little wren » inspiration

summer dreaming…

Little Wren — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:26:24 +0000

This past weekend all of us in Vancouver were treated to our first real taste of summer, and it was, without a doubt, absolutely wonderful.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Vancouver, it rains a lot here. And I mean a lot. Fall is grey and rainy. Winter is grey, rainy and sometimes snowy. And spring? Well it’s rainy too. Although we’re fortunate enough to be surrounded by vast amounts of natural beauty, if you add enough rain and grey and grossness it’s enough to drive anyone crazy. However, summer is when Vancouver really shines (no pun intended).

Summer in Vancouver is what makes enduring months of rain and the astronomical rents all worthwhile. The beach, the mountains, the parks, the seawall… every summer I fall in love with my city all over again.

I experienced this overwhelming sense of gratitude and city love this weekend. Here are a few instagram pictures I snapped during a walk along the seawall in False Creek. Can you see why I love it?

I also did something this weekend that I very rarely do – I spent a bit of time relaxing. Yes, it’s true, although it’s a bit of a foreign concept to me, I actually relaxed… and it was amazing! Subsequently I started thinking about why it had been so long since I actually took a break to relax and recharge… and how every year without fail I’m filled with regret by the time September rolls around that I haven’t really enjoyed the summer as much as I could have.

Not this year friends.

This year I pledge to take time to enjoy the summer. Expect many more pictures of local (and not so local) scenery, craft projects, new products, yummy treats and fancy drinks.

relaxing in the backyard with a book and glass of wine

Dream Home

Little Wren — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:32:41 +0000

I came across these photos yesterday on one of my newest and most favourite blog discoveries dustjacket attic (check it out, it’s beautiful!). As soon as saw this Country Style Australia spread I immediately fell in love… pretty sure I even gasped aloud. Naturally, I then did what any other web savvy girl would do these days; I pinned the pictures to my ‘Dream Home‘ board on pinterest.

I mean, beautiful floral patterns, whimsical vintage pieces and gorgeous fresh flowers… what’s not to love?!

It struck me as funny that I have this board on pinterest called ‘dream home that’s full of pictures of all these amazing interiors, but as I was pinning these my first thought was ‘no, but for real guys, this is my dream home. No joke.’ So naturally I had to share on my blog as well. Stylist Lara Hutton and photographer Anson Smart did an incredible job… it made my heart hurt I love it so much :)

If you like, you can follow the rest of my pinterest boards here

Seattle Blogshop Recap

Little Wren — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:08:57 +0000

Well this post is long overdue – over a week in fact! However I returned from my weekend away in Seattle to a rather hectic week playing catch-up, and sadly haven’t had a chance to post about the fantastic experience that was blogshop until now. As predicted, blogshop was awesome. I learnt a ton, met some fabulous ladies and returned home fully inspired. I won’t go in to too much detail about what we learnt – there was A LOT packed in to the weekend – but will say that I highly recommend you attend if you can. It’s well worth it – Bri and Angela are great teachers.

So without further ado, here are a few pictures I managed to take over the weekend… Oh and I’ll be practicing some of the tips and tricks I learnt in the next few blog posts, so thanks in advance for bearing with me as I try a few new things out :)

The weekend took place at Fred Wildlife Refuge - a fun event space and photo studio in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area. And true to it’s name, various wildlife popped up in different places around the building…

Table decor and beautiful vintage vignettes were provided by Scout Vintage Rentals - they did such a lovely job! Check out their website for pictures of more beautiful vintage arrangements.It makes me wish I had a warehouse to store all the vintage treasures I find but have to pass up due to lack of space (although limited funds don’t help either).

Here’s a little glimpse at what the room looked like… well this was my view for much of the weekend anyways.

above: hard at work --- below: sustenance (i.e. best cupcake ever and a mimosa)

And I couldn’t go without mentioning our (much needed) afternoon pick-me-up on the second day, which included a mimosa and possibly the yummiest cupcake I’ve ever had courtesy of Trophy Cupcakes. It was a s’more in cupcake form – a chocolate cupcake with marshmallow icing and graham cracker crust – and was in a word, delicious.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend.

blogshop in Seattle!

Little Wren — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:15:50 +0000

I am writing this post all snuggled up in a cute little B&B I’m staying at in Seattle. I am here to attend the Seattle edition of blogshop this weekend, and I have to say, I am so excited!

Blogshop is basically a weekend crash course about photoshop specifically geared towards blogging. In other words, it’s pretty much perfect for what I want and need. Plus it’s taught by some seriously awesome ladies. A weekend away, learning cool things and inspiring gals? Yes please! Did I mention I’m incredibly excited?!?

But it is late and I need to be all bright-eyed and ready to learn tomorrow, so beauty rest time it is…

snuggled up under a cute pom-fringed blanket

Inspiration: French General

Little Wren — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 07:26:55 +0000

I discovered the gorgeous French General and their breath-taking french countryside chateau meets farmhouse aesthetic a few years ago (if you’re not currently nodding your head knowingly right now, I highly suggest you follow the link and check them out). While I have yet to venture to mecca (i.e. their Los Angeles store) I recently acquired two beautiful books; French General Home Sewn and French General Handmade Soirees. I have been leafing through them repeatedly as of late and finding myself very inspired (and a rather wistful for all Kaari Meng’s beautiful fabrics and vintage treasures)

Hopefully you will soon see some projects from these books that I’ve created, but until then I thought I would share a few pages from the books that are inspiring me at the moment. Below are some of my favourite projects from the books (though please excuse the less than stellar quality photos – I left my good camera at work, so had to make due with my iPhone)

Home Sewn

from the French General website (www.frenchgeneral.com)

table of contents

scalloped tablecloth

hanging notion holder

Handmade Soirees

from the French General website (www.frenchgeneral.com)

monogrammed linen napkins

tea party!

midsummer's eve soiree (love the masks on the right and votive holder on the left!)