Thanks for Voting

Thanks to all who voted for my home in the Apartment Therapy "Small Cool" contest. This is a quick update about what is happening in the voting process: My place was 1 of 5 entrants selected in the first batch, and with the addition of new batches, there are now 20 homes competing in the International category. I am currently sitting in 7th place with the 140 votes I received.

This is the living room of the current leader in the International category (267 votes):


This is an entrant in the Teeny-Tiny category, 210 square feet in New York City (with 434 votes!!!):


And in the Tiny category, a 350 square foot apartment on New York City's Lower East Side - it's so Tiny they had to put the bathtub in the kitchen (429 votes):


The first phase of the contest continues until April 19th, and you can check out all of the entrants by following this link:

Apartment Therapy Small Cool Contest

Easter Weekend

I spent a traditional Easter with family back home in Peterborough this past weekend. We spent Good Friday baking a loaf of Easter bread, Saturday we decorated eggs and Sunday we went to church.

Please enjoy our Easter egg decorating Before & Afters:

Happy Easter

Best Wishes for a good Good Friday and a pleasant Easter Sunday!!

Sarah's Cottage Reminder

I hope you all had a chance to catch the premiere episode of Sarah's Cottage last week. The show airs every Tuesday at 9 pm, and runs for 6 episodes, so don't forget to tune in again this Tuesday!! This week Sarah will work her magic on the cottage guest rooms.

For those who missed last week's show, here's a taste of how the living room turned out:

Photo courtesy of theglobeandmail.com

The One That Got Away

Today I attended an auction at the Port Hope Recreation Centre, a fundraising event for the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario. It was a chance to visit Port Hope and to spend time with my parents, who made the trip from Peterborough.

I haven't been to an auction in many years, and it was a fun event!! I arrived at 11 am, along with many other interested bidders, to preview the merchandise, and of course I found an item of interest: Catalogue Item #79 - a 45 piece set of Royal Doulton Clarendon china.

Precisely at 1:00 pm the auction got underway, and it took some intense listening to "translate" the language of the auctioneer. As I grew accustomed to the bidding process, my item was quickly approaching the auction block. My heart pounded, my palms began to sweat, I mentally recalculated my maximum bid...I raised my paddle...$130...$150...$190...I'm out. The set sold for $200, and I'm sure it will look absolutely beautiful on someone else's table:

Photos courtesy of www.replacements.com