The Awesome-ness of New Dishes

When Big A & I got married, we got new dishes, as is the custom. We kind of bucked tradition and didn't get a fancy place setting. Instead, we were "cool" and got an everyday set in a mix of white, chocolate brown & robins egg blue. We got married in 2004, so those were the "in" colours then.

Those dishes were good to us, and yes, we did use them faithfully everyday. Over the last 8 years, they were chipped and scuffed, and simply not that pretty to look at.

So for our fancy new house, we decided to splurge for fancy new place settings. Okay, not like "Versace-fancy", but like "Crate & Barrel-fancy." I decided to get all white, to not only keep it simple, but so we could add to our collection over time.

I choose the "Essential" dinnerware from Crate & Barrel. I like it because of its simplicity.  I can easily add a charger plate for interest, or add square plates/bowls to change it up. 

{via here}

 Again, one great thing about these Crate & Barrel sets is that the white porcelain material is always the same, so you can add different pieces to your collection over time. The other awesome thing about these dinnerware sets is that they are not that expensive.

We also picked up some small & large serving dishes, salad bowls and the like, all in the same white porcelain. 

I am so glad we treated ourselves to this new dinnerware. I feel like a grown-up when I'm eating now, and I'm not always apologizing for my mismatched, scuffed up and "tired" dinnerware.  I love to open up my cupboards and see my all-white, matching dishes :)

Upgrading your dinnerware is an easy {and somewhat affordable!} way to beautify your kitchen and simplify your life.

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Everything is coming up Rose-y :)

I'm not a "gold" person at all.  I sometimes wear some gold in my jewelry, but it's "ghetto gold" as Carrie Bradshaw would say.

{Doesn't it all come back to Sex & the City?!}

However, there's a growing trend I've been noticing lately, which I'm kind of loving, despite myself.

Ok. Here it goes...

My name is Maggie. And I'm a ROSE GOLD addict. 

I absolutely adore rose gold - especially for Fall. It complements every skin tone because of the warm pink undertones.

Don't get me wrong, I'm STILL NOT a GOLD fan, but this rose gold is something special. It's modern, it's fresh, it's fabulous.

I hadn't actually delved into the rose gold realm until this week when I splurged on a new watch.

{via here}

 I loved this rose gold Guess watch right away. The crystals are really bling-y and go well with my new diamond ring :) {yes, you read that right. I'm on a diamond jewelry kick right now too -- but ONLY if it's on SALE!}.

So, are you on the Rose Gold Train yet?

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Backsplashes are Installed :)

In a matter of a few short hours, ALL of the backsplashes were installed. And we didn't have to do it! 

It probably would've taken us a week to do it in our free time, so it was so lovely to have it all done on a Saturday morning when we were out playing :)

 

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New Kitchen Lights - Even More SPARKLE!

Like many other things in our new home, the light fixtures were just ok. They're by no means icky, just not as awesome as they could be.

To be honest, I think EVERYONE thought I was bananas for changing the light fixtures. But I adore cool light fixtures. They totally change the feeling of a room - from ho-hum to "happening".

**I also convinced the builder to buy back ALL the light fixtures from us to put into another house -- just like I did with the tiger tail granite :) Yippee!

Needless to say, I'm having fun buying all new lights! 

Here are our kitchen lights!

 BEFORE:

AFTER:

I bought these on our first trip to Edmonton. We had about 10 minutes at the amazing light store, appropriately named "Best Lighting", before the showroom closed. I saw the light over the kitchen table first and was smitten. The light was even on sale! Totally meant to  be :)

I scoured the store for pendants and luckily these gorgeous orbs were in stock. These chrome beauties were exactly what I was looking for. And they were only $100 each!

I'm so incredibly pleased with how they transformed the room from boring to brilliant!

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New Backsplash Tiles!

When we purchased our home, it was still under construction so we had *some* say in how a few options were finished.

One of these options was the backsplash tiles for the kitchen & bathrooms. The builder had picked out a decent beige-y oversized subway tile. It was okay, just not FABULOUS. 

And seriously, when you're paying what we're paying for this house -- you want JAW-DROPPING AMAZING. Ok, that may be overkill, but you want something special.

