Simcoe Street

Savannah's Bedroom - the Before

2012-02-28T09:02:00.002-05:00

Savannah will be turning 14 in a few months, and wants to say goodbye to her little girl pink bedroom. She is also recovering from a serious case of Bieber Fever, and wants to reduce the number of posters she has dedicated to the pop star (though is not ready to eliminate them entirely).

Her "wants" for her new room are to have it feel more grown up and to incorporate her favourite colours - green, blue, and turquoise. Savannah also has a hard time staying neat and organized (this is her room on a "good day") so having an organizational system in place that helps make it easy for her to keep her room looking nice and tidy is a must.

Since she loves to express herself by posting images she's torn out of magazines, I'm also planning to create some sort of huge bulletin board for her that will make it easy to change it up, keep it feeling more contained, and prevent constant wall damage from too much tape.

Click "Read More" for more photos and details.

The budget for this space is tight, but fortunately there is an existing bedroom set that is a little more grown up that she can use in here (her furniture is soon to become nursery furniture for someone new!). Anyway, today I thought I'd share the before pictures with a promise to keep you posted as this room transforms.

The room has amazing bones and Savannah has a clear sense of personal style, so this one will be really fun to put together. Stay tuned!

Jenny xo

Beautiful Bathroom Ideas

2012-02-27T10:39:00.001-05:00

We're back from Florida and busy unpacking and settling back into reality and all that. It was great to get away though, and Benny enjoyed his first trip to the sunshine state. I'll post a few more pics when I get around to uploading them.

Remember when I showed you our master bathroom, here? We've still done very little to it other than occasional re-accessorizing. On pinterest, however, I've been pinning all kinds of bathrooms. So, while I get our house sorted out post-vacation and try to get my mind out of holiday mode, I thought I'd share a few favourites in case you love looking at pretty bathrooms as much as I do.

For me, the ideal bathrooms are typically lots of white with some beautiful tile, perhaps some wallpaper or another pop of colour through accessories, and fantastic lighting. Here's some that I particularly love:

From Elle Decor, pinned here

From Decor Pad, pinned here

From Decor Pad, pinned here.

Note the floors, hardware, and wallpaper in this beauty:

From HGTV, pinned here

Oh, and how I do love pretty tile.

Original source unknown, pinned here.

Love the subway tile under the window here:

Originally here, pinned here

And isn't this tile pretty?

From Studium NYC, pinned here

Or this herringbone marble tiled floor.

From The Enchanted Home, pinned here

These wall-mounted faucets are amazing, especially against that glass subway tile. Great lighting, too:

From Houzz, pinned here

I also love when people use regular furniture in the bathroom for storage, like this gorgeous armoire/hutch as a bath linen and product storage place. So pretty:

From The Design Notebook, pinned here

This is my current favourite in the "one day Benjamin and other future little boys might have their own bathroom!" That tub, that SINK! The pops of colour are perfect without making the room overly juvenile.

Original source unknown, pinned here

This kids' bathroom is awfully cute, too. Love this big sink and, again, just a pop of colour against a white backdrop (and I also LOVE the doorknobs):

Original source unknown, pinned here

And just one more amazing children's sink

From Design Dazzle, pinned here

And here are two over-the-top, dreamy, unreal spaces:

Pinned here

And my fave - a walk in bath!

Pinned here

Triple Berry Sangria

2012-02-24T10:33:00.001-05:00

One thing I've done a lot of on our vacation - eating and drinking. Today, I thought I'd share one of the easiest and most enjoyable things we've indulged in while away: Triple Berry Sangria. We completely made up the recipe and you could modify it however you like, but I thought I'd share what we did as a jumping off point - because it was amazing.

You will need the following ingredients:

1. A bottle of red wine (you could make a white version if you wanted, but red is better)

2. A few ounces of peach schnapps

3. A few ounces of cognac

4. Sprite Zero (or regular sprite) [If you do not drink pop, you could substitute Lime Perrier or any other sparkling water]

5. Lots of berries (plus any other fruits you'd like - cut up apples, peaches, plums, whatever - we added halved grapes to ours).

6. Crushed Ice

7. A big pitcher

Start by prepping your fruit (i.e., washing it, cutting up strawberries, etc.).

Put the fruit into your pitcher. Add a few ounces of peach schnapps and cognac and let the berries get nice and boozey. In the mean time, while they soak, make a nice snack to go with your sangria (ours was homemade guacamole with tortilla chips, which was a great complement to the drink).

After 20 minutes or so, add in your bottle of red wine, sprite zero, and crushed ice. Stir well.

Pour a little in a glass and taste it. Too sweet? Add sparkling water or more wine. Too strong? Add more sprite. Just right? Fill up your glass.

One other thing we did -- often with sangria, you're left at the end of your pitcher with quite a lot of lovely boozey-fruit (that's what I call it, anyway). While it is obviously allowed/encouraged for you to just snack on it straight out of the pitcher, you could also save it to serve atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a fancy-feeling dessert. We did this. It was awesome. I highly recommend trying it!

Greetings From Florida!

2012-02-23T07:52:00.000-05:00

We are in sunny Florida right now with Matt's parents. They've owned a fantastic winter home here to escape from the Toronto snow for years (though we haven't really had any this winter, but still nothing like the weather here in the sunshine state). Matt's been spending time here since he was a kid, and I've been lucky to have some great visits over the past ten or so years. This, however, is Benjamin's first visit - and we're seeing it in a whole new light. He went swimming for the first time. If you knew how much this kid loves to take baths, you would get how psyched we were for a big swim. The pool did not disappoint. Benjamin is officially a water baby. He is also loving the sound the palm trees make in the wind, watching us make grapefruit juice from the grapefruits picked fresh of the trees in the yard, wearing shorts, and all kinds of other novel things. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few snapshots from our trip so far. As usual, it is pretty much a collection of snapshots of Benny. I realize this brings me far more joy that anyone else, but can't resist.

Oh, and one more thing. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who follows. I've just reached 500 followers on GFC, and can hardly believe it. I'm lucky to have so many new (and old) blog friends. You guys are the best. Okay, onto the photos!

