We're Moving!

This blog has become many things over the years, but it began as a place for me to share our newlywed nest with my family living a province away. From the start, it's been about making a home with a small budget, DIYs, thrift finds, and making our Montreal flat truly ours. From that initial rental, where we brought baby Lily home from the hospital, to our current home which we bought 11 years ago when I was pregnant with Oli, I've loved documenting where we call home. And now there will be a new space to fill the pages of this blog and our hearts. Yes, we're moving!

In front of our new home! 

After almost 11 years in our tiny condo, we are thrilled to be moving to a larger home in our neighbourhood! We've been so happy in our current home and it will be emotionally hard to leave. So many memories have been made here. But at the same time, we're ready. Our three kids, ages 8, 10, and 11 have shared one bedroom for their entire lives. We have never been able to offer our overnight guests more than our couch for the night, and have been limited in a lot of ways in this small space. That said, I am so grateful for the 11 years in a quite small condo, as it's taught me so much and really shaped our family culture and values toward minimalism and contentment. 

We started looking for a new home in 2021, though I'd regularly been browsing MLS for years prior to seriously looking. For us, our non-negotiables were three bedrooms, some sort of office space for Brad, who works from home, and staying in our neighbourhood, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. Anything else was negotiable. Old homes, modern builds, triplexes, single-dwelling, sky rise buildings... anything was a possibility so long as we had one more bedroom than we have now and could stay in our beloved neighbourhood. The challenge being that Le Plateau is not known for spacious homes, three-bedroom homes, or affordable homes. The vast majority of homes in our neighbourhood have 1-2 bedrooms and are well under 1,000 square feet. It's a densely populated area with homes packed in like sardines, which coincidentally is one of the things we love about living here! The community, the vibe, the architecture... It's all so lovable. But house hunting here is tough. 

We were fortunate to buy our current home, which has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and is 1,000 square feet, over a decade ago. Buying back then meant that house prices were much more affordable, so going on to our second home was less intimidating, having that equity from our first place. But still, we were looking for months before we found anything in our budget with our non-negotiables. We had a lot of homes that felt right and fell through our fingers, some at the very last minute. Our hearts were broken more than once, especially one place where we had an accepted offer and the sale was nullified by the City after it was discovered that the seller had done illegal work and the home wasn't to code to sell. 

So what's our new place like?! You may have seen the video tour on Instagram, but I'll explain more in detail soon. The funny thing is that we'd seen our new home on MLS during our many searches, but never seriously considered it. For one, it needs a lot of work. The back porch is also shared with many neighbours, so there isn't much privacy, which was a hard pill to swallow since we have a quite large back balcony in our current condo. Now those elements don't bother us, as there is a large front porch and we have a great team working with us to renovate it, but at the time, it felt impossible. After losing the home where we had the accepted offer Brad suggested we circle back to what is now our new home. We couldn't really remember why we were so against it earlier and decided to visit. 

It was so bright! So many windows! And really large for our neighbourhood! Plus there was a possibility of finishing our portion of the basement, giving us even more space! But most importantly, it's in the heart of our neighbourhood and has enough bedrooms and office space. When we inquired we also found out that not a single offer had been put on the home. This is likely due to the fact that the market isn't as hot for larger homes in need of a lot of repair. During the pandemic many families left the city, and since our home is part of a triplex, it can't be used as an Airbnb according to the bylaws. Thus, the home of our dreams was untouched on the market and we ended up getting it for under asking price. I still can't believe it. It really feels like God saved it for us. 

I can't wait to share the before pictures and all of our plans for the home with you! 

Watching Montreal Come Back to Life (+ We Love the Habs!)

The Montreal Canadiens' playoff run came to an end last night, and in truth I'm crestfallen. But Looking back it was such a beautiful run and so important for our city, especially coming out of a Pandemic, that I'm filled with gratitude. 

