A couple of weeks ago, a friend got us tickets to the Canada Blooms show in Toronto. It’s a beautiful flower and garden show that I have always wanted to go to, but always seemed to miss.  I am so glad I went.  The gardens were jaw dropping.  I was astonished to find out that most of the garden displays were put up in ten days or less.

Whatever your taste, there was a garden there to reflect it.

My favorite of the day was most certainly the garden by B sq Landscape Design that was constructed from old wooden pallets. It was beautiful and clever and right on trend with urban gardening being so popular these days.

My other favorite was a play space put together by Bienenstock, Parks Canada and The Canadian Wildlife Federation.

They created a natural playground with slides, rocks, an enormous old tree on it’s head, sand pits, a rock wall, an arts and crafts table made of tree stumps, and musical instruments.

It was a fantasyland for the kids.

The show lifted me out of my rainy day doldrums I and got me thinking “outside of the box” in terms of my own little garden. Thanks to Sue for the great day!

Since having our little guy, our house has become even cheerier. Whether it is in the bathroom, bedroom or kitchen, there are little zaps of intense color everywhere. On a rainy grey day in Toronto, these little bits of colour lift my heart. Hmmm, notice how the only adult dishes are wineglasses? Interesting.

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is to go to our local farmer’s market. Since last year the market has grown substantially and now offers fresh fruit and veggies, wildflowers, cheese, organic meat, coffee, wicked pastries and bread. The park is buzzing with tiny kids learning soccer skills, hula hoopers, musicians, and last Saturday, a class of 15  kids showing off their Karate skills. Awesome. Relaxed.

One of my favorite farmers had tomatillos this week. I have never bought them before but have been dying to get my hands on some to make this recipe from Martha along with my tacos. (Obsessed with tacos these days)

I also bought some of these little guys called groundcherries. Have you ever had them before? YUM!

They have the texture of a really firm tomato but are sweet and earthy tasting. Craziness.

I bought 2 cartons. We ate them like popcorn.  Only half made it home.

The markets around here will be closing by the end of the month.

It will be a long haul until May so I am making sure I get there every weekend.

Living room before

When we moved here over 2 years ago, we did a lot of work on the top floor and in the basement and then the yard, but we left the main floor as it was. I tried a hundred different ways to make it work but the vibe in the room really never worked for me. I like bright pops of color and whites that make a room feel full of sun and air.

 Before

So when we were away this summer Michael Chipman and Adam Gaudreau at Riverdale Painting (416-220-4060 Riverdalefinishes@gmail.com) came over and gave the place a fresh coat of paint- inside and out. These fellas are amazing artists with great vision.

Afters

With a bit of de-cluttering, the main floor is sparse, super cheery and a breeze to clean up at the end of the day- a must with a one year old running around. My sister keeps popping by with her computer instead of going to her favorite coffee shop. She likes to work at the dining room table by the orange wall. She says it makes her feel cheery to be here. And I am making a mean Americano these days.

We got this great old bench at Guff on Queen Street East. It reminds me of the benches in my high school. It weighs a tonne and is the perfect height for Gus to put all of his toys on and play. I use it for extra seating, to write on my computer and to put my legs up at the end of the day.

I picked up these funny pillows from Ikea to tie the grey couch in with the rest of the room.

 I replaced the smokey 80’s glass on this table with clear tempered glass. (I found the table in the garbage and the new glass on Craig’s List.)

Yup, we need a kitchen reno, but the new paint really brightened up the space. My artwork pops and color is back on the table again! The marbled tree print is by Robert Wu.

 And finally our main floor resembles the rest of our house. The artwork above the pay phone is Pin Up #1 by Kelly Grace  I got the tiny canvas below the shelves from Tush Tush on etsy.

There are of course lots of new things I would love to add.  A built-in to hide all of our media mess is at the top of the list but all in good time. I try to tackle one project in the summer and one in the winter if time and money permit. For now the space is welcoming, simple and sunny and that makes my heart happy.

Thanks for stopping by. 

When your foot looks like this…

and you are not looking or feeling your finest…

a course of action needs to be taken….

to start feeling a bit like your old, fun self.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks with a “bike lock meets foot” accident, followed by an infection (poor old foot) and antibiotics , migraines, mouse infestation, broken shocks on the car, and a sick one year old. Sometimes a gal just has to make a little change to get things moving in a new direction!