See you soon and thanks for visiting!

Jenny xo

Home Organization Ideas Using Repurposed Items

2012-02-22T08:13:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone,

I am sorry I haven't been able to post this week -- we are out of town and my pre-scheduled posting didn't work out as I'd planned. In fact, they've pulled a disappearing act. Ugh.

Since I don't have access to my photos and whatnot, instead I thought I'd go with what I've been doing at home lately - organizing, like here and here and here - and share some more organizing ideas from other brilliant minds.

I love this idea for all those tiny officey things in a small space. I have only two small drawers for all our school and home office supplies, and just might try this. Repurposed, clearly labeled Altoids tins. Love it!

Pinned here, originally here.

More ways to organized drawers? Use things that have lots of compartments for all your small things. Like ice cube trays...

Pinned here, originally here.

Or perhaps an egg carton.

Pinned here, originally here.

Another great thing to repurpose? Baby wipes boxes. We have one holding grocery bags under our sink. But check this out -- here, they hold games so that they stack neatly and look cute.

Pinned here, originally here.

Storing games in pretty recycled jars is a great idea, too, like this. It turns them into quirky decor.

Pinned here, originally here.

I also love the idea of using these cheapie Ikea plastic bag holders as gift wrap holders.

Pinned here, originally here.

And if you do set up a gift wrap area like this, consider something like this for organizing beautiful ribbons, too. These hangers are, in my opinion, annoying for pants but often come in the big mulit-packs of hangers. I have used ours for organizing seasonal table linens, but love this idea way more. One of those travel jewelry organizers is next to it for your tags and embellishments. Cute.

Pinned here, originally here.

I also like this use of magnets, tin cans, and a cookie sheet. The labels are great as well.

Pinned here, originally here.

Little projects can make a huge impact, too. Like this wise re-use of bread tags for easy cord identification:

Pinned here, originally here.

And lastly, pantry storage. Isn't this a cute way to repurpose those 12 packs of pop cans to keep your canned goods organized and easy to access?

Pinned here, originally here.

Okay, I'm off but will be back soon to share some pics of what we're up to (they will probably be food or drink related -- are your vacations also like that?). In the mean time, I'd love to hear from you!

Jenny xo

Organizing Kitchen Cupboards (Food Storage)

2012-02-17T23:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone!

This week has been one of those ultra busy ones full of ups and downs, where only the littlest things seem to get accomplished. Fortunately for me, it is often the little things that get me excited. Like re-organizing junk drawers or, in this case, the cupboard we keep most of our food in. It was starting to look awfully scary...

We had some blue bins that are meant to stack and store things. Since they were not being used anywhere, I decided to use them here. The big glass jars of food went into our other pantry cupboard on a shelf where we are now keeping cereal, teas, and coffee. Cans of soup got a new home, too. But back to the blue bins. Sure, they're not the ideal shape for maximizing storage potential, but right now I'm all about using what I've got and saving up our pennies. In any case, they have made a HUGE difference. I haven't got around to making proper labels (the current ones are just mini post-its taped on) but even so we are finding it easy to see what we have and make better use of the food in our cupboards.

Ah, much better:

(I know the bins look a little messy in the photo, but didn't want to "stage" our food. And in real life they are organized but not obsessively neat because we're pulling things in and out of them all the time. Though I did think about styling things before realizing that that was crazy and that people are probably more interested in what's real versus a better before-and-after. At least I hope so). Okay, more pics:

One drawer or cupboard at a time, I'm whipping our kitchen back into shape. Remember not so long ago I re-organized this drawer of baby stuff (here)? It is still looking good :)

Anyway, just thought I'd share this tiny project. Done any mini-makeovers in any of your cupboards lately?

Jenny xo

Happy Valentines Day!

2012-02-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day with your nearest and dearest partners, children, friends, or family!

via

Love Jenny

P.S. All week I've been meaning to post about the big Giants Superbowl win... and am now laughably late. We are Giants fans in this house (years of living in NYC will do that) and we (meaning Matt, really) were psyched about the win. Here Benny in his Manning jersey. What a funny baby.

Super Easy $10 Chair Makeover

2012-02-12T17:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Matt and I found ourselves at the Salvation Army store in our hometown while we were out there hanging with my parents and siblings. We saw lots of things that made us (well, me) think of all the amazing projects we've seen very talented people give what look like super easy makeovers to. Some of them we wanted to bring home - desks, dressers, and other fun finds. But we decided that - as much as they seemed like a great deal - since we have nowhere to put anything it made little sense to take 'em on. Then we spotted this lonely little chair. We were in need of a simple desk chair and knew that this solid, well-constructed wood and upholstered seat would fit the bill.

If you have never done a furniture makeover before but are interested, I strongly suggest choosing a chair like this to start. It is so, so easy. It will make you feel handy and crafty and all those good things, although in reality anyone could do this. This post is going to be written as a how-to so that, when you do find an ugly old chair, you won't hesitate for a moment to give it a fresh new look. Here's the step-by-step:

Start by buying a chair. Look at thrift stores or on craigslist. Ignore the fabric and the wood finish, and look for something that feels solid and well-made with nice lines. We chose this guy because we liked the shape - from the front, and from the back (since it will sit at a desk, it will mostly be seen from behind so that was important to us). The price tag was good for us, too ($9.99).

The fabric doesn't look so bad here, but was very worn and dated. The wood was in decent condition, showing normal signs of wear and tear. While there is nothing wrong with the wood finish, we thought a more modern, painted finish (especially on such a traditional frame) would suit the space it will live in much better.

We also liked the curvy legs.

We picked up the chair, then did a quick run to a fabric shop and to Home Depot to get the rest of what we'd need.

The supplies you'll need to do this project are:

1. Fabric (only a small piece -- ours was about $4 worth of fabric from Fabricland).

2. A staple gun and staples (we used a DeWalt, around $31 to buy if you don't have one already)

3. Screw driver (to remove seat)

4. Paint, if you are re-doing the frame.

5. Clean, damp rag for cleaning up the chair first.

Start by unscrewing your upholstered seat. If you flip the chair over you'll see little holes (3 or 4). The screws are in there. Just unscrew and the seat will pop off.

