Canadian Blogger Home Tours

Rambling Renovators

Just wanted to share some awesome home tours of various Canadian bloggers that have been going on this week.  I'm so proud of all of these talented ladies!!!  Some of them I've followed for years, so I was glad to see them on the tour.  Here is just some of the talent out there.   You can link to all of the other homes on the tour at the bottom of each link. 

I'm hoping to meet some of them at   BlogPodium on September 13, 2014, which is a Toronto conference for design and lifestyle bloggers.  This conference is for new bloggers (that would be me), seasoned bloggers or people just thinking about blogging.  It is filling up fast, so you better get your ticket if you're thinking about going.

Chris Kauffman

AKA Design


Hope you enjoyed all of these home tours as much as I did.  

Have a great weekend!!!!

Some PB Teen Finds

This is just a quick post to share what I'm loving at PB Teen right now.  I was sourcing for my daughter's room and came across all this beautiful stuff.  My faves are the fur rockin' roller desk chair, the love rug and heart cushion.   

Garden Update & Summer Nights

You know Fall is coming when you see that first Fall Aster bloom - and mine did.  This summer it's been very cold here (north of Toronto) so most flowers are not quite as big as they usually are and some are coming out much later.  Below is a pic of my first Rose of Sharon budding.  These are usually in full bloom by mid July and it's now mid August, and I only have a few blooms.   I have lined the fence around my garden with Rose of Sharon, so they should look pretty spectacular when they do come out.

Here's a wide shot of my garden. As you can see, no blooms against the fence.

In other garden news, I found a "light" for my pergola.  Actually, it's a huge metal sphere/globe that I found at HomeSense, and I just put wire around it to attach it to the pergola. 

It's very cool!!

At night when we sit out back, I put a candle in it - love candles outside on warm summer nights (not that we've had many)!

Have a great weekend!!!!

Finds at Pier 1 Imports

Dropped by Pier 1 Imports the other day and here's a little of what I'm lovin' there right now.  

I absolutely love this mirror-topped gold end table.  So perfect for a bedroom or living room.  Check out the pumpkin-shaped lantern below.  Great for Fall!

And for all you ladies out there who love ruffles and fur, check out these oversized cream cushions - gorgeous!!  I've got my eye on these for my daughter's room against her now black wall.

FYI all their cushions are on sale right now!

Here's just a sample of their industrial style stools - love these!  

Don't think of these as just for the kitchen.  They can have dual purpose (depending on their height) and be used as an end table as well as for extra seating in a cottage, apartment, kid's room or dorm.  

Dog Days Of Summer

This is where I catch my Po, our Valley Bulldog, sleeping quite a bit lately.  Outside in the shade on our furniture. Does your dog do this?  Being part English Bulldog, she loves her naps.  She does have a dog bed that she sleeps on at night, but  I think I need to get her one of these so she's elevated.  

Believe it or not, this is her happy face, which is very similar to her sad face, now that I think about it.  Actually, she just has one look - handsome.

Here she is sleeping in my office on my old Ikea couch, which I'm going to have to get another slipcover for very soon.  I'm so happy with this couch.  It is well over 10 years old and is still in great condition.  Have you heard about Bemz?  They make slipcovers for old and new Ikea furniture.  What a great idea for a company!! 

Never wake a sleeping baby.

Here's a pic of Po up close just because.

Leah Marlene - Remember that Name

Every summer we get together with our good friends and old neighbors,  Derry and Deanna, who now live in the US.   He is known as one of Canada's greatest rock guitarists, and is the lead guitarist and songwriter for Honeymoon Suite.  So it's not surprising that their daughter, Leah Marlene, has a beautiful and unique voice.  Like a true musician, Leah brings her guitar with her everywhere.   This is a pic of her on the beach - doesn't everyone bring their guitar to the beach?  It's great for us because we get lots of live acoustic performances, usually at night by candlelight!

Leah's been performing for many years (she's just 13), and is now doing live performances to open for her dad.

We're so proud of her!!

You can check them out performing together here.

    

Teen Room Update

Here's a little peek at what I've been up to the last couple weeks.  We finally got around to painting my 

daughter's room, and...what a transformation.  I love it.  More importantly, she loves it!

I decided to paint two walls black and the rest of the walls cream.  This bed will probably look more like a daybed when it's done, but I just wanted to show you the progress.  She's on the fence about keeping this gorgeous iron bed, which I absolutely love.  My sister found it in her barn - can you believe that?  I love it against the black wall.

We've also had some fun this summer doing some "glam" projects for her room.  We hacked this Ikea wooden drawer set (which I don't think is available anymore) by painting it black and adding some "bedazzle".   I purchased these "jewels" from a dollar store and then glued them on with  fabric glue.  They come in adhesive strips of about 12, but the adhesive isn't that strong so I had to use a stronger glue.  A bit tedious, but worth the effort.

I also traced her initial, "B", and outlined it in "pearls" and used the same process above to apply them.

I'm thinking of making this for lighting in her room to add some real drama against the black wall.  I'm also going to be busy painting some of the old furniture, so I'll keep you posted.