Canada Day is a time to gather with friends and family to celebrate our country - plus the fact that we can finally go outside without wearing 500 layers. Or something like that. If you are hosting a party this year, here are some tips to make it easy, fun and delicious for you and your guests.
1. Online Invites
Sending online invitations helps keep track of RSVPs. Using a site like Evite allows you to keep your guest list organized, send reminders and have all party information located in one convenient place.
Whether you live in a newly constructed neighbourhood like I do (hello constant dust and dirt!) or a century old farmhouse, your home is inevitably going to need a good spring cleaning.
Along with precious handmade gifts brought proudly home from school, Mother's Day is a time women receive flowers from the ones we love. I happen to love fresh flowers and try to have them in my home at all times. Many moms, however, prefer a gift that lasts a bit longer. So, I thought it would be a fun challenge to come up with flowers every mother will love. Flowers that will stand the test of time, and serve as a stylish reminder of the thoughtfulness of those we love most.
When I was a child, I grew up living in the same house. My parents did not sell our family home until I was out of university. It houses every one of my childhood memories. I can still picture my pink Strawberry Shortcake themed bedroom. I can remember roller skating in the basement, playing in the woods behind our backyard, and the living room that we barely allowed to sit in and in which we were NEVER allowed to eat or drink.
Thanksgiving is on its way. It is one of my favourite holidays, because it is a time when family gathers together, and it's an opportunity to reflect on what makes us grateful. To help you celebrate with your family and friends, use these stylish Thanksgiving printables:
Art is one of my favourite things to source when I am designing a child's room. I love finding pieces that represent a mini client's personality. It can be tricky to find beautiful, affordable prints in Canada. Luckily, though, Chapters Indigo collaborates with amazing artists to offer prints for every member of your family.
I was challenged to create a Pinterest-worthy LemonAid stand. Inspired by my love of everything vintage, and by my mom's gorgeous country place by the ocean, I designed an old fashioned lemonade stand. I created one that could be set up at a summer party with family or friends, but the plastic glasses could easily be replaced with paper cups for a traditional roadside stand.
BlogPodium is my favourite conference. It's my happy place. When I walk in and look around, I see these people are my people. They understand my love of pretty, my passion to create and they feel it too.
People often ask me where I source decor for tween and teen rooms. The answer is almost always PBteen. The quality is excellent and the colour and selection is stylish and fun. They frequently launch new collections, many of which co-ordinate, making it easy to put an entire look together, without looking too matchy-matchy. I am (and always have been) a preppy gal, so the esthetic is one I am drawn to time and again.
My boys' birthdays are three weeks apart, one at the end of June and one in early July—one of the busiest possible times of year to plan a party. Luckily, they are young enough that they are happy to have a joint one.
If you read my last post, you already know that the talented Jonathan and Drew Scott of W Network's Property Brothers have teamed up with Scotiabank for the #GreenYourRoom contest to help us transform our homes to be more eco-friendly.
I am a huge fan of IKEA, so when they challenged me to transform a space in my home using only textiles as a part of their new Quick and Easy textile campaign, I jumped at the chance. It was difficult choice, because, if I am honest, so many rooms in our home still need some love. I narrowed it down to two spaces—our older son's bedroom and our basement family room. The winner, due to lighting issues, was the basement family room/guest room.
Finally it's spring, which means it's time to start thinking of home renovation projects. I already have a huge list of things I want to change in my home to make it more functional and beautiful, but I get stuck when it comes to making green home renovation choices.
As much as I love the pretty, the reality is I need to focus on lowering utility bills, increasing my property value, and making our home a healthier and safe environment for my children.
Our basement storage room was a winning contender for an episode of Hoarders. Seriously. I had to climb over boxes and bins to get to my craft supplies. I redid the rest of the basement in the spring, so I decided to tackle this neglected corner of our house over the Christmas holiday.
Here is what it looked like before . . . okay, if I'm honest, here is what it looked like before, after I cleaned it for about two hours:
Christmas is a few short days away. As our children get older, we are creating our own family traditions, based mostly on my childhood memories. Christmas was always a huge deal in my house growing up; I think it was everyone's favourite holiday. Even for my dad, who teased that we should cancel it Christmas every year.
This month I decided to combine two of my favourite things—Instagram and Christmas—to start the 12 Days of DIY. I am sharing one new holiday-themed DIY project per day for 12 days. From snow globes to paper wreaths, there is something for everyone. It's already started so there are many ideas waiting for you.
I love coming up with unique Christmas decor ideas almost as much as I love creative holiday wrap. In my opinion, there is no such thing as too many Christmas trees. We will have one massive real one in the living room, a smaller one in the basement family room and several of these small fake (or faux, if you want to be fancy) FEJKA ones from IKEA. They are the perfect size to perch on a table or shelf and so much fun to decorate.
Yup you read that title right. Did you know that duck tape comes in a ton of patterns and colours? You can literally get it in everything from polka dots to your favourite boy band. They have a bunch of fun winter and holiday themed patterns as well, so I thought it would be fun to wrap Christmas presents with duck tape rather than paper.
