Liebster Award

In the last week, I was lucky enough to be the recipient of two Liebster Awards. The award was passed on to me first by Beatrice from The Crafty Bee and secondly by Krista from Nook of Wellington. Thanks ladies! I love when these awards get passed around because I learn about my blogger buddies and I also get the chance to find out about new blogs.

Some background: the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers, who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share 5 random facts about yourself.

And here are 5 random things about me.

1. I'm a middle child. 

My brother, Daniel is 30 years old today(!) and my sister, Michelle will be 26 years old in less than 2 weeks, which makes me a middle child... Some of you may have heard of the dreaded "Middle Child Syndrome". Well let me tell you, it's true! I have noticed that I more closely relate to people who are also middle children, specifically when the middle sibling has one same-sex sibling i.e. Boy-girl-girl (my family), girl-girl-boy, boy-boy-girl, girl-boy-boy OR boy-boy-boy/girl-girl-girl.

I read this on Urban Dictionary (not a credible source, I know!) and burst out laughing! So true!!

Oldest: Hey I just turned 16!
Mom: Lets go pick you out a car!
Oldest: Yay!

-1 1/2 yrs later-

Middle: Hey I just turned 16!
Mom: Oh.. er.. well we're still paying for your sib's car, so you'll have to just borrow from her when you can..
Middle: >.>

-2 yrs later-

Youngest: Hey! I just turned 16!
Mom: Yay! And I just finished paying for the other car! Lets go get you a car!
Middle: Hey! I should be the next one to get a new car!
Youngest: but its MY birthday
middle: Thats stupid
youngest: MOMMY SHE JUST CALLED ME STUPID!!
mom: Be nice to your little sister on her birthday!! Come on, birthday-girl! Lets go get that car!
Youngest: WOO!

2. My favourite show is 1 Girl 5 Gays. 

I love love love that show. I could watch it all day. Vish, David Roberts, Dean, JP, Thomas, Michael Yerxa, Dylan, Juan, Jonathan S, Jonathan N., Gerry... those guys are all awesome!

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3. My Myer-Briggs personality type is ISTJ. 

According to Wikipedia:

The MBTI tool consists of multiple choice questions that sort respondents on the basis of the four "dichotomies" (pairs of psychological opposites). Sixteen different outcomes are possible, each identified by its own four-letter code, referred to by initial letters. (N is used for iNtuition, since I is used for Introversion). The MBTI is approximately 75% accurate according to its own manual.

• I – Introversion preferred to extraversion: ISTJs tend to be quiet and reserved. They generally prefer interacting with a few close friends rather than a wide circle of acquaintances, and they expend energy in social situations (whereas extraverts gain energy)
• S – Sensing preferred to intuition: ISTJs tend to be more concrete than abstract. They focus their attention on the details rather than the big picture, and on immediate realities rather than future possibilities.
• T – Thinking preferred to feeling: ISTJs tend to value objective criteria above personal preference. When making decisions, they generally give more weight to logic than to social considerations.
• J – Judgment preferred to perception: ISTJs tend to plan their activities and make decisions early. They derive a sense of control through predictability.

Yup... that's me to a T!

4. I signed up for a half marathon. 

On May 27th, I'll be doing the Toronto Women's Run Half Marathon. I did the 5mile/8km in October and I loved the experience. In all honesty, my training has taken a severe nose dive in the last 2 weeks, so I really need to get back to training! The longest distance I've run so far is 6 miles/10km.

5.  I once met Mariah Carey. 

My friend Sara's mom won second row tickets and backstage passes to Mariah Carey's Charmbracelet concert. Don't judge! Sara and I are both biracial (half-black half-white) like Mariah, so obviously we thought she was awesome lol! When we got to the backstage waiting area, the security people told us that we were not to ask for autographs, even though we told specifically to bring her latest CD so she could sign it. Oh well. They had a "professional" photographer there who took this photo of all of us, then mailed everyone a copy. Right after this shot was taken, everyone was standing around awkwardly.. I guess no one had told Mariah that they'd told us we couldn't ask for autographs, so she turned to me (me!) and said, "Do you want me to sign your CD?" I said, "Yeah ok!" Then I whipped out my CD while frantically motioning for Sara to get hers. Sara got her CD signed then security kicked the whole group out of the backstage room, which conveniently opened up to the road in front of the main entrance to the Air Canada Centre. Once outside Sara and I jumped up and down with joy for about 10 seconds before thinking better of things because everyone was giving us death stares and we were worried someone would try to steal our signed CDs from us. Yes we were geeks. At least I'm not an overweight geek anymore :)

I would like to pass this award to:

1. Sarah from {rad: Renovations Are Dirty}
2. Kerry from This Tinder
3. Amanda from Amanda Cromwell Designs
4. Lauren from The Wee Lass
5. Shannon from EightFootSix

Style at Home - March Roundup

The March 2012 issue of Style At Home is all about decluttering and storage solutions in smaller spaces - two ideas that go hand in hand. They're also particularly relevant as we get closer to spring... and spring cleaning!


