Lighting

How do you Live? Exhibit

Gresham House. Greshamhousefurniture.com

AM Studio - amstudio.ca

AM Studio. amstudio.ca

AM Studio

Outdoor Living

How do you live? Exhibit

Sung Outdoor. sungoutdoor.com

Eliile Lounge. Eliile.com

Andrew Richard Designs. andrewricharddesigns.com

Hauser Designs. Hausterstores.com

Kitchens

Dee Dee Taylor Hannah. taylorhannaharchitect.ca

Bloomsbury Fine Cabinetry. bloomsburydesign.com

The BlogPodium panel: from L to R: Lindsay Stevenson, Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault, Jennifer Flores, Kimberley Sheldon, Kate Moore, Margot Austin (my apologies for the fuzzy cellphone picture)

• Margot Austin - Senior Design Editor - House & Home magazine
• Kimberley Seldon - Editor in Chief - Dabble magazine, and Design Editor - Chatelaine magazine
• Kate Moore - Producer - CityLine
• Jennifer Flores - Blogger and co-founder of BlogPodium
• Moderated by: Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault - CityLine Guest Expert

The discussions were incredibly interesting - here is some of what the panel had to say:

• A good blog has an original voice,and original ideas.
• Don't just post pictures and say 'wow - this space is awesome' - explain why you think it's a great space.
• Don't let your blog get too serious - blogging is about content and entertainment.
• Make use of all forms of Social Media - you need exposure along with great ideas to grow your blog.
• If you dream of being invited to do a guest spot on a design show include video on your blog so producers of shows can see the real you.
• Set a good regular schedule for posting - 3 to 4 posts a week - once is not enough(eeps!)
• Try to keep you posts to under 500 words (Double eeps!)
• If pitching your idea - consider the vehicle - know the audience - if the magazine features mostly homes decorated by professional designers using high-end products they probably won't be interested in your DIY projects.
• Editing is key - stick to your core message.
• If you use the work of others in your blog (photographers, designers, etc), always, always credit the source.

The panel made some excellent points, and I will try to work on some of them: posting 3-4 times a week and keep posts to about 500 words - both of which will be really hard.

The original building at the corner of Queen and Bathurst (image source: Citytv.com)

The building now housing CB2 was first built in 1878, and originally housed a Masonic temple on the upper floors. Seventy years later the mansard roof was removed and it became the Holiday Tavern. In the 1990's the building became known as the Big Bop - a live music venue that saw the likes of Billy Talent and Alexisonfire play its stages before they 'made it' and moved on to larger venues. While the Big Bop was famous in Toronto as a music venue, it was infamous for its garish purple exterior.

The Big bop's Purple Exterior (Image source: Citytv.com)

The opening night party was a crush of people enjoying the new space and, if they are anything like me, coveting the furnishings and accessories that until now were only available to Canadians by crossing the border or shopping online. Here are a few of the items that caught my eye. 

CB2 - Idle/Go clock - $149

If I needed a new pendant I'd have a hard time choosing between these:

Upcycle ($249) and Victory ($179)Pendant lights

Love this - but where could I put it?

Ostriches Print - $299

Versus Galvanized Trunk - $179

I think perhaps this lamp will eventually end up in my living room:

Twine Floor lamp ($229) and Parlour Atomic Orange chair ($799)and Ottoman ($449)

Love these acrylic shelves. I think they'd be neat in a bathroom or kitchen:

Format Acrylic shelves - Cube ($30) and Shelf ($80)

Love both of these displays. I prefer the look of the gold, but my wallet would prefer the glass ones:

Whirly hanging candleholder - $5ea, Ous hanging candleholder - $100ea.

4-some vase - $10ea., 3-ring vase - $20ea.

It was nice to see this:

Toronto History preserved - the old Big Bop sign

I'll be returning in the next few weeks to purchase some (or maybe all) of these:

Labra hold 5 candleholder - $25ea., Coup clover pillow - $35ea., Tread bowl - $35ea.

For those of you in or near Toronto, CB2 is giving away a shopping card worth $500 every day until February 29th to celebrate the opening of their first international store so there's even more incentive to come check out the store.

Happy Blogiversary to me! (image via thecupcakeblog.com)

1st post - January 10, 2011 - The Beginning (What an original title!)

1st comment - January 26th,2011 (Thanks Dad!)

1st International subscriber - April 7th, 2011 (From Texas, USA)

1 - Number of computers that died in pursuit of this blog

25th Post - May 3, 2011

38 - Most comments on one post: DIY - Dollarstore White Lion Bookends

50th Post - November 2, 2011

63 - Number of blog posts (including this one)

100th comment - October 10, 2011

268 - The number of pictures I've uploaded

673 - Number of views my blog had on its busiest day - December 27, 2011

2859 - Number of views (to date) of my most popular post: DIY - Dollarstore White Lion Bookends

23,753 - The total number of views my blog had at 12am today.

Freakin Never Ending To Do list via Etsy

This year I wasn't going to resolve to change anything - mostly because I've realised that like a lot of other people my normal resolutions (like go to the gym) fall by the wayside long before spring arrives. This year I've decided to do something different - I'm going to talk about them.

1. Repair (or have repaired) the ceiling in the dining room.
2. Paint the walls in the dining room
3. Spruce up the kitchen
4. Get some additional storage for the dining room
5. Come up with a better furniture layout for the living room
6. Finish my dresser project
7. Paint the living room a colour other than white.
8. Get actual window coverings for the bedroom, living room and dining room
9. Get or make some art for the walls
10. Actually hang the art on the walls!
11. Get a rug for the foyer that can fit under the door when it opens.
12. Get bedside tables that are not two different sizes.
13. Get a prettier TV console
14. Add some more storage to living room
15. Purge my bookcase
16. Paint my bedroom
17. Get a rug for my bedroom.
18. Refinish those chairs I bought last spring . . .
19. Install my dining room light
20. Remove doors into dining room and living room.
21. Get more lighting for the living room

I'm also going to share some goals I'd like to reach when it comes to this blog:

1. Consider a move from wordpress.com to wordpress.org
2. Learn to take better photographs
3. Increase average posts a week from 1 to 2.
4. Reach 100,000 views (Currently at 22,000)

Okay, maybe I'll toss in some personal ones too.

1. Start taking my lunch to work EVERY DAY (okay, 4 out of 5 days)
2. Get back into running, and do at least one 10K race in 2012
3. Buy myself flowers every so often 'just-because'

So there they are - my resolutions, goals and to-do lists for 2012. I'm going to try to report on my progress periodically, and hopefully I'll soon be able to start crossing things off.