#WhiteCabanaatHome | White Cabana

By now you may know that my home was featured in the June issue of Style at Home magazine. I’m so so so proud of this achievement, and it is truly an incredible honor to be in the presence of such amazing Canadian designers, stylists, and bloggers in this issue. I love this Canadian publication because it features designs that readers can recreate. On top of all of this, I always learn something new.

It was a pleasure to work with photographer Donna Griffith; stylists Morgan Lindsay and Stacy Begg; and author Bethany Little. As the article was being prepared, I also connected with a couple of additional fact-checkers on the Style at Home team, and our interactions always made me smile. One conversation included repetitions of the question “And it’s white?” The fact-checker asked this question because she hadn’t yet seen photos of my home, but was asking me questions about the items and designs. I couldn’t stop laughing. “Yes, yes, everything is white,” I told her.

I hope you’ve been able to pick up a copy of this very special issue. Here’s a peek into the feature, and you can read it in full online at Style at Home.

And a few truths…if you’re curious:

I do walk briskly to and from work…with a backpack.
I definitely do call my bed “my princess bed.”
I absolutely adore my couch, and I would buy it again in an instant.
The trio of white artwork in the living room was made my my three nephews as a house-warming present.
The Style at Home team didn’t actually rearrange too many things. Except for a few items (e.g., flowers, silver platter on coffee table, marble tray with lemons, lettuce in the sink, tea towel), everything is mine. I loved that they worked with my own items. It wasn’t what I was expecting to happen on photoshoot day.
I had so much fun when the crew came for the photoshoot.

Thanks for reading, everyone! I’m taking tomorrow off from the blog, so I’ll leave you this whole weekend to read the feature!

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I’m thrilled to participate in a blog link-up today which was organized by Erica over at Luv in the Bubble. It’s been a while since I’ve taken part in a link-up, and this one has come at an ideal time! I’ve been on the look-out for new-to-me blogs this month, and many of these are just that.

Erica took a page out of Victoria and Meg’s link-up ideas, and invited bloggers to talk about our “best purchase of 2016.”

I have two – two very different – purchases to share today.

1. My Princess Bed

I declared 2016 as The Year of My Bed. I was tired (finally) of sleeping on a double mattress from my grad school days, and I needed a full upgrade on my sleep situation. I had my heart set on a French style bed with curved footboard. While I wasn’t particular about the colour or finish (anything can be painted), I absolutely wanted – had to have – a curved footboard.

I scoured online retailers and second-hand sites for months (and months and months and months), and I was about to settle for a newly produced bed (which would set me back thousands of dollars and would still need a paint job), when I put a tweet out into the world (aka Oprah’s vision board approach) asking for the world to send me the French bed of my dreams.

Can you guess what happened about a week or so after that tweet?

The world sent me the French bed of my dreams! Curved headboard. White-ish in colour. Gorgeous wood carvings. Oh man. It’s dreamy! After an evening of stressful bidding via online auction, the bed was mind. Credit card was charged. Shipping was arranged. The. Bed. Was. Mine.

This bed is pure magic. It’s unique and interesting and French and lovely.

The bed purchase led to a new mattress purchase which led to the purchase of a pair of vintage night tables which led to new lamps and artwork and styling. I wanted 2016 to be the year of the bed, and it was!

2. My Vintage Peugeot Bicycle

A rusty barely-functional white 1975 Peugeot came into my life via a Kijiji ad. I was hesitant that the bike could become shiny and functional, but my friends at Berlin Bicycle Cafe worked their magic, and the bike was restored.

My vintage Peugeot is glorious! Before I bought it, I had absolutely no idea what fun it would bring me. I had a mountain bike, but it was heavy and clunky. My Peugeot is light, French, and comfortable.

In the spring and summer, this bike takes me places (#WhiteCabanaBikes), and I feel so grateful that it has encouraged me to discover new-to-me trails in my city, meet cycle enthusiasts, and learn about products to improve the function (and style) of my bike. My Brooks seat and grips are extremely comfortable, and the gold Basil bell brings bling to my bike. Mostly, I’m happy to leave my car at home while I ride my Peugeot around town to do errands and see friends. It has certainly improved my quality of life!

Before you carry on with your day, have a poke around these other blogs to read other bloggers’ stories.

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