All posts tagged ikea

we went to edmonton

A few weeks ago, we went on a small holiday to Edmonton, AB. We did the same trip when I was pregnant with Remy. It was mostly to buy big baby items, but also to mark the last mini vacation before baby comes! This is what we got up to …

Day One

We arrived around supper time. Our original plans were to check into our hotel, order room service, and then go swimming. But with being locked in a vehicle for over five hours, Geoffrey and I were wanting to stretch our legs and let Remy run around. We decided to go to IKEA then, instead of on our last day (even though we went back then as well).

We had supper in the restaurant, and then went shopping. We purchased:


Leka Baby Gym


Tillgiven Baby Towel


Forsiktig Stool


Raklev Flatwoven Rug


Fladis Seagrass Basket


Soare Place Mats


Minnen Children’s Bed


Plutten Mattress


Vanskaplig Linen


Grusblad Duvet

By the time we had finished it was nearly bedtime. We picked up a snack and made our way to the hotel. We were off to a great start!

Day Two

We began the morning with a continental breakfast at our hotel. We ended up staying at the Radisson, as per usual. It’s a larger hotel with free parking, free breakfast, a hotel, gym, restaurant, pet-friendly, and is basically equal distance between IKEA and West Edmonton Mall. We love it there, and have stayed many times alone, with dogs, and now a child.

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After breakfast we made the short drive over to West Coast Kids. One of the main reasons why we came to the city was to purchase a particular stroller from this store. It was one that I had my eye on since the beginning of my pregnancy, and it just so happened to be on sale! Geoffrey and Remy played while I shopped. I bought:


Peg Perego Book Team Double Stroller


Little Unicorn Muslin Crib Sheet


Kushies Changing Pad Cover


Gautier Studio House Shelf


Boka Wood Pacifiers


Sago Mini Wiener Mobile (for Remy)

I could have spent all day there, buying more and soaking in the baby jitters goodness. Yet, I didn’t want to annoy anyone, or break our budget. Sadly, we left after less than two hours. Afterwards, we ended up going to Canadian Tire to buy straps in order to tie everything down to the vehicle. We also drove to where we used to live when we were first married. It was too smoky that day to go for a walk, unfortunately. So we ordered room service for lunch, and went back to the hotel to eat and nap.

That afternoon, we went to West Ed Mall. All of our plans were thrown for a loop because of the forest fires in BC. We couldn’t do anything outside, like visiting the zoo or walking around. So we decided that day to get all of our shopping over and done with and head home a day early.

Geoff took Remy to Marine Life while I quickly went to a couple of stores. After getting a few non-related baby items, I was feeling guilty and missing them. So I went and found them. We took Remy to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and then walked around to let her burn off all of her sugar energy.

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It was getting late, but we really wanted to go to Galaxyland. We made a quick stop where they went on one ride. Honestly, it was just too loud and the rides weren’t really suited for a 2-year-old. We ended up leaving after awhile, picked up supper, and went back to the hotel. Aside from Galaxyland, the mall was really fun!

Day Three

We had planned on leaving that afternoon, but were out of ideas as to what to do that morning for entertainment. We originally wanted to go to the RAM, but after looking it up online, we discovered that it was closed while they were moving to a new location. We also now had IKEA purchases strapped down to the roof of our vehicle. Not wanting them to get stolen, we decided to return to IKEA to run around and eat before leaving the city. (We figured that they would be the safest there.) So that’s what we did! I ended up buying a few other items:


Fintorp Kitchen Rail


Mala Paper Holder


Mala Paper Roll

We ate at the little cafe before heading out. That was probably the best food that we had the entire trip. Remy and I shared four hot dogs and she devoured the pear juice. At less than a dollar for each item, we should have stocked up. It was a delicious and fun morning. We all just love IKEA.

We made the five hour drive home, and returned close to bedtime. Our goose is the quietest traveler in the vehicle, and loves exploring new places. I really cherished this last vacation as a family of three. I’m sure that it won’t go this smoothly once our beloved baby arrives. Haha.

You can relive our previous trip to Edmonton here. Thanks for reading!

Emory

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by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 08/30/2018  •  Permalink
Posted in baby, Travelogues, what i bought
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 08/30/2018

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2018/08/30/we-went-to-edmonton/

living room: before and after

Hello, friends! I must admit that I have been pushing this post back, only because renovation posts are a little daunting to both write and photograph. Now I’m finally ready to show you our living room makeover. (This will come only mere few weeks before our kitchen makeover post, so hang on!) Above are the before pictures.

I began this renovation by ripping out the carpet, underlay, and tack strip. This actually took me two full days to do given the size of the room. I had to do it on my own as well since Geoffrey was away at the time. But between mom duties, I got it done! 

What a mess. The underside of carpet was covered in dirt, which of course became airborne with each rip. The underlay was stained and smelled incredibly old, and removing the tack strip is never fun. 

Yet, I was looking forward to exposing what I hoped would be hardwood floors that we could refinish. This was unfortunately not the case. Not only were there multiple holes in the floors where you could clearly see through to the basement, there was water damage, broken boards, and missing hardwood in the places where they widened the doorways. The old porch (which is now part of the living room) had no hardwood at all. Instead, it had OSB boards that were soft and moulded. It was not good.

I swept, vacuumed, and scrubbed the floors multiple times over the next few days. Then I put all of the furniture back. 

Painting came next. I took my time over the next few weeks to paint the walls and ceiling white. It took three thick coats, but probably could have used four. 

Next we picked out flooring from Flooring Superstores in Saskatoon. We chose a good laminate floor that was majorly discounted due to the store being down to its remaining boxes. It was only $1.65/square foot! We couldn’t have gotten a better deal than that, and it matched the surrounding floors so beautifully. We really lucked out. They brightened up the room immensely. I no longer felt guilty about not refinishing the floors underneath.

