[ vibrant colour and a winner! ]

AS MUCH AS I love all white spaces, bright hits of colour in a space feel so happy and give off such positive energy. The walls in my home are all pretty neutral but wouldn't one bright room be so unexpected?

[holly dyment; marieclairemaison; lonny; better homes and gardens; 

houzz; better homes and gardens]

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for..... the winner of my handbag giveaway!

According to random.org, the winner is Shari @ little blue deer!! Congratulations Shari! Thanks to everyone who entered and for being such lovely followers of my blog :)

lisa

[ last chance to enter my handbag giveaway! ]

I HOPE YOU all had a lovely final long weekend of summer and were able to soak in some summer sunshine! Even though fall brings pretty changing leaves and thoughts of new sweaters and wellies, I have a hard time letting go of summer. I think I'll pick up some fall fashion mags this week and see what's on trend - maybe that will help ease me into thoughts of cooler weather. Are you ready to embrace fall?

Don't forget to enter my handbag giveaway! All entries must be in by 11pm EST tonight and I'll announce the winner tomorrow. Good luck!

lisa

[pic: better homes and gardens]

[ handbag giveaway! ]

IT'S THE LAST long weekend of the summer and to celebrate, I think it's time for a handbag giveaway!

I'm giving away this lovely Grace handbag made from a heavy tapestry fabric in shades of camel and aqua. It features two camel ultrasuede handles and is lined in camel printed cotton. A removable brooch gives it a pretty finishing touch or could be worn on your coat. A perfect bag for fall!

Here's how you can enter to win!

1) be a follower of my blog and leave a comment

if you'd like more chances to win, you can...

2) visit my website and come back and leave a comment telling me which bag style is your favourite for an additional entry

3) blog, facebook or twitter this giveaway and leave a comment telling me you did so for an additional entry

Giveaway closes at 11pm EST on Tuesday, September 7. Winner will be announced on Wednesday. And the best part? This giveaway is open to everyone worldwide!

Good luck! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

lisa

[ simply lovely ]

SO IT LOOKS like this is my lucky week! I received a lovely email from Holly at Magpie Lovely letting me know that I was one of her giveaway winners on her blog! What a great surprise and believe me I was grinning from ear to ear! And now I had $100 to spend at magpielovely.com which isn't all that difficult because it is filled with some amazing stuff! How would I choose?

I was smitten with the Anthropologie feel of the clothes and ended up choosing two tops (I know, they're pretty similar!) - one for now and the other to enjoy when the cooler fall temperatures arrive:

I just love the ruffles and can't wait for them to arrive! If you haven't checked out Magpie Lovely, you must stop everything and do so right now - you'll find some gorgeous things!

lisa

[ earth, wind, fire and a giveaway! ]

WHAT DO A 5.0 earthquake, tornadoes and a fire have in common? My week here in Muskoka! In an area that sees little activity, the earth was shaking yesterday as a rare earthquake hit a wide region of Ontario. Later a severe storm system swept through with tornado warnings with some areas just south experiencing a fair bit of damage. And my local UPS store where I pick up my parcels was hit with a fire, the owner still accepting parcels and handing out mail outside of the building as cleanup crews demolished the smoke-filled interior. Bless her. Throw in a G8 Summit with all its security and strange characters descending upon the region and you've got the makings of a pretty weird week! 


Time for fun! Come celebrate Sarah's one year of blogging at Flourish Design + Style! In honour of this milestone, she's celebrating with the ultimate - 11 days of amazing giveaways! And I'm part of the party! So don't walk - RUN to Sarah's beautiful blog to find out how you can win! And you can still enter for Day 1, 2, 3 & 4! Good luck!

lisa

[ I won a lovely giveaway! ]

I'M SO THRILLED to say that I won the giveaway over at Indie Icing for my choice of 8x10 print from A Life Through the Lens! Kristi has some amazing photography in her Etsy shop so it was difficult to choose but I finally decided on "Joy" which is so beautiful and I can think of a billion places to display it.  What a fun day!

lisa

[ my first blog giveaway! ]

DIONNE at her blog, City of Dionne, has written up a lovely feature about my Etsy shop! If you haven't been to her beautiful blog filled with her gorgeous illustrations, be sure to check it out and enter to win your choice of an Emma wristlet or Jo iPhone/iPod case from my shop! Good luck everyone!

lisa

[ an irish road trip & a winner! ]

DON'T YOU just love sunny, gorgeous weekends? The weather has definitely turned in Ireland and it's been lovely! Great time for a road trip!

One area I've been dying to visit is the northern-most tip of Northern Ireland and so we hopped in the car, grabbed a coffee to-go and we were off!

Of course one of my favourite things in Ireland is passing by all the sheep in the fields and on this trip we saw so many.

We drove through Belfast and headed towards the eastern coast so we could travel the scenic Causeway Coastal Route.

We passed through cute villages and eventually stopped to stretch our legs and grab a snack.

Nothing fancy - just a taste test of which chips were best. It was a tie.

Time to carry-on.

The drive along the coastline was gorgeous and I could just imagine how lovely it would be to wake up to that every morning.

We came across the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge and decided to experience this popular tourist attraction.

I never really considered myself afraid of heights but on a jiggly rope bridge, I realized that I was a bit (especially with a camera in my hand!).

Having made it across feeling a little uneasy, I managed it much better on the way back. But I was happy to plant my feet on solid ground.

We explored the area a bit and decided to continue on our journey. Next stop: the Giant's Causeway.

It looked cool from above and we realized we had a long walk along the cliff to get down there.

The path was relatively narrow considering there were people walking down as well us back up. Good thing we were wearing appropriate footwear.

We eventually made it down and it really was amazing!

As we started heading back up to the top, the sun peeked out again.

I loved the charming hotel and if it had been later we may have considered staying there. But there was still time to get home before dark.

Definitely a fun weekend and it was great to see more of the incredible sights around Ireland!

And now, the winner of the Ramsign giveaway is..... (drumroll.....)

Formerly known as Frau said...

I fell in love also with the European house numbers too...I love the Highlander one!

Congratulations! And thanks to everyone for entering! Happy Monday!

lisa

[ come on in ]

[maisondumonde]

TODAY I'm totally in love with this pretty entry. The gorgeous linen chair, the floor tiles, the swedish clock, the greige wellies with bows! The soft colour palette is so welcoming and the pieces are so classic - wouldn't you just love to walk into this home everyday?

lisa

Don't forget to enter my Ramsign giveaway here!

[ spring has sprung GIVEAWAY! ]

HAPPY SPRING everyone! I thought it would never arrive - Old Man Winter definitely overstayed his welcome, didn't he?

In honour of this cheerful event, I am happy to be giving away one of Ramsign's beautiful classic enamel signs! They have five different styles to choose from - the gorgeous blue ones remind me of my first trip to Paris when I fell in love with the enamel signs I saw above everyone's doors.

One of you lovelies will win a house number plaque of your choice. How do I enter, you ask? Easy peasy!

Simply be a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me which style you would choose if you won. Visit Ramsign's website here to see the gorgeous ones to choose from. That's it!

If you would like a second chance to win, post about the giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment telling me you've done so.

{make sure you include a way for me to reach you if you've won}

Giveaway is open worldwide until Sunday, March 27th. Winner will be announced on Monday, March 28th. Good luck everyone!

lisa