Great Meadow

So, apparently Anthropologie has wallpaper. Crazy fun wallpaper. When I spotted this floral beauty last week, I immediately started imagining how fierce it would look as an accent wall in a living room. With a wallpaper this graphic, I wouldn't want to do more than one wall - unless the room was tiny (i.e., a powder room, closet, or short hallway). Below is a living room mood board I put together, inspired by Anthro's Great Meadow.

1. Wall decor
2. Grey patterned rug and grey linen drapes
3. Anthropologie's Great Meadow mural, as an accent wall. I picture the remaining walls white or a very light grey.
4. Industrial-style shelving
5. Glass floor lamp and shell-like table lamp
6. Distressed mirror
7. Wicker blanket basket and several cozy blankets
8. Whiskey leather poufs for occasional seating
9. Tailored white sofa
10. Traveler coffee table 
11. Groove side table
12. Pair of killer turquoise leather Rhys chairs
13. Pillow fabrics.

Click on the moodboard for item sources.

Plain White Tee

A white t-shirt has got to be one of my favourite looks. It pairs as perfectly with skinny jeans, coloured denim, or a pair of leggings as it does with pencil skirts and dress pants. My go-to work outfit consists of a white t-shirt, skinny jeans, a blazer, and flats. It really is the most versatile wardrobe staple. Throw on a statement necklace (this one is my preference) and a colourful lipstick (my favourites are here) and you're ready for anything!

Sketch by Inslee

I wear my white shirts into the ground. I'm constantly having to replace them. If you know any good secrets for keeping white shirts white - let me know! In honour of the most-worn item in my wardrobe (other than possibly leggings) - here are a few of my favourite white t-shirt looks:

Source 1 - Source 2

Source

Source 1 - Source 2

Source 1 - Source 2

Source 1 - Source 2

Source 1 - Source 2

And a few terribly lit photos of my white t-shirt outfits:

With grey jeans, riding boots, and bright lipstick for a night out 

{AND} with pink floral skinny jeans, a khaki jacket, and converse for a casual Saturday

No full outfit shot of this one, but this was with a pencil skirt and lots of a jewelry for work!

Linking up to Lauren's Style Sessions

Oasis

A couple weeks ago, I shared that I've been wanting to update my bedroom. Well, friends - it's pretty much done! I am SO happy with how it turned out and I can't wait to hear what you think!

But first... the BEFORE:

And the AFTER: 

It feels so much lighter, brighter, and more relaxing in here now. It's both soothing and energizing at the same time - if that makes sense.

I removed a lot of the colour in the room, deciding to stick with a palate of grey, white, wood, black, silver, and hints of gold and mint. You can see the mood board I put together for this room here.

I started by painting the walls Benjamin Moore's Metropolitan. It made for a nice medium-tone pure grey. In certain lights, it has slight blue-ish undertones but they're very subtle. Before I started to paint, I removed the ill-placed mirror and corner shelves, spackled and sanded any holes (so unexpectedly fun!) and then used two coats of BM's Aura paint, which is a paint-and-primer-in-one.

Once the paint had dried, I layered back in the existing elements of the room that I intended to keep: curtains, headboard, bed, dresser, desk, computer, bedding, and striped pillows. I also switched out my old pink captain's chair for a wicker IKEA chair that I had in storage. It's not the most ideal desk chair but it will do until I find one I like better.

Then came the fun part - shopping! I actually spent very little! The new lamps are Colin and Justin, from Home Sense. The mirror is Wal-Mart, of all places. The accessories (vase, candles, white lacquer box that holds my makeup, mint mug for stashing sunnies), throw, and sequined pillow all hail from Chapters/Indigo. The throw and pillow were crazy steals. There's a budget breakdown at the bottom of this post, if you're interested. 

 

I still have a few little things to do (hang my new curtain rod, switch up the art, consider a bedskirt, potentially make the mirror more impactful) and one major task (staining the desk the same colour as the dresser drawers), but the room really does feel complete already. It's restful and calming and is just such a lovely place to be.

A few more before-and-afters for the road:

Headboard DIY here. Dresser DIY here. Pen/Pencil Cup DIY here. Rolling Drawer DIY here.

Budget Breakdown:

Paint (Benjamin Moore Aura) - $75 (I think it's worth getting the good stuff)

Lamps (Colin and Justin from Home Sense) - $120 (for 2)

Mirror (Walmart) - $30

White Vase (Chapters/Indigo) - $10

3 Candles (Chapters/Indigo) - $18, $18, $8

White Lacquer Box (Chapters/Indigo) - $30

Mint Mug (Chapters/Indigo) - $6

Mint Throw (Chapters/Indigo) - $18 

Sequin Pillow (Chapters/Indigo) - $19

 TOTAL (Not including previously completed dresser or tax) - $352

I actually had a $100 gift card to Chapters, bringing this down to $252 plus tax! Not bad for what feels like a completely different room! I've since bought curtain rods for $30 each, bringing the grand total to $412. I'll share that update soon.

Flashback

IN MY HEAD:

ON MY MIND:

Amazing jewelry storage ideas from Emily and Brittany.

Eyelash curling (WITH A SPOON!) and the best sprays for beach hair.  Totally picked up the Victoria Secret spray. We shall see if it works on my half-super-wavy/half-stick-straight hair.

I'm totally in Amy's boat when it comes to an abundance of stripes, but THESE stripes, I could probably make an exception for.

ADORE this party theme.

Pattern Mixing done perfectly by the lovely Whitney.

And wise words from Note to Self.

IN MY LINE OF SIGHT:

Casual Friday wears.

Explored Doors Open Halifax with my Dad. This was the Local Council of Women. Very cool mansion with an interesting history.

I loved this view of the grain elevators from The Grainery Lofts, but my Dad was less than impressed, haha.

 My Chapters/Indigo haul arrived!

 And a little sneak peek of my new bedroom! So excited to share the whole thing next week!

Have a beauty weekend!

In the wild.

I am not a camper. I'm not particular outdoorsy at all. The number of times I've received this someecard is in the double digits.

Side Note: I also have a pint class with this slogan thanks to my friend, Holls.

I'm working on it. Trying to expand my horizons and what not. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not anti-the outdoors. I've just never been particularly good at anything outdoorsy. And I'm going camping this summer. I promised. I'll tell you one thing though - if I had this Anthropologie sleeping bag, I might even ASK to go camping.

Sigh. Ain't she a beaut?

Minty Fresh

I've been working on Project Bedroom over the last few weeks. My colour scheme is fairly neutral (grey/silver, white, gold, a little bit of black) with hints of mint. As luck would have it - the super inexpensive mint throw I ordered online is not only beautiful but PERFECTLY coordinates with my mint curtains and mint polka-dot sheets. Pretty sweet.

Given that mint is such a fabulous and fresh colour, I thought I'd do a little roundup of all the great mint (and aqua and pistachio) home decor products out there right now. Click on the image to find the sources for each item.

Spring Fling

It must be that Spring is finally here but lately, all I want to wear is colour and pattern. Neons, florals, pastels - ANYTHING but black, white, or grey. Unfortunately, all I wanted to wear all winter was black, white, or grey - so that's pretty much all I have in my closet. I've been on the hunt for some fun and colourful pieces for my summer wardrobe and Zara is killing it in this department. Here are a few amazing pieces I've found:

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