Thursday, August 9, 2012

Fifty Shades of Grey....*&#$%@?*

It's the buzz phrase going around this summer. I figured I had better get going on my Fifty Shades, and I will definitely be hitting the bedroom, however not quite the same E.L. James, haha.....
fooled ya !!


I have always loved gray/grey.  I remember I painted a Dining Room in one of my houses back a very long while ago in a fairly dark gray and it really had a warm and dramatic look.  Well, not everyone sees colour the same way,  and my sister-in-law, who never claimed to have any decorating sense, came to visit and asked 'when are you going to do something with that horrible room'.  The former owners had really bad taste!! (in her opinion) Well I wasn't so confident back then in my decorating skills, but I knew I loved it and I was quite sure it didn't look horrible.  A few years later when we sold the house and made a pot of cash, the comments received were extremely positive about the decor, especially the 'grey room'.  Guess she really didn't know much about decorating but she did became a very successful & famous attorney.  Now on to my '50 Shades'............. and the best is at the end!!!




































 









 

















































All are gorgeous but my absolute favourite Shades of Grey are....

One of my former Kitties 'Chloe'             My Grandson Orson
                                                  








Sunday, July 22, 2012

A Magical Wedding

This is the summer of weddings, at least for me!  I love weddings and all the magic.  I recently attended a "Magical Summer Wedding" of a niece and it was so dreamlike.  The bride and her sister pulled off the most incredible event at Knollwood Golf Club, situated in the Ancaster countryside.  It is something out of a fairytale or a magazine that anyone might dream of,  but this was very real!  Situated among the trees with gorgeous views of the surrounding area,  under the twinkling stars it had a lovely and relaxed authentic country charm.

The day started with everyone in a large marquis tent set up to represent the chapel with the most unique 'alter' I have seen.  The groom's parents constructed a latticework structure and as per bride's vision, there were rustic wine barrels on either side with mason jars filled with coloured water and white flowers.  So simple, yet so lovely.  There was also an endearing sign above the structure with the phrase - "This is where our story begins". 

 

 Following the service, guests were shown to the bar area just beyond and scattered amongst the trees where cruiser tables, chairs and wine barrels which were decorated with the same mason jars  filled with flowers as well as some other interesting memorabilia as old washboards leaning against trees, wooden boxes and various other rustic antique pieces which added to the warm and relaxed atmosphere the bride and her sister the event planner were striving for.  She had large tissue paper flower balls hanging from the trees along with solar candles and lanterns.  The bar, under the trees  was offering any type of liquid beverage you could wish for along with the signature wedding cocktail - the 'Marry Me Mojito', and very tasty it was!!  Scrumptious and elegant Hors D'Oeuvres were also served. 
 When the wedding party returned from their photo business, we were led into another extremely large marquis tent where the tables were set up in the same fashion.  Surrounding this space was what was left of an old stone wall, most likely a building as there is a extremely large stone fireplace at one end.  Along the wall which had broken away over the years to be a little zig zaggy, which gave it real character, sat more mason jars with candles inside. 

Upon entering this lovely space we were greeted with a gift from the Bride & Groom set up on a table which had yet more objects of the rustic nature including photos of their parents and grandparents on their own wedding days,  old wooden storage boxes, a blackboard within an old frame with the menu posted and an old window frame on an easel with photos of the Bride & Groom as children.  Really quite a nice way to welcome their guests.  Once inside we could see the millions, ok, hundreds?? thousands?? of mini lights strung everywhere to create a magical experience when the sun went down.


Our tables (below) had old memorabilia including mason jars with the white flowers, old classic books stacked and white lanterns - such character.




  
 
We enjoyed incredible food and then danced the night away under twinkling lights, candles and stars.  What could be better than that on a July night!!  Cait & Cara you did a magnificent job of creating a magical event!!

All the best to Cait and Jay for a wonderful life together and thanks for inviting me to be part of your special day.







CDECA GTA West Chapter Summer Luncheon

June 21st, the beginning of summer was marked by our chapter luncheon. We had a fantastic turnout including several of our fabulous and supportive affiliates. Our venue was Il Fornello, www.ilfornello.com in Oakville and a great time of networking and just catching up was had by all. What a great way to start summer - good friends and good food!!



.