yay summer parties!

It is summer time! The weather is just so wonderful and with a few weekends of celebrating {Bloomer birthdays and Baby showers!} coming up I thought I'd share some nifty ideas I've discovered that methinks might make an appearance at our get togethers!

I really like this lemonade idea. For J Bloom's shower we are already going to have an old-fashioned lemonade stand with mason jar cups. This is such a good idea to have all the mason jars name-tagged with a napkin and cutlery in it ready to go. Then you just take your little package and dig in! Found via Project Wedding.

Always a sucker for a barn party! This is cute...and if you don't have a bench why can't you use a cushioned hay bale?? Found via Country Living.

These vellum paper mobiles are so cool! They would also be great for J Bloom's baby shower if we didn't already have too many ideas for hanging eye candy!! Found via Project Wedding {including instructions too!}

The germ freak in me LOVES this idea! I hate the creepy crawly bugs and flies that climb all over the salads at outdoor gatherings...yuck! And how cute are these?? They would be so perfect to compliment the mason jar lemonade glasses for the baby shower - but we would need about 30 of them! And then what about refills? And what if you are serving more than one salad...this is starting to get complicated!!! Found via Country Living.

Liking these posie ideas. The top pic is pretty cute and simple - wrap the container in newspaper - why not?! Easy peasy lemon squeezy! And at first I thought why is this bucket of flowers hanging? And then I realized it was a table cloth weight! So much prettier than those ugly clips! Also found via Country Living.

i miss jack and kate

her hair is so awesome no? and now i'd like to just simply wear a black tank top and jeans.

hmm...or maybe just a white tank top with jeans...

i dig her cowboy-ish boots here with the white dress. it is a cool idea for bridesmaids...

hellloooo, jack!!

I can't believe Lost is over. My heart is hurty knowing I'll never see Jack and Kate ever again! I do love the other characters too, don't get me wrong, but Jack and Kate were my favs to look at. And this blog is about aesthetics right?! So...I thought I'd pay homage to how darn cool they both are. I mean, Jack ... need I say more? I've been in love with him since he was Charlie on Party of Five. So responsible, but so rugged all the same. Wagga wagga indeed! And Kate, could she BE any cooler? I love her simpe, low key, natural style with her messy hair. Just jeans and a plain black tank top looks stellar on her. May I have her body, please?

crayon totem poles

(the bunny makes me laugh, hee)

A sneaky tipster tipped me off about these awesome crayon sculptures, and they really tickled my fancy. How did they know how much I love totem poles? When we were little, the three of us Bloomers even tried to make our own totem pole in our backyard. In all seriousness concerning the crayons though (ha), the level of detail that the artist, Diem Chen, puts into these mini sculptures is incredible. If you go to her website, you can see that she actually models the crayon people after real people, and the crazy part is, they really do look the same! Very cool.

On a side note, I am suddenly reminded me of the time our dog Patches (I miss Patchie) ate our crayons, and made our yard VERY colourful afterwards. But alas, they were the prettiest dog poops I've ever seen (ewwww)!

{pics from Likecool.com via Diem Chen}

dining room decisions

Yesterday, after swimming and suntanning all day (ok, and maybe a little trampoline bouncing), Craigger and I decided to drive to our new house and peek in the windows to see what was up. It's done!! The cabinets, the tiles, it's all in! I am SO happy with the colours we picked for our kitchen: it looks so clean, fresh and white. And suddenly, the wave of extra excitement hit me. I can't wait to start living there! I have been trying to decide what kind of kitchen table I want...we're thinking of making one ourselves actually (sounds scary I know), but we'll see how that, or if that, actually works out! Here are some of my inspirations for the shape and designs that I covet...but oh, how to choose?! Sigh, so many options that I love. What do my 'Bloomers like?