Montreal and Quebec as a whole were hit hardest in Canada by Covid-19 and had some of the most intense restrictions in the country (a province-wide curfew for months, mass-closures, etc). A city that's used to tourism and festivals was incredibly quiet last summer as well as early this Spring. But the Habs started the Stanley Cup playoffs at the same time our province vaccine roll out was ramping up and the timing was perfection. By the first round of the playoffs most Montrealers had received their first dose and by the final round many were double vaccinated. Our first dinner guest in 18 months was our dear friend Camille who joined us for a meal and the game afterwards. We won that game and so many this playoffs, and playing in the final against the best team in the league was a huge accomplishment, even if we couldn't defeat Tampa Bay in the end. 

This Playoff run was great to watch as a Habs fan, but truly so much more special in light of what our city and country are coming out of. Hockey unifies Montreal like little else can, and being able to watch games with others, gather in alleyways, pubs, or public spaces to watch the games made it so memorable. It was also the first time our kids have taken such an interest in hockey and the Canadiens, and by the end all three would stay up for most of the games (at least until the second period!) and they all knew each player by name. The vested interest was a sweet thing to share as a family and city. 

Last night Brad and I went downtown to watch the game on the big screen with several thousand of our best friends, haha! You had to register online before and it was all very peaceful. No crazy riots or anything, just disappointed fans walking home after the game ended. It was amazing to be in an outdoor crowd again, especially one as unified and excited. 

Montreal, it's so good to see you again! And to the Habs, bon match, on vous aime, et à l'année prochaine!

Half Birthdays and the Best Cake Ever

As I'm sure is the case for most people, the lingering Pandemic has led to a good degree of languishing in our home. Generally we've been fine, but with every sport and activity cancelled for the past 16 months and very limited contact with friends and family, some weeks have been harder than others. Mid-winter I found myself longing for something to celebrate. 

The kids and I all had our birthdays in the late summer and autumn, and Christmas was behind us. We still had months until Brad's May birthday and Mother's and Father's day too. So I decided that we'd celebrate half birthdays this year. I know, I know, it's a bit excessive, but seriously it was one of the best decisions I made in the Pandemic (that and buying the kids a mini trampoline!) 

Sally Clarkson in The Life-Giving Home writes about how important it is to make home that place of comfort, celebration, joy, and safety, and I have been so influenced by her practices. Though the Pandemic is *hopefully* winding down, I think we'll keep half birthdays forever for the joy they've brought us, and that additional chance to celebrate each member of our family. 

It's amazing how much those half birthdays brightened our home life! I had been meaning to try out Livia Sweets that opened up down the street and this felt like the perfect occasion. So for Chloe's 7.5 birthday, we ordered their birthday cake. Montreal friends, OMG. The birthday cake was the best cake we've ever had. While Livia Sweets did gift my family the kid's half birthday cakes, I have already personally bought two more, they're that good. My mother-in-law had her birthday two weeks after Chloe's half birthday and I promptly ordered it again. Lily and I are heading up north this weekend for a Mother-Daughter camp and you know I ordered us the two person birthday cake to eat when we arrive. This cake is truly beyond.

You can order this dream cake, or anything else on their delicious menu (including cookies and dairy-free milk delivered to your door!) from Livia Sweets. Save on the delivery fee like I did by picking it up at their storefront on 288 Ave Laurier Ouest. 

This post was in collaboration with Livia Sweets,

but all opinions are 100% my own and I am a regular customer of theirs. 

To book a collab, contact me!

A Warehouse Sale + a Dream Come True

You all know I love a bargain, which typically means I buy things secondhand but when I can't, I always look for a sale. Almost every store has a clearance section, and it's the first place I go. Today I struck gold at a warehouse sale, finding a long desired and special piece of furniture that makes me nostalgic beyond words and incredibly thankful. 

When I heard that Prunelle, a local Montreal small business with a wild selection of Scandinavian furniture was having a warehouse sale, I was there in minutes. Not kidding! Easy in this case since the sale is right in my neighbourhood, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. What I found was a lovely little tulip based white marble end table, which we'll use as our coffee table in the living room. Since we have a cosy living area, we've always used an end table as a coffee table surrounded by our sectional sofa. Small space living tip: always buy furniture to scale and not what you think you ought to have. But I digress... 

