I'm Gonna Get My Party On!!

Tonight is the opening night party for the Interior Design Show West at Vancouver's Convention Centre.  I'll be waving my VIP pass, taking in all the sights during the pre-show tour and whooping it up at the party along with Canada's design heavyweights.  

But the fun does not stop there my friends.  Saturday night I will don a cocktail dress and impractical shoes and head downtown again to attend the party known as Blend 2011 at the Loden Hotel.  

The party is for bloggers who are part of the Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers West group.  Our organizers Barb, Victoria, Karla and Nancy have done an outstanding job putting this event together along with our super sponsor Ikea.

Now wish me luck in the shoes!

Guest Post - Living Savvy

Today I'm over at Living Savvy doing a guest post for Tiffany's Spray Painters Anonymous Meeting. This is a really fun series for addicts like myself who like to collect spray paint in every colour under the rainbow.  She also has a beautiful blog filled with great design inspiration so hop on over and and visit.

Pumpkin Desserts

Normally I'd take a cheese plate over a dessert but it's pumpkin time and the rules change.  I have never posted a recipe before on this blog but I have been pinning the heck out of pumpkin recipes and had to share.

I just made these and they are quite cake like rather than cookie like but still great.  I cut the chocolate chips by 1/2 and I still found them to be overwhelmingly chocolate but maybe if you're choco crazy it will work.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Marianne from Style for Living posted this last week and it's on my radar for this weekend when the cookies are gone.

Pumpkin Spice Muffin

This looks so amazing that I'm quite sure you would get props if you serve that for dessert on Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Praline Trifle

Pumpkin and cream cheese filling baked inside wonton wrappers and served with caramel dipping sauce. Ummm, yes!

Pumpkin Pillows

If you're lazy and/or pressed for time these 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins could be a life saver.

Pumpkin Muffins

Bon appetit!

Can you really? Would you ever?

Have you ever dyed a carpet?  I purchased a gold/tan carpet a few years ago and somehow I have come to hate the colour.   It's possible that when we move it will find a happier home and the colour will be more to my liking again.  I'm planning for the worst though and thinking this carpet may have outlived its welcome.

I have searched the web for advice on results about dying with Rit and there seems to be a strong division between those who have successfully dyed and those who say the colour comes off on socks and clothes.  

The problem seems to be that Rit dye needs to be rinsed and obviously this isn't possible with a carpet.

I found this great tutorial at Leaf House blog on creating a chevron rug with dye.  The result is so great that I do believe she has instilled the confidence to go forward with the project.

If anyone has tried dying a carpet, please let me know how it went.

How Do you Start your Room Design?

Did I mention I'm moving?  Yeah, I guess I did.  Did I mention that I am obsessed with all the design potential of every single room in our new house?  Carrie from Hazardous Design blog made me laugh last week when she asked me if I was lying awake at night planning the rooms.  Umm, are you spying on me?  I literally cannot fall asleep each night because I'm thinking of colour and fabric and all the magical transformations that will soon take place.

I thought I would start putting together design boards so that I can actually move forward with the creating.  I'm sure you will fall off your chair when you discover that the first room to get a board is my daughter's.  It all started with this so-sweet fabric by Michael Miller that we both fell in love with.  It's not too grown up but she can definitely grown into it.

The fabric is going to be used for curtains.  Here's the board that I created.

Oh for the love of all things girly!  I want to spend the rest of my life in a room exactly like this.  

Happy Friday friends!

Selling on Craigslist

Who loves Craigslist, put up your hand.  I would not classify myself as a regular Craigslist shopper or seller but I have been dabbling in both over the last year.  Buying is easy.  As long as you have the time to drive to where the goods are, you're done.  Selling is a bit trickier and yesterday I posted 2 items.  One is already gone and the other has an offer to purchase.  I also have some very interesting observations.  You know me, I'm a sharing sort so here are the rules of Craigslist according to Carol.

1/  Don't try to get the same price you paid (or more) for your used item.

Here's the bunk bed I sold for $80 after paying $150 for it 2 years ago.  $10 worth of paint still nets me a few bucks in my pocket.  I had 10 inquiries in 6 hours.  Maybe I should have asked for more but it's gone from my house and that was the goal.

Pine bunk bed which may also be an Ikea bed for $200.  Ummm, isn't that more than you paid for this bed?

2/  If you're going to bother to post a photo, please show me what you're selling.

This was a posting for a wood bed frame with drawers.  Yeah, I don't think I'm going to get in my car to see this.

This was posted as RETRO VINTAGE TYPE COUCH FOLD UP BED.  I would have to agree this is definitely a couch type thing.

3.  Tidy up just a teensy bit.

This is my son's trundle bed we are selling.  Do you think my son's bed has EVER looked like this?  Never has and never will but if I expect you to fork over $550 then I am more than willing to clean the piles of junk off of it.

