The Love List
I'm loving...
- these cookies
- this wall-hanging tack
- this mix of patterns
- these drying racks
and this movie trailer
Happy Friday! Read more...
- this wall-hanging tack
- this mix of patterns
- these drying racks
and this movie trailer
Happy Friday! Read more...
Finds At The Fair
I blame it on the mommy brain.
1. Remember our plans to go to the antique fair last weekend? 80km into our road trip I realized that I HAD THE WRONG WEEKEND. Oy.
2. Tara (you must visit her blog and see her lovely home!) had mentioned in the comments of my post that she frequents Southworks Antiques in Cambridge. Rather than turn around, we decided to keep driving and check it out. HandyMan, Chloe and I had visited Cambridge last summer after hearing about a great antique mall, but we couldn't find it. All we found was this outlet mall, filled with shoe stores, discount linen shops, and a place that sells socks and only socks. 
So we googled the place Tara mentioned (gotta love the iPhone) and ended up here: 
Yes, its the SAME PLACE we were at last summer. How we could miss the entrance and the 30,000 sq ft antique mall upstairs is beyond me!
But maybe things were supposed to turn out this way because we found a few little things, like these old yardsticks:
My plan is to stack them one atop the other and affix them to a wall somewhere, maybe in the new basement, and mark Chloe's height each year.
We also found this nice mail slot:
HandyMan will strip all the paint off of it, paint it black, and replace this ugly rusting thing:
I think this used to be the milk door, where fresh bottles of milk were dropped off. Its been boarded up on the outside and a mailslot added but on the inside, we still have a little door we open to access the mail. HandyMan will probably clean up the exterior while he's at it. Our poor mailman has suffered looking at this thing long enough.
Wasn't That A Party!
Chloe's party was great fun last weekend. I think the adults enjoyed all the pretty food and the kids liked the dress up booth. Here's some eye candy for you all (be warned - these pics are sweet sweet sweet!).
The food was fit for our tea party... tea sandwiches, blueberry scones, light-as-air macarons, quiches & salads & wraps, bakerella cake pops, my fave Mariage Freres tea, and of course cupcakes!
Pink & green was the decor theme. I used some Martha Stewart paper (and Chloe's silhouette) to make cupcake toppers, some no-sew flag bunting, and a birthday sign. I also took some of those vintage doilies from Mama HandyMan and dyed them pink.
And what's a party without fun for the kiddies? They had their own little buffet complete with mini treats and a mini tea cups! They played games like Pin The Lid On The Teapot and had fun with the dress-up booth (everyone wanted to sit on the little throne).
And when all was said and done, we were left with full tummies, happy parents, and one tired little girl. Happy 1st Birthday Chloe!
Let's Go To The Fair!
The Antique fair, that is. Its that time of the year when we pack up the kid and head out on a road trip to a small town in southern Ontario in search of vintage treasure. This weekend we're going to be a bit ambitious and try and visit Artefacts, of our favourite architectural salvage stores, and then head to the spring opening of the Aberfoyle Antique Market. We're on the lookout for a few things, bits of trim and filagree to dress up the antique doll bed and dresser Mama HandyMan gave us, a door plate for our old-style doorbell, and maybe a throw for the end of the bed. Even if we come home empty-handed, the hunt will be fun.
Anyone else headed to the fair this weekend?
Photo from Sarah's House 3; photo by Stacy Brandford
Black & White
Slowly, we've been spraypainting all the brass door knobs and hinges in the house a matte black (Krylon Satin Black). I like how it gives the white doors a little bit of pop. 
I've just noticed that we have hits of black & white going on in our decor. Little black and white decals and signs here and there...
Its an old designer's trick, adding a bit of black in every room to ground a space and finish it off. Do you have bits of black in your home?
All Partied Out
Boy, things have been quiet around here. Sorry for the lack of posts lately but I've been consumed with party prep for the last week. It went great and I think all 60 of our guests had a good time! The little one was so excited she barely ate and didn't want to nap all day and now she's battling a cold, had a fever, and is teething BIG TIME. I swear, it looks like her molars will come in all at once!
So, its been a tiring few days around here. I'm still waiting for the party pics from my photographer/talented cousin so for now I'll leave you with this one little peek. Carpet is being installed in the bedroom next week so hopefully I'll have more reno progress to share with you soon.
To Chloe, On Her Birthday
Our little Chloe is one year old today! Incredible.
I've tried to write this post a few times but I’m not even sure what I want to say. There’s so much about this year that I want to remember. Even the hard and trying times - the getting up every two hours, the first illnesses, the endless breastfeeding, the poop explosions, and the freakouts (yours and mine) – I want to remember it all. But I realize that I need to let some part of that go, to make room for new memories.
