Kitchen Basics Series - What Does That Mean?

illustration via here.

sometimes we can get tripped up or intimidated to try new recipes by all the lingo we see before us. here are some common terms to familiarize yourself with to help make any recipe you come across that much easier to understand.

chopped vs. diced vs. minced

• chopped: cutting your vegetables into large pieces. typically you will see this for larger vegetables  like squash or potatoes.
• diced: similar to chopping, dicing means cutting into smaller sized pieces. You likely will see this term used with ingredients like onions or celery.
• minced: this means cutting the item into the smallest pieces you can. in the case of garlic, a garlic press minces perfectly.

blanching: cooking a vegetable very slightly and then immediately stopping the cooking process by rinsing under cold water. blanching is great if you are planning a big dinner party and you want to precook a vegetable dish to get a jump on your preparation. you can then quickly finish cooking just before serving to ensure the dish is nice and warm.

bouquet garni: this is a tied bunch of fresh herbs that is added to stews, or pots of simmering food for a little while and then taken out before serving.

dash: who has ever really measured a dash? well it turns out someone has and it is equivalent to about 1/16^th of a teaspoon. this is a very small amount that is a little more than a pinch.

dust: this term appears often in baking recipes and it refers to lightly spreading a small about of a spice or sugar over the baked dish. most often this is part of a finishing step before serving.

julienne: this means to cut your vegetable or item into very thin slices, kinda like a very skinny french fry.

puree: to mash up or mix together your food until it's completely smooth, ideally in a food processor is easiest.

thin: if you see this term is means adding more liquid to thin out what you are cooking.

sauté: cooking your food in a frying pan with a little oil.

steep: you might often see this term if you are making a tea, or a simple syrup. it means to soak something (like tea leaves) in a liquid almost until boiling for a set amount of time until the flavours come out.

zest: pulling off small sections of the skin of a citrus fruit, in many cases a lemon, lime or orange. This is most often done with a fine grater called a zester so the pieces remain small.

Long Weekend Love

images via, here, here, here, here and here.

the labour day long weekend is for lovers.
lovers of the outdoors.
lovers of fresh air.
of bbq's and early bedtimes, pjs, books
and being calm.

hope you all have the very best long weekend and get up to something good!

Living Room Spaces

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right now our main living space is still somewhat of a slow work in progress. the room is freshly painted a nice light grey and we were fortunate enough that the previous owners created some beautiful custom built in cabinets. after living in this space for a while, we finally feel ready to stock the nooks and crannies with some decor. whenever you move in with someone it takes a bit of time to figure out what your combo style is, and i think we've finally got a handle on that! we've also decided that it's high time to "retire" some of our old dorm room furniture that has been harbouring in this space and make room for more "mature" choices! 

here is our room style board and where we finally hope to end up! #beforeandafterstocome

The Penny Paper Company - Don't Grow Up // The Bay - Stainless Cocktail Set // Polyvore - Black & Brass Bowl // Ikea - Stockholm White Lamp // Restoration Hardware - Vise Bookends // Persian Rugs Canada - Vintage Persian Rug // Pfeifer Studio - Leather Fringe Pillow //  West Elm - Linen Sofa  // Amazon - Rattan Basket Set // Urban Barn - Betina Grey Throw Blanket //  Vintage Trunk - Thrift Store Find // Priced Right Fine Art -  Blue Print

What's currently on my coffee table.

my living room coffee table has always been the landing spot for all my current favourite inspiring reads.here are some of the ones i can't get enough of lately.

Anthology - a fantastic and upbeat feeling mag covering all things trendy as they relate to decor, travel, design and entertaining 

Kinfolk - folk living and entertaining at its best is what this is.  this thick and ad-free magazine is filled to the brim with unreal rich landscape and food photography with a focus on poetic story telling and inclusive stories from around the globe.

Cook's - a cooking magazine for everyone. cook's highlights classic recipes and clever cooking tricks for every reader with illustrated examples that you'll want to cut them out and frame the pages.

National Geographic - the all time classic read always filled with some of the best most educational stories around and detailed photography. a good read for upping the brain game.

Cereal - a stop-you-in-your tracks modern magazine focused on lifestyle trends and global travel. one quick read and you'll want to pack your bags for an adventure.