And, let's be honest, I wanted something SPARKLY! 

One of the best things is that the builder offered to put in whatever tiles we chose! How amazing are they?!

I sourced some alright options at our local shops, but they were expensive and they did not "sing" to me. So just before we put down cash on some fancy tiles, I decided we should go to Edmonton to check out what the city had to offer.

The first place we went was to Lowes. We arrived around 10:15am {on a Holiday Monday - one of the perks of Alberta is that the shops are open on stat holidays! SCORE!} and they had JUST put out a new line of tiles that very morning! 

I LOVED EVERYTHING! And it was so affordable {like under $20/sq. ft. compared to the $40+/sq. ft. I was looking at locally}.

Since there were so many stylish options, I decided to do a different tile for every room. Here's what I came up with!

  Main Bathroom: Modern Mix of Cream, Putty & Stainless tiles

{These are a cooler & more modern version of the tiles I had already picked out! WIN!}

 Master Ensuite: White Carrera Marble 

{I've always eyed carrera marble but I never wanted to commit to it because it stains! This is a perfect alternative and will go perfectly with my new sparkly quartz countertops!}

 Powder Room: Stainless Steel penny rounds 

{I've ALWAYS wanted these so it was a treat that Lowes carried them!}

Kitchen Backsplash: Sparkly white glass, marble, gunmetal & stainless steel

{These are almost exactly the same as what I sourced here in Fort Mac - but I liked these much more - so much lighter & brighter!}

Getting this kitchen tile was a CHALLENGE. They had 100 in stock but they couldn't find them. They asked us to come back in a couple of hours so they could look for them. When we returned, they said they needed more time. We had to drive back to Fort McMurray {a 5 hr+ drive}, but waited another few hours. I couldn't leave this amazing find behind. 

We waited until after 5pm {remember we got there at 10:15am?!} and they STILL hadn't found it. They said they'd call when they located the tile, but we HAD to leave for Fort Mac since we both had to work the next day. So we left with only a faint hope they'd call.

But, true to their word {YAY LOWES!}, they did call 3 hours later. They had stayed late to find them for me!

Luckily 3 days later my brother happened to be driving through Edmonton and picked them up for me! Thanks bro!

UPDATE: The tiles went in today. Wait till you see them!

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{More!} New Specs for Mummy!

One can never have too many pairs of glasses. 

 At one time, glasses were only perfunctory for me and I  *only* wore contact lenses. I still love my contacts, but I enjoy the spectacular fabulosity that comes with styling around your glasses. 

And when glasses are so affordable, thanks to Clearly Contacts, a girl's gotta have a few pairs. Or FIVE {with the hopes of adding more to my collection!}.

Here are the new additions to my collection:

I LOVE these chic transparent rectangular glasses. They are cool, but are sophisticated for a professional environment.

I couldn't decide between these raspberry coloured or cotton candy pink coloured, but since it's going to be Fall soon {REALLY SOON here in Fort Mac!}, I thought I'd go with the jewel tone colour. I love the retro cat-eye styling.

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West Elm Surprises

This past weekend, Big A went back to Ontario for a wedding. While he was there, I *made* him go to West Elm. 

Fort McMurray is awesome, but its shopping {especially for home stuff!} leaves much to be desired. I am desperate for an infusion of West Elm style.

Upon arrival at the store, he called me and I hopped onto the internet to guide him through the store with my wish list. That's when he informed me that he only brought a CARRY-ON!!! No room in his luggage for my wish list :(

So I had him look around and surprise me with a few cool things that he'd think I'd like. 

I think he did a great job :) I'm a lucky mummy.

First he got me this cool Pop Phone. It's a retro-look phone that plugs into your cell phone. And it's awesome in YELLOW. My favourite colour!

{via here}

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He also got me this super cute owl candle - "Owl" love it forever :)

{via here}

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Lastly, he picked up these cute kitchen accessories for me. Elephant oven mitts & an apron -- in my favourite colour combination!

{via here}

{via here}

  I heart West Elm. I see that they're now shipping to Canada, albeit only on a limited scale. Hopefully that'll change soon :)

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Update & Sparkly Countertops

We've been in our new home for just over a month, and it's definitely been a whirlwind {hence the lack of posting - sorry peeps}. 

