Living & Dining Rooms: An Update Post

After more than a year of living in our new house, the living and dining rooms are nearly complete. When I last posted about them (click here for a refresher) we didn't have much. Since then, we have furnished both rooms. We still have details to complete -- the most daunting being the window coverings.

Here's the living room, I have no idea what to do about window coverings for that giant window:

Here's the dining room with the table set for Mother's Day:

Here is how the two rooms open into each other:

Here are some more detailed photos:

Dining Room To Do List

- table
- buffet
- mirror
- rug
- light fixture (the fixture in the photo came with the house and, while it goes, we want to pick something that is more to our taste)
- six dining chairs (we actually bought eight chairs instead of six dining chairs plus two end chairs as originally planned)
- window coverings
- paint (Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter HC 172)
- artwork
- accessories


Living Room To Do List

- sofa
- coffee table
- end tables
- chest
- artwork
- rug
- light fixture/lamp
- accessories
- window coverings
- paint (Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter HC 172)

Random Thoughts on Style

Lately, I have been reflecting back on what life was like for me in my teens and 20's in terms of style. I went to a Catholic high school at which I wore a uniform, and that meant I didn't have to think about what to wear on a daily basis. Whenever we had "civies" days (i.e. days on which we could wear regular clothes to school) I would plan my outfits in advance. But outfits weren't complicated back then. I would just wear jeans and a top. There was just not the same pressure as there is now to be wearing the trendiest jeans, a designer top and cute accessories all the while carrying the latest designer bag. Of course, we had designer clothes back then (I remember Doc Martens causing a stir when I was in grade 7) but they were not as ubiquitous and the pressure was not as intense as it is now. When I would go out with my friends to parties or clubs, I always just wore black pants and a top. Nowadays, I think girls are under pressure to wear a completely new outfit each and every time they go out. New dress, shoes, purse, jewelry, etc. and all of it designer. It must be a lot of pressure on kids (and on the parents paying for it all).

I think it's because of this idea that I grew up with of having a new top constitute a new outfit that I overemphasized the importance of fancy and expensive tops in my adult life. What I have learned in my 30's is that it is so much better to spend money on quality pieces that will last rather than a new top that I can maybe wear once or twice. That means I spend more on things like jeans, blazers, jackets and shoes, and I fill the rest in with less expensive things. And I definitely don't spend a lot on trendy things that may last only a season or two. A good example is my recent military jacket purchase (click here for a refresher). While I usually don't mind spending more on jackets, I can't be sure how long I will be interested in wearing these jackets and so it made a lot of sense to buy them at Forever 21 because they were super affordable (which is why it was okay to get two!). I like Zara for trendy but inexpensive things. If you're a regular reader, you will have probably noticed that JCrew is one of my favourite stores. While I'm okay with spending full price on something incredible like my favourite mid rise toothpick jeans (click here for a refresher), my normal routine is to only buy things from JCrew on sale... because most things eventually go on sale. I have found that to be a good way to build up a solid supply of staples from my favourite store.

This ridiculous photo of me on my 16th birthday is the only photo that I
have on my computer of me in my highschool uniform. Ugh.

My wardrobe has especially changed since I became a stay-at-home-mom. I often see items (usually dresses and high heels lol) that I would love to wear but know that they don't suit my current lifestyle. That said, I'm not the kind of SAHM that spends all of her time in yoga pants. That's a common misconception about us SAHM's, right? Not me. I wake up an hour before my girls so that I can shower and blowdry my hair, and most days I'm wearing a comfortable but put-together outfit so that I feel good about myself but also so that I'm also ready to chase after two munchkins. Here's a great quote on that topic from style guru Stacy London:

"Looking relevant, modern, timely and appropriate in terms of your age, body type and lifestyle is not only about the joy of self-expression but a form of self-care: it lets the world know how you want to be perceived and treated."

So those are my random Friday-before-a-long-weekend ramblings on style. Do you have any style philosophies? Do you spend more on certain items? Has your clothes buying strategy evolved over time? Do you agree with Stacy London about letting the world know how you want to be perceived and treated with your personal style?