Reno Report - How To Build A Stone Walkway

this past Canada Day long weekend we paid a little much needed attention to the outside of our house. as you can clearly see, our home is situated on a pretty steep slope, which can make walking down the side of our house very risky. because of that area being our access to the backyard, our grass actually doesn't even want to grow there anymore, so in most cases you just slide yourself down a little mud patch. not so fun when with a lawn mower or when balancing a tray of drinks, etc. being the home DIYer's that we are trying to be, we decided we would tackle building our own stone walkway to give us a much better walking path. after some research, reading and a car load of supplies from the always helpful, Home Depot, we finally managed to cross this project off our list and it has made a world of difference.

so, for anyone who is looking to add a little curb appeal, or function to your yard, here is our simple "how-to" for building your own stone walkway.

first start out by deciding on the stones you want to use. we were fortunate that we had been given some leftover concrete paver stones pieces from a project on another house, so we decided to take this opportunity to use those. once you have the stone pieces you wish to use, the next thing to do is to layout your pattern in the way in which you want it to appear when finished. as i mentioned the side walkway for us had little to no grass growing because of all the slipping and sliding, so we decided to arrange our stones 6 inches a part in the hopes of laying some grass seed between the stones and encourage some growth. fingers crossed!

once you have decided on your patten, you then need to mark the stone area. we used a flat edged shovel and cut around the perimeter of the stone creating a guided area to dig within. once you have your outline cut, dig out 6 inches of grass and earth to create an even hole. it is important to ensure you go at least 6 inches deep so that you can create a strong solid base for your stone path. next add a layer of landscape fabric cut to the size of your hole. this fabric is designed to help stop weed growth, encourage proper water drainage and to create a good non-slip base for your gravel fill to sit on. once your landscape fabric is in place, start adding in your gravel stones until you reach 3 inches thick. next add in 2 inches worth of screening (a very fine sand/stone) on top. using a level, or something with a straight edge, move the screening around in the hole to ensure a nice flat and level surface. be sure to consider how you want water to run away from you house and adjust any slightly curves or angles with your stone with that in mind.

once your think your screening is level, using a tamper, compress your sand mixture. this helps to ensure that all the sand and stones have started to settle into all the small cracks and grooves, making a nice even surface for your stone to sit on. once you have finished tamping, add your stone into the hole. if it doesn't sit flat and level to the ground, readjust by adding or moving the screening around. once you are happy with how the stone is sitting fill ing any surrounding cracks or holes with the earth you pulled out. make sure you pack it tightly enough to create a nice seal.

work your way stone by stone down your path until voila, your beautiful walkway is complete! as you can see from our yard we still have a lot on our "to-do" side of the house list, but at least we have one thing crossed off for now! this path now makes it much easier for us to carry working supplies for more projects, or food and drinks down for summer patio parties!

Reno Report - Shopping for New Windows

image via here 

We are now on our next phase of "big ticket item" reno's on our little old house. this second phase ... dun, dun, dun ... includes windows. brace for impact.

we've learned quite a lot over the last while. when we first bought our place we knew there were a few things that needed pretty immediate attention, and one of those was the upper and lower windows. for anyone who has done it, or is thinking of doing it, it is a big undertaking, but one that makes some serious improvements to curb appeal and energy efficiency in your home. since our windows were original from the 70's, you can but your bottom dollar they are NOT efficient.

when you start out looking for windows it's easy to become overwhelmed by the mass amounts of information. styles, colours, grilles/mullions, coated, wood, vinyl etc., etc., etc. our best advice would be to first set some ground rules and examine your timelines and immediate needs. we have come to learn that the recommend bang for your buck is to do a least a minimum of 4 windows. many good companies recognize that to do a whole house in one shot is difficult for most in terms of budgets, and therefore help you breakdown a process for over a year (or two or three). we like these companies best!

image via here

in the past few weeks we have done a LOT of research and met with a LOT of companies. some good, some bad! here are some key things we have learned and tips to consider:

