Happy Father's Day

My dad - I miss him every day!


My kids and their dad!

Happy Father's Day to all the great fathers out there, and all the lucky people who call them "Dad"!




Nadine

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

I have a blue house with a blue window.
Blue is the colour of all that I wear.
Blue are the streets and all the trees are too.
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue.
Blue are the people here that walk around,
Blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.
Blue are the words I say and what I think.
Blue are the feelings that live inside me.

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...Now I'm going to have that song by Eiffel 65 on my mind ALL DAY! Serves me right! Here's a link if you want to sing along with me...

I love the colour blue. My husband's eyes are a deep gorgeous blue, I chose the colour for my wedding china, my bedding is currently blue and usually has been throughout the years and even my living room furniture is blue. Even Jack loves blue - it's also the colour of his car - and the BMW logo! So I was thrilled when I popped into my Benjamin Moore retailer and found a quart-sized mistint in the most delightful grey-blue called Iced Slate (2130-60) for $4. You heard me. Four bucks.
I decided the first thing I would paint was the feature wall above the kitchen island/wall.

Notice I gathered all necessary equipment before I started - this includes a flattened fish box and suntan lotion.


Ooh - it's a pretty blue. And it took all of 10 minutes to paint it. Now what to hang there?

How about this tile hand-painted in Rincon de Guayabitos, Mexico? We watched the artist paint it with his fingers, and it's also the view from our hotel.


maybe add a blue plate?


Go for a contrasting colour scheme and hang the only thing I have from my great-grandmother, Jennie?

Hmmm, none of these options is really big enough to "hold" the wall. I'm going to need a combination of things....time to go shopping!


I'm also planning on painting the island cupboards in grey. And I love how the countertop looks black in this photo. It's actually stainless steel ( a brilliant idea from Jack) but I will eventually
get black granite in the kitchen.

Hope you have a great weekend- you know where I'll be - cha ching!!!!


Nadine

Nate Berkus Day

Today is Nate Berkus Day in Blogland. I thought I would add my two cents, because I, too, am a huge Nate fan. Yes, I'm a Nate-head. Rock on, Nate!
What's not to like? It's not only his adorable face - this guy is a super-talented designer, too. He gave us a peek at his Chicago apartment on Oprah in 2006:

Love that his animals try and escape the moment the front door opens, too!

And this display - love the composition of items. This is the most important thing in Nate's house. "Everyone always asks themselves, 'What would you grab in a fire?' For me, my dogs and then this, which is a woven photograph that was a Christmas present from Fernando." Fernando Bengoechea was Nate's partner, a photographer who passed away in the tsunami tragedy.

Next, a gallery of black and white photographs. It's a great way to fill up a wall where furniture won't fit.


Nate's kitchen, with the original cabinets, painted (in Nate's own words "army green"). It's always amazing to me what a coat of paint can do to freshen up a space. And keeping the cabinets is not only a thrifty choice, it's also an eco-friendly one. (I was going to say "the green choice", haha, but even I couldn't be that cheesy!)

And Nate's kitchen is also proof that a space doesn't have to be big to be beautiful!

The worn metal shelves add patina and warmth to Nate's apartment. The careful arrangement of objects allows your eye to settle on, and appreciate, each one.

Animals live here, too!

The dining room is spare. With that view, who needs drapes?? And, like Nate, my personal (unpopular?) choice is to NOT place an area rug under a dining table. Way cleaner, and it allows the hardwood flooring to be the star. Makes the room look bigger, too.

Nate's office is to die for. Love the rug (stripes are the easiest pattern to live with). Love the glass desk. Love the silver-leafed wallpaper, which is original to the apartment (1950!) Again proof you don't need to gut everything to make a beautiful space.

Overall, Nate's space is personal, masculine (but not not feminine) and comfortable. Sigh. Love it.

And if you wanted to bring home some of Nate's style, Nate has a line of furniture and accessories he sells at hsn.com:





Beautiful! Nate, you rock my world!


Nadine

Ode on a Garden Urn

The front of my condo is, shall we say, a little drab. Without undertaking major landscaping, I wanted to brighten up the entrance. (Keep in mind the exterior doors and windows CANNOT be changed - unless they are replaced in white). So flowers can go a long way to brightening up and creating a welcoming approach.
I was shopping at Winners one day, and found this perfectly hideous garden urn. I had been looking for large black urns with a modern, clean-lined look and found they ranged in the ballpark of (at least) $70.
This ugly blue beauty was a mere $19.99. It is made of metal and very light-weight, but after a coat of my trusty spray paint, it shouldn't be obvious that the urn is not made of VERY expensive terracotta.

Here's the before:

And in progress:


Looks like graffiti, doesn't it? And, yes, that is kitty litter behind my project. It's been so rainy here, I had to do the painting in my basement!
While letting the paint dry, I headed down to the local Canadian Tire garden centre, and purchased two hanging baskets.
The front of the unit faces due west and it gets extremely hot (I mean, scorching!), so I decided on petunias. They are heat-resistant and very cheery.


Jack macgyvered the urn so that the basket could sit on the stand and I wouldn't have to fill up the urn with dirt. This way is much lighter.


P.S. The wood is from the nasty light box in the powder room that I ripped off the wall with my bare hands. Ooh-raa.
Another "as-it-happens" shot:

And a fait accompli!


I was feeling very pleased with myself until the Creative One dropped by and informed me that petunias are "old-lady" flowers. Old lady? OLD LADY??!?! Grrr. Well, I like them anyway.


Nadine