So September Happened...

"Where does the time go?"

As I age (gracefully, of course), I find myself uttering that phrase more and more. Where has the past month gone? I was sure that after Labour Day I would get back to blogging on a regular basis, and yet here it is October 6th and I'm still lacking posts. I don't pressure myself to create "scheduled posts" or have an "editorial calendar" like some bloggers do, but I do want to keep in touch with everyone who still pops in here looking for an update. Hopefully things will get rolling again now that I have a few fun projects on the horizon!

No excuses, but... September was a busy month. I spent several weekend shifts at work, packing and preparing to move our office & warehouse to a new location. In between all the work I managed to squeeze in some fun stuff. According to my Instagram feed, here is what I did in September:

Enjoyed the TIFF screening of Violette at The Elgin Theatre on Yonge Street.

Celebrated my 43rd birthday with family at El Catrin in The Distillery District.

Toured the Princess Margaret Showhome in Oakville with interior design by Brian Gluckstein. It's so gorgeous!! Have you bought your ticket yet?

Hung out on the set of Canada's Handyman Challenge with Bryan Baeumler, Mike Holmes, Scott McGillivray, Paul Lafrance & Jenn Robertson. Season 3 is coming to HGTV Canada early in 2014.

Attended Blogpodium, a fun and super inspirational conference for bloggers. I had such an amazing time catching up with old friends and meeting new people:

Purchased this stunning wool & silk Ardabil rug at auction. I was so tempted to keep it, but it's for the new office.

Discovered that Ritchies is another great resource for antique rugs. This hand knotted 11' wool runner was an absolute bargain that I couldn't pass up.

Whipped up these sweet little baskets to hold markers and notebooks using fabrics from Tonic Living. I love the fun colour combos! 

So...what have you been up to?

IDS Highlights: Design Talks

As planned, I attended the IDS today at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Since I didn't get out of bed until 11:10 am, it was no small feat to get myself ready and over to Front Street before noon to see House & Home editor Suzanne Dimma speak about Design Trends for 2010.

Photo courtesy of HouseandHome

Suzanne's presentation highlighted the popular trends we can look forward to seeing in home decor this year:

• Renegade Regency
• Tailored Gypsy
• New British Colonial
• Belgian Farmhouse
• Black Magic
• Organic Modern (Suzanne's Favourite Trend)
• Luxe Loft
• New Country
• Traditional Remix (My Personal Fave - I love a good mix!!)

Fabric of 2010: VELVET
Colour of 2010: Dark GREY

At 2pm, host Mark Challen was joined onstage by guests Suzanne Dimma and designer Brian Gluckstein for a presentation about Enduring Design. The discussion was quite lively, and I was surprised to discover that Brian Gluckstein is quite the funny man. Very interesting and entertaining!!


There were a lot of ideas, and these are the key points to Enduring Design raised by the panel:

• A well designed space should be COMFORTABLE.
• For effective lighting, DIMMER SWITCHES should always be used.
• The key to adding personality to a space is with ART & BOOKS.
• Creating TENSION in a room stimulates interest.
• The less colour a room has, the more TEXTURE is required.
• Add a touch of BLACK to every room.
• Build a NEUTRAL base and add colour with accessories & art.

For the final Design Talk, Mark Challen took to the stage at 4 pm for a presentation entitled Screen Style. For those unfamiliar with Mark's work, he is a style commentator with House & Home media.

Image courtesy of IDSWest

In this discussion, Mark encourages us to look at movies from a different perspective, by looking beyond the actors to the set design. When we notice the set design, we realize how it contributes to the mood in each scene almost as much as the actors do themselves.

Miranda Priestly's Office
The Devil Wears Prada

Image courtesy of AllMoviePhoto

I spent a fabulous afternoon at the IDS, and these Design Talks were definitely a highlight of my visit. Of course there was a lot more to see, so expect more coverage of the show on the blog this week.