• casement windows are generally more expensive than single/double hungs or sliders.
• do you open all your windows? if not then make those a picture window to save some money!
• while wood windows are beautiful on a home they are by far the most expensive option and require a ton of maintenance
• the most popular and affordable windows today are vinyl (ask to see a sample to make sure it's a good thick vinyl to support the weight) and can come in a range of colour options to help you fit your needs
• window sizing - while some companies will tell you they can make a window for any size it's important to do your homework on general size restraints for a select type of window option, as bigger windows can be very heavy and must support the weight of the glass and the structure around it
• when it comes to choosing colours and upping curb appeal many experts recommend keeping the exterior colour scheme the same for all windows front to back and upper to lower
• a brick to brick replacement with spray foam installation while more expensive, is considered to be the best option for a well insulated window 
• a good installation is the key, make sure you use the manufactures in-house install team if they have, or a reputable company with a good track record – a bad install can in many cases void a manufactures warranty
• once a house settles on a new window you can sometimes encounter the odd issue (harder to open etc.), make sure the company you choose outlines any procedure and coverage should that happen
• grilles can add a lot of beautiful visual interest for a low cost, and we highly recommend placing grilles inside the glass so you never have to worry about dusting or cleaning them!
• many window companies now offer lifetime warranties, transferable to new homeowners if you ever sell
• most old windows have an aluminum spacer between the two panes of glass in a window, good quality windows now have a foam spacer to help reduce heating/cooling conduction, as well as are filled with argon gas.
• when calling suppliers don't hesitate to ask for reference, and call recent customers to ask for their likes and dislikes before choosing a company
• there is almost always room to negotiate on a quoted price
• never feel pressured by a sales man – windows are a huge investment and should be mulled over and properly researched – don't fall prey to a good deal in the moment

with all this good information, we now have some big decisions to make! wish us luck! we will share some before and after's when the first round of window's is in! 

Pull Down Prints

Photos via here

i'm very obsessed recently with the fact that pull down prints have made a serious come back. my home decor style has always been a mix of modern and vintage, and pull down prints are a very easy way to add a little warm old world charm. some of the best selection i've seen so far has been on Etsy, so i recommend you check them out first. i don't know about you, but i'm especially drawn to the animal feather prints and would love to hang any pull down as a single or series of three on a wall. What a lovely look for any home office, study, or living room under some beautiful brass lighting.

Creating the Perfect Picture

images via here, here, here, here, here and here.

so, i'm a bit of a commitment phobe ... especially when it comes to hanging art. 

if there is one thing i've learned it's always hang the things you love to look at most. no matter what else, if you follow this one thing, you'll never feel disappointed by your choices. while there is no REAL set rules on how you have go about showcasing art/photography on walls, successful designers often follow a few guidelines. at the core of it all it is about placing what you love in the right combination. however, if you are a sobby stress mess pile at the thought committing to putting holes in beautiful freshly painted walls and hanging up pictures, like i can be, then here are some helpful tips to consider that will give you that little bit of confidence.

// Height - the most common recommendation the professionals make is to hang art at eye level. if you are a shorty like me try and keep in mind the viewpoint of an average height person. 

// Grouping -  I love me some good groupings. this is where oftentimes we get a little stressed. since there is no real rules here, my best recommendations tend to be start with larger pieces and fill in with smaller. good groupings take proper planning before you hang. think of it as a one large art piece rather than individual items. this will help you focus on the end results and not get caught up in the process. grouping is a great way to give an modern look to your home. if you have a bunch of frames take out the display art inside and play around with placements by taping them up on your wall before you hang.

// Proportions - as a general rule of thumb you want to hang art that is proportionate to said area. for example it is not recommend that you hang over your sofa a canvas print that is significantly wider than what the sofa seats. on the flip side this rule does not apply when it comes to heights. there is a misconception that shorter sizes fit better in smaller spaces, when in actual fact taller prints can make your smaller space feel much larger.

Proportion…if you are hanging art above a piece of furniture it is generally advised to not use art that is wider than the furniture. A general rule of thumb is to aim for the artwork to be between 50-90% of the width of the furniture below. 75% is ideal, but anything in the suggested range is usually safe. If your ratio is less than 50% then the artwork is too small, if your ratio is larger than 90% the art is too big. Exception: If you are hanging art above a grouping of furniture that is close together you would use the total width of the furniture as your guideline.
· Height…a well known rule of thumb is to hang artwork at "eye level" however, this is often misleading as we all vary in height. A better guideline is to hang the art so that the center of the art is at eye level for an average person, generally 60-65" from the floor. Most often art is hung too high, so if in doubt…hang lower rather than higher. If you are hanging art above a sofa or a table you will usually want to have about 6-12" between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the art.

