Wholesomeness of Disney

My thoughts exactly.

via GraphJam.com

Post Card Bunting

Oh - pretty.

For the DIY-ers who don't have vintage ephemera laying around...check out Vintage Printables or The Graphics Fairy to find images and make a bunting for yourself. 

image via The Graphics Fairy

Dreamy Bedrooms

I want to go to sleep.  I promise my dreams would be sweet in ANY of these bedrooms.

blue bliss by Chloe Brown

pretty pretty grey from Canadian House and Home

pink perfection by Chloe Brown

lovely use of mirrors and light via creative inspiration

sleepy Zzzzzs by Chloe Brown

lovely textures (image via)

more lovely textures via BHG 2009 showhome

Phoebe Howard's pink room

Unpack Your Bags and Have a Seat

Love these chairs. via Look at Me

A Letter From Santa

I'm so excited to be the winner of this lovely giveaway from Wendy at The Shabby Nest!

Each of my children will receive a personalized letter from Santa - including references to where they live, their friends and their particular interests - and it will even be postmarked from the North Pole, courtesy of the North Pole Secretary.

I am especially excited for these letters because my two older children - Miss I and J-Boy are both at the age where they are starting to think Santa is a myth.  I hope these special letters will help suspend their disbelief a few seasons longer.  

Most importantly, to me, is that each of these letters will also address the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus and His life, mission and example.  What a great gift.

Check out some of the sample letters here and place your order before December 10th (in order to have the postmark processed in time for Christmas).

image via.

Squeaky Clean

Our next reno project is the master bathroom.  Although we've already made selections about flooring, bathtub, cabinet, lighting, etc., I still can't help but smile when I think of getting ready for the day in a bathroom like this:

image via Home Sweet Home

Remembrance Day Remembrance

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

 

This poem is in my blood - recited in my Canadian public schools each November in honour of Remembrance Day. I am so grateful for the my ancestors who fought in the wars - and humbled by those who died in our honour. Thankful for freedom.

On a Bicycle Built for One

Is this not one of the prettiest bicycle baskets around?  Found via a new-to-me blog Bohemia File. 

Images via Zinc Details.

Coiled Garden Quilt

What a pretty pretty quilt from Anthropologie.  The Coiled Garden Quilt.  My MIL quilts. And although it's hard for me to appreciate the random-pattern designs she and other quilters put together, I can appreciate the time it must take to stitch all the pieces together.

THIS Anthro quilt - however - I'm all over it.  I "get it" - both form and function.  Oh yes it speaks to me.

I need to contact Carolyn - my go-to sewing woman.  I think I have five starter-projects on my docket with her as tutor.  Maybe this quilt can be number six.

... Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I've been away for a long while. And now I feel ready to return.
In my absence I won a lovely giveaway from Ms.Vicky at Room Service - Decorating 101. Vicky sent me a surprise package in the mail:Candice Olson on Design: Inspiration and Ideas for Your Home

What a fun book to look through. Many pretty ideas - both contemporary and traditional. I look forward to using some of the inspiration I found there...but it is also pretty enough to leave out on the coffee table. Did you know that I HAD NO IDEA Candice Olson has a TV SHOW! Where have I been? As I said to Vicky - I may now have to become a "watcher."

The only {lovely}obligation I had for winning Vicky's giveaway is that I must host my OWN giveaway! I know I have several local readers....some readers in Canada...some readers in Europe....and several readers across the USA! I'm still thinking of a giveaway that will be appropriate no matter WHERE one lives. I'll announce it within the next few days.

Until then, please check out Vicky's blog. I have especially loved her concrete countertops. I frequently visit her step-by-step blog entry on the subject... I would love her son-in-law to come to the Pacific NW and help S-Boy craft and install concrete countertops for our laundry room. You know how I'm dreaming of the perfect laundry room. Sigh.... One Day.

Mlle. Fifi Mandirac

I can't get enough of her illustrations. {Wonder what the price is to commission a work?} Check out her blog Les Surprises de Fifi Mandirac:

• Russian Doll birth announcement
• labels
• scalloped shelf liner
• adorable clothes-pin hanging wardrobe

Let This Be Our Prayer

Dear K&C and little S and precious, precious, wee little M:

All our thoughts and prayers and love are with you this afternoon - and this weekend - and always. God bless you.

love from,
The Never Without family.

