Some purchases, a contest and a little fun with tape

I was contacted recently by Canadian furniture and home decor company Urban Barn to partake in a blogger contest involving chairs, a competition, an auction and charities. I don't think there's much in the works publicly yet, although check it out on Twitter via the hashtag #customchairitycompetition. Due to this competition