100th post: Happy Halloween

Hope everyone is having a good Halloween day! Thought I'd share the jack-o-lanterns we carved this year. Here's mine:

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! A little monster who is trying very hard to be scary. I carved this pumpkin at my co-workers house on Friday night. She had a pumpkin carving party and everyone got to carve a pumpkin that she grew on her acreage. Very fun!

I brought home a giant pumpkin for Dave to carve. He did a Wild Thing and it turned out amazing:

Great, hey?

It's hard to believe this is my 100th post already! Thanks to all of you who read my blog...I like writing it and it's nice to have someone out there actually reading it! If you have any special requests or post ideas, let me know!

Dream a little dream

How nice would it be to sleep in a bed with this bedding?

From urbanoutfitters.com

Ummm...nice. If I had a bed this lovely with all those pretty little ruffles, I would want to a) jump on the bed...just because...and just once of course, b) lay on top of the covers instead of under them because it looks like they would envelop you anyways, and c) sleep sleep sleep...for a very long time (and once I woke up I would just lay there and swish the ruffles around...I really would you know).

Dreamy. And by the way, how could you ever have a bad dream if you were sleeping in a bed that resembled clouds...or cake frosting?

Me being spoiled continues

So I have birthday money from my parents and my grandma and I've decided to spend it at hemslojd.com, a fantastic site that sells beautiful Swedish stuff. My mom mentioned that she was thinking of ordering the birdhouse that I went on and on about a while ago (I posted about it way back in January) but then she decided to just give me money instead. So I'm going to order it! I think I'm going to go with this red one (but this yellow one is also pretty great):

I can't get over the little birdhouse on the birdhouse. Ever so cute! I certainly don't care for the pigeons that I see around our house...but I kind of like the robins...and I do like the little sparrows that occasionally sit on our fence. I may attach a little sign below my birdhouse that says 'little birds only please'...I'm sure that will work.

And I've also decided to order some Christmas decorations. I've wanted this electric candlestick for a long time so I'm going to get it:

Love it. It's very Swedish! And there's one more Christmas decoration I want to get. Dave has a rule for me that I can only buy one new Christmas decoration a year but I'm not sure these should even count...it is my birthday money and all. We'll see how this goes down. I predict that I will buy these...plus one more thing to be determined at a later date! Anyways, these little guys are called tomtes and I adore them:

They're very fun! And I think they will look pretty sweet with my other Christmas decorations. I like cutesy!

Snow = trying to keep warm

Well, the snow is here and that means time to get out the scarves, hats, and mittens. I've been wearing my black and white striped scarf the last couple days, and I'm ready to rock my pretty new hats, but I feel that I'm lacking in the mitten department so today I opted to just stuff my hands in my pockets. Does anyone but me wish adults could wear these and be accepted in today's society?:

Toddler mittens from Hermes

Perhaps there are some adults that currently do wear these mittens that are tied together with a string but I'm not sure I could actually be one of them. Am I jealous that their mittens are ready to go as soon as they slip on their jacket? Yes I am. Am I jealous that they probably never lose or misplace a mitten? Sure. Am I jealous that they are bold enough to wear something that is meant for children? Certainly. However, I feel I must continue to abstain from crudely attaching my mittens to a string with safety pins. For now...but we'll see how things are going in February.

Me...spoiled?

Indeed I am. Spoiled rotten really. It's not even my birthday yet and I've gotten a bazillion presents! And I just want to show them off! This is what Dave surprised me with:

The beautiful carved horse is a dala horse that he ordered from swedishness.com (straight from Sweden!!!). And I couldn't be more excited to read these books he got me! The first is Tiffany Style: 170 Years of Design - be still my heart...I may have mentioned once or twice (or maybe a few dozen times) how much I love Tiffany & Co. and I can't wait to drool over this book of pure loveliness! The other book is Valentino: Themes and Variations - again, my poor heart...I open this book and I'm pretty sure it races just a little! If you haven't noticed, I do throw around the word 'love' every now and then...but please be assured I do love Valentino. Every image of the fashion he created is a work of art I tell you! I can't even imagine how many times I will look at these books after reading them the first time! Thank you so much Dave!!!

