Bringing back the oldies...

I mean antiques...

In my post here I wrote about my uncontainable excitement about going to my very first antique show! As I was shopping on a budget (aren't we all these days), I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to find anything that I loved and that fit my price range. I was right... almost.

When we got to the Christie Antique Show, I was a little but overwhelmed. There were probably about 6,000 people there, at the least. Aisles and aisles of amazing pieces as far as my eye could see. I was like a kid in a candy store. My better half was ready to shoot me after it took about 45 minutes to walk through the first aisle.

I really wanted to buy some sort of a cupboard/china cabinet that we can put in our dining room. Something to hold a plate or a mug and maybe some flowers. There wasn't one piece I didn't like and I wanted to buy everything. I kept on getting reminded that "we don't have to spend ALL the money we brought." Yeah huh... do you know who you are talking to. If spending money was an Olympic sport, I would be a gold medal holder since the tender age of probably nine. Tip for antique show goers: bring cash.

Unfortunately every piece I liked ranged from $1,500 to $4,500. A wee bit over budget. After about three hours of walking around, we stumbled into another 'booth' - I guess that's what I would call it... A stand? I dunno... Anyways, he found it. He picked it. I swear, he has a hidden interior design talent that I never knew about. It was cheap(er), big enough for the dining room, but small enough to fit in the back of his truck. It had character - and it still smells like wood!

Love, love love it!

What do you think?



That's the SOLD sign on the left door!

Rookie renos

and why eager beavers should just sit down and relax...

Since this year's Canada Day fell in such an awkward time of the week, I thought I will tack on a vacation day in there as well and attempt to renovate my kitchen. Everyone says that the cheapest way to change a room is to throw a coat (or seven) of paint on everything.

Small kitchen, 48 hours, a few cans of paint. Easy peasy! Great idea in theory, but who the EFF decides to paint all of the kitchen cupboards a) in a day and a half, and b) with one can of paint!? Not only did I underestimate the time it would take, I figured one (small) can would do it - I don't have THAT many cabinets! Now I'm left with a 1970s refrigerator in the middle of my kitchen, no paint, no feeling in my arms and no motivation to continue.

I thought I would take a break and go shopping for cute window treatments - nothing. The best part of my 48-hour reno rampage was ordering pizza.

After painting most of the outside of all the cabinets and half of the pantry, I'm out of paint and the project is on hold. Why does everything look so easy on TV? Check out my before and aft... well, midders. I'll finish it, I swear. Just not now...

This is what the kitchen looked like before... A bit blah, no?

Aaaand the fridge in the middle as I still have some work to do behind it. Ugh...

As you can see, there is still a loooooot of work for me to do...

Protect your peepers!

As the summer is in full swing, most of you are worried about sun protection and health hazards that are associated with overexposure to UV rays... One thing that may get overlooked are your eyes. With so many killer shades available nowadays, it's easy to sacrifice eye protection to score that perfect pair of sunglasses on a budget.

I've always had a super hard time choosing that perfect pair and usually opted for the fun and cheap shades that did absolutely nothing for me except give me a variety of colourful frames and shapes.

I recently came across these new bad boys. The Mexican label Carrera, launched in 1956, recently came out with a new collection of revisited classic models that made a huge mark in the 80s. The Carrera STROKE is my fave... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. It has been redesigned to current tastes, shows a rock inspiration with metal stems and a coloured line running through them with golden tints. FIERCE.

Available at a number of locations, I found these (for those of you familiar with my hood) at Dixie Outlet Mall at Optical Place. Prices range from $140-$180. Cutie patootie Brad Pitt is also loving the Carrera come back. Here he's sporting the Carrera Gipsy 6!

Patience is a virtue...

and I'm ready to lose mine.

A few weeks ago we received a letter from our internet provider stating that we have cancelled our internet services and to please return our modem. Thinking, great - maybe they won't charge us anymore, we ignored it. A few weeks after that, our internet was cut off. At first I didn't think anything of it, turned off my computer and thought I'd just wait a few days, let my computer cool off and try again. Nothing. No dice.

I called our provider and asked what happened. I was asked whether I had an alternate address in Scarborough... umm, nope. Then I was asked how I was related to Shaqur. Umm, don't really know Saqur, thanks.

Turns out Shaqur from Scarborough doesn't need his internet service anymore as he is moving to the States. That's very exciting for Shaqur, however I would love to have my internet back. I miss Perez, I miss Jared and of course simply because I miss blogging!

After numerous phone calls to technical support and the billing department, I was first told that it will be back within three business days as they have to re-install some phone card. The rep I was speaking with wasn't really sure what she was trying to sell me on, but anyhoo... After three business days, still no connection. I phoned again and was told that it will definitely be back withing four to 24 hours. So exciting! That was last week...

This Friday, we has a misterious package on our doorstep from our provider. A new modem. No note... no phone call... no explanation. Oh yes, and still no connection.

