Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors

Well, I don’t know about yours but my week by sped past so quickly…I can’t believe it’s the weekend again already! It was a somewhat productive week until Wednesday evening when my two youngest kids suddenly came down with a bad bout of the stomach flu. Poor girls…it’s so hard when they’re young and don’t really know what’s happening to them. Needless to say, several sleepless nights and many loads of laundry later, I’m not feeling quite as chipper as I was a few days ago but I have high hopes that everyone will be on the mend for the weekend. Fingers crossed that the rest of us don’t catch the bug in the meantime!

Spring flowers are blooming everywhere I look and they never fail to bring a spot of happiness to a room or table setting. Tulips and dogwood are some of my favourites…what are yours? Isn’t this wedding table display of stacked drawers gorgeous? I love the moss and leaves mixed in…

Design*Sponge

Creature Comforts

Style Me Pretty. Photos by Jose Villa Photography.

Off to folding laundry and sanitizing my house yet again…have a wonderful weekend!

I display a lot in my home these days, a lot more than I used to, so dusting is quite the chore.  But since I happen to love all the fussing that goes along with putting everything back into the perfect spot after wiping away every last speck of dust, dusting for me, isn’t so bad.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to rearrange.  And lately, I’ve been just itching to rearrange all my collections and knick knacks and books and things.

My thrift store visits have been quite successful over the past few years and I keep an extra shelf in the basement to store any unused treasures that didn’t make the cut in my current arrangements.  I love seeing how other people display their precious finds.  I’m drawn to the unexpected and I enjoy quirky surprises.

My parents both instilled in me a great appreciation for old and precious things at a young age.  I’m always drawn to something because there is some sort of memory attached to it or it reminds me of something or someone.  I love that there’s a story behind old things even though you may never come to know it. So, for the most part, my displays are mostly comprised of secondhand pieces.  What sorts of things do you like to display in your home?

These vignettes are all the work of Hilda Grahnat.  I find them so fresh and full of life.  Inspiring.  Which one is your favourite?

After a very relaxing Easter long weekend spent with family and some friends, I’m feeling rested, rejuvenated and somewhat prepared for the busy month ahead. The sun is shining once again and the temperatures are warming up…let’s give another big cheer for Spring! It’s amazing what a good dose of sunshine can do for the spirit, isn’t it? I went for a long run with my two lovely sister-in-laws in the hills of Kelowna over the weekend and it felt so great to be outside enjoying nature. In fact, we were outside the majority of our visit and my kids have never been so well behaved each day or so utterly exhausted at night! It was yet another great reminder of how important it is to step away from the computer, turn off the cartoons and get outside and do stuff!  Much easier to achieve in the warmer months ahead than in the damp and dark days behind us.

Inspired by warmer weather and Spring colour, I haven’t been able to stop looking through the gorgeous portfolio of the very talented Heather Bullard. You may remember her work from last Thursday’s Easter inspired post and there are dozens of equally lovely shots on her website and blog. Heather is the Senior Editor of Flea Market Style magazine and has also contributed to many other publications, including Country Living, Romantic Homes and Somerset Life…quite the resume! Her styling and photography clearly speak for themselves but I just love the mix of vintage finds, fresh flowers and rustic pieces throughout each thoughtfully designed shot…

Heather Bullard

Isn’t her work lovely? Puts me in the mood for summer garden parties and outdoor projects! Do you feel caught up after the long weekend or further behind? I feel somewhere in the middle, with my many to-do lists still on the go, but there’s much to be said for pushing aside the lists and taking time to smell the proverbial roses.

I have noticed glass fishing floats being used in decor for some time now but I’ve never given them much thought.  I’ve always thought they were lovely, their shape and colour add an effortless layer of interest into displays.  I came across Joan’s blog, For the Love of a House, where she shared her obsessive love for these shiny orbs of glass  and how she displays them throughout her home.  And I have to say that I was fascinated and now I want some too…

1. Northwest Magazine 2. Glass Float Junkie

Wikipedia:  ”Glass floats, glass fishing floats, or Japanese glass fishing floats are popular collectors’ items. They were once used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their nets afloat. Large groups of fishnets strung together, sometimes 50 miles (80 km) long, were set adrift in the ocean and supported near the surface by hollow glass balls or cylinders containing air to give them buoyancy.  These glass floats are no longer being used by fishermen, but many of them are still afloat in the world’s oceans, primarily the Pacific. They have become a popular collectors’ item for beachcombers and decorators. Replicas are also being manufactured. “

