Happy Long Weekend!!

This weekend is a long one for my fellow Canadians and I, celebrating Canada's 144th birthday (and she doesn't look a day over one hundred and two!).  Today slash tonight, businesses all over the country will be turning their signs, flicking their lights and closing their doors; people will flood into the streets ready to make haste, drink beer and celebrate the one true Canadian summer kick-off weekend.

As we know, any quest worth its salt has perils and challenges to overcome along the path to victory, and long weekends are no exception.  As a nation, we will face traffic hardship, long line-ups at Loblaws suffering, and long line-ups at the LCBO adversity, all bitter tests of our individual stamina and collective will.  It is our unique Canadian Spirit - like the true North, strong and free! - that will see us perservere and succeed against all odds, hosting barbecues and enjoying cottage weekends nationwide.  And O, Canada, it's sooo worth it!



amazing cupcakes via here

flavored balls of something with maple in it (that I think are yummy-looking) via here

more cupcakes (this time with sprinkles!) via here

what I hope might be huge, patriotic jello shots via here

classic via here

still with the cupcake obsession via here



So clearly Canada Day to me means "food."  Specifically, cupcakes.  Wonder what that's all about?  Let's try again for actual decor:

splashy (and not at all cliched :) cake toppers via here

casually patriotic throw pillows via here

dinnerware that could totally pass for maple leaves via here

sophisticated red and white flower arrangements via here

celebratory table setting ideas via here

festive red and white bunting via here

some Canada Day adorableness via here

And for all our American friends who will be celebrating their own long weekend this July 4th (and may not be checking in with the blog [and rightly so!]), Happy Independence Day!  These ones are for you:

party pinwheels via here

4th of July desserts via here

picnic spread I'd like to dig into via here

fireworks!! via here



See you next week, everybody!!

Georgia On My Mind

Marvelling at the magnificent Georgia O'Keeffe

Blue and Green Music, 1919 ~ via here

Black Iris, 1926 ~ via here

Cow's Skull with Calico Roses, 1932 ~ via here

From the Lake, 1927 ~ via here

2 Yellow Leaves, 1928 ~ via here

Black Place II, 1944 ~ via here

The Shell, 1938 ~ via here

Early Abstraction, 1915 ~ via here

Maple and Cedar (Red), 1923 ~ via here

Ladder to the Moon, 1958 ~ via here



Putting My Nose to the Grindstone!

Conserving my energies for working on my big, final project for Art History class (due tomorrow!) so it's short-and-sweet today.  Here are a few fantastically gorgeous rooms from my favourite UK online and print magazine, Living Etc.  UK style is so distinctive: I find it to be much more unique and brave than North American style, which can be a little homogenous at times.  UK style is brazenly individual, and I aspire to incorporate some of that bravery into my own home!

all images via here

Designer Fabric Outlet, You Complete Me

Designer Fabric Outlet on Queen Street West could very well be my favourite store.  Ever.  Anywhere.  The moment I walk through the doors, my heartrate slows, my blood pressure lowers and my muscles relax.  I can feel the tension draining away while I nose through sample upon sample upon sample of amazing fabrics.  I don't know if it's obvious, but I love it.

Scheduling being what it is lately (which is crazy-busy) and since I drove into work on Friday for no explicable reason, I decided to bump up my visit to DFO by one day and popped by after work to search the racks for the perfect curtain material for the dining room.

Hours later (literally, hours) during which I nosed around in a few other folks' bid-ness before narrowing down my own final choices, I walked away not with the six-to-ten yards of fabric that I anticipated I'd be dragging home (yardage depends on whether I choose single or double-width fabric, just in case you're wondering) but with a whole heck of a lot of samples.  As a reminder, these are the established selections we're dealing with - the furniture, rug and the artwork that are already in place:

 

I won't ruminate over the details of the selection process except to say that it was exhaustive.  I feel like I must have pulled at least half of the fabrics in the whole store (and sent most of them back at the end of the day), but you be the judge:

REJECTED!

OK, so maybe "half the store" is an overstatement but still.  It felt like a lot.

But now the super-fun part is over and the heavy lifting starts: which one to choose?!  I have a definite favourite in mind but as always am curious about what others think (except Daryn, who rarely gets a say :)  Here are the finalists:



Brissac in "Sapphire"

Pinwheel UBK in "Sunny"

Ceylan Bachette Imperial Veloute in "Darjeeling"
Yah, I know ... it's the shower curtain.  What can I say?  I love it

Bamboo Garden in "Oyster"

Pinwheel UBK in "Breeze"

Buddy 04

Bedazzle in "Silver Lining"

S-Archer in "512 Capri Blue"



Not that many, right?  So what are your thoughts: is there a winner here, or should I keep looking?  Do you have a favourite, or was I on drugs when I selected these?

Home run, or square one?