We chose not to sand the chair down and instead to clean it up with a damp rag. The lady at Home Depot recommended this since we were using a Behr paint and primer in one. She swore that it would work just find sans sanding. It totally did. That said, if your chair has a shiny finish, bumpy finish, flaky paint, or anything else like that, it would be a good idea to sand it a little first to help your primer/paint stick.

(Here's the colour we chose - Seaside Sand, an antique white sort of colour pulled from the fabric. We got a quart and plan to use the rest [there was a lot left over] on some other furniture pieces for the room - stay tuned for that. The fabric was chosen to complement with the bedding also being used in the space. For help on choosing and mixing patterns, check out this post).

Once it was clean and dry we began by painting. We used both a small brush and a mini foam roller in order to get the smoothest look. The key for painting is patience. Apply thin, even layers and wait for them to dry in between. To me, the waiting is by far the hardest part.

Using the Behr paint and primer in one, we needed two coats and it was all done.

While the first coat dried, we occupied ourselves by changing up the fabric on the chair seat. You could remove the old fabric (and, if it is in poor condition, you probably should). We opted not to. The foam padding on the seat was still nice and plush so we felt no need to mess with it. (If you find a chair with a less than stellar padded seat just add some new padding underneath your new fabric and you'll be good to go).

We laid the seat on top of our fabric, flipping it over to line up the design how we liked it. We then stapled it in place, starting at the centre on one side, pulling the fabric tight and adding staples (constantly checking that it was looking right by flipping it to check). The only tricky part were the corners, but we decided that rather than get flustered by it we'd just wing it and be okay with imperfections. Here, I even made Matt take a photo so you can see how sloppy it looked. It can be sloppy. Don't sweat it. Like The Nester always says, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

(Note that we chose a soil and stain repellent fabric. If you also have a baby, you should think about doing the same).

Once things are all dry (we left it for the evening, overnight, and then popped the seat on the next day after brunch) screw your seat back on and you are all done.

Now you can sit down and enjoy your (not so hard) work. Taking a million photos - none of which you are very pleased with - is a completely optional step ;)

One last glance at the before and after shots:

So, if you have never done a project like this but think it might be fun, go find yourself an ugly old chair to experiment with. I promise it is ridiculously easy.

And if you do/have done something like this I'd love to hear about it and see it!

Jenny xo

(I love you Matt. Thank you for doing this project with me!)

Linking up here and so should you!

Giveaway Winner!

2012-02-10T09:11:00.003-05:00

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and to Cutting Edge Stencils for this amazing giveaway! If you didn't win but had a great idea about how you'd want to use it (so many of you did!) I think you should totally consider treating yourself to a stencil anyway :)

Now for the winner...

Congratulations to Suzy from Saved By Suzy! Suzy's winning comment (comment #11) said..

Suzy www.savedbysuzy.blogspot.comFeb 1, 2012 08:39 AM

Great giveaway! I happily follow your blog.

Suzy, we can't wait to see what you do with your stencil! A representative of Cutting Edge Stencils will be in touch with you by email shortly to arrange for you to choose your stencil and receive your prize.

More great giveaways coming soon!

Jenny xo

Cutting Edge Stencils Giveaway Reminder!

2012-02-09T18:39:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow the winner will be chosen -- please feel free to hop on over to this post to enter if you haven't had a chance to already.

Good luck!

Jenny

A 60th Birthday Party!

2012-02-09T15:07:00.002-05:00

My Aunt Monica is one of the most caring, fun people I've ever known. She lives in Switzerland, but I still see her at least once a year for a few weeks when she visits. She isn't technically my aunt, but might as well be. In December, she turned 60 and we threw a great big party to celebrate at my parents' house. Today I thought I'd (finally) share some of the photos from it with you. Enjoy!

As I mentioned, it was right before Christmas. Hence the mantel decor...

But we tried not to make the party feel too Christmas-y, so we had tons of 60th decorations. I didn't get a picture of them, but we had lots of poster-sized pics of Monica as a child, teenager, and young woman printed up at Staples and mounted around the room. I am so mad at myself that there are no photos of this to show you... But FYI, printing huge pics at Staples is super cheap and would be a great way to DIY some large-scale images for your home (or party!). Okay, more party pics:

And here is me with the birthday girl. xo

Had any fun parties lately? Tell me about them!

Jenny

Oh, and here are some other parties we've had in my parents' basement:

Shannon & Chris' Engagement Party

Granny's 80th Birthday Sit-Down Dinner for 75

Linking up to great parties here.

Nursery Updates and Reorganization for an (almost) 8 month old!

2012-02-07T00:47:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week I showed you how Benjamin's room started out -- looking something like this about a year ago (click here for that post):

Today, I thought I'd show you how the place is looking now that he is almost 8 months old (and crawling, and playing, and all that fun stuff).

One thing that has changed is what is in the deep storage baskets in his closet. They used to hold clothing that he had yet to grow into grouped by size (3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9 months +) as well as bath stuff, baby care stuff (medicine, thermometre, diaper rash ointment, breast pads, pump stuff, etc), and travel stuff. At that time, I kept all of his current sized clothing in the dresser drawers, along with burp cloths and swaddling blankets in his dresser cupboard.

Now that he is bigger (and his wardrobe has grown tremendously) there isn't much in terms of clothing that he doesn't fit yet (all of that is in a rubbermaid container stored elsewhere). The baskets (as well as the hanging storage behind the door, visible above) are instead used to group items we use a lot, which is working super well for us. I made these labels using my trusty alphabet stamps (you've seen these in a bazillion past projects, haha).

In his dresser, the top drawer is filled with socks and shoes, the second with sleepers and pajamas, and the bottom drawer with little onesies, t-shirts, and outfits. The dresser cupboard contains stroller blankets (thick, cushy blankets for chilly walks) and playmats or big quilts for playing on the floor.

I've also done some bookshelf rearranging.

