Nope... I refuse to admit I have a shopping problem!

FIRST WORLD PROBLEM!  I ran out of closet space for my dresses.  Now that you have read those first two sentences, please don't think I am completely vain.  Some think I have a shopping problem and I refuse to admit I have one.  I like to think of it as a hobby.  Yes,  a shopping hobby! 

The thing is, when I am out looking around I dont see just a shirt, or pant or scarf.  I see the whole canvas of art that I want to make my master piece and I get inspired.  However, my inspiration has left me with very little room.  So, the person that I am will find a solution to any problem.   I create my own space.  All I needed was some ribbon and a curtain rod.  Simple!

 First, hang ribbon from ceiling. Then measure both sides and make a knot.  You want to make sure both sides knots are the at the same length so your rode wont be crooked.

 Then loop through your curtain rod.  I made a little bow because they're just too cute!

Lastly, place the clothes you want on.  I also added an additional center ribbon for support.

One other thing I did was take out my closet doors and hang curtains with some pull backs.  This gave me more room without having lost space when the doors are open.

Creativity was knocking on my door...

So, I moved over a year ago into a new home and I still really wasn't unpacked.  All I really had unpacked were my clothes and other necessities.  That was for a couple of reasons: first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in Calgary and thought of moving somewhere spectacular, and second, I hate unpacking. 

However, there was something inspiring about this year.  I felt motivated and tired of the couch potato life style and knew I needed to do something.  I am a Gemini, so it was so unlike my character to be so lazy.  During this "rediscovery" of myself and remembering what I like, I fell back in love with the city that once had my heart.  So, it was time to commit to where I was and unpack because I am not going anywhere.

My china hutch sat empty for a year.  It collected dust like all the books I was attempting to read.  Due to the lack of space, I knew this gorgeous storage space would no longer hold the Kate Spade crystal it once had.  This time it was something else.  It is now my space for all the beautiful things that longer collected dust.  Just because it has the title "China Hutch" didn't mean that that's all it was going to be in my vocabulary.  It holds things from my travels, places and things that inspire my "bucket" list, photos and memories.  Its my motivational shrine now!

My wild Saturday night

You know you're getting old when your Saturday night consists of shopping for the perfect side table.  Yes, that's what I did this fine Saturday evening.  Instead of going out for Girls Night, I was driving around store to store looking for some accessories for my reading area.

During this adventure, I did find something amazing.  No, it wasn't what I was looking for but, maybe better?  I found a new store called Bouclair Home.  I can say I died and went to Heaven.  What I loved about it was not just the price, but the great selection of product and colour.  No, its not another Bed, Bath and Beyond which is full of overly priced and over stocked merchandise.  Bouclair has beautiful curtains, pillows, duvet covers, pictures, lamps and decorations.  The layout was easy to shop, clean, tidy and staff were helpful.  While I was there, I had someone ask me if I had any questions.  Yes, customer service in a home store with value pricing still exists in Calgary.  Unlike a picked through, over stuffed Home Sense department with no one to help you. 

Bouclair is a great place if you're price conscious but want expensive looking items.  When comparing prices to Bed, Bath and Beyond its not significantly less however you do get more.  For example, comparing curtains; Bed Bath and Beyond sells theirs up to $89.99 for just one panel.  Similar panels with the same fabrication sells for $65 for 2 panels at Bouclair.  Need I say more?

So, if you just moved into that beautiful new home and are on a budget, Bouclair is the right place for you.  They have 2 locations:  West Hills and Beacon Hill.  Hours of operation are a bonus, too.  Check them out and you will be pleased.

This is what I think of at 11 pm at night

Lately, I haven't been able to go to bed at a decent hour.  I wish I could say its because I suffer from insomnia or even sleep apnea.  However, its usually because I find something interesting on TV and of course I have to stay up and watch it.  If I don't, my mind wont settle and all I will think about is if Ron and Sammie made-up again, or what Michael gets up to on repeats of the Office and even ancient episodes of Law & Order SVU. 

This time it wasn’t TV keeping me up.  Instead, it was my infatuation of completing the look of my reading area.  Ironic enough, reading relaxes me and I fall asleep no problem.  So, this reading area is essential to my ease and rest, not just because it looks super cute.  I also have been wanting to do a project with frames.  So, 11 pm and I am up nailing frames to a wall.  I really enjoy getting a kick of creativity at this hour (sarcasm). 

Again, I used inexpensive Ikea frames with pictures of vacations, family and friends.  I also did find a great Picasso print from Michaels Arts & Crafts store for $10.  Michaels has some great prints, however you have to have the patience to want to look through them all.  But you wont leave disappointed. 

