I tell ya friends, today was a great day.  The chairs, I mean the chairs arrived!  Oh goodness, I seriously did a happy dance. I fear that the men delivering the chairs may have tagged me as crazy but in the name of happiness, I'm fine with that.

I'm just so thankful.  I mean, it's just so amazing when something you've wanted for so long is finally yours.  Patience seriously pays off, believe dat!

So there they sit, ever so lovely in our living room.  Placement, yet to be determined since the Christmas tree is taking up a good amount of space.

 good heavens that room needs to get finished!

I'm now really wanting to get the coffee table that I mentioned before painted.  I know you probably also think that I'm a tad bit crazy for wanting to paint it a very, very, very light shade of pink, but I dunno...it's just something that I want to try.  Can't hurt right? I mean, in the end, if it looks absolutely ridiculous, it will be me repainting it.  So I'll take yet another chance.

I am however, having a tough time choosing the perfect shade.  You see yes, I do want there to be pink in the colour, but I'm not sure how much.  I don't want people to walk in and say "whoa, that is a pink table!" and then proceed to tell my husband that I need to get my head checked.  I'd much prefer a "is that table pink?" and you can really see them trying to figure it out, because they can't be sure without me telling them.  You know?  We'll see.  Gosh I hope I'm not posting about a major pink table fail in a few weeks! Ha!

So the table and a possible antique buffet or antique china cabinet are needed asap and this room will feel much more complete.  Then onto decorative items and art.

Cheers,

A Touch of Colour & Here Goes Nothing!

Last week I stopped in at Michaels to scope out their canvases and it just so happened that they were having a 60% off sale.  I grabbed one and headed home with a big plan.  I wanted to make something to hang above the couch in the family room.  I was a little ambitious and bought a larger canvas.  Yup.  You read correctly.  My plan was to paint three large intertwined circles with black paint and a wide brush.  I did just that and it was absolutely awful.  Like, how did I ever think I could tackle this awful.

So I painted over the entire thing with white paint.  I figured that now, I had nothing to lose and would attempt an abstract painting.

Now, I have to be totally honest with you.  I know nothing about painting.  Nothing.  I've always wanted to try painting, but I found it to be so very intimidating because I knew nothing about it.  I can only imagine how much there is to learn and all of techniques, paints, brushes, tips, etc.  I know none of this.

Anyhow, long story short.  I headed out again and purchased a few inexpensive tubes of acrylic paint and after searching Pinterest for a little inspiration, I got to work.

Another bit of honesty, I can't believe I'm sharing this with you.  But this is my blog and I'm doing my best to "keep it real" so, here it goes:

this is after I added a touch of black

It's pretty tricky trying to capture the true colours (they look darker & bolder in the 2nd pic that they do in real life) and texture (kudos to all of you who take amazing photos of your artwork).  It's not yet finished, but I think I'm getting there.  Some of the colours need to be toned down and such.

I think I'll hang it in either the living room or the hallway.  The colours just aren't right for the family room.

There you go!  My first attempt at painting.  I'll be sure to share the finished product with you too...Whenever that is!

Cheers,

Sweet Deal!

Friends, how are you doing?  Hope you enjoyed seeing our Christmas tree!

Yesterday hubs, little J and I headed to Kingston to get some shopping done.  We typically go there once every couple of weeks to shop at stores that we don't have here.  One of them being Costco, which is where I decided to go to get my Cozamia print framed.  It should be ready in 2 weeks....perfect! Just in time for the holidays.  I went with a slightly simple black frame.  I had hoped to get a gold frame, but alas, it wasn't to be.  I figure I can always spray this one gold in the future.  So that's done.

Then we stopped at Homesense (of course).  The store there is quite a bit bigger than the one here, so the selection is that much better.  They didn't have the table I was looking for but they did have two identical round, fabric ottomans with tufted tops. I eyed them for a bit but couldn't think of where I'd use them, so there they stayed.

Then of course, shortly after arriving back home I realized that they would have been absolutely perfect for the entryway.  Gah!  The thing is that Kingston is about 35-40 mins from here.  So it's not far, but it's far enough.  I seriously had to have them.  Not only were they the perfect size and made with the perfect fabric, but they were on clearance.  I die.  So I phoned the store, they confirmed that they were still there.  Today, little J and I headed back to Kingston to pick the ottomans up.  I literally giggled when I walked into the store and spotted them at the front.  Meant to be.  Even more of a reason to giggle, they had been marked down by another $29!  What?! Seriously, yes!  So I ended getting them for 1/2 the original price.  Again, I die.

the ottomans 

in place

The whole inspiration for working on the entryway was this video of Meredith Heron (that wallpaper!!!) on Steven and Chris.  I love how she says that the entryway is your chance to go bold because it's a transition area.  And although these aren't drastically bold, they add character.  The ottomans along with the three prints that I ordered will create a statement upon walking into our home, at least I hope they will! ha!

Entryway progress: we're getting there.

Have you seen the latest issue of Style At Home? You need to.  Christine from Bijou and Boheme kitchen is featured along with her living room.  It's unreal, you've got to see it.  She and Meredith Heron created an stunning kitchen that we will all be keeping in our mental rolodex's.  Go get your copy now!

Oh yes.  I've been working on painting this piece of furniture that we've been storing in our basement.  I'll be placing it beneath my Jen Ramos print in the kitchen.  Amazing what a touch of paint can do, isn't it?!

before 

after coat #1

And that's that!

Cheers,

O Christmas Treeeeeeee!

My dear friends, how was your weekend?  We purchased our Christmas tree, we relaxed, we enjoyed spending time as a family (something that hasn't happened in a long time on a weekend due to hubs being away).  It was lovely and I'm thankful for that.

First let me tell you a little something.  When we lived in Ottawa I absolutely loved taking a particular route home during the holiday season because it meant that we would drive past a home that to me, had the most unbelievably gorgeous tree in a room at the front of the house.  This tree was just the epitome of a perfect Christmas tree and as silly as it sounds, it was a dream of mine to one day, be able to do the same.  To have a tall tree at the front of the house.

Well, dreams do come true and guys, I'm so beyond thankful right now.

We placed the tree in the living room which has slightly vaulted ceilings.  This meant that we had enough room for a 10-11' tree.

Now, do you decorate your tree as a family?  Is there any rhyme or reason to your decorations?

When we first moved out, I had to style the tree.  Not anymore.  Now I sit back and watch while the kids do their thing and take over once they've had enough.  So, needless to say there is definitely no rhyme or reason to our tree and we love it!

Some pics from our tree decorating:

I may or may not have wanted to kiss the tree! 

this guy promoted me to head elf, I was a tad bit excited ;)

all hands on deck!

Also, I was totally excited to receive an email from Restoration Hardware letting me know that my chairs have shipped! Wahoo!  They should be here in the next week or so.  Once the chairs are in place, I can get a true feel for the room and then plug away on adding more pieces. Can not wait!

Tomorrow I'm off to get my Cozamia print framed and I'll also be stopping at a different Homesense to *hopefully* pick up a few things that I spotted the last time I was there for the living room. Fingers crossed!

Happy, Monday!

Cheers,