client highlight: design for conscious living

I'm sure I've mentioned Design for Conscious Living before. They are an interior/exterior design firm based in Toronto and run by the lovely and talented Celia - and one of my favourite clients! 

First of all, I would like to mention that Celia is a natural beauty, about 6 feet tall. I basically come up to her waist. She has a wonderfully keen eye for design, and when I first met with her in her home office a few years ago, my mouth dropped - it was simply my dream office, done in colours of green and gray, beautifully organized and professional yet warm and welcoming. 

I created the Design for Conscious Living website in 2008, however each year we work together to make some changes or additions, and just last month we completed the latest update to the site. Some gorgeous new interior designs that really are worth a peek! Check out some of these new layouts, and then be sure to go to their website to see more. 

50mm lens

Just bought a 50mm lens. One of the cheaper lenses out there! And oh boy, so far I love it.

picnic party!

Now that winter is arriving {cold blustery days, darkness, freezing rain, yuck!} I thought I would share a little summer with you. I was a pretty terrible blogger in the summer, so I didn't properly feature my daughter's first birthday party! Her birthday is in July which is actually quite lovely because we were able to hold it outside and make the most of the warm weather and swimming pool.

The theme was a Picnic Party, and I collected all sorts of red and white fabric to make table cloths, a flag bunting, and picnic blankets strewn across the lawn. Actually I found the decor for this party quite easy - red and white is a popular combo! And I threw in some turquoise accents just for fun.There was swimming, there was a jumping castle and trampoline, cupcakes, stripey straws, a popcorn machine and a fab cake made by Auntie M. Pictures tell the story much better, so here is a bit of summer for ya!

Ruche Clothing

How did I not know about this online shop before? Guess I've been hiding under a rock. When you are occupied with a little one, it sometimes does feel that way. Anyway I discovered Ruche Clothing the other day and the clothing really has an Anthropologie vibe, but with a much cheaper price tag. If I wasn't pregs then I might go a bit click-happy. Why is shopping online sooooo easy?

Here are my picks:

Paper Birch Cutout Dress

{out of stock now unfortunately but sooooo pretty!}

Mulberry Street Print Dress

{funky, a bit retro, and easy to wear}

Mexico City Diamond Print Dress

{not sure what drew me to this one except the pattern is pretty cool and also Mexico sounds really great right about now!}

Well I guess I know where I'll be shopping once I'm back to my normal size! And once I'm done nursing which presents a whole different wardrobe issue {easy access is key!}.

some news!

font nerd strikes again: Kewl Script alternative

As mentioned once before, I'm a font nerd. I love fonts. I could stare at typography all day. I could spend a lot of money on fonts {ok, I could spend a lot of money on just about everything!}. But just as I found a free alternative to Feel Script a while back, I found one for a new font called Kewl Script.

I actually had purchased Kewl Script for a project, and I do think it's pretty cool. But then I found this free one called Channel. Not exactly the same but it definitely has the same vibe. Kewl Script is better...I like it's flourishes. But hey - free is pretty great too!

Thank you Little Party-Goers!

A big thank you to the lovely Maria of Little Party-Goers! She featured inBloom Studio today on her Goodie Spotlight and I really appreciate the wonderful shout-out! Click here to read the spotlight and interview.

happy birthday canada!

I am so proud to live in this beautiful country of mine.

Took this Instamatic iPhone App snap today...I thought it was pretty cute that this fire hydrant was painted red to match the flag behind it.

Happy birthday Canada!

clever and herby escort cards

As someone also in the event design field, I love keeping my eyes open for clever wedding and decor ideas - and I love this idea for escort cards, rather than the simple and mundane folded tent cards on a table. Adorable! You can see more of this beautiful English wedding here.

west elm

I was in the area of West Elm yesterday so I popped on in. And OK....WOW!! One of everything please! And while I can't do that at the moment {can you imagine?} I did walk away with these cutie little owl measuring cups. Just a little purchase to stave off my hunger! Aren't they adorable?

white kitchen...yum!

We recently chose our finishes for our new home...that is definitely the best part of buying a brand new house! We decided on a white kitchen with earthy gray floor tiles, and a dark gray countertop. Here is the look we are going for, except I'm thinking soft light blue walls.

Photos from Style at Home magazine via Black Eiffel.

i just bought this print...

...for my new house. Yes, we bought a new house! It is currently being built and will close mid-July. I am pretty excited - it has all of the features we were hoping for: a big backyard, a fireplace, upstairs laundry, pantry, walk-in closet {yes!}. A wonderful place for kids to play and grow. The only catch - it is farther into suburbia than I am now. Only about 10 minutes or so, but when I tell you that not long ago there were cow patties where my house will stand, I am telling the truth. Project De-Suburbanization, here I come too!

Anyhow, and more importantly - about the above print. One of my favourite things to do is to get lost in blogland and then happen upon a cool link or inspirational story that I would not have otherwise found. And that is what happened last night. Long story short (you can read more here) I came across this cute print which is also helping to raise money for a lovely little lady named Davy who captured my heart. I think you will be inspired by reading their story too.

A cute design for a great cause - what a wonderful combination.

redfish kids clothing

My sister bought my baby girl the most adorable kimono onesie {above} for Christmas. I know it's a year not about 'things'. But there are some things that are so special that they are worth having! Seriously, I want to hang this little piece of clothing in Sage's room as art. It is truly beautiful! It's made by a Vancouver company called Redfish Kids Clothing and I checked out their website. Oh my. My heart is aflutter! What gorgeous clothes and incredible dresses! Here is a peek at their wares...just stunning.

etsy treasury!

I am honoured to be included in an Etsy treasury!

HeartBoxArt included my You Are My Sunshine print in their first ever treasury...and isn't it a pretty one! I am love love loving the retro yellows and teals. Thank you HeartBox!

and speaking of moments...

Speaking of enjoying more 'moments' in this new year...I love the idea of recording the moments that make each day of the year special in this diy calendar journal! And such a clever idea to record them over a number of years so you can reflect on previous moments too.

I originally saw this project a few weeks ago on Design*Sponge {click on the link to see the how-to} and couldn't get it out of my mind. And strangely enough, the other day I was reading a blog I like - Rambling Renovators - who listed a bunch of their favourite blogs, and I randomly clicked on one of them - Under the Sycamore - only to find that the author of this blog is the original creator of this cool calendar project. Is that confusing? Well all of that to say that I think it is meant to be that I create one of these for meself! So just to find the time to do that before 2011 disappears...

more moments, less stuff

Happy New Year! 2011 is starting to sound a bit futuristic to me. Last year was a great year business-wise and of course with the birth of my little one. I'm looking to lots of new adventures in 2011. In fact my New Year's Resolution is to have more moments, and less stuff. I hope to capture some of this year's moments right here so please stay tuned!

...and a bit more on sage

I haven't really introduced you to my little one yet. She is just about 12 weeks old now...which is insane! Soon she will be going to school, then getting married. Slow down time! Here is a photo we had taken when she was brand new.

sage's nursery featured on ohdeedoh!

Yippee! Today Sage's nursery was featured on one of my favourite children's design websites, ohdeedoh. I am so honoured! A lot of love and personal touches went into her room and I'm proud that I am able to share it. Thanks so much to Carrie McBride of ohdeedoh! You can see a few more nursery pics here too.