Read more at http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=59&sid=14755543#wmGTjPlUXjhoogMK.99

Proportion…if you are hanging art above a piece of furniture it is generally advised to not use art that is wider than the furniture. A general rule of thumb is to aim for the artwork to be between 50-90% of the width of the furniture below. 75% is ideal, but anything in the suggested range is usually safe. If your ratio is less than 50% then the artwork is too small, if your ratio is larger than 90% the art is too big. Exception: If you are hanging art above a grouping of furniture that is close together you would use the total width of the furniture as your guideline.
· Height…a well known rule of thumb is to hang artwork at "eye level" however, this is often misleading as we all vary in height. A better guideline is to hang the art so that the center of the art is at eye level for an average person, generally 60-65" from the floor. Most often art is hung too high, so if in doubt…hang lower rather than higher. If you are hanging art above a sofa or a table you will usually want to have about 6-12" between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the art.
· Line….consider whether the space in question needs the illusion of horizontal expansion or vertical height, then choose your artwork accordingly. Diagonal lines are sometimes needed for spaces such as stairways. Areas that are irregular in shape and line are a great place for round artwork, mirrors or wreaths. Round shapes soften angular areas and help to avoid the problem of rectangular art looking crooked.
· Grouping… this can be tricky but can also have amazing visual impact. A group of pictures should be thought of as one cohesive "unit. An easy trick for creating a grouping is to trace each individual piece of art onto paper and then cut out the shapes. Using these paper shapes you can arrange them on the floor, or even directly onto the wall using some tape. This enables you to determine which arrangement you prefer without having to put dozens of extra nail holes in your wall. When you have found the desired configuration you can then lightly mark it onto your wall with a pencil.
· Tools for the job…my favorite hooks for hanging pictures are called "monkey Hooks" and they require no hammer or nail! These hooks are usually available at your local hardware store. If I am hanging art for a client I always make sure I have on hand a laser level, pencil, measuring tape, hammer, nails and picture hanging hooks for all different weights. If you have a picture that doesn't like to stay straight use some Sticky putty on the bottom corners. Adhesive felt pads are great to ha

Read more at http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=59&sid=14755543#wmGTjPlUXjhoogMK.99

Proportion…if you are hanging art above a piece of furniture it is generally advised to not use art that is wider than the furniture. A general rule of thumb is to aim for the artwork to be between 50-90% of the width of the furniture below. 75% is ideal, but anything in the suggested range is usually safe. If your ratio is less than 50% then the artwork is too small, if your ratio is larger than 90% the art is too big. Exception: If you are hanging art above a grouping of furniture that is close together you would use the total width of the furniture as your guideline.
· Height…a well known rule of thumb is to hang artwork at "eye level" however, this is often misleading as we all vary in height. A better guideline is to hang the art so that the center of the art is at eye level for an average person, generally 60-65" from the floor. Most often art is hung too high, so if in doubt…hang lower rather than higher. If you are hanging art above a sofa or a table you will usually want to have about 6-12" between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the art.
· Line….consider whether the space in question needs the illusion of horizontal expansion or vertical height, then choose your artwork accordingly. Diagonal lines are sometimes needed for spaces such as stairways. Areas that are irregular in shape and line are a great place for round artwork, mirrors or wreaths. Round shapes soften angular areas and help to avoid the problem of rectangular art looking crooked.
· Grouping… this can be tricky but can also have amazing visual impact. A group of pictures should be thought of as one cohesive "unit. An easy trick for creating a grouping is to trace each individual piece of art onto paper and then cut out the shapes. Using these paper shapes you can arrange them on the floor, or even directly onto the wall using some tape. This enables you to determine which arrangement you prefer without having to put dozens of extra nail holes in your wall. When you have found the desired configuration you can then lightly mark it onto your wall with a pencil.
· Tools for the job…my favorite hooks for hanging pictures are called "monkey Hooks" and they require no hammer or nail! These hooks are usually available at your local hardware store. If I am hanging art for a client I always make sure I have on hand a laser level, pencil, measuring tape, hammer, nails and picture hanging hooks for all different weights. If you have a picture that doesn't like to stay straight use some Sticky putty on the bottom corners. Adhesive felt pads are great to ha

Read more at http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=59&sid=14755543#wmGTjPlUXjhoogMK.99

