Thursday, May 30, 2013

Summer Porch & Pillows.

It was sunny and warm yesterday! Seems like we've had the worst spring in a long time so it was lovely to feel the warm sun. The latest Style at Home mag arrived so Beaufort and I parked ourselves in the backyard and relaxed a bit while I read. Fun to see a full spread on Margot and Kevin Austin's cottage here in PEI. It's so fresh and relaxed!



I also cleaned up the front porch by washing down the deck floor and the Adirondack chairs. I added a couple of new pillows from Superstore and a large fern plant in a big orange pot. I've tried planting flowers in pots under the porch roof but never seem to have any success, even with shade loving plants. Hopefully the fern will stay nice and lush.



I added some new pillows to the couch in the living room in an attempt to make the room feel a bit more summery. I am a pillow hoarder. Adding more didn't go over so well but it makes me happy! :)


I ordered the grey and white ikat dot covers from the Etsy shop East & Nest. They are more of a greige than grey which works quite well. I picked up the blue ikat pillow at Home Sense on the weekend from the clearance rack. I love the pattern and it works perfectly with the dot pattern.

My minty green blanket arrived but hasn't been used yet. I've been keeping it draped over the arm of the couch. Beaufort is still into his sucking the blankets routine so I'm not risking it. What do you think? Do I give and and just let him have his own and hope that he will stop? So far the latter choice is not working... :) Read more about his strange little habit here.


As I hoped, it is the perfect shade of mint green as opposed to the Granite Green color that it's referred to. It's the huge color trend lately and a throw is the perfect way to bring it into your home without big commitment!


We're on the home stretch at school! It's going to be a busy month. I have the sweetest class ever.. and I still thank my lucky stars that I only have 16 of them. That's a big deal people! Enjoying the last bit of time I have left with them before heading off for summer!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Featured on Wedding Chicks!

It's Monday! That weekend went by crazy fast! I had a fun night out with my girlfriends at the PEI Wine Festival and a little shopping trip to Moncton so it was a full one but a great one at that. Hope all my American readers enjoyed their long weekend!

Last week, Wedding Chicks featured a styled wedding shoot that I styled a couple months back along side some amazingly talented PEI wedding vendors. I thought I'd share some of my favorite images with you here today. It's dreamily soft and pretty with shades of peach, mint and gold. Plus, we had feathers! What's not to love?

I have looked at the photos a hundred times and had trouble choosing which ones to share since I love them all so much!

















Dreamy, I tell you.

Check out the full gallery of images here.

A huge thank you to the following vendors who made it all happen.

My lovely group of creative ladies. We have so much fun doing this and I adore you: 

Photographer: Rachel Peters Photography Design Concept & Paper Products: Kim Roach Designs Cake & Desserts: City View Bakehouse Makeup: Michelle Cudmore Makeup Artist 
Hair: Cheryl Weeks 
Coordinator: Kiss the Bride 

To these vendors who graciously helped us out, we so appreciate it:


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Dreamy Peachy Mint Wedding ~ a Sneak Peek.

Later today, a wedding shoot that I styled is going to be featured on Wedding Chicks. I cannot wait to share the photos with you! For now, have a look at this video from the of the day of the shoot, captured by Lowell Productions. It's 48 seconds of pretty:) 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Backyard Progress.

The add-on to the deck is almost finished! One board left to add on the left side and then it will have to be stained to match the rest. We will let the wood dry out a bit and it will likely be on my summer to-do list.


Did you spot Beaufie's little face? "Whatcha doin' out there mum?"

We also planted a few more things in the pea stone garden. The pea shrub was once on the side of the house where it didn't get much sun so we transplanted it here. It will eventually grow fuller and cascade downward.

We also added some blue oat grass along the path. They are tiny now but will fill out and look a little like these. We planted some last year and know they will do well in the stone.

via
I also put a Miscanthus on either side of the pea shrub and I'm now realizing they may have to be moved in a few years because they get rather large. Hopefully they will look nice and full for the first while, even though they are pretty puny right now.

via

 So thrilled to see that my Japanese Maple trees are coming back and looking healthy. I forgot to cover them over the winter and apparently that's bad news. Oops! I'm relieved and learned my lesson.




The weather has been just fair this Spring in PEI. Actually, we nearly froze on Saturday, it felt like winter. The heat was back on in the house for a couple days last week. Kills me! Now we have rain in the forecast until the weekend. Makes it really hard to get yard work done and for things to get blooming. Patience I suppose... :)

Monday, May 20, 2013

Long Weekend Blooms and Finds.

