Stairway to Heaven

The June issue of Elle Decor has an article on staircases which caught my eye & inspired me to compile my own list of some favourite steps.

I love these floating stairs - clean & contemporary & rustic all at the same time. I also have a soft spot for Audrey who always reminds me of my littlest sister, Leah {check out her blog here for tiddlybits of inspiration).

{ image found online through SZ Interiors }

More floating stairs:

{ concrete floating stairs }

I like the storage underneath these stairs. I have a soft spot for storage & organization products {bins & labels & files, you name it!}:

{ smart use of otherwise wasted space }

And these well-worn stairs leading to a secret garden perhaps??

{teapot-planters & stairs }

And while driftwood-coloured, weathered wood seems to be everywhere, the stairs in this loft don't seem of-the-moment, but rather perfectly old-world:

{ from home-designing.com }

And lastly, us on the stairs with our newest addition:

{ Craig, me & Hugo }

What about you? Do you have some favourite stairways to your own private heaven?

Room Consultations

While I was awaiting Hugo's arrival, I did a few smaller projects that kept me busy & my mind off waiting~for~baby.

Joanne's Family Room

Joanne is a long-time friend with elegance & energy to spare. She & her husband, Peter, have a family summer cabin right next to ours & I love it when we are up there together. We can spend hours drinking tea or wine {time-of-day dependent!} or going for long walks & chatting about life. We have such fun together & I enjoy her company immensely.

{ Joanne & Pete at daughter, Ashley's, wedding }

Joanne was feeling as though her existing family room needed a new look. She wanted to tweak it just a little but without spending a fortune. She asked me for some advice. {Now, let me be clear. Joanne has a great sense of style & is very design savvy so it was more of a conversation vs. me telling her what to do with no input from her.}

Here are some 'before' pictures {aren't these the nicest 'befores' you've ever seen!!!}:

{ Fireplace Wall ~ South Facing }

{ Window Wall - North Facing }

And here is the style board that I did to give her suggestions:

{ Joanne's Style Board }

Accompanying this style board is a furniture schedule which outlines where to purchase each item. This allowed Joanne to do the leg work herself when she had the time.

If you are interested in a similar type of design consultation, email me at info@bakerhillhomes.com or check me out online at Baker Hill Homes. Remote design consultations encouraged... we do not have to be in the same city for me to help you with your space. All budgets welcome!!

Happy Birthday Sebastian!

To my 9-year-old big boy who was a 4.5 pound preemie 9 years ago today....

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I'm glad you started the mummy-ing journey for me. I didn't know I could love a little tiny person so much until you came along. You stopped life, as I had known it, in it's tracks. Thank you for being sensitive, hilarious, creative, athletic, single-minded, rambunctious YOU! I love you so much.

with big kisses & hugs to the moon & back forever,

your mummy

New Arrival

So, you may have guessed from the dearth of blog posts that something has happened. Well, yes, indeedie!

We have a new baby boy, Hugo, who has rocked our world. In a good way. He was born early in the morning of April 17th (12:47 am). He came into the world with great speed after a 10-day delay.

{ iPhone photo of Hugo a few hours after he was born}

I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience. Hugo came quickly {+/- 2 hours of labour}. And there's no way I could have done it without the support of my incredible husband, Craig, and our fabulous midwife, Irene of Midwifery Associates, North Shore.

The kids are loving their little brother. They are so kind & gentle with him, it is pure sweetness to watch them love him so much:

{ big sister Paulina in the hospital }

{ big brother x2 Sebastian at the hospital }

{ dog pile on Mum & Dad's bed }

{ kisses for Hugo from P }

And a few more assorted photos... just in case you needed confirmation that we are IN LOVE with this little morsel of a person:

{ me & H }

{ big yawns from a tiny man }

{ kisses from Dad }

{ handsome boys }

{ a-snooze }

{ now we are FIVE! }

Soon I will be back to blogging about design-related things but for now Hugo is taking centre stage. And that's just fine by me.