Proportion…if you are hanging art above a piece of furniture it is generally advised to not use art that is wider than the furniture. A general rule of thumb is to aim for the artwork to be between 50-90% of the width of the furniture below. 75% is ideal, but anything in the suggested range is usually safe. If your ratio is less than 50% then the artwork is too small, if your ratio is larger than 90% the art is too big. Exception: If you are hanging art above a grouping of furniture that is close together you would use the total width of the furniture as your guideline.
· Height…a well known rule of thumb is to hang artwork at "eye level" however, this is often misleading as we all vary in height. A better guideline is to hang the art so that the center of the art is at eye level for an average person, generally 60-65" from the floor. Most often art is hung too high, so if in doubt…hang lower rather than higher. If you are hanging art above a sofa or a table you will usually want to have about 6-12" between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the art.
· Line….consider whether the space in question needs the illusion of horizontal expansion or vertical height, then choose your artwork accordingly. Diagonal lines are sometimes needed for spaces such as stairways. Areas that are irregular in shape and line are a great place for round artwork, mirrors or wreaths. Round shapes soften angular areas and help to avoid the problem of rectangular art looking crooked.
· Grouping… this can be tricky but can also have amazing visual impact. A group of pictures should be thought of as one cohesive "unit. An easy trick for creating a grouping is to trace each individual piece of art onto paper and then cut out the shapes. Using these paper shapes you can arrange them on the floor, or even directly onto the wall using some tape. This enables you to determine which arrangement you prefer without having to put dozens of extra nail holes in your wall. When you have found the desired configuration you can then lightly mark it onto your wall with a pencil.
· Tools for the job…my favorite hooks for hanging pictures are called "monkey Hooks" and they require no hammer or nail! These hooks are usually available at your local hardware store. If I am hanging art for a client I always make sure I have on hand a laser level, pencil, measuring tape, hammer, nails and picture hanging hooks for all different weights. If you have a picture that doesn't like to stay straight use some Sticky putty on the bottom corners. Adhesive felt pads are great to ha

Read more at http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=59&sid=14755543#wmGTjPlUXjhoogMK.99

Proportion…if you are hanging art above a piece of furniture it is generally advised to not use art that is wider than the furniture. A general rule of thumb is to aim for the artwork to be between 50-90% of the width of the furniture below. 75% is ideal, but anything in the suggested range is usually safe. If your ratio is less than 50% then the artwork is too small, if your ratio is larger than 90% the art is too big. Exception: If you are hanging art above a grouping of furniture that is close together you would use the total width of the furniture as your guideline.
· Height…a well known rule of thumb is to hang artwork at "eye level" however, this is often misleading as we all vary in height. A better guideline is to hang the art so that the center of the art is at eye level for an average person, generally 60-65" from the floor. Most often art is hung too high, so if in doubt…hang lower rather than higher. If you are hanging art above a sofa or a table you will usually want to have about 6-12" between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the art.
· Line….consider whether the space in question needs the illusion of horizontal expansion or vertical height, then choose your artwork accordingly. Diagonal lines are sometimes needed for spaces such as stairways. Areas that are irregular in shape and line are a great place for round artwork, mirrors or wreaths. Round shapes soften angular areas and help to avoid the problem of rectangular art looking crooked.
· Grouping… this can be tricky but can also have amazing visual impact. A group of pictures should be thought of as one cohesive "unit. An easy trick for creating a grouping is to trace each individual piece of art onto paper and then cut out the shapes. Using these paper shapes you can arrange them on the floor, or even directly onto the wall using some tape. This enables you to determine which arrangement you prefer without having to put dozens of extra nail holes in your wall. When you have found the desired configuration you can then lightly mark it onto your wall with a pencil.
· Tools for the job…my favorite hooks for hanging pictures are called "monkey Hooks" and they require no hammer or nail! These hooks are usually available at your local hardware store. If I am hanging art for a client I always make sure I have on hand a laser level, pencil, measuring tape, hammer, nails and picture hanging hooks for all different weights. If you have a picture that doesn't like to stay straight use some Sticky putty on the bottom corners. Adhesive felt pads are great to ha

Read more at http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=59&sid=14755543#wmGTjPlUXjhoogMK.99