It's been a dream of mine to have a white marble table somewhere in my home since I was newly engaged, so over a dozen years. I've seen white marble in every kind of home from traditional to modern, which tells me it's a classic. It will never go out of style or not fit in my home. I distinctly remember writing a speech for my grandmother's funeral in an Airbnb in Stockholm on a white marble table. I sat for hours with my memories as Brad took the kids out to explore (we received the terrible news as we were flying to Sweden). I sat on the floor at the coffee table and wrote my speech. Every morning of that trip I woke early and had my coffee and breakfast at the same table. A significant number of our pictures from that leg of the trip have the white marble table in them because I was so drawn to it's beauty. Yes, it's just a table and my life was full and complete before Stockholm and before today when I became the proud owner of my own. But these little bits of beauty are worth noting, so I hope you'll indulge me. 

I would have preferred a white base, but at warehouse sales one can't be picky. I will likely paint the base white or even just a matte black as the current tulip base is rather shiny. Buying a marble table at full price isn't an option for us however, so I'll gladly take my slightly chipped black tulip base and dream up ways to perfect what already feels too good to be true. 

The warehouse sale has all sorts of items, priced from $19 to $499. There are incredible savings to be had! I saw our beloved tulip base dining table for 1/3 of the regular price and our dining chairs for 80% off. Everything is either discontinued or with minor scratches. Given the quality of these pieces, a small scratch doesn't deter me at all. The furniture at Prunelle is designed and built to last, which often means it's also expensive (and rightfully so), but not at this sale!

The sale is at 1589 Ave Mont-Royal East and they're open every day. If you're interested in going, I encourage you to hurry as the sale ends on October 4! All the information can be found here. 

Wistful Thoughts on Fall & Apple Picking

Covid or not, you'll still find us paying to pick our own fruit in sweaters that are too hot to wear by noon, haha!

It's Fall and these constants are so refreshing. So much has changed. Insert heavy sigh here. The way our kids go to school and we go to work. The way we go to church and meet with friends. The way we travel, or don't. The way we unwind, or don't. It's exhausting reminiscing about the freedoms we enjoyed last Autumn compared to this one. Last year when we frolicked in and out of cafes for pumpkin spiced drinks unmasked. When I flew to Scotland with a friend and had a week kids-free (still pinching myself!). When our kids birthday parties were allowed to be indoors and no one had ever heard of Microsoft Teams or Zoom. It gets heavy remembering those pre-Covid Autumns, so maybe let's not.  Let's just glory in the small and silly pleasures that Fall affords, like apple picking outside the city and pulling out warmer clothes.

Covid or not, September is still hopeful. Fresh starts abound and new is always exciting (even if it's also scary). The weather is perfectly chilly in the mornings and fresh and sunny most afternoons. The leaves are slowly changing, but we haven't packed away our Birkenstock's just yet. And if you live in our part of the globe, you're going Apple Picking. Like always, we went to La Magie de La Pomme which is about 40 minutes from our home in the heart of the city. 

Speaking of the small pleasures of new fall clothes, Lily and I are wearing mainly thrifted pieces, but Oli and Chloe were treated by Boutique Mini-Cycle to some lovely new clothes recently. Oli is wearing a long sleeve tee, from the iconic Spanish kid's company Bobo Choses and thrifted jeans, and Clover is wearing top to bottom Phil and Phae, a ethically-sourced kid's company based in the Netherlands that I'm in love with! Both of these companies are sold at Boutique Mini-Cycle new and often appear in their re-cycle (used) section too. High quality clothes may cost more, but as I've witnessed working at Mini-Cycle's recycle program, they really do last and last, holding up in quality and style for years to come. 

Apple picking was just what the doctor ordered last week. We gloried in all things Fall, eating a picnic lunch and ordering super indulgent apple fritters before climbing apple trees, playing with goats and lambs, and picking enough apples for five apple crisps (my freezer is packed!) 

I think we'll be back to select some choice pumpkins and gourds in the weeks to come. Last Autumn and it's freedoms are a thing of the past, but there is still beauty and delight to be found this season. We're re-learning this every day.  