We didn't have internet or phone until 10 days ago, but I guess it's been 10 days, so that's not a good excuse! 

Anyhoo, I am absolutely DELIGHTED with the way our new house is becoming a home. We moved into the brand new house in a brand new neighbourhood {hence the lack of availability of phone or internet despite we live in the 21st century. And we still don't even have a proper postal code, let alone mail delivery service!}, and it's slowly become our home -- or "Mummy Maggie-fied", if you will.

I'll show you the changes we've made so far in various posts. In this post, I was telling you about the tragic tale of the tiger tail granite. Specifically, how much I hated it :) I'm told by many people that this granite is expensive and fabulous, but I'm sorry, it just didn't suit the house nor did it fit into my vision of how awesome this suburban house could be. 

So we had it removed. And replaced. The day after we moved in. All for the price of a small car.

But it is WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Here's the BEFORE:

 Here's the AFTER:

 We chose Cimstone quartz in Lapland. The colour on the screen really doesn't do the quartz the appropriate justice. It's gorgeous bright white with tiny gray and mirror flecks, giving it that sparkling look. 

This is a close up of Lapland:

 I am absolutely thrilled with the final results. The change is massive. The house is so much brighter and the richness of the wood is really highlighted. We changed the granite in all the bathrooms to this white quartz as well. I can't wait to show you the rest! We've been busy around here!

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Urban Barn Finds {psst...we have a new sofa!}

So you've probably figured out by now that we really love living in Fort McMurray - the only downside is {or is it a plus for my finances?} that there is not a whole lot of local home decorating retail therapy options.

I'm sure you recall my penchant for HomeSense and other retailers, like Urban Barn. I used to go to various locations a few times a week when we lived in the GTA. But now that the closest store is a 5 hour drive, I've resorted to shopping online and hoping for the best.

But even online, I still live by my home stylist motto -- 

BUY IT & TRY IT.  

So -- I bought a sofa from Urban Barn WITHOUT seeing it in person. Crazy yes, but one's perspective of crazy decorating choices changes when one is so remote.

Without further ado, here's our new sofa - the XANADU - I {heart} the name, so joyful and fun!  We purchased the floor model colour - Savvy Smoke!

{via here}

Big A saw it on a recent trip to Edmonton, and said it was comfy! It is a cool grey, so hopefully it goes well with our Smokey Gray hardwood!

I am also completely smitten by this amazing lamp {the Kelso table lamp} - it is HUGE & fabulous! I don't have a spot for it yet, but like my motto says - BUY IT & TRY IT!

{via here}

Isn't it just cool! Maybe that side table would work for us too!

A long time favourite of mine {that we recently put into my mom's house} is the Reflection Round Mirror. I think the clean lines make this mirror simply super chic. I think I'd like to put it in the powder room.

{via here}

So we definitely have a lot to do to style our new home. I'm so excited for the challenge. Luckily I have Urban Barn to help me!

PS: This post was not endorsed by Urban Barn or anything. I just simply ADORE their stylish and affordable stuff and wanted to share :)

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Yogic Decorating

Since moving to Fort McMurray I've been doing a lot of yoga. Between the breathing {pranayama} and movements {asanas}, yoga is transformative. You cannot escape the calming, healing power of yoga. 

Sitting in the stillness, I am able to see the stresses in my life differently.

Image via here

 

One such stress has been this ugly tiger tail granite situation in my new house. I decided last week to take a high road with the builder, but since then {and after receiving super expensive quotes to replace the countertops with quartz!} I've had some time to really consider what I need {not merely just what I want} and gain some true perspective.

First - I'm lucky to have granite at all. I plan on decorating around it, and not with it. What I mean is, the current granite's colour scheme will not interfere with my decorating plans.  I'm going ahead with my plans, and when the time & money is right, the countertops will change. 

