kim's pagehttp://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/en-US2010-09-03T06:15:52ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.5 (http://www.squarespace.com/)New art!http://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/8/27/new-art.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-08-27T20:37:07ZAbout a week after my wedding Stephen, one of the creators of the online art gallery Ugallery, emailed to let us know they had launched a sister site to Ugallery called Paperwork that offers limited edition, sustainable prints starting at $20. All of the artwork is printed archivally on bamboo paper, the world's first eco-friendly fine art paper. He also asked if I wanted to select a print as a wedding gift. I jumped at the chance because I LOVE artwork - especially photographic prints. There was one on the home page that immediately caught my eye. It's called Milk Splash by Seattle photographer Chelsea Fisher (get it HERE). It is SO FUN and I adore it. Since Jeff moved in and we're planning a ton of work on the house everything is in disarray so for now the print is hanging right above my desk. Thanks Stephen!!

]]>From Genhttp://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/8/22/from-gen.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-08-22T18:05:28ZA devoted multiple-times-a-day reader of the blog named Gen emailed me while I was on vacation to tell me about a couple of things. First she mentionned a huge, and I mean HUGE dinner party that took place in a secret location in Montreal on August 19th, called Dîner en blanc or Dinner in White . "At the last minute, a message is sent to thousands of friends and acquaintances who have been patiently waiting to learn the “Dîner en Blanc’s” secret location, and a “flash mob” dressed all in white, and conducting themselves with the greatest decorum, elegance, and etiquette, all meet for a mass “chic picnic” in a public space." HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! Apparently it's been going on in Paris every year for the past 20 years, and now has 15,000 participants. This year was Montreal's second year hosting the event, and 2,200 people attended. Looks like it was a blast! (Photo below by Sean Mollitt)

Gen also mentionned how much she enjoys the blog and that she indirectly talks about it in a song she wrote called The Breaks. !!!!!!!!!! I LOVE the song and the video so I thought I'd embed it here so you all can enjoy it too.

The Domestic Crisis Group - The Breaks from Michèle Gauthier on Vimeo.

]]>Back to house stuffhttp://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/8/6/back-to-house-stuff.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-08-06T22:55:37ZEnough about the wedding - let's get back to house stuff and other randomness. In the last little while I have acquired some pretty kitchen items such as footed trays and a beautiful bowl that I didn't really have anywhere to display. The only open shelving in my kitchen (and I don't have a dining room) was the one steel shelf over a section of my cabinets.

I luuuurve open shelving and being able to display kitchenware out in the open. On the weekend I finally decided to do something about it (for the meantime - I'm hoping with our house renos/additions to turn the current living room into a dining room, which means I will have plenty of space for showcasing my growing collection). I had 3 of the steel Ikea shelves from my old house but when I renovated the kitchen, I thought I wanted to keep it a bit sparse so I only installed one. Now I have all 3 shelves installed and it's fulfilled my burning desire to display more of my crap. Of course, I'll be fussing with the items on those shelves about a zillion times but whatever keeps me amused....

]]>I'm now a married woman!http://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/7/25/im-now-a-married-woman.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-07-25T14:13:54ZThe wedding was FANTASTIC, everything went off without a hitch, the weather - while brutally hot - was ok otherwise and our 51 guests had a great time. We're off to brunch at my parent's house, but before we head out, I wanted to share a photo our photographer Sarah put up on her Flickr photostream. It's a beautiful photo and I can't wait to see the rest.

]]>I am getting married tomorrow!http://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/7/23/i-am-getting-married-tomorrow.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-07-24T01:58:48ZIt's 10 pm July 23rd. By 4:30 pm tomorrow I will be married to the guy who has meant the world to me for the past 10 or so years.

EEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I see why wedding planners are useful.

Here is the only photo I have for a sneak peak.

