Ok really done with The benches...

The last little bits and pieces were done and glued. We have yet to change out light fixture here and put up our french cafe style curtains and all will be just lovely...and not to forget our custom low back chairs need to be made too!
Ok NOT done yet(: but here is what we have now...

This is the nook BEFORE and where it all started, greenish walls and no seating!

Our nook bench just got finished and how do you like my kitchen office? ((:

Ok it is a lovely Friday afternoon, when our nook built-in benches have been finished this morning! Denka did a wonderful job and we look forward to tomorrow morning when we can remove the wooden bars that enforce the glue right now.

I am just enjoying the process and looking at them from my walk-in pantry / kitchen office area. Yes it is coffee...not cognac that I am drinking today(: out of my darling Wedgwood cup...
Enjoy your weekend everyone! Z

Just a bit of cooking inspiration...

Today for supper I perfected my chicken paprikash recipe! My Hungarian friend says NO to tomatoes for this flavorful dish but I love putting them in and can't make it any other way(:

So that is my secret... Tomatoes and sugar and lemon for this enticing creamy main course, and another secret is to really caramelize the onions and red peppers before I put small pieces of chicken in it!

We are enjoying it right now and I am definitely putting this one in my cookbook!

Just random musing in Calgary store Hinchcliff & Lee ...

I love this bookshelf that is made from asian screens repurposed into a cabinet... Would be perfect next to our stone fireplace! I have yet to show you our family living room... After we bought the house we did a lot here! Took a window out and replaced it with a French door style window leading onto our terrace (not sure why the builder put only a small window there in the first place!)...and we took out the existing fireplace and built in cabinets that were all wood ... And got a lovely French country stone one instead...

I also liked a rare Tibetan chest ... And antique doors for my new to be under the stairs shoe closet(:

Once upon a time... We had no nook bench...

We moved in and the paint was pale green and our nook was large and empty with great big window, another small window and a new French table we just got delivered(:

We painted beautiful yellow walls in the kitchen and living room and hallways ...

Then we had a bench made and it was too big and our beautiful table was too tight in there, so they took it down and made a new one!

Now we have a lovely nook ... Just the top piece needs to be added (finished) and bottom kick piece too. How lovely.., but I need to change the chandelier for another style and oval shape to compliment the table being a rectangle. We ordered this beautiful weathered iron chandelier with shades that you can see below in one of the pictures... And we have to redo our cushions to sit on! Then just add a French cafe style curtain And cozy nook is complete! Well I am still looking for the perfect low back chairs for the one side of the table... Any ideas? Tips for me? Please let me know!! Thanks Z

Calgary has a European Antique store "Uniquities"

I just bought a 19th century French bed side table for my husband! It is perfect... Masculine but with similar marble top like mine.. Different enough and better than what he had so far(:

Uniquities has lots of cool stuff ... I also liked a French bleached oak buffet! Thinking about it now....

And our son loves the retro phones((:

Dressing the men I love!

Don't you think that father and son looking like one another is cute? Well I did it with Burberry shirts today...

Can you imagine a sweeter husband? I can not! He is mine(:

I love snowdrops ... My utmost favorite flower and I can cry happy tears any moment since an hour ago when I got them tonight ... I do cry inside ... Because my husband surprised me by ordering 2 boxes of them from BC and I will probably not sleep all night because I will keep admiring them and smelling them!
These amazing flowers don't grow here... Their origin is Eastern Europe and they have been exported all over the world and grown many places now but their true home is where I come from and they only grow in early spring when snow starts to melt... They are so beautiful, strong and I haven't seen them since 11 years ago when I immigrated to Canada. We never travel to Europe in spring and so it is impossible to see them unless you are there when they bloom.
I can not describe how happy I am!
I would have never missed them since I was 1 year old and it just had been too long without such beauty and magic that I have once known before ... I love my husband who changed it and brought them back in my life! Even our little boy is jumping in amazement... Happy upcoming Valentine's day to all of you!
Z

ItzyRitzy.com

Another great snack bag that I wash in the washing machine once every now and then but wipe the inside or rinse it every time we use it! Cool stuff and easy to maintain(:
Search for SNACK HAPPENED tm and get it on line ... There are few sites that sell it!

Have fun! Z

Lunch skins or reusable snack bags?

Just yesterday a mother of two boys, Dawn, asked me about this and even though I sent an email to my friends last summer about it too, here it is again! I love the little cute bags (my son does too) that replaced disposable plastic ones for us and they are everything they promise to be. Saving the planet?

www.lunchskins.com

Atlanta French House from WSJ House of The day ... Just georgeous!

This French country home (quite a fafourite of mine) is done in a modern and more sophisticated way with cleaner and less cluttered approach ... We see a hint of Colour (not just beige) but not too much Colour either (red blue yellow all at once kinda thing). It is a very well done styling where the American way of presenting an elegant and polished look is complimenting the effortless French THING! As much as I love eclectic style... This house is really making me re-think my own intentions for our home and after seeing this one a while ago first time... I decided that I have to tame it down too ... Keep a bit...eclectic yes but more simple cleaner look with the polished American feel (in fashion I compare it to Ralph Lauren) has to be implemented ...
Let me know which room is your favorite and why! Thanks... Ciao Z

Stylish mama and son!

Have I said that I dislike jeans on me enough times yet? Well I dislike denim pants because it also seems so "everyone is wearing them" type of trouser and especially stay at home moms! I can't stand the idea...dressing like the rest of the crowd(:

Well, cargos on the other hand I will wear...sometimes. I bought my cool cargo skinny trouser at the bay ... Ralph Lauren... And my son found his at the superstore by Joe Fresh...he liked the big pockets on mine and when he saw his size ... It was a match made! I was truly excited as me and him can never find the very same hue and style in a clothing! He dresses often like daddy because Burberry makes kids clothing and some relate to adults ... For two boys it is possible to dress the same but mama and my darling son ... We never did until today! ((: here they are!
Ok, not very glamour photos but in my defense ... it is bath time and I am sitting on my sons bathroom floor!

Peach or Apricot Cake...what ever you like... I made the peach one today!

Ok this is my Mom's recipe and I did make a few changes to it...just because that is what I do all the time(: but it is delicious with cream or cottage cheese or nothing at all!
And easy to make... It is a winner for my soon coming cook book for stylish women / mothers...

The Wall Street Journal House of the Day is my addiction!

Have you tried it? Houses in U.S., Europe, Asia or New York specifically that are currently on the market are available at my iPad disposal any time to view... Isn't it just great!?

I took a picture of what it looks like on iPad but surely you can view on internet too.

And the other two interior photos are of some truly great taste of someone selling a house 400 km south of Paris.
I feel like I travel the world every evening when supper is done and my son is falling asleep... I look and look...

Our dining chairs arrived today!

These distressed leather beauties are so cool for the mirror dining table we have... I chose an aged oak type wood and it also works with kids eating and being messy(:
How wonderful and relaxed I can be now!?

I will present our complete before and after pictures of our dining room soon! Now waiting for my milk chocolate or mocha curtains to complete it. It is very dear to me... Combining the Provence blue walls with brown tones.