The rains are settling in for the long haul, days are getting shorter and I’m starting to feel like quite the homebody these days. Not that I’m complaining…we had a fantastic summer that stretched far into fall but I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a West Coast girl at heart and love a cozy evening indoors while the rain pours down outside. It’s also pushing me to put some more effort in decorating our new house (can I still call it “new” when we’ve lived here 7 months?) and I’m excited to finish a couple of small projects and maybe even paint (or wallpaper!) a room or two. I absolutely love white walls but have been feeling the urge to add some colour to our bedroom (I’m thinking a deep moody teal, on the navy end of the spectrum…thoughts?) and came across this carriage house on a Pinterest search last week. Located in a Prohibition-era back alley of Washington, DC, this once derelict space has been transformed into a Bohemian home ready to entertain…

Garden & Gun | Photo by Patricia Lyons

Garden & Gun | Photo by Patricia Lyons

Garden & Gun | Photo by Patricia Lyons

So full of personality, isn’t it? You can see more great photos of this small space over at Garden & Gun so be sure to check them out. On another note, I’m going to cut down to only a couple of blog posts a week but you can always keep tabs on what I’m up to over on my Instagram feed in the meantime. Wishing you a frightfully good Halloween and a sugar-filled weekend ahead!

This week has left me more than a little brain fried. Finishing up tax season for both the shop (ouch!) and our personal taxes while sorting out mortgage details for our new townhouse have left my head spinning with numbers and I can’t wait for the weekend ahead. The sun is supposed to shine and temperatures will be warm, the perfect time to hang with friends and BBQ tomorrow and then we’ll be celebrating Gabe’s 11th birthday with family on Sunday. Eleven. How do I have an almost teenager? Jeepers, time flies! I haven’t had much time to scour my have blogs recently but here are a few links I’ve loved this week:

1. The Pender Island home is beyond breathtaking, as are the views and trees surrounding it. One day I’ll live by the sea:

Pender Island retreat. Janis Nicolay for House & Home. Designed by McCarthy Hinder.

2. Loving this DIY galaxy wall for a small bathroom. Might have to try something similar in our new townhouse’s powder room:

DIY Galaxy Wall by A Beautiful Mess

3.  Eva Juliet‘s family trees are so beautiful. The perfect gift for Mother’s Day, don’t you think?

Custom family tree by Eva Juliet via Poppytalk

4. I love me some quirky art and this entire home is filled with it along with plenty of other bright, unexpected touches:

The Design Files. Photo by Eve Wilson.

5. You know those recipe photos that instantly make your tummy growl? Yeah, this was one of them:

Coconut Chess Pie recipe by Crazy for Crust

I made a little mixed tape for a few of the friends we’ll see this weekend to kick off the start of BBQ season. Here are a few of my favourite tunes this week. Have a great weekend, hope it includes plenty of sunshine, fun and a cold drink or two!

Hey, it’s Monday! And after a weekend spent sitting fireside with friends, lazy mornings, and cozy evenings, I’m feeling refreshed and ready (sort of) for the busy week ahead. The countdown is on for Alt Summit and I’m so excited to hop on the plane first thing Wednesday morning. I’ve got my outfits ready to pack (my stylish sister-in-law Amy helped me out big time on that end, phew!) and am off to pick up my pretty new business cards this morning (I’ll share them with you asap). It’s been a long time since I’ve travelled alone and I must admit that I’m feeling pretty nervous-cited (my girls’ favourite word) to leap out of my comfort zone. Definitely more excited than nervous but going to a conference of this size on my lonesome is a huge leap for me, as it is for many I’m sure! So I thought I’d calm my butterflies with these cozy finds:

Winter Cabin Collection

Country Living

Forestbound Bags

Cartolina via Poppytalk

Winter Cabin Collection

Love & Lemons

Do you travel a lot for work? How do you get over any initial jitters before the networking begins? Any tips are welcome 🙂 Well, off I go to work before getting my house in order for my time away but I’ll be back to chat as usual on Wednesday. Enjoy your day!

Oh yeah, it’s Friday! Another busy week to check off the calendar and I’ve been counting down until today because I’m heading for the hills –Whistler-bound, woo hoo! It’s my good friend’s birthday and Whistler is always tha bomb. We’re so lucky to have such a beautiful mountain within reach and I cannot wait to wander the village, visit with my girls and warm up with a fireside drink or two?or more but come on, it’s Whistler so who’s counting 😉 I’ll leave you with some links to love for the weekend–cheers!

1. Came across the gorgeous work of Vancouver artist Joanne Hastie and I’m absolutely loving this painting! Reminds me of an abstract paint-by-number–gorgeous!

Whistler Peak by Joanne Hastie

2. This historic cottage is in the latest issue of Country Living and is packed with character + vintage touches:

Country Living

3. Creative kids parties are surprisingly hard to find but this forest picnic is super sweet:

Smile & Wave

4. I could easily curl up in a number of cozy corners in this Icelandic cottage:

Design*Sponge

5. My palette for boozy hot drinks is limited to Bailey’s & coffee and I’ve never tried a Hot Toddy before–thinking it’s high time!

Camille Styles

This is a quick getaway (I’ll happily take what I can get 🙂 and I’m back tomorrow late afternoon for our Spruce staff party. We’re whisking the shop girls off (did you know we’ve got 5 employees now? Kind of crazy!) for a rustic picnic surprise, cannot wait! Time to hit the highway so happy weekend and bye for now!

I wrote this post early and am currently off enjoying a little beach time/overnighter with good friends in Kitsilano. Nothing like ocean breezes and margaritas to get a head start on the weekend! How was your week? I can’t get enough of this sunshine and it truly makes everything better, doesn’t it? The kids have been playing outside until dusk while Brad + I chill on the patio, we’ve had friends pop by several evenings and are even heading out to a bonfire tonight…all the best ingredients of summer! Here are some other good things that I’ve come across this week:

1. I’ve been doing a pretty decent job of eating healthy and walking the dog every night this week. This salad looks fresh + delicious:

Tracey Ayton Photography

2. In love with this adorable Captain’s Mirror DIY…if only my handwriting was so neat!

Melissa Esplin

3. Nothing says “party” like a well stocked bar cart! Loving the industrial lines of this one:

Camille Styles

4. Loving the Scandinavian take on this Ontario cottage:

Kitka

5. This London renovation is super inspiring…can you believe it used to be a public restroom? Seriously…check it out:

Apartment Therapy

My good friends know that I like to give out mixed tapes and I thought tonight’s bonfire/BBQ was the perfect excuse to put some one together. These are tunes on my current playlist and I’ve shared most on the blog at some point but here they are all in one happy place…enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