Animal Print Pacifiers

Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the invention of pacifiers. On more than one occasion, they probably allowed for a few extra hours of sleep, so they're a really great invention. However, I find that they can be kind of ugly and can overwhelm your baby's face.

That's why I like Mam pacifiers which are not as big and come in all sorts of cute designs like these animal print ones. (Plus they meet all the safety requirements and babies usually like their shape.) They are hard to find though; I've hunted they down in some Jean Coutu pharmacies, at Clement, and Goldtex Textiles 8875 Rue Salley, Lasalle, QC H8R 2C8 :

www.mambaby.com

www.clement.qc.ca

Go For The Gold

Joe Fresh makes really cute baby clothes and accessories and soooooo inexpensive! Everytime I go grocery shopping at Loblaws I end up buying more clothes than food (it's a great new way to diet, I guess!) I love these little ballet slippers :

Elsa's Furniture, Old and New

Elsa's furniture is a mix of new and refurbished pieces. We decided to invest in a sturdy well-made (in Quebec) bassinet (www.anaya.ca) which will transform into a small bed later on, as well as classic white bedding (www.boutonjaune.com).

The changing table and book shelves on the other hand, were old pieces we already owned which we repainted in a soft cream white colour. The lazy-boy belonged to my grandmother but did not fit with the decor so we had it reupholstered in a great polka dot pattern and my mom (so crafty!) sewed the matching drapes and cushions.

Elsa's White & Cream Dreams / Before and After

Not knowning if we were going to have a boy or a girl (a deliberate decision we made which made Elsa’s arrival an even more exciting event), we decided to create a neutral colour scheme of whites and creams for Elsa’s bedroom.

This is her bedroom before :

This is her bedroom after :

Bathroom Before

This is my bathroom. The cast-iron tub dates back to the construction of the house and is very shallow. I love having water up to my neck when I take a bath so this tub definitely doesn't work. The tile was adding on later over the existing one making the walls about 2 1/2" deep. It's kinda moldy so getting rid of it will be a major plus.

I love subway tile. It's a clean look that never goes out of style, but this one is in bad shape. The rad is also pretty nice and keeps the room toasty-warm. Hopefully we can salvage it and put it back in after the reno.

Kitchen Before

This is my 70's style kitchen. Right now, it's a very small space. The fridge is in a weird alcove which is not very efficient.

Most of the cupboards don't close anymore.

The Beginning

We bought our upper-duplex condo in April 2009 and since then, we've been planning and dreaming about redoing the kitchen and the bathroom. The house dates from 1926 and has a lot of character but the kitchen and bathroom are in much need of some TLC, so were gonna gut them out and give these spaces a complete new look.