Summer Obsessions: Tina Holmes' Seasonal Favourites for the Home + Garden

Summer's here, so it's the perfect time for outdoor living. Embrace your space! With plenty of sunshine to soak up, patio parties to attend and time to relax, this is the season! Here's a few of our summer obsessions from Tina Holmes, Toronto Show Manager. Whether you’re looking for a fresh summer salad, a pop of colour, or to brighten up your garden, add some sunshine to your home and garden.

Fresh Flowers

Image via Love My Simple Home

When the days are longer and the air is warm, throw open your windows and enjoy the days of summer. Bring the fresh look of summer into your home. Add fresh flowers and plants to any room, from your bedroom, living room and even the guest room. Enjoy colourful, cheery, summery bright colours. Live with what you love!

Chair Crush

Image via Tina Holmes (@tinalovespino Instagram)

Ah, the Acapulco chair. So colourful and summery. Sitting pretty, spotted at Green Light District (Roncesvalles) new outdoor space. Perfect for creating a simple little outdoor space, the Acapulco lounge chair is available in fun bright colours.  

Brighten up the Garden

Image via Colin & Justin Instagram

Brighten up the garden and even the patio. Bring in some fun bright colour accessories! I fell in love with these Colin & Justin home watering cans.   

Summertime = DIY Time 

Image via My Painted Door

Upcycling continues to be contagious with the ease of the summer months. There are so many great upcycle ideas and inspirations out there. 

Upcycling has been done for years, but it's only with the recent do-it-yourself movement that it earned a title. It's like recycling, but the goal is making the item even better than it was before. It was love at first sight with these Mason Jars painted with Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint in boxwood and curio and torn napkins added to cover part of the jars.

A favourite summer retail therapy stop is a Restore, that inspires the DIY in all of us - you'll never know what you'll find.  

Summer Salad: Yellow Couscous Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

Image via Healthy Recipe Ecstasy

Simple and easy summer salad. The perfect recipe for your couscous obsession: yellow couscous salad with pomegranate dressing. Couscous readily absorbs the flavours of the ingredients that are added to it, so what better way to celebrate summer flavours than with mint and pomegranate. 

Click here for the recipe.

Did you know that couscous is not a grain at all, but made from semolina (the hard grains left after milling durum wheat) that's combined with flour, salt and water (and sometimes roasted) to form tiny, pasta-like pellets?

Flavoured Ice Cubes

Image via Spoon Fork Bacon

With outdoor entertaining in full swing, it’s all about serving cool, refreshing drinks on a hot day. Super cool! Fresh fruit obsession, a perfect addition to summer. The summer season brings us lots of local fresh fruit from local farmers markets and culinary adventures. Fruit frozen into ice cubes livens up your simple summer drinks.

Summer Season Craving

Image via Food Network

Chef Corbin's Smoked Bacon Wrapped Corn on the Cob with chili & fresh lime. Summer is a perfect season to enjoy our local fare, and Ontario Corn is one of the best of Ontario Summers. For the recipe click here.

Outdoor Living

Image via ElleDecor

During the summer your most coveted space is outdoors. Brighten your backyard for those warm summer nights. Enjoy outdoor living long after dark with these illuminating ideas from white lights, patio lanterns and summer loving candlelight. 

Summer Songs

Songza is the new tunes obsession for summer. Great tunes streaming from curated lists, perfect for the home, vacation and cottage too. Make your summer patio parties, barbecues, and rooftop shindigs bigger and better with Songza. Songza is 100% free, with no audio ads, all you need is a wifi connection. A fun Summer Playlist is 'Summer Escapades' curated by Train. These bouncy beats and sweet melodies will get you excited for summer adventures with friends and family.

 

Special thanks to Toronto Show Manager Tina Holmes a.k.a. @TinaLovesPinot, for  sharing her Summer Obsessions!

Enjoy your summer! 

Toronto Home Shows "We've got you covered"

Toronto Fall Home Show (Sept 18-21, 2014)
GTA Home & Reno Show (Feb 13-16, 2015)
National Home Show (March 12 -22, 2015)

Read More

Hank Daddy's BBQ: Pulled Pork Parfait Recipe

Image via www.hankdaddysbbq.com

Can’t wait to taste test Hank Daddy’s BBQ at the GTA Home Show? Look no further – here’s a surefire hit recipe for your home kitchen from pitmaster Frank Caputo.