I'm pretty sure I gasped when I first saw this. This vacation home is located in the Laurentian countryside, just north of Montreal. Guylain and Katrine Verdier are the homeowners of this 5000-square-foot house, which was designed in collaboration with Marc Julien and Denish Cyr of JCB Architectes and designer Jean-François Ménard. There is so much to love about this space. I love that there are wood floors and ceilings as you don't often see wood ceilings - gorgeous. I love the cabinetry, the backsplash, the touches of reclaimed wood throughout the space, the lightness, the airiness. They did a fantastic job of mixing modern and rustic elements. The space feels light and flowy because of the windows, the white shaker cabinets, and the acrylic chairs, but is well anchored with all of the wood - the floors, ceilings, bookshelf, and dining table.

Photography by Nicolas Ruel, Styling by Lucie Desmarais

This townhouse is owned by Catherine and Nick Chan, and is located in Toronto's King West area. It was a pre-build purchase, so the homeowners brought in the services of Ryan Martin and Amy Kent from Croma Design to help bring their vision to life. Ryan describes Catherine's style as "modern, clean, spare" with "a lot of texture" and I think they captured it perfectly! The minimal aestethic with the beige and grey palette really lets the textures shine - check out the grasscloth accent walls (swoon!), the bedding, the bed, and the sparkle above the couch. All perfection! If I could combine the kitchen and dining room of the Verdier's house with the living room and bedroom of the Chan's house, I think I'd have the perfect space.

Photography by Michael Graydon, Styling by Christine Hanlon

Photography by Michael Graydon, Styling by Christine Hanlon

This console table caught my eye. I love the long and skinny legs. It's also quite narrow, so it would work very well in a small space... perfect for condo-dwellers!

Photography by Angus Fergusson

This office belongs to fellow blogger, Jennifer Flores from Rambling Renovators. My favourite parts of this room are the L-shaped desk that creates two workspaces, the mix of open and closed storage, and the configuration of the storage - some high, some low. You don't often see the Expedit bookcases hung on the wall, so I appreciate the creative use!

I really enjoyed the interiors in this issue of Style at Home! Do you love the mix of modern and rustic décor as much as I do? 

Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup 2012

On Saturday, I attended the 2012 Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup, which took place at the Brassaii Restaurant and Lounge in Toronto and was organized by the wonderful Vie of Verdigris Vie and Daniella of Daniella Marie.

I had an awesome time. I love this event because it's a relaxed atmosphere and really gives us a chance to talk with and hang out with our fellow bloggers. I got  to meet a few new faces, which was awesome. From this meetup, I found some awesome (new to me) bloggers to follow and have added some people to my Twitter account. It's funny, part of me wants to walk right up to the bloggers I've talked with online (but haven't met yet), and part of me wants to hang back and not be so enthusiastic so I don't look crazy. I feel like I already know a lot of them through their blogs and the back and forth we have in the comments and emails. I love the Canadian blogging community! It's awesome! 


At this event, we had some fantastic guest speakers:


Lisa Murphy, an online director at House and Home;
Cameron MacNeil, a senior design editor at House and Home; 
Cassandra Lavalle from the blog coco+kelley;
and surprise guest, Brian Gluckstein from Gluckstein Design.


I had a bit of a hard time hearing, but took some notes from Cassandra's presentation. Some of the messages were reiterations from BlogPodium, but I appreciate hearing them again. It helps to drill them into my head!

• Have a professional looking blog and a consistent and cohesive brand. 
• Actively seek connections with established bloggers. If you want to guest post on another blog, pitch your specific idea and why you think it would be good on this person's blog.
• Attend industry events
• Create an editorial calendar
• Be true to your voice and style
• Practice good blogging etiquette (good referencing is important!)
• If you can't do something well on your blog, such as graphics, hire someone out until you learn how to do it

And finally, if you were unable to attend or are just curious about what goes on at these events, Len from Otima was filming and has put together a short clip. Check it out! It's just a teaser while he finishes the complete video, but it'll give you a feel for what we bloggers get up to after a few glasses of wine... just kidding!

Thanks to Vie and Daniella for putting together another amazing event! 

Here are my posts to my previous blogger meetups:

Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup 2011

BlogPodium - Jan 2012

What I Learned at Blog Podium: "Blogs+Media"

On Friday, I attended Blog Podium. This was the first of a series of conferences created by Jennifer Flores of Rambling Renovators and Lindsay Stephenson of Little House Blog. The topic of this first Blog Podium was "Blogs + Media" and the panel was made up by a fantastic line-up of women!