The Reno Report - The After Kitchen

I am very excited to finally share these before and after pictures of our home kitchen. to help give this some perspective here are a couple of reminder photos of what this space looked liked when we first saw it and then purchased the home. it's a galley style kitchen, so it's long and narrow. our main goal was to brighten the space and add a little bit of a modern facelift without sinking a ton of money into it. click here to view our inspiration board from this old post. some of the cabinet space didn't justify being there, so after we moved in we spent a couple months planning how we needed the space to function and where we needed things to be. this gave us a focus on what needed to be included, removed and how to make it all a little more friendly and multifunctional.  

again much like the rest of the house, as new home owners we really want to work with what we have for a few years. we started by pulling off the old cabinet doors and hiding those old wooden handles and exposed trim along the ceiling and floors with fresh white paint. following that we freshened  them up even more by adding sleek stainless steel pulls. with the help of our family we painted the walls a nice soft buttery yellow and cleaned up the window and baseboard trim with more of that clean white paint. we then removed the old dusty metal blind from the window over the kitchen sink and added white linen french bistro style curtains. we love natural night, so aside from the one window  we decided to leave the bay window bare. it's heaven. a few months ago we were also fortunate enough to source a really great dishwasher on a major sale and scooped it up fast so we could retire the off-white  old one (it sadly had rust inside it causing spots on all the dishes).
 

what you now see as our morning coffee bar used to be a very narrow worn out broom closet. since that cabinet literally could only fit a broom and held the light switch for the room, we agreed to  rip it out and replaced it with the all white and wood top butcher block on wheels that we sourced from the Cuisinart line at Canadian Tire. i'm still impressed at how well it blends in the space. we added two stainless steel shelves above for our coffee cup display. this is easily my favourite spot in the kitchen. it added a great focal point to the room and an unique way to add some storage space.

 

 

as you can see we also had a section of unused space in the corner beside the bay window seat. here we placed a smaller waist height cabinet (also butcher block style and on wheels) that came from Canadian Tire. we then custom fit shelving above for additional small item storage. this help us to maximize every corner we could for storage space in the kitchen, freeing up counters. helpful hint - if you find you don't have enough storage, the best thing to do is look up. add a shelf over doors ways for cook books or, platters. adding height can also make the room feel taller and more spacious. 

we kept the old seafoam glass table from my old apartment and fitted the bay window with some pillows for seating. i love waking up late on weekend mornings and sitting there with a warm coffee, good book, looking out over the ravine behind us. 

we feel inspired cooking and creating in this space. it's comfortable when we have parties, and we love entertaining. it feels refreshed and bright and clean and that's what we love the very most.

What we used!

• Paint - Benjamin Moore, Dijon
• Trim Paint - Benjamin Moore, Cloud White
• Cabinet Pulls - Home Depot, Satin Nickel
• Linen Curtains - Handmade
• Magnetic Knife Rack - Ikea, Gruntal
• Table - Craigslist
• Chairs - Ikea, Ingolf
• Cabinet Butcher Blocks on Wheels - Canadian Tire, Cuisinart
• Hanging Planter - Etsy, Monique Cote

Decorating with Little Green Friends

images are from here, here, here, here and here.

lately i've been excited to bring little green friends into our home. little green friends who help clean the air and bring a little life to some bare spaces. i haven't always had good luck with little green friends, but i'm hoping we can reconnect. after countless hours of reading online about easy to care for indoor plants, i finally think we are ready for a second go. surprisingly, my little black thumb, cannot kill an orchid. there is just something about orchids that do so, so, so well with me. always blooming, content, always looking so purdy. knock on wood now that i haven't jinxed it now.  

plants can add a lot of character to a room in a way that architecture can't. try placing oversized plants in impractical places, hang tiny plants vertically as an accent on a wall, or grow an upside down herb garden in your kitchen windows using varying hanging planters. start thinking outside the box when it comes to adding vegetation to your home. if my bathroom had a window, let me tell you i would surely be shoving a fern in the shower to sing along side me each morning. plants want to live creatively too.

yesterday my newly bought first ever hanging pot arrived on my door step from this lovely shop, made by a lovely lady named Monique Cote. i highly suggest you check her work out. it's an early birthday present to myself and a fresh start at welcoming plants into our home.

so, to you dear succulents, lemon tree seedlings and ferns recently purchased. please bare with me. i promise to be good as good to you as  i can. to share you with the sunlight and to keep you fresh and happy! now please don't die.

