Friday, February 27, 2009

oh anthro

Yet another inspirational photo from the beautiful Anthropologie...can't wait until their Spring opening in Toronto. My once-in-a-while trips to NYC, or browsing their store online just doesn't cut it.
Have a great weekend and hopefully my blogs will be a little more inspired next week!

he's just not that into you

I am dying to see this movie with one of my friends but due to my ailments this past week, I haven't quite been able to drag myself off the couch and into a theatre. My husband refuses to see it, but I wonder if this attempt to prove the movie isn't a chick flick would change his mind? Justin Long cracks me up!

Has anyone seen the movie? Is it worth seeing?

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

rachel whiting photography

Such beautiful photography and styling! Check out some of Rachel Whiting's photography portfolio and get ready to drool.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

i'm back!

Apologies for being M.I.A. for the past week. It was one of those crappy weeks - I had surgery for what turned out to be a pretty extensive case of endometriosis. And to make matters worse, my hubby got a terrible flu {that weird one that starts with a migraine} so I was quarantined at my dad's house, far away from my computer and from civilization it seemed! But thanks to my amazing doctor, the surgery was a success so I am back and will be up-and-blogging again in no time...see you soon...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

so long scary monsters

This Anti-Monster Spray is sooo adorable, and probably worth the money for some moms and dads I know, just to buy a few good night sleeps! I love the fact that there are health benefits attached...take that scary monsters!
{via SavvyMom}

Friday, February 13, 2009

wearing a larry

I gasped at the beautiful chunky knit shawl worn by Kim Cathers on Project Runway Canada this past week. Apparently it is a 'larry' - an over-sized hand-knit scarf made in Vancouver using alpaca fleece. I wouldn't mind getting cozy and warm with larry at all....

Thursday, February 12, 2009

my love affair with australia

Unbelievably, this week is the 10th anniversary of my journey to Australia where I spent a year studying Plant and Wildlife Illustration. How the heck does 10 years fly by so quickly? I remember it all very clearly, and 10 years ago on precisely this week, I left in bone-chilling -40 degree Celsius Toronto temperatures {is that possible?!}, and arrived in Sydney in blistering +40 degree Celsius heat {is that possible?!}. And right about at this time, while trying to get accustomed to the 80 degree temperature difference, I was 'trampolining' off the thickest, sturdiest spiderwebs I have ever seen {don't get me started on the spiders}, reaching for my shampoo bottle only to grasp a leech that was stuck to the side, and watching in awe as a wallaby hopped past me on my university's campus. That year was such a wonderful experience that I'll never forget. There were many lonely times, there's no doubt - I was a 22 hour flight away from my family and they were usually sleeping while I was awake! But my adventure taught me how to depend on myself. I became very strong and independent...I grew up.

Aside from all that I learned outside of the classroom, I was able to concentrate on painting and drawing for a full year, which was a dream! To commemorate my 10th anniversary, above are some of the illustrations I created, in hopes of creating them into a children's book {I still hope to one day!}. They are patterns in nature, painted in watercolor, and the premise was to get children to look closer at nature, to gain an appreciation for it at a young age.

I will be posting a bit more about my Australian adventure, but in the meantime my thoughts are with those suffering from the horrific bush fires that have been roaring near Melbourne. Here is a blog that is selling various donated handmade items to raise money for those affected - such a wonderful idea.

a cowboy office...

...for my sister Melanie who has chalkboard envy and who is already planning the decor for her new house. The chair is a bit scary {wouldn't want to be impaled on one of those horns!} but I'm digging the huge magnetic chalkboard wall and the birch wallpaper. Yum!
{from Wish magazine, another great magazine that has gone the way of Blueprint, Domino, and Home Companion magazines...too sad}.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

bedroom inspiration

Would you believe...we still haven't finished our bedroom yet?! Our weekends keep getting eaten up with various to-dos, but hopefully {hopefully!} in the next few weekends we will be able to buckle down and finish it off. Here are some more bedrooms inspiration pics that I've been looking at {I know, some are not bedrooms but I was checking them out for colour inspiration!}.

the images:
1. Domino magazine {RIP...sniff...}. This photo actually looks A LOT like our petite bedroom, and we even have the same two IKEA dressers in brown/black!
2. Living Etc. magazine
3. Living Etc. magazine
4. Pottery Barn
5. Dwell Studio
6. Domino magazine

Monday, February 9, 2009

diy wall art

Love this idea for creating wall art from diyideas.com!