Since I never show my home in a "staged" way (I like to keep it real, and always think it is helpful to see how other people's rooms work for them as they actually live in and use them), it isn't all as pretty as it could be. Case in point: the bumbo on the bottom shelf. In a place as small as ours, the bookshelf is prime storage and we use it as such. Overall, though, it is a cute little display that lets me access the books and whatnot really easily. A big wool basket is good for wrangling all the extra toys and makes clean-up super quick.

We used the tin case that a super sweet dinnerware set my grandparents gave Ben for Christmas came in to store some of his little books (You can buy the dinnerware [actually, a breakfast set] here, if you're interested).

And this little bunny frame was a recently Chapters purchase at 50% off, ringing in at $9.75. The wood is warm, textured, and grainy with white edging. You can get it in all white too, but trust me that in person the wood is just right. (You can buy 'em - on sale - here). And yes, I need to print some photos.

I still need photos in this frame, too.

At least we have a photo in this little frame. He was so small!

And we also framed this funny old note. My in-laws gave it to me on our wedding day during a very funny part of their speech. The note, penned by my husband as a youngster, reads, "My kids can colour their hair any colour they want. They can wear anything they want. Matthew M---" (I blurred out our last name, but he signed his name in full).

Oh, and speaking of un-staged -- you might have noticed something missing in this picture...

Yep, the tension curtain rod broke so we are without window treatments for the moment. The ugly vertical blinds (great for total light blockage) used to hide behind our simple white Ikea curtains, leftover from when this room was a home office. I need to buy a new rod of some sort and am debating whether I want to do anything to embellish the curtains... still pondering that one. Will keep you posted.

A few more things in the room to point out... First, a few random things...

And some specifics. This amazing, whimsical little mobile was a gift for Benjamin this past Christmas from our friends Stefania and Ben (you saw their home here and wedding ideas here). I love it. It goes so beautifully with our wall colour (Behr's Linen White). Benjamin loves to stare up at it as it bounces around.

This cute little silver Noah's ark piggy bank (from Birks) was a gift from my sister (Ben's godmother) Alicia for his baptism (you saw the baptism here - it was super fun). This picture also makes me want to dust. Ew.

This piece of art was a sewing project my mother did for my nursery when I was born. We found it in my parents' house and I thought it was great for Benny's room. It hangs on a little bit of wall right next to the door. The bear can be turned over so he is awake or asleep. I can remember playing with it at bed time when I was a kid.

And, if you're a new mom, soon-to-be-mom, or just like baby stuff, I thought I'd make a product recommendation. We L-O-V-E our Homedics Sound Machine. It has a little projector that can make different moving scenes on the ceiling and lots of sound and music settings. This thing helps Benjamin (a rather troubled sleeper) get some rest. Love, love, love it. It's not a miracle worker, but it is super soothing.

Thanks for checking out these nursery updates. More to come as we continue to tweak things, fix up the curtains, and whatever else I come up with...

(If only we could get him to like sleeping in here all night.... one day maybe. He is a cutie though).

Jenny xo

(If you wondered, the products I'm recommending are just ones I've used and loved or bought myself. No one paid me or perked me in any way to mention them, I just like to share my opinion and make it easy for people to find the items I'm talking about if they're interested. If I ever do get paid to mention something [not likely!] I will be very clear about that).

Linking to my fave parties here.

Guest Post at the Blooming Hydrangea

2012-02-06T12:08:00.003-05:00

Today I'm guest posting over at The Blooming Hydrangea as a part of Ange's series called The Blooming Blogger. I was so excited that Ange invited me to be included -- come visit her beautiful blog!

I also wanted to say a great big thank you for all of your help on the blog button (here), especially Judy of DIY by Design and Robin of Happily Home After as well as Stacy of Conspicuous Style, Carol-Anne of Use the Good Dishes, and Diana at Boy + Girl for their support.

Image via Fifty Flowers, pinned here.

Jenny

Don't forget to enter this fantastic giveaway from Cutting Edge Stencils! (here)

The Evolution of Ben's Nursery

2012-02-04T16:07:00.000-05:00

Today I'm feeling nostalgic, which turned into (a) finally (well over 3 and a half years later) starting a wedding album and (b) looking through lots of photos on iPhoto (and backing up recent photos, too). I'll share more about the wedding album when/if I manage to complete it, but in the mean time wanted to share these two photos that I came across.

Sure, they're crappy iPhone pics that were never intended to be used on the blog - but it is fun to look back at how different Benjamin's room looked about a year ago. I thought I'd share it here so you could see the evolution of this space too - despite the poor quality pics.

At about this time last year, we cleared out our home office to make room for baby. We had only made a few purchases and the crib we ordered arrived super early. For a long time, the room looked like this:

Click "Read More" to see step-by-step how we put the room together.

The curtains, light fixture, and wall colour were already there. We decided that they were neutral enough and opted to keep them. We also chose our crib before we knew if our little one was a he or a she. Then, once we got the news that we were to have a baby boy, I purchased this 2x3 blue trellis rug from Pottery Barn Kids.

You can see above that we'd begun to purchase some baby essentials as we found them super on sale - the little fisher price whale tub, a baby bouncer, and, you know, way overpriced hippo and sheep stuffed animals from Pottery Barn Kids (sitting on his chair in the photo above). These felt like a "necessity" in the moment. Fortunately, I only made a few emotional impulse buys like this while pregnant.

Then I ordered artwork and played around with layouts on my bed.

My Mom bought us this floor model dresser from a local furniture shop.

And I found this floor model bookshelf on clearance at Pottery Barn Kids.

And over time I filled it up with stuff we bought and baby shower gifts as we got ready for baby to arrive.

Eventually, his room came together and a few short weeks after he was born it looked like this (see all the details here):

And then we added a few more things, and got this (you can see all the updates detailed here):

So to recap this strange little walk down memory lane, we went from home office to bare room to this.

And now I've done a few more tweaks, shifting some accessories around and re-organizing all his things, which I'll show you just as soon as I snap some pics.