Have a great long weekend to all of my Canadian blog friends!

Cuckoo Cuckoo

If you haven't heard about the recent episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares with Samy and Amy, then I insist that you watch. It is seriously hilarious in a "I can't believe they are so crazy" kind of way.

{via}

What followed the episode is even crazier.... Buzz Feed put together a summary of the epic breakdown that took place on Samy and Amy's Facebook page after the episode aired -- click here to read for Buzz Feed and here for the Facebook page.


Here is the episode on You Tube in two parts:

(Click here to watch part 1 in your browser)

(Click here to watch part 2 in your browser)

The Perfect Oat Cookie

I make a variation of this oat cookie at least once per week. In fact, in its simplest form this was the first kind of cookie I started making for my daughters. At first, I kept it simple with just banana, applesauce and oats. Those ingredients still form the base of this cookie but over time the recipe has evolved. The recipe I'm sharing today is for what our family considers to be the "perfect" version. However, there really is no end to the ways in which this recipe can be varied (I usually vary the recipe based on what ingredients we have or don't have in our pantry on a given day and I have even varied the ingredients to make homemade cereal bars). I like to have these cookies on hand so that I can limit the amount of prepackaged snacks that I feed to my girls and instead offer this healthy treat.

Ingredients

- 1 ripe banana
- 1/2 cup applesauce*
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 tbsp peanut butter**
- 1 tsp coconut oil***
- 1/2 cup chopped unsalted peanuts
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips****
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut

* I use applesauce with no added sugar, on this day I only had chunky applesauce whereas I usually use non-chunky
** I use a natural peanut butter to make this healthier but on this day I only had Kraft smooth peanut butter in the pantry
*** Oil can be omitted to make this healthier
**** I use broken pieces of household chocolate but chocolate can be omitted altogether to make this healthier

Basic ingredients

All ingredients

Directions

- preheat oven to 375 degrees
- mash the banana in a large bowl (or mix it in a Baby Bullet or similar device)
- add all other ingredients and stir
- spoon on to cookie sheet
- bake for 20-25 minutes

The cookies come out of the oven looking the way they did going in which means that if you would like them to look prettier then you may wish to take a bit of extra time when spooning them on to the cookie sheet. Also, I find that they are better the longer they cook. It can take time for the banana and applesauce to cook through so be patient and don't rush it but also keep in mind that they can burn easily too (all of which means that it's good to keep a close eye for the last few minutes of baking). Once baked, the cookies last a few days in the fridge.

When using chunky applesauce, I mix the applesauce
and banana together in the Baby Bullet

Oats

All ingredients

Mixing

Going in...

.... coming out

Perfection

These really are simple and quick to make which is why they became my go-to recipe to begin with. Just start with bananas, applesauce and oats then add anything from nuts to fruit to spices and you will have a homemade and wholesome treat for your kids to enjoy.

Make-Up: New and Old Obsessions

When I last posted about my make-up routine, I was using Stila tinted moisturizer on a regular basis  -- click here for a refresher. I mentioned that, while I liked Stila tinted moisturizer, my favourite all time tinted moisturizer obsession was by Laura Mercier along with the Laura Mercier primer. I recently ran out of Stila.... so when I was in NYC last week, I took advantage of the much lower prices at Sephora in the US (seriously, Sephora Canada is way overpriced) to buy more Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer.

US$43 or Cdn$55

As an unexpected bonus, Sephora had Laura Mercier radiance enhancing primer as one of its Beauty Rewards 100 point rewards. I used up all of my points to redeem three of these primers! If you're a Sephora Beauty Rewards card holder (Canada or US), you should hurry to Sephora to redeem your points for this amazing product! Sephora also has Make Up Forever primer as a beauty insider reward. I've never used it but I know that others rave about it, so it's really just a good time to get free primer from Sephora right now whether it's Laura Mercier or Make Up Forever (or both so you can compare for yourself).