RECIPE: Pulled Pork Parfait

Serves 10-12

• 1 pork butt (8-12 lbs)
• ½ C Hank Daddy’s Original Barbecue Rub
• 1 C Hank Daddy’s Original Barbecue Sauce
• 10 large white potatoes
• 4 tbsp butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

Pork:

• Apply dry rub to the meat liberally. In a smoker, cook the seasoned meat until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 190-195 degrees F, somewhere between 10-12 hours. Remove the cooked butt from the smoker and allow it to settle for an hour in a roasting pan. This will allow you to preserve the au jus, or natural juices, from the meat. Remove the bone with a simple quarter turn and a pull, then discard it. The bone should come out very easily if the meat is cooked. If it doesn’t come out easily, that means the meat is undercooked. With a fork in each hand, begin to pull the meat apart until completely pulled. Add sauce.

Potatoes:

• Wash and peel potatoes, cut into quarters. Add potatoes to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Remove potatoes when they are fork-tender. Mash with a potato masher until you have a smooth consistency. Add butter, salt and white pepper.

Serve layered in a martini glass, champagne glass or plain old water glass. Start with pulled pork on the bottom, barbecue sauce and a scoop of mashed potatoes. Repeat until glass is full.

_________________________________________________

FEBRUARY 20-23, 2014

For 2-for-1 tickets to the show click here!

Read More

Long Weekend Cottage Tablescape

Gearing up to hit the lake this weekend?  To get you into a cottage state of mind, we're showing you Nella Casa Bella's stunning "Cottage Comfort" tablescape from our recent GTA Home Show in Toronto.  Featuring Urban Barn furniture and accessories, this shabby chic tablescape demonstrates that rustic elements can work with modern accessories if colours are kept consistent throughout.  Check out the whole space below and get ready to dive in to cottage-themed decor this weekend!

What will your cottage comfort tablescape look like?

Tweet

Read More

Celebrate Mom With Gifts From The Heart & For The Home!

It's time to celebrate

From Tina Holmes, Toronto Show Manager:

Don't forget it's Mother's Day on May 11th. I recon your mom will be chuffed to bits with any of these gifts from our Home Show Friends.  Treat your mum to something special this Mother's Day with some of my picks - gifts from the heart and for the home.

Pretty Organized

The Boho Dress Scarf Holder by Umbra features 16 rings on which to hang your scarf collection. Hang in the closet or on a wall or door hook for easy scarf access! 

Picture This!

 

Prisma Frames.  A beautiful photograph or a sentimental photograph is always a good choice and what better way than to show them off with theses glorious gold Prisma Frames.  I have a crush on these new stylish photo frames from Umbra.  In Matte Brass wire, a photo floats between two panes of glass.  The Frames can alternately sit on a table, desk or can be hung on the wall. Three sizes available, 4 x 4, 4x6 and 5 x 7. 

A Bit of Bling!

Colourful Triangle Necklace  A statement piece from Muizee that would make a very special gift for the stylish mom.  The colourful bunting adds pops of colour on the gold box chain. The perfect combination of colours will bring out the best in any outfit.  17.5" length with a 2.5" adjustable extension and lobster claw closure.  High quality gold alloy, handmade and nickel free metal.

Turquoise LOVE

Show the love! A beautiful Turquoise bracelet from Dainty by LouLou Beads.  You can dress it up but it's still casual enough to wear every day.  Metal: Sterling Silver  Beaded With Turquoise.  Available Lengths: 6", 7", 8"

Breakfast in Bed

Breakfast Tray.  Start Mother's day off right with a stylish breakfast tray piled high with goodness.  Moms deserve breakfast in bed, plan the perfect breakfast in bed with this stylish Breakfast Tray from casalife .  This white lacquer with black trim has a handle on style.  Casalife with it's now three locations in Toronto make it easy to shop for the perfect piece of furniture or home accessory to make your house a home.

I Heart Mum
 to larger f

Heart Shaped Candle Holders.  These charming, heart-shaped tea light candleholders are a perfect way to say I love you.  Perfect for any room, each  hand crafted stone candleholder has a distinct blend of stunning colors and unique pattern. Group all six heart-shaped candleholders together to create to a more pronounced look.  Artemano  now has a location in Toronto and a makes a great shopping trip with Mom!

The Healthy Option 

Vitamix S30

Surprise her this Mother's Day with a gift from Vitamix. Because every mom wants to shower the world with more delicious fruits and vegetables.  Meet the S30.  For the first time, high performance gets personal.  This blender creates healthy options for every meal, every day.  Designed for life,  no matter where life takes you or who's along for the ride, a Vitamix personal blender makes healthy options quick, easy, and portable.

