Thursday, March 26, 2015

Urban Barn Decor! + Awesome Giveaway!

Hey guys!

It may not look like it, but Spring officially arrived last week! It’s still freezing in Ottawa but you know where it’s not freezing? Inside one of my fav stores. Spring has sprung in Urban Barn! Oh baby, I melt in this store because everything is so gorgeous. A couple of weeks ago, I was invited for a sneak peak in the new store that opened up in Barrhaven in Ottawa.  It’s big, it’s bright and filled with everything beauty!

I'll take this couch please! This is me and my friend Jessica hanging amongst the retro grey and orange.



Here are some of my favs!

COLOUR!

Amen!


 Urban Barn is known for its Canadian custom upholstery, gorgeous accents and beautiful reclaimed wood furniture. My parent’s ordered their living room furniture (more on that in an upcoming post) from Urban Barn and it’s fabulous. While I was in the store all I kept thinking about was what would fit perfectly in the basement when the renovation is done! Oh baby!
Pefect place to serve a cocktail or in my dreams...breakfast in bed?

On April 12th they are having a fun in-store style event. If you are looking for ways to style for spring, head over to the Barrhaven store at 11am :) For all the non-Ottawa folks, Urban Barn has events like this all the time. Just go to their website and or a store closest to you and they will let you know what' s going on in their location.

 
Of course, I wouldn’t just make you drool and leave you with nothing. I’ve got a $80 gift card to giveaway! Wicked. Awesome!
Who wants to win!??! Enter here. The more times you enter, the better your chances are my friends! Contest closes April 1. Good luck!!
Urban Barn

Keep it Beautiful.



Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Daytime Ottawa + Hot Chocolate Bar!

Hey guys,
 
I'm very excited to be back on Daytime Ottawa (for non-Ottawa residents, it's a local television show) today talking about how to host a "Hot Chocolate Bar Party" as well as getting yourself organized with DIY dry-erase organization boards.

Have you guys heard of mini parties? They were very popular last year and continue to trend for 2015. A mini party is exactly what it sounds like. We're all busy and sometimes feel overwhelmed at the thought of organizing a huge party with our family and friends. Instead, throw a mini party. With March Break here, why not throw a "hot chocolate bar" party? Hit the hill for some tobogganing fun and then have everyone back to you your house for hot chocolate and nibblies. It's easy, it's yummy and kids and adults will love it. Who doesn't love a cup of hot chocolate? It's love in a mug!

All you need is a thermos, crock pot, pot full of hot chocolate etc., and any kind of topping you want. If you tune into the show today, you can see how I've organized mine with a few tips and tricks but here are a few suggested goodies:

Of course, you can't forget the whip cream and a little chocolate sauce, sprinkles etc for added drizzle :) Yum! The kids will love it!

If you want to add a little something to the adults' hot chocolate, here are a few options to take that hot chocolate to the next level for the après tobogganing!

Hot chocolate, tequila & peppermint snaps
Hot chocolate, brandy & Frangelico
Hot chocolate & rum
Hot chocolate & Baileys
Hot chocolate & Cognac
Hot Chocolate, Crème de Cacao & Irish Cream
Hot Chocolate, Kahlua & Vodka

Hope you can tune in. If you have a Rogers account, you can watch the show anytime by clicking here and choosing Rogers Anyplace TV. Or, if you're in Ottawa you can tune into Channel 22 and watch live at 11am or repeats at 2pm, 5pm & 11pm

I'll have more on the DIY dry-erase organization on the blog soon. Think paint chits and frames.

Oh, and how can I forget....
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I hope you have a green beer waiting for you in the near future!


Keep It Beautiful.



Friday, March 13, 2015

Fabulous Friday + Giveaway Winner!

TGIF! Have a good week? For some reason it seemed to crawl by for me. I was busy at the office so usually when you're really busy, the week flies. Hmmm, not this one!

