fiddle leaf fig

I do not have a green thumb. Not even a little bit. I only own one plant for that very reason, and last night while sitting on my couch trying to get some work done (after a whirlwind couple of weeks) I noticed that it was looking even more pathetic than usual. Which is saying a lot. Mr. Planty Plant is so droopy and forlorn that I actually feel sorry for him. 

Not sorry enough to not want to throw him away and replace him though! Now that he's almost dead I have an excuse right? (Hopefully I will be better to my real children someday). Suffice it to say I probably shouldn't be taking on any more plant friends, but I have wanted a fiddle leaf fig tree for a super long time, and when I saw this pic of Anna Burke's apartment in the last edition of Lonny it cemented that love in a serious way. Nothin's gonna stop us now. No, nothin'. 

Sorry Mr. Planty Plant, but you're better off without me anyway. No really, you really are.

I don't know what it is about this particular plant, but it is just so graceful and dramatic. I love how big and swoopy they get! Of course those are the healthy, taken care of ones . . .

Marion of the Marion House Book, who I find insanely inspirational, uses them all over her house:

The following are Grant K. Gibson, unknown, Modern 24/7 and Grant again!

And a little drool-worthy Elle Decor thrown in for good measure:

I will find this plant. I will find it and I will kill it. Out of love.

why won't you take my money

See this pretty little lady?

Well last weekend when I visited New York I told myself I was gonna pick her up like she was a cougar drinking alone at the bar. I need a new rug for my living room, and West Elm is having a 15% off rugs sale at the moment. That brought the 5 by 8 to 84$. Add on the in store discount I can usually talk myself into by showing my "student card" (I work at a University, it's so close to the same thing...) and I was going to get her for about 75$ including taxes. Super cute and cheap as dirt = the winning combination.

The only problem? After prancing into West Elm and trying to resist the urge to buy everything in sight (seriously, those close to one might be sick of West Elm, but to me it's crack), I found out that citron is an online-only colour. In fact, the only one of the colours that is online-only.

Of course.

Of course my Canadian ass would want the only colour I can't have . Apparently even if a ridiculously sweet sales associate is trying everything to get you that rug (calling other stores, trying to buy online on your behalf, etc), there is absolutely no way that they will ship rugs to Canada. I literally cannot give them my money. I cannot exchange my currency for their goods. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love my health care but sometimes . .  .

nyc bound

I'm on my way there in a couple of hours. Haven't been since I was 12. I leave with suggestions from amazing friends, A CUP OF JO's guides, and a heart full of excitement. I'll come back after three days of wandering with no money, beautiful beautiful things, and hopefully a heart full of joy.

See you then.

sunshine for the soul

So life is taking a bit of a shit on me lately. It's emotional/personal stuff, but I'm the kind of girl who manifests stress physically in a major kind of way, so its been making me pretty genuinely sick too. Like head over a garbage can as discreetly as possible while I'm at work kind of sick. Wah wah, sob story.

Suffice it to say I haven't been the best blogger in the whole wide world of late, but I've decided to give myself a pass on this one. I've also decided to self-medicate with a salted caramel, praline and brownie ice cream called Brouhaha (from a company called Bilboquet. It's my fave). No regrets. I think it might actually be humanly impossible to regret anything called Brouhaha. It's at least Elyse-ingly impossible.

I am distracting myself with a bit of photo shoot planning since our next one is coming up fast, and I came across a recent styled wedding on the Everygirl (one of my favourite blogs) that I had to share. It's not only how I want our shoot to feel, but it's also how I want my heart to feel.

There are few things that can heal, or at least soothe, like a moment of calm in the sun. I just want to sit at that table and let the breeze float over me.

Here's to the summer.

ridiculously impressive before and after

In perusing my daily blog reads today I came across an INSANE transformation on the marion house book. Before and after's are a dime a dozen, but I especially love this one because it's so achievable. None of the materials look uber expensive (or at the very least I know you can find similar ones at prices that won't break the bank), and  it's a real testament to the amazingness that you can achieve with paint, tile and new hardware. You don't always need to rip things out and start from scratch to make the finished product look AWESOME.

