christmas ready...

we put our christmas stuff up pretty early this year. i think mid-november we had it up, then it sat lightless (and ornamentless) for about a week until we bought a few more strands. when we knew the parents were coming for a visit, we knew we had to get out butts in gear and get it done.

 we have light!

 i actually started decorating the tree one morning before work at 7am and then i came home at lunch to do a bit more. 

a sorrento souvenir tucked in there.

 a little card decorating thrown in.

/

i'm in love with this little wooden and tree branch reindeer we picked up at the local market.

 he's so cute :)

a little grinchmas.

presents are slowly getting wrapped.

i've watched approximately 84 cheesy made for tv christmas movies, with some classics thrown in, thus far. i just love coming home from work, turning the tree on, and cuddling up on the couch. it really is the best time of the year.

living room makeover...

after 4 long weeks (that felt like an eternity) our new furniture arrived on wednesday! we were so happy to get that broken couch out of our place (story of said broken couch here). a week after we ordered the couch and chair, we went to pottery barn to look for throw pillows and blankets and left with that giant new coffee table. seriously, we did not measure it in store for some reason. when we put it in our place, it was probably double what thought it would be! oops. luckily, it still works in the space. and of course, we left with no throw pillows or blanket.

 the chair is probably me favorite addition.

a perfect reading spot.

we had our fingers crossed tightly that it would all arrive when it did since we have 3 or 4 christmas dinners with friends and family coming up (one tomorow). here is to furniture being delivered on time and kicking off the christmas season.

edit: we finally added a blanket and one colorful pillow. still on the hunt for more!

condo tour...

we've been living here for about 3 weeks now and were completely settled, including all pictures hung, within the first 24 hours. the walls were primed, but we decided we wanted to keep it nice and light and airy, so we painted everything but the bedroom white. the bedroom was done the light grey color that we used in the living room of our other place.

our sectional was so large that it definitely didn't fit in this place. (see it in the living room here) i certainly wasn't prepared to sell a couch we only had for 9 months, knowing we wouldn't get close to what we paid for it. my solution? take the middle section out and connect the ends. this couch isn't made to be in sections; it's made to be as one piece, so dylan had to a little handy work to make it work. and it does, even if it is a little large for the space. these are the realities you have to deal with when living in a toronto condo! that said, it is pretty much the same size as our other place, just a completely different layout, therefore making things fit differently. i think it's about (including the balcony) about 635 sq ft. anyways, on with the overload of pictures... (don't mind chloe, she follows me around everywhere)

from the door.

i'm only 5'2" so that ugly step ladder has to stay there for me to reach the top cabinets ;) there's also a regular size closet right across from the oven which if for dylan. i took the bedroom closet, clearly.

lots of cabinet space! a huge plus. and dare i say some are actually empty!? (ok, only 1, but still)

our 'dining area' isn't right by the kitchen, but it works. and the folds come up and easily seats 4 when it's round.

hidden appliances! and the glass stove top is still something i'm getting used to.

the den, to the right of the door. ie dylan's man cave.

he uses 2 computers simultaneously. boys. 

all of chloe's toys :)

the bedroom, duh. love the floor to ceiling windows.

unfortunately, the black dresser wouldn't fit at the foot of the bed, so it became dylan's 'night table'.

right now, the tv is just sitting on a safe. not sure what we're going to do with it. hang it on the wall? find a long, thin table that will fit on the wall across from the bed? 

bedroom closet on the left, washer/dryer in the closet across, bathroom straight ahead, which also leads back into the den.

regular ole bathroom. but i must say, i do love our shower head. and i can't wait to take some baths in the nice big tub.

can't complain about this being our view.

our wee balcony with it's temporary seating (and beach/camping chairs off to the side for more seats)

well, that's everything! a look into our home and a piece of the toronto sky. 

happy weekend! 

a christmas glow...

it's not quite december, and i've already decorated. i really wanted to get us a full sized tree to decorate for our first year in our own place; i mean, that bay window is just calling for it. but i considered the cost of buying a new tree and then all new decorations and i figured we would just stick it out with my small one from my apartment for this last year and then buy new stuff once it's sale after christmas.

a pretty glow.

decorations showcasing things i love: coffee (and having worked at starbucks), eeyore, baking, and that's just me in the reflection of the silver ball ;)

chloe's stocking on the right hand side, which needs to be hung still.

some christmas scents mixed in.

around the house.

couldn't decorate without rum and eggnog.

every night, i come home from work and put the lights on, and watch some tv in the glow. now, i just gotta get working on the christmas shopping.