...this house in my neighbourhood. They really went all out in their decor! I'm sure this will be THE house to visit tonight. And how great is this balmy 20 degree weather for trick or treating? I remember some Hallowe'en nights so cold that we had to wear snowsuits under our costumes. Which of course ruined the effect of our costumes altogether!
Happy Hallowe'en! Check out this boo-tiful cake courtesy of Martha Stewart. These have to be some of the non-scariest ghosts I've seen...they are adorable!
I have always admired French girls and the way they instinctively know how to dress - the just-thrown-on-yet-really-put-together look. I was happy to find this section on Lucky magazine's website - a glimpse into the street styles of Paris. Such great fashion inspiration here! Since I work from home, there isn't much opportunity to dress up a lot, but maybe - just maybe, these pics will inspire me to change out of my comfy track pants!
I'm very proud to showcase another recently completed website - Canvas Jam! This new company allows children to create abstract paintings on large-scale canvases that fit right into their parent's decor. Clicking through the photos, you can see just how proud all of these kids are, and what a great keepsake for parents {not to mention that they get a cool work of art for their walls}.
We took a harrowing bus ride to nearby Positano {think big bus hugging narrow and curvy roads built into the cliffs} but it was so worth the view.
I loved these graphic vintage sign posts.
And below is a postcard from one of Positano's beachside restaurants, Ristorante La Cambusa. I thought the sketchy line drawings were lovely and captured the feel {and height!} of the seaside town.
Here I am in Pompeii with a cold which is why I'm a bit grumpy pants...but that is Mount Vesuvius in the background, the volcano that erupted and covered Pompeii in ash and magically preserved everything in time. It was absolutely unbelievable to walk on Pompeii's street that still had ruts from the chariots!
That is it from our Italian honeymoon...what an amazing adventure. And now that I have the travel bug again, I'm going to plan our next trip...Israel for my sister's wedding next summer with a potential stopover in Iceland!
Our bedroom, sadly, has been neglected and is the last room in our house to be decorated. I'm thinking it's going to be green, but I'm on the lookout for some bedroom design inspiration. I wouldn't mind it at all if it looked like this, though {from West Elm}:
Or this:
Or this!
Beautiful Firenze!
The Arno River, Florence
The Duomo
Some 'street art'
Ponte Vecchio bridge at night
Beautiful town of Siena
A beautiful building in Siena
vintage vespa in front of a little flower shop {I loved the little flower shops}
some ruins we just happened upon while exploring Rome
the Colosseum and the Forum {view from Palatine Hill}
view from atop Castel Sant'Angleo
Piazza del Popollo
typical buildings in Rome
Roman aqueducts
The honeymooners
Four years ago today, I lost my mom to breast cancer. I have her hands, which allow me to paint and draw and create. She also gave me her sense of colour and love of design. She loved fashion too, and always said that if you got new shoes and a new purse for each season, then you would always be in style - and she was right! The words are not coming easy for me today, so I will link you to a slideshow tribute that my husband and I created for my mom's funeral, and which has since been used for The Breast Darn Show Period, a breast cancer gala fundraiser that we held last May. Also, here is a beautiful post that my sister Shayna wrote on Friday. You are always near me mom, I feel you...and I miss you so much.
Recently I was lucky enough to be commissioned by a new company in the U.S. to create some custom holiday card designs. The company hasn't launched this application yet, so the name is still under wraps! It will be similar though, to Tiny Prints where customers can choose from a bunch of holiday card styles, and then upload their personal photos and change the message text. Here is just one of the designs I created. They are starting this season with holiday cards, but will also move into baby announcements, etc. I am excited for the launch! I'll keep you posted...
While driving home on Sunday from my dad's house, through the wee hamlet of Glasgow {we are very European here in Ontario - we have a Paris and a London too!}, a strange thing happened. I saw a large dark figure up ahead at the side of the road, and I couldn't figure out what it was. As I got closer, I saw it was a horse! It had taken a leap into freedom I suppose, as it seemed very confused and a bit scared. I drove very slowly as I got near, and before I knew it, the horse started to gallop beside my car...it was following me! Not something that happens every day! But I thought it was quite a beautiful experience, as I stared out my side window at the horse right beside me - they really are stunning creatures. I stopped my car and the horse galloped in front of me - at which point I grabbed my point-and-shoot camera and took this quick pic out of my front window. I needed proof that a random horse had roamed free and followed my car! I noticed an SUV driving through the farmer's field, trying to round up the horse so I think it was going to be ok. But that was my bit of excitement while driving through the wee little hamlet of Glasgow Ontario.
With the leaves changing, it is such a colourful and spectacular time of year in this part of the world. But I have never seen a display of colour as lively as the mums that cover the lawn of a farm just down the road! They must be selling hundreds of pots of mums, in every shape and hue. Their prices are great, so I picked some up in various shades of orange for a 'marigold and pewter' wedding that we are designing on the weekend {more of that to come next week!}. I just had to share the view as it was really quite breathtaking...