• Margot Austin, Senior Design Editor for House and Home magazine (and blogger!)
• Kate Moore, CityLine Producer (and blogger!)
• Kimberley Seldon, Design Editor for Chatelaine magazine
• Jennifer Flores, Published Blogger and Co-Founder of Blog Podium
• And the moderator was Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault, CityLine Guest Expert and Benjamin Moore Design Team member.

Left to right: Leigh-Ann Allair Perrault, Jennifer Flores, Kimberley Seldon. Photo by Jason Hudson

Left to right: Kimberley Seldon, Kate Moore, Margot Austin. Photo by Jason Hudson

The conversation was awesome! I tweeted throughout and took notes like a fiend! I was the sponge and they were the water. I was there to learn and learn. I. did.

From my notes, I focussed on the messages that were repeated by most members of the panel. So I present you with my:

1.     Have a clear and authentic message I.e.: be original and have a distinct voice. People want to read blogs that are 60% content and 40% entertainment. 

2.     Focus on having a beautiful, well-edited blog. I.e.: Do not use your flash for photos, create posts that are less than 500 words, and break up the text with photos... photos that are properly credited!

3.    Consistency! Be consistent with your brand and the regularity of your posts (minimum of 3 posts per week is ideal) 

4.     Create an editorial calendar!

5.     Social media (Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook) and guest posts are a great way to get exposure 

I had never heard of an editorial calendar, so I looked it up - it's supposedly a very efficient way of controlling content publication. I'm all for efficiency and have had issues in the past with coming up with post ideas. Using an editorial calendar, everything would already be planned out. So I spent a couple of hours finding a good template and then altered it a bit to suit my needs. Then amalgamated all the notes I have for post ideas (in emails, on my phone, written on paper) and organized them into the calendar (for the most part). Then thought "OH EM GEE. Why have I not been doing this ALL ALONG?!" Well... I didn't even know such an idea existed until very recently. That's probably why. But now I know, there's no going back! Up until now, my blogging has been spontaneous. I draft a post and usually publish it that same day, so I don't have any backup posts on the ready. I'll work a bit over the next couple of weeks to create more content (drafts for publishing) to add to my calendar. I'm so excited! I haven't been this inspired or felt this motivated in a long time. 


Does anyone else have any great blogging tips? Do you like my condensed list? Are YOU going to start an editorial calendar now? Seriously... do it! Do it now! You can thank me later :)


Here's what went down at my very first blogger meetup: The Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup 2011

Style at Home - February Roundup

The February 2012 issue of Style At Home is my favourite to date! I think I love it so much because it's all about kitchens and I have kitchens on the brain as-of-late.

If you look through my kitchen inspiration folders, you'll find I have a definite style when it comes to kitchens: white shaker cabinets, dark wood floors, stainless steel appliances, chrome hardware, gray tile backsplash. So that being said, you can see why I would love to have any of the kitchens featured in this issue! So beautiful.

This kitchen belongs to designer, Elle Maison. And look! It has everything I love in a kitchen. Swoon... She also opted for a large single sink instead of a double so that she can soak larger pots and pans. Kevin is the dishwasher in our relationship, so I'm sure he would appreciate something like that.

This home is owned by Sarah and Aaron Smith, and was designed by Aly Velji. I love everything about this kitchen too. The glass-tiled backsplash adds just a hint of colour to the space and I love the effect. I also really love the pendant lights, the roman shade, the marble counters, and the micro-suede island stools. 

This homeowner, Christopher Craib, hired designer Jessica Kelly for his kitchen reno. While this kitchen is just a tad too industrial for my tastes, I love love love the backsplash. I love that it's textured and that it is continued all the way to the ceiling. At the other end of the kitchen (not pictured) is a built-in bench. I'm such a sucker for banquettes and benches in kitchens!

Up next is Style At Home Editor-in-Chief, Erin McLaughlin's Ikea kitchen makeover. The kitchen plan was created and executed by Ryan Martin, Amy Kent, and Michelle Lamontagne of Toronto's Croma Design. This is a real chef's kitchen for sure. My (and Erin's!) favourite element in this room is the hand-cut Calcutta Michaelangelo marble from Antica Tile & Stone laid in a herringbone pattern for the backsplash. It's just gorgeous. 

 

A snippet from an article from Scott McGillivray caught my attention and applies to 3 out of 4 of the kitchens mentioned here because a lot of people (me included) probably can't afford counter-to-ceiling marble backsplashes - Scott suggests saving money in a kitchen reno by applying more budget-friendly tiles in a creative way (ie: subway tile in a herringbone pattern like below) or just use the expensive tiles as a trim or in a feature area. Smart! 

