Design: Land of Nod in the Kids’ Room

My sister recently sent over some photos of the progress she has made in her kids’ room. The Land of Nod helped us personalize this bedroom for my 3 nephews and niece who currently share it down in North Carolina.

First…a couple photos of the cuties… White-Cabana-Land of Nod-Children-2 White-Cabana-Land of Nod-Children-3Now, the room:

The youngest kiddo is in a crib, the second youngest is in a toddler bed, and the older two share a bunk bed. On the window wall, you’ll see the crib and the toddler bed. White-Cabana-Land of Nod-Children-6The Bon Voyage luggage storage cases are filled with the kids’ goodies (but I’ll admit that they rarely stay neatly piled on the chair as in the photos). My sister hung the half dot rainbow garland across this wall to add some fun colour. It also ties in very well with the two pieces of art that my sister painted. White-Cabana-Land of Nod-Children-7 White-Cabana-Land of Nod-Children-8 White-Cabana-Land of Nod-Children-9

(so much colour for White Cabana!)

Each bed has a letter pillow to personalize them for the kids. In the above photos, you’ll also notice the flea market bench (the kids are also sitting on it in the photos above). We love this kid-sized bench, and the munchkins actually use it to play, read, put on socks, etc. Here I was thinking that it was going to be a just-for-show-bench! Nope – they actually use it!

My sister created (most of) the artwork in the bedroom, including the scattered colourful squares and the kids’ silhouettes. The art hung on the clipboards? Those are the kids’ masterpieces! It is their room after all!

Thanks to The Land of Nod for sponsoring this post.

The Friday Five: My Mom’s Favourite Blogs

How long does it take for something to become a tradition? For the last two years, my mom has shared her top blogs/websites with White Cabana readers on the Friday before Mother’s Day. She’s ready to take over the blog again today. I’d say that this has now turned into a traditional post, wouldn’t you?

When I asked my mom for her top five blogs, she obviously could not resist expanding her list to her top six. Such a classic Italian mom – always filling your plate with more!

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Enchanted Home

IMG_1690-768x1024via My Enchanted Home

2. Mark D. Sikes

House Beautiful HD #42 1108_AN_HouseBeautifulvia Mark. D. Sikes

3. Thistlewood Farms

farmhouse-kitchen-decorvia Thistlewood Farms

4. Preppy Empty Nester

kitch5via Preppy Empty Nester

5. Summer in Newport

August Wren-artAugust Wren via Summer in Newport

6. Jenny Steffens Hobick

spring-pasta-peas-prosciuttvia Jenny Steffens Hobick

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! Thanks for sharing your reads with us!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Read my mom’s blog and website picks from 2013 and 2014.

Travel: A Quick Trip To Toronto

A friend and I met in Toronto last weekend for a fun weekend away from reality. It was glorious. Here’s a quick recap of what we did, saw, and ate during our 24 hours in the city.

Shopping…what girls’ weekend doesn’t include a bit of shopping? Anthropologie was a highlight – mostly for the styling, I have to say. It’s such a pretty place!

White-Cabana-Toronto-9I saw the white background and thought it was perfect for a selfie. Please note: I am actually wearing sandals (spring has finally made an appearance), and I do not have a jacket on. There were big changes in the weather last weekend!

 

White-Cabana-Toronto-1On the recommendation of a friend, we went to The Carbon Bar for dinner. The menu has all the goodness of southern cookin’ – ribs, cornbread, slaw, grits – and the cocktails to match I was torn between the brisket and the squid/mussels/pork belly + lentils dish, and in the end, I opted for the fish. I don’t think you can actually make a wrong decision at The Carbon Bar. Everything that was coming out of the kitchen looked delicious.

White-Cabana-Toronto-2White-Cabana-Toronto-3  White-Cabana-Toronto-4For Sunday brunch, we did a bit of a Google/Trip Advisor search and settled on Smith (Church & Wellesley). I’m rarely on this side of town when I’m in Toronto, so it was nice to see what’s on the go east of Yonge. If you don’t know where Smith is, you might just walk right past it (like we did), but once you find it, you’ll feel like you hit the jackpot. Our dining neighbours told us as much. I opted for the salmon plate (with cream cheese, capers, and bagel crisps), and my friend got the croque madame. We were both pleased. The food was plentiful and fresh. I loved the design of this space, and the patio and bathroom both looked really cool.

White-Cabana-Toronto-7White-Cabana-Toronto-8White-Cabana-Toronto-6   White-Cabana-Toronto-5So there you have it – a peek into my quick weekend in Toronto.