The Reno Report - White Kitchens

our kitchen before ... 

our inspiration board after weeks on pinterest ... 

images via

i love the use of white in a kitchen. it's so fresh and clean and bright. it's calming and it makes me feel really creative. as i'm getting older i find i really love to cook, so i like saving my bright colours for food and in my dishware. much like a few of the other rooms i have shared, we have a number of elements we have to work around until a bigger reno is possible. in the case of our kitchen we have faux wood looking countertops and some old cabinetry. so, most of what we are trying to do is a few updates to help make what we have look a bit more modern, i'll just call "phase 1", aka. the temporary facelift. for the past few months we've been chipping away at putting a little love and life back into this main hub of our house.

the update list we are tackling includes:

• paint old wood cabinet handles white and add cabinet pulls
• remove the blind over the sink and add curtains to the window
• removed useless and extremely small small broom cabinet (that actually only fits a broom)
• paint the yellow hoodfan
• change old light fixtures 
• hang some small fun art/images
• change out old not working properly dishwasher 
• maximize or increase storage space to the fullest potential
• paint ceiling a nice bright white

we are almost done getting through this list and I just cannot wait to show you the results! i'm very excited with how much happier and brighter this kitchen feels. our life right now is all about budgets so learning what you can do with a little pocket money is so important, and I think i have some great ideas to share. 
 i would love to see your before and afters, link them in the comment! what does your dream kitchen look like?

Trending: Designer Landon Dix

if you haven't already heard of Landon Dix, you may just want to check this out before the holidays. recently i came across the newly revamped online shop/website and i can tell you right now that this has just become my go to store for more unique home accessories. when you just want something that has that ideal mix of sleek and a little retro, then Landondix is it! you can check out the his whole website here - www.landondix.net

the online shop offers everything from furniture, accessories, rope work and to lighting. you can find the perfect home decor item for yourself or someone you know. based in Vancouver founder and designer Landon Dix was inspired by his surroundings, and with a place like the Vancouver North Shore as your backyard how can you not feel inspired. be sure to check his website often because the ideas and success of this growing shop is just beginning! I would highly recommend that Landon is one designer to watch.  You also follow Landon on Facebook, or on Twitter too.

Wallpapered Dining Accents

1 via, 2 via, 3 via, 4 via

in our home our main living room and formal dining area inhabit the same open space, and while i love the open concept, I do feel we need to better visually define these two areas. luckily, we have one short wall that backs against the hallway/entryway, and on the other side is this formal dining space we speak of. the eating area is very narrow in comparison to other homes with dining rooms, so we can't house extra furniture like a buffet or shelving without having guests bump into everything getting in and out of chairs. however, since you can't see the dining space from the hallway we thought why not take this opportunity to do a feature wall on the short wall. this way as you come around into the living/dining room, you will a) be surprised by the wallpaper accent and b) feel a separation between the open living space and intimate dining space. lots of people will argue that wallpapering is a huge hassle, but in fact wallpaper has recently made a serious come. especially some of the more mod style or art deco designs with metallic accents (think great gatsby style). there are a ton of options and price points to choose from and a variety of stores,. even pre-pasted wallpaper has gotten easier to hang than it was before. so really, why not give it a try.

i've been learning more and more that interior design is all about proportions, textures and colours, and great design is about how you cleverly play with the combination of those three. wallpapering is still one of the fastest and dramatic ways to transform a space. as much as some may advise that stenciling is easier (especially if you want to remove it later), wallpaper gives you that extra bit of texture that i just don't think you can always achieve with paint. besides, i'm not sure i have a steady enough hand needed to tackle stencils.

the one piece of advice I can give is make sure when you pick a wallpaper that you try and tie a few colour elements from the paper throughout the rest of the room. that isn't to say you can't do three white walls with an accent bold navy wallpaper, but if you do, be sure to incorporate a few elements of that navy in a few small accents around the room to help visually tie it all together.

so, i think we might just give this wallpapering a go! has anyone else used wallpaper recently or are thinking of a project? I would love to see and share any before and afters! 

helpful hint - need to remove old wallpaper first? use a mix of equal parts water and Windex in a spray bottle. then spray on surface and let sit for 1 -2 minutes, then take your scraper and voila! old wallpaper comes off easier than you could imagine.