Wow! It's been way too long since I've hosted a giveaway.

Lucky for me, the good people at Shabby Apple are letting me host one.

Don't know about Shabby Apple yet?

It's an online dress boutique that specializes in vintage and retro dresses.

You can click here: vintage dresses to see their selection!

 

Sounds great huh?

I didn't mind taking a moment to pick out 1... or 10 for myself.

But lucky for you, Shabby Apple is giving away a $50 gift card to one of you! 

 

I decided I'd take two of each.

One for my fat days.

One for my skinny days.

The one above just shouts, classy spring dress!

Do you hear it?

 



 

I love black dresses.

Love them I say.

A black vintage dress is just about as perfect as you can get!

Right?



 

Wait.

I was wrong.

White.

I love white.

When I think of summer... I think white.

When I think of beaches... I think white.

A white summer dress is just what I need.

Yes indeed.

 

 

I'm a timeless kind of gal too though.

I love dresses that can roll through the ages and still be classy.

A timeless dress is the key.

 

What's your fancy?

 

To be eligable for this giveway then you have to LIKE Shabby Apple on Facebook.

Then leave me a sweet little comment to let me know that you did so!

 

Want to up your chances of winning?

Leave me another comment to let me know what dress you're drooling over!

 

Please make sure you have a way for me to contact you and that you are a USA resident.

 

Giveaway closes May 27, 2013 at 12AM central time.

 

 

Its Monday morning!  Something to move you, make you laugh, and get your feet tapping.

Shadow Dance Group from Britain's got Talent - Might make you shed a tear.
Hands only CPR with Vince Jones - Just remember "you only kiss your missus on the lips"
Katie Tunstall's Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - Hard to believe its just her, her guitar and a looping peddle - guess what Miss E wants from Santa!

If you only have time for one make it Vince Jones - so funny.

source: DigsDigs

source: From Scandinavia With Love

source: 8FOOTSIX

I've got shelving on the brain, obviously. Our dining room (if you can call it that; I think it's technically more of an "area"), is pretty so-so. We basically stuck some furniture in there and called it a day. Lately, I've been daydreaming about adding built-in shelving - inspired by the images above - on either side of the window. I think it would add some much-needed interest to the space and extra storage in a small space is always a good thing.

Here's an older picture of our dining room so you can visualize along with me (with the exception of a pretty awesome gilded mirror on the wall you can't see and a high-chair, it looks about the same now). I'd like to switch out the light fixture for something larger (and move this one into the bathroom). And because we're planning to replace the flooring and baseboards, I'd like to mount the shelves off the ground - like in the second picture - and extend them all the way to the ceiling.

Now I just need to convince Adam that this project should move to the top of our priority list (alongside my three other "top" projects).

Happy weekend (especially if you're in Canada - it's a long one)!

Here are your links:

-I have trouble believing that even a mature 16 year-old controls "his own agenda", but maybe?
-Kirsten and I have the same dream house.
-I know these are for kids, but is it wrong to want one for myself? I'm only half-kidding.
-An illustrated guide to shorts.
-They forgot old school pencil sharpeners. Also, I don't remember my school having any left-handed scissors.
-I want to go to here. And now I wonder what they're serving.

I'm still at my Mom's house and I'm having a blast. I'm feeling so relaxed. Having a set of hands around to help with Oscar is the nicest treat. Whether it is my Mom, Brother, Sister, soon to be Sister in Law, or Aubrey who comes up at night to help, I'm not short of someone to lend a hand or just be a playmate for the little guy. I also adore having the company of family - there have been a lot of laughs and wedding talk as we get closer to my brother's wedding next September.

My Mom has a pool and Oscar and I have been swimming daily. My Mom has taken Oscar out on a few occasions to do some grocery shopping and encouraged me to just go for a walk and get a coffee - solo. Moments like that are really, really appreciated. I'm a little sad to move home because the support, and the fun that we're having will be greatly missed. Ok, all of that being said,  I need to clarify that I'm a 15-20 minute drive from my Mom's house so I shouldn't be overly dramatic about moving home because I see my family all the time. :)

In other news (*there isn't much news happening here lately) Mom and I went to HomeSense today and I quickly peeked at their kids art section to see what was new and I did a little happy dance (as I tend to do) when I saw that my Spring/Summer collection was on the shelves. A lot of my art is inspired by Oscar or sayings I say to Oscar - so I sometimes want to buy them all to put in his room. But I have to refrain from that as I have zero wall space left for art. Oscar excitedly exclaimed "See Mommy's art!?", which made my heart swell.

So back to the reason why I've camped out at my Mom's house --- our bathroom reno. The bathroom is at the tiling stage - although we had hoped that I would move back to a finished washroom, I'm going to move back next week even though it's not totally done. I'm in vacation mode at my Mom's --- and unfortunately I think it's time I got back to reality. (Booooo)

Last night I went to a Summer Preview at West Elm, had dinner with Debra, which I'll show you some pictures of next week. Anyhow, that's really all that has been happening. Oh, and maybe a lot of this...

