Painting on the hottest day, light and tile of dreams

I really did choose the wrong weekend to do my painting. Last weekend when the weather was just perfect temperature and humidity wise, we packed up the cooler and  took a nice little day trip to  Awenda Provincial park to take Emma to a dog beach that is there. 

Here she is as the filling in a black and tan sand which!

 She had a blast and so did we. 

But today I think the temperature hit 36 degrees and it was more like 40 with the humidity. 

We don't have air conditioning on our main level so I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to get at least a coat of paint on the dining room walls but I am soooooo glad I did.

I even convinced Todd to do his thing and move the chandelier from the front hall.

This chandelier was in the living room when we bought our home and when we moved it to the hall, we had to shorten the chain so you could walk under it. We safely put the extra chain away, somewhere, and guess what? Now we can't find it. So it is hanging a little higher than I want until I either find the chain or I find a place that sells antique chain to match.

Either way I just love how pretty it looks in here and the bonus is it fits our budget right now.

What I think I love the best though is how the original glass windows just

 pop surrounded by the sky blue.

We are still working on getting that dang fireplace put back in too. 

Soon, hopefully and I must get around to ordering the doors for the bottoms of the built-ins.

It's amazing now that both rooms are this lovely ethereal blue how much larger they look

and how right this feels for us. 

I'm also so happy that Todd loves it just as much as I do.

And now I am really so very very excited to share with you a little peak of what is my one time splurge, the light that I have dreamed of having for so long a Moravian star light that I treated myself to as a reward after a gruelling month at work a while back.

  Todd hung it in the front hall where the chandelier was and I am in heaven!

 It casts such a pretty pattern on the ceiling.

Of course, now that the living and dining room are my custom shade of blue, the Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue must go, so that will be the next project.

And lastly I must show you the most beautiful tile I have ever seen!!!

Earlier today after a vet appointment with Emma we stopped by Tilemaster in Aurora so I could check on some white glass tile for one of my customers who is elderly and unable to get around easily due to her ill husband and I think I almost fell over when I saw this incredible jade pebble floor tile.

Of course I would love to have this for our entire area of the front entry but at 60 square feet it will be too pricey so I will consider it as a border to a less expensive tile.

Don't you just love it!!!

Hope you have a great week!!!

Beachy decor and Mom's trade

Well folks, I have got to say that my good intentions of accomplishing anything last weekend were foiled by alternate plans of summer fun. The laundry list of things to do is huge but I don't think you can really understand that having missed out on so much in the past, makes it an easy choice to not be slugging away inside the house when the weather is as beautiful as it has been.   

Hence, the walls are not painted yet in the dining room but 

what I have been doing over the last while is starting to collect some coastal accessories to decorate our home with. After spending money on the bones of our home, there is not much left for decorating so finding affordable things that speak to me is important. I had some fun arranging them here on one side of our dining room built-ins for now.

Here is something I've never seen before, stunning sea barnacles in in
shades of purples, pinks and cream .

Mom and I found them when we visited the incredibly talented and proud new store owner
Michael Penny. If you ever get a chance you must visit him. His gorgeous store is called
Penney and Co.
located in downtown Whitby. Michael is a super nice and uber talented designer who left a little gig called Canadian House and Home Magazine  to work with my all time favourite interior designer Sarah Richardson on the currently airing Sarah 101.
There is an article about his store in the recent Canadian House and Home Magazine and a featured home he decorated is in the recent Style at Home Magazine.
 Sadly I was so wrapped up in speaking with him that I completely forgot to take pictures of his store but I won't forget the next time I visit.
Michael also has a fantastic blog full of great inspiration that is both stylish and down to earth so check him out.
 Michael Penney

I found this beautiful  conch shell in an antique barn near work for just $8.00

and these pretty white washed boxes at Home Sense

and a sweet little guy I gave you a sneak peak of a while back,
a driftwood coloured wood carved pelican that I've nicknamed Henry

another lovely item I found at Michael's store is this great little white washed and tan basket to hide the  remotes in in the living room.

I even found a box of matches at Michael's store that has shell pictures on the cover. 

a candle lantern from the grocery store on clearance for just $6.00

  

and I couldn't pass up on these 3 star fish when I saw them in a store in the town where I work, each one washed with a muted blue, grey, and taupe, my favourite colours, and there were just three of them.
The frame is awaiting the perfect print. 

 Three star fish seems to be a recurring theme that I love, the first ones I placed on the ledge of our beadboard wainscotting after it's renovation a couple of years ago

so I couldn't believe it when I found this set of three star fish hooks that are just perfect for Emma's leash's and things on the opposite side of the door to the kitchen

and now I am so thrilled to show you what makes me the most proud of all to own,
a painting by my mom. She had painted this same scene for me before in a smaller version and I had it framed but when I saw this larger unframed canvas version she later did I just had to see if she would trade me, and she did.
Isn't it amazing?!!!
When I look at it, it just takes me away to a stress free place.
I will hang it either in our front hall or it maybe it will end up in our dining room over our sideboard.
Thanks Mom!!!!

