i’m on the move

Hi everyone,
Thanks for visiting and for following along with me as I’ve blogged about my favourite things for house and home. Today I wanted to let you know that my blog has moved. If you’d still like to follow along, you can visit me here: Style at Home blog: These are a few of my favourite things.

See you soon!
Natalie

satisfying a sweet tooth

This blog post is designed specifically to make you salivate. These Rice Krispie treats (pictured left) from The Crispery are available for order only in the U.S. (boo!) but they look so yummy, I had to share! They come in a variety of individual flavours like: Caramel and Marshmallow, Peanut Butter, Coconut and Chocolate Dipped Crispy to name a few. Mmmm! It’s not like my hometown of Toronto doesn’t have its own fair share of bakeries that make mouthwatering treats. This blogto.com blog post lists the best cupcakes in Toronto, for example. And Rice Krispie squares are easy enough to make at home (though The Crispery certainly adds an original twist to an old favourite!) If you’re interested in making your own squares at home, here are a few recipes from Canadian Living: Cocoa frosted Rice Krispies peanut squares, Rice Krispies fruit and nut granola bars.

Anyway, I’m just feeling mighty hungry now. If you’ve got an insatiable sweet tooth and are looking for more ideas, check out our Food & Entertaining section, full of easy recipes for delicious desserts! The weekend is the perfect time to try your hand at a new recipe.

Here are a few of my faves (pictured above):

Chocolate dream scone with mascarpone spread
Cranberry pistachio biscotti
Baby butter and jam sandwiches

lucyina moodie

Lucyina Moodie is a UK-based stylist and interior designer whose eye for style is (IMHO) nothing short of pure perfection! I just love the antique chic look of the spaces she designs and her use of pretty pastels that soothe and calm. Since she hails from across the pond, it’s unlikely that us Canucks will really be able to call on her services but the photos are certainly a source of inspiration. There’s a simple charm in these designs, a look that heralds an era long gone. Her style makes me think of a simpler time and reminds me to celebrate the important things in life.
For more information, visit: lucyina.com

For more design inspiration, check out these articles:
15 secret decor tips
15 tricks that will make your home look like it jumped off the pages of Style at Home.

Design lesson: Living well
Improve your quality of life at home.

Organizing 101: Making your home a haven
Create a space that’s beautiful and reflects who you are so that you feel at home with these home organizing tips.

seeing stripes

There’s something about stripes that says spring and summer. Stripes add an instant nautical feel to your home, especially like the casual striped rug pictured here. Striped accessories like cushions and dishware are easy to add around the house and have a way of bringing a light and airy feeling along with them. The picture below makes me think of Nantucket in the summer; I can just smell that sea air  — I love the effortless look of beach-inspired decor.  Add some vibrant colour to your home with these fab finds:

1 Pieced Awning Stripe Mat
Available at: Pottery Barn

2 Melamine Lidded Bowl Set
Available at: Crate & Barrel

3 Brie Stripe, Granite
Available at: Tonic Living

4 Cottage Stripe Cotton Rug Collection
Available at: Garnet Hill

5 Iittala Mug
Available at: Iittala

magnique: magnifique!

Spring is in the air and with the arrival of this much-anticipated season comes, for many, a renewed commitment to getting organized at home. In some ways, it’s like the new year; a fresh start, a new beginning. And these days, getting organized has never been easier or more stylish. There are all kinds of tools on the market to help making home organization easier than ever before. But getting organized doesn’t have to mean huge at-home overhauls involving new built-in closets or large-scale pieces of furniture. Sometimes the key is to start with the little things, like bills, paperwork, odds and ends. I recently discovered these magnetic boards from Magnique, a fabulous Canadian company. All of the Magnique boards and gorgeous glass magnets are handmade in Toronto. These customizable boards come in a variety of colours of leather and suede and can be used all over the house to organize paper, create vision boards, keep track of grocery lists and to-dos or even display photos. I love the colourful magnets, handmade in Canada with glass imported from Italy. You may want to buy some extras for your fridge.
Visit magnique.com for more information.

