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.

It recently occurred to me that I'm incredibly fortunate to be pursuing my entrepreneurial dreams. I know that sounds so, so lame. The odd thing was how quietly this dawned on me. And it took me a long time to realize it too because quite frankly pursuing my dream feels rather...mundane. But it's huge that I'm doing what I love, especially because I thought it was impossible to do so.

After completing grad school, I read the career advice book What Color Is Your Parachute? to figure out what sort of job I wanted. After doing the exercises in the book it turned out that crafting was my number one skill I loved to use. But how the hell was I going to find a job that would pay me to make stuff? When unemployment was forced on me while going through Canadian immigration in 2009, it allowed me to do some soul-searching, and I concluded that I have to love what I do when it comes to a job. During that time I reconnected with my crafty self and it led me naturally to what I'm doing now.

The best thing about having my own creative business is that I get to apply my favourite skills in addition to my best job skills. Doing the online vintage shop has been an educational experiment in e-commerce, and it's confirmed that I really love running my own business. So this has encouraged me to expand my entrepreneurial effort and start working on a second Etsy shop selling exclusively handmade goods I make. I'm excited but nervous too because there's always the risk of my products totally flopping. But risk is the name of the game when it comes to entrepreneurship. I won't ever know unless I try.

Anyway, I'm not writing this simply to gloat over how lucky I am. This is to remind myself that I should be grateful for the daily grind because I'm living "my dream." And none of this would be possible without the support of the Dude, who always encourages me do what makes me most happy. I'm immensely blessed to have a spouse like the Dude who "gets me" and takes my hopes and dreams seriously.

I finally did it. I got a Twitter account. And I feel very lost in Twitter-land. The fact that it's supposed to be simple and yet I don't get it makes me feel very old.

Anyway, I can be found @laxtoyvr.

Another trip to IKEA yielded these results:

The Helmer drawer unit and the Gilbert chair are two IKEA items I love. They offer a lot of design-bang for your buck. And the Gilbert chair is surprisingly comfortable to boot. (Please just ignore the wire-y mess under the desk).

I really wish Helmer came in black though. It'd be so bad-ass in black. I'm sure IKEA will realize this one day and grant me my wish. The other thing I wish for is drawer stoppers so that the drawers don't come flying out whenever I pull one open.

Crap, I just realized that the office is looking too IKEA-ish, especially since I'm using the Kassett boxes and Knuff magazine files as storage. And the friggin' glass shelves are from IKEA too. Noooooo, damn you, IKEA. Just kidding, sort of. Given their affordability and that I actually like these pieces a lot, I'm fairly pleased.

I think one reason that I end up getting more stuff from IKEA than I'd really like is not only because it's the most economical option, but it's also the most convenient. It's hard to find the equivalent in non-IKEA home furnishing stores here in Vancouver because the selection is so friggin' small. 

One day when we have a fifteen hundred bucks just idling around, I will replace the Gilbert chair with the Eames Management office chair. One day...

Founds lots of cool stuff when I went thrifting last weekend, one of which was this lamp. I really like it, so I'm considering keeping it for myself rather than selling it in my vintage shop.

Its woody chunkiness is what got my attention. The current lampshade on it though is a tad bit too small. If I were to keep it, I would dress it up with a big sexy black lampshade.

Below is the lamp that it would potentially replace. I found this lamp at an estate sale last summer. It was a gem in the midst of piles and piles of junk. Love its midcentury modern coolness. Airy and graceful.  The very opposite of the specimen above.

Hmmm...not sure what to do. I have a feeling I'm going to agonize over this decision. Can't keep both because we don't have space for two.

The horse is a new addition. I got it from my favourite Etsy vintage shop, Hindsvik. It's a ceramic horse bookend. I love, love, love it. It's the first time I bought something vintage from Etsy. The Dude thinks it's butt ugly and doesn't get it, *sigh*. Maybe if it were a robot or Godzilla he'd appreciate it.