White Bedding!

Is anyone else as obsessed with white bedding as I am? I do love the bedding we have already, but there is something about pure, fluffy, ruffled, white bedding that I can't get enough of. And add to that anything wood, there couldn't be a better place to snuggle in for the night.

The problem is the obvious--white doesn't stay clean for long. Especially when you own a black dog who likes to lean up on the bed for a good scratch before sleep time. That being said, nothing a little bleach can't handle, right?

Here are some inspiration shots that make me want to change things up a bit...

From FullBloomCottage on Etsy, this ruffle set is so gorgeous!

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Beauty Pottery Barn set:

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One day!!!

The truth comes out...plus Cookies!!!

So first off, here is the truth about who REALLY uses the tub...

And now...Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Flax Cookies!!!

Initially I found a similar recipe on BHG, but made some of my own adjustments and they turned out great. You know they're good when your pre-teen students request the recipe for themselves!

1/2 cup butter, soft

1 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup cane sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups oats

1/2 cup ground flax

1/3 cup wheat germ

As much chocolate chips as you like!

Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease baking sheet.

Use hand blender or mixer to mix butter on low until fluffy. Add sugars and continue to mix. Add cinnamon, baking soda, salt and mix to combine. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and blend on low. Use a wooden spoon (or your hands like I do) to mix in the oats, flax, and wheatgerm. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Plop onto cookie sheet...I make mine fairly large (maybe 2 tbsp). Bake for 9-11 min (may take longer if you have two cookie sheets in and you might want to rotate the sheets).  I got 30 cookies out of this today, but can stretch it to 36 easily. Enjoy!

Insanity

Today I thought I'd put the spot light on my favourite place in our house...well ok, aside from the kitchen...

Let's begin with a before pic, just so you can truly appreciate the insanity. I actually didn't yet live here at this point; by the time I moved in, he had ripped out the 70s tub :)

So now, stairs facing the opposite side--before it was literally like a ladder.

Now to talk about kijiji...this clawfoot tub we got for $200. The girl who sold it to us had actually bought it second hand herself, pained it, then realized it was too big to fit in her bathroom :(

It went to good use here though! Pedestal sink: $50, again off kijiji. Dev's mom gave us the old milk stool; it was just hanging out in her music room.  Bath caddy was a gift from my bestie, whose own wood caddy I have been swooning over since she moved into her century home years ago.

We spent a lot of time trying to decide whether to paint or just clean and seal the brick wall. In the end, all of our friends convinced us into keeping the natural colour and we are so pumped we did! The ladder towel rack was a DIY too.

New faucets for the kijiji finds were our only splurge, and even still, there are some great deals on Vintage Tub and Bath.

The wall colour is a crazy story. I had literally an entire gallon of gray wisp leftover from the living room, so instead of putting that to waste, I took it into Benjamin Moore and they were able to change it to Baby Fawn...I thought that was really impressive!

Ta da! Great place to soak on a Sunday night.

Sunday Dinner

Growing up, anytime there was a special occasion my mom would ask us for food requests. And everytime my request was the same: her chicken pot pie!

Recently I inherited her 'recipe' over the phone. I made a couple of tweaks, like replacing the potatoes with sweet potatoes and shredding rather than cubing the chicken, but essentially this is it. I will tell you this...Dev is always going on about my cooking (he knows it's the best way to keep me in the kitchen--make me think I'm good in there to start;) but truly this pie is his (and my) favourite! There are only two of us here, and only about a quarter of it left haha.

I do cheat. My mom always did too. But it makes for the best pie...and a real easy recipe. Frozen puff pastry!

So here it is...this couldn't be easier...

Tenderflake frozen puff pastry, thawed

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

1 sweet potatoe, cubed and boiled

1 1/2 - 2 cups of frozen veggies, steamed

2 cans Cream of chicken soup

salt and pepper to taste

egg whites

Turn oven on to 375. Grease your pie dish (I use coconut oil but really you can use anything). Roll out your pastry and place in the bottom of the dish. In a bowl, combine the shredded chicken, veggies, potatoes, soup, and salt and pepper (be generous). Pour this filling into your pie crust.

Now brush the edge with egg white so that the top crust will stick. Pinch with fingers, add a few teeny holes to let the air out, and brush all over with the remaining egg white. This makes the crust golden and crispy!

Bake for about 30 min--if the top isn't golden enough for you, turn up to 400 for the last 5 min or so.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm......Best Sunday dinner!!! Throw a simple salad on the side and enjoy!

Today's find

This afternoon I was excited to finally get over to Penney & Co, a new shop on Brock St. in Whitby, opened by Michael Penney, one of my favourite designers. His own kitchen played a huge role in the inspiration for our kitchen design. At any rate, the shop is filled with great finds, from old milk glass jars and dishes, to re-purposed and re-upholstered furniture. I came out with some stationary, a vintage tray, summer throw, and...a coffee table! I am so excited.

Here it is...

I love how he used chalk paint to cover it. It has a smooth wax finish, sanded edges for that vintage feel, and the colour truly complements the walls in the room.

You can check out his own house here... http://houseandhome.com/design/photo-gallery-michael-penneys-new-house

...but this is how things turned out in our kitchen...

This before shot might give you a better idea of where we came from:

The transition cost us under $3000. Those cabinets were taken from a reno Dev worked on in another house--saved them from the landfill! It is amazing what some paint, cabinet crown, valance, and new hardware can do! Simple subway tile and butcher block in standard lengths (he had to cut and install them) also helped us save. He made the shelves and installed the under mount sink, faucets, under cabinet lighting...everything. I held the paint brush...

Now off to stare at the coffee table :)

The Newbie

I thought about starting this blog a while back, when I myself first began reading the thoughts and ideas others were sharing online. But I never really knew what exactly I would say. I still don't. I don't even really know who I am writing to or who will read this or why. But I know I like design, and fashion, and food...and I guess I just think this would be a good place to sort my thoughts about them!

I've always dreamt of opening a little cafe near the water where we live, and as things develop down here I know the possibility of it will arise. So whether it happens or not, I can start dreaming up menu ideas and perhaps envision what this little place will look like.

If I were honest though, my obsession is pretty spaces--rooms, yards, shops, cafes--with character. Vintage pieces filling every corner. Raw wood. Tea cups, or anything else belonging to my Nana. Items that tell a story, like the original Native painting from the early 1900s, and also the leather and beaded Native pillow my soon-to-be-hubby took from his Grandparents' cottage. Anything pottery. Anything Olde English. These are the things that fill our home.

And, I guess, these are the things I will write about. :)