We lost ALOT of snow this week in Ottawa. You can actually see sidewalk and dare I say it...I saw a grass patch on the front lawn this week. What?! The boys were so sad that their snow fort was melting, me...not so sad.

Here's what I'm loving this week...

How adorable are these Easter baskets from Indigo? Cuteness.
What a great option to have. I'll have a cold one please!
                                            Contemporary Deck by Vancouver Photographers Heather Merenda

I've found a really fab skin product. It's called Kari Gran. I have been looking to switch up my daily skin routine and I've found a winner. It's a three part system that includes washing your face with a cleansing oil. I've never washed my face with oil before and I'm hooked. My skin is softer, fresher and I totally smell like the spa when I go to bed :) I highly recommend it. Everything you put on your skin, goes into your skin and through your system. This product is natural, organic, hand poured and just lovely, lovely. I can't say enough about it and wanted you to know. Oh and I am also loving their "Lip Whip". Its soft, natural and makes my lips feel delish.

And the WINNER of the GOGO SQUEEZ Prize Pack is....
Sarah-Journeys of the Zoo! Congrats!
 
Next week I'll be on Daytime Ottawa to talk about hot chocolate bars and organization walls. Tune in if you can!

Have a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated weekend. I'm looking forward to a glass of wine tonight and a marathon session of House of Cards :)

Keep it Beautiful.
 


Thursday, March 12, 2015

Aunt Nancy's Cookies!

The other day, I was sitting in the office and craving a chocolate chip cookie. Random. Out of nowhere. So last night, my big guy stayed up a bit later and we baked.

Do you have a fav chocolate chip cookie recipe? My Aunt Nancy made.the.best! Everyone in our family loved her cookies because they are chewy, chocolatey and oh.so.yum.  I can still remember calling her on the phone from University, asking her for the recipe. Aunt Nancy is no longer with us, but her cookies live on in all of our kitchens.
 
Sooo, if this photo is sending 'get in my belly' thoughts, I’ve given you all the deets to whip them up in your kitchen. You’re house will smell delish and your tummy will thank you.
  • 1 cup butter, softened (I remember Aunt Nancy sometimes using shortening so you can go either way. I use the butter but my cousins will be able to verify)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 bag of chocolate chips...yup the whole bag...delish!
  • If you want to make them "oatmeal" chocolate chips add in a good 3/4 cup of rolled oats.
Preheat your oven to 350
In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add your eggs and vanilla until you get a creamy texture.
In another bowl, mix your dry ingredients (except your chocolate chips) together. Slowly add them to your wet mixture and mix to get everything happy.
Stir in your chocolate chips and Voila! Aunt Nancy's cookies. Party in your mouth! Drop the cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 mins. It makes a lot.
Who can’t resist a warm chocolate chip cookie? Thank you Aunt Nancy.
From my kitchen to yours.
Keep it Beautiful.



Monday, March 9, 2015

Spring Mantle

Have a good weekend everyone? Ottawa still has mucho snow but, we saw a little glimpse of Spring this weekend and all of a sudden my living room was feeling too heavy, too winter. So, the mantle got a little lift with a change of décor. I headed down to the basement (you know, that place that is waiting for some mega love that I told you about last week) to see what I could find. After looking through the "Spring/Easter" bin, here is what I found and came up with. Think clean, fresh, light...Spring.
I filled one of the kids' Easter basket with straw and eggs that I had used previously for Spring decorating here


Try not to overthink it when giving your décor a refresh. Spring is about longer days, fresh starts, new life. It's time to give your home décor a fresh start and new life.

I have a great giveaway coming up on the blog this week to one of my fav home design/furniture stores. Its AWESOME! Stay tuned!

Keep it Beautiful.




Friday, March 6, 2015

Fabulous Friday Picks

TGIF my friends!

Here's some fabulous Friday picks for the week...

Enough of the snow, let these beauties poke out their gorgeous heads

The backpack is back...are you jumping on the trend wagon or said your goodbyes in the 90s?