HOME TOUR 2020 living + dining rooms

As we all heed the expert's advice during the Coronavirus pandemic and STAY HOME!, I've spent more time than usual in these two rooms, which really are one big room. Our home is "open concept" in that the living and dining rooms as well as the kitchen are all openly connected. There are no doors, which helps with limited natural light. Every room (besides bathrooms and bedrooms) being connected also helps our small space feel a bit larger. Over the past month of being mostly home I've thought a lot about the style of my home as I clean and organize and purge items we no longer love or use. What works in my home may not work in yours, or simply just not appeal to you, so I'm not pretending to give advice - simply sharing what I've done and why.

First of all, in such a small, yet open space I felt like we needed to go with one neutral, light colour throughout. I decided on light grey but sometimes wish it was white (and I'll probably choose white for our next home). Either way, the light neutral works and I'm happy with it! 

I also like keeping a decor theme or vibe the same for every room so it's more the style of my home and not room by room. It simplifies everything and I think makes the home seem more calm and organized, though especially these days it's rarely either for long! Pieces you'll find in both rooms often have a lot of white, black, beige, grey, and natural materials such as wild flowers, rocks, paper, and wood. 

Our home is a big mixture of old and new, and I love mixing the two. Some examples of old: my collection of vintage tea cups are all thrifted or were inherited, the 50 and 100 year old hymnals and books of common prayer were thrifted and adorn our shelves and the big thrifted basket on the dining table (which also holds our English and French Bibles), the teak mid-century modern side table in the living room that I bought off Craigslist several years ago, and the knit doily which adorns our round wooden table in the right corner of our dining nook. 

Of course, we do have some new items as well. The Structube metal mirror, our oval dining table and beech wishbone chairs from Montreal furniture store Prunelle (see more about that collaboration and learn more about them here), the white Eames-style chairs from Amazon, the glass hanging pendants in the dining room from West Elm, the Ikea lamps throughout, the round wooden table was a gift from Bois et Cuir, and our white rug in the living room from Rugs.ca. 

As much as I do aim to keep these spaces clean and I love an orderly home (gosh that was easier before the Pandemic brought us all home 24/7!), I want to fill these rooms with useful items. These rooms are for living after all! You'll always find tons of books in both rooms, and the basket of Bibles and hymals never leaves our dining table so we can always grab them. There's always a chess board nearby for Oli and Brad's duals, and the white metal cabinet (Ikea) which supports our TV is full of boardgames. There's also a black metal basket on the floor in the dining room that houses all of our family yearbooks and albums from our trips over the years, which someone always seems to be looking through. 

Let's talk about art. I've collected many pieces over the years, mainly from secondhand shops. My theory is that it takes years to have the art you love and best reflects you, so don't try to rush it. When we first got married I was in such a hurry to make our house put together and "finished" that I threw up anything - regardless of it was my style (what was my style anyway?) or reflected us. The longer I gave myself, the happier I am with the end result. We have never spent a ton on art (I'd love to, we just can't afford to), but I've found some real treasures over the years. The geometric watercolour above our TV was made by me, the South Pole map hanging in the dining room was a gift from Bold Tuesday, the black and white flower sketch on the shelf above my couch was a gift from Juniper Print Shop, as was the pink NYC buildings print, which I had printed by Photo Wall in a collaboration. Juniper Print Shop is a great budget-friendly option which I've used long after our collaboration. You download the prints that you buy, so you can print them to be whatever size you want. Every print is the same price (around $25) and there are so many gorgeous options! On the top shelf above the couch there's a framed book cover that reminded me so much of our neighbourhood. Do you ever buy books just for the cover? When thrifting, I love looking for beautiful old books that I can frame or use as decorations. There's also a print of Eve being comforted by a pregnant Mary that I gave to Brad for Christmas this year, by Scott Erickson.