You’ve made us grow in the best of ways, Chloe. You bring out the fun and playful side of your dad and you’ve taught your mom to be nurturing and patient. How can that be, a tiny little person changing the trajectory of our lives so much? I still look at you and am amazed that you’re ours. What a privilege it is to watch you discover this world. Do all parents get to experience this? How lucky are we!
You are such a big girl now. I can’t look at you today without getting a tear in my eye. I have loved becoming your mom and watching you become you. So today is a celebration for you but its also a celebration for me and your dad… we’ve survived, we’ve grown, we’ve become a family. Thank you for that sweet girl.
xoxo,
Mom & Dad
Chloe at 1:
- has taken her first steps alone (yesterday!)
- is smiley and friendly
- loves to play peek-a-boo
- is a fish in water
- can throw a ball overhead one-handed
- loves broccoli and cauliflower and quinoa
- is petite and will forever be rolling up her pantlegs, just like mom
- would rather sing than babble
- isn’t sleeping through the night
- loves when Lolo and Lola babysit her
- knows where her eyes, head and nose are
- likes hanging out with the big kids
- prefers to feed herself
- can drink out of a cup without the sippy
- lets us know when she has to do #2
- has 8 teeth
- does not like to be cuddled tightly
- loves to dance with her dad
- is a baby no longer!
Read more...
Master Bedroom: Sneak Peek
The master bedroom reno is moving very very sloooooooooowly but I thought I'd share with you a sneak peek.
The panelled wall is all done and I love love love it! This room is quickly turning into my favourite room in the house. The panels were done with mdf strips and we added some trim from Central Fairbank Lumber. I followed a tip from Tracery Interiors (love their work!) and painted everything - walls, trim, doors, ceiling - in the same paint colour, Benjamin Moore Seapearl OC-19 to really expand the space. The colour is perfect... warm white in the day, and a soft grey-oyster shade at night. It doesn't feel too cold or modern, and really brings out the details in the panels. We went all out and splurged for the Benjamin Moore zero-VOC Natura paint which had absolutely no odor and went on like a dream. Wish I could use that paint for all my projects!
We also installed my dreamy vintage flower capiz chandelier. I bought it on ebay years ago for a steal and was waiting for the perfect spot to install it in this house. I think we found the spot!! If you like the light, I've seen modern reproductions of it here and here.
So that's it for now. More peeks to come!
Chloe's Party: Love Notes!
Chloe will turn 1 in 3 days - 3 days!! - and her party is next weekend so I've been busy getting my craft on.
I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I go a little, um, overboard with the party details. I swear the sickness started with our wedding 3 years ago - but that's what happens when you have a year-long engagement to plan the biggest party of your life... you end up spending too much time on projects like these and these. I find it so much fun though, to come up with a theme, to find all the bits and pieces to make your vision come alive, to use your hands and creativity. I know that Chloe is much too young to appreciate all this effort but I'm hoping somehow a little bit of this party will burrow itself into her long-term memory (and if not, I will have hundreds of photos to help her recall the day!).
Speaking of photos, I have taken thousands of photos of Chloe over the past year. I wanted a way to display them at her party so her guests could see how she's grown over the past year. But I also wanted to incorporate them into something special, something that Chloe could enjoy too when she gets older. So I've made up these notecards, 3 to 4 cards for each of Chloe's birthdays from age 2 to 18. I'll be asking each of the guests to pick a card and write a little note to Chloe. I think it will be a fun tradition... each birthday, Chloe will get to read some cards and see not only how she looked as a baby but also read the sweet messages from her friends and family and see what they dreamed for her future.
This was pretty easy to put together. Using an old canvas my brother painted years ago (he no longer wanted it and we were going to donate it to Goodwill so someone else could enjoy it), I covered the frame in some fabric. I used thumbtacks to attach the fabric to the wood. Then I strung ribbon across the fabric and also held that in place with thumbtacks. I made the notecards in Photoshop and found the cute flowered clothespins at the dollar store.
So pretty. And more importantly, nice little memories of Chloe's special day.
Artist Spotlight: Jeffrey Flores
Let's leave this bit of nastiness behind, shall we? We've had a beautiful sunny and warm Easter weekend here. Time to throw open the windows, let the breeze blow in, and bring with it thoughts of summer days just around the corner...
...days of being outside, hot sun on sweaty skin...
...hanging with friends, or just chillin' out.
Goodbye winter days. Time to put the layers away!
******
Original illustrations by my brother Jeffrey! He is the true artist in the family. You can get in touch with him at flores.jeffrey@gmail.com if you'd like to get one of his pieces for your own.