Jenny xo

PS. THANK YOU for your blog button help responses. I haven't had a chance to respond to you yet, but so appreciate your emails or stopping by and offering advice :)

Blog Button? Can anyone help?

2012-02-03T13:03:00.002-05:00

Hello friends,

I've been trying off and on all morning to make a blog button but with no luck... you can see my sad attempt in my sidebar. I've had several people ask about it over the past few months and thought I'd finally sort it out. Only then I found that I just couldn't figure it out... ugh.

Anyone have any tips? I have followed several different tutorials to no avail. I wish I was better at this stuff... If you know how to make buttons and want to make one for me, I'd love to do a post featuring the new button and your blog - is that enough of a bribe? :)

On the plus side, I do have a nice new format for browsing Simcoe Street from your mobile phone!

Jenny xo

Mood Board for Nicolette's Boys' Room

2012-02-01T21:28:00.000-05:00

Nicolette, the creative super-mom of Momnivore's Dilemma, has two gorgeous little boys who need to bring some order, storage, and style to their bedroom. I was happy to create this little mood board for her - a jumping off point to get the re-do rolling.

But let's backtrack...

Here are the before pictures of Moose and Monkey's room (no, not their real names, but adorable nicknames -- I especially have a soft spot for Monkey since we call our own little guy our Benjamonkey or just Monkey too).

To see all the details, before pictures, and details from the mood board, click "read more"

And these next pics help underscore the need for storage. Nicolette especially wanted cubby storage that she could label - she is, after all, a former teacher.

She also had these pieces that could be repurposed:

Nicolette also has a grey and red chair that needs to stay in the room, so that was the colour jumping off point.

So here's the ideas I thought might work for the room... Nicolette will receive a full list of sources (as soon as I get a few moments -- sorry for the delay and thank you for being so patient, N!). If you're interested in anything in particular, just let me know.

Information pertaining to each # is below.

1. Grey Accent Paint Colour - for base of table (7), inside of nighstand cubby

2. Wall Colour - a soothing, soft blue. Not so baby-ish that it won't grow with the boys as they become older, but also not too mature or loud. It will help keep the room feeling airy and serene.

3. Red Paint (Secondary Accent Colour) - for painting chairs (8), rolling book cart (6).

4. Boxes for storage in some cubbies and perhaps inside a closet. Instead of expensive baskets, repurpose cardboard banker style boxes or similar by painting with chalkboard paint. This allows the boxes to be easily labelled.

5. Fabrics! More on those below...

6. Rolling book cart. Put the books for that day's lesson, bedtime, etc. on top and keep school supplies below. Easy to roll away when not in use. A DIY project for Nicolette's hand husband, perhaps?

7. Play table - re-use the one Nicolette already has but freshen it up by painting the legs grey and the top with chalkboard paint.

8. Play table chairs - also re-use the chairs she already has, but freshen up by giving them a glossy coat of red paint.

9. Name letters in grey and/or red. These could go above each boys' bed. Nicolette could also choose to put a single letter (their first initial) in a frame, and frame a cute pic of each boy next to it (these would go above the bed as shown).

10. New window treatments. Since budget is a concern and Nicolette is super crafty, I thought it might be fun and economical to take basic white, very pale blue, or very light grey ready-made curtains from Ikea and paint two wide, bold grey stripes (in our accent colour or a slightly darker shade) on the bottom. Curtain rod could be painted black (matching the shade to the chalkboard paint on the table) or kept nickel finish (at least that is how it appears in photos)

11. Chunky west-elm beds. I'd paint 'em black. Nicolette's emailed me to let me know her husband is already making these for the boys. I recommend keeping the bedding simple and basic -- perhaps white so it can easily be bleached - with fun sheets in blue, grey, or red. Add on a few toss pillows made from fun fabrics (5) and they're all set. As the boys get older, if the bedding survives until then, it can grow with them by just changing out the throw pillows.

12. Art above bed. Could be photos, framed pages from favourite storybooks, initials, anything really. Anything is art as long as you put it in a nice frame. White frames are the way to go.

13. Cubby style toy storage. This unit is low, wide, and heavy, so it won't tip over if one of the kids decides to climb it. It also helps to limit the number of toys -- too much choice can be overwhelming, so it is better to fill this unit and then rotate the rest in and out of storage. I like the colour choices as shown, too.

14. More book/toy storage (to be painted). I'd make a cushion for on top of this and set it under the window if possible (a bit tricky to know exactly how I'd lay out the furniture from the photos, and I don't have a floorplan or anything, so not sure if this idea would actually be realistic). On either side of the window, spice racks from Ikea could be used for more display/storage of books too, like this.

15. To create a focal point, create a grouping of 6-9 frames. In my mind, these would be clipboard frames that hold rotating art that the boys' make, photos, cards, seasonal things, etc. They'd be sort of like this:

via pinterest from Little Anny Goat

or this:

from Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss.

Now for the fabrics. Here's the one's I've picked based on price, durability, and of course looks. All are available at Fabric.com. In the interest of full disclosure, I haven't been able to see samples of all of them in person, but since Nicolette's been waiting for this I'm going ahead and putting this out there - but in a worst case scenario, they'd be exchanged. The fabrics might seem like too much all laid out here, but in the room when combined with soft walls, neutral bedding, and clean-lined painted furniture, they'll help it feel warm, stylish, but not too precious (this room needs to stand up to a lot of activity, after all). The softness fabrics bring will help make it a cozy place for the boys and Nicolette, too.

For pillows on beds and on possible window cubby bench.

To recover tiny upholstered chair:

Small pillows for bed and recovered chair:

This fabric I would actually not choose, but am showing you since it was in the mood board. Upon closer inspection of the fabric details, it is too light-weight to be durable enough for this space. But something graphic like this would work well.

Euro sized pillow for beds:

This one is for the window bench. It is a heavy duty nylon, so will be plenty durable for energetic boys as the cushion fabric. It will also tie in with other red accents.

And just because I think it's really cute, here's that rolling book cart up close. The ability to roll it away when not needed, and the lack of sharp corners, make this one a winner. This one retails for $199 right here, but I think a handy person could make it for far less.

