What I've Been Up To

I've been working at Idea Couture for three months now! I thought I'd share a bit about the place since I plan to go into more detail about the DIY projects I take on in later posts.  So what do I do? The short answer is I was hired to make the space prettier and more functional. How I do this changes from day to day - this coming week I'm building a new storage unit from scratch, putting together lots of IKEA furniture and meeting the co-op student with an interest in interior design who I'll be advising. Heres a collection of random pictures I took during the fall. 

Picking up orchids for the office and being vain! 

This is my lunch! Haha. I made a beef stew in the old crock pot and threw some chips on it. BAM! 

Fall decor: I painted these pumpkins and got my friend Jen who was recently hired to be an illustrator to write the letters. 

I got the vases from the dollar store and filled them with dollar store things and pine-cones. I also taped off the little pumpkins and spray painted half of them. 

I was asked to be the artistic director for a publication by IC. I'll give more details once its out! I was playing around with all the white furniture we could find to get some good arrangements for people to sit in.

The view from my desk.

Sitting on top of a bunch of ikea furniture! Right before the box slid forward and I fell on my face. Awesome.

For halloween I was Miss Frizzle. Educating the youth! 

A lot of these pictures have already been on Instagram, follow me to stay tuned. 

Pink Grapefruit Vieux Mot

Hey guys! A new cocktail for y'all. 

Pink Grapefruit Vieux Mot

1 1/2 ounces gin

1 ounce of St. Germain elderflower liqueur

3 ounces fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice

1 ounce strained meyer lemon juice (from half a large meyer lemon)

1/4 ounce simple syrup (Dissolve 1 cup of sugar into 1 cup of boiling water)

ice

grapefruit for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a rocks glass with ice. 

This was easily the best cocktail I've ever made. I wanted to make a cocktail with my beloved bottle of St Germain Elderflower Liquor and I had about 10 pink grapefruits lying around. A quick google search combining the two ingrediants led me to Bojon Gourmet's blog and this pleasantly balanced cocktail. 

St Germain's floral flavors fully show up in this drink and are balanced by the tartness of the pink grapefruit juice and lemon juice and the small hit of simple syrup. And when you pour this into your glass, a pleasant froth rests on the top - no egg white needed! 

Hope to come to you guys with a fall inspired cocktail soon! Maybe with pumpkin or apple! 

Cocktails in Cincinnati

In June, I visited my friend Sam in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I told her about my cocktail hobby, a new itinerary for my stay was formed - we were to visit Molly Wellmans three bars in the city (Japps, Neons and the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar) to try out her various cocktail menus. Every drink I had was better than the last. 

Imagine my sheer happiness, when a month later a new cocktail book peppered with recipes arrived at the store where I work written by Miss Molly Wellman herself. In the book she emphasizes making your own bitters and syrups, using freshly squeezed juice and high quality liquors to craft cocktails that are fresh with a nice balance between sweet and sour. Exactly my style. I love this book! It's got great recipes and an apparent love for Cincinnati shines through.  I truly came to appreciate this corner of Ohio while I was there and Molly's bars had a lot to do with it! 

This Before I die wall was right outside Japps. It would have been great if I'd written "go back to Japps". 

(Thanks Mike Morris for assisting with the cocktail photos!)

Wrapping up Summer

Fall is most definitely in the air tonight and I'm ready for it! It's been such an amazing summer. 

Life slowed down and I got to really enjoy the warmer months - I got to swim in lakes, visit the island, take trips, wine and dine, make pickles and relax with my loved ones! But I'm ready to buckle down and transition into fall. I just started a new job which is why things are sort of slow around here. I'm working for a company that I am really excited to be apart of and I feel nervous, excited and seriously under-slept! Wish me luck xx

Painting tips

(source) 

When I started caring about the way my home looked and drawing inspiration from home decor websites and magazines, I ran into a big problem. I started hating everything about my house. I looked at my beige walls, drab furniture, lack of architectural detail and clutter and couldn't see my decor vision ever happening within my own walls. I convinced myself I had to move out. Now I'm SO glad I didn't. I've learned every single space can be better and more functional than it already is and you don't need a lot of money, a car, tons of time or a new apartment lease to make it happen.