Second - There are MANY important and NECESSARY projects that will precede the replacement of the countertops. I hope Big A doesn't see this, but we have to:

• Get window coverings for the ENTIRE house!
• Redesigning Little A's room - since she's now out of a crib {so we need a bed, dressers, lighting, etc}
• Design/Furnish the guest room/nanny's room
• Get an outdoor swingset for the kidlets
• Paint EVERYTHING - like every room, every closet, even the stair railings
• Get new living room furniture & figure out
• Buy new TVs, a VitaMix, a Kitchen Aid mixer
• Change some light fixtures
• Buy mirrors for every bathroom
• There's probably MUCH more, but I can't think of it now

 Third - It's only a countertop. Who cares?! There are many things in my life that require my full attention, and this granite situation has been unnecessarily distracting and negative. I choose to see the light and know that everything happens for a reason.

So that's my current feeling about the tiger tail granite. If we get a reasonable quote or we come into a lot of extra money, perhaps we will change the granite. But that change should not precede the basics like covering our windows so we're not exhibitionists :)

So thank you YOGA {and family and friends too!} for helping me gain the appropriate perspective on this stressful and disappointing predicament. 

Ommm...Ommm...Ommm

 

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Countertop Decisions

Thanks for all your great feedback on yesterday's post. I'm happy to hear that my friends & followers agree with me.

Frankly, I haven't met a person that liked the granite. It's hard to explain design & decorating to a builder who thinks any granite is awesome because it's granite. Even tiger tail ugliness.

I guess some people would buy a house because it has granite, regardless of what it looked like. For me, it's a major turnoff if it doesn't go well with the other finishings.

Anyway, I digress because today's post is less about complaining, and more about DOING.

We are seriously considering replacing the tiger tail granite with a white quartz. Although the quote we got yesterday made me seriously reconsider if I could live with tiger tail. It's expensive to begin with, but then add Fort McMurray prices. Let's just say it was a 1/3 of my salary from my first law job!

Here are a few options we're looking at.  What do you think?

Ice Snow - warmer white with some tiny flecks to add interest

Image via here

White Shimmer - this looks amazing in the ensuite!

Image via here

Silestone Lyra - quartz's answer to Carrera marble

Image via here

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The Tragic Tale of the Tiger Tail

Remember when I told you we bought a new house? Well, clearly it's under construction. And we came in late in the game, after all the colour/product choices had been made. 

One of the most important things to me is that the big ticket items {cabinets, flooring, countertops, etc.} are decent. Everything else I can DIY-ify into something awesome, but if you don't have good bones {and a lack of cash flow}, my cool customizations would be lost.

So immediately, before we even thought of offering on the house, I needed to see samples of cabinets, flooring & granite. The builder was SLOW to get back to us, but we eventually received some bad sideways cell phone photographs purporting to be our finishings. One of these was the granite the builder chose.

Here was the photo they sent:

{See...its black with gray & white swirls with a touch of gold. Not my first choice, but workable}.

Here's what was installed last week:

TIGER TAIL ICE CREAM GRANITE

It's ALL dark greeny-black with giant ORANGE swirls and about 1% white.

 

You can imagine how disappointed I was with this granite. Like, we almost walked away from the house because it didn't AT ALL look like the photos. I understand that granite is a natural stone, so there's bound to be variation, but it doesn't look similar at all.

And to top it off {and I know we all have different tastes}, but I DO NOT like this granite. It's hard enough dealing with the dark cabinets, but you'll be pleased to know that I'm embracing them!

It doesn't match the cabinets THEY chose, nor does it go at all with the tile flooring THEY chose. And did I mention that this granite is EVERYWHERE -- kitchen, powder room, ensuite & kids bathroom -- The Tiger Tail is EVERYWHERE!

The long story short is that I complained loudly {I used to be a lawyer, I can't help that!}, but alas nothing was to be done in the end. The builder won't change it. The builder tells me this is top of the line granite. It's still ugly and not what I was promised. Boo.

I'm stuck with the tiger tail granite :( 

Unless I change it up...

White Quartz anyone? But that's another post for another day.

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Our {latest!} Fort McMurray Real Estate Adventure...

So...ya...we bought a house. 

Well, I'm probably jinxing it because all the conditions haven't been met yet, but it's *thisclose* so it's probably going to happen. And we're too excited to keep quiet about it anymore!

Obviously it's a new build, so we hope to move by the end of June. it's close to being done. Part of our contract is that the basement be made into a legal rental suite {EVERYONE does that here in Fort McMurray to offset the RIDICULOUS house prices!}.