For the Love of a House

1. Pottery Barn 2. For the Love of a House

“Today most of the glass floats remaining in the ocean are stuck in a circular pattern of ocean currents in the North Pacific. Off the east coast of Taiwan, the Kuroshio Current starts as a northern branch of the western-flowing North Equatorial Current. It flows past Japan and meets the arctic waters of the Oyashio Current. At this junction, the North Pacific Current (or Drift) is formed which travels east across Pacific before slowing down in the Gulf of Alaska. As it turns south, the California Current pushes the water into the North Equatorial Current once again, and the cycle continues. Although the number of glass floats is decreasing steadily, many floats are still drifting on these ocean currents. Occasionally storms or certain tidal conditions will break some floats from this circular pattern and bring them ashore. They most often end up on the beaches of Alaska, Washington or Oregon in the United States, Taiwan or Canada. It is estimated that floats must be a minimum of 7–10 years old before washing up on beaches in Alaska. Most floats that wash up, however, would have been afloat for 10 years. A small number of floats are also trapped in the Arctic ice pack where there is movement over the North Pole and into the Atlantic Ocean.“

Dreamy Whites

J. Covington Home

“Once a float lands on a beach, it may roll in the surf and become “etched” by sand. Many glass floats show distinctive wear patters from the corrosive forces of sand, sun, and salt water. When old netting breaks off of a float, its pattern often remains on the surface of the glass where the glass was protected under the netting. Other floats have small amounts of water trapped inside of them. This water apparently enters the floats through microscopic imperfections in the glass while the floats are suspended in Arctic ice or held under water by netting.  To accommodate different fishing styles and nets, the Japanese experimented with many different sizes and shapes of floats, ranging from 2 to 20 inches (510 mm) in diameter. Most were rough spheres, but some were cylindrical or “rolling pin” shaped.  Most floats are shades of green because that is the color of glass from recycled sake bottles (especially after long exposure to sunlight). However, clear, amber, aquamarine, amethyst, blue and other colors were also produced. The most prized and rare color is a red or cranberry hue. These were expensive to make because gold was used to produce the color. Other brilliant tones such as emerald green, cobalt blue, purple, yellow and orange were primarily made in the 1920s and 30s. The majority of the colored floats available for sale today are replicas.“

A Beach Cottage

1. Design*Sponge 2. Wisteria

Interesting.  Right?  In August, we’re heading out to the Oregon coast with Lily’s family as well as 2 other families for a week of relaxing by the ocean.  By the sounds of it, August isn’t prime glass float season but I can tell you for sure that I’ll be on the look out for my own glass float.  Kamichia, the Glass Float Junkie, is the lucky gal who came across the treasure trove of glass floats that you saw at the beginning of the post.  Well, I shouldn’t make it sound so easy.  She has been beach combing for glass floats for some time now and she found that glorious stash in Alaska on a super secret beach that she accessed by plane.  On occasion, she has found so many that she has had to leave them behind.  Can you imagine?  Her blog is extremely informative if you would like to know more or to see more photos documenting her hunts and her incredible float collection.

S. R. Gambrel

Of course, you don’t need to comb your local beach for days on end digging through the sand in hopes of finding your very own glass fishing float.  There are always our friends at Etsy who have done the work for us.  Here are a couple of my favourite Etsy floats from Light in a Worm Hole.  She has plenty more to choose from in any price, colour, size and shape.

Light in a Worm Hole

So, does anyone suddenly have the urge to go beach combing?  Glass Float season ends soon!

Good morning to you! We’re getting ourselves organized to head out on our little road trip to visit with Brad’s family in Kelowna so this post will be short but very sweet! Here are some egg-cellent last minute crafts and decorating ideas for those of you looking for a little something extra to keep busy with on Good Friday. The crate is obviously the easiest to put together in a pinch and wouldn’t it make a charming centrepiece on your brunch table? I’m still a sucker for vintage crates…

Creature Comforts

Stylizimo

Heather Bullard

Urban Comfort

Present & Correct as featured on Poppytalk

Rachel and I will be taking the long weekend off to spend time with our families and enjoy some much needed R&R. We hope that you do the same and have a blessed Easter weekend….see you Tuesday!