Current Beauty Insider Rewards

I also picked up a 4 pack of Laura Mercier sponges to apply the primer and tinted moisturizer. The sponges are pricy but I have never found another product as good for applying tinted moisturizer or foundation as these babies.

Laura Mercier sponges

Lastly, I took Lauren's advice and got Nars lipstick in Roman Holiday. It has been normal for me to only wear neutrals on my lips for a very long time, so getting pink lipstick was definitely a step outside of my comfort zone. Now I'm obsessed! I'm already thinking that I need to try a bold red lip next.

NARS lipstick in Roman Holiday

Rainy Day Hopscotch

After a string of really nice weather, today is a rainy day. To keep my girls busy indoors, I got the idea to make an indoor hopscotch court in our family room.

I grabbed some painters tape and laid it directly on the carpet. I added the numbers so we can also use this as a learning activity.

Mia and Alexa are having so much fun with it! We aren't playing by any official rules -- they are just having fun jumping around. Later on, I'm planning to ball up some painter's tape and use that as a marker which we can toss on the court. Even if they won't yet understand the rules of skipping the square with the marker in it, we can use the marker to work on learning the numbers in the square.

As for their kooky outfits, they are in a "no pants" phase so most days you can find them around the house wearing some kind of character t-shirt, no pants and crocs with socks. By afternoon, they will start to accessorize with princess dresses, tutus, swim shoes, sun hats, hair accessories and whatever else they can find. It's so much fun to watch their creativity at work!

Military Jacket

I recently became obsessed with finding a military inspired jacket for Spring. I have seen them all over the fashion mags and blogs. The thing is that we completely skipped over Spring here in Southern Ontario and went from snow in mid-April to summer like conditions by May 1st. That dramatic change in weather got me thinking that maybe I didn't need a Spring jacket after all. I was wrong about that though. My weekend in NYC reminded me that a girl always need at least one casual Spring jacket. I went armed to NYC with blazers and warm weather clothes. Between me and my mom, we had 5 light blazers. What we didn't expect, however, was that NYC would be much cooler than Toronto. We were actually freezing with just our blazers! Not to mention that it seemed like every girl in NYC was wearing a military inspired jacket too. Alarm bells were going off in my head: get yourself a military jacket!

On our first day, my mom scored an amazing deal on a striped coat at Loft (similar here). Not a military inspired jacket but it is noteworthy because she got the only one left in the store and it was over 70% off. The next morning we went walking in Times Square around 8am in search of a souvenir for my daughters. We struck out as the Disney Store was closed for renovations and Toys R Us wasn't open yet. The only store open in all of Times Square at 8am on a Sunday morning was Forever 21, and that's where I scored not one but two military inspired jackets. I usually get completely overwhelmed with Forever 21, spend way too long looking and walk out with nothing. But at 8am, the store was empty and I was able to zero in on my objective.

I first fell in love with this hooded utility jacket in olive green but it was completely sold out except for the one on the mannequin (I tried to buy that one but they said no).

Hooded Utility Jacket

I bought it in the peach colour instead. In person, this jacket actually looks more pink than peach.

But I was still left wanting for something in green. So when I came across this collarless olive jacket with a knit open back I couldn't resist getting it too.

Collarless Knit Back Jacket

These jackets feel relaxed and versatile. I can see myself getting so much wear out of them! 

She Wore What?

Since hearing the news that Jessica Simpson was pregnant with her second baby, I was excited at the prospect of more photos of her in outrageous pregnancy outfits. Except this time around Jessica has actually been looking pretty good. Kim Kardashian, on the other hand, has not. I really don't know how to interpret Kim's sense of maternity style. I guess she's trying to keep up with high fashion. I don't get it though. I'm sympathetic to her because I think it's completely unfair the amount of criticism she has taken for her baby body (I can't even imagine what it would be like to be scrutinized like that or to have to walk a red carpet while pregnant) but then she makes these flagrant fashion choices that do nothing except draw more negative attention to her. Last night at the Costume Institute Gala, Kim wore a floral printed jersey high neck, long sleeve dress by Givenchy with matching gloves and shoes. It's hard to even make sense of this dress which she wore to the most illustrious fashion event of the year no less. Was it Kanye's choice? Was it approved by Anna Wintour (Kim and Kanye had dinner with the Vogue editor the night before the Gala)? Is it true that Kim didn't fit into the dress she originally planned to wear? I don't know the answer to any of these questions. Whatever the case, Kim looked like a big mess and she's sure to attract even more negative attention. Maybe that's what she wanted?