Getting to the point where we actually purchased this house was quite the adventure. We saw no less than FIFTY houses of all sizes {1200 sq ft to 3300 sq ft in vast range of prices}. 

You KNOW that I love real estate, so I've been perusing MLS since Big A was offered the job here. I got the know the Fort McMurray real estate market pretty well. On the very day when we qualified for our mortgage, we set out to buy a specific house that day, only to realize it SOLD... that very day! It had been sitting on the market for 5 months and it SOLD the day we want to offer on it!

Unfazed, because I truly believe all things happen for a reason, we found another perfect house. We wanted to sleep on it, so we held off putting an offer for a day, only to find out that it too had SOLD within that short window! Of all the luck!

Soon we found another house -- which was going to be an exact replica of the first house I set my heart on.  But for some reason, I just wasn't sure I wanted to put an offer, so we slept on it again.

The next morning, my amazing Fort McMurray real estate agent {and now my soul sister!} texted me that she found the PERFECT house for me, in the neighbourhood I wanted, for a much more reasonable price. No catch. Seriously.

 As soon as we saw it, we knew THIS was the house. It was in the middle of construction, with only dry wall and a few doors, so we had to use our imagination. To make it more challenging, ALL the finishings had already been chosen and I had no real idea what they were. So once we got clarification on what the big ticket items looked like {cabinets, countertop, tile, etc.}, we took the plunge.

We are so glad we did. Look what we discovered when we came back from Ontario this week! The tile floors and kitchen cabinets are in!

Luckily, our builder is AWESOME and agreed to let us choose the hardwood, carpet, backsplash tile and basement flooring & countertops. It's so exciting to be able to customize this awesome house on these important aspects of our home.

And wait till you see what we picked! We're taking a bit of a risk, but I LOVE it! It's GORGEOUS!

One thing that we really love about buying THIS home in particular is that it isn't ALL done. We're not paying for someone's design/decorating/customization. 

We are going to be able to really make this house OUR HOME. 

Bring on the DIY! Did I mention the garage is HEATED?!?!?!

Stay tuned for our more updates on our new home!

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Mummy's Got New Shoes!

As Spring is quickly progressing, and most of my beloved shoe collection is back in Ontario, Mummy needed some new shoes to tide me over.

So I spoiled myself this past weekend with several pairs. All shoes were purchased in Fort McMurray :)

Image via here

 I'm not a "heels girl" AT ALL, but I absolutely loved these shoes. Yep, they are crazy high {like 6 inches!}, but the platform is high too, and they are amazingly comfortable. I wore them for 3 hours straight which is a world record for me. I usually last about 8 minutes in heels. So I ADORE them!

Image via here

 I saw these cute lower-heel sandals, and I loved the stripes and colours! I had to have them! And they're only $40!

Image via here

 Even though my 1st pair of Toms ripped right away, I've still worn them for almost a year. But I need a new pair, so I found these super cute denim Toms! And they are VEGAN! They are soooo comfortable!

Image via here

I've always coveted Sanuk's Sidewalk Surfers, and I saw these adorable and comfortable sandals/shoes.  I love them. And they are VEGAN too! Love me some vegan, earth-friendly shoes :)

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Not to be outdone, Little A found a cute pair of shoes of sparkly Tiny Toms-esque slip-ons from Payless!

Aren't they adorable?

Image via here

Image via here

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Real Estate Update {Photo Heavy!}

I just realized that in my neglect of the blog during the month of April, I didn't share two major things:

1) Amazing photos of our house!

2) Our house SOLD! We had 33 people in during the first 3 days and got an offer on the 3rd day! It firmed up a week later, so we SOLD it before we left for Fort McMurray. We're so blessed!

So I know you've seen photos of my house before, but I thought these HDR photos were extraordinary. Enjoy!

 

Thank you to the amazing Chris Abbott -- our Real Estate agent extraordinaire -- for letting us use these great photos, and for ALL his hard work in getting our home SOLD!

It's so hard to say good-bye to our old house, but now that it's sold, it doesn't even feel like ours anymore. Plus I'm really excited for the Adventures in Real Estate that we're about to have here in Fort McMurray, Alberta!

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