French Vanilla, Victoria BC

Not so long ago, I stumbled upon this store in Victoria,
  FRENCH VANILLA.

And what a wonderful find!

Warning:

 Picture heavy post.. so

go get a cup of tea or coffee, and 

 enjoy the tour of this

 gorgeous store.

As you approach French Vanilla

you are greeted by a window display that

draws you in and already has you writing 

your wish list.

I always manage to carve out

some time to go and do a little

shopping at this store, it doesn't

matter how short our trip to 

Victoria is!

I love how beautifully 

Sheila, the owner, has layered this boutique.

After we got back from shopping/

picture taking I was looking through the

pictures and realized....

I forgot to get some of these sweet candles 

for myself!  Next time.

Can you see that beautiful moss nest

inside the hydrangea arrangement?

Sheila makes these!

And who doesn't love birds??

I love the way she has layered

linens, starting with a french

 table runner and then

adding a linen placemat on top.

Perfect.

Crowns, dishes, candles,

glasses, napkins...

isn't that cook book holder

sweet!

Lavender, chalkboards, plaques...

This makes me want to repaint my 

laundry room.

Look at the detail on the clocks face.
 I have a thing for clocks...
(just look at my pinterest page.)
:/

Dishes, tea towels,

you need some serious time

 to take it all in.

I have that galvanized crown from
the last time I was in.
It works in all my rooms.

There is a whole other side of this 

store that I don't have any pictures of!

This was not a paid advertisement...

I just thought you would

enjoy the eye candy! 

 For a closer look, click on

French Vanilla

or if you are in Victoria,

1848 Oak Bay Avenue

Victoria, BC 

Come back in a week or two

 for a  tour of 

A FRENCH TOUCH.

I am Linking up @

http://romantichome.blogspot.ca/2014/01/i-found-apartment-show-and-tell-friday.html

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.ca/2014/01/feathered-nest-friday_30.html#more

http://www.craftberrybush.com/2014/01/the-inspiration-gallery_30.html

http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/tutorials/tutorials-tips-link-party-143.html

http://www.timewashed.com/2014/01/blissful-whites-wednesday_29.html

http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/01/201st-inspire-me-tuesday.html

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.ca/2014/01/home-sweet-home-154.html

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2014/01/amaze-me-monday-43.html

http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.ca/2014/01/frugal-friday_23.html

http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/tuesdays-treasures-168/

http://www.cozylittlehouse.com/2014/01/tweak-it-tuesday-75.html

http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.ca/2014/01/cottage-style-party-cozy-winter-update.html

A Role Model

On January 12,2014

we lost an amazing woman.

Vera McGregor Tidmarsh

At 95, she was my Grandmother and my daughters

Great Grandmother! And Great she was!

Vivacious, poised, powerful, loving, passionate, stylish and

extremely creative, just to mention a few of her characteristics.

She thought nothing about sewing the bridesmaids dresses

and Bridal dress for her daughter's wedding, writing hundreds of editorials for 

the city paper, acting as lead in many a play, or moving 

 from Country to Country to Country, all of her homes

contents included, creating a lovely home for her

 family at every stop. Always creating a

 beautiful life no matter what the

 conditions or circumstances.

A true Role Model.

She will be sadly missed

and fondly remembered.

xxoo

*******************************************

After the loss of
a loved one, you realize
you must make the
most of each and every day.
Each and every moment
holds the opportunity
for special memories.

This year I am going

to make the most of 

every moment, and not

wait for occasions.

I am going to say the
things I have been meaning
to say.

I am going to try new 'things',

like recipes, colors

 and ideas.

I am going to embrace the fact

that I too, have

collections.

;)

I am going to take the

time to do things I

love.

I wish you a year

that is packed full with

the things you love.

A collection of memories,

among other things.

And days that are 

filled with love and laughter.

Working on the Craft Room

Just a few short
weeks into 2014 and
I feel like I have made a lot
of progress on my craft room.
I don't want to scare you away,
so here is an after picture...

I was able to remove 2 or 3 bags of 

garbage and recycling, and equally

as much is ready to take to the thrift store.

Messy!  I think that picture would have

scared you away if I should

it first.

:)

I switched the desks around so I could use the

drawers for papers, files, scissors and 

stuff inside out of view.

The ribbon above the desk

 is pinned into the wall with little flowers.

 I plan on using this ribbon to pin swatches and ideas to.

A Crafter can't have enough shelves.

After some serious work they 

are so much more organized

and pretty to look at.

After a few tries with the transfer

paper, I made this little curtain

 to hide a few things. This image is from 

THE GRAPHIC FAIRY.

Behind that curtain, I set up

my ipod/radio/cd player along

with some cd's.  I also have 2 large bins

for storage, one is filled with

 flowers and one is

 EMPTY!

:)

More storage in the closet...yes

this is an after shot.

Organized chaos.

:)

The above picture shows 

what you would have seen 

upon entering our home.

Not a pretty sight.

The suitcase holds all of

my knitting needles, yarn, some patterns

that I have collected and unfinished

knitting projects.

As you can see, I still have plans for 

more tweaking in this room.

This wicker chair was in

dire need of a facelift.

This room didn't cost more 

then $20 to put into order...

It was already filled with everything,

 it just wasn't being

used to the best of it's ability.

Hope you enjoyed the before and 

afters of my craft room.

I am linking up with

http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/01/199th-inspire-me-tuesday.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FznvhK+%28A+Stroll+Thru+Life%29

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.ca/2014/01/nifty-thrifty-tuesday-no195.html

http://www.cozylittlehouse.com/2014/01/tweak-it-tuesday-73.html

http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/tuesdays-treasures-166-2/

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.ca/2014/01/home-sweet-home-152.html

http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.ca/2014/01/roses-and-simple-sweet-fridays.html

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2014/01/amaze-me-monday-41.html

http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.ca/2014/01/frugal-friday_9.html#more

http://modvintagelife.blogspot.ca/2014/01/mod-mix-monday-135.html

http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/2014/01/fabulously-creative-friday-5.html

http://threemangoseeds.blogspot.ca/2014/01/its-party-time-11214.html