Birthday Wish List

Whew---it is HARD to get back into things after vacation. I'm pretty sure I'm sleep-typing right now and may have sleep-driven to work this morning. Hey! At least I wasn't also doing my make-up on my way in, which I've been known to do :)


So, since I've been awol and haven't thought about my home for a few days, I thought I'd post my home-related birthday wish list, which hubs asked for last week.
This board is mostly Decor-y stuff:
1-I can't remember where I got the original image (me thinks ZGallerie?), but an umbrella holder similar to these ones would be too cute.
2-I've loved these book ends for a while. Not these ones specifically, but ones similar would be fantastical in the office.
3-Z Gallerie Vector Sconce. You may have seen this on other "I want" lists, and that's because I love it.
4-Anthropologie Monogram mugs. Same deal as above-you've seen them before here, but a good thing is a good thing, right, Martha?
5-Apothecary Jars-the ones on the left from Pier 1 (and a bit too big) and the ones on the right from Restoration Hardware. Both lovely and would both look great in either bathroom with some bathroom-y stuff in them (q-tips, soaps, cotton balls, epsom salts).
And this list is a little more kitchen/crafty related:
1-Corner punch: You see, I make my own cards (laugh if you will) and it would be great to be able to round the edges in a less ghetto way that I am currently (holding plain-jane scissors and curving the paper resulting in a less than stellar corner). Enter Fiskars.
2-Cake carrying case. As the default baker in the family, and especially with decorating lessons starting August 5, something like this would come in super handy. And that it can carry cupcakes, mini cupcakes OR a cake is just icing on the...well cake. Baddum ching.
3-PVR. Enough said.
4-Bread maker: to be able to plop some stuff in before bed and then wake up to the smell of fresh baked bread...yes please!
5-Microplane Zester. Totally unnecessary if you have a grater, but sometimes it's just handy!
6-KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Doesn't everyone want one of these?

What's on your wish list?

Later Rooster!

This project has been on the back-burner for quite a while. In fact, the photo of the original is tagged May 1. For such a quick and simple project, I'm surprised it took me so long to finally get down to.

I bought this tray from Home Sense:

When I bought it, I knew full well I wouldn't be keeping it as is. Unfortunately, and surprisingly, hubs liked it with the rooster and didn't want me to change it. Too bad.

So I spent a unhealthy amount of time comparing and debating about which paper I wanted to use to cover it. My brother and his crafty gf gave me a economy sized package of nice papers for Christmas, so I had a lot to choose from. Finally settled on an orangey-beige-y with a bit of blue design that easily matched up because the tray is longer than 12".

A little hodge-podge, a few unwanted air bubbles and we've got a brand new, much nicer tray:

I even used it last night for our first significant dinner party (7 people total) to cart the dishes and the food to the dining room:

I really like it and may use it on the entrance table (when we get one), the bakers rack in the kitchen or on the coffee table in the family room. All for a little vignette and a catch all for, well, all. Or I may keep it as an actual tray. See--indecisive!

Brought to you by the Letter R

Today's I want chronicle is brought to you by the letter R.

Remember when Sesame Street used to do that? And the ball marble thing that used to travel through the obstacle course?

Sorry---the office is dead quiet today and the ac is broken...I'm a little out of it.

R is for random, because today's list doesn't have any theme or common thread, except that I like 'em all.
1. Urban Outfitters Ceramic Basket, which actually inspired this whole list after I saw it on decor8
2. Z Gallerie Placemats which pretty much look like chargers
3. Z Gallerie Vector Sconce (yes, again-but it's on sale and I still love it!)
4. Z Gallerie Rate that Wine pad (so perfect for the wine tasting party my girls and I have been talking about forEVER...they tend to turn into wine drinking parties instead-oops!)
5. Urban Outfitters Storage Bench
6. Z Gallerie Fish Mouth Bowl

Have a great weekend! And E&J: enjoy your last few days of paradise!

