The Love List
I'm loving...
this bedroom makeover
this photo essay from a reluctant father (who I also featured in this Love List). Found via wickednweird.
this mudroom. Found via The House That A-M Built.
this photo essay from a reluctant father (who I also featured in this Love List). Found via wickednweird.
On Mothering: Where The Sidewalk Ends
I'm writing today's post in memory my dear friend Willow who passed away from cancer earlier this year. This Sunday, a group of us will gather once again in her honour to participate in the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. If you'd like to support us and our goal of working towards a future without breast cancer, please visit my donation page here.
This post is a little more personal, no dust or renos involved, so feel free to skip this one.
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Chloe and I reached a milestone of sorts last week but rather than jubilation, this milestone has left me a bit melancholy. After 17 months and 10 days, we've ended our breastfeeding journey.
I don't know how we quite ended up here, so far down this road. Before I was a mom, I knew I would breastfeed but I thought six months for sure, maybe a year, was how long this relationship would last. I just never thought breastfeeding was "my thing", so to speak. Unlike my sister who was a La Leche League advocate and extended breastfed her babies, I never felt that breastfeeding was something that came to me naturally. And now its gone and I feel inexplicably like a small piece of me is gone too.
I was luckier than most. Chloe latched easily, there were no supply issues, and I only had one bout of mastitis. I had no qualms about nursing in public (underneath a cover) and had a circle of friends whose homes I felt comfortable enough to nurse in too. So it has been the perfect supportive environment for this relationship to flourish.
But while I loved looking at Chloe's face, watching her fall off to sleep as she nursed, being able to calm her cries by just bringing her into me, watching her grow and thrive from my milk, it has been long and difficult too. No matter how much you love your child, this particular journey can at times make you feel confined, restricted, claustrophobic. When there is a helpless little one who demands to be fed every 1.5 hours you do it... though your other inclination may be to run, run far away. At those times, I would feel a twinge of guilt. How could I think such things? I was the one who brought helpless little one into the world and I knew full well what that would demand of me.
But there is more in the nature of breastfeeding than just the physical act of feeding your baby. And this is the part I was not prepared for. It literally forces you to give up a piece of your body, your space, your being, to someone else. I have grown accustomed to having ownership of my body so for such a precious baby to lay immediate and total claim to it was difficult. At times, she would own not only my body but my mind too, as I sat or lay there, counting the minutes, my mind filled with the million things I had to do, but not being able to move an inch. "Be in the moment" my sister would tell me. It could be so difficult to enjoy those moments when they ate up the better part of your hour, your day or your week.
Surrender. Sacrifice. That is what breastfeeding has taught me. To give wholly and completely. I guess in my selfish ways I never thought I'd be able to nor want to do that for so long. But I'm so glad I did. I appreciate that my body was able to do that and nourish my baby and give her the best start possible.
So this week, as I reminisce about my friend Willow and other women whose breasts failed them, I am thankful that mine did not fail me nor Chloe. Its time for us to get off this path, little girl, and step into a whole new direction.
The Entry Way
After having lived with an ugly, yellowed radiator, chopped up baseboards, and a severe lack of storage for the last three years, I can tell you that my day has become 1000x more enjoyable now that I have a clean, organized entryway to come home to.
The entry was one of those neglected areas of our home. When we moved in 3 years ago, we tore out the nasty pink carpet and old radiator cover right away, vowing to quickly turn the entry into a bright and welcoming space. But of course, other things got in the way and we learned to live with the non-functional triangular closet and piled our keys on the windowsill. Isn't it amazing how you can just become immune to certain problem areas in your home?
We did make improvements to the space like installing new lighting, getting a yummy striped stair runner, and replacing the front door and storm door. But without a new radiator cover, the space never felt quite right. And now it does.
HandyMan did a great job building the rad cover. The fresh white paint on the cover and repainted baseboards really brightens up the area. The slim design, which HandyMan fitted around the existing door trim, is functional yet visually doesn't take up much space.
Chloe loves the little built-in cubbies. Everyday we find something new stuffed in there... shoes, socks, animal finger puppets! She's now taken to pulling out her shoes and telling us exactly which ones she wants to wear that day.
HandyMan also took some time to repaint the closet door and baseboards and spraypaint the closet door hardware black to go with the hardware in the rest of the house. Now the entryway looks clean, fresh, organized. I literally walk inside the house now and take a deep relaxing breath when I step inside.
And I've finally been able to put up my limited edition Catherine Ledner armadillo photograph in the entryway. I bought the photo years ago with the intention to specifically hang it here. Its been in Chloe's room up till now.
I love how the yellow & grey wallpaper background in the photo picks up on the yellow in the dining room walls and in the kitchen.
HandyMan also took some time to repaint the closet door and baseboards and spraypaint the closet door hardware black to go with the hardware in the rest of the house. Now the entryway looks clean, fresh, organized. I literally walk inside the house now and take a deep relaxing breath when I step inside.
Then...
and now! 
Artist Spotlight: Alanna Cavanagh
I am always impressed by artists. I find it fascinating how someone can be inspired by the world around us, notice the simple things, and translate that into a piece of art that "speaks to me". You know that feeling that you get when you look at a work of art, be it a painting, photograph, sculpture or any other form, and instantly it connects to something deep inside you and invokes an emotional reaction? I love that feeling.
One such artist whose work speaks to me is illustrator Alanna Cavanagh. Her work is light-hearted and whimsical with a retro vibe. Looking at her art makes me think of women in fitted sweaters and cat's eye glasses, housewives in aprons, and men in dapper suits.
I especially love her silk screen prints. I'm not sure where I first saw Alanna's Big Scissors print, but it really caught my attention. My mom used to sew us clothes and she had a pair of orange-handled scissors just like this so no wonder I find the print appealing.
