The Right Frame of Mind

Yesterday I had a fun-filled day thrifting with my friend Holly and adorable Wren! We went to this HUGE antique mall...it was my first time there so I was a little overwhelmed with all there was to look at! We had to do a second loop through the isles just to make sure we didn't miss anything! I was on a bit of a mission to find a few things I have desired for quite some time now...this includes something pretty made of milk glass and a big ornate frame. Well guess what!?!? I got both!!!

There were sooooo many pretty glass vases and bowls... and believe it or not a plethora of gorgeous blue and gold deviled egg serving plates! It was so hard to choose! But after browsing through all there was to offer I decided on this one for $8....

I can't wait to go back and get a few more pieces! I'm going to need a bookcase to display them on.

The frames were not as plentiful at the antique mall as the milk glass was. There were a few big ornate ones that I liked but one was $89 and the other was $35 and so we held off on those... we did find an empty gold ornate oval frame with the old wire showing through. Then Holly spotted this thick beveled square wooden frame. It was also empty! So there I was with two empty frames and I had NO CLUE what I was going to do with them....all I knew is I liked them a lot! Then Holly who has the best ideas ever suggested I do an 'empty frame' wall going up my staircase! Could this day get any better??? Yes it could! Remember that ornate frame I wanted so badly? Well on a last minute whim (Holly seems to have great luck with these) she said we should swing by one more stop....

This next thrifting stop was also huge but there were lots of people there and it was looking pretty picked through....until....Holly spotted a lovely big ornate frame! Yay and at only $19 that was just the icing on the cake.

Here it is after removing the extremely tacky print it held

I forgot to take before pictures of all three frames but here they are after I painted them...ready to make their debut on the staircase

Here is my new 'empty frame wall'

I love how big these frames are! This wall is the biggest wall in our whole house and they fit perfectly on it!

Nathaniel even mentioned that he likes them!

Thanks for the SWEET idea Holly! I think I went up and down the stairs like 10 times for no reason today...just to admire my frame wall!

There's No Place Like Home

Since both my husband and I grew up on the West Coast of Canada in Victoria, B.C. I find myself missing the ocean, beaches, and fresh air! Honestly, the MOMENT Nathaniel is released from the Army we will be packing up our caravan with all our carnies (pets) and heading home.

To get me through these endless days with the dry air, mountain-less horizon and subzero winters, I decided to create a space devoted to my favorite place on the planet.

This area all started with my favorite piece furniture in our home...it's the dresser that Holly reinvented! I was SO happy to get to be her very first customer. It's such a beautiful piece!!

I want to share with you one of my favorite areas in our house...it's my homage to home. I call it Ode to Victoria.

This area is right behind our dining table...right next to the kitchen.

I got the capiz chandelier from Home Depot
Hurricane Lanterns from Home Sense (on clearance)

Wooden wall medallion spray painted white (Home Sense)

Painting is a Robert Wood reproduction

So now whenever I feel the slightest bit homesick...I can look at my Victoria vignette and smile :)

Welcome to PlumeAria!

I'm so excited to announce that I opened my own Etsy shop!!! I named the shop PlumeAria ! This is where I will sell all the feathered hair creations I make. Who knows maybe I'll expand my horizons eventually and sell other things. I have a few baby headbands listed on there too.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Emilee! She found my blog through Holly's and I'm so happy to say she was my first customer! I hope you like them!

Come on over and check the store out and let me know what you think! I still have to create an intro page and tweak my profile page but at least I got the ball rolling.

Have a great day!

Luck Be a Lady

The Friday before last we headed over to Las Vegas for a little R&R and the much anticipated wedding of my Dad and the beautiful Leah! It was the perfect place for them to wed since my Dad proposed to her on New Years there (we were lucky enough to be there to see that too!).
We stayed at the Encore which (let me tell you) is definitely one of my favorite hotels I've ever stayed in. The spa and the rooms are so wonderfully decorated. Of course its over the top Vegas-style but there is some serious eye-candy in that hotel. Huge red glass chandeliers, faux alligator skin wallpaper, oversized lamps and black lacquered accents everywhere. You could never get bored looking around in that place.

On the second night we saw a Cirque-Du-Soleil show (the third one I've seen) called Love...the Beatles tribute. It was AMAZING. Loved it!!! I have also seen Ka and Zumanity...and although they are all unique and great...I think this one was my favorite so far.

Here is the Amazing hotel we stayed at: The Encore

This restaurant is called Wazuzu...its located in the Encore. We had the tastiest sushi there!
All the hotel rooms in the Encore are suites! Here are what the rooms look like!

Sitting room in the hotel suite
The Society Cafe at the Encore

The GORGEOUS Spa (lobby)!!!

Hallway to the rooms...black faux alligator wallpaper

Hotel Room bathroom

European Pool at the Encore

Another suite-style room

The walk-way in the spa to the private treatment rooms

Encore Lobby

Gorgeous glass peacocks by the entrance

Another view of the hotel rooms

these photos courtesy of Google images

I thought I would include a few wedding photos for everyone to see. We are so happy for my Dad and Leah! I couldn't even imagine a better person suited to my Dad. They are like two peas in a pod! I have never seen my Dad so happy!

The happy couple right after the I Do's

Nathaniel was the best man! Lookin' sharp in his uni

Leah's dress was stunning. It was a Maggie Sotero. The collar was so unique...if anyone watches the series the Tudors...it seemed inspired by this.

My sister Jessica and me posing at the Encore!

What a great day! Congrats Dad and Leah!

Kitchen Revival!!!

For weeks and weeks now I have been SLOWLY redoing our kitchen. Our house is only 5 years old so it didn't NEED any renos per say but it was basically your classic contractors stock kitchen...full of oak, oak, and more oak! The only kind of oak I like is the kind in your front yard! Or the painted kind! So that is just what I did. In July, Nathaniel and I took down all the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, he sanded while I primed and painted. Since we don't own a paint sprayer it seemed to take forever to paint these things not to mention a million coats and before we knew it the paint can was empty and it was time to leave for our trip to Mexico. I am guessing that if I had been smart and bought enough paint and were not interrupted by our trip...the whole kitchen redo could have taken a FULL weekend or maybe 3 whole days of non-stop work...but it just didn't work out like that.
So we put the cabinets back together for the sake of our house sitters while we were gone.

Finally, last week I started things rolling again.
Here are a few before shots:



Here is a photo of us last Thanksgiving! I get a kick out of this photo! (from left: me, my dad, my dad's fiancee Leah, and my sister Jessica)



Nathaniel sanding away!

Took ALL the cupboard doors and drawers fronts off. I used Kilz Spray paint wood primer.

The paint I chose for the cabinets is Benjamin Moore Collection in Marble White.

Nathaniel also ripped down the old tile backsplash and I installed these cool decorative sheets from Rona

Here is the breakdown:

Paint- about $150
Hardware- $96

Holly's Custom Hood Vent-$40

Crown Molding-$56

White Faux tin wall tiles (backsplash)-$126

Linear Crystal Chandelier (Chintz & Co.)- a birthday present from my dad's girlfriend Leah!

So in the end our little kitchen facelift cost less than $500! Woohoo! And since we ended up doing a little at a time it didn't break the bank!

Ahhhhh! That was my sigh of relief that its finally done!

Here it is now!

I'm so loving the clean white cabinets...I feel like its a totally different kitchen!

Off to Vegas for the weekend (my Dad is getting hitched to his beautiful fiancee Leah!!!)

Enjoy the long weekend everyone!