From drab to fab - DIY tray makeover

I've wanted a tray for our "stuff" on the living room coffee table for a while now...but hadn't really looked for anything. A couple of weeks ago I dragged the Mr. to Homesense since it had been so long since I was there (really). He actually found the perfect tray for upcycling:

This pinky red is not my colour of choice, and it was chipped in a few places, which meant it was on clearance for a big ol $10. Sold.  The Mr. thought I wanted the tray for practical purposes...like carrying food / drinks outside to the deck - and was surprised when I told him it was for display purposes! I think we can compromise and use it as a carrying tray in the summer, since it would also be uber useful for that.

I slapped some paint on it and decided to do a pattern...and here's the final product:

You like?? I'm very happy with how it turned out. I used Frog tape to tape the lines...and thought it was starting to bubble up like it did on our night tables and I was all ready to write a post about how I didn't think that Frog tape was worth all the hype, blah blah blah....then I removed the tape after painting and it's AMAZING. No joke. I'm a total convert...not sure where I went wrong on the night tables that led to bleeding (I think I moved the tape around and used too many small pieces), but the frog tape gave such a clean edge on this tray project. I love it.







Opa!

I hope you all had a great weekend! The weather has turned undeniably steamy here in Toronto, and while I like heat this is just plain old muggy. Our weekend was busy as usual, but fun as always! I got to see some friends who came into town on Saturday night and it was great catching up, and trying a new-restaurant-to-me Wabora - thanks girls.

Yesterday the Mr. and I sauntered over to Toronto's Taste of the Danforth, an annual Greek fest. We wandered, ate, and looked around (there are tons of beautiful houses on the side streets!). I like Greek food and how fresh it tastes, having it on the street at an outdoor festival is even better. Naturally, my mind wanders to its place of origin - I've never been to Greece but it looks so beautiful, and I have heard many good things, so it's definitely on my list.  Enjoy some greek inspiration below...



Santorini - via

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Friday faves - books

Hi All! It's summer, which is the perfect time for reading whether you are reading on a beach, in your backyard, on your porch, on your balcony, or on your favourite coffee house's patio.

I have added a list of books that I am either reading or have recently read on the right hand side of my page - check it out and feel free to email me any good book suggestions!

Carol-Anne over at Use the Good Dishes has incorporated a great feature: Fiction Fridays. It's an awesome way to get some reviews / recommendations of books you may want to read. Check out my book review on The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.



Enjoy, and happy Friday!

Guest Post at Recreated

I am so excited to be featured on Recreated today! I met Lindsey (blogger behind Recreated) at the Canadian Design Blogger meet up in June. She does a fantastic “Pieces of You” series on her blog where she features people and their fave furniture pieces. Totally fitting for Lindsey, who is a hobby re-upholsterer.

If you haven’t already seen her blog make sure to check it out, and see today’s post on my favourite piece of furniture (what is it?!? You’ll have to click to find out...) here.

Summer house dreams

On nice long weekends I always get a twinge of envy for my friends who leave town for "the cottage". Cottages have also been all over my favourite home magazines recently, so I've found myself daydreaming a bit. To clarify, when I say cottage, I don't mean this:



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Instead, I dream of these types of properties...



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Sarah Richardson's cottage via House & Home

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Wouldn't this be an amazing cottage in the fall - say for Thanksgiving? via Pinterest

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Happy long weekend!

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend here in Ontario - it's been a gorgeous weekend, to go with our trend of a gorgeous summer.

The Mr. and I started the weekend off celebrating his birthday with a round of golf on Friday, then hosting a BBQ on Saturday. He outdid himself with the menu - ribs (slow cooked for 6 hours), chicken, corn on the cob, beer (of course), a couple of salads and desserts from friends, and I made a peach cobbler with Ontario peaches. YUMM (sorry it was too yummy and messy to remember to take photos). It was a great afternoon/evening on Saturday.

Yesterday we kicked around the city and hit up Sugar Beach after a nice bike ride through the Don Valley



Sugar Beach

Today we'll take full advantage of the extra day off and the nice weather. Hope you all had / are having a great weekend.