Now some exciting news about my mom I would like to share, she has recently started taking DESSICATED THYROID HORMONE like me and is starting to feel better than she has in years. So much so now that she is now selling her paintings to cottage owners at my brother's marina who love her work!!!!!
I am one proud daughter.

Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Awenda provincial park. There is a dog beach there and we can't wait to see if Emma likes the water.

Have a great week!!

A new antique table

 Oh my gosh, I don't know about you but ever since the beautiful summer weather and Emma have arrived I have been enjoying a lot of outdoor time and it has been heaven. I've also been battling a tooth infection and any infection in the body taxes the immune system so it has challenged my energy levels as well. 

And as a result all things reno wise have been pushed aside but I have a long list I hope to tackle this long weekend finishing up some painting that is long overdue along with enjoying a night at the drive-in movies and some nice bbq'd dinners outside. 

 Like a proud mom though, I have to squeeze in  another photo of our little Emmie.

She is just so sweet and we can't believe how lucky we are.
Couldn't you just kiss that cute face.

And since we moved our dining room  parsons table into the kitchen in place of our island I have been on the look out for a pedestal table that has charm and character for our almost square dining room.

I'm hoping that this weekend I can bend Todd's arm to add to his very long to do list, trimming the new bamboo window blinds I bought for all the downstairs windows from the Restore for an amazing $20.00 a piece and then I will take some photos of the kitchen for you to see how the table looks. 

It's just so darn practical and I recall reading that there is a new kitchen design trend happening to bring the table back in the kitchen in place of the island as it feels more inviting, and, I agree, at least for our space it is.

I had previously posted about wanting a pedestal table for our dining room and loved the style of this one from Pier 1 Imports but it was made partly of MDF and was $500.00 or so and it did not have leaves to expand it so I never considered it.

 Here is another similar table in white that I also loved.

and a smaller version in an Empire style table

and here is the stunning antique empire pedestal table that I found on Kijiji!
What do you think!!! I love it!

It's 48"in diameter and opens to 6' long with the leaves so that is perfect when we want to entertain.
I know the table looks crooked but I took this picture after I had cleaned it up and lugged the base and top separately from our front porch to the dining room all by myself instead of waiting for Todd. It wasn't easy but I just couldn't wait. I managed to barely get the top on and didn't  want to move it anymore in fear of moving the base and having the casters scratch the floor.

and I sadly parted with my beloved coffee table as well since it would look funny having two round tables in adjacent rooms.  I have loved this pretty table and had it for years but it also took up a little too much space in our living room so I sold it on Kijiji and put the money towards our new table which was a steal for under $200.00.
It was a great drive to Burlington and we met up with the coffee table  buyers and then picked up our new table that was coincidently only one minute around the corner from there so it worked out perfect for everyone.

I'm not sure if it is maple or not and will check on it's value  before considering painting it.

I really love the empire style detail on the legs and the old wood casters.

and the opportunity to seat more people for dinner.

I also spotted this incredible new wallpaper on one of my favourite wallpaper sites Thibaut
and am absolutely gaga over it.

However, Thibaut is not a budget friendly wallpaper  and I believe there is a 3 roll minimum so it might not be an option unless I win the lotto!
Maybe I will luck out and find a stencil that is similar
which will be a lot cheaper and I won't feel so bad to paint over it if I get tired of it down the road.

Our Canada Day long weekend starts tomorrow and 

if your celebrating,  Happy Canada Day to you and I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

Kitchen change

It's been nothing short of a fantastic week to take vacation. I have been doing basically nothing to just relax and recharge along with spending time with Emma. She has been simply amazing and we can't believe how much we love her already. 

Reno wise Todd has been working on the fence outside and I have been doing absolutely 

NOTHING!
We did make a recent change though.

After a little experiment I have decided to replace our island with our dining room table and chairs.

I know, I know, many people dream of having an island but ours was only seating for two which wasn't great when we had company over and it was higher than our window ledge which didn't feel right for the space visually. When I didn't feel well before, we never socialized and so that was ok but now that I am better and someone comes over, we are always in the kitchen.  Now we have seating for 4 for everyday use and 6 for entertaining and it actually makes the kitchen feel bigger even though the table is longer than the island was. I  lost storage but  after a thorough cleaning of my pantry and other cabinets, I  managed to relocate my pots and pans and other containers I kept in the island. The microwave is now on the counter next to the fridge which is not a perfect as you can see it from the front door so I will figure out something new for that.

I do just love how the texture of the wicker chairs and wood table warms up the kitchen and contrasts with the stone counters and marble backsplash. It's the beachy touch I was looking for all along.

I have scored some great new blinds for the windows too from the Restore for just $20.00 each and when I get them up and get the walls and trim repainted I will share it all with you.

Hope you have a great week and are able to stay cool.