Please don’t think that this cozy area is finished.  This is just the start.  I will be looking for some other pieces to add.  So, keep your eyes peeled for an update on this late hour project.

I love Ikea... Sometimes

I bought a dresser from Ikea that I have had my eye on for some time.  Its simple, has lots of space, and of course, is pretty.  However, there was something that did bother me, and I couldn't figure it out.  It was when my best friend, Christina, purchased the exact dresser, that at the exact same moment we both blurted out "It needs crystal knobs".  Yes, I am obsessed with crystal knobs.  Its an amazing way to elevate to look of something that cost next to nothing.  So, we journeyed to the local Home Depot and purchased some knobs for $8 a piece.  I only replaced the top four knobs with crystal knobs and the rest I replaced with chrome knobs.  It was such an easy change to complete the look and feel of my bedroom.

This is what I think of when I should be working...

Back in November, I had a quarter life crisis and quit my career in Fashion only to go to a job where I answered the phone, took appointments and stared at a computer screen for 8 hours a day.  I hated life.  I have recently learned that my personality type does not get any satisfaction from a job, as such.  It now explains why it only took me two and a half month to lose my mind.  My thoughts would wonder and I would go to websites and come up with wild ideas for projects that I could do (ex: China hutch).  It also didn't help that I had a 32" flat screen TV beside my desk playing HGTV.

My mind was never stopping.  All I could think of were things that I can do with the house I was living in.  I was dissatisfied with my job and not at all happy with the house I was residing in.  I could only fix one... the house.  What I really wanted to do was gut out the whole place and renovate every inch of it, and maybe I would be happy.  Only, that required money which I had a lack of due to the recent decision to change careers.  Good one, Vanessa!  So, the impatient me had to learn that I cant have it all.  I would have to take baby steps.  The first thing that needed to change was the fire place.  Why, you ask?  I don't know.  Maybe because it was this grandeur part of the living room that needed to make a statement?  Or, maybe because it was only going to cost about $30 to do and I despised the mid 1990's renovations the previous owners completed?  I haven't decided, yet.

It really wasn't difficult to do, but it was a giant mess.  As I would spread the stain around with a t-shirt rag, the drops would fall on the plastic, that my feet would step on, which would then go all over the carpet.  So, needless to say, it wasn't as clean as I had anticipated.  The process overall wasn't challenging.  I would say the only thing that I was not excited about, was waiting for this gorgeous fire place to dry so I can spray the matte finish all over it.  It took a good 24 hours to dry, then I was able to place all the pretty, little trinkets on top of the mantel.  Et voilà!

I might not be an actual princess, but it doesn't mean I shouldn't feel like one!

I will admit that I am absolutely jealous of Kate Middleton... Sometimes.  Do I want paparazzi following me all the time, all the eyes of the world watching my every move, or even the fate of a monarchy in my hands having to produce an heir to the thrown?  No, thank you!  However, I am envious of the fact that she will have the liberty to enjoy all the beautiful Victorian antique pieces, in Buckingham Palace.  Though, I may not live in the Buckingham Palace, I certainly can make an easy piece of furniture feel like it.

No, its not a Victorian era chair however, my inspiration came from that era by using a Demask jacquard fabric. It was a day I was wasting time at Fabric Land and came across this long roll of upholstery fabric.  It was $20 a meter, but wait!  Since I am a Fabric Land member, I reaped the reward of the exclusive offer of 50% for members only with additional 20% off!  Can't go wrong.  So I bought 4 meters of it.  I had no clue why I needed so much, but I needed it.  Who knows?  What if I had to have it everywhere in the house and when I went back to Fabric Land, it would be sold out?  I would be devastated.  I would have sleepless nights because all I would think about is how I should have bought 4 meters.  Did I mention that I am a little bit of a Shopaholic?

About 6 months later, I finally figured out what I wanted to use 1.5 meters out of the 4 meters for.  You see, I have this adorable vanity table from Ikea that needed an adorable chair to go with it.  I also had this boring chair from Ikea, I got for free, that I had a vision for.  I did at some point feel the need to throw out this blasé chair, but in the back of my mind, this chair was destined for greatness.

One Saturday afternoon, in front of the TV, I worked away at making this chair fulfill the destiny it was meant to endeavor.  With some extra foam, a staple gun and my Sears sewing machine, it would be the story of the ugly duckling turning into the beautiful swan.  Now, every morning as I sit in my chair at the vanity, applying my make-up, I can close my eyes and imagine how it would feel to be Princess Kate in her Buckingham Palace.