Now, Nicolette, this is step one toward re-doing your space. If there are things you like, use 'em - and things that you don't we can modify and change up. Everyone else -- thanks for looking, and go on over and say hi to Nicolette at her blog.

Lots of love,

Jenny

Check out this giveaway!

Cutting Edge Stencils is offering one lucky reader a stencil of their choice. The possibilities are endless! Check it out here and enter to win!

Cutting Edge Stencils Giveaway!

2012-02-01T08:17:00.003-05:00

I am super, duper excited about the amazing giveaway starting today from Cutting Edge Stencils. They are offering one Simcoe Street reader whatever stencil they love the most (up to a $50 value). The toughest part might be choosing your stencil if you win... Let's look at some options - here's some ideas of how other people's projects have turned out (courtesy of Cutting Edge Stencils):

I'm thinking of getting a stencil myself to use on a piece of furniture. I like the idea of using one on a pillow, too. Or maybe curtains?

In addition to having a ton of options, Cutting Edge Stencils has really helpful stuff like these how-to videos (by the way, it tried forever to figure out how to embed this video. I still have a lot to learn about computers and whatnot).

Okay so now to the important stuff. To enter this giveaway, you can do one or all of the following so you have up to 3 chances to win (leave a separate comment for each one so that you get a separate entry and chance to win for each one). None are required, but you can do all three to better your chances if you'd like.

1. Be a follower of Simcoe Street (and leave a comment telling me you are following).

2. Visit Cutting Edge Stencils, and tell me which one you'd choose (and I would LOVE if you told me how/where you think you'd use it!)

3. Like Cutting Edge Stencils on Facebook (here) (and leave a comment telling me you did)

The winner will be chosen at random (using a random # generator) on

Friday February 10.

Good luck and a great big thank you for entering!

Two other things -- if you are not a blogger and do not have a web address for me to contact you at, please be sure to leave your email address. It is best to write it out (name at gmail dot com, for example) because I've heard otherwise weirdo spammers can somehow magically find it (yes, still have lots to learn about the internet).

Also, the prize ships to the USA only. I am super bummed about that, too. I try to get as many ship-anywhere giveaways as I can, but since I loved this product so much decided not to turn it down despite the US-only thing.

Shoe Organizer Turned Cleaning Product Organizer

2012-01-31T10:24:00.002-05:00

This week has already been one of those crazy busy ones where you think to yourself, "Thank goodness it's Friday," only to realize it is 10:15 am on a Tuesday. Yikes. There seems like there is so much to do on my to-do list, and most of it is stuff I have no real interest in doing. But c'est la vie, I suppose. On days like this, I look at this little face and realize that no matter what life is wonderful:

Anyway, as a result of all this boring stuff I'm doing, I haven't been able to wrap up (or, truth be told, in some cases start) the projects I'd been hoping to share. So instead, I'm giving you the teeniest makeover that you could do for just a few dollars and a few minutes - but one that will free up some good space under your sink or in your cupboards.

My sister Shannon and her partner Chris moved into a new apartment a little while ago (lots more on that to come) and we've done things big and small to fix it up and make it theirs.

Since they have limited storage but, like most of us, a fair bit of stuff, we did a number of things to maximize storage. One simple one was to utilize otherwise wasted space behind the door in the small laundry closet. An inexpensive clear plastic shoe organizer (folded in half since the washer sits closer to the door than the upper dryer) now houses all of their cleaning supplies. They are easy to see, making the product you're looking for easier to find than digging through the cupboard, and now the space under their kitchen sink - previously full of these supplies - is free to hold something else.

By the way, just so you remember Chris and Shannon from previous posts-- you saw their engagement party right here, and when we did a one-day makeover in their last place right here? Here's a glimpse of that:

The Before:

The After:

The Before:

The After:

Okay, one last glance at my sweet Benjamin... getting so big!!

...and now back to work for this gal. Have a great day!

Jenny xo

Cutting Edge Stencils is offering one lucky reader a stencil of their choice. The possibilities are endless! Check it out here and enter to win!

Entering these great parties!

Happy baby, great toy!

2012-01-28T19:53:00.002-05:00

Someone very close to me is expecting, so I'm helping them decide what are the things I consider baby must-have's. I love to chat about baby things and make recommendations, and today thought I'd share a few pics of my little man in one of the greatest toys ever -- this Evenflo Jungle exersaucer. This thing can entertain him for ages. Sometimes, it is the only way for me to get things done. Best of all, it starts as a playmat for newborns, converts to his exersaucer, then to a big play table for older kids. More bang for your buck and less to store.

There are lots of buttons to push, things to crinkle and spin and tap, parts to teethe on, swat at, grab, and play with - so much to do. Benjamin can get really serious when he is concentrating (here, he's working on moving around a trio of monkeys).

Honestly, I don't think I'd ever be able to cook dinner if it weren't for this.

What about you? Do you have a fave play thing for your little one? Anything that an 8 month old might like or that you'd recommend for a soon-t0-be mom?

Jenny xo

If you wondered, the company has no idea who I am and has not compensated me in any way - I just like to recommend a product that we have found totally awesome.

Easy DIY Baby Handprint Box (Dollar Store Craft)

2012-01-25T01:26:00.003-05:00

Matt has been working hard and feeling pretty stressed lately, so Benjamin and I decided to make him a little something just because we love him. I'm calling it an easy DIY baby handprint box. Yes, I know that it could probably benefit from a catchier name. Oh well.

This was actually a very fast, easy, and super cheap project. And I love it. Like many parents, Matt and I are really getting to know the meaning of the old adage, "The days are long but the years are short." In our case, not exactly years, but the weeks and months feel like they are flying by and I can hardly believe how big our little boy is getting. Soon he'll be eight months! But I digress...

Back to this little project. Here is the before and after:

To recreate this, you'll need the following supplies - all of which can be purchased at the Dollar Store.
(For all the details, just click "read more")

Acrylic paint in a colour of your choice, a wooden box, paint brushes or foam brushes (I chose foam so that I could use them for both paint and glue - plus, I was going for a rougher, more rustic finish rather than a sleek one so the foam was a good choice as it leaves little drag marks), and little rubber things for the bottom so it won't scratch furniture. Not pictured is mod podge, which you'll also need, as well as a screwdriver if you want to remove the box hardware like I did.