Have you started putting butter in your coffee yet?

Gorgeous...

Check out my friend Kyla's blog, Mommy's Weird she's hilarious, bad & loves chicken wings

Feeling the need to start organizing for Spring? You might get some ideas from previous posts here

Have a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated weekend

Keep it Beautiful.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

GoGo Squeez Yummyness + Giveaway!


Here's a great product that you might want to know about...

This is our baby girl and this was her breakfast yesterday morning. On Tuesday, her daycare called to let me know that she had a fever, which means immediate pick up and serious snuggles on the couch. You know when you're sick, you don't want to eat much of anything? Remember the BRAT diet? Bananas, rice, applesauce & toast? It's what I remember living on when I was sick. It's food that's easy on your tummy. GoGo SqueeZ had sent me their tetra packs to give to the kids and I thought they would be good on our baby girl's tummy today. Yeah, it's pretty much what she ate throughout the day.

Here's what I really like about the GoGo Squeez. There are only four ingredients (no added sugar or preservatives, no artificial flavouring or colouring), the portion is just the right amount, it's a great snack, it's portable and re-sealable. How amazing is this for on-the-go with your babe? Especially when they're on pureed food? When the boys got home, they both had them for a snack and our big guy asked for it to be in his lunch tomorrow. Yes, another snack option for packing lunch or a snack on the go...and I feel like we're always on the go!

Hopefully tomorrow, our baby girl will be back to eating regular meals, however, I know that the GoGo Squeez will definitely make into one of her snacks :)
 
Do you want to try some GoGo SqueeZ? Just leave me a comment below and you can win an assortment of flavours! Woot!

Keep It Beautiful.




Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Basement Renovation!

Do you have a room or space in your home that stores all your junk? A space that people rarely see? A space that you avoid like the plague? It might be your garage, a spare room, a closet or, for us...it's the BASEMENT!

I avoid going down there because it's dark, gross, dirty, cellar-like, messy, disorganized...you get the picture. Mr. Fix-It does most of the laundry so he has to experience it more than me. Here it is....gasp!
 
Since we bought our house, Mr. Fix-It has been dying to renovate the basement. There were so many other things we needed to do to our home before the basement that I pushed back for awhile. Then, while on maternity leave, I felt the need for more space. I needed a space for them to go when I was trying to get dinner on the table, a space that we could store all their toys without having to stare at them from my living room, a space that we could all gather as a family and watch tv together without feeling like we were on top of each other.

Obviously we love to renovate ourselves, but with both of us working full time we've decided to hire a contractor for all the nitty gritty tough stuff. The basement is old, super old, like 100 year-old-house-old. It needs mega love from chipping floor to walls to insulation, electrical to new venting. Mucho work. We're hoping to start it in the next 6 weeks or so. First, we need to get rid of, and organize, all the stuff! We have boxes down there that we haven't opened since we moved...what's in them? Ummm, not sure.


Someone before us obviously added this carpet (God knows how long ago?!) and drywalled some of the walls...yikes!

See those black bags? Mr. Fix-It has already begun to take down walls!? That's going out on the curb tomorrow for garbage day.

Honestly, what are all those wires? Have you seen a more disorganized electrical panel? At one point our house had knob & tube wiring which is a no-no. When the electrical was upgraded they just cut the knob & tube and left the wires! Random.

So there, I let you in to our dirty little house secret. The basement. However, I'm very excited to get it moving and to share it all with you. We need a laundry room, storage, bathroom, tv room & play area. Soon the fun part begins...choosing all the pretty finishes :)

Any favourite design trends you're loving right now that you want to share with me? I thinking a sliding barn door for the laundry, maybe some herringbone tiling in the bathroom, white built-ins and grey flooring. FUN! I've started a "Basement Inspiration" board on Pinterest.

Here we go!

Keep it Beautiful.
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