A Party & A Painting

Today we prepared most of the day to host a Mother's Day get-together tomorrow!

We're having an afternoon tea!

Today we made ingredients for various dainty tea sandwiches and I made chocolate cupcakes and a lemon cake will follow tomorrow.  We'll also have salads, tea and coffee.

(My favorite part of parties is the decorating, if you didn't notice). 

I'm sending this arrangement home with my mother-in-law.  The darling vase is actually a small hurricane (candle holder) I picked up today at Crate & Barrel:

I bought very posh paper for her gift.  Mothers deserve to be spoiled. 

I have a few favorite vases, including this large urn and the small crystal vase (that I bought at Rob Kurkut's gorgeous shop) which is brilliant for left over short stems:

I think pink is very festive for parties.

In other news, I have taken up painting:

A small abstract painting I made today

I took a full year of art in university but have not put medium to paper in 20 years.  It felt really good sitting down at a blank canvas again - I loved it.  I will share more paintings soon and tell you more about my previous art studies.

You can also see another of my paintings in the first photograph at the top of this post (hanging to the left of the mirror).

And most of all...

Happy Mother's Day

(especially to my beloved and most cherished Mom!)

xo Terri

A Bit of Pink Always Helps...

It's been a very busy week and I am madly trying to sort out paint colours for the house. Headaches have also been extreme, so I am a weary camper. I thought I would share a tiny touch of my favorite happy-making spring colour...pink! A little pink is always welcome at my house.

This pink and blue tablecloth was a gift from my mother when I got my first apartment. It has matching napkins. I love it and use it a lot. It has a very old-fashioned feel to it:

This is the tree out in front of our house, an ornamental crabapple tree. It is frequently populated by birds as we have a big feeder in it we can watch from the front window. Yes, spring is very late here. Our lilacs are just starting!:

I brought some apple blossoms inside from our neighbour's tree, which is an even brighter pink!

Hope you have a happy weekend!

~ Plum Perfect ~

We have a double-flowering plum in our front yard that I adore.

 I think it's the most beautiful shrub on earth, thanks to its ample pink blossoms crowded onto heavy stems.

I always cut a few stems and bring them inside this time of year.  

I take its picture, but can never quite capture its quiet beauty...

It has an elegant Asian look, a simple grace that I love...

I think if it were edible it would taste like strawberry mousse ice cream with a hint of lemon...

Inspiration: Teal Blue & Pink

It's funny how inspiration develops.

As you know, I recently painted our guest room a very pretty soft blue.  Over the past two weeks, I've been slowly bringing pink things into this room, since I think pink and blue go smashingly well together.  I love pink, but don't own very much, yet small things are slowly migrating to the room: 

Along the way, I began searching for other blue and pink objects online.  In my search, things that are the forgotten-colour teal blue crossed my mind.  I've been fond of teal blue since Grade 7 when I had a teal jacket that looked great on me. 

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So I started looking for teal-coloured pieces and found a few pretty things on Etsy.  Then at Pottery Barn, I came across this teal blue bedside table (maybe not true teal blue, but with the same tone and vibe):

I decided that these little tables would be perfect for my guest room!

So I tried to order them.  But Pottery Barn is weird about what it ships to Canada - the tables were not available in blue.  So I tried to order them from Seattle but shipping costs were too high in the end.  But special thanks to Kenlie and Amanda at the Seattle (University Village) store for all their help figuring out international shipping with me!

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Since I couldn't get the blue, but liked the style (and price), I decided to order the white ones.  They should be here within the week, and I may continue with the fantasy and paint them teal blue when they arrive: 

I keep looking for teal blue and pink for this room and have found some pretty vintage things on Etsy:

Once I get the room organized, I will have a big pink and blue reveal.  Stay tuned!

For the Love of White (with Pink or Blue!)

Domino (I think this is a Ruthie Sommers' bedroom)

Everyone who reads this blog knows I'm mad for all-white interiors.  But reality is far from fantasy and I just can't live without some colour.  If you could see my house, you'd notice that I gravitate to a neutral palette with lots of pale, muted shades.  I have a base of creams and white and ivory and most of the colours I use are greyed-out versions of pink and blue and green - in other words, the "dusty" antiqued versions of these colours.