Decor to Adore... a perfect pretty Tablesetting 

GTA Home Show Tablescape by We Create Hoopla Featuring Etsy

Pillow, StudioLiscious, Etsy

We featured Tablescapes at our GTA Home Show, which featured this pretty Tablescape designed by We Create Hoopla featuring Etsy.  With Mother's day in May, Spring is in the Air and what better way than to celebrate with a perfect pretty table setting. Bright florals and succulents mixed with the simple white ceramic dishes, to the pastel pink ombre napkins makes a lovely table.  The simple details like the gold cutlery to the Rose Pillow would be mother approved.  All of the products were sourced local so everything on the table was from Canadian Etsy sellers.

For more information on this pretty Tablescape check out the We Create Hoopla blog.  Also for convenience, visit the their product resource guide on their Etsy Page 

Framing Magic

Mother's day is an opportunity to give a gift from the heart.  If you  are a DIY enthusiast then you will love our new found love with Wordle.  Worlde is a toy for generating 'word clouds'.  You can customize your clouds with different fonts, layouts and colour schemes.  Best of all, you can create your own mother inspired works of art.  Easy as 1,2,3.... Create, frame, add a bow and you're good to go. For more information and a simple tutorial click here.

For the Love of Cooking

Does your mum love cooking?  Celebrity Chef Lynn Crawford recently made a guest appearance at our GTA Home Show and also showcased her cook book  'At Home with Lynn Crawford, 200 of My Favourite Easy Recipes'.  The cookbook  is packed with fabulous recipes and plenty of inspiring photos with each recipe looking oh-so delicious makes it a great gift for Mom.  The only thing better than getting a copy for Mother’s Day would be making something from the book ahead of time and giving your mom a delicious surprise.

At Home with Lynn Crawford: 200 of my Favourite Easy Recipes Book Cover

The best present you can give is a big hug and smile and spend Mother's day with your Mom and family. 

Mother's Day is a perfect day to celebrate your Mom.

________________________________________________________

Special thanks to Toronto Show Manager Tina Holmes a.k.a. @TinaLovesPinot, for  sharing her favourite Mother's Day finds with us!

Read More

Dark vs. Light Master Bedrooms

The colour of your bedroom is truly about personal preference, so today we're presenting you with two carrying options.  It's light room versus dark room, and with natural wood elements incorporated in both, the true winner will be the one that gives off the most relaxing vibes.  Which will you choose? Will it be the serene white space with a zen atmosphere, or the charcoal space complete with rich fabrics and soothing lighting? Check them out below... 

This zen space was featured at the GTA Home Show, it is fully furnished by Artemano. 

This luxurious space was featured at the Toronto Fall Home Show with furniture from Casalife. 

Which bedroom do you prefer?

For more bedroom ideas check out our fully stacked Pinterest board here.

Read More

A Pottery Barn Easter Tablescape: Pastels, Tulips & Bunnies

 Table by Pottery Barn at Sherway Gardens

Recently featured at Toronto's GTA Home Show was Pottery Barn's stunning Easter Brunch tablescape.  Adorned with ceramic bunnies, woven chargers and a stunning pastel color palette, this Easter table is a springtime dream.  Need inspiration for your weekend brunch or dinner? Take a look at the images below and start your tablescape planning! 

Easter Brunch Tablescape

Insert a menu card in the soup bowl. 

A gradient of spring colors. 

A matching napkin for every plate.

Tulips vary in color to match the dishware. 

___________________________________________

Will you be incorporating these Easter-inspired tablescape ideas in your home this weekend?

Tweet #EasterTablescape

Read More

Feast-Worthy Tablescapes: Game of Thrones Inspirations by FLORO

Oh yea, this tablescape is pretty serious! Recently featured at our 2014 GTA Home Show in Toronto, this stunning Game of Thrones inspired table was created by Emmanuel Belliveau, creative director at Floro and FloroHome.  While this may be a little too extravagant for your Easter or Thanksgiving decor, some Game of Thrones-type inspiration can still be incorporated into your dinning room. Find more highlights below and start thinking about how you can apply some of these dramatic trends this season! 

Gold, silver and crystal paired with rustic floral arrangements.

A fur throw adds luxurious elegance to a simple bench.

Don't forget about unique decor on the floor and around the rest of the room. 

Play with height using a variety of centerpieces.

__________________________________________

What do you think of Floro's Game of Thrones inspired tablescape? 

Tweet #TablescapeLove

Share this post with followers, click the button above! 

Read More