Our First Christmas… A Peek

This is our first Christmas in the our new home and I have to say that I couldn’t have wished for a more perfect Christmas. The decoration wasn’t grand, but I had the hubby home(for a change), plus there was the newest addition to our family; baby Ian and of course my other prince, Zion. Who could ask for more, right?



The hubby drew this scene on Zion’s chalkboard wall the night before Christmas.  Zion was thrilled to see it on Christmas morning! Also the hubby is the one who drew all the animals in the post about Zion’s playroom( I had a few queries about who the artist was).  He is the artist in the family.

Can you guess which stocking is mine? Next year, I hope to be more creative and make my own stockings.

one of my favourite ornaments  and I love my stick version of a Christmas tree

Our dog Ginger loves her new toy. You can tell from the closed eyes

my very colourful Christmas tree

I hope you’re continuing to enjoy the holiday season. Lots of cheer and good wishes from our house to yours! XX

Warmest Wishes...

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.  ~Charles Dickens

Warmest wishes and loads of love to each of you and your families. Be safe and enjoy!! XX image

Zion’s chalkboard wall

Zion’s play room is a working progress. I actually observe how he uses the space and then go from there with design ideas etc. I painted Zion’s chalkboard wall for him when I was 81/2 months pregnant. I also painted the adjoining walls an orange colour(no surprise there, right?). Anyway, I’ve always wanted to do a chalkboard wall and Zion’s love affair with doodling on the bare walls led me to paint one sooner than later.


For someone like me who loves instant gratification, it was no fun painting the chalkboard wall. I had to wait 24 hrs. before I could apply a second coat. In addition, you have to so call “chalk” the wall before using it or marks would still be visible even after erasing. The pic above shows the “chalked” wall.


We all enjoy having the chalkboard wall. Ironically too, Zion still uses the chalk to “decorate” the other walls. I guess that is what 2 year olds do.  Happy Tuesday everyone! XX

Grooving into Monday with Tangerine Tango!

Have you heard? Pantone’s colour choice for 2012 is called Tangerine Tango. Since I am obsessed with all variations of the colour orange, I am not complaining. Orange will always be an "in" colour for me! Yeah baby!:-) Have a groovy Monday everyone! XX

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Giveaway Winner

I am so super excited to announce the winner for this fantastic giveaway! Drum roll please... Jeanette of Everton Terrace (one of my closest blog friends too). Congrats darling. I will be contacting you shortly for your contact info!! XX

$100 Crate and Barrel Gift Card Thank You Giveaway!

Hello everyone! All of you will be in for a wonderful treat this week! Since I haven’t blogged or visited you all in awhile (you all know why) to show my appreciation, I figured a Crate and Barrel gift card would be a great start to show you how much I REALLY APPRECIATE each of you AND

MISS visiting you all.  O.K., let’s talk about this fantastic giveaway! Crate and Barrel is one of my favourite stores to shop and I am hoping it is one of yours too.

Their prices aren’t outrageous and you’ll be in for a divine treat if you shop their holiday collection.

Their products appeal to diverse tastes, BUT if Crate and Barrel doesn’t strike your fancy, you can also use the

Gift Card at sister stores like Land of Nod (everything that you can imagine for the children) or

CB2!( all things mod and fab)

How to enter:

Simply comment below if you’re a follower of Design Addict Mom.

Additional entries

Tweet about this giveaway

Post about this giveaway on facebook

Giveaway ends Friday December 9th 2011. Good luck everyone! Also stay tuned for more fun stuff to come. You all deserve it:-)

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He’s Here!

Hi everyone! Look who’s here! Baby Ian-Ian Benjamin Blake.  He came two weeks ago (October 17th), a week early.

He weighed 6lbs 15.5 ounces and was 191/4 inches long.

His Daddy made it home just in time too! I’m truly overjoyed and feel utterly blessed. XX

P.S. Zion adores him and smothers him with kisses everyday

Great Use of Wall Paper and Update:

I love the double duty that this Cole and Son wallpaper plays in this space. It adds visual interest and also disguises the storage cupboards that are nestled under the staircase.  Lovely splashes of colour too!