Just try and guess what these people are selling.  Can't do it, can you?  This is a posting for a bar cabinet for sale for $150.  Could you at least move the chair out of the way?

4.  Be sure to communicate what type of vehicle will be required for pickup.

This was a huge lesson learned today when the lady showed up to buy the bunk bed...with 2 kids in car seats.  Yes, we can disassemble it but we cannot magically transform it into the the size of a shoebox.  My husband and I ended up delivering it to her because there was no way she was EVER going to get the bed in to her vehicle.

Flickr

So there you have it.  I have empowered you with the knowledge to go out and kick some Craigslist butt so off you  go.  Happy shopping friends!

The Perfect Grey

I sort of alluded to this last week but now it's official.  We're moving...again!  This time we're headed to the interior of British Columbia aka wine country but more about that later.  I am so excited to get to work on a new home and can't stop thinking of paint colours, fabrics and furniture layouts.

There's no doubt in my mind that grey paint will replace all the taupe neutrals I have been using for so long.  Grey has undertones of either green, blue or purple and I am strictly on the lookout for a grey with blue undertones but one that is perceived as only grey.

Here are my top contenders.

1.  Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore.  Light and soft with a slight cast of blue and it looks great with bold colour which is exactly what I'm looking for.

Eddie Ross

2.  Coventry Gray by Benjamin Moore.  Perfect mid tone with almost no undertone.

Jenna Lyons

Pinterest

3.  Stone Harbor by Benjamin Moore.  Super light and easy to live with.

Decorpad

4.  Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore.  Super light (almost white) and neutral.

Purehome

5.  Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore.  Another perfect backdrop.

So what do you think?  Have you used a grey that you are smitten with because I want to hear all your suggestions and recommendations before taking the giant leap.  I happen to really like Benjamin Moore but I should say that I am not against other paint manufacturers so feel free to share whatever great grey experience you have had.  

Carpet Tiles

I recently spotted this photo on Pinterest.  I was initially drawn to it because it looks like these chairs I found while thrifting a few months ago (I haven't revealed the after because sadly they're still in their before state).  The photo was really to show a funky layout that can be used for the Flor carpet tiles.  After recently ditching 2 rugs due to stains caused by red wine, dog pee, muddy footprints and ground in food I am rethinking carpet tiles.

A quick tour of Flor website and I'm convinced that this is a good option for us.  Here's a roundup of my favourite patterns.

Seams are inevitable so I'm definitely drawn to styles with pattern.

Yum!

I defy any stain to rear its ugly head on this carpet.

There are also wool options available.

I love the pattern and colour of this bright, cheery rug.

This one is already a set for you but it shows how versatile the tiles are and you can create your own funky pattern by purchasing more than one type of tile.

If you decide that carpet tiles are the way to go, do NOT forget to order extras.  The beauty of this option is that is one gets stained it can be replaced.  Love!

Have a great weekend everyone!

More Fabric Obsessions

It's very likely that a new home is in our near future.  That means sorting and organizing and packing not to mention the logistics of moving.  I should be overwhelmed with details right now but instead I spent the day sitting at the computer scouring my favourite online fabric source, Tonic Living, to look at fabrics.  Make sense right?

Here's what I'm dreaming about at this particular moment but you know it could change tomorrow.

The master bedroom has always been the last room in the house to get any love so I am declaring today that the master bedroom in our next house will be swathed in gorgeous fabric and painted before we move in.  You heard it here folks!

I'm thinking a soft gray duvet cover with a couple of shams in green and the star of the show would be some smaller pillows in this amazing floral.  The ikat would make amazing curtains.  

I can't decide whether this would be better for a guest room or my daughter's room.  I'm thinking a covered headboard in the plain green with some tufted buttons.  A duvet cover in the large floral and some amazing, full curtains in the bird and branch beauty.

Does this not say, "hello, come in here and have some fun"?  The citron geometric could be a gorgeous curtain with the stripe and floral for pillows.

I am anticipating many more hours salivating over all these wonderful fabrics.

Thank You and Guest Post

Happy Monday everyone.  I'm on the road to recovery and wanted to send a huge 'thank you' to all of you lovely bloggers for your warm wishes that you sent over the last week.  If anyone ever asks why I love blogging so much I'll be able to point to this.  How nice it is to have such a great community of friends who reach out with warmth when things go off the track...xo

So the kids are back to school and I anticipate being able to finally get back on track with a regular schedule again.  Today I'm over at 10 Rooms talking about my favourite colour with Anne Marie.  If you already know this blog, you surely love it and if you don't, get over there now.  It's an absolute design lovers extravaganza.  

Blogging & Drugs Do NOT Mix

No, not "those" kinds of drugs.  I had a surprise visit to the hospital yesterday to have that pesky appendix removed and I am all kinds of drugged out right now.  As a result I will take a very short break and I'm sure I'll come up with all kinds of groovy blog ideas.