Robert's Roomy Perspective - Apartment Therapy

I love the house tours on Apartment Therapy.
I especially fell in love with the one today.

I love his somewhat spare decorating

that the rooms aren't jammed with trendy pieces our of magazines.

I love the floors and high ceilings and love that he has tried to remain true to the age of the house.

This is what we are trying to do in ours as well and it leads to an eclectic mix of auction finds

and affordable reproductions.

love that table.

It's making me think I'd like a table in our kitchen

even though we don't really need one

really don't have to say anything about this except

GORGEOUS!

I would hate to move furniture up there, though.

yikes.

love the calm

Check out the full house tour here!

Farm Yard

On the weekend we made a couple of great discoveries.

The first was found on the way to the second.

Being a new homeowner who has spent all of her disposable income at Home Depot over the last month,

I'm relying on yard sales to help me find those little things that will help fill out (not fill up!) our house with little details that are interesting and inexpensive.

The first thing we found was a yard sale.

My fella spotted this little baby:

It's a gorgeous old enamel pot/pan.

The woman who sold it to me said that her mother brought it from Italy when she came to Canada and she used it to make her noodles.

The best part?

yes that's right.

It was a dollar.

I think it will be perfect to use for bbq's to hold ice and drinks- you can set it on the ground and let people help themselves. (we're having a bbq next week so I have to think of these things.)

I mainly love that it has a story behind it. A history.

The other great discovery was the Weston Farmers Market.

If any of you live in Toronto (especially in the west end) this market is amazing.

Great selection - produce, vegetables, even a guy selling old typewriters - and the best part is that because it's in Weston Village, you feel like you're in a small town.

It's held at the Go Train station parking lot. We got there around 9:30 so it was pretty busy but there was still lots of everything left. It opens at 7 so get there early to avoid the crowds.

http://www.greenlivingonline.com/guide/weston-farmers-market 

We bought strawberries, asparagus, nectarines, and new potatoes. Divine.

Here's what I made with the strawberries-

yum.

It was a good weekend.

desk inspiration

I was feeling overwhelmed by the house.

I'm using our third bedroom as a dressing room but it's not shaping up and I was getting frustrated.

So far there's an ironing board and an Ikea bookcase with a miscellany of stuff on it in the room.

A tiny closet packed with clothes.

And a shopping basket from Highland Farms that my cat likes to sleep in.

Of course, a lot of elements are missing from the room,

like:

a desk

a stool/chair for my keyboard

my books and music

the mirror on my dresser isn't attached and I can't find the screws

pictures on the walls

curtains

Stuff like that.

And then I saw this photo:

(photo from Domino I think and posted by this lovely blogger)

And I started to feel better because -

I can do this!

I'm a lucky girl to have my own space. I just need to flesh it out a little and make it my own.

Embrace it.

Don't fear it.

And hit Homesense on your lunchbreak!

hot hot heat

is it hot where you are? 

because it's hot where I am

and where I am, there's a lot of lugging of heavy items to and fro.

I'm constantly sweaty and have started a bruise count (since I'm a klutz at the best of times and at the worst, like now, I'm well, worse.) and I'm up to 7. 

7 in 3 days.

I have 3 days to go.

don't get me wrong - i love the heat. I love summer. 

I grew up on the east coast where's there's always a breeze, which for me meant there was always a rishk of being slightly chilly. 

not here. 

not now.

gotta go pack.

and buy a jumbo pack of popsicles.

little miss

There are things I'll really miss about this apartment. 

Such as:

the sunrises

watching the storms come in

the rainbows after

how the sunshine makes my violets bloom

our view of the CN tower from our kitchen window (it always made me feel so "urban". I think that's because we lived in Etobicoke for 3 years and hated feeling suburban. Hey - I grew up in the suburbs. I harbour resentment from that....)

but yesterday when I stood in my new kitchen, excitedly trying to decide where to put my pots and and pans, I couldn't think of that. 

Or when I stood in the dining room, looking out to the back yard, watching a robin watch me and hop closer and closer until it was like I could reach out and touch him. 

That doesn't happen on Bathurst Street where the closest trees are across the street. 

(Oh and there will be weather at the house. It's everywhere, you know.)

So yes, there are things that I'll miss. But they are little misses in comparison to feeling like my dreams have come true. (which will be easier to remember once my back stops aching from hauling boxes!)

yard bird

Yesterday we started moving stuff to the house!

We took one truck load, dumped everything in the basement (that's the plan - everything goes in the basement until we get organized!)

Then we sat out in the BACKYARD with some cold drinks and enjoyed the quiet.

The birds, The chickens. The smell of the lilacs.

I cannot stress how excited we are to have outdoor space - a garden - a place to read, entertain, think, drink beer, sun ourselves.

It was a sign of good things to come.

home run

Today is the day.

We get the keys!

My cell phone is sitting on my desk in anticipation of incoming calls from our lawyer saying it's a green light!

Tonight we will crack a bottle of champagne and toast to our new life to come!

Can't wait!

tick tick tick...

peace

Well we survived the visit to the lawyer (who as it turns out, is from my home town, which is not in this province. We also went to the same elementary AND junior high schools! It's a pretty big coincidence, I thought! )

It's funny, after signing my name for what felt like the 50th time, the fear and anxiety vanished.

All of the doubt I had, was gone.

Maybe it was because I knew there was no backing out of the deal, but I like to think that it was because I knew we had made the right choice.

Whatever the reason, it was a relief that that stress was gone.

(Now we have new, bills to pay stress!)

This weekend is very, very busy - and unfortunately, there will actually be very little time for packing. Hmmm.

Monday is the big day!

We get the keys!

I have a sinking feeling....

No, not really.
But we found the sink we want for our kitchen....

It's at Lowe's. 

We're waiting for a sale.

It's from Scotland! (well it was made in Scotland, which beats the pants off any sink made in China.) 

not that sinks wear pants....

Baking in an elf-sized kitchen...

I decided to do some baking tonight. I have to mention that I have a kitchen that is the least conducive to baking or cooking multiple things at once. Here's what I've learned:
1. Remove ANYTHING you don't need from any counter/table space you plan to use unless you want them to be coated in chocolate, batter, red wine, etc.
2. Wash dishes frequently. Filling the sink and/or cluttering up the counter-top in an elf-sized kitchen hinders progress in many ways. Avoid this. It leads to great frustration.
3. Keep a big glass of wine handy and, if doing said task during the festive season, Christmas music helps.
4. Timing is key. Read recipes and establish whether or not you can find a window of opportunity. It's worth it.

I look forward to the day when I have counter space larger than this:

I kid you not - This is the extent of my kitchen counter space!

This batter looked pretty yummy but I kept telling myself that even though it was the filling for lemon squares, it was yellow because it had 4 raw eggs in it. I resisted a taste test.

These are all necessary items - recipes, wine, nice view and greenery!

Oh and one more tip - don't drink too much wine. Baking is all about chemistry - and if you get the mix wrong, you're pooched!
Merry Christmas!