Dot Obsessed

No - I have not decorated a room in polka dots but believe me - right now that may have been better.  I've been progressively  working to lose weight and have noticed that I've replaced eating with shopping - so not good.  So when my friend Wendy let me know that she had started selling Stella and Dot jewelry, I didn't think that much of it at first and later thought I'd be a good friend, support her new venture and book a party.

I should have known better - the moment I received the catalogue, I was hooked.   I found myself wanting to create the most exciting party I could, helping my friend create interesting displays and wooing my friends with the promise of baked goods.

While I knew it would be great for my friend if people made purchases - I'll be honest that this wasn't my priority.  It was more fun to be creative, get together with a group of girls, open a bottle of wine on a Friday night and giddily try on piece after piece of fun jewelry.  I think this is what sets Stella and Dot apart from other home parties - there are no fancy speeches, no hard sells - it is about trying on pretty girl things, oohing and ahhing over the sparkle, and just plain having a good time.

I have until mid this week to decide what I want to purchase and narrowing down the list will be difficult but I'm up to the challenge and will wait eagerly for my order to arrive in the fun multicolored packaging!

A huge thanks to everyone who came out - especially to my girlfriends who hung out until 1:00 am, chatting philosophically about the world and families - that is another blog entry for another day.

Tempted to purchase something yourself - by all means - click here but I warn you that the site and its contents are addictive!

Summer Flowers

I really love this time of year - fresh fruit, seasonal vegetables and the flowers!  Even my discount grocery store carries a wide variety at this time of year for a few dollars a bundle.  I see this as an opportunity to bring the summer inside, filling as many vases as possible while they last.

 If I find that I don't have enough filler for the arrangement or the size of the vase, I've been known to raid my garden for leafy stocks and additional flowers. This arrangement (left) for my bathroom was a combination of flowers that cost under $20 from the local grocer and a vase I had rescued from Value Village for very little money.

I'm also lucky to have a flower shop that sells wholesale flowers by the bundle near my home.  The pre-arrange flowers tend to be quite costly but if you are willing to take a chance and build your own arrangement, I've found that I walk away with a more flowers for less money.

I have to admit that there are some flowers that I'm not partial too.  Carnations bug me to no end - mainly what is done with them - everything from being dyed weird colours or mixed with baby's breath and other in expensive filler.  The only exception I've seen where carnations work was a creation I saw the real Martha create - all one colour, all bundled together and no other flowers or greenery added.  Beautiful.

I do hate waste and many of the bundles that come from the grocery store tend to have cheap fillers such as purple statice or baby's breath.  Rather than throw these away, I like to fill small vases with these as well as flowers that may have been damaged and cut short during the journey home.  These are great for putting on the bedside table in guest rooms or to add a little colour to any corner in your home.  Happy arranging!

Chair Days

Solid wooden furniture is a thing of the past - unless it is made by a professional carpenter in which case you are paying a great deal for the privilege.  Even the most high-end stores use particle board as the backing for drawers or on the underside of chairs.

  

That's why when you find a well-made piece of furniture at a second hand store - you grab it and run.

I was excited to find this old chair for a mere $20 at a local second hand shop and was thrilled to get started on applying many coats of white paint and a material swatch I had found at a textile sale.

The finished product turned out well and I thought it would be a nice piece for my bathroom although I really do visualize it with a nice desk one day (solid wood desk that is).  Let's hope I find that some day soon. 

Before

After