Then I saw these images of chef & TV personality Trish Magwood's home in my fave House & Home magazine and it literally stopped me in my tracks. The combination of Trish's beautiful, family-friendly, light and airy home paired with Alanna's colourful artwork really did me in. I had to have a piece Alanna's art of my very own.
And this is what I got...
and this lovely, complete with coffee stains.
Would you believe that I've actually planned a special wall in the basement reno to feature this print? Because I have, that's how much I love it so. Its being framed right now (yay for Michael's 60% off custom framing!). Can't wait to show it to you back in my home.
All photos courtesy of Alanna Cavanagh.
Read more...
Love/Hate
Jenny at My Favourite And My Best blog wrote a few entertaining (controversial?) posts last week about design trends she hates. Have you read them? The comments are hilarious - and so true!
I admit it, I'm guilty of some of these so-called design offenses (garland bunting? check. ceramic garden stools? check. gallery walls, chalkboards, and vinyl decals? check, check, and double check). While I don't think that these were bad design choices, I do agree that I am over some of these trends - and I fault all the design blogs out there for that! Blogs expose you to so many ideas but sometimes, one of those ideas catches on and you start seeing it everywhere. That can cause you to fall in love with the idea, but just as quickly learn to hate it.
Have you ever wondered if you bought something, or replicated an idea, or sought out a trend just because you had seen it so many times and it was ingrained in your brain as a design must-have? Would you have felt the same way about that object if you had just arbitrarily stumbled upon it?
Here's a few things I could do without:
- white ceramic animals
- ugly furniture that is still just as ugly even if you repaint it
- tea towels as decoration
- ikat fabric
- sisal rugs (so impractical - and itchy!)
- painted feature walls
- too much of one thing (like an all mid-century modern living room or all shabby chic bedroom)
- chandeliers with barrel shades
And some things I still can't get enough of:
- thrift and antique finds
- DIY anything
- white kitchens
- vintage looking bathrooms
- letterpress
- banquettes, window seats, and benches
- reproduction lighting
- little details - trim, wainscotting, nailhead trim, tufting
And since I don't like posts without pictures, here's a look that I don't think I'll be replicating any time soon... waaaaay too many coordinated florals for my taste!
Showtime House 2010
Tell me... what's on your love/hate list?
Antique Addition
This baby blue side table is:
A. A functional piece of furniture
B. A great place to rest a lamp, a book, or a hot cup of tea
C. The perfect ladder for a climbing toddler.
If you said "All of the above", you'd be correct. This is the side table we currently have in Chloe's room. When we are upstairs, we close the baby gate at the top of the stairs and leave Chloe free to explore the bedrooms and hallway. The side table unfortunately is not baby-proofed... it only took one time for me to find Chloe standing up on the second step, reaching for the bed, to realize that it needed to be replaced.
Luckily, after a day of apple picking, we decided to scoot over and catch the last two hours of the famous Christie Antique Fair. I'm so glad we did because we managed to find this little table and chair.
Its the perfect size; doesn't take up too much space and doesn't impede the door swing. I like the curvy top too and the ring-like details on the legs. I also love the colour of it... its been refinished in a nice medium tone stain (it looks a bit orange in some of these photos, but its more of a warm brown colour). But therein lies the problem - do I paint it or keep it as is?
It doesn't match anything else in the room, which is all white painted furniture, yellow walls, and a light maple dresser, and looks like this:
But I'm kinda liking the warm dark contrast. Its such a nice piece too, not cracked or worn, that I'm hesitant to paint it. But then again, I could do it in a nice French grey, that would work with the striped headboard...? What do you think - paint or not?
Whatever the finish, I definitely won't be keeping the chair there. The little one already has a mischievous look on her face and is eying the chair like its the next Mt. Everest to be tackled!
Office Update
A while back, writer Christine Cox was doing a story on home offices and through the power of Twitter, she found me. I just remembered I never shared the article with you; you can read it here (our story starts on page 36). Edited to add: the lovely office of fellow blogger Kate at Centsational Girl is also featured on page 30!
Here's some recent photos I took for the article. If you're wondering - no, the office never ever stays this clean!
(Note: The flip-style screensaver on my laptop can be downloaded here. Found via MakingItLovely) Read more...
Enhancing the Entry
HandyMan has slowly been making covers for each of the radiators in our house. He's been wanting to make the one for the front entry for a long time - we need somewhere handy to throw down some keys or shopping bags!
Using MDF and the Octoperf wood mesh screen that we used for all the other covers, HandyMan built the cover to suit the surroundings. I'm not sure if you noticed, but all the covers have been customized to fit in with the rooms... the one in Chloe's room is a shaker-style to go with the shaker closet doors. The one in the master bedroom is more decorative and has feet and fancy trim. And the one in the dining room has styling similar to the wainscotting.
For the entry, we embellished the design a bit and came up with not only a radiator cover, but also a place to store mail, keys, and little mittens and boots in the winter time. Our entry is small and severely lacking in storage. We have a tiny triangular-shaped front closet and keep our keys in a box on the window ledge so taking a bit of extra space and adding cubbies to the rad cover was one way to make the entry seem more functional and welcoming.
HandyMan trimmed out the cubbies to give them a more finished look. He's still deciding whether to build small pull out boxes to house keys and gloves, or if we can find some premade baskets or trays to fit. We might also drill little holes on the inside of the cubbies to allow hot air from the rad to circulate. It will be a special treat to pull out warm mittens on a cold winter's day!
The top has to be notched out to fit around the existing door trim but other than that, the cover is patched and ready for paint and install! Now if I can just resist the urge to dump stuff and allow things to pile up on the rad cover. Read more...
