Canucks fever is running high in Vancouver right now. The city's beloved hockey team is going to the Stanley Cup finals...finally. The last time they came this far was in 1994.

So I was inspired to make a Canucks themed felt garland. It features the team colours: blue, green, and white. It's on sale in my shop.

Go Canucks Go!

I've been slowly transforming the balcony into a succulent garden oasis. Maybe it's my California upbringing, but I adore succulent plants. And that they just happen to be the easiest plants to care for is a major plus. They seem to thrive on neglect, which I've got plenty to give.

Because our balcony faces northeast, it doesn't get much sun other than in the morning. Given that succulents tend to be sun worshippers, I hope my new plants don't die. But I've had success with the sedum plants in the last year so I hope the new guys survive too.

I love looking out our balcony and seeing all the greenery, especially while I'm doing yoga. It's very calming.

I'm also gradually changing our indoor plants to cacti and succulents to go with our Tex-Mex theme, er, I mean Southwest modern decor.

The new wall hook we've put up on our freshly painted wall in the bedroom is awesome. It's from PM Custom, and it comes in an assortment of colours. I chose black so it would contrast nicely with the very white walls. This piece came to my attention via Remodelista, a great resource for all things home decor.

I love its chunkiness and the fact that it's very functional. Your clothes will not slip off these hooks! And it always makes me feel warm and fuzzy (the way rainbows and puppies do) when I buy handmade and support an independent artisan.

There was much going on in the world of retail this past weekend in Vancouver. I attended the grand opening of Anthropologie on Friday night. It was an estrogen-fest needless to say. Anthropologie is more of a source of inspiration for me rather than a place where I open my wallet. I'm glad it's finally here.

We also went to the Inform Warehouse Sale on Saturday. I've actually never been in the regular Inform store in Gastown. They have a collection of fabulous modern furniture that I'll never be able to afford. While browsing around, we discovered that perhaps a chaise lounge-y type of sofa may be the way to go for our living room. We mainly want a couch that we can lie down on to read and relax, which we really can't do with our current loveseat.

And then there was the 1 year anniversary party at Old Faithful, which I missed sadly. This is another go-to source for inspiration. So much rustic goodness there. I particularly love their gorgeous terrariums.

I finally got around to re-painting the bedroom.

Here's the "Before" picture:

I used Behr Ultra Premium White in Flat. The result was very underwhelming I'm sad to report. Maybe it's because the rest of the walls aren't finished. I was hoping that crisp white walls would magically make the bedroom look better but it still looks blah. Maybe it's because it still lacks the right furnishings. Maybe white is just not my colour. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Anyway, I needed to paint the walls because the bedroom is where I mainly do my photo shoots, and I need a white background for my product shots, particularly for the new online shop I'm developing.

So I have half a wall still to go to paint in white. The wall behind the bed is supposed to be painted black, but now that we're planning to move it seems pointless because I'd have to paint it white again before we vacate. Hence, it shall remain light blue. Maybe. Probably not.

The Dude and I did a sweet little weekend getaway to Victoria, the fair capital of British Columbia. Spring was in full bloom, and we enjoyed the pleasant, balmy weather. And the ferry ride there and back is always a treat. The gorgeous scenery we sail through reminds me that I live in a very beautiful part of the world.

We treated ourselves to a night at the Empress Hotel. We snatched a good deal on the internet, and we were upgraded to a bigger room with a harbor view when we checked in. The decor was a bit dated, but hey it's the Empress! Old is supposed to be part of its charm. It was a comfortable, quiet room, but the most luxurious feature was that it had two full bathrooms! No fighting over who gets to use the bathroom first.

Everything's within walking distance so we ambled here and there. We visited antique shops, boutiques, and yummy eateries. Victoria boasts of terrific breakfast joints so we visited a couple of them. I think the reason I enjoy Victoria so much is because I love eating my way through there. They have a pretty cool restaurant scene.

I always have a good time whenever I visit Victoria, and I look forward to returning again soon! I think next time I want to go with a truck in order to bring back some midcentury modern furniture because it's a heck of a lot cheaper there than in Vancouver. 

The last of the wall shelves were installed in the living room against the maybe-too-bright red accent wall. The shelf brackets and rails came from Home Depot. The wood is a white cedar 1x10 cut to size from Kerrisdale Lumber. It's was lightly sanded and left untreated.

Most of the stuff on the shelves is personal junk mixed in with some things I sell in the shop. The yellow vase at the very top is by Huronia, a Canadian pottery company that closed in the 1970's. I'm so taken with that shade of yellow that I'm considering hunting and gathering similar ceramic pieces by Huronia.

The cactus print is from an Etsy shop called PerlaAnne. The ball of yarn is from Bristol County Dyeworks, and it's currently being knitted into a pair of handwarmers.

The print of the branches is also from PerlaAnne. The set of pipes is on sale in my vintage shop.

The next thing on the agenda is getting a new loveseat. We got the current one when we were poor as dirt from a sketchy used furniture shop because I was tired of living months without a couch. It's not comfortable and it's too bulky looking for the tiny space it's in. Something lean and leggy would be preferable.