In Baby News:

This shot is a pic from my baby shower which was last weekend. More to come about that very fun day. Anyway, almost a week later, I am in the hospital measuring my contractions and learning that I am in early labor and have begun to dilate. Of course, my first thought was, “But my hubby isn’t here yet!” Baby isn’t due until October 25th either. I am home now waiting to be dilated to 4cm and thank goodness the contractions have eased in intensity. I am able to find the time to write this post because I am now on some sort of bed rest. I say some sort because I am still moving around because I can’t stay in bed all day. My Mom would be wagging her finger at me if she were here.  Great news though-the hubby is on his way home and if I stay still like a good girl, maybe our little bundle of joy will wait until his Daddy gets home. 
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Two Months to go…

Two months to go! Can you believe it?

Hi everyone! I returned to work two weeks ago and the first couple weeks are always super crazy; meeting parents, setting up the classroom, etc. etc. Thus, blogging had to take a back seat. However, hopefully things will be back to some semblance of normalcy soon. Ok, y’all, guess what you’re looking at!? Yep, a pic of the little bundle of joy soon to be in my arms. I did a 4D ultrasound when my Mom was here so that she could “bond” with him and he was “busting a move” for her the entire time. He had his feet over his face almost the entire time- amazing how flexible they are. However, we were able to get some wonderful shots of his face and he was sticking out his tongue, yawning, opening his eyes, and just was so animated. I kept shouting at the technician/nurse, “did you see that!?” She probably thought I was crazy.

A warm welcome to my new readers and to my long time readers, thank you for all your support. I will be catching up with you all soon. XX

Loving these…

I really love all of the above! I especially adore the words by Audrey Hepburn. What’s up for the weekend my friends? My Mom is coming on Sunday for a week long visit and I am Super Thrilled! I am going to be pampered endlessly and probably told what to do like, “you shouldn’t be lifting this,” or “why don’t you go lay down and relax?”. But, you know what, I am going to enjoy every minute, the pampering and the “nagging”.. Z is going to be excited to see his Grandma too and she just can’t get enough of her Z!  I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and that you have tons of fun spending time with family and/or friends! XX

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Keeping a Clean Kitchen.

can be a pain in the buttocks! I feel like I am always cleaning my kitchen. How about you?  If I’m home, most of my time is spent in the kitchen either prepping a meal, fixing a snack for Z, cooking, sorting my mail( I sort my mail at our kitchen bar/counter), and other random activities.

Since I complete so many tasks in my kitchen, I find that I’m always “cleaning up”. The kitchen is the heart of the home, but I really do hate all the time I have to devote to its constant cleaning. Anyway , I was thrilled to  recently find a feature in one of favourite mags; Realsimple on how to speed clean your kitchen.

When I saw the title,  Speed clean, I thought-that’s my type of language!  So here is a snapshot from the feature:

Every Day

Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
Wipe down the counters (one minute).
Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).

Every Week

Mop the floor (five minutes).
Wipe the cabinets, backsplashes, and appliances (10 minutes).
Wash the dish rack (four minutes).
Wipe the switch plates and phone (one minute).
Wipe the inside of the garbage can (one minute).

Every Season

Empty and scrub down the inside of the refrigerator (30 minutes).
Empty and clean the insides of the utensil drawers (15 minutes).
Scrub down the cupboard exteriors (30 minutes).
Clean the stove-hood filter (10 minutes).

Beat the Clock

In the time it takes to brew a pot of coffee, you can get through your "every day" list(above).

Be Prepared

Keep extra garbage bags (or a whole roll) at the bottom of your trash can( I already do this and it really makes life easier) and never again have to retrieve an apple core from a bagless bin.

Let It Shine

Streak-free stainless-steel surfaces are the Holy Grail of kitchen cleaning. Caldrea's olive oil–based Stainless Steel Spray promises to reduce fingerprints. (Available in five scents, including green tea and lavender pine, $11 for 11.8 ounces)

Great tips, don’t you think? I just gave you a snippet of the feature. You can read it in its entirety here.

Here are some more clean and beautiful kitchens to inspire you

Hopefully these tips were as useful to you as they were to me. Happy Tuesday everyone! XX

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