Here's a little sneekity peek:

Classy and not a lobster dinner kinda date. My kinda lady.

Check out the rest on the marion house book!

painting chaos

Ever spend over 100$ on paint samples only to pick a colour that you end up HATING once it's on your walls? No? Just me? Well that's exactly what just happened to me over the weekend.

I thought I wanted something like Angie Hranowsky did in this amazing bedroom:

But in my place it just ended up looking like I was living in this guy:

No joke. Immediate thing that came to mind. It was HORRIBLE. Would have been nice for a smaller room, but not my whole place. Egads.

So I cut my losses and, at the suggestion of a friend, primed over everything to give myself a blank canvas to test on. And you know what? The white on the walls has made the place look so much bigger, and has made me realize that I need a really light colour for these rooms.

Something like a midway point between these guys, but erring towards the bluer one:

The lesson of the day (or weeks, if we're counting)? Don't test paint over your old colour because it just won't work. Which is a stupidly simple thing to have to learn this hard. How is it that I'm an OCD perfectionist and the queen of trying to cut corners all at the same time?

days that i hate being canadian

There really are few things that can make me hate being from where I'm from, because I'm a pretty damn proud Canuck. I love this country. It's amazing. This is the land that Poutine came from. 'Nuff said.

But all the beautiful shit we miss out on because of stores that aren't in Canada or don't ship here or ship for more than the items themselves cost make me lose my mind a little bit. Oh the things I could do with access to some of that pretty!

So when I heard about Nate Berkus's new line for Target I got instantly insanely excited and then almost as instantly insanely sad. Le sigh. Some of the items previewed are amazing and I want I want I want!

Like these bowls

Or these pillows

Or most most most of all, this snakeskin and raw wood box with gold hardware

INSANE! That box is inspired.

The prices start at 5.99 and go to 149.99. That's actually affordable. Not even "I'm justifying this" affordable.

See why I'm so upset that this is out there but that I can't get my paws on it? No one else can either until October when it's launched in stores, but that is little consolation...

Here's a little video about the line in which you can see a few more of the pretties (including the pretty that is Nate himself). Anyone else notice that white faux tortoise shell on the wall? Yup. I may have to hitch a ride to the States for that bad boy.

Happy weekend ladies and gents!

photo shoot styling: winter wedding

The inspiration for this shoot came when I was busy planning the last one. Scouring a rental website for props, I came across an antique wing back chair with dark, curvy wooden legs and plush emerald-velvet upholstery. I was in love. It was pure elegance - quietly glamorous and luxurious yet incredibly cozy and inviting. I immediately pictured it in a bank of snow with a glowing bride perched on top, enveloped in a sea of tulle.

While the chair itself didn’t end up making it into the shoot (logistics, logistics), the feel of it was everywhere, from the rich woodwork and warm glow of the chandeliers, to the traditional-with-a-twist Kenneth Pool gown. The cherry on top was definitely the beautiful cake created by Cathy, aka the Cake Whisperer. The ruffles, the gold accents, the deep emerald colour . . . could it be more elegant? Even better? Cat is just one of those people you can't help but like right away, and we knew pretty fast that we had found the perfect baking partner in crime!

The amazing new faces surrounding us didn't stop there though. First, we were so lucky to have real-life newlyweds Sarah and Peter stand in as our models. They could not have been kinder, more patient, or more visibly head over heels in love. We also got to work with our amazing friend Jenn, who is the talent behind the bride's flawless makeup, and who helped us with everything from putting together bouquets to topping hot chocolate with whipped cream! She was a godsend. Big love hun.

Finally, Dal's husband Brian joined her in photographing the shoot. I love that their style is so in sync, and that she's clearly even more in her element when he's around. It's pretty beautiful to see, really.

I feel like I was surrounded by nothing but love at this shoot, and that it really came across in the photos. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy just looking at them, despite the fact that it took place on one of the coldest days of the winter. I hope you feel the same.