After they installed the floors, Geoffrey finally pitched in and installed the quarter round! I was so grateful to have his help. Then he painted the trim and did some finishing work to complete the room. He also hung the curtains that I purchased from Urban Outfitters. He did such a beautiful job with everything! Without him, the living room would still be unfinished.

Now for the after photos!

Here are a few details on our purchases:

1. IKEA Runner

2. IKEA Play Kitchen

3. IKEA Children’s Chair

4. IKEA Couch

5. Bamboo Chair

That’s it! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I look forward to hearing from you guys.

Emory

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by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 04/20/2018  •  Permalink
Posted in new home
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 04/20/2018

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2018/04/20/living-room-before-after-2/

family room to back porch to bedroom makeover

When we purchased our home a year ago, the back addition was labelled as a family room. It was also one of the first rooms that I tried to improve a bit. In this blog post, I explained how we added wallpaper, a new light fixture, barn wood shelf, and began using it as a porch/office. This worked very well for us and our dogs until recently. Above are the before photographs.

Knowing that we desperately needed a third bedroom for guests, I began to brainstorm how we might be able to change the space into just that. I was also thinking about resale. I contacted our realtor and asked him what it would take to legally call a room a bedroom. He replied that it would need a window (or door) and preferably, a closet. The room was already equipped with the former, so we set about obtaining the latter.

The first thing that had to go was the carpet that our dogs so aptly stained over the previous year. I returned to the same flooring store where we purchased the carpet for Remy’s room, and picked out a laminate floor that I thought would work well.

Next we ordered a large wardrobe from IKEA. Prior to its arrival, I gave the room another coat of white and Geoffrey added the quarter round moulding. After we completed that and the closet arrived, he put it together for us. Then I set to decorating- the best part!

Here is our newest bedroom:

I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about staging a room. That and my style so often changes. That said, I do what I can on a limited budget. I’m sure that many will pick out flaws with our work, but we’re both so happy with it. It’s a huge improvement and better yet, has increased the value of our home. We know that it was a smart decision in the end.

Emory

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by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 08/03/2017  •  Permalink
Posted in diy, new home
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 08/03/2017

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2017/08/03/family-room-to-back-porch-to-bedroom-makeover/

before and after: remy’s room

remys-room-1Hi everyone! Well, like I posted earlier on Instagram- it only took 7 months and 3 houses, but we finally have a room for Remy!

I can’t believe that we went this long without having anywhere to put her things. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I remember going out for supper after my biweekly doctor appointments, and crying in the restaurant every time because I didn’t have a nursery for our baby-to-be. At the time, I felt like such a bad mother. While I hope to never relive that experience of being so pregnant and feeling so unprepared, I also realize that it really wasn’t the end of the world. However, I am so glad that she has a room of her own! Let’s begin the room tour.

before-roomAbove is what her room looked like when we first moved in. The walls were painted beige, and the ceiling had a cloud design on it. There was an old fixture, dirty blinds, and dated switch plates. (Please excuse the mess of boxes, I couldn’t put anything away until her room was painted.)

remys-room-2-2Geoffrey and I chose a basic white, zero VOC paint for her walls and ceiling. After two thick coats, we were ready to set up her room.

remys-room-4remys-room-11A week before Remy was born, I published a post on my nursery envy. The inspiration for Remy’s room largely came from this room. To me, its whimsical nature and somewhat chaotic state is exactly what I think of when I think of a fun and well-loved child’s room. Plus, I’m notorious for hanging crates as shelving. It was a perfect match.

remys-room-6The white rose was Remy’s baptismal flower, and the little black-eyed-Susan was the first flower that Remy ever picked for me.

remys-room-7remys-room-8Remember the post with her crib? It’s a Jenny Lind, and we made a road trip specifically to purchase one.

remys-room-9-2Her sonogram photos were a DIY project that I shared in November of last year.

remys-room-12Rather than buying a new light for her room, we removed the one in the hallway and turned it from brass to silver by spray painting it. We lucked out with the light, since I was having the worst time trying to find one that would suit a little girl’s room. This one even has flowers on it. I think that it’s so cute now.

remys-room-3We still need to replace the carpet with hardwood flooring, and change the colour of the baseboards. However, that will probably be in a few years from now. Until then, Remy (and whomever else may come along) can have the ugly but soft carpet to play on.

<3

Emory

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by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 10/18/2016  •  Permalink
Posted in baby, new home
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 10/18/2016

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2016/10/18/before-and-after-remys-room/

cups and succ(ulent)s

IMG_0024The last time I published a post about our kitchen, we had installed new cabinets and had partially rearranged it. After all of that, I still had not yet achieved the light and airy look that I was hoping for. You know the one. I can usually be found in the IKEA catalogue. White walls. Open shelving. Exposed plates. Greenery. Minimalist. So, I rearranged things once again.

IMG_0043I dragged the massive wire storage unit that we purchased from Home Depot into the kitchen, switching out the antique wooden armoire. After I washed the rack down, I set about arranging all of our plates, cups, and succulents on it. 

IMG_0034IMG_0038I couldn’t have asked for a better fit. It blended in so beautifully. I love how it displays our plates and bowls from Crate & Barrel, our glassware from Anthropologie, our organizers from IKEA, and my collection of over thirty succulents that I have been carefully growing over the last few years.

IMG_0039IMG_0023This is now my favourite corner of The Little Barn. 

IMG_0059Have a great weekend!

<3

Emory

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by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 07/21/2016  •  Permalink
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 07/21/2016

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2016/07/21/cups-and-succulents/

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  • Hello! My name is Emory. I am a wife, mother of four (three on earth in heaven). This is our life on the Canadian prairies.
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