Feeling Gift-y

I'm not sure why, but the last couple days I've been feeling particularly gifty.

gifty [gift-ee]
-adjective
1. a need to give or share
2. a compulsion to make frivolous purchases for those around you
3. an excuse to screen-shop online

Origin:
2009; [moi]

Here are some of the things I'd love to gift different people in my life (although no one inparticular):


For co-workers, acquaintances, secret santas, younger people who would find it funny:

1. USB Powered Lamp
2. Task Clips (although there are some way more hilarious ones there too)
3. Quitting Piggy Bank
4. Reusable My Name Is Coasters
5. Intercourse Yourself and Boo Berry Lip Balm (Boo Berry is an inside family joke)
6. Hilarious and I think they quoted me Office Blocks

And a more pretty & girly selection:

1. Monogram Mugs

2. Blown Glass Hummingbird Feeder

3. Angel & Demon Wine Stops

4. Butterfly & Flower Pillar Holders

5. Letterpressed Butterfly Cards

6. Girly Umbrella

7. Bobble-y Ring

8. Mojito Set (to avoid those nasty Mojito emergencies I've been hearing so much about)

9. Personalized Return Address Stamp (perfect for housewarming gifts)

10. Monogram Paperweights

The I Want Chronicles: Ikea Edition

I'm back with another wish list...this time all from Ikea. Gosh I'm a greedy little bugger, aren't I?

After creating this post, I realize it may have been easier to make a list of what I don't want from Ikea. But I suppose my list isn't that bad. That's their thing, right? Appealing to the masses and having loads of stuff for everyone to like?

Anyway, what started out as researching a couple things we actually kind of 'need' (area rug, window coverings) turned into a free for all, and here's the results.

1. Kajsa panel drapes
2. Unknown ones I've seen several places and would love
3. Egeby Sisal rug...not sure of size though
4. Lack Shelves to go above buffet
5. Hemnes 8-Drawer Dresser
6. Gustav Desk with Shelf Unit as a console table in our entrance OR
7. Gustav Desk for the same purpose. With or without shelf unit? Hmm...
8. Markor Glass Door Cabinet
9. Komplement Storage with Compartments
10. Sortera Bins with Lid
11. Alve Storage Bench
1. Regolit Floor Lamp
2. Samtid Floor Lamp
3. Rutbo Floor Lamp (I also like the Rutbo Pendant)
4. Knubbig Table Lamp
5. Arstid Wall Lamp (but with a different shade)

1. Hastveda Wicker Armchair
2. Mynta Hanging Planter
3. Sockerart Jug Vase
4. Billig Plant Pots
5. Bladet Plant Pot Set
6. Farm Bud Vases
7. Blomster Bud Vases
8. Mynta Plant Pot

Phew! Darn Ikea-I forgot how much stuff you had. And this is an EDITED list!

Have a nice weekend!

I want Chronicles-Outdoor Living Version

Just like SO many other folks around here, I've been thinking a lot about our future backyard, our front & side yard, our porch, gardening, etc. Basically everything that involves getting outside.

In that spirit, my current Pier 1 & BouClair inspired wish list for outdoor living:

I still really would love some armchairs like this to go with our comfy seat cushions for some lounging:

And this cute little bird house is, well, cute:

As is this glass hummingbird feeder that's a couple steps up from those plastic red ones you usually see (and they eat up all those nasty mosquitoes--perf):

I know, I know---stop it with the owls, but this garden statue is one I could definitely handle (although I've seen it in store and it's about a zillion tonnes, so technically I might have to get hubs to handle it):

Or stick this in one of the big planters:

And you can't be outside without some bevvies, which would be a little safer and coordinated in these acrylic pitchers and cups:

And some snackaroos served in these rattan-ish baskets, trays and charging plates:

And of course you need a little more light, bug deterers and ambiance. Enter these oil lanterns,

And for some fun colour, these ones too:

Obviously these aren't all necessarily for me or our place, I just really like them.

What's on your outdoor living wishlist?

Additions

Yesterday resulted in an exciting new addition to our home:

And although, re-reading that sentence it sounds like I brought home a child or something, I assure you--it's just an ibook. However, for me-that's very exciting.

My office had some extra computers in the office and my bosses decided to auction them off. They're all good computers, just the nature of our company requires pretty wicked computers.

Except for my job. Damnit. I work on a standard issue PC so it's compatible with our database and accounting software.

My co-workers are always (I mean seriously-it's constant) telling me how much I need a Mac, it's like I'm living the Mac commercial 5 days a week. So I think there was some pity non-bidding in order for me to win the one auction I bid on. As a result, I got this beaut for $75. Not bad eh?

I think once we figure it out and transfer everything over from our home computer (which honestly won't be difficult, it's so crappy I never even use it), it'll REALLY make a difference in the office. I don't even have a photo of it I'm so ashamed of that space, so this March pic is the closest thing to seeing the office area I'm willing to publish for now:

I just can't wait to get that clunker of a monitor and that clunker of a tower outta there.

