A Nook for Baby

As crazy as it is for me to believe, we're less than a week away from our due date!

I can't remember when exactly my nesting instinct kicked in, but it's definitely in high gear now :) I've been working little by little on the nursery for the last few months, there are still a few details to pull together so I'll share that when I can. In the meantime though baby will be rooming in with us in this cozy little corner :) 

I love love LOVE our bassinet. I fell so hard for it online (at PB), but considering we'd need a crib down the line, the price tag was not happening. Then when I finally considered the splurge, I found out they're no longer sold in Canada - or even shipped here! Weird right? I scoured craigslist for weeks while seriously debating the one by Restoration Hardware (and elaborately rationalizing the price in my crazy pregnant brain :), until I finally found this one on Kijiji - definitely one of those clouds parting angels singing moments! And bonus - it was generously gifted to us by family :) We've left the skirt and bumper off for now, I kind of like it with the bottom exposed? Best part is that we can roll it next to our bed at night for easy access during midnight feedings. 

Can't wait to meet this little bun...and be a mom (I know, right?!)! 

Sneak Peek - Turkish Tiles

In the mad dash to get ready for baby, we finally got started on our Turkish tile project. Here' a little sneak peek!

Turkish tiles obviously have nothing to do with baby prep, but if we didn't do it now we wouldn't get to it for months..or even years :) We still have to finish the frame and figure out how on earth to hang this thing (it's HEAVY!), but I'm super excited at the progress. Updates soon!

Basement Bath Reveal!

So it's been like 7 months since I first posted about installing the shower in our basement bath, talk about a drawn out reno! Truth be told all the major work was done back in March, but between being preggers and the fact that we don't really use that bathroom ourselves (it's for the in-laws when they're here, or other guests) we didn't get around to painting and caulking or the other finishing touches until the end of July - as in the day before my MIL was coming to town :) In fact, I was quickly snapping these after shots just as she arrived, while she patiently waited to actually use the bathroom :)

Here's how the room looked before:

Perfectly fine as is, but with only one tub in the house we really wanted to put in a shower, which also meant gutting the floor and ripping apart the walls. The wall to the left was shared with a storage closet, so we cut into that to install the new (huge!) shower.

This is pretty much the most luxurious space in our whole house. I'm so wishing it was our upstairs shower!


























I originally picked out a gorgeous marble subway tile and chair rail for the walls, but after a lot of urging from our handyman we kept it simple with these larger travertine tiles and a marble mosaic on the floor - slightly less expensive and a lot less maintenance for a guest bath.

At first I wasn't really feeling just how much the colours varied in the stone, but now I actually really love it. The bench was a nice added feature too - just that small added detail makes the shower feel super-fancy.

We repeated the same travertine tiles in a diagonal on the bathroom floor, and also gave the room a fresh coat of 'chocolate froth' by Behr (which is reading so grey in these terribly lit photos but is actually a warm greige). The pretty new towel rods and paper holder are from Homesense - I love their selection of bath accessories and I find the prices so much more reasonable than big box stores. We did salvage the toilet and vanity because they were pretty much brand new, although I really want to give the vanity a little makeover at some point. Once the vanity's painted out the new mirror (which i love!) hopefully won't look so out of place. 

But it'll likely be a long while before that happens - for now we're calling it done!

A Mughal-Themed Bridal Shower!

My brother-in-law is getting married to the loveliest girl ever, and a few weeks ago her friends threw her a really fun Mughal-themed bridal shower in our home. The girls were decked out in gorgeous outfits and jewels, the food was delish, and the games were super cute. And naturally, my part in the party planning was a little decorating :)

I used whatever I had on hand (between myself and some stuff borrowed from my Mum) so to be honest I’m not sure how ‘Mughal’ the décor really was, but I think it had an overall eastern-ish vibe.   

The main focal wall was draped with rich fabrics in jewel tones – an old bedspread & curtains, some fabric from my own wedding, and a sari. I added a few accessories and also a little seating area. (There's a peek in the corner at my formerly bald fiddle leaf fig which started sprouting new leaves! But only from one stem - any tips to encourage growth?)

Red & pink tissue poms, my fave go-to décor, added some fun colour around the room.

I didn't have nearly enough seating so we lined the room with tons of cushions and pillows – I found those velvet emerald ones on clearance at Pier one awhile ago and have been hoarding them ever since, I’ll find a spot to use them someday :)  

I forgot to snap any pics of all the fab food the girls brought but these rosette cupcakes were too cute to miss – and they were so good! Don’t ask me how many I ate :)

Now we’re getting ready for a house full of family and a whirlwind of wedding festivities in the coming weeks – I’m SO excited I can hardly wait!

Babymooning in Istanbul

My husband had some time off last month between finishing school and returning to work, so we took the opportunity to visit one of my all-time favourite cities: Istanbul! 

Sunrise over the Blue Mosque

It was probably one of our last chances to get away just the two of us before baby, so we wanted to make the most of it. We loved it. It was breathtakingly beautiful and SO much fun and so spiritually uplifting too. 

This was my second time in Istanbul (the first was a mother-daughter trip just before I got married :) and I love everything about the city – the eastern charm & tradition mixed with western comforts, the little cobblestone streets and alleyways, the skyline sprinkled with towering minarets, and most especially the people. Their hospitality was unlike anything I’ve experienced as a tourist before. I can’t count the number of apple teas I was offered (or how many I actually drank :), and more than once we ended up spending hours with people we just asked for directions. Everyone was just so sincerely warm - other than one unfortunate encounter with pickpockets!

By far the best part for us was the spiritual energy of the city. The mosques were incredible, some of the most magnificent I’ve ever seen, but more than that were the prayers and dhikr and recitation of Quran that filled them. There were too many sacred sites & relics for us to possibly visit in one week, but everywhere we did go was packed full of locals and foreigners alike making ziyarah. It was indescribably beautiful :) 

Suleymaniye Mosque

Eyup Sultan Mosque

Blue Mosque interior and courtyard

And of course I found bits of design inspiration everywhere I looked! Between the grand architecture of the mosques and palaces and the gorgeous ceramics and textiles lining the street shops I was in design heaven :) 

 

Our fave little shop in the Grand Bazaar

I indulged my love of blue and white in a few bowls and vases, plus a huge tile set that I can’t wait to put together! My other mini-splurge was a small Turkish kilim – haven’t found a home for it yet but I’m thinking of turning it into a wall hanging.  

It was the perfect mix of spiritual retreat and touristy fun, with a little dusting of romance for good measure :) Not to mention the incredible cuisine – my growing bump fell in complete love with iskander kabob! Here's hoping we can go back again someday soon, with baby!