Kisses..... Julia

PS - many of these photos { all the black & whites and the colour one of Hugo napping } were taken by Becky of Bee Chalmers Photography. She's great. She's a friend & a fabulous photographer & did our prenatal photos. She can even make a sleep-deprived new mama look half-decent. Which, in my books, goes a LOOOOOooNG way!

Happy 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday, Paulina {aka Leenzie-Loo, Super Dooper Looper, Sweet P... our Paulina Gabriella Smith}. Six years ago today in the early morning hours you hastened into this world surprising everyone with your speed of arrival. You still have a mind of your own & do things in your own time. You are sweet, kind, sparky, have a great sense of humour & love with your whole heart. God bless you little one as you grow into a lovely big girl.

Kisses, your mama, always. xxxoo

Diaper Style Memoirs Take 2

I mentioned a few days ago that I was contributing {a VERY little bit} to one of my new fave blogs, Diaper Style Memoirs.

{ well I was!! }

You can check out the entire post by clicking HERE. Inessa was super creative in her compilation of picks from 5 different bloggers & I love the swimsuits on a line effect:

{ cute clothesline }

Not a full fledged guest blog but it looks like I am on my way to striking off #19 on my list of 40 {see all 40 "to dos" here}.

40 things to do in my 40th year

I am turning 40 today. Here's little girl me {far left} with 2 of my sisters & 2 of my cousins:

{ full of giggles }

And here's me now:

{ big smiles in the sun }

I am blessed with a belly full of baby, a best friend for a husband who still gives me goosebumps {in a good way!} & 2 children who bring joy & light & craziness into what could otherwise be a much too well-ordered life. I am lucky enough to have 4 sisters who are my besties & confidantes no matter how many miles separate us. I have parents who encourage me & challenge me & support me no matter what. I have a gaggle of friends I can laugh & cry with and a bunch of wonderful in-laws who I'd be friends with even if I weren't "married in".

{ the big four-oh }

I enjoy where I live, what I do & how I feel when I wake up in the morning. Most days. The days I don't make me grateful for the days I do.

So, because I'm waiting on this lil' babes to arrive & can't go out for dinner & have too much vino or spend the week surfing in Costa Rica like a friend is doing for his 40th {jealous much??!} I've decided to create a list of 40 things I want to do this coming year.

Ready? Here goes......

1. plant flowers

2. get more smile lines

3. run a race {5k - 10k}

4. buy myself some jewellery {not the costume kind}

5. stretch daily

6. take a dance class

7. take dj lessons

8. go to a music festival {would love to go to Coachella or Mali's Festival Au Desert}

9. fly first class somewhere

10. eat an ice cream cone with more than one scoop of full fat ice cream

11. plant some veggies

12. hang up more art in my house

13. do a girls' shopping trip

14. read my devotional & Bible daily

15. walk more

16. drive less

17. visit one of my sisters in their home

18. have a baby

19. do a guest blog

20. have someone guest blog for me

21. have more patience

22. take a cooking course with Craig

23. go on a wine tour

24. make a really fantastic sand castle with the kids

25. find more beach glass

26. set up a cozy guest room in our basement

27. get our final occupancy permit

28. vote

29. volunteer

30. wear sunscreen

31. bike ride around the seawall with the family

32. learn to skate

33. take swimming lessons

34. snowshoe

35. get chairs for our master bedroom deck & enjoy a morning & an evening out there with my love

36. get more comfortable driving the Mastercraft X2

37. sew something for the new baby

38. speak kindly more often {especially to my kids}

39. put up hooks in mud room

40. make fresh-squeezed lemonade

Some of these are highly ambitious. Some are easy-peasy. Truth be told, it's a little intimidating to put these out there in case I don't stroke them all off within the year. But they say {whoever "they" are} that if you want to do something you need to be held accountable. So, I figure blog world is as good a place as any to be held accountable, right?!

{ Happy 40th to me!!!! }