Yay!! So excited. After going back and forth on a few Zika-free options, Norway has ended up at the top of the list, specifically the Lofoten Islands and the Geirangerfjord. Oh my god, the fjords are absolutely stunning. The pictures alone have already taken my breath away. Can’t wait to book in the next couple of weeks! Eeepp!
I hope it’s the most romantic one yet! Love is truly the greatest gift of all and I am incredibly blessed to have a life that’s filled with it. :)
I am so fortunate to love my day job and am privileged to be working on a brand like Nature Valley where I can be a part of its beautiful journey to help others rediscover the joy of nature.
Tomorrow, an amazing campaign is launching on Nature Valley Lunchbox where a partnership with Earth Rangers has enabled us to put a #naturemission on every granola bar wrapper to inspire kids to get outside and engage with nature in simple, easy, fun ways. :)
Here’s one of many gorgeous waterfalls in Iceland because I’m feeling inspired by nature :).
New year, new fun picture :). Thank you to my Christopher for snapping this one! We had a quiet new year’s eve, which is just the way we like it.
Thank you, 2016, and hello, 2017! We look forward to all that you have in store. Gearing back up for work and kind of very excited! January is going to be a crazy month but it’s the really good kind of crazy. :) I’ll certainly miss being able to blog and post pictures as frequently as I did over the break though :P.
Here’s one of many magnificent open roads in beautiful Iceland. Absolutely breathtaking driving through this scenery!!! I’m craving another adventure. Planning something for February, smack down the middle of winter gloom. :)
Happy (almost) new year!!! :) Wishing you all a phenomenal 2017!!! xoxo
Back so soon! I had some extra time today so thought I’d rummage through the archives and pull out another one from California. :) These lifeguard stations are a signature of LA beaches.
Quick side note, I watched Zootopia this morning (the perks of holiday staycations). It was a fantastic movie with a beautiful story; I highly recommend it. It’ll make you laugh and cry — the best kind. :)
New print of Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California. :) Merry Christmas to you and yours if I don’t blog again between now and then! It’s my favourite time of the year! I just love the amplified love and kindness all around. Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season! Back again soon.
The most wonderful time of the year is here! That means pretty holiday decorations, especially on the dining table :). Here’s some inspiration!
DECOR TIP: Things you need.
1. CHARGER PLATES
Ditch the place mats and try charger plates. They really add a nice touch! There’s a great selection at Pier 1.
2. LINEN NAPKINS
No need to learn how to fold linen napkins in fancy ways! Just scrunch them up and tie them down the middle with jute ribbon!
3. NAPKIN RINGS
A really easy, cheap, and cheerful way to do this is to buy a roll of jute ribbon and simply cut as many strands as you need and turn them into ribbon ties. :)
4. DECORATIVE ACCENTS – SNOWY ACORN, PINE LEAF, GOLD STEM, CANDLES
The little gold stem accents were cut out of a single larger twig stem from Michael’s. The pine leafs were also cut out of a single larger pine stem from Michael’s. (I LOVE Michael’s). And the snowy acorns were bought in a set of 12 from My Back Shed! It is with these accents that we are able to bring the holiday spirit to life at the table!
5. PRETTY PLATE
We bought these LENOX French Perle Plates from The Bay :). They also come in a really faint sea green colour and adds a variation around the table so the decor looks complementary rather than perfectly matching!
Carved White Charger Plate – Pier 1
LENOX French Perle Plate (White) – The Bay
Pine Stem – Michael’s Arts & Crafts
Pearl Twig Stem – Michael’s Arts & Crafts
Jute Braid Ribbon – Michael’s Arts & Crafts
Snowy Acorns – My Back Shed
Linen Napkins – Homesense
There’s a lot to talk about in this picture but today’s post will be focused on how to decorate behind your couch in the living room / family room!
If you’ve looked for picture ledges before, you’ll quickly learn that you can only find affordable ones at IKEA. The problem then becomes limited options. You’ve got 2 colours, black or white, and 2 sizes, small or large. We wanted a rustic-style, wooden picture ledge and we needed it to be 90″ in length. The only place that came close to having something like this was Pottery Barn and of course, it was hundreds of dollars. (Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Pottery Barn but it’s not the place for basics). So we said, let’s make this ourselves! For only $25 and 3 short hours, we built ourselves the exact picture ledge we wanted for our family room!
Picture ledges are an easy way to fill all that empty space above your living room / family room couch and is more substantial and interesting than just putting up wall art, which seems to be among the most common we’ve seen. You just need 3 pieces of lumber cut to the right sizes, wood stain, and nails. Here are some general dimensions to guide you:
Your base piece: 3″ depth, 1/2″ width
Your back piece that gets screwed into the wall: 1 1/2″ height, 1/2″ width
Your front “lip” or “ledge”: 1 1/4″ height, 1/2″ width
The length is entirely up to you and what your space needs. If it happens to be going above your couch, then we’d recommend the length of your couch.
Take these dimensions to Home Depot and they’ll cut the lumber for you right then and there. :) All you’ll need to do back at home is nail the 3 pieces of lumber together and stain it with Minwax Wood Finish. We used their Puritan Pine stain.
On our picture ledge are our very own Manarola Cinque Terre, Iceland Road Trip, La Vitaleta Chapel, and Corn Field prints. The rustic frames are from Homesense. Not all of them were actual picture frames; some came from bulletin boards and mirrors. It’s about spotting the right frame! It doesn’t matter what it’s framing in its original state. :) As long as you can pop the frame out and use it for pictures, you’re golden. And remember, ditch the glass. Glass-less frames work best with our matte-finish prints!
Lumber – Home Depot
Minwax Wood Finish: Puritan Pine – Home Depot
*Featured Art Print: Manarola Cinque Terre – Charlene Precious Co.*
*Featured Art Print: Iceland Road Trip – Charlene Precious Co.*
*Featured Art Print: La Vitaleta Chapel – Charlene Precious Co.*
*Featured Art Print: Corn Field – Charlene Precious Co.*
“C” Accent – Homesense
Rustic Frames – Homesense
It has been a while since I added to our Beaches & Oceans collection, so here’s a fresh one from California for the beach bums :).