But...there's always a but, except in the case of hubs' non-existent backside, but we won't talk about that. But...I'm not very fluent in mac. Or laptops for that matter. I can handle the basics but I was trying to connect the ibook to our wireless internet (thank goodness for planning ahead) and I couldn't get it. Plus, I do everything in Word, Excel, Paint, Picasa and MS Office Picture Manager, so how am I going to survive without any of them?

What I really need is for someone to pimp my ibook for me. When you spend your life on a PC and then move to a mac, it's harder than you'd think.

Does anyone have any tips, ideas or links that could help me figure this stuff out. Or any tips on how to get the MS-esque software mentioned above?

Hibou part deux

At HomeSense this weekend cruising and picking up some not at all essential purchases, I saw this in the bedding section:

Seriously, how cute is that?!?!

If I were anywhere near the possibility of planning for a babe, I'd absolutely pick this up for a nursery. As it was, I almost did anyways. Yikes-what's happening to me?

But when I went back on Sunday (no, I didn't go back for this lamp, and yes, I went 2 days in a row-so what?) someone had already snagged it, or moved it to somewhere I couldn't find.

Are owls old news? Since I missed the memo, I see them everywhere!

Blinds, Blinds and more Blinds

So those blinds I hinted at last week are up and make SUCH a difference!

We installed them Friday and already they make it seem so much brighter at night, cozier both day and night, and a lot less on display at all times.

Here are the befores of the kitchen and the ensuite:

And the afters (with daylight glare...sorry):




I realize what a seemingly small, minute detail this is to most people. But to us it makes such a difference. Also---we've made the plunge and finally put up some window coverings. So we're over the first (very long, very wishy-washy) hump and now we can just give 'er.

More progress looming...

I can't tell you how excited I am to finally have even the potential of having more window coverings up soon! (Or how embarassed I am to be so excited)

Hubs and I hit up BouClair home (again) last night since their 30% of wood blinds and 40% off ready-to-hang drapes sale ended yesterday. We were planning to get white wooden slat blinds for the 2 main windows in the kitchen and then drapes for the master bedroom as well as an extra panel for pillow covers.

Unfortunately the curtain panels weren't all that impressive, but the wooden blinds (which they cut to size in store...beat it Sears!) were available pretty much in the sizes we needed, so we didn't need to get them cut. We even picked up some for the ensuite!

I also got some ivory candles (white orchid scented-delish) for the dining room sconces and a candle holder...I just can't help myself!

I'm hoping hubs will be able to install them tonight, but he has hockey so probably not. Soon though!!!

Milestone

We have blinds people!!!!

Oh it's wonderful: we FINALLY bit the bullet and got some window coverings!

We've ordered blinds a couple weeks ago from Sears for our ensuite window. Kind of as a trial for future blinds because it's a catalogue order and I like to see what I'm buying. Unfortunately they screwed up and the order got lost or something. So I cancelled it last week and said I'd find it somewhere else. Beat it Sears.

Enter Bou Clair Home.

If you haven't been to Bou Clair since it because a home store rather than a fabric store, go there now. It's fantastic. Plus, now they cut blinds in store and are having a great sale on ready-to-hang drapes and 2" slat blinds. Parfait!

So hubs and I were running errands Saturday and stopped in.

Here's our front entrance doors Saturday morning:

And then Saturday afternoon during prime glare time:

Although it looks like the blinds are quite see-through, I assure you (becuase we tried) you have to be nose-pressed to the window and squinting to even see silhouette's.

And Saturday evening while my sister was visiting:


They already make the house seem so much cozier and it's so nice not to have our front door open for viewing.

For $19.99 each, and according to hubs: incredibly easy to install, these are a fantastic purchase.

The best part is that we finally made some decisions and will probably go and purchase a few more windows worth of coverings this week...woo hoo!

New Additions

Despite the fact that hubs and I are trying to hunker down budget-wise, there were a few new additions to our household this weekend. All very budget friendly:


This framed photograph was actually free. It was part of the Malen Framing gc we used to get the SXM print framed a couple weeks ago. The gift certificate comes in a display frame so the gifters have a tangible thing to supply the giftees, and they'll insert a photograph of choice into it at no charge. (note, it's not a typical frame where this service consists of lifting the braces and the cardboard backing and putting the picture in. It's more involved and the back is a sealed paper art-like back) We chose our favourite wedding photo and it's on the wall you first see when you walk into our master bedroom:




