printables.

I love this idea for design - you sell the pdf, and people can print their own, as many times as they want. Here's a cute little design shop- Emmy Lu - she sells printable stationery. My favourites are her recipe cards and cute labels...

new year, new colours.

Each year, Pantone chooses a new "Colour of the Year". Here's the colour for 2011!

Plus some inspiration for you...

(Cynthia Steffe)
(BCBG)
(Lamps Plus)

(Jonathan Adler)

(Homegoods)

all wrapped up.

Now that you're finished your Christmas gift buying (hopefully!), it's time to wrap them up! This part makes me excited because I start to imagine the look on people's faces when they open up their gift. Plus, it's another opportunity to get creative. If you're looking for inspiration - here's a few ideas!

Find 3 kinds of paper with the same colour, but coordinating patterns. I chose plain brown shipping paper and red/off white patterned papers.

Sometimes the best isn't the most obvious or expensive. Why not use a roll of twine for $1 instead of fancy shiny ribbon? It fits with the look, and goes alot further too. I added a little pinecone that I had leftover to one of these gifts.

I was inspired by the Sound of Music - the "brown paper packages, tied up with strings".

I jazzed up this plain brown bag with a strip of gift wrap down the middle. I also added some leftover decor berries to this one. This gift was the hardest to wrap at first, but I kept adding more details - now it's my favourite!

Ta-Da!! Happy wrapping! I hope you find more joy in giving this year, than ever before :)

winter favourites.

I'm not a big fan of winter (specifically the driving), however, there are a few things that make me excited for the season. Here's a few of the latest things I've been loving...

Burl Ives and "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas". He was in one my favourite movies of my childhood, and I love hearing him on the radio during Christmas time.

Stomping through the snow in my big warm Sorels.

A freezer full of goodies ready to be given away (and eaten!) I made these Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Truffles. Beware, they even taste good straight out of the freezer.

The Cinnamon candle at my front door. From my coworker, Debbie, who showed up one morning with this gift for me. Smells amazing!

What are your current favourite winter things?

HEY everyone!!

http://jamiedelaineblog.com/post/2302/white-rock-engagement-photos-heidibryce/

1. Click this link.
2. Check out our amazing pics by Jamie Delaine!
3. Scroll to the bottom
4. Click "LIKE".

We need 100 people to "LIKE" this as soon as possible!!!  Thanks a bunch!

Decorating for Christmas!

As a first time home owner, I'm sooooo excited about decorating :) Here's a few things I did for Christmas (for very little $$)...

There's nothing like a real garland wrapped in lights. This is the extra that Bryce's dad had after he finished his own garage. We even had enough to double it up! The lights are borrowed as well :)

Homemade window boxes. The boxes were 6.99 at Belgian Nursery, and I got a bunch of spruce? (sorry, I don't know my trees very well...) for 6.99 as well. The little berries were half price at Michael's. So for 2 window boxes (I have one on the other side of the door as well), I think I spent $25? Maybe not even. Oh, and the twigs are from a tree on our yard.

That 6.99 bit of evergreen stuff went a long way...I even got a (wreath? what do you call this?) out of it as well! And I attached this stick/pinecone/straw thing from Dollarama to it with a piece of wire. Added a few more dollarama berries to the top. It's just hanging by a piece of wire to a door wreath holder.

I also had some trimmings from the garland + more evergreen stuff (I told you it went a long way!) + some left over from the Divine Dessert night that Bryce brought home for me = centrepiece. I just laid little pieces on a dinner plate, got a few tealights for the centre, and a few more of those dollarama berries. My table is the same width as a roll of wrapping paper, so I cut a piece of polka dotted paper, and laid it on top, then I cut a runner-width out of the other paper. This is my favourite :)

HAPPY DECORATING!

some randoms...

more of the long skirt...current favourite.

Lookbook.

And some inspiration for my living room...love the "squareness" of the furniture.
Made by Girl

wreath time.

I thought I'd share these unique wreath ideas I saw on Martha Stewart's website - so fun! Of course, instruction included. I'm especially excited because this is my first Christmas in our new house, and I'm looking forward to decorating!

Paper doilies...

Gift boxes...

with matching garland...

3 in a row...

And my personal favourite...the Christmas card display! How fun is this. I'm seriously considering it. It's easy too!

cute DIY gift idea.

Hey all, check out this cute DIY idea I saw over at design*sponge - candles in vintage tins. This idea comes at a perfect time, since I have recently been admiring some pretty tins at the thrift store, but I didn't buy them because I didn't have a use for them - now I do! They even give you the instructions for how to make them. Enjoy! (ps these would also make a great gift idea...Christmas is coming!)

wanted.

Can anyone help me? I need a few things things for wedding decor, and I was wondering if anyone has them kicking around their homes, and might be willing to lend/give/sell for a small amount?

Wooden rain barrels - need 3, all the same height

Wooden ladders - need 4, doesn't matter if they match

Galvanized pails - need a variety, mismatched, varying heights

Wooden crates - need a variety, mismatched

Let me know!!

must-try hair style.

I tend to go hair-down to fancy things (mostly because I'm updo challenged...) but I must try this. (I also have a big soft spot for red hair.) This updo comes with instructions here!

also...

Related to the last post, I kind of love the mismatched letters on the wall. This one's from House of Turquoise.

uh, cute.

The chalkboard recipe wall. Found on stylefiles.com.

more knitting...

Not sure what it is with me and all the knitted things lately...they're just really catching my eye! I decided this will be my winter project. Done and done. This one is from Anthropologie.

Don't forget the dessert!

Thanksgiving is coming fast, and I'm getting excited about being with family, visiting the cottage, and of course, eating good food. I was searching around for some tasty dessert ideas, when I found these. (When you don't know what to eat, you find out what Martha's making...) Here's a few desserts that combine two of my favourites - pumpkin and chocolate. Which one should I try?

(Click here for recipes)

Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Chocolate-Glazed pumpkin cookies

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

These ones don't involve chocolate, but they still look sooo good. Maybe for breakfast?

Pumpkin Muffins

I'll let you know which one I try, and how it turns out!

Featured!

Guess what! A few weeks ago our photographer, Jamie Delaine, emailed us saying that "Weddings in BC" wanted to feature our engagement photos/story on their website...and now it's up! In case you wanted to read the story and see some pics... So exciting!

Click here to see the article!

for those who knit...

Love these cute knitting projects by Emmadime - so fun! And not too difficult either...great accessories for the cool weather that's upon us. So long summer...