I think this is still my all time fav look with a light table, light mismatched chairs, and our floor length black mirror propped against the wall. We might not be able to afford such a lovely rough table like this, so here are some other more economical options below ...{pic from Anne Sage}

West Elm has this really simple light wood table...i want funkier chairs than these, but I really love the simplicity and lightness of this dining room table. It will contrast nicely with our dark wood floors! {pic from West Elm}

Oh but then wouldn't a table like this be absolutely marvellicious? {from Remodelista}

I do dream of a wood top table with metal legs such as this, but all the welders I know are too busy to make it for me... {pic from architect Elizabeth Roberts}

... love love love the simple table with the coloured chairs. I think a soft blue, bright yellow and white would look super in our new house! {pic from Best House Design blog}

...maybe kind of like this mismatched chair set...i love that one bright yellow chair. I like the hanging lamp too but not in green. {from Second Hand Hannah via Marie Claire Maison}

...oh, but then how cool are these chairs? the black looks so nice with the blonde wood! {pic from Remodelista}

The big clock makes me feel happy floating there on the white walls. i also like the hanging pendant lamp over the table too. {pic from Remodelista}

... but I also love the hanging lamp over this table maybe even more! {from Marie Clair Maison}

Sigh again, the decision is going to be hard. We'll see what happens! Stay tuned for design inspiration for our little backyard patio...coming soon!

baby bloomer bump update: 8 months

Here I am at 8 months - almost there! What a transformation. Remember how I used to say how fast the pregnancy was going? Well that has all changed! Mostly because I feel gigantic, stretched, slow and maybe just a tad waddly. I've heard the 'stretched belly' feeling likened to Joan River's face after having plastic surgery - yep, pretty much! It's getting harder to walk up the stairs, especially in my 3-story house {4 stories, if you count the basement...ouch}. And yesterday it took me 15 minutes to attempt to buckle on my gladiator sandals - and it didn't end in success. Flip flops it is!

It's also feeling a lot slower because of the anticipation. We just cannot wait to meet the little person who is actively dancing around in my tum. Who will she look like? Will she be artistic, or musical, or both or neither? I do know for a fact that she is quite excited to meet her little cousin who is only a few months behind.

This will definitely be a very fun {and busy} year ahead for the Bloomers!

ola!

D. and I are finally taking that honeymoon we've been meaning to take...we realize we can't really wait any longer with our little monkey on the way! So this week we are heading to Los Cabos for a much needed beachy getaway...weeeee I can't wait! And so, inspired by our Mexican adventure I felt the need to envision some Mexican inspired event decor! Can you imagine a fiesta looking like this?? It just screams delightful....OLA!

{these glorious pics of a wedding rehearsal fiesta found via Style Me Pretty}

{Colourful Mexican flags found on Green Wedding Shoes}

{cute Mexican flag banner invitation found via Once Wed}

meet the baby sloths

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Oh man, these little dudes have the life! Where can I get one?

what do you think of this J Bloom?

I found my own way to make those cool grassy bookmarks from J Bloom's post from a few weeks ago! And my way is free - with an order of sushi of course :) Ha...I'm such a nerdy.

simpler + more modern corsages (thank goodness!)

I am going to be honest, my body violently rejects the "old fashioned" corsage! You know which one I mean, the one that trails up your arm. All those roses and roses, with an abundance of ribbon and tulle. Shudder up my spine, indeed! So, I've been on a mission to collect cool corsage inspirations. Small ones. Ones that are cute! Because I really do think there is potential there! What do you think about these ones? I like it when they are tied with ribbon and not on an elastic...

{pic 1 from Country Florist Wedding; pic 3 from Paratinovia; pic 2 not sure; pic 4 from Grey Likes Weddings; pic 5 from Dustland on Etsy}

another bloomer belly bump!

No it isn't JUST too many cuppies...there is another reason for Shayna Bloomer's new belly...but it would be lying if I said cuppies weren't at least a little part of it. Blame it on the cravings! D. and I are super excited to announce our Baby Bloomer #2! Right now we think it kinda looks like a chicken with a monkey face but it sure is beautiful to us! Our funny little monkey is on it's way with an expected early November arrival! Although if I have my way, I think it would be pretty darn cool if this little Bloom popped out on Halloween! Can you imagine the birthday parties of the future?!

Here is my 3 month 1 week photo. I didn't intend to have my photo taken that day but realized I didn't actually have a proper picture of the 3 month mark and couldn't miss the moment! Not quite the cute lil' outfits Joelle Bloomer puts together! So I've decided my documentation of this journey will take place on my beloved silks! My goal is to try and get a picture of myself on the silks all throughout pregnancy. I have a feeling I'm going to end up standing on the ground holding them in my hand but I figured it was worth a shot! Here I am at 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks and 15 weeks pregnant. Really don't know why my belly looks so flat on the 12 week picture...guess it stretches out when you hang? Hmmm....

8 weeks!

10 weeks!


12 weeks!

15 weeks!