The Junction Flea

Sunday morning I had just enough time for a quick visit to The Junction Flea. I hadn't been to their outdoor market since last summer so I was amazed at how much it had grown. There is a really nice balance of vintage, handmade and vendors selling yummy artisanal food. Too bad I didn't have enough time to sample!

I thought I'd share some pictures I snapped as I (too) quickly moved through the market.



Held one Sunday a month at an empty (for now) lot on Dundas just east of Keele. I wonder what their plans are when this is developed? I noticed a sign announcing some new building...



Some of the booths were very styled while others screamed dive in and look around. I bought a pretty necklace from Old Weston. (see below). I was drawn to the stack of suitcases with the vintage team photo in another booth. I love those old photos.



I also found this netti pot. It's a red cross version, made in Germany marked on bottom. You don't find these too often. I have a small collection of plain white pots that I will display in my bathroom when the shelving is done.



I was hoping to get an Augie's Ice Pop to go but the line-up was huge! Have you had one before? They are delicious!!



I was tempted to buy one of these blankets for my daughters room but it was too hot to think of where it would go. Maybe in the fall...



Walking back along Dundas I noticed this charming little nook in between two shops. How have I not noticed it before? It looks as it must have a century ago.

I love watching how The Junction has flourished over the last decade. I hope it retains its eclectic, little shop charm... Make sure you check out The Junction Flea if you are in the city. There is also a great Farmer's Market on Saturdays.




the coffee station

Our coffee station was inspired by my husbands morning coffee ritual. We were often "negotiating" space everywhere in our old kitchen, but especially where the espresso machine stood. In our new kitchen we actually had space for a designated area. It was so exciting for us to plan out this space.


Our new kitchen is very monochromatic. The palette is white cabinets, stainless steel counters, white Caesarstone island and fleur de sel grey walls. Fleur de sel is a Sherwin Williams colour and it's quite a lovely grey that looks almost white in some light. There are hits of walnut woods and yellow to add warmth and pops of colour.

Here are the custom shelves my dad made for us - installed! Thanks Dad! Isn't he awesome?

coffee station in progress....


The floating shelves were made using lumber from Exotic Woods and mounting hardware from Lee Valley. You can see a post I did on my visit to Exotic Woods here

They were painted Cloud White from Benjamin Moore using their Advance product. We used this paint on our antique sideboard and secretary desk before. It's a great paint with a low VOC, but we did find that do need to let it cure for a couple of weeks. Keep that in mind if you are planning a project. If you don't you may risk leaving an indentation on the paint if you place something on it before it's completely cured.


Photo by Donna Griffith for Style at Home magazine.

This beautiful photograph in Style at Home magazine by Donna Griffith provided some inspiration for my coffee station shelving. 

Originally I thought I might use the shelves to display this set of bowls and mugs I bought last year from West Elm. I thought they would add a playful pop of colour to the kitchen. They mix well with a collection of dishes we brought back from a trip to Japan years ago.

Mugs and bowls from West Elm


Maybe I still will work them in, but I'm leaning more towards displaying glass, white bowls, mugs and adding a hit of warmth with wood.  I have a lot of glass I love. Vintage clear glass, milk glass cups, and these pretty reproduction jelly jars which were a gift from my friends Matthew & Jenny Mead.


Photo courtesy of Matthew Mead


milk glass cups from What's New on the Mantel

Walnut board from Etsy shop Jonathon January


Compass Teapot, David's Tea


This is a teapot that my children bought me for Mother's Day this year. They know me well ;)





Also slated to appear on this shelf, a beautiful silk screened print from the lovely Alanna Cavanagh. One of my favorite Canadian artists :)


Coffee Maker, West Elm

Ooh and I also have my eye on this coffee maker from West Elm - they have some great appliances!


This is my favorite part of the process of renovating. The decorating, styling and shopping for little nooks like these. Although I have to admit the dreaming and planning were fun too. Besides without that none of this would exist.


Debra

P.S. I'll post pictures when I finish playing with these shelves and the counter space :)








beach crafts - seashell canvasses







One of our favorite things to do at the beach on Prince Edward Island every summer is to collect seashells and beach glass. We seem to be able to spend hours combing the beach for treasures...





We find all sorts of creatures along the way.




The best time to go is after a storm. It often deposits some lovely finds on the beach, although I think Isabella would be happy to have to wade through less seaweed!




Our beach is so peaceful. Just red sand cliffs, water and a smattering of cottages as far as the eye can see. The cottage we use every summer is set back off the beach on a grassy farm plot of old farmland. I can't wait to arrive and watch the kids run down to the beach for the first time. I'm following right behind them :)


 





Sea treasures.

Shells you have collected are pretty on their own but they can also become great canvasses for kids to paint on!



Just bring along some paints and brushes, mini masterpieces are born.


I'm just counting the days...


Debra











a kid friendly diy -- cork board

So when Julian isn't digging up sod in our backyard he can be found creating cool diy projects for his bedroom. Ha! More like he was bored and I gave him a project to complete.

He has been wanting a pin board/cork board to display award ribbons so I suggested he add a little colour by painting it. He decided he wanted a solid square of colour in the centre and so this pin board was born.

It's so easy and it will keep smaller hands busy for a bit of time. You could go crazy and do shapes, stripes, circles, stencil letters or numbers etc but we decided to keep it simple.

All you need is a cork board, painter's tape, paint and paint sponge.



Mark off the space you want to cover with paint using the painter's tape.



Paint.



Smile.


Peel off the painter's tape while the paint is still wet. 



Let dry and voila, painted cork board. 


It will re-locate above the cool vintage desk I nabbed for him on Kijiji.

patio design dilemma

So this is the week we (well ...John and it seems Julian too) are laying our patio back down. 

Summer is great for child labor (just kidding, he totally volunteered).



The stones were removed prior to the reno starting last summer and stored in the backyard. 

Naively we assumed that the same colour of stone we purchased from Stone-Link would still be available if we needed more. We need more. They changed the colour.




The new stone is the darker grey. I actually prefer it but we don't have the budget to buy completely new stone. Ours is the lighter grey.

I headed over to Home Depot to see if they still had the old colour or something similar, but they didn't. They do carry Stone-Link products.

So our options are:
1. Lay a smaller patio than we had planned to do using only the stone we have.
2. Use the new colour as a border.

Can we do that? Do they look ok? What do you think? 



What if we bought the edging stones in the same darker grey, then added a border of the darker grey, and then our lighter stone?



Oh yeah, did I tell you this is supposed to be finished by Sunday at noon for the 30 people we are hosting for a backyard lunch? Yikes!