Dining room dreaming

If I could I'd have a giant dining room table like this beauty from Crate & Barrel

 | Pacifica 87" dining table |

and a Wegner Wishbone chair in every colour!

| Image from Jamie Meares |

What a happy dining room that would be!

Ode to Pinterest

If you are an avid blog-reading, internet-surfing, Twittering fool nerd person you probably come across several items of interest a day that you want to save for future reference. Recipes, products, photos, book reviews, design tips - I love them all! If you are at all like me you probably have a massive list of starred items in your RSS reader, a links folder in your email, photos saved on your hard drive or a Google document with a list of your most coveted items. Half the time you forget what you've actually saved or you know you bookmarked something, you just have no idea where. You've probably wished that you could gather all of these items in one place that not only lists a link to the item but a picture! and a price! and any other information you care to add! Oh, what joy that would bring! Luckily for you, such a place exists and it's called Pinterest.

I've heard Pinterest mentioned on several of the blogs I read and recently, thanks to a kind invitation, I've been able to try it for myself. And let me tell you, I'm in love! Pinterest has made "pinning" items for the future so much easier! All I had to do was add a little bookmarklet to my toolbar in Firefox and any time I come across something I like (as long as there is an image to pin) I can add it to one of my Pinterest boards. Neat and organized with everything categorized and in plain view.

Here are a few of the items I've pinned recently.

Source: spiritbeautylounge.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: jonathanadler.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: locallemons.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: notcot.org via Courtney on Pinterest

Follow me on Pinterest!

The Gruffalo

Nominations for the 2011 Academy Awards were announced this morning (see the full list here) and there was one nomination in the Best Short Film (Animated) category that caught my eye - The Gruffalo!

M. received this book from our good friend Emma when she was born and it has since become a favourite of our whole family. Everything about this book is wonderful - the rhyming, the illustration, the story - and the follow-up, The Gruffalo's Child, is just as delightful.

You can view the trailer on YouTube and hopefully I'll be able to track down a copy on DVD.

Vancouver dreaming

A's cousin called last night asking for Vancouver hotel and restaurant recommendations - he and his wife are going to be there for 3 days while the wife interviews for her medical residency. As I was writing the email, recalling all of our favourite places, it was brought back to me just how much I love that city. It was the first place I truly forged out on my own and built a life for myself. It was the first place that A. & I lived together and it was the first place A. & I left together. I doubt we will ever live there again, real estate prices being what they are, but we will return again and again to visit. How could you not love a city this beautiful?

 | eric flexyourhead |

 | tilo driessen |
The Lion's Den Cafe - our favourite local breakfast spot.

 | ~ tanguero ~ |

 | kennymatic |

 | ecstaticist |

| ben west |

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2011 everyone. I hope you had a fantastic holiday season and spent time with all of the people that are important to you. Our Christmas was great if a little overwhelming. We hosted for the first time ever so not only did we have to feed 10 people for two days but M. was in sensory overload from all the attention and stuck to my side the whole time which made cooking interesting. However, dinner turned out amazingly well and everyone was satiated and happy. We decided not to go with turkey this year and so cooked prime rib with yorkshire pudding, Brussels sprouts with maple buttered pecans (a big hit!), scalloped sweet potatoes, and pan-fried carrots & parsnips.

New Year's Eve was a fairly laid-back affair spent at home with good friends, wine and cheese. Is there a better combination?

I decided not to make any resolutions this year because 9 times out of 10 I end up not keeping them but I do have several goals I'd like to work towards.

1. This really needs to be the year that I get my health in hand. A. and I are signing up for the Calgary Herald Health Club at Home Challenge and I am restarting my Ukrainian dance class next week. I've also started going to a Zumba class at work and I'd like to do the Couch to 5k podcast again and finish it this time. If we ever decide to have a second child I'd like to be at a lower weight when I get pregnant and I also don't want M. to EVER feel ashamed to have overweight parents.

2. I taught myself how to do some basic crocheting over the Christmas break and I'd like to improve on that. I'd really like to crochet a ripple afghan for our family to cuddle under.

3. I'm not going to try so hard on this here blog. There are soooo many talented bloggers out there that I read and admire and I was kind of hoping to join their ranks but I've realized just how much commitment that takes. For now, I'm just going to post when something peaks my interest or I have something to say and hope that someone out there reads it.

That's it. Did you make any resolutions or set any goals for yourself?

Wowza

This turquoise chandelier is STUNNING! What a statement piece for a large dining room.

Images from Tobi Fairley Interior Design.