Thursday, November 26, 2015

MINTED $75 GIVEAWAY!!

Hey guys!

It's almost the weekend! A couple more days left till Friday. So let’s end this week off with a giveaway, shall we? I've told you before about my love for Minted holiday cards here and here and their prints, here

From holiday cards, to invitations and art…Minted is one of my fav online boutiques. Have you started your holiday cards yet? I just received ours in the mail and they’re ready to hit the mailboxes of our family and friends.

Receiving holiday cards is one my favourite parts of the season. It’s the time of year where more letters than bills arrive! Here is what we chose…


Front & Back


This is the part that I love. While looking through all the card options online, you can add the photo that you want to all the templates. Cool eh? That way you can see what your photo will like on all the designs.

Here are some of my favourite options:
1 2 3 4 5

Here’s an even better part. Want to win a $75 gift card to Minted? Perfect for your holiday cards this year. Woot! Woot! Giveway is open until December 1st.


Minted Giveaway

The weekend is almost here! Don't forget to enter.


Keep it Beautiful.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Fabulous Friday! I'm talking Lampe Berger, Daytime Ottawa & More!

Happy Fabulous Friday my friends!

A few things that have made me smile this week…

I'll be appearing on Daytime Ottawa today. I'm sharing all things fabulous from Urban Barn to decorate your home for the holidays! Tune in live at 11 with repeats at 2, 5 & 11pm. Channel 22 for all my Ottawa friends and you can also watch it a day later here

Need a fabulous hostess gift? Lampe Berger has their holiday collection out. I've told you about Lampe Berger a few times here and here
Created in France, the scents purify the air of any unwanted smells. A great gift to bring to a holiday party or use yourself during the holiday season to get rid of any weird house smells. It's awesome how instantly it purifies the air of strong scents such as beef & fish after they have been cooked. I'm loving the Amber Powder fragrance.

Megan's blog was one of the first blogs I ever read and inspired me to start my own 4 years ago. Check out her baby girl's nursery. Isn't it gorg?  

I’m in love with Ikea’s latest kitchen Sektion cabinets. Add these to the YES PLEASE!
apartment therapy
In case you missed last week’s DIY

Have a fantastic weekend. Next week I'm finally going to share with you a small living room gallery wall and I'll have a giveway to kick start the holiday prep!

Keep it Beautiful.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

5 Minute Bedtime Fix with Netflix!

Can we talk kids and bedtime? Are your kids bedtime stallers? Honestly, we generally go upstairs around 7 to start bedtime and sometimes it seems like FOREVER before Mr. Fix-It and I come out of their rooms with sound asleep babes. Sometimes we meet each other on the upstairs landing doing the swap-a-room between the kids bedrooms. 

Generally, the beginning part is all good. Jammies - Teeth - Books
And then…

“Please five more minutes” “I have to pee” "My eyes just won't close. They want to be awake" “I'm thirsty” “Can I have a snack?” “I can't find my binkie" "My blanket is falling” “It’s too dark” “One more kiss”

The first stall tactic in any of those combinations is okay but usually by the second, third and fourth ones, I’m wondering how these little kids mastered such good negotiation skills?! As you know, I'm part of the Netflix Stream Team and I wanted to share with you a genius thing that Netflix and DreamWorks Animation have created. Genius! AND it’s been amazing for our bedtime routine.

Enter in...Dinotrux 5 minute “Favourites”. 




So, before lights out we push play on an entire episode and 300 seconds later, the kids feel like they've watched a “show” and Mr. Fix and I have more time to binge watch our own Neflix  shows :)

Honestly, I love the bedtime cuddles but when you go up for bedtime at 7 and not out of the kids' rooms until 9…BRUTAL! These new 5 minute shows have been a dream. They know that the shows are short but at least it’s a whole show and not just a little piece.



I thought some of these stats that Netflix found were pretty cute:
·  Brazilian kids are the best bedtime negotiators. Parents in Brazil are most likely to say their kids’ stall tactics “frequently” work (52% vs 44%, on average globally),
·  Mums and dads in the UK lure kids to sleep with bedtime bribes: Although they are reluctant to admit it, a third of parents in the UK say that one of the quickest ways to get their kids into bed is a bribe (33% vs. 28%, globally); with the chance to stay up later on weekends (30% vs. 29%) and food or snacks (21% vs. 18%) among the most popular tactics used.
·  Australian parents least likely to bend the bedtime rules: Parents in Australia are among those most likely to say they never make compromises to get their child into bed (26% vs. 21%, globally).
·  Warning to Canadian kids--don’t try anything cute: Parents in Canada are significantly more likely to disagree that their child's stall tactics can be too cute or so clever that they give in and let them stay up past their bedtime (61% disagree vs. 51 globally).
·  Bedtime in France is a dream come true. Not only is France the No. 1 country where kids get to bed on time most days of the week (5.1 days per week in France vs. 4.8 days a week globally), but parents there also spend the least amount of time getting them to bed (12.3 minutes vs. 17.5 average).
·  The US is the biggest bedtime battleground. American kids are the most likely to try creative stall tactics (66 % vs 61% average globally), and it takes parents the longest to get them to bed (19.3 minutes vs. 17.5 minutes globally).