{via}

NYC Whirlwind

When I recently posted about Rachel's (my brother's fiance) 30th birthday I left out the part where my brother surprised her with a trip to New York City and a bridal appointment at Kleinfeld Bridal (the famed bridal salon which is featured on TLC's show Say Yes to the Dress) as her 30th birthday gift. Isn't that fabulous?!

So this past weekend I went to NYC with Rachel, my mom, Rachel's mom and Rachel's BFF/maid of honour. It was a whirlwind as we were only there for about 30 hours! We managed to cram in so much and make the most out of every minute in NYC. I had not been to NYC since 2007, it was only my second time leaving my daughters over night (me and my hubby spent one night in Buffalo last year while the girls stayed home with my parents) and my first girls' trip in practically forever. I had forgotten how much I love to travel! We obviously travel as a family and those trips are special and memorable but being on a girls' trip to NYC was a completely different way of traveling.

And then there was the whole Kleinfeld experience which was nothing short of amazing. The staff was gracious, helpful and accommodating. They made every moment special and we were very impressed. Rachel's consultant was Antonella (who is regularly featured on SYTTD) and we even got to meet Kleinfeld's best selling wedding dress designer Pnina Tornai. Rachel said "yes to the dress" but I can't give away any more details than that. But I will say that the dresses in the showroom were spectacular. They looked even nicer in person, I don't think TV does them justice. We spent the rest of our weekend walking around and taking in the NYC vibe, eating and shopping. It was a memorable weekend and I was so happy to be a part of it!

Here's a photo diary of our trip.

***

Me and my mom in the lobby of the Crown Plaza Times Square

Times Square

(check out the cut out of my brother's face that came with us)

In Chelsea

We had our nails done at Dashing Diva

Before dinner

Crostini at Fig & Olive in the meatpacking district

 

Having fun with my bro's cut out

At 8am on Sunday morning the only thing open was Forever 21 lol

Latte and almond toast at Cafe Bene

Checking in at Kleinfeld

The dresses in the showroom were GORJ

Oh to be a bride again -- if we were to renew our vows this would be what I would want lol

 

Consultant Antonella and designer Pnina Tornai

This gorgeous Lanvin looked familiar (click here if you don't know who wore it famously)

After she said yes to the dress!

We stumbled on an absolutely amazing pop-up gourmet food market in Market Square

I had a lobster roll and a Mexican lemonade plus macarons

We also stumbled on Madewell in Soho and I was thrilled to buy the denim boyshirt in saltstone wash

Strolling in Soho

Coloured Blazer 4 Ways

Last month, I was inspired by Pinterest to experiment with the LC Lauren Conrad orange blazer which I purchased on vacation in Florida in March. I tried wearing it over two different textured tops, then over a striped T-shirt and then layering it with a chambray shirt. I never would have come up with the blazer layered with the chambray look on my own, so thanks Pinterest especially for that. I'm looking forward to wearing the blazer over white jeans as the weather warms up.

These are some of the looks that I found on Pinterest:

Here I am wearing the blazer over a ruffled top.

And here I am wearing it over a top with tulle accents.

And here it is layered with chambray and stripes.

In the above three looks, I'm wearing tops/shirts from JCrew, GAP skinny jeans and Tory Burch Reva flats.

I also paired the coloured blazer with my favourite boyfriend jeans (JCrew distressed toothpick jeans), and completed the look with a striped T-shirt from H+M and turquoise blue Michael Kors wedges (yes, I finally have wedges -- wedges feel like a prerequisite to participate in Pinspired after all lol). This last outfit is my favourite!!

You can follow me on Pinterest by clicking the button below. I even have a board specifically for Pinspirations!