And last up is fellow Canadian blogger of Rambling Renovators, Jennifer Flores, whose home was featured in Style at Home!! Congrats to her! It's very cool to see a magazine spread of someones home whose blog you've been reading. Her home is already gorgeous and S@H did a great job with the photos. 

There are two things that I really love about how Jen and her husband renovated and decorated their home: 1. I love that they use yellow and blue as the accent colours and carry it throughout the home. It creates great flow. 2. I love that they decided to keep the original layout instead of tearing down all the walls to create an open concept house. Sometimes open concept has its benefits, but I think I favour more the division of rooms. Yes, it might make the house seem smaller, but it also creates more intimate spaces (and allows you to make a huge mess in the kitchen without anyone being the wiser :P )

Did you enjoy the February issue of S@H as much as I did?

Bedside Tables

I was searching through Craigslist when I came across these tables:

I think they're the same, except for some reason the hardware is different - maybe they were used in 2 different rooms...

I want them!! And I want to do this to them (à la Kerry) and add these Anthropologie knobs to them

Wish me luck that the seller didn't already get a million people emailing about them and I can buy them :-)

The price is only $10...for both!

Happy 144th Birthday Canada!

My fellow blogger, Kerry, from This Tinder, is visiting me in Toronto this weekend! She's been on vacation for the past 2 weeks, but she'll be back home as of Sunday and back to updating her blog and her Etsy page.


Kerry, Kevin and I are gonna be oot and aboot today (aka "out and about"... and no, Canadians don't really talk like that) checking out the parade (maybe), going to the beach, going out for dinner, watching some fireworks. I'll bring my camera along and update you of all the fun later on. 


To all my fellow Canadians, enjoy your holiday, eh! ...yeah I don't really say "eh" either, but I know some people who do!


Here are some gratuitous Canada Day fireworks photos I took back in my university days. Enjoy!

Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup 2011

On Saturday I went to Brassaii for the Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup. Before Saturday, I'd never been here before, but I'd heard good things about it. Brassaii is located in a beautiful building on King St W in Toronto - outside is a charming cobblestone patio and beautiful tomato coloured doors greeted me as I entered. Inside, there was some great lighting and brick walls - my weakness!

The lovely Daniella (from Dress, Design & Decor) and Vie (from Verdigris Vie) were the power duo behind this beautifully organized event.

They snagged Tommy Smythe (!) as the key speaker for the event and he quickly dubbed us "Bitches Who Blog" and he called me beautiful...well technically, he called he audience beautiful, but I was in the audience, so that counts...right??

He shared with us a slide show of photos from his (and Sarah Richardson's and Scott McGillivray's) recent trip to Scandinavia, where they visited the Ikea Museum. Tommy has an amazing eye for design (obviously!) and his commentary was hilarious, to say the least. He talked about the timelessness of good design at any price point, and gave the Lack table (shown below) as an example. He also showed us a uniquely shaped building front and said it was an inspiring shape for a headboard. The most hilarious part for me was when he discussed the pros and cons of obelisks versus ball-shaped objects... If you don't know what an obelisk is, look it up and you'll get why it was funny.

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I couldn't believe the giveaways! A huuuge Ikea gift card, several Delta faucets, a Rowenta steamer, an iPad, books, some Crate and Barrel pillows, a few magazine subscriptions to Canadian House and Home....... wooh!

The swag bags that were given out at the end of the night were great as well. We got one copy of Style at Home, 2 copies of Canadian House & Home, a travel mug by CIL and a cool lamp from Ikea. 

The best part of the night for me was meeting all my fellow bloggers in person! It was so great! Admittedly, it felt a little creeper-like to walk up to someone and say, "Hey (insert blogger's name)! I love your blog. Your bathroom/kitchen/garden/kids/wedding looked so great" lol but I guess that's what blogging's all about - putting yourself out there. These ladies below are Brittany (My Daily Randomness), her sister Amanda (Amanda Cromwell Designs), and Janice (Life Begins at Thirty, Right?)... then me!

Some other women I met, who I didn't get pics with, were Kerry from First Time Fancy, Sarah, from Redesigning Sarah (who won the iPad2....lucky girl!), Lindsay from Buy Borrow and Style, Michele from Mod Missy, Susan from Saf Affect, Jennifer from Rambling Renovators, and Andrea from Ikea, who very kindly explained to me how Twitter works.


I couldn't get enough of the hors d'oeuvres! I wasn't hungry when I got there, but I sure worked up an appetite once I saw the beautifully presented food being served.  Yummy spring rolls, gourmet grilled cheeses, individual sized fish and chips, crab cakes.


I thought I tried everything, but then I saw the photos on the CDB site and somehow I managed to miss these delectable bites! Me oh my they look gooood.

**All photos, except where noted, are from Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup and were taken by Leah Kirin from Forever Moments.