Thought I would share because it’s totally working for us right now. We definitely haven’t mastered the 12.3 minutes that it takes parents in France to put their kids to bed but when your kids say “one more kiss” you just can’t deny the cuteness.

Keep it Beautiful.

Friday, November 13, 2015

DIY Industrial Toilet Paper Holder

Hey guys,

Happy Fabulous Friday! I have a really easy and cool DIY for you today. The industrial look is super hot and everywhere. From caged lighting to barn board walls, distressed shelves, corrugated siding to pipe fixtures. We wanted a few piped fixtures in the basement bathroom and so I started with the toilet paper holder. If you are thinking of this look, this is one of the EASIEST DIYs ever.

Here ya go...
 
What you need:
 
A: 1/2 " flange
B: 1/2 " X 2" galvanized pipe
C: 1/2" galvanized elbow
D: 1/2" X 6" galvanized pipe
E: 1/2" galvanized cap
 
Spray all your pieces with a primer. This is REALLY important. If you skip this step, the paint won't stick to the galvanized pipe.
 
 
Then just twist A-B-C-D-E...
After you spray and put it all together you can spray it any 'ole colour you want. To get that industrial iron feel, I picked a black textured spray. A couple coats and VOILA....an industrial toilet paper holder!
 
Honestly, this DIY couldn't have been easier! The best part? The galvanized piping cost a whole $6! What? Yup. These babies are selling for a heck of a-lot-more online. Hit the hardware store and make your own!
I'm thinking of using this same piping to make a couple of cool industrial shelves.
 
Have you used galvanized piping before in a DIY? I'm thinking we should have used black screws to attach this holder to wall. Instead I'll just dab a little black paint on them.

Hope you have a great weekend my friends!

Keep it Beautiful.



Friday, November 6, 2015

Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday everyone,

Hope you all had a great Halloween. Our kids were pumped, adorable and have eaten their way through their candy. So.much.candy. This robot, Incredible Hulk and purple princess were ready to hit the streets. I could not get the three of them to stand still and take a photo. My big guy and I made his robot costume on Saturday. He was very particular on how he wanted it to look. He looked awesome! Our baby girl changed her costume at the 11th hour from her purple dress to her Ninja Turtle tutu from last year, a pink sweatshirt and wings. She then told people she was a purple fairy princess ;) Oh, and she insisted on doing her lipstick! Did I mention she's only 2!?
We also went to a party...and without the kids. It was super fun. Meet Clark Kent and Wonder Woman!
It's Fabulous Friday so wanted to share a few of my favourite things this week...

Have you made any of these recipes? I've seen the recipe videos floating around Facebook and made one of their one-pot meals last week. Super yum. They had me at "one pot meal".

Canada proud!

Do you have a place in your home where water could cause major damage? D-Link generously sent me their Wi-Fi Water Sensor to try. I knew the cottage would be a perfect spot for it. Given that we're not at the cottage year round, a water leak could be disastrous there. All you need to do is plug in the cable and have it run down onto the floor where water could be found.

We put ours just under the hot water tank. In a few minutes, we downloaded the D-Link app on the iPad and my Dad's phone. The sensor on the D-Link plug links to the WiFi and if water is ever detected by the cable, a notification is sent to you. Amazing eh? A fantastic tool to have for peace of mind. Most definitely one of my fav things this week!

Do you love cream in your coffee? I just can't drink it with milk. I've tried and I just couldn't. Until now. My mum bought me this milk frother and my coffee game has changed.
Just warm up the milk, turn on your frother, whip up that milk, add your coffee and BOOM! instant yummy latte. Without the frother I need cream in my coffee, with the frother...I'm game for milk. *BTW...aerolatte mooo did not ask me to pitch their frother. I just love it and think you will too.

I'm in love with this hallway. It's inspired me to maybe, just maybe, do a little front hall project. Mr. Fix-It has no idea...he hates wallpaper. Likely because he stripped layers upon layers of it off the walls in our house when we bought it.
via
Boobyball. The fabulous fundraising party hits Ottawa next Friday night. Tickets are still available so get them while you can. Finding a cure for breast cancer is near and dear to my heart and it's a fabulous night to put on your dancing shoes, a fabulous dress and raise money for all our sisters out there! Boobyball also puts on their fab parties in Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary. I'll be hitting the party with two of my girlfriends. You'll find us on the dance floor!

It's Mr. Fix-It's birthday this weekend, so we'll be celebrating his special day and I'm heading to a fun Netflix baking event with my big guy :) Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Keep it Beautiful.



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