Marketplace: Minted Cards for the Holidays

Around this time for the last few years, I’ve ordered my Christmas cards via Minted. With Minted, I can personalize my message, have my return address printed, and use my saved recipient address list (free service!) to ensure my cards are perfectly addressed.

I have been a fan of Minted’s collection of art and stationery for years. And each year, I’m impressed by the new additions of artistic cards. While I do appreciate photo cards from my friends and family, I opt for the classic card.

Here are some of the cards that made my short list:

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evergreen merry

min-mqx-hpc-001christmas_a_pz joy

min-bxv-hpc-001holiday_b_pd

Christmas trees

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holiday bouquet

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Merry Christmas, My Deersmin-bid-hmc-003_a_pd

snowfall

One of the things that I really like about ordering my cards at Minted is the personalized printed message options. Last year, I decided to go all-out with the everyone-gets-the-same-message, and I ended up mailing my cards out without a personal message or signature. Let me tell you – these did not go over well. On my end, prepping my cards was very time efficient. Some of my honest friends and family members, however, were quick to inform me that they didn’t like the lack of real-live ink. So, this year, I’ve toned the automatic-standard-everything down a notch. I’ll be picking up my pen to add notes of well wishes.

Minted cards are printed on high quality paper. Its Signature paper is thick and luxe. I just love how the cards look printed…they’re so pretty and professional. And here’s hoping my friends and family enjoy the design I ordered this year!

Thanks to Minted and BlogPodium for this partnership opportunity.

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Marketplace: Spotlight on Rug Expedition

You know what’s great? Having a rug delivered straight to your door. It avoids the whole trying-to-fit-a-rug-into-the-car and lifting-a-heavy-rug issues. Thanks to Rug Expedition, I was able to pick out a rug and have it delivered straight to my home without any hassle. I ordered it on a Monday, it traveled all the way from Texas via FedEx, and it was at my house in Waterloo by Friday. Talk about convenient. This was also the same week when I went to three separate stores to buy one pair of goggles only to find out that none of the stores actually had them in stock. #WasteOfTime

So my woven leather – yes, leather – arrived on a Friday, and I enjoyed playing around with it in different spaces. It looked great in my sunny living room:

White-Cabana-Rug-Expedition

but the rug looked much better in my basement lounge, so that’s where it’s staying: White-Cabana-Rug-Expedition-1White-Cabana-Rug-Expedition-3 White-Cabana-Rug-Expedition-2

my lounge (photos by me)

The rug looks pretty cool in this room, and since it’s a relatively high-traffic area, I think that the leather will work well in here. The shades of grey look really beautiful in real life, and since it’s such a calm colour scheme, the rug will work in various other places in my home. Eventually, when I get hardwood floors install (#renowishlist), I think I may move the rug back up into my living or dining room. I really like having options when I buy pieces of furniture and accessories.

Rug Expedition has lots of options to satisfy its customers’ needs. Rug sizes are varied as are textures, patterns, and colours. The 30-day in home trial and free shipping option (within the USA) is great for those who find it hard to make decisions.

Here are some other options that I really like from the Rug Expedition collection.

In the leather and hide category, I like:

cowhide-nuloom-rug-expedition

Cowhide P0 Metallic Beige by nuLoom

leatherwork rug

leatherwork ivory/black by Dynamic Rugs

I like these wool rugs:

topaz-rug-dynamic-rugs

Topaz natural/grey by Dynamic Rugs

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topaz natural/grey by Dynamic Rugs

This natural fibre rug caught my eye:

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Natura 01 Grey by nuLoom

Thanks to Rug Expedition for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

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Travel: What To Pack for a Beach Vacation

I’m currently vacationing in sunny Florida! It’s super hot in Florida at the moment, and my friend Shannon and I have agreed that we should stick to a grueling schedule of beach-pool-beach-pool with some meals in between. Tough, yes. That’s how we roll when we’re in Florida! Of course, though, there’ll be days and nights of shopping trips, and we’re looking forward to a trip-within-a-trip to Sarasota. Oh – and we’ll be seeing two concerts while we’re here – Gwen Stefani and the Dave Matthews Band. Very cool. Good times ahead!

I’m a decent packer, and I generally have a good sense of what outfits I may need while I’m on vacation. That said, I sometimes pack more than I need and I don’t like lugging around useless weight. For this vacation, I wanted to pack light – absurdly light – because (a) I don’t wear much more than bathing suits while I’m here, (b) it’s too hot to wear more than a bathing suit, and (c) I’m hoping for a few sales which means I’ll be returning with a heavier luggage on my way home. I’m so good at supporting the American economy when I’m in Florida that I should really get a prize.

I’m (almost) ready to challenge myself to stick to a very strict colour scheme this trip. I’m starting with two navy/white bikinis that I picked up in Copenhagen last month from H&M. Most of my packing for this trip revolved around navy/white (quite a departure from the usual black and white, I know). Here’s what I considered (and just about ended up following through on) packing for this vacation (very similar items, not necessarily the exact items).

beach-vacation-White-Cabana-what-to-pack-1beach-vacation-White-Cabana-what-to-pack-2

sunglasses, sun hat, watch, dress, bikini, kaftan coverup, flip flops, white tee, white denim shorts, purse, navy shorts, dress, tank top, striped bikini, sneakers, sweatshirt, pajamas, sandals, sports bra, sports tank, running shoes, running skirt

What do you think? Could you spend two weeks in Florida with these 22 pieces?

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Two for Tuesday: Polka Dots (again)

How many times have I featured polka dots on White Cabana? Too many times to count, I’m sure! I just love the happy pattern, and I can see many polka-dotted posts in the future. I hope you don’t mind!

Here are today’s two-of-a-kind.

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queen silver dot sheet set, $175.69CAD, Land of Nod

L836198_000

larabee dots flutes set, $50USD, Kate Spade

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Marketplace: Back to Bikes

I haven’t yet bought a new bike, but I have continued to think about it, talk to people about them, and learn more about different brands and styles. As such, I’m rounding up another list of hot bikes that I’ve been researching.

Bisou_Ivory-1

Bisou, $695, Tokyobike

DUTCHI8_CREAM_1024x1024

Dutchi 8, $829, Linus

cs_LC21_21

LC21 Legend, 329 Euro, Peugeot

55501_8

M7 Mixte, $599 (on sale), Public

Step-Through-Classic-7-spd-Bone

step-through classic 3 speed, $729, Simcoe

Achielle

Craighton Pure, Achielle

I like the step-through bikes a lot, but I think I like the straight lines of the Tokyobike and Public bikes better.

What do you think? Do you have a bike? What kind?

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