]]>The best wedding gift everhttp://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/7/13/the-best-wedding-gift-ever.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-07-13T23:03:49ZMaybe it was a couple months back when Jo one day sent me a few links to Moroccan wedding blankets and asked me which one I liked best. I thought about it for 20 seconds or so and then IM'ed her back saying "DON'T YOU DARE BUY ME A GODDAMN MOROCCAN WEDDING BLANKET AS A WEDDING GIFT". Sure enough she freaking DID. She sent it to my twin sister's house thinking it would maybe be a surprise. Which I told her it wasn't because I GUESSED WHAT IT WAS. Doesn't take a genius to figure out a wedding blanket is the perfect gift for someone getting married. So Jo being the impatient friend she is, agreed I should just have it now, and my sister brought it over last night. It is absolutely incredible and one of the things I now must grab if my house is on fire. (My other hand will grab the 8 cats). I cannot EVER use it on my bed because I HAVE EIGHT CATS. I would never be able to get the fur off of it and it's not something you toss into the washing machine. I think I may mount a bar on the wall (maybe over my bed) and drape it over that, in plain view, where cats cannot lay. In the meantime I needed to take some photos so I lay it out on the bed and screamed every time a cat came near.

(P.S. She got it from Cassandra Karinsky of the amazing shop Muskelil).

]]>Wedding accessorieshttp://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/7/10/wedding-accessories.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-07-10T18:17:09ZThis is just a quick post to show you the shoes and shrug I found for the wedding. The shoes are PERFECT with the dress because they also have a vintage look to them. I found them at Spring for $59. :) They are plastic-y and the heel isn't ideal for walking around in grass so I don't think I'm going to end up wearing them for very long. But I do adore them. The black satin shrug/bolero is from this Etsy shop and was $39 (+$10 shipping). Pretty decent scores I'd say.

****the big day is in 2 weeks!!!!!****

]]>And then there were 8http://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/7/5/and-then-there-were-8.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-07-06T00:42:33ZWe're now down to 8 cats. Domino, one of Jeff's cats, was not getting along with my 7 cats and it's been about 6 weeks. So Jeff finally decided to get in touch with Berni, the president of Friends of Adandoned Pets - the organization we were fostering him through, and she agreed to take him tonight. We were grateful on many levels, a big one being that it's brutally hot here in Ottawa and will be all week (45 Celsius) and with Domino locked in the bathroom it was WAY too hot. Her house is air conditioned and she's going to help him try and integrate into her clan of 8 cats and a dog, and hopefully at some point find him a permanent home. We'll miss the little bugger. He was the cutest, sweetest cat ever. Loves to head-butt, and rub his pheremones all over the place. He is a huge sucky baby and anyone interested in adopting him will fall in love with him within seconds, I guarantee it. (If anyone out there may want to adopt him, check out the FOAP website.

Love ya Dom.

]]>Bringing out the summer disheshttp://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/6/4/bringing-out-the-summer-dishes.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-06-04T20:00:18ZYou may remember this post from back in March where I talked about some Melmac dishes I bought for use outside this summer. Well, I have no patio furniture and likely can't afford any what with a wedding next month and additions to the house to hopefully get started soon so I decided to hell with it, I'm going to use them anyhow. I moved my regular dishes down in the basement and took out all the Melmac. I am so excited to start using them. The colours are gorgeous and summery and they are SO much lighter than my regular dishes. Plus, they're smaller in size so maybe I'll eat less. :) I popped out the doors to my pantry to show them in their glory, all stacked up and ready to be used.

]]>My wedding dresshttp://www.desiretoinspire.net/kims-page/2010/5/28/my-wedding-dress.htmlDesire to Inspire2010-05-28T23:48:19ZSome people noticed in the comments on my previous post about my hunt for a wedding dress that I managed to find one. Well, Jeff and I are far too pooped tonight to do any more moving of his stuff to my house so while we waited for pizza to arrive I decided to run upstairs and snap some shots of my dress. I found it one Friday after work when Jeff and I went to the Rideau Centre mall looking for a wedding band for him. I decided to check out a few stores for a dress and found one cute one at BCBG but it wasn't wowing me like a wedding dress should so we stopped at Holt Renfrew (the Canadian version of Bergdorfs) and I tried on about 6 dresses. One of them I fell in love with. It's adorable and totally my cuppa. And it was only $438. It fits me perfectly. Now I just need to find some shoes that won't get stuck in the grass in my parent's backyard (the wedding location)....

]]>