feeling green

I’m feeling a bit green today. Not eco-friendly, do-the-environment-a-spot-of-good green. Just green. Spring arrived somewhat anticlimactically last week and hasn’t been seen since. But inside, I’m ready for it, despite the fact that outwardly, I’m still bundled up in all my winter gear. So until spring decides to come out of hiding, I’m going to think green. It’s such a bright, cheerful colour, one that evokes feelings of life and rebirth, rejuvenation and new beginnings. Here are a few things to help add a dash of green to your home:

1 Hariette chair
Available at: Garnet Hill
Price: $1,550 – $1,680

2 Pine Cone Hill lattice citrus window panel
Available at: Layla Grace
Price: $64

3 Soho Apartment dessert plates and mugs
Available at: Rosanna Inc.

Price: See website for details

4 Martha Stewart Collection green colander
Available at: Macy’s
Price: $19.99

5 Jamie Oliver lime green pitcher
Available at: Sears
Price: $22.99

6 Tonal stripe organic duvet cover and sham
Available at: Pottery Barn
Price: $23 – $135

update your bathroom with a new shower curtain

One of the quickest, most inexpensive ways to update your bathroom is to change the shower curtain. With so many designs out there to choose from, you can give your bathroom a whole new look in mere minutes. Here are a few I like:

1 Caribbean fish
garnethill.com
$48

2 Garden blossom
dwellshop.com
$73

3 Monterey shower curtain
cb2.com
$34.95

4 Dots fabric
cozyhomewares.com
$29.99

dvira ink

I’m still scouring the web for designers whose work I love and for fab pictures to share with you. Up today: Dvira Ink. You may know the Toronto-based designer Dvira Ovadia from the Global television show From the Ground Up with Debbie Travis. Dvira won the show in 2007, earning her the title of chief designer for Debbie Travis. In this role, Dvira worked with Debbie Travis to design 10 model homes for Tribute Communities. Here are a few pictures that illustrate her elegant contemporary style. For more information, visit: Dvira Ink.

enviable designs

I’m one of those lucky people whose job it is to look at and write about pretty things all day long. Along my cyber travels, I find fab new products, beautiful photos and today, I’ve discovered a handful of interior designers, whose work is lovely and inspirational. Case in point: Enviable Designs is Victoria McKenney’s Vancouver-based interior design firm. With a tagline of “comfortable sophistication”, her work seems to accomplish this effortlessly. I love these photos of some of her projects; there’s a richness and elegance to these spaces yet the rooms still look easy to live in. Victoria’s bio says that her “personal style is an effortless blend of European classic with hints of modern and twists of traditional.” Love it!

For more information, visit Enviable Designs.
For more inspiration, check out our Decorating & Design section!

les indiennes

Love, love, love these Indian-inspired fabrics. I just stumbled upon this site and fell in love with the simplified take on intricate Indian design. Here’s a bit about the Tucson-based company Les Indiennes:

“When Mary Mulcahy first developed an interest in Indian textiles, she just wanted fabrics that were as she envisioned them- fresh and simple, authentically Indian yet pleasing to the Western eye.

What were once complex traditional designs with multiple colors, she transformed by extracting and simplifying particular motifs, reducing them to a single color, and elegantly spacing them on a creamy white background. The fabric was so wonderful that Les Indiennes came into being.

We are particularly proud of the fact that Les Indiennes never set out to industrialize or to change the way things are done in India. The production of our fabric does not cause pollution nor does it disrupt the traditional lifestyle of the village where it is made. Les Indiennes provides fair trade employment for over 50 families, raising the standard of living for the entire community, and all the while leaving no environmental or social footprint.”

For more, visit: Les Indiennes

eileen fisher bedding

One of my biggest pet peeves has to be finding something I love online and then discovering that the U.S. retailer doesn’t ship to Canada. I just don’t understand how cross-border shipping can still be such a problem. Regardless, I love cyber-shopping and getting inspiration from photos, even if I can’t purchase the product. This bedding from Eileen Fisher is just stunning. I adore the muted colour palette and the hand-tufted pure silk comforter.

More about bedding:
10 beautiful bedding picks
Buying guide: Pillows, sheets and duvets
How to: Make a bed

reusable zip-top shopper

Everywhere you turn, it seems that going green is getting more and more stylish. As much as possible, I just say no to plastic carrier bags when I’m shopping, instead pulling out my trusty fabric bags, which I keep tucked inside my purse for such occasions. But I just love this fab new option from Danier. The 100% recyclable Reusable Zip-Top Shopper is a stylish spin on the typical reusable bag and adds a fashionable flair to being environmentally responsible. Plus, a percentage of each bag sold will be donated to Zerofootprint, an organization dedicated to helping people manage and reduce their carbon footprint.