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But if I could have a second house, I'd have a lot more pure white with pops of punchy pink and blue!  This combination has a certain spirited and youthful je ne sais quoi that I adore. Maybe because it reminds me of candy?

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I like pink in all its incarnations...from the faintest rose to antiqued pinks to the hottest hot pink.  I also love the shades of blue, from turquoise to periwinkle to the palest baby blue.  I plan to paint our downstairs bedroom a soft pale blue (Farrow & Ball's Skylight) within the next couple of months.  And I'm planning to incorporate more blue in my office because it's restful and pretty and joyful all at once. 

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So...I decided to put this post together to showcase some photos I've been collecting that feature little bits of either pink or blue (or both!) with plenty of white.  Hope you enjoy the photos, and isn't it sad that we can't redecorate every month?  

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A pale pretty pink and white room from Shoot Factory (a few too many pillows perhaps?)

A regal room from Shoot Factory - isn't this dusty hot pink upholstered headboard just delightful, especially with the old wallpaper?

I love the candy pink chair and abstract painting in this modern all-white house (a favorite photo I have posted before from Living Etc.)

A muted dusty pink from The White Company

This all white traditional room is picture perfect with its restrained use of pattern in the pink toile drapes

A little mirror from the Land of Nod picks up the blue-pink-white theme!

A bouquet from House Beautiful reminds me why I love pink...it is most exquisite in the form of flowers

A blue and white living room with touches of pink is perfectly approachable...

Some teacup candles from Martha Stewart let you showcase your pretty pink china...(I love this photo)

Graham & Green tease us with a sliver of hot pink dresser in this photo.

A pink living room from Domino would always be cool in the summer.

Another pink treat from Graham & Green

I love this striped pale blue wall from Arts & Decoration (via Marley & Lockyer).  I fully intend to steal these stripes for somewhere special!

This blue-ish room from Domino has everything I love in a room - high ceilings, giant windows, silky drapes, white furniture and the most beautiful hot pink pillows I have ever seen!

Another whimsical photo from the Land of Nod, with a perfect combination of sweet colours against a sea of white.

Another gem from the White Company - an all-white room spiced with pretty pink

A white & blue & pink room (with green!) from Pottery Barn Kids (some of the best ideas come from children's stores) - isn't the pink rag rug just the prettiest?  And I'm coveting those exquisite butterflies! 

More whimsy from the Land of Nod - all my colours in two soft toys!  Maybe what I really need is a baby!!!

~ The Pretty Room ~

Nothing beats a pretty room to make my heart skip a beat and feel suddenly at home.

There are all sorts of "pretty" rooms, from simple to sophisticated, but by my definition they all have tranquil pastel palettes that soothe the eye and the soul! Soft pinks and blues and lavender, complemented with lots of white, can't help but make a room look oh-so-pretty.

Curvy furniture in feminine colours looks pretty and nurturing, and lots of softly-textured pillows in magical fabrics are inviting and enveloping. Small elements like a bouquet of flowers, a "curlicue" sconce, a delicate lamp, or a canvas of floral wallpaper are often the only flourishes needed to soften and make a simple room go from plain to pretty.

The photos shown are some pretty rooms I've found in the last few months and saved to a "Pretty" folder for a rainy day. I wanted to post more photos, but just didn't have time to go back and dig out even more images from all the country magazines I love (that are often the cat's pyjamas of romantic pretty!).

All the rooms shown have elements I find pretty, some more subtle than others. They share soft colours, feminine motifs, pretty (sometimes country or elegantly curvy) furniture, bouquets of lovely flowers, and a certain feminine je ne sais quoi. They all make me want to redecorate for spring!

What do you find especially pretty? A certain colour? A certain flower? A particular style of furniture? A romantic pattern?

Sometimes I think I want a genteel, slightly worldly and academic house, but then I see these exquisite, relaxed, pretty rooms and I just want to forget sound and sensible and go wild with curvy, romantic, pastel loveliness!

Luckily that look can be mimicked in many rooms by bringing in some flowers, adding some pretty pillows or bringing in a few candles and a new pastel accessory or two for spring. We just bought a celedon green glass vase for our living room, at an art sale, and it's eye-catchingly pretty for spring! Happy Dreaming!
All photos Domino, except for mint green bedroom (10th photo) and elegant lavender living room (2nd photo) from Traditional Home. First photo is from Country Home.