Since I didn't love the little brass clasp on the box, I removed it.

I initially started painting without filling the holes or sanding, but then after one coat realized that was dumb. I used a nail file to do a quick sanding job and hoped for the best. It worked out well, surprisingly, and the paint filled in the holes. But if you do this, it would be better to just fill 'em first.

In between coats of drying paint, you'll need to decide what's going on your box. I chose a handprint and a little note that I used my alphabet stamps to create (I can't seem to get enough of them - other alphabet stamp projects can be seen here, here, and here).

I used this ink to stamp Ben's hand onto a piece of cardstock.

Next, I popped the box on top of my stamped cardstock so I could trace it and cut out my stamp.

Just pop the box on top, and trace. Then, cut on the inside of your drawn line.

(Aren't baby handprints the cutest!?)

I also made something for the inner lid of the box - just stamped it out, then freehanded the "love Benjamin" with a thin sharpie.

I finished painting the box, then applied mod podge and glued on my stamped cardstock pieces to the front and back of the lid. Once that dried (or not quite -- I waited about 4 mins), I applied mod podge on top and in a thin layer all over the box. I repeated this a few times. The ink from the stamps ran a little, but I think it adds to the look of the box in a nice way. Lastly, I popped on four rubber feet so that it won't damage anything that it sits on.

Here is the finished product:

You could make a million variations of this box. Some that I am dying to make include:

- using maps on top that are meaningful (from a trip, a place you've lived together, etc)

- using photos on top or inside

- using print-outs of readings from our weddings (from leftover wedding programs - like the ones I used in these easy DIY ornaments)

Made any little sentimental trinkets lately?

Jenny xo

I'm joining some of these parties -- you should too!

Cutting Edge Stencils is offering one lucky reader a stencil of their choice. The possibilities are endless! Check it out here and enter to win!

Getting Organized: Baby Stuff in the Kitchen

2012-01-24T12:33:00.001-05:00

Today I want to share a quick organizing project that I did last night during the commercials as Matt and I caught up on last week's episode of The Bachelor (sorry, Matt - I'm outing us as fans of the show).

While most of our place is usually pretty organized, lately there are some things (okay, a lot of things) we've let slide. One of the worst spots was the bottom drawer in our kitchen (which is a tiny space - with only four drawers total - take a tour of the kitchen here and see more of it here) where we now store all of Benjamin's feeding-related stuff. Somehow, it went from a nice little grouping of things to this jumbly mess:

Yikes.

I decided that the best thing to do would be to remove, group, and then put back everything. Normally when reorganizing I also like to try and purge, but in this case everything in this drawer is needed - minus some bulky packaging for snack containers Benny's too little to use. I went ahead and recycled those.

I used two large and one small lidless tupperware containers, plus a clear acrylic drawer divider that had been separating hand creams and hair elastics and whatnot in my nightstand drawer (I'll reorganize that mess another day) so that everything can stay organize. Here is how it worked out:

If you're super detail-oriented and wondering what's what, here's the relevant info for ya:

For all the small bits in the acrylic drawers, I decided to use my trusty alphabet stamps (which I used on all our Christmas gift wrapping, seen here, and to make easy shipping tag place cards, seen here). I made simple labels on cue-cards that I popped underneath the divider (so they stay protected, and since they can obviously be seen through the clear acrylic). My hope is that this will make it easier for us to keep it nice and tidy when we put things away, and find what we need quickly.

[Once I decided to post this, I realized that although the labels make sense to Matt and I, they might seem odd to someone else. "Two and Three" refers to size 2/3 flow nipples for bottles, "Size One" is size 1 flow nipples, and the rest is for the vents and whatnot that come with the Born Free bottles we use].

The only other place in the kitchen that we keep baby stuff is in our top drawer, where two rows of our cutlery divider and now devoted to soft-tipped spoons and the like.

I got snap-happy with the camera:

Did you spot the super cute construction fork and spoon? Here they are if you missed 'em:

Oh, and since I sometimes receive questions about which baby products I use from readers, while I'm opening up the drawers and showing it all to you, here is a better look of some of the things in there that a few of you might be curious about.

Jenny xo

Mom's Birthday Dinner Tablescape

2012-01-23T10:51:00.003-05:00

Back in November, we had a big family celebration for all 8 of our November birthdays (you can see that party here), but we also had a smaller dinner to celebrate my Mom. Today, I'm finally telling you about it.
As the mother of 9 kids my Mom is always doing so much for everyone around her, so we wanted to get together to have an extra-special celebration for her. We showed up at the house, and while three of my sisters whisked her off to the spa for a massage, we used the 90 minutes they were gone to set the table and get dinner cooking. We didn't have much of a plan, but poked around the house and used what we found to set a festive spot for dinner. Here is how things turned out.

On the island/breakfast bar, we set up all of our sweets for dessert as well as lots of mismatched candlesticks, pillar candles, and tealights. A few stems of hydrangeas in a wine goblet as well as some roses my mother had received completed the display.

Here's a few more shots:

We used my parents' wedding china throughout (here, holding cupcakes), as well as simple white serving pieces.

To see the table and all the decor, click "read more"

I put candies in some inexpensive glass bowls meant for candles (you can also spot candles in some of them). To vary the height of the sweets, I popped some bowls in my Mom's old silver goblet-style tennis trophies from the 80s, like this:

Here is how the table itself came together:

We love you Mom!

Jenny

PS. If you're really observant, you might have noticed a lot of changes in this space. I'll do a proper post detailing it all soon, but everything from the wall-colour to the lighting to the table and chairs to window treatments to kitchen cupboard hardware to the gallery wall has been totally revamped. See how the table has changed from this dinner (November) to our Christmas dinner (seen here)? Can't wait to show you all the rest! It is really pretty :)

Here's the table change as a little preview:

Vintage Wedding Decor Ideas

2012-01-22T10:21:00.002-05:00

This summer, we are heading to a couple of weddings that we are very excited about. Our friends Stefania and Ben (you saw their gorgeous home, here) have found the coolest venue and are planning a beautiful celebration. Today, I thought I'd share some of the images I've pinned to show her as possible inspiration.

