from some other stylish little girls.  Storage needed.

I searched for a used dresser that I could transform with paint but I kept running into two problems.  The first problem was the height of the dressers-- I still wanted to be able to use it as a change table (for Eme and any other future kids) and not just anything would work.  My husband is TALL (as in 6'7" tall) so a dresser that's too low wasn't going to cut it.  And secondly, most old dressers have drawers that do not glide in and out easily.  They are sticky and difficult to open.  One thing I love about the drawers in Caleb's room is the fact that he can easily open and close the drawers to find his own clothing and put away his folded laundry.  The drawer glides in Ikea's dressers make my life a whole lot easier-- so I decided to purchase an Ikea Hemnes dresser-- it's got the storage I need, it's the perfect change table height, and it is easy for the kids to use.  Perfect.  I love the white one, but with the white paneling in Eme's room I felt that I needed something else to break up all the white.  So I chose the gray-brown finish-- one day down the road I can always spray it another color-- but for now I'm loving the gray-brown.

Of course, it needed a little something special-- so I traded in the boring ikea knobs for some brass ring pulls from Lee Valley.  Emerson love her new dresser.

SIDENOTE-- yes, Emerson is wearing her boots-- indoors.  I have yet to find a child who loves footwear as much as this little lady.  She carries her boots and shoes around the house ALL day long begging for me put them on her feet.  I find her shoes hiding in every nook and cranny of the house-- and when I hide her shoes, she starts trying to wear mine!  Ah well, guess she takes after her mama-- boots, shoes, sandals-- I love em too :)

Probably because she loves to look at all her clothes and carry them around the house-- pajamas anyone?

Okay so for now-- easy drawer access is kinda working against me-- but one day, when Emerson is able to put away all her own laundry-- I'll be laughing.

Dreaming of...

Let me share a few words to describe the past few days in this house...

pink eye, sinus infections, asthma, snotty noses, trips to the doctor, trips to the pharmacy, puke, very little sleep, children turning into savage animals when you attempt to put drops into their eyes, quarantine, cabin fever...

you get the idea.

At random times during the past few days I find myself on google looking at pictures like this...

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(and those pictures are in order-- our itinerary is Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice)

Less than three weeks-- and after the past few days-- I can't wait.

But there is one thing that I'm just a little worried about...  What am I going to wear?

Another Look at that Retro Inspired Nursery

Remember a long long time ago when I found that awesome velvet blue chair with orange piping at the thrift store?  Remember how I was so inspired by the chair that I put together a retro inspired nursery with the chair as the centerpiece?  Well, here's another look at that nursery.

We decided to put together a sample Lark & Lily inspiration board using that nursery design as an example to show potential clients.  We've been practicing up our inspiration board making skills-- and I think we're starting to get the hang of it!

Man-- I remember feeling sad that I didn't really have a spot for that chair in my own home.  But-- I was so happy to discover that one of my friends spotted the chair a few days later and she bought it for her little boy's room.  I was so relieved :)

For more info-- feel free to visit our website HERE.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Kitchen Countdown-- it continues

Love this kitchen.  Instead of a subway tile backsplash like the last one, we've got a marble.  And it look like quartz countertops-- very similar combo to the kitchen my husband and I worked on a few months ago.

image via pinterest

I'm loving that light above the window-- we're planning to rip out the bulkhead above the upper cabinets and window in our kitchen-- so I'd have room for a fantastic light above my kitchen sink.

Oh, and someone asked about paint colors in my house!  I did a post on that a long time ago-- you can read all about it HERE.

Dear Caleb

When you woke up at 1:30 am and announced that you were done sleeping, I'll admit-- I didn't believe you.  But I now know that you are a growing up to be a man of your word.  I respect that.

But while I love spending time with you-- let's try and schedule our quality time during daylight hours in the future.  Pretty please.

Your Questions Answered

So I've got a few questions to answer... let's get to it.

Someone wanted to know about the nailhead trim I used on the upholstered headboard I made.

I purchased a nailhead trim kit from a little hole in the wall upholstery shop when I was visiting my parents in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-- that probably won't help you.  But, I have ordered upholstery supplies from Beacon Fabric & Notions in the past-- and they do sell nailhead trim kits.  Trim kits are nice to use because you don't have to worry about getting all those teeny tiny nails in straight.  You just roll out the nail tack strip and pound in a nail where they're an open spot every 5 "nails" to secure it. This method is quick and easy-- but I did find that the nails provided with my kit didn't match the strip perfectly-- they were slightly darker.  Can you see what I'm talking about?

Because I'm picky-- I will admit that it does bother me on a regular basis!  But at least the trim is straight!  Uneven and crooked nailhead trim is the worst.

Next question-- what's the name of the Ikea console table in the entryway?  Ikea makes it very tricky to find this particular table-- it's actually classified as a dressing table.  Mine is the called the Malm Dressing Table-- when I went to purchase it I was also considering the Malm Occasional Table.  The Occasional table was cheaper, but in the end the Malm dressing table was shorter so it fit my entryway better and I did like that it had the drawer.  Wow-- if you say "Malm"  too many times you start to feel weird.