(A lot of teaching Oscar that we have to be nice to Andrew. Yes. The cat's name is Andrew)

We recently built our own home, something I always dreamed of doing.  We didn't just build, no "surprise!" we had a baby too.  It was a HUGE year.  We learned a lot, we cried a lot, we didn't sleep a lot, but in the end I love my new home and expanded family - a lot!
So when Stocklands asked me to share my top ten building tips I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share my experience with other home builders.  Stocklands are in the business of making your dream of building your own home a reality, so its a perfect combination of their goals and my personal experience.    

1.  Make an inspiration board & study the details
With Pinterest inspiration boards have never been so easy, but go old school with a paper file if that works better for you.  Make a different board for each area of the house: kitchen, bathroom, living room, laundry, playroom, whatever you are building.

Once you have pinned all your favourites take a step back and study them all together.  You will start to see a theme running through your selections.  Spot the similarities and study the details and make sure you include these key elements in your final design.  This is a sample of my kitchen board - no surprises that I have a black kitchen island, marble top, wood floors and white walls.

2.  Work with an interior designer or architect in the concept stage
Consult an expert to get your spaces and flow working well before the build starts.  This is an investment well worth making if you want to get it right first time and you want a polished look!  Make your inspiration boards first, they will make it much easier to explain the look and feel you are aiming for.
This is the time to talk about storage and where it should be, light sources, types of lighting, even the position of the light switches.  Be specific about how you plan to use spaces, the flow from indoors to outdoors, and where your north light comes from.
3.  Create a sample pack and take it everywhere
Try decide on all major finishes in the concept stage: floors, bathroom tiles, kitchen joinery colours and countertops.  Collect samples of all items and put them in a box in the back of your car.  As you select other finishes make sure they tie in with the elements you have already decided on.  A limited palette of complimentary materials will give your design good continuity and stronger visual impact.

4.  Make a non-negotiable list
Unless you have a bottomless wallet you are going to have to make budget choices somewhere.  Decide on your non-negotiable list upfront, for me it was my bathroom tiles and wooden floors.  When you need to cut costs make them elsewhere first, this way you end up with the items you really want.

5.  Use the same fittings throughout 
Choose the same taps for all your bathrooms, use the same floor finishes throughout the house,  apply a consistent colour palette in all your finishes.  Continuity will make your house feel well designed, and buying in bulk is a good opportunity to negotiate a good price.

6.  Make your cash work harder
- Shop around for the best prices, locally and online.
- Never get less than three quotes for any job or item.
- Ask for discounts when you buy, tell the retailer you are building and could be coming back for more supplies.  
- Shop at auctions for really good deals, we bought solar panels with installation for a great price on Grays Online. 

7.  Ask for recommendations
All our best trades, our builder, and many of our suppliers were recommended by people who had also built or rennovated.  There is no substitute for a personal reference.
This also applies to the many professionals you will need certificates from like engineers, certifiers, garden designers & traffic authorities.

8.  Plan, plan and plan some more
Graph paper just became your best friend.  Draw out your rooms, measure the furniture and draw them onto your floor plan.  Do elevations of the kitchen and built in joinery.  Its not hard, you just need a ruler, graph paper and your measurements.  Your builder will think you are crazy but you will get a preview of what the space will look like, and it will help you to be very specific about what you want. 

With a detailed plan there is no room for error, you know what you are getting and the builder knows exactly what to do.  You want to get it right the first time, undoing building work costs time and money and is the fastest way to go over budget and over schedule.
When I designed the bathrooms I specified everything from the exact position of the taps to the starting point in the tile pattern, the end result was just as I planned it.

9.  Stick to your guns
If I had a dollar for every time a trade or supplier told me "it can't be done that way" I would be a millionaire.  Trades like to do what is easiest and what they know best.  This often does not tie up with the image you saw in a glossy magazine.
A friend gave me sage advice, "if you make the choice you can live with it being your mistake, if you were talked into something you didn't want the end result will frustrate you for ever".

10.  Read your contract in detail before you sign it
Make sure your building contract is very detailed, it needs to include specifics of every fitting and finish choice, the electrics and plumbing plans down to the position of every light switch and plug point, and labour for every aspect of the job.  You want to be sure the quote includes everything you want.  This is your final opportunity to check that your budget is on target.  If you have planned well there shouldn't be to many surprises.

Take your time and make sure each line item is right before you sign.  Once you have signed every change is called a variation, and you are charged an adminstration cost for every variation made.  This is a very preventable cost you can keep to a minimum.

Building is a huge investment in capital, time and emotional energy and it is absolutely worth taking the time to get things right the first time.
It really doesn't matter how big or small your build is, what matters is that you are happy with the end result.

This post is 100% me but was brought to you in partnership with Stockland.  If you are looking for inspiration for your dream home, take a look at Stockland’s land packages or browse around for land sales in NSW, Victoria, Queensland or Western Australia.