Adding meaningful touches are what makes a home different from a hotel room, but it's not necessarily my style to have family photos on every wall or a lot of trinkets, so the way I aimed to do this was by adding a few meaningful pieces here and there. The teacups are heirlooms and speak to my deep love for all things British. The pussy willows on the fireplace were picked by my kids last March on a visit to Morgan's family farm. The Eve and Mary print is a remake or an older piece that Brad has loved for years. He's often pulled up the original image online at Christmas or Easter and it's always moved him greatly, so when I saw Scott Erickson's version which fit so well in our home, I knew it would be the perfect gift. The old books and hymnals speak to our faith and the various quotes on our letter board above the couch speaks to our values. I'll also rotate in some small pieces from recent vacations every few months, too. You can see a black sculpture from the Greek Island of Milos.

I do love the "open concept" though it poses some challenges, namely that we're always together and there isn't much alone space! From the front door you can see right through to the back door. From Brad's office, which is in our entryway, you can hear the TV. From the living room you can smell what's cooking in the kitchen. Noise and smells and chaos travel as fast as the children who tear through this home day after day. I'm not trying to complain, just being realistic about what a space like this means. I never want to paint a picture of perfection on here!

Despite the challenges, I do love our small home. We're five people in just over 1,000 square feet, sharing two bedrooms and two bathrooms with no garage or basement, and we truly use every centimeter of space. In 2-3 years we'll be hoping to move to a slightly bigger three bedroom condo in our neighbourhood and will miss this space enormously. Honestly, if we had just one more bedroom and maybe 500 square feet more, I'd want to live here forever!

Up next, a kitchen tour! Thanks for reading and looking!

a Montreal summer (2019)

We're winding down on another glorious Montreal summer and I'm at the same time ready for routine and September and crisp air and a bit of me time (it's been a while!) as well as grieving that our lazy fun soaked days frolicking around our beautiful city without a care in the world are coming to an end.

Days of morning bike rides through the Plateau on our way to tennis, and when we weren't at the local pool we were haunting every nearby splash pad. Days of walking a dozen kilometers when we weren't riding our bikes across the city, and letting that be our justification for regular ice cream shop visits.

Days of discovering new neighbourhoods and packing lunch and not knowing when we'd be home. Days of zoo visits (and using our gifted membership more than I ever thought we could!) and extra time with Brad.

Days where I needed someone to pinch me because Morgan and her family spent all of July living in our neighbourhood and she and I literally spent every day together. Days where six kids and two moms was the norm and we moved in a pack.

Days where we left Montreal for Camp des Bouleaux, a slice of heaven on earth with the dearest families, best teaching, warmest lake, and abundant blessing. Days where we visited family in Wasaga Beach and Fonthill but felt deep down that Montreal would always be home.

These have been the days. It's been wonderful and we won't forget it, but September, give us your best, we're ready.

la Maison Lavande

It's pretty hard to get me to leave the city any time of year, but especially in the summer when there's so much to do and see (and so many local pools to cool off in, too!), but one place you'll never have to convince me to visit is the beautiful Maison Lavande.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend their media soiree and was reminded all over again why I love visiting their lovely property. Frolicking in the lavender fields is attraction enough, but every year their space evolves and they thoughtfully add to both their property and menu. This year there's a massage cabin and relaxing centre under the ceders at the back of the property, the boutique has started offering their cleaning products in bulk, and their menu now boasts savoury and sweet scones (spoiler they're both incredible), lavender frozen yogurt, and healthy rice bowls along with their classic sandwiches, salads, and lemonade.

Maison Lavande is a must visit if you're coming to Montreal or looking for a day out of the city. You're allowed to bring your own picnic and enjoy the idyllic scenery and only pay a small entrance fee. I've been several times over the years and was reminded last week that it is a true gem. I bought some handsoap and essential oil in their boutique, which you can also visit online if you're not lucky enough to visit the family-owned property this summer. Enjoy the purple fields and herby air!

La Maison Lavande

902, Chemin Fresnière

Saint-Eustache (Quebec) J7R 0G4

Open everyday, 10am-5pm

Children 12 and under are always free (love that)

Teens ages 12-17 are $5

Adults are $10

*From August 5-September 1 (low season) everyone may enter for free. 

**All of these photos were taken at the soiree by the talented duo Camille and Guillaume from Our Next Project. Thank you Camille and Guillaume!