I have been working on a project with my sister for the last few months that came to a finish last weekend. Amy had been feeling that the stuff in her home was getting out of control and that her “things” were taking over. She wanted a massive paring down to simplify her life. The house had become unmanageable and the clutter seemed insurmountable.

Amy’s closet after.

So…we decided to tackle it together. I would come 1 day a week until we were done. We started with Amy’s closet on that first Sunday. It took 8 hours to finish but it looked amazing and she could finally find everything in it! We were stoked.

Upstairs work in progress.

I made up spreadsheets, checklists and constructed a timeline with the hope of getting it all done before the kids went back to school. I sent weekly emails with design ideas, inspirations and encouragement. I was on a mission!

I left Amy with homework to do every week to maximize our next work session. She was so cool and open to my suggestions even though I am sure I was unbearably picky at times.

Office corner after.

She was most excited when we transformed a rarely used spare bedroom into a home office for her. She was the only person in her house who did not have a room of her own. Now she has a place to shut the door, listen to music, and have some quiet and creative time.

Family room before and after.

With each van load to the consignment shops and Goodwill, Amy would breathe a little deeper.

Family room before and after.

Each week I would return and every room we had worked on had stayed in a clutter free state. With much less stuff to look after, it was easier to keep it all in check.

Closet before and after.

In the end we managed to de-clutter the house in six 8-hour shifts. 48 hours in total. We celebrated with a big shopping spree. Kidding.

Is your stuff taking over? Don’t know where to start? Here are a few things that really helped us along the way.

• Start small. A kitchen drawer. A linen closet.
• Get a friend to come and help. A second opinion on whether or not you should part with that 1980’s dress is invaluable. (Cocktails also help.)
• Make piles for consignment, shelters, goodwill and recycling and deliver them right away.  If you don’t, there is a good chance it will all end up back in your closet. It happens. I have done it.

                     Maintenance Tips

• Use the “one thing in, one thing out” policy. Buy something new, part with something old.
• When you are shopping ask yourself if you really need that new item.
• Mend rather than spend.
• Try for a Spring and/or Fall reassessment, and a monthly mini clean out. Especially if you have kids.

A final note: I don’t think that having lots of stuff is a bad thing. Everyone knows I love my stuff. (I am a Taurus after all.) All the homes I know and love feel warm and beautiful partially because of the objects inside them. Our stuff says a lot about us. These things we have chosen to surround ourselves with are a reflection of how we see the world, what gives us comfort, what our passions are. I just think when your stuff starts to take over your life rather than add to it, a good paring down is in order.

 I finally gave our living room a much needed facelift (more on that later) and afterwards I realized my favorite vintage lamp  looked a little plain in the new room.

My sister Emma said the shade was hideous and that I should throw some electrical tape around it to brighten it up.

So I picked up some orange color coding tape at the hardware store and added a simple stripe on both edges, but I couldn’t stop there.

Or there….

Perfect! Slightly crooked, trendy stripes!

My friend was over the other day and asked what the hole in the lawn was for. I told him it was for our clothesline. He asked if our patio umbrella fit into the hole.  I had no idea. Two years with this hole in our lawn and I had never thought to see if the patio umbrella fit.

It did! Ever since  I  have been throwing my favorite bedspread on the lawn, popping in the umbrella and enjoying the last of the warm weather before the trees start to change. It’s nice for a fall picnic too! Do you have one of these in your yard? Give it a whirl.

It has been over a year since my last post and I can think of no better time to start blogging again than the Fall. Back to school is in the air and with it comes possibility, adventure, sleeping weather, great movies, delicious books, cozy sweaters and turning leaves. My favorite time of year for certain. (I try not to think about what follows.)

I hope to continue the site in the same vein as before but my adventures may be a little closer to home and always with a little person in tow. I will post Wednesdays but may post more often if time permits.

Scroll down for an “end of summer” recipe that I made 2 nights ago. It was super yummy.

I love blogging for the site. I have missed it. Love to hear from you anytime.

Best,

Vic