It's been two weeks and counting and I am beginning to wonder what it will take for this corporation to finally begin to take care of their customers, put a little bit of effort into customer service and satisfaction and finally allow me to return to the greatly missed world of the world wide web.

Sweet mother of pearl...

Recycling with style

This weekend cannot come soon enough! I am making my very first trip to an antique show and I could not be any more more excited! With my newly found hobby of constantly searching for house accessories and scouring second hand stores of used furniture that is in need of some TLC (did I tell you about my fantastic coffee table for $7.99?), I think I am ready to take on the mother load.

On Saturday, I, along with my boyfriend who I'm sure would rather be doing anything BUT this, will embark on a short road trip to Dundas, ON for the Christie Antique Show. I'm in search of the perfect china cabinet for my dining room that I can lovingly sand and refinish. After reading last year's article on the twice-annual Christie Antique Show in Style at Home Magazine I am so stoked about starting my own makeover madness of marvelous finds. The article describes the Show as "a mind-blowing 10 acres of vintage goods from more than 300 dealers." Could there be anything better to do on a Saturday??

Stay tuned for the before and afters. I'm bringing my piggy bank!

Why I wish Arren Williams would come over and visit

For the past couple of months (and by couple, I mean since December), I have been trying to get my house into a livable state. We moved in at the end of December, and immediately started painting every possible wall in the house. We ripped out the carpets, sanded, stained and varnished the floors. Now comes the time to start adding the finishing touches and making the place 'ours.'

It has been quite along process as we both work full time and can only really give'r on weekends. And not every weekend feels like it should be a work weekend, so we often take breaks and decide to watch the Real Housewives of Orange County marathons instead. And by 'we', I mean 'me.'

I'm not very familiar with interior design rules. I do read style and decor blogs religiously and of course I have a subscription to Style at Home, but this fine art is much harder than one would think. The rooms in my house are all different colours... I have an array of warm and... well, cool shades covering every inch of every room. Do they compliment each other? I doubt it. But I think they look good and it makes me feel good to look at them. The colours were incredibly difficult to choose, but now that the painting is almost complete, I'm not changing them.

Furniture, however, is a whole other story. I have been in search of the perfect hallway table, a place where I can throw my keys, the mail and piles of flyers we seem to get every single day. I found the most perfect one, along with three other tables that I thought would fit my hallway perfectly. I narrowed it down to two -one was a chocolate brown little guy, with a drawer and the second one was an iron-looking table with a wood and glass top, that came in a set with two lamps and a mirror. Although the chocolate brown table matched perfectly with the living room furniture, it seemed to get lost in our hallway. The iron table gave the hall a lot of character, but I was afraid it wouldn't match with the floor tiles. I ended up buying both, leaving it up to the man of the house to decide which one we should keep. He chose the set. A wise choice indeed.

It is unreal the things you have to consider when decorating a place. I'm always influenced by the ease of it as shown on HGTV, I get excited and come up with all these ideas, but when it comes down to it, I can't match two solid colours together and make them look good. I envy Arren Williams, Karl Lohnes and others gifted with the incredible taste for interior design. Why is there no 'interior decorating for dummies'?

Why junk food is really, really good for you

We've all been through this. Wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed. Only to do it all again the next day. Work is so hectic that the week feels like one extremely long day. Then it comes. The God-sent Friday. You leave the office at about six or seven in the evening, excited to start the weekend.

At work, every one wants a piece of you. So much to do, so little time, that eventually you find yourself dreaming about what you have to do the next day at the office.

Some people go to the gym to blow off steam (crazies), some people shop... Me, I like to do nothing. On a Friday night, I like to crack open a can of Steamwhistle and read through my Friday edition of the Mississauga News.

Do I want to cook dinner? If you met me, you'd know the answer is 'no' for any other day of the week as well. But Fridays... Fridays are special. Fridays you can kick your feet up... not worry about anything. There are two mornings of sleeping in ahead of you! Is that not the best feeling ever?

On a Friday, I like to turn to another gourmet dinner option - McDonald's. There is no better feeling than taking that paper bag with your favourite combo (quarter pounder with cheese meal), putting it on the front seat of your car while you drive home. When it takes every strand of self control not to dig in and grab just one fry while you drive. The scent fills your car and your breathing slows down, allowing you to enjoy every particle of deliciousness around you. You can feel every part of your body relaxing as you take in the warmth of the deep fried meal that's so close, yet so far.

You park in your driveway, grab your McDonald's bag and head for your front door. Breaking into a subtle jog, just to get to it faster. You can feel the warmth radiating from the bag.

Finally, you sit on the couch, open the bag and see the heavenly shine of the golden arches. It's here, you're here... and you dive in. Every bite is better than the previous one. Why is it not possible for sandwiches to go on for ever?

It's that moment right there, where the whole week doesn't matter. The divine taste is so fulfilling, as if nothing else exists in the world.

And when you polish off the chocolate milkshake that completed your meal and reach for a can of that Steamwhistle, just pop your Blue Crush DVD in and an hour and a half later, you're back on the fitness train!

Picture credit: Worth1000.com