One thing that I love and hate about decorating is that it's never really done. For example, I haven't had a lampshade on my bedside table for two years. I've got a blaring 60 watt lightbult and no lampshade. Decorating is an evolving process and little steps over time lead to transformed spaces.

So lets start with the easiest thing to change...

PAINT

(source) 

If you hate the colour of your walls, paint them! Check out the mistins - the mistake paint cans that can be found on the floor of any paint store. Get the person working the cash to open up the tin so you can see the color. Sometimes they are only 10 bucks but I still suggest you ask for a sample to take home before committing.

source

With any paint you put on your walls (except for white - i don't believe in the "different shades of white" thing) do a little test swatch first. Paint a bit on a white wall and observe your pick at different points in the day cause it might look peach in the morning and beigy brown at night.

If you have a specific color in mind another way to save money is to go to walmart and "color match". This is where you pick a color on a benjamin moore swatch for example, take it to walmart and they can produce the exact color with their generic no name but just as good paint. It will end up being half the price of going to a para or benjamin moore paint store.

I've known for a while I'm going to color match this blue color in at Walmart. Its Stillness by Valspar. (photo source)

Another way to save money is to skip primer. If you're painting over walls that are already a light colour (like yellow, beige, light green, grey) primer is an unnecessary step. Just do at least 2 coats of the paint. If you're painting colorful walls white, primer is a must.

If you want to paint your walls white you can get a gallon at Roblotts on Adelaide Street for like 18 bucks. I usually get a gallon per room and if I need more I'll go back.

(source) 

Take care of your painting supplies! You can reuse rollers, paint trays and brushes for a long time. Just wash them out in your bathtub as soon as you're done painting. If you have to spread out your painting over a few days you can wrap all of your painting supplies in a garbage bag (the paint tray, rollers and brushes) and refrigerate them. They will last in your fridge for weeks and the paint won't dry out your brushes or roller.

One mistake I made was to expect paint to do all the work. I wanted a vintage looking kitchen so I painted the walls seafoam green. And after I painted I was disappointed when the kitchen didn't look kitschy just seafoam green. Once we got an old school formica table and diner chairs the color looked just right. If you want your house to be minimalist for example, painting the walls white isn't enough. You have to declutter and choose minimalist pieces to complete the look.

Just do it. Painting a room can take a day and it's something you can do by yourself. I swears.

(source)  Last two pics found on Random Acts of Pastel's Pinterest

Kate Spade New York: Things We Love

After a recommendation from A Beautiful Mess, I ordered the book Kate Spade New York: Things We Love from the library. I waited a long time for it even though there weren't that many requests. But the second I held its golden pages in my hands, I understood why. The is the kind of book you hang on to past the due date. The kind of book you want to own. 

The designers behind Kate Spade had a secret part of the website before anything like Pinterest existed, where they collected images that inspired them - a glamorous photo, a restaurant match book, someone's business card, a flea market find. Eventually, they put this book together. Every few pages there is a new chapter based on a theme that they love like the colour red, cocktails, a well placed bow, summer etc. Beautiful photos, quotes and mementos illustrate the theme. 

If you're looking for a well of inspiration, order this book and get thee to the library! 

(all photos are by me. the water pics are not apart of the book!)

What I Got: Furniture from the Curb

Do you know the online magazine Covet Garden?  Each issue features one amazing home in Toronto and the people who inhabit them. This photo is from the July/August issue. I like it because of the wooden seating under the staircase.

Why? Because I own it too! And its even more special because my brother and I found it in someone's basement covered in dirt. 

Gross eh!? Mike was walking to the hardware store and he passed a home that was undergoing a demolition. All the left over furniture was being thrown on the curb. There was a lot! He spotted some good dressers, started talking to the person in charge of the project and next thing he was invited to come in and pick anything he wanted. He called me to come and tag along. The people in the house didn't like me as much because I couldn't hide my disgust for the filth and smell of cat piss permeating the air. 

But when I saw this piece I knew it had to be mine, cat piss and all! We walked it home in the pouring rain. I cleaned it 6 times. And let it air out for about a week. 

Actually, Mike saw it first. But he let me have it because he is a very nice brother.