You'll notice that the table comes with a piece of glass for the top.  I've opted not to use it because it has  greenish tinge and I was worried that it would come crashing down on one of my kids.  Anyone want a large and heavy piece of hazardous greenish glass?

Next... a question about our upcoming Italy Trip-- Is Doug good with museums, architecture, art history and naked statues?  Ummm... Yes?  He may not have the same level of appreciation for art and architecture that I would have-- but he does enjoy experiencing new cultures and place-- so I'll think he'll be okay :) But really-- pizza, cheese, and pasta.  Need I say more?

And finally-- Did you know that the rhino at the Aldergrove zoo is named charlie?  what is your rhino named? 

No.  And-- rhino.

Any other questions?

Puppy Love and a whole lot of Glitter

I woke up to two of the cutest little Valentines-- the hour may have been a little earlier than I would have liked-- but it's hard to be irritated over the loss of sleep when your greeted by this little cutie pie.

She was wearing her puppy love pajamas.  I am a fan :)

I'm not too sure... but I think Eme likes Valentines day.

Over the last few days Caleb and I have been making Valentines.  This year I decided to let him choose-- we could either buy Valentines for his preschool classmates and cousins-- or he could make them.  I secretly was hoping he would choose the pre-made toy story Valentines in Walmart.  But alas-- he saw the glitter glue pens and was determined to make them.  So-- after days and days of cutting, and stickers, and soooo much glitter, we finished them.

As you can imagine-- a glitter bomb went off in my house.  This morning I discovered streaks of crusty glitter glue in my hair.  I'm pretty sure it's been there since Sunday.

But Caleb had SO much fun making custom Valentines for all his little buddies.  Cars stickers for the boys and princesses for the girls.

Well-- I'm off to spend the day with my little Valentines.  The plan is to eat a lot of heart shaped food and head to the local recreation centre for a little gym time.  Hoping that a hour or two of running around will tire those kiddos out!!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Find me somewhere else today...

Morning everyone!  As you're enjoying your morning coffee (cause you know I am!!) I'd recommend heading over to Danielle Oakey Interiors and check it out.  I'm honored to be the latest guest in Danielle's series Best New Blogs!

So if you have a little time today-- definitely stop by Danielle's blog.  She's got great style and some great projects that are worth checking out.  Thanks for inviting me to participate Danielle!

Kitchen Countdown

Like I've mentioned a few times over the past few months... our kitchen renovation is just around the corner.  The great thing about having a husband who builds kitchens is that we can do it for a fantastic price.  The downside is that we can never find the time to get started!  Everyone else's kitchens always take priority.  Hopefully we can get started in the spring... so I'm trying to decide on exactly what I want.  I saw this picture a few days ago and said-- YES!! (maybe out loud :)  that's it!  Gorgeous hey?  Simple, clean, classic, timeless... I could see it in my home.

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Only problem is-- I fall in love with a new kitchen every couple of days.  So just to get it out of my system-- and to get me psyched up for our kitchen reno-- I'm going to start posting the kitchens I love...

It's gonna be my kitchen reno countdown....

One more thing...

Hey everyone, hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Just thought I'd pop in and tell you all to check out the blog raenovate-- you may just see something quite familiar over there...  I'm just saying :)

You definitely need to spend some time looking at the amazing before and after's featured on this blog.  So much good stuff.  Thanks for featuring my home Rachel!  

You can read all about it HERE.

{and you may just get a sneak peek at Eme's new dresser... more on that another day!}

The Start of Something New

Well-- as you may have already figured out-- I decided not to go back to my old job after finishing up my maternity leave.  I kept meaning to blog about the fact that I had left the "working" world, but somehow I never got around to it.

BUT...

I've decided to jump back into the working world.  Kind of.  I don't really think of it as "work" because it's actually really fun and because my business partner is kind of awesome.  My friend Andrea and I decided to start our own interior decorating business!  We're pretty excited about the whole thing.  And after many hours of meeting, and planning, and organizing we're finally open for business!  Our website is now up and running... you should go check out Lark & Lily Interiors!

One day soon I'll blog more about how the whole business came together-- but for now-- feel free to take a look at the website and if you're looking to hire some decorators-- give us a call :)

Oh Martha

I love martha.  I love office supplies.

So when I found out that Martha was making office supplies pretty at Staples... I went... and I bought.

I bought the prettiest file folder labels.

Tax time will now be pretty.

And I'm thinking about these kitchen labels-- moisture, freezer, and microwave safe?  No way!

I also bought a teeny tiny little blue accordion file folder.  It fits into my purse.

Disorganized receipts?  A thing of the past.

Our local staples had an entire aisle of pretty Martha labels.  I was so mesmerized by all the pretty stuff I didn't notice when Eme kicked off her shoes and ran away.  I found her in the next aisle shortly after.  It took a little longer to find her shoes.  Into the cart she went!

Definitely worth checking out.  You can read more about the products here.