With any purchase, the prices are $1.99 (small), $2.99 (medium), 3.99 (large). Without purchase: $5.99 (small), 7.99 (medium), 9.99 (large). For more information, visit danier.com or zerofootprint.net.

For more great ideas about stylish green living, check out executive editor Laurie Grassi’s blog Natural Chic.

sumo women’s laptop purse

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t need another bag. Like any good girly-girl, I’ve got too many bags and too many pairs of shoes. My mother tells me that my obsession with shoes began at a very young age so it was only natural that when I got my first job as a teenager, it was at a shoe store at the mall up the street from our house. But the obsession, I think, isn’t so much about quantity as it is about quality. And by quality, I don’t mean outrageously expensive, hand-crafted, imported Italian leather. I’m talking more about utility. For years, my favourite boots were a pair of synthetic platforms that cost about $40. But they were so versatile, they were the perfect pair. And so it is with my new favourite bag. The SUMO women’s laptop purse is so stylish and utilitarian, it was love at first sight. And then, as I began to use it, I really fell hard. It’s sleek, which I love; it doesn’t look like a laptop bag at all. And inside, there’s a cozy, corduroy-lined pouch for my computer. It fits sveltely inside, with plenty of room to spare for all the other odds and ends I lug around town. This bag is big on the details (did I mention the corduroy-lined pouch that I love?) – it’s got a printed interior and the fuchsia stitching on the exterior is the perfect finishing touch. The bag itself is nylon but the straps are a soft, pliable leather. Exterior pockets provide easy access to your phone or iPod. It’s stylish for toting about town and super-functional for traveling with.

Available at: mobileedge.com
Price: $129.99

dyson DC16 animal handheld vacuum

Back in August, I got a cat. I love cats and had one (three actually, at one point) for years while I was in university and in the years after that. I won’t bore you with the details concerning why I no longer had a cat (don’t worry; no animals were harmed in the story) but let’s just fast forward to the summer, when I got a new one. He’s the cutest little guy you’ve ever seen. Incredibly obedient and when he looks at me, I melt. He’s got the sweetest little face and he just loves to cuddle. All sounds great, right? Well, it was until I discovered that the cuddly little creature sheds like a … well, whatever sheds a lot. Seriously, it’s nearly impossible to stay on top of the cleaning because he sheds so much. My once spotless condo is often covered in a thin layer of fur despite my most diligent efforts. Enter The Animal! The Dyson DC16 Animal is the answer to all my cleaning needs. This thing is a lifesaver and has restored my furniture back to its pre-cat glory. I was amazed by the suction power and by how thoroughly it sucked up pet hair that had gotten trapped in the fibres of my couch. I’d tried other handhelds before, lint brushes, those sticky roll-y brushes, even tried cleaning it by hand but nothing produced such staggering results – and that’s not even mentioning how quick and effortless it is to use The Animal. It takes three hours of charging to give you six minutes of use, which I initially thought was nuts – but since it’s a handheld, you probably wouldn’t use it for much longer than that in one go anyway. It hasn’t turned out to be a problem for me and for this kind of suction power, trust me —  it’s worth the wait!

Interested in winning one of these beautiful beasts? Enter the Dyson Next Top Animal contest for your chance to win great Dyson products, plus cool stuff from Pedigree, Whiskas and Bark & Fitz.

Price: $229.99

bestow boutique

Did you ever read Jane magazine? I went through a period in the late ‘90s when I was positively obsessed with both the magazine and the forums on their website. Anyway, I loved the brand and their very real approach to love, life and everything in between. Sadly, the magazine and website are no more but I’ve just learned that the former founding art director of the magazine has just launched bestowboutique.com, a fab new online shop where you’ll find chic stuff for the house along with unique gift ideas. My fave item? This Jan Constantine wool felt pillow. You don’t need to wait for Valentine’s Day to give or get one of these. Decorating your home with amour is stylish any time of year!

Available at: bestowboutique.com
Price: $120