Friday, February 6, 2009

my 100th post!

This is my 100th blog post! Yay! Remember my post a while back about photographer Jan von Holleben and his Dreams of Flying project? This bride and groom photographed their Save the Dates in a similar style - so cute and creative! In fact, take a look at their entire wedding - the bride is a graphic designer and it's no surprise. Everything is beautifully done, and a source of inspiration from beginning to end. {via Once Wed}
Happy weekend!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

project runway canada

I really loved this dress created by Jason on Project Runway Canada this week. The contestants had to create a red carpet look for Elisha Cuthbert, and as a guest judge, she was able to choose her own dress. And her choice was my pick too - an elegant, classic, Jackie-O-inspired, Audrey Hepburn-esque little black dress that I would love to have in my closet. It was perfectly swingy and what a neckline! These are unfortunately the best shots I could find, so it is hard to see any of the detail around the neck and down the back. I guess we'll just have to watch for Elisha on the red carpet to get a closer look!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

the brooklyn bride

I am so honoured that my wedding was featured today on Brooklyn Bride. How exciting to see our mugs posted on one of my favourite blogs, and to be considered an inspirational 'modern wedding'. Thanks to Vané for the posting, and for the shout-out to inBloom Event Design!

Click here for more wedding photos...

funny valentine

As some of you may know from my previous company Kanvas Ink., our greeting cards were anything but ordinary! I love this quirky little Valentine's Day card...much better than the cheesy ones for sale out there. From Atypical Letterpress {via Ill Seen, Ill Said}.

pretty silhouettes

Writing a post on silhouettes for Bloomerism last week, I found this beauty by Jenny Lee Fowler, and I just wanted to share here too.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

naughty blogs

If you have a moment, check out my sister blog, Bloomerism, for today's post on wedding cakes {and cakes in general} gone terribly wrong. The Cake Wrecks blog is my new fave and I've been laughing all day at the hideousness! It's definitely worth a peek...

This is a funny blog too...it is pretty harsh {if you are easily offended, you might want to skip it} but it somehow appeals to my odd sense of humor and has me falling off my chair.

Both are oddly amusing and could cheer me up on an off day!

my house: the photo wall

A few summers ago, my husband and I decided to take on a home project. And just not any project...a HUGE take-all-week, pain-in-the-butt home project. And while it was a much bigger {and more expensive} job than either of us anticipated, it was well worth the effort! Our photo wall is right at the entrance into our house, and has turned out to be quite a source of entertainment and conversation for anyone who steps in.

We chose to display mostly black and white photos in mainly black frames {Walmart, Kitchen Stuff Plus and IKEA have the cheapest black frames} but I do like adding a bit of quirkiness into home decor, so we had a sense of humour when choosing the photos. We each found our individual, awkward grade eight grad photos, equally scowly and grade eight-like, and hung them side-by-side. Also on the wall is my award for achieving the highest mark in my grade nine keyboard class...haha...nerdy.

There is a photo of my friend Rebecca and I at Blackbutt Nature Reserve in Australia {we both happened to be wearing black pants that day}, and a Photoshopped picture of me 'motorcycling' around Paris {I hope to replace this with a real photo of motorcycling around Paris one day soon!}.


There are many non-goofy photos on the wall too - our favourite wedding photo, various excursions, photos of dear family and friends, and travel pics. But it's the not-so-perfect photos that seem to generate the most conversation.

Like this photo of my husband as a child with a humongous head of hair {and his not-so-big catch of the day}!

Monday, February 2, 2009

yellow necklace lovelies

It has been bright and sunny the past two days and yesterday there was a touch of spring in the air {despite today's dismal groundhog prediction!}. I guess I am channelling the sun, as I am drawn to these yellow necklace lovelies...

1. Dilcy Beaded Necklace, Forever 21
2. Primrose Garden Necklace, J. Crew
3. Karma Necklace, J. Crew
4. Charlotte Necklace in Withered Vine, Foundling
5. Lemon Curd Necklace, Anthropologie