Le Camping Chic!

Eco travel is getting more and more attention these days - but go beyond using your towel and your sheets for more than a day (before laundering) and go camping, in major style. Get lost in bohemia while living 'en plein air' at Camping Les Ormes, located in France just south of historical Dordogne. Sleeping in a tent here sure isn't roughing it, although don't expect electricity - every detail is considered. Its so beautiful! I love the painted benches and tables throughout the place, not to mentioned the cushions in every colour. My favourite, though, has to be the cafe and eatery. The old wood beam ceiling...the eclecticism...the relaxed feel....reservation please? I think I'd better save my pennies though...it's not exactly cheap!

{sigh}

Herb'n Style

Its gardening season again! Yay! Puttering in my garden and beautifying my patio is one of my favourite activites. I hope I don't lose out too much this summer - starting a new store is kinda hogging all my time... But, I've got a new idea regarding planters for you. The nursery/garden industry is notoriously bad for using pesticides, chemicals and abusing water tables...why not mix it up and scrap the petunias this year? Plant herbs instead! They don't require all the extra nasty fertilizer to keep them flowering, just sprinkle a little compost once in a while! If you're worried about colour, there are so many varieties now, you can really acheive a lot - you could choose lemon thyme, which has yellow and green leaves, purple thai basil, lemon sage, which is bright yellow, and so many more! Chives even flower! (Hardy ones will even winter over in your pots, cutting down on next years work.) Enjoy the beauty of it, and enjoy all the yummy tomato salads and marinaras this summer too!

i love these...ever wanted the look of old world terracotta, only to be faced with bright, orangey new ones? spread a mixture of moss spores (from your garden center) and plain yogourt or buttermilk onto your pots and place in the shade. keep spritzing with water, and 10 days later, voila!

urban style {in reclaimed pots!}

this is a really cute idea - write a recipe that uses a particular herb on a card and attach it to a pretty potted version - use as gifts or favours!

if you already have an herb garden planted, keep the ones that are bad for spreading and taking over, like mint, in pots to keep it more manageable.

Maya's Momma's Fab Barn Conversion

I've mentioned before how much I love barn conversions...this one, from Maya Made*, creator of the much celebrated coffee buckets, epitomizes the concept. The story is darling too:

"I'd like to welcome you into my mother's barn and share some of its history and what makes it so special. My mother has never owned a home... until now. Two years ago, she bought this little barn (just over 1000 sq. feet) built in 1888 a couple miles away from me. It had been originally inhabited by farm animals on the main floor, and hay in the loft upstairs. There was no running water, heat, or electricity and it stood on 4 cement blocks instead of a solid foundation... birds swooped in and out of the broken windows...raccoons/squirrels/mice had been nesting in the walls for decades. The floor where the animals had stood in their feeding stall was completely rotted out, the hole, covered by an old door. Despite its age, everyone from structural inspectors to contracters, marveled at how solid and well-crafted it was. We were all excited by its potential. My mother, being the brave, daring pioneer that she is, knew this was home. Her vision was to convert the barn into a live/work art studio and make it as GREEN as her budget would allow... recycle, repurpose, reinvent was our guiding motto."

If you think you are good repurposing pre-loved items, check this out. I have to give major props to Maya and her mother for seeing the potential in this gem of a home and for so lovingly recycling so many things - it takes a lot of dedication and vision to pull something like this off! Its a real inspiration - to get this look for yourself, keep raiding those fleamarkets, and be patient. Great collections are carefully curated over time, not overnight! For those of you who haven't seen this before, enjoy - thank you Maya for sharing!

love the vintage chair collection!

repurpose, recycle - check out this fab, homemade coffee table!

love this little vignette!

Oh....My.....

Okay, wow. I'm kind of speechless over this one. I try and keep my posts original, so I don't like pulling stuff from other blogs, but I really couldn't help myself right now. While happily reading through some wonderful blogs on lunch, namely Knack, Mint and finally at Luphia Loves, I came across this amazing flat! The pure white is so beautiful, and I love that its so minimal, because it signifies that every object means something to the owner, rather than being just 'stuff'. Feast...

The slightly global, antique style means that you could probably collect many of these pieces over time, or scour flea market to acheive this look, upping the eco-ante!

Green Delight

I'm sharing more fruits of my research for the store again with you today. You may know Rubie Green, a textile company that specializes in glam, girly and green. I was delighted to find that they have an organic bedding line now too! Great sheets, in my opinion, are a must have. There's much to be said for crisp white linens but a great pattern can dress up any bedroom. Keep in mind that sleeping in organic sheets ensure a good nights rest as they haven't been steeped in formaldehyde during manufacturing, or soaked up pesticides in the field.

In the Kitch

I've always had this thing for textiles. I love pillows, towels, sheets, tea towels, napkins, etc... You can introduce colour, pattern, texture and interest so easily and creatively using fabrics... not to mention all the great DIY opportnities with a great fabric and a sewing machine! I've been looking for some cute kitchen textiles for the store, and I thought I'd post a few of my finds here on PGD. Use them for a great kitchen makeover on a dime!

{these are super cute - I'd bake cookies any day wearing one of these; from Etsy seller City Girl Aprons}

{from Etsy seller Sarah Kusa}

{from etsy seller skinny laminx}

One of my favourite finds, Hammocks and High Tea, is missing from this post, but not to worry, I'll include them at a later date...

Your Own Backyard...

Okay, so it's been a while! I've been told many times how much work it is to start your own business, but until you've lived it, I don't think you can realize just how true that is! It's amazing...time seems to funnel down some black hole in my life right now...but I'm loving every minute. I wanted to make my first post back on the job about the store, but its just not quite there yet. We're open and all, but I'm waiting for some key things to arrive so I'm going to hold off sharing it with you for a few more days.......

IN THE MEANTIME...

Don't you love when you discover something totally amazing in your own 'backyard' that you never could have dreamed was there? This is exactly what's happened to me. Opening a new business has been great, I've met so many people. Of them is North on 60, a fantastic company that specializes in green design and construction. They are one of a handful of companies that are certified as FSC Recycled - an international designation that means their materials come from a previous life. How amazing!

These guys do a little of everything, from furniture, design, new builds or renos...but what struck me most was their sophisticated style with more than a little European flair. A little steel, a little reclaimed wood... call it 'urban rustic' if you will, and to make it even better, its green. It describes my design sense perfectly, which must be why I'm so attracted to them! Perhaps they say it best:

"Waste Not.

They're two words we have always lived by at North on Sixty.
Our business spans the entire life cycle - from forest management, to design/build, to restoration, and everything in between. We're involved every step of the way because our philosophy is fundamentally holistic - and frankly, we love it all.
Ultimately, minimizing waste is about creating harmony between people and their environment - which is the guiding principle in all that we do."

See for yourselves:

{This table came from that barn!}





{Here are some other designs - this one is my favourite!}




{but this one is pretty amazing too}




{These kitchens are pretty darn remarkable too...}

{in keeping with their waste not mantra, check out the before and after on this one}

How amazingly wonderful was all that?!

Excuse the long post, but I had a major itch in my fingers, so to speak. In other words, I'm glad to be back. Also, this post about local talent has inspired me to feature some of the other great stuff in my backyard. A reader challenged me to feature other great green design and businesses from the area, so if you're reading this now...keep reading in the next few weeks for more. And of course, don't miss out the unvailing of Sustain. Eco Living Store!

Until tomorrow.

Back Monday....

see you then....
xoxo

{can't wait}