Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors

Well, we made it through the first “real” week (back to work/school/cooking/etc) of 2014, hooray for us! Did you hear that it’s apparantly the saddest week of the year? It has been pretty dreary in these parts and I guess we’re all dealing with that post-Holiday buzz kill. Then there’s the added stress from spending too much, not to mention eating too much, over Christmas so, yep, I get it. I’ve been keeping my spirits up by working out or walking every day (I highly recommend this series, no equipment required!), eating healthy, drinking a tonne of water and tea each day and listening to a lot of music (usually far too loud!). How do you keep the Winter blues away? Here are some other links to help you find that happy place:

1. How relaxing does this bathtub look?? Absolutely loving the brass hardware and claw feet!

House & Home. Photo by Michael Graydon.

2. I got one of my favourite Izola candles for Christmas and am obsessed with how great it smells! We carry them at the shop and the entire line is so fresh smelling. I’ll be rationing the last couple of inches:

Izola Green Moss Candle (available at Spruce Collective)

3. This dining area designed is pretty inviting, isn’t it? Once again, in love with the brass light fixture and the woven Eames-looking chairs (who makes these??) are pretty flipping awesome too:

Nate Berkus

4. Order, order and more order! I can’t believe that we’re already 10 days into January, can you? Really feeling the need to keep a calendar handy at all times and this printable is perfect to keep beside my computer:

Shhh My Darling (free printable!) via Poppytalk

5. While I’m not following any diet, I have been watching calories and have cut way down on carbs (especially bread and baked goods) over the past few weeks. Delicious meals like this make it much easier to not go hungry:

Lark & Linen (Roasted acorn squash with mascarpone . . . yum!)

A handful of the tunes I’m currently cranking (refresh browser if you can’t see playlist):

We’re starting our new office renos at Spruce on Sunday (can’t wait!) but other than that, I don’t have too much on the go. What are your weekend plans? Hope you’ll have at least a few cozy moments to yourself because I’m already planning mine 🙂 Cheers!

Thanks so much for your well wishes, emails and texts after my last post. I didn’t mean to worry anyone but I think it’s important not to gloss over the dreary bits in life as reality often isn’t nearly as pretty as what’s filtered through Instagram, agreed? Life/marriage/parenting/etc is a series of hills and valleys (some steeper than others) but I think my situation is starting the climb back uphill and I’m feeling much brighter than I was at the beginning of the week. Talking things out always helps (although it’s super hard for me) and I’m blessed with a pretty awesome support group, even when I don’t feel like sharing much.

Also brightening my thoughts are some upcoming renos at the shop. We’ve all been sharing a shoebox sized office at Spruce Collective for over a year now, not easy considering there are 5 of us partners plus our full-time store manager and 4 employees! Needless to say, when working on our website/paperwork/phone calls/etc we’re always tripping on each other (or locking the door!) and it’s impossible to stay 100% organized. Earlier this summer, we divided our workshop in half with a temporary wall (made of vintage doors) to create a fashion boutique. It’s been an amazing success so we’ve decided to put up a permanent wall and allocate the other half (currently workshop/lunch room/catch-all disaster) to one gloriously spacious shared workspace. First on the agenda is a huge 3-month calendar to keep track of all of our store events, vintage rental bookings, financials and more. It will be life changing!

Home of Lucy Feagins/The Design Files via Dwell

Ferm Living Wall Sticker Calendar

Design Love Fest Studio

Country Living

Fancy-New Zealand Design Blog

A sense of order makes everything easier, doesn’t it? Sometimes simply cleaning a closet or drawer can make all the difference on stressful day. I’ve got quite a bit of organizing to do on the home front starting with Sadie’s room, which I painted last weekend. Hoping to finish decorating it over the next few days and I will definitely share some pics. What organizing projects do you have looming? Let’s tackle them together!

Happy New Year! How is 2014 treating you so far? My year started off with a bang, not the good kind unfortunately, so I’m off to a bumpier start than I’d thought in my personal life. But the kiddos are back to school today (yay!) and I’m looking forward to getting back into the routine of things, especially work at the shop and working out. The fact that I’m actually looking forward to working out is a miracle in itself, something I wouldn’t have imagined 4 months ago when I headed back to the gym! My Spruce partners and I decided to consider February 1st the start of our year for goal planning etc. It’s really taken the pressure off of ourselves and given us time to regroup after a busy Holiday season. Now, I’m not a huge resolution girl but do love setting attainable goals for myself. Starting February, I’ll be jotting down more specific monthly goals but here’s a peek at my overall resolutions for the year and some other inspirational thoughts that keep me going when the going gets tough:

My New Year’s Resolutions (thanks Bing and Alt Summit for the monthly goal cards!)

Noel Shiveley

Invisible Crown

Katie Stratton (Pencil Box Shop)

The Every Girl

Hope that this Monday is treating you well but if for some reason it isn’t, keep your chin up and I’ll be right there with you!

Hello there! I hope that you’ve been enjoying the holidays as much as I have! It’s been one party/gathering/cocktail/cheese cube after the other but with plenty of R&R in between so overall its been really great. We’re having a small group of friends come over (somewhat last minute but that’s how we roll!) to ring in the New Year tonight so I’ll have to rustle up some appies this afternoon before cracking open the bubbly. Do you have big plans? Here’s some sparkling inspiration to get the party started:

The Glitter Guide

West Elm

The Flair Exchange

Camille Styles

The Curvy Carrot

I’m taking the rest of the week off but couldn’t say goodbye to 2013 without wishing you all a very Happy New Year! See you in 2014, I have a feeling it’s going to be a BIG year! Cheers 🙂

I’m going to sign off for the Holidays but not without wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! We’ve got another packed weekend ahead of us starting with our Spruce partners/spouses party (our first, can you believe it!?), our annual progressive dinner with friends and their kiddos (my favourite tradition!) and our men’s shopping day at the shop (um, what man wouldn’t want to shop when there are fresh pretzels, beer tastings, hot shaves and friendly gals waiting to wrap gifts for you!). Not to mention my own party prep and still-not-started gift wrapping. So yes, I just might sleep through Christmas 🙂

I’m really looking forward to a few days off filled with baking and cuddles with the kids and then the Christmas circuit with each of our families. Hurray for Christmas! Here are 5 links to love this week and just a smattering of my favourite Holiday tunes:

1. Miracles really do happen, I’ve seen them! Let’s all spread a little extra love this Season.
2. I’ll be making this Caprese tart tomorrow night.
3. These printable gift tags are perfect. Adding printer ink to my shopping list!
4. So many pretty wrapping ideas here.
5. Nothing to do with Christmas but this blog post about the mom/work/life juggle rocks!

Wishing you all the happiest of Holidays full of family, friends + lots of good cheer and I’ll be sure to check in before we start the New Year. Merry Christmas!