be still my heart

I think these might be the most beautiful/high quality items I've ever seen at a Home Sense:

Look at that profile.

149$ each, solid gorgeous wood, four available. Imagining them around a round, black table. Preferably with a sheen, definitely with some brass.

That is all.

vintage vacation: tommy smythe styles

As of last Thursday I'm officially on vacation. A much, MUCH needed vacation. It's been a year since the last time I took more than two days off. I plan to sleep and eat an obscene amount. Truly obscene. I also plan to stuff a years worth of inspiration into two weeks, to tide me over until the next time I unchain myself from my desk . . .

To kick things off, Saturday I made the trek to my parents' place, and yesterday I got to do one of my favourite things in the world: go shopping with my mama. It doesn't matter how old I get, I will always love to wander around looking at trinkets holding that lady's hand.

Part of the day included visiting a couple of Ottawa's best vintage/antique haunts, including my absolute fave - The White Monkey. That shop is filled with so much eye candy it's ridiculous, and is always reasonably priced. Here are just a few of the bits and bobs I was drooling over:

Their lamp collection alone is to die for, and the black shades they use make everything so chic.

I was already feeling a pretty strong Tommy Smythe vibe when I spied these next two pieces at the Ottawa Antique Market:

While they're pretty much a dead ringer for what Sarah Richardson used in her Farmhouse . . .

. . . country just isn't my style. Instead, I would mix a bit of shop one and a bit of shop two and go for this:

Oh Tommy, you kill me every time.

Next stop on the vacation trail? Well, my cottage, but after that is Toronto, so any suggestions for vintage shops choc-full-'o pretties are MORE than welcome! Remember, I seriously need to get my fix . . .

homemint. wtf.

When I first heard that Justin Timberlake was launching a home goods site, I scoffed a good scoff. I like a little JT as much as the next girl/gay (ok, maybe a little more), but that doesn't mean I wanted him hawking me table lamps. Unless he was literally selling a dick in a box, I wasn't buying.

Yesterday, though, the Remodelista published photos of the apartment of his business partner (and designer), Estee Stanley. And the woman has chops. Her home is well-curated, time-worn, globally-inspired and all around awesome. So not what I was expecting . . .

So I caved and checked out HomeMint, and I'll take my crow medium rare please. 

While there are a couple of kitschy/cliche items, for the most part the aesthetic matches that of Stanley's home, and everything is really reasonably priced! The pillows are especially cute, and super mix-and-matchable. 

Here are just a few of my faves:

You should definitely check it out.

I will warn you in advance, though, that there appears to have been an unfortunate oversight in the "dick in box" department. Don't worry, I'm already writing a helpful letter to let them know.

You're welcome.

{photos via Remodilista, products via HomeMint}