What a great long weekend! We got a few things done around the house but spent a lot of time relaxing and it was wonderful. Sometimes the weekends feel go, go, go and it was nice to have an extra day to sleep in after a night out with friends, catch a noon Crossfit class, unwind, watch some Netflix, make a nice late lunch and then skip supper. Love those days!

We did a little shopping around town on Saturday and I thrifted these brass candlesticks at $2 for the pair. Score! I had some peach candlesticks left over from a photoshoot and opted for those over my go-to white. Peach is a favorite of mine lately.



I could clean them up a bit but currently I find their aged, tarnished finish irresistable. I can't get enough gold and brass tones in my life these days. Peach and gold.. is this the 90s? Who woulda thought?


I have a plentiful patch of tulips on the side of my house. I'm sure they were planted years ago, long before I ever lived here. Some of them have blooms as big as my head. Or not, but you get the idea. Huge, I tell you! Among them were these pretty pink and white ones which I clipped and brought into the house. Might as well enjoy them while they are still here!




I also cut this lonely tulips blooming all by it's lonesome. Rarely do I see them with so many petals. So pretty! I'm very anxious to see some other things blooming. Peonies and rhododendrons are my favorite!



Back tomorrow with some backyard progress!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

On My Mind.

 I'm realizing that I've spoiled my dog. He went from only coming up on the couch to snuggle if he was invited, to thinking he owns it. Time to show him who's the boss. Tough love time :(


I seriously think the #beautifulmess app is worth the 99 cents. 
So many great options and fun to play around with.



Ordered this minty-green throw from Indigo. A steal at 60% off! 
Hopefully Beaufort doesn't adopt it and suck holes in it. See above.

We booked our flights to the most magical place on Earth. Looking to rent a house that sleeps 6 with a pool in the Orlando area for a week in August. VRBO stresses me out. Any suggestions?


I've been eyeing my peonies very carefully, anxious for them to bloom. One of my most favorite flowers in prettiest of pink. Simple pleasures. Soon I hope!


It's a long weekend coming!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Peekaboo Table.


I've been dying for a new coffee table for a while now. The one we've had was bought at a thrift store and I gave it a makeover with a coat of white paint. It was a large solid piece certainly did the trick for a while. We tried to buy a glass one at Structube when we were in Montreal in the fall but couldn't fit it in our car. Not surprisingly in retrospect, since we had everything but the kitchen sink packed into that car. There isn't much shopping in PEI so when I get a chance I take it very seriously!
cb2 peekaboo coffee table
However, I wasn't entirely crazy about the green cast of the glass anyway and decided it was a blessing that we didn't get it. What I really wanted was something completely transparent, which I found out, means you need to go with acrylic vs glass. There are some downfalls to acrylic though as it scratches quite easily but I was willing to take the chance. I sourced the peekaboo table from cb2 but assumed the shipping to PEI would be a lot and perhaps not worth it. Deciding to give it a try anyway, I called and found out they would send it for $34! I quickly jumped on it and it arrived within 4 days!


It's smaller than our last table at only 38 inches wide. It took us a couple of days to decide whether it was too small or simply that being smaller that what we had previously and the fact that is see through made it feel that way. We've decided that while we wish it were a bit larger it suits the space and it's really not too small at all!



Here is a shot of the thickness of the acrylic.


And another shot of how the clear glass shows off my chevron rug. I felt the last table hid the rug so this is a perk!


I styled it up with some fresh flowers, some of my favorite candles, accessories and magazines and it's quickly become my favorite part of the room!


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Backyard Transformation - Part 2


I've shared the above photo before. Last summer we constructed a new deck and chose to forgo traditional stairs in favor of a long layered walkway from the lower deck to the upper deck. We loved the streamlined look and call it "the runway". I actually may be my favorite part about the whole project!

What I avoided showing in the photos the best I could, was the ugly walkway leading from the driveway to the back door. (Shocking that a blogger shows only the pretty stuff!?) It's broken, crooked and we hate it! Tossed around the idea of removing it but those pavers are thick! It would have been a big job and while an interlocking stone walkway would have been stunning, we are pretty thrifty and wanted to spend elsewhere.




What we ended up deciding to do is place a similar deck/walkway as we have on the other side - right on top! Steph got to work on it over the weekend and got it all framed.


He was able to get some of the boards on this week but there are still more to finish up. The fence is also getting redone and there will be shrubs planted along the fence line. It's getting there but we are getting several days of rain starting tonight so it may be on hold for a bit. I am so excited to have it all finished!


I love summer projects!