Displaying posts labeled "Outdoors"

Because I can’t get Mexico out of my head, I thought I would share a bit of it with you today via this home designed by PPAA (Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados). Located in San Miguel de Allende, this weekend residence is minimal, filled with natural elements and is an absolute dream.

(Photos: Rafael Gamo)

I’ve been strolling scrolling the streets of the Melbourne bay side suburb of St Kilda on my favourite real estate website when I was stopped in in my voyeuristic tracks. I think I’ve found my dream home. Ivy threatens to engulf the walls of this Arts and Crafts home with its otherwise clipped and manicured garden. Inside it’s all designer style with colour, art and the fun of family life. Even better because it’s been designed to be used as two separate dwellings over two floors I can live in one and you can have the other. Link here while it lasts.

Now that the majority of the snow that dumped on us all winter has left, I have got landscaping on the brain. No landscaping has ever been done on the property of my 80 year old home and it is a total embarrassment. We plan to tackle as much of it as we can this spring and I’m soooooo clueless when it comes to this stuff. I plan on spending any time I have looking for inspiration (please let me know your favourite resources – must be harsh-Canadian-climate friendly) and here is one firm that I found that I am in awe of. New Eco is a NYC based eco-friendly and sustainably minded landscape design, build and maintenance company, and I love every project in their portfolio. Here is a sampling of my favourites.

I’m real estate hunting in the oh so upmarket suburb of Point Piper. Built in 1905, this Edwardian mansion has expansive north easterly views across Point Piper and Rose Bay to Manly. I must admit my favourite luxury indulgence in this house is the master bedroom’s bath perched in its own alcove overlooking Sydney Harbour. The photos don’t do this property justice. You can get a better idea of how serenely beautiful it is from the video. Link here while it lasts.

Hey folks. I got back yesterday from the most amazing 2 week trip to my favourite places – Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita, Mexico. If you have been following the blog a while you’ll know I do this trek almost every winter and I can’t get enough. This time it was husband and I staying at the condo in PV my folks’ rent each year – 3.5 months this time – and then because we love the bohemian surf town of Sayulita so much, we rented a totally adorable Airbnb there for 3 nights partway through the trip. We ate at soooo many incredible restaurants, shopped and shopped and shopped (I need to look into the cost of a shipping container LOL), and lay in the sun for as many hours as possible. I cannot think of a better way to welcome spring after such a horrendous winter (and to make me regret returning home even more, it had just snowed here in Ottawa). Our next objective is finding a way to move to Mexico…at least for the winter months. Here is a bit of a glimpse into our trip from some photos I grabbed off of my phone.

the colours in Mexico blow my mind

one of my favourite decor shops in Puerto Vallarta – La Colleccion

first time spotting this mural – LOVE!

my love for pink and orange is strong

since I was a kid I dreamt of living in a climate where cacti thrive outside

Hotel Hafa in Sayulita

at every turn in Sayulita is something photo-worthy

a simple but beautiful church in the Sayulita town square

surfing vibes

plants as far as the eye can see in Sayulita – and this was just a random alcove on a main street

I can’t get over how cute they display their plants

sansevieria/snake plants taller than I have ever seen

many, many, many dogs run loose all over Sayulita
they’ve tried getting a handle on the stray dog population over the years… but then we found a little 8 week old puppy in the middle of the road one day
NOT OK!

kinda love this, especially when I realized we kept walking past this for 3 days before I noticed

the colours!!!
we need to take note up here in bleak Canada

I didn’t buy that tapestry
a travesty
especially when the sweet kid at that stall took a good minute to try and come up with how to say 3000 pesos (in Spanish)

oh, did we eat!
the view from Barcelona Tapas Thursday night – a favourite restaurant of ours for many years in Puerto Vallarta

what’s not to love about tiles and plants

we stumbled upon an antiques shop we had never seen before and I nearly had a stroke at all the things, like this massive mirror, I wanted to bring home

this Mexican restaurant wins an award from me for having the cutest exterior

a beautiful shop in Sayulita called Nakawe Trading where I bought some gorg pillow cases

I wanted all the things in this store – Suré Moda y Casa

Evoke The Spirit