Today I'm proud to #standtogether with The Canadian Safe School Network (a national, registered charitable organization) and Yo Sox to help spread the word about their wonderful campaign aimed to stop bullying.  With three school aged kids this is a campaign that is near and dear to my heart.

Did you know that "perceived differences" is one of the main causes for bullying?  That's right.  Over 50% of bullying is due to race, weight, hair colour, physical differences and that's just a few.  We need to do what we can to help stop this.

It's okay that we aren't all the same, in fact, that's what makes us so amazing!  Our uniqueness, and we need to embrace those differences!  It's okay to be different, it's not okay to pick on someone that is.

Canadian Safe Schools has partnered with Yo Sox to design a collection of socks to help support their campaign and to help spread the word!  Yo Sox will donate a portion of the sales to The Canadian Safe School Network to help fund anti-bullying programs for youth.

Hop on over to the Yo Sox website to view the entire #StandTogether collection.  There are a variety of colours and sizes available.

We are all different, which is what makes us great!  Let's #StandTogether!

Cheers,

Spring Brunch

I absolutely love Spring!  The warmer temps slowly begin to creep in, gardens start coming back to life and everyone is out and about enjoying the fresh air and sunshine (which I hope will stick around soon!).  Why not celebrate the arrival of Spring by hosting a fantastic Spring themed brunch?!

Grandma's china and crystal have been paired with plastic cutlery and striped paper straws for a great mix of high and low.  Spring blooms take center stage, but the true star of the show are the absolutely stunning napkins and placemats from The Sarah Richardson Home Textiles Collection!

I knew that these pieces were amazing having seen them online and in print, but they are truly even more gorgeous in person!  The patterns are casual yet elegant.  As you know, grey is my favourite colour.  The greys used in the collection are perfect and allow you to easily pair the pieces with any accent colour.  The reversible (!!!) placemats give you endless possibilities for mixing and matching! (see what's on the reverse of these placemats here! you're gonna love it)

Plastic cutlery allows you to customize your tablescape inexpensively and helps to create a relaxed setting.  The gold and wooden elements add a touch of warmth and go beautifully with the grey linens.  A piece of pink velvet ribbon tied around the top of each of the napkins, which feature elegant peonies, finish off the place settings.

Try combining plates from different sets!  I've placed one of Grandma's beautiful china plates on top of an every day grey plate for a mix of high and low.

Cake stands add height to your tablescape and are perfect for serving not just cakes, but croissants or other tasty treats!  I love having everything out on the table so that your guests can easily help themselves, honing in on the relaxed vibe.  Include touches of vintage with some milk glass vases!

After your brunch is over and your guests are gone, simply toss the linens into the wash (they are 100% cotton) so that they are ready for your next meal!

The Sarah Richardson Home Textiles Collection is just stunning and offers a variety of patterns and colour ways.  The collection not only includes table linens, but you will also find accent pillows and bed linens and all of the pieces can be mixed and matched!  You can view them all here!

Cheers and happy Spring, friends!

this post was written in collaboration with Sarah Richardson Design, however all opinions are my own

Buffalo Check! Kitchen Chair Update

The fabric on the vintage chairs in our kitchen had been looking a little sad for a while now.  That's to be expected since we sit at the table for every meal.  I've been wanting to update the fabric for some time and finally chose this gorgeous blue and white buffalo check from Tonic Living.  I've been incorporating more blue into the family room and kitchen with some pink and purple accents and both the kitchen and family room feel much cozier.

Here's the before:

And the after:

I love how the updated fabric has completely freshened up the space!  And quite honestly, I knew that the old fabric had seen better days, but whoa, it had really seen better days! ha!  Though I complain about swapping out fabric on chairs, I have to admit that it is a relatively easy process and the end results are always worth the work!

Did you notice some new additions to the kitchen in the last photo?  If you're following along on Instagram or snapchat (elliven_studio) then you may have already seen a sneak peek!  But yes, we have a new desk area in the kitchen and you guys, I'm in love!  This installation was planned a while ago and I was a wee bit nervous that it would make our kitchen feel much smaller, but hoped that it would do the opposite.  To my excitement, the new cabinets have done just as I had hoped and our kitchen certainly feels more complete now!  As you can see, they aren't 100% finished.  We are still waiting for hardware, a counter and the vent cover in the toe kick. I also need to swap out the shelves in the uppers for glass and I'm currently on the hunt for the perfect chair!  We'll get there!

Cheers,

Life Lately 9.5.16

I found that by the end of last year that I was finally getting into a groove with the house.  It's taken me quite a while to figure things out, and I have a lot to learn and to still figure out, but I'm super happy with the progress as of late, especially in the family room!

We are expecting a super exciting install today, I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are about this (fingers crossed it goes ahead as planned).  As a result, we moved the wine curio from the kitchen into the family room.  It's funny how you can dislike a piece so much, but then once it's moved into a new spot, you fall in love with it all over again!  You can read the story about it here.

The tulips in our garden decided to open up on Mother's Day and I couldn't have been more pleased!  Our gardens will soon be filled with pops of pink and purple!

I love nothing more than to walk around the yard every day come spring to see what's growing.  The gardens change so quickly this time of year!  It brings a smile to my face to see the trees blooming, such a beautiful sight!

Another change in the family room.  This room I tell ya!  I've been eyeing these lamps for years....years!!!  I finally had enough and picked a pair up last week (found in the clearance section, woot!).   Here's the lesson, just buy the lamps that you really want instead of compromising.  I did the latter and you know what, in the end, I spent more money buying several lamps that I never loved.

Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see updates like the ones above!  Have a lovely Monday, friends!

Cheers,

Tea Time

If you've been following along on Instagram, you probably know by now that I love a good cup of coffee or tea.  Afternoon tea is something that I truly enjoy.  A moment between the craziness to put your feet up and just breathe.  Some days are just go-go-go and taking a moment to step back and regroup is a necessity.

I've honestly been wearing these jeans a lot lately and this pleated top is a recent purchase.  I had the top in my cart for a while, but worried that it would be a little too dressy for every day wear.  So glad that I decided to buy it, because it goes so well with jeans.

jeans // top

Cheers,