It's party dress season

11.22.2011

I don't know how I stumbled on this website, and maybe I've been living under a rock for ages given I've never heard of this, but I'm kind of in love with Rent the Runway. For 90% off the retail price, you can rent a in-season designer outfit or accessory for any type of occasion, and then, when you're done, slip it back (unlaundered - they take care of that) into a provided envelope (postage already paid - they take care of that too) and stick it in a mailbox. Done. They even send a backup size for free in case the one you rent doesn't fit. If you spill red wine on the dress of tear the zipper...no biggie. They take care of that! Amazing!

Only problem.....you have to live in the U.S. BOO! We need to get this here! How fun would it be to be able to wear a high-end designer gown to your next black tie event - one that you would likely never spend the thousands of dollars on, or a sexy little dress that realistically, you're only likely to wear once, to a stagette or girls night. So awesome!

If I have been living under a rock and you're all aware of this site already, then please someone tell me what it's like. They say everything arrives freshly laundered. Is that true? Are the clothes in good shape? Would you use a service like this?

If I could rent something from Canada (Rent the Runway people...if you're reading...I'm in Toronto. I'm further south than Detroit...just saying...we're not that far), I think this is what I would want:

I think I'd need to rent the legs too, but that's another story (Retail $1495, rentable for $150).

 
For an evening when Cam takes me out on the town! Retail this is $475, but to rent it's $75.

Someone needs to host a black tie event and invite me. Then I would totally wear this. This baby is $1495 retail, but $250 to rent. Still kind of a lot, but maybe depending on the event, it could be justified.

I love this cocktail ring. Rent for $50 (retail $398)
I think this is true love. Is it okay to rent true love? For $65 (retail $473)
Images all from Rent the Runway. From top: Trina Turk Gold Tulip Dress; Herve Leger Stop and Stare Dress; Haute Hippie Salsa Dance Dress; Yigal Azrouel Selma Gown; Erickson Beamon Confetti Cocktail Ring; Coralia Leets Cerulean Droplet Earrings.

Colour bottled up

11.21.2011
A while back I was admiring some painted bottles from West Elm imagining what they would look like on my mantle. I was so tempted to buy them, but decided that I could make something very similar myself. While I have yet to actually make the bottles, I was reminded of the project the other day while searching Pinterest (my absolute favourite activity while nursing).

Pinterest

How incredibly easy would this be? Find some old vases in need of a freshening up or go to the dollar store and pick some up, pour some acrylic paint inside and swoosh it around, let dry upside down, and VOILA! Custom colours and so pretty.

The lazy girl's guide to antique shopping

11.18.2011
Antique shopping is in my blood. My dad is an avid collector, and as a kid, he would drag me to every antique show in the province searching for whatever goody he was looking to add to one of his many collections. One of his most prized collections is a depression glass pattern called Manhattan, and I was assigned the responsibility of scouring each piece he was looking to buy for chips that might lessen its value.

I haven't stopped visiting antique stores and flea markets, but now I drag my poor husband along with me for the ride. He's a good sport, though I know it's not his favourite thing to do.

Now that we're headed into winter (it snowed yesterday for the first time - ah!) the really fun outdoor markets are closed, so I'm turning to this great new site I just read about called Foundstyle.

This Canadian site was started by two stylists and an interior designer, and they sell vintage tableware, textiles, accessories, and small furniture pieces that they pick up at auctions and antique shows. The best part - everything is priced very reasonably and displayed so nicely (no overloaded tables filled with junk like you find at many antique markets). I highly recommend checking it out. I love shopping in my pj's with a cup of coffee in hand - antique shopping never got so comfortable.

Here are a few things that I would love to add to my house!






Kitchen Reno Part 1

11.13.2011

When we moved into our house, it was my plan to renovate the kitchen as quickly as possible. It needed some help! Involving the floors, the lighting, the back splash, the counters, the sink, the faucet, the cabinetry hardware and the wall colour, it was a full scale renovation in my mind. Two years later, while there hasn't been any major demolition or complete overhaul, we've made a few changes that I'm really happy with. The lighting, wall colour, and flooring have all changed, but the highlight came a few days ago when our highly anticipated counters arrived along with a new sink and faucet.

We opted to go with something a bit different for the counters....concrete. Let me tell you, it is the most beautiful counter surface I've seen in ages. When it came to natural stone, there wasn't much that really excited us, and some of the man-made surfaces, while lovely, were just too far out of our budget. Concrete is expensive to make, but the materials are pretty affordable and you can adapt it anyway you like. Luckily, my super-handy step dad Saul volunteered to make them, and what a fantastic job he did. He'd never done them before and they were a great deal of work, so we were all happy and relieved when they arrived scratch-free and looking fabulous.

The beauty of concrete is that you can make it any colour you want (they have tints in every shade from the Benjamin Moore fan deck - is 500,000+ choices enough?), you can make it high gloss with lots of exposed aggregate, or create a low-luster, satin finish.  It's a greener choice, durable and can withstand hot, cold or whatever else you throw at it. It's amazing.

If anyone is interested in learning more about concrete counters, check out the Buddy Rhodes website  for a gallery and some inspiration (a great site for DIY concrete counters). In the meantime, here are a few snaps of the evolution of my kitchen.



The two snaps above are of the kitchen before we moved in. I took these when we were at the house to measure before our move-in date.






This was our kitchen a week ago before the new counters and sink/faucet combo arrived.




And these are our new babies! We're so excited and thrilled with how they turned out.



Now that the counters are in, the wheels are turning! I think I want to paint the cabinetry, at least the lower cabinets, maybe a green-grey like this:

House Beautiful

And definitely a change in cabinet hardware is in order. I never liked what was there, but given we need 32 pieces for all the drawers and cupboards, it always seemed like money I shouldn't spend. Now they have to go. They are way too shiny!

We also have a new back splash ready for installation. Pictures of that to follow. 

Of course if we paint the cabinets, the wall colour will have to change. And maybe the art. And on and on it goes....

Top image via Pinterest

My Monkey

11.01.2011

I hope you all had a great Halloween! We were having a great day carving pumpkins and trying to mimic the expression on the pumpkin's face (see below). Brigs had tons of fun. At least he was having fun, until......


We put him in his costume:


From that moment on, things got very serious. We're pretty sure that it was just his way of saying he doesn't enjoy being made to look like a monkey for the benefit of his parents, uncle, grandparents and neighbours who were all there to oohh and aahhh at him!



We thought he was the cutest thing ever, and are happy that he allowed us the opportunity to dress him up, even if he didn't crack a smile all night!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Lovely Shelter All rights reserved
© Blog Milk
Powered by Blogger

^