And I also got a super gift from my friend Steph...who is also super by the way! It's a Riders toque that I will be rocking at the Grey Cup. Thanks Stephanie!!! Take a look at how cute it is in all of it's stripey goodness next to a little ivory crocheted number I bought myself today with some birthday money from my grandma:

Aren't they both great? And do you know what else is great? The Trews! If you don't know The Trews, what you must do is immediately go to their site to find out about them and also buy any one of their albums (or preferably all of them) so you can listen to one of the greatest bands in the world! Dave, Steph and I went to their acoustic show in town last night and it was so unbelievably good. This is the fifth time I've seen them and they put on the best live shows ever. Do I love The Trews? Yes, I do indeed!!!

My IKEA wish list

I will be visiting sweet sweet IKEA next month! And I can't wait. If you know me, you know that I love IKEA. I'm planning ahead by browsing their site and the new catalogue. This is my list of things that I want to get (so far!):

1. IKEA STOCKHOLM cushion

2. IKEA STOCKHOLM BLAD cushion

3. VILMIE RUND throw

4. FARM vases

5. HAMPEN rug

6. TVABLAD CIRKEL duvet cover/pillowcases

I do love black and white stuff! Besides the bedding, it's all for the basement living room. There are still just 3 framed walls (with more to be done very soon!) but I like to plan ahead. Besides the rug, I can use the other things in other areas of the house until the basement is ready. At least that's what I'm saying now (and going to stick with) so Dave okays these purchases!

I love Kate

Every time I visit the Kate Spade website, I swoon. Just look at this little selection of beautiful things...all of them with bows! These pics are from the website (check it out here). First of all, this dress is fabulous:

Oh, to be able to wear red tights! I would if I could...but I'm not sure that's allowed at my age. But I could wear this red coat:

I LOVE this coat!!! I've actually always wanted a red coat and this is the prettiest one I've ever seen. And by the way, did you notice the polka dot tights? So good!

And look at this very grand necklace:

Talk about a statement. This necklace would look so nice with a simple black dress. And if I owned it, I would have to hang it on a hook beside my dressing table because it's like art!

And then there are these:

Yep, they're blue and suede (and satin). And yes, perhaps they are somewhat reminiscent of something worn to a prom sometime in the 80's, but I would wear them tomorrow if I could!

A day of earrings

So yesterday I bought myself some pretty earrings:

They're ever so lovely. I love the pink colour and I love the shape of the bottom crystals. They're made by Olev Jewelry Designs (check out Tammy's blog here). She makes very nice stuff!

I put them on last night while watching t.v. They looked very glam with my yoga pants! Then I went to bed and found something under my pillow:

Someone bought me an early birthday present! Or Thanksgiving present I guess. Very sweet indeed! I saw these at The Better Good a couple weeks ago. I ooohed and aaahed over them at the store and in my usual style continued to talk about them long after leaving! They're made by Bueno Style (check out their site here). Vintage loveliness.

I guess this means my diamond stud earrings are going to get some time off.

The start of a real basement

Last weekend, framing began in our basement! Yay!

My dad, my brother, and Dave spent a couple days putting up the vapour barrier plastic and framing. Three of the four outside walls are framed and a wall that divides the soon-to-be living room and bathroom. So, there's still quite a way to go but I'm so excited about finally getting a start on it.

I'm really looking forward to having another living room space. Hmm...or should I call it a rumpus room or rec room...no, I kind of find those weird. What does rumpus even mean? And it's not really going to be a rec room either...unless you count vegging out and watching movies recreational. I guess there's also family room...but I'm not sure I really like that one either. Families are allowed to hang out in a kitchen too, aren't they?

Well, whatever I call it, all I've been thinking about is furnishing it! I can't wait to show you my new project! I bought a chair at the flea market last weekend for 35 bucks. I'll be sanding, painting and recovering it and it will look as good as new...or better. Don't worry, I've enlisted help from my mom and grandma!