golden labs

Picked up this $2 sleeping labrador decor piece at my favourite store Dollarama yesterday.  After priming it and giving it a couple of coats of satin finish gold paint - he's now a proper golden lab.  And he has my golden lab awfully curious...

holidays 2011-2012

Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  I was spoiled with 2 weeks away from work and spent it with family, friends, doing a little bit of travelling to small towns in southwestern Ontario, relaxing and eating.  Here are some of the highlights from my holiday.

Said goodbye to the two build projects I'm PM'ing...

in favour of open skies and open fields.

The holidays are so much more enjoyable with a little one around.

Relaxed with Lucy.

Did some antique shopping

Experimented with some festive nails

And enjoyed the first official snow fall. 

How were your holidays?

blue all over

After living with the accent wall for a week, I decided I loved the colour so much that I ended up painting the entire corner of the living room with this pale blue gray.  Although a cool colour, it surprisingly warmed up the space (it just works so well with the red) and I'm now ready for both winter and Christmas.

During the day....

at night....

tying into my gallery wall with all it's accents of blue...

with my navy lamp and my lovely view...

and with the last remnants of greenery in the space.

And Lucy says Hi!

smoochy poochy

Back in June, Lucy and I, along with a few friends and their dogs, attended Woofstock here in Toronto, a massive dog festival featuring all the latest and greatest in everything D.O.G..  While there, I stopped at Smoochy Poochy, a Canadian label who create waterproof leashes and collars.  If you have a lab like me, or a water loving pup, you can relate to the nastiness of wet collars and leashes following a swim in the lake or simply a walk in the rain.  Their waterproof collars and leashes are constructed of a polyvinyl material that is non-fading, non-staining, water repellant and best of all, odor repellant.  It doesn't smell old, like dog or wet dog.  Both were put to the test on Sunday when we got caught in the massive t-storm that hit Toronto, Lucy and I ran 7 blocks through pelting rain, and although her and I were both drenched, the collar and leash were not.  And they come in a bunch of great colours and Lucy was thrilled that they had her favourite colour - purple (since she was a puppy, she's only worn purple collars - fussy, I know).

I have to spend a bit of time on the leash - it's really the Rolls Royce of leashes.  It's called the No-Escape Leash and is absolutely brilliant.  Instead of a standard loop at the end of the leash, it has a toggle clip that allows you to easily tie off your dog at the store or railing without having to unhook the leash and do the whole loop around (if you're a dog owner, you know what I'm talking about).  It also has 4 grommets down the length of the leash that allows you to adjust the length of the leash from a short 3' leash up to 6', allowing you to also wear it on your wrist, across your shoulder or around your waist like a running leash.  And on top of all those great features, there is a mesh bag right on the leash to store your poop bags.  Amazing.

Although Smoochy Poochy leashes and collars are more expensive that woven or fabric collars, they will last a lot longer, making them cheaper in the long run.  I used to go through 2 collars and 1 leash a year - and that adds up.  I met a dog owner who has had the same collar on her dog for 5 years, and it still looks brand new.  Well worth the investment if you ask me.  Plus, the president of the company is a chocolate lab. 

PS. Please disregard the fact that Lucy is shedding like a champ at the moment - she's a walking tornado of hair and fur.

good things

Proof that I was all about home building, even at a young age.

My summer palette of nail colour.

Some hearty basil in the window planter.

The latest issue of House & Home, a pretty paperweight, and a polished stone.

Treasures from the last visit to the beach.

An adorable face, desperate for the treat I have in my hand.

The best salsa ever!

A blast from the past, framed cutouts from a Nancy Drew book.



Have a great weekend everyone.

she's growing up

Is she ever!  My little neice will soon be 1.

Jen and I tried to recreate the very first photo we took of her in her basonette.  She just barely fits in anymore.

She's very inquizitive...

is great pals with Lucy - this broke my heart how cute this was, neither of them knew anyone was watching...

loves Aunt Sarah's sunnies...

and is too cute for words.

lazy lucy

She's such a weird dog sometimes.