30 days until I turn 30.

I will admit that I am someone who actually thinks about this a lot. And have been for awhile.

For me it's a milestone and a benchmark. This deadline, so to speak, has been a driving force for me over the past couple of years. While I don't think I ever really said it out loud, there have been instances over the past while where 30 was the goalpost.

I didn't want to turn 30 and be struggling with my job and toxic workplaces.

I wanted to be surrounded by thoughtful, challenging, and meaningful relationships.

I wanted to be content in the moment.

And I have done all that.

There are things that I won't have achieved by 30. That's where the contentment comes in. In actuality, 30 is a silly gauge to judge yourself by and sometimes life doesn't work out the way you thought it would. But that doesn't make you a failure. What about all the years beyond 30?

You have to save something for those.

And I know the best is yet to come.

an oldie but a goodie, from Cat Power

I'm in Toronto this weekend for a design getaway and to visit the Interior Design Show. I love coming out here to see what's new and emerging, and bring some great ideas and products back to Calgary. I wanted to share some of the highlights here for you. So here is a roundup of my 5 favourite things from the show.

Halo Lights from Snob. These fixtures are made by taking a brass rod and forming it around the waist of one of the craftsmen in Africa. The name of that man is then inscribed on the ring, and the fixtures come with a card detailing the story of the creator.

Silk Orchid Rug Collection from Elte. These rugs are made from vintage silk saris. The saris are unwoven and then the fibers used to create yarns that are in turn used to craft these rugs. They are a limited edition series and each one is completely unique.

Felt Light by Antoine Laverdiere. These fixtures are made of felt, power coated steel and brass fittings, and feature 15 frosted bulbs which can be located anywhere within the fixture.

Digital Wallpapers by Mushaboom Design. This current collection was inspired by the Public Gardens in Halifax, and feature a variety of botanical and organic designs. Being digital, they can also custom colour to suit your requirements.

Conscious Design Living products, by Lori Harrison. I loved everything in this booth. That little side table was lovely, made of antique brass, walnut, and travertine, and featured a through drawer, meaning it can pull out in both directions, so you don't have an ugly side to the piece.

I will share more from the show later in the week!

Beautiful Himmeli mobiles from AMradio on etsy. They are just made of straws and string!

This song has me dreaming of warm sun, and definitely got me through last weeks subzero temps! Literally, I was dancing at the bus stop to this song.

Well, this is certainly going to be one hell of a before and after.

I wanted to share some shots depicting the current state of our basement. After months of agonizing over what to do, we are finally starting to proceed with the repairs. The basement specialists have been in and left us with a fancy new drainage system. Since our foundation is so old (it seriously looks like packed sand and gravel in places) and will probably allow moisture in forever, this was the best route to go in our opinion. And now we get to start putting it back together.

Here's a shot of the guest bedroom, where the bed is to be situated. The repair work will allow us to fix some of the strange and poorly installed casing details that have bothered me from the beginning.

Here's the lovely south facing bedroom window, which allows ample amounts of nothing into the space. Also note, there is no lighting installed anywhere in the two rooms down here.

Here's the pinky brown media room.

And another shot looking toward the actual media wall. ooooh, ahhhhh. Beyond that is the laundry and crawl space.

And this is the vignette at the bottom of the stairs.

Can get any worse than that right? I'll keep you updated over the next couple of weeks with our progress!

College feat. Electric Youth, A Real Hero. From the Drive soundtrack.

I can't get this catchy synth beat out of my head lately.