POST EDIT: 7:45 P.M. Welcome Baby M! Praise the Lord.


image via flensted mobiles

Feed Me BonBons

while I lounge right here...via tatielle

ModCloth

Me Likey

When Life Gives You Lemons Coat
Metallurgy Dress
Crochet Sashay Dress
Electra Heels
all items via ModCloth
check out the blog too

Sartorial Seven-Year-Olds?

You already know how much I love the Crewcuts clothing line. But from my viewpoint sometimes the child models seem a bit surreal...meaning they look a little too sophisticated -beyond-their-years. Sartorial seven-year-olds? Not in my Real-Life-Mom-World.

In contrast - I find the {new-to-me} Down-Under clothing line Fred Bare so refreshing. IMO these kids look like they are doing what kids ought to be doing - playing...being zany...maybe a bit messy...and over-the-top.

Here are some of my faves from their latest collection:

Capiz Lotus Flower Chandelier

Is this not one of the most stunning chandeliers? So very very pretty. {Dear Santa...Maybe for my Master Bedroom? ... I believe in you!}

image via VivaTerra

Homesick

On weekends like this... {it usually happens twice a year} I feel homesick.Several years ago I spent about 19 months in the vicinity of this gorgeous building...its gardens and flowers and music... Even though I'm from Canada ... Even though I now live in the Pacific NW... This place is really where my heart is at home.

Elegant Casual Living

I wish I could walk into this space. It looks like a grand homey home - to kick up feet on an ottoman - read a great book - drink tea whilst the kids rollerblade on the tile floors. Yes - in my dreams. image via tatielle - of course

Adding to My Look Book

Another gorgeous white kitchen to add to my files. This kitchen makes me want to place pretty topiaries all over my white space. Found this via House to Home via Colour Me Happy {a must-read and fave blog of mine!}.

Sometimes

Sometimes I feel like I'm a small girl again

when people get short with me...or raise their voices at me.

Pale and Interesting - Atlanta Bartlett

I am enamoured with Atlanta Bartlett's UK mail-order website Pale and Interesting. So many pretty things. Here are my favourite images from her website - along with snippets of her home decor philosophy (as described in the P&I Lookbook)."Our style is definitely non-prescriptive, a backlash against accepted “good-taste” and bland, clinical mass-production. ... we combine hand-made with vintage finds ... The result is a home that really looks like your home, not a carbon copy of everyone else’s."
"We believe that decorating your home shouldn't be so much a design principle but more a way of life...""TEXTURE ... build up layers and depth within your room scheme. ... these elements not only act as focal points and create definition, but more importantly, they feed our senses and nurture our need for sanctuary and security at home.""SIMPLICITY - Paring-down our possessions, keeping things simple and clutter-free makes for a calmer, more peaceful existence. ... we believe that simplicity is ... about exercising restraint."
"Maximise light and space by keeping colours pale and neutral ... create a sense of space and harmony whilst never compromising on comfort.""COMFORT - A relaxed and comforting home is also one with heaps of personality and the odd imperfection, in fact, a few rough edges and frayed seams make it loveable and liveable."

Concrete Countertops by Get Real Surfaces

I am in home-design heaven looking at these concrete countertops by Get Real Surfaces. I especially love the potting bench. It's my favourite image on their entire site.
And this kitchen countertop/farmhouse sink (also by Get Real Surfaces) looks like something I envision installing in our laundry room. Well...actually...could see S-Boy installing it in our laundry room. Room Service Decorating 101 just posted some great step-by-step pictures of a concrete countertop installation. And for more inspiration check out the excellent books and website of Fu-Tung Cheng Master Concrete Designer.

Sunday Morning Ritual

This morning I would like to have some fennel tea in this pretty pot by Polly George. Maybe some buttered whole grain toast too...

France on My Mind

I have France on my mind.
Literally. Very literally.

As a gift from my last baby - Little K - I have a large melasma marking right in the center of my forehead. And my only consolation is that it is in the shape of France. And don't think I haven't noticed you staring at my forehead as we have try to have a conversation. If I was a teenager - I'd be paranoid. But now that I'm grown-up and okay with myself - I imagine that you are looking at the map trying to plan out your next vacation abroad.

Next on my To Do List: make appointment with dermatologist.

Zoom Zoom Jeune Fille

I saw this poster featured on Little Green Notebook - and I think it would go perfectly in Miss I's bedroom. Available here.