I picked up 2 of these along with a nice white & green bowl I forgot to photograph on Friday while killing time on a work errand. They were only $3 each and after seeing similar ones in a TYH give-away, I'd been semi-looking for some. They haven't quite found a permanent home just yet, but there are lots of choices, so we're just deciding:
I found these iron (or something) letters at HomeSense for about $4 each on Saturday and snatched one of each of hubs and my initials. They now reside on the wall to the left as you walk into our master (opposite the new photograph):
Also at HomeSense (dangerous place..I should never go there) I picked up these 2 containers. I'd been looking for some white ginger jars for a while, and they had some ceramic ones along with a large selection of shapes and sizes of these. I don't really know what they're made of--kind of melamine or something, so far less fragile. After WAY too much consideration, I finally decided to go the less-breakable route and narrowed it down to these 2:

I definitely need to stop going shopping and I have a few new favourite stores (BouClair Home anyone?) where I could do some serious damage. But there's just so much out there and with places like HomeSense, you have to actually go to the store and can't just look online. Recipe for disaster if you ask me :) Not that I mind.

'My Room' Progress

Progress is slow. And will continue to be so. This room just isn't a priority at this point.

However, there was one fun check off the list this past weekend!

I'd planned on repainting hubs' old Ikea lack shelves from their birch finish to a nice white. I did this, and even chronicled a nice little how to I was going to post here. Unfortunately, although not entirely surprising, by the end, I wasn't as patient, so they didn't turn out quite as wonderful as I'd planned. The first few steps were great-it was just the last coat of poly that I rushed and as a result, there are a couple drip marks and even some newsprint attached to some corners. Whoops! Oh well--nothing a bit of sanding and re-poly-ing can't fix. However, I'm in no rush to do that because frankly I'm sick of those shelves right now.

Unfortunately I didn't decide to vetoe them until hubs had already installed them in the spare bedroom. So there were some shelves to take down and some holes to patch and a husband rolling his eyes almost right out of his head.

So where I'd planned them to be has instead welcomed this:

I actually like it better but I didn't want to buy anything where we could instead re-use something we already had (maybe my subconscious made me screw up the repainting...hmmm).

Here it is right after hubs installed it:

You can see the holes where the old shelves were and hubs tried to cover in an effort to cut down his work. Sheesh-lazy bones! You'll also note the lovely 2x4 under the shelf. Turns out it's so darn heavy that we (meaning he) had to paint then screw this 2x4 into some studs to help support the shelving unit. No biggie-he even got all artistic and rounded the edges for me. I'm sure I can attach some hooks and such things to it for additional storage once I figure out how it'll be.

And here it is approximately 5 seconds later already filled:I'm going to have to figure out what to store there and what to display there because I grossly underestimated the amount of crafting crap I have, and there's about 2-3x the amount of stuff shown waiting in the wings to be sorted and organized. (Also--I assure you it's level despite what this photo may indicate, although I'm beginning to rethink if I'm level).

In the meantime-yay! Any progress is still progress I think and this is certainly a step in the right direction.

St Maarten print

At the end of February, hubs and I went to visit my sister and brother in law in St Maarten. Yep-the one in the Caribbean...where they live!

Anyways, we'd just moved into our new place a couple weeks before, so when sis and I went to the market, I was definitely looking for something that could help us personalize and decorate the space.

I found this painting that I loved:

We still had a gift certificate from a local framing store, Malen Framing from our wedding, which we'd been saving for a piece of art or special framing project in our new house. (Despite only moving in in Jan 09, our house was purchased less than 3 months after our wedding).

So I decided this would be the special framing project. I went in a couple weekends ago and went through the process with a wonderful man at Malen. I had no idea what to expect-I'm a 27 year old cheapskate, so I've never done customized framing before. He was great though, and more or less walked me through the process. I'll admit-I was fully expecting it to be absurdly expensive, and although it was more expensive than what I'd typically do, it wasn't near as much as I thought. And the end product is fantastic:

The sales associate and I went through a few different selections from the loads of selection they have of frames and I decided on this one in the end. Of course, the most expensive of the 3 I'd narrowed it down to. Typical.

Anyways, I was still able to get new glass for a frame hubs had stepped on a couple years ago and broke and we've never replaced and have our favourite wedding photo framed.

Now we need to decide where to put this piece of art. Initially, I'd pictured it at the top of our staircase, which is visible pretty much as soon as you walk into the house. Unfortunately, due to annoying light switches, the painting wouldn't be able to be centered, so that won't work. There are plenty other places for it to go, but I'd like it to be fairly high profile and make a bit of an impact, so we'll have to play around with it.

I'll obviously keep the blog posted :)