I’m really excited to be making this post because I get the chance to showcase one of my good friends and her amazing talents. Angelina Corona in my eyes is pure creative genius. She has the ability to put clothes and things together that you would never have thought could go together and manages to make it look amazing. From styling for fashion shoots to prop styling there hasn’t been a moment when I haven’t been wowed by what’s she’s created.
It’s hard to choose my favourites because there are so many that I love but here are a few showing her variety of abilities:
All images courtesy of Angelina Corona
I know one day she will make it big and I stand behind her 100% and am one of her biggest fans.
Check out her website: www.angelinacorona.ca
& her blog to get a look at where she gets her inspiration.
I think the funnest part about moving into a new place is decorating and finding little gems that tie everything together and give character to a room. It’s not an easy thing to do and I usually find that my method ends up being a bunch of random items that I like thrown together. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, oh well!
Here are a few of my favourite spots and knickknacks in my house:
‘Welcome Aboard’ Buoy
Bought this in Prince Edward Island last summer, it was previously hanging on our front door at our old place and I haven’t found a permanent home for it yet so for now it is hanging from my linen closet. I kinda like how it brings out the chipped paint/wood in the door.
China Buffet with porcelain tea cups
A lot of blood, sweat & tears went into this buffet. It was originally dark green and it took 4 coats of paint to finally cover it up. And with my father’s expert help with wallpaper, we used the leftovers for the background. All of these tea cups & plates were handed down from my mother. Some of them belonged to my grandmother, some were my great-grandmother’s (the teapot was one of her wedding gifts).
Breakfast Bar
One thing about having a big kitchen is being able to have a breakfast bar. I love sitting on one of these stools in the morning with my cup of tea staring out the window to see the north shore mountains of Vancouver. It is such a treat after being in a dark basement suite for 3 years with barely any windows!
Porcelain lamb pot holder
My mother gave me this today! My parents spent the long weekend in Seattle and I dog-sat our family pug Calvin and she brought me back this cute little thing! She found it at an antique store and said that it looked like something I’d like. She knows me well. I’m not sure what I’m going to put in it yet, maybe some herbs and he can sit on my windowsill.
Random windowsill items
I think I just realized that 85% of my things are either from an antique store or handed down to me from my mother (who used to be an antique junky). Above she gave me that little sugar pot, I think it’s the most adorable thing ever. I’m not sure where it came from but I know it’s been in our household as long as I’ve been alive. Next is an old bottle of Watkins vanilla. I love the label & the bottle shape, once I get around to it, I’ll put a little flower or plant in there as well as in the pot next to it which is from Ikea (wow something new!) Beside it is a cookbook from the 1950s. Some of the recipes in there are practically medieval, I wanted to try some of the recipes but they all sound very bland and odd.
Collection of old German books
This is in my boyfriend’s office/studio, it’s the epitome of a man’s room. Above is a ship we bought in PEI and his collection of old German books and we are both not sure what that thing is on the end but it was really cool looking when we found it at a thrift store, it looks kind of nautical so it’s fitting.
Map of shipwrecks and pioneer cemeteries in PEI
Found this in PEI obviously, it shows every shipwreck along with the name of the ship and the date. Some of the earliest wrecks date back to the 1600s. It is a really interesting and beautiful looking map.
Portrait of my boyfriend’s grandfather and a child that was cut out from a 1950’s christmas box.
Bookshelf of trinkets
Old typewriters, projectors, gas masks, military hats and books on photography and design. The box on the bottom right was given to me by my grandmother from her last trip back to the Ukraine, it is hand carved and actually has the name and address of the person who made it on the bottom.
My “vanity”
Our bedroom is nowhere near being done but above is a few things I’ve collected to complete my vanity atop my dresser (since I don’t have a real vanity…one day). Most of these boxes were thrifted, for the exception of the art nouveau tin that was a gift from my friend Kyla from somewhere in Europe. The rose jewelry boxes were my grandmothers.
My office
My creative little spot, which also houses all my creepy dolls and cutesy things that couldn’t go anywhere else in the house. I have yet to hang up pictures and bring in a few plants to liven up the area.
Living room
I’ve been trying to make this a regular habit because there’s nothing like a vase of fresh cut flowers to liven up a room. It’s a good thing tulips are in season and are quite cheap and the florist gave me a good trick of sticking a few pennies at the bottom of the vase to extend the lifespan of your tulips. I bought those tulips on Wednesday and they still haven’t opened up yet so I guess it works! And above are some antlers I found in an antique store in Chilliwack, I’m just waiting for the perfect lounge/parlour chair to put directly under it. Still hunting!
There’s much more work to do on my house before I can start taking complete pictures, as you can see none of my pictures are hung, I don’t have curtains yet (MUST FIND CURTAINS) and I want/need more, more plants. I just need to learn how to not kill them all the time.
I’ve decided to make a reoccurring segment where I will feature some hunks (bringing this word back) dead or alive from the past, be it musicians/actors that were quite good looking in their younger years.
To start this off I decided on Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon from one of my all-time favourite bands The Clash.
Joe Strummer
Paul Simonon
Where they are now: if you didn’t know, Joe Strummer passed away in 2002 of heart failure (RIP). Paul Simonon currently works as an artists and has had several gallery shows and has designed album covers for numerous bands. He also just recently reunited with fellow Clash-mate Mick Jones for a guest appearance on the new Gorillaz album. I have yet to hear it but it’s at the top of my list.
Who else should I feature on Babe History 101? Let me know!
Maybe it’s my excitement for the warm weather, but Spring is here and so is my love for all things floral, well I’m pretty sure that never went away. So I’m very excited that Liberty of London has released collections for Target and MAC Cosmetics.
I’ve already purchased the lipstick called “Petals & Peacocks” (creamy bright magenta pink) from MAC:
As seen on me in this picture:
I’m absolutely in love with it that I don’t think I’ve taken it off since I bought it. I really want to get the following lipsticks as well, “Blooming Lovely” (creamy greyed lilac mauve) & “Ever Hip” (creamy light coral):
As for the Liberty of London for Target, I’m even more in love. It is one of my biggest annoyances that we don’t have Target in Canada but the closest one is about 30min from the border so it’s not that bad. I haven’t yet started decorating my bedroom so seeing all these cute things available at Target is giving me the motivation.
Here are some of my top picks:
So who wants to take a trip down to Target with me??
There is this Japanese “dollar” store in Vancouver called Yoko Yaya that I discovered a while ago & it is simply amazing. I also tend to call it Yoko Ono or Yoyo Ma because I can never remember its correct name. But it is huge and everything is dirt cheap (nothing over $3) and the best part is you can find some really cute/randomly great items. You’ll probably spend hours in there, sometimes trying to figure out what exactly some of the items are used for since everything is in Japanese.
Yesterday I had some time to kill so I bought a few things that were calling out to me, useless but cute.
Among the items was some Little Babushka writing paper, maybe this will motivate me to write some letters. If you want a letter, send me your address, I’d love to send some snail mail. A floral tin box, I’m pretty sure these are for cigarettes, too bad I don’t smoke. I’m not sure what I’ll put in there, any suggestions? Sweets cosmetic bag, as you probably noticed, I’ve already found a purpose for this little bag and I carry it in my purse, so it ended up not being completely useless!
Oh well $5 for all that isn’t that bad!