First, I think seeing the venue will help give you an idea of the ambience we want to achieve through simple decor elements.

via

Yes, they are getting married in a historic schoolhouse right in the heart of downtown Toronto. It is a gorgeous space. There is a school room - complete with the original desks and whatnot - that will be used during cocktail hour. The ceremony and reception, however, will take place in this space:

As you can probably tell by looking at their home (here) and choice of venue, the couple loves beautiful vintage pieces. They also are being smart about spending and keeping the budget in check.

For the wedding, we are planning to use mason jars, loosely arranged white market style flowers, candles, antique lace, burlap, twine, perhaps some galvanized tin and antique silver, and - as a nod to the school setting - chalk, chalk boards and cork boards.

Here's some of the inspiration pics I've saved. Aren't they pretty?

Via Southern Weddings, pinned here.

There are LOTS of additional photos and ideas - click "read more" to see!

Via Style Me Pretty, pinned here.

Via Thrifty Fun, pinned here.

Via Martha Stewart Weddings, pinned here.

Via Anna Boo's House, pinned here.

Via Wedding Bee, pinned here.

Via Southern Charm, pinned here.

Pinned here.

Via Lovely Bride, pinned here.

Via The Brown Eyed Bride, pinned here.

Via Emmaline Bride, pinned here.

Via Icing On the Cake, pinned here.

Via Tickled Pink, pinned here.

Via Elizabeth Anne Designs, pinned here.

Via Perpetual Party Planner, pinned here.

Via Lucy Dylan Weddings, pinned here.

Via Key and Bones, pinned here.

Via Style Me Pretty, pinned here.

Via Wedding Chicks, pinned here.

And these other ideas, though not quite right for the wedding, are too pretty not to share.

They'd be perfect for a casual brunch or dinner party, a shower, as a centrepiece just for fun, or at a wedding. And they look budget friendly and easy to DIY, too.

Love the idea of regular tin cans being reused - with the labels on. LOVE it.

Pinned here.

From Rachel Ray Magazine via By Stephanie Lynn, pinned here.

The next arrangement uses beautified tin cans. Looks super easy to do.

Via Martha Stewart, pinned here.

Tin cans look good bare, too, especially when they are pretty shades of copper.

Via By Stephanie Lynn, pinned here.

Yet another tin as a vase. Do we sense a theme? I love this one so much.

Via Wedding Chicks, pinned here.

Tea tins. My fave.

Via Martha Stewart, pinned here.

If tin can variations as vases aren't your thing, how about wine bottles as candlesticks?

Via Elizabeth Anne Designs, pinned here.

And one last one. More mason jars. I can't get enough of 'em.

Via Kristina Cippolla, pinned here.

Have a lovely Sunday!

For more floral, candle, and other ideas, see my pinterest boards here.

Jenny xo

Linking to my fave parties here. You should too :)

Christmas Recap

2012-01-20T16:22:00.002-05:00

Since I pulled a bit of a disappearing act over the holidays, I thought I'd recap a little of our Christmas by sharing some photos from the holidays. Benjamin's first Christmas was a very special one, and we were lucky to have so many friends and relatives to celebrate with. These pics are from our time with family on December 24/25.

Here's our little Benjamonkey's stocking at his Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was given to him by my sister's mother-in-law, who monogrammed it herself. I love that.

Did I tell you all that one of Ben's many nicknames is Benjamonkey? It totally suits him.

One day, when he is all grown up and Matt and I are old and grey, this will be a sweet little reminder of our first Christmas as a family of three. Ben gave this to Matt when we celebrated Christmas just the three of us, on December 23rd.

Like many of our gifts, it was wrapped in a very simple brown paper bag, like so

(see more of how we wrapped our gifts for free right here):

Benny enjoyed playing with his presents, and the toys the big kids got (actually, this giant nerf gun was given to an adult).

Benjamin also received several Christmas outfits which he wore happily - most of the time, anyway.

Here's some more Christmas snapshots (click "Read More" to see the pics, plus our Christmas tablescape and more):

(To see all of the ornaments up close, click here)

Each year on Christmas Eve, my parents give us a new set of pyjamas. Above and below, you can see us all wearing them.

Isn't the bib my brother Matthew gave Benjamin funny?

And here's a few shots of our Christmas Eve dinner table. I didn't have my camera for Christmas day, so I'll have to get those from someone and share 'em some other time.

Am I the only one who is already looking forward to this year's Christmas?

Jenny xo

Linking to my fave parties here. You should too :)

Happy 2012 (Yep, I'm a couple weeks late)

2012-01-19T09:04:00.001-05:00

Well, it has been a long long long time since I've been blogging regularly, and boy have I missed it. I've been swamped and totally bogged down with lots of boring, non-blog-worthy stuff and feeling like there is no time in the day for anything. I bet a lot of people have had times like this and know exactly what I'm talking about.

Anyway, then, once I'd been away from the blog for so long I felt like I needed to have some amazing, blow-everyone-away kind of post to come back with a bang so people would forgive the little disappearing act. But I don't have a post like that yet. I've been working on lots of little things but haven't accomplished anything major, so have nothing major to share. Nothing that feels good enough at all, really, but that keeps on delaying things more and more. But, I miss blogging and really want to start again. I miss my blog friends, seeing what they're up to every day, and having an outlet to talk about decorating and crafts and whatnot with other people who like this stuff too. So, rather than continue to wait for something really fantastic I've decided instead to come back quietly with a friendly hello instead of a big bang. I've missed you all!!

I hope 2012 is going really well for all of you so far. Can't wait to catch up with you.

Be back very soon with some decorating goodness for you. Thanks for reading :)

Love Jenny

(And just because I couldn't resist sharing yet another pic of him, here is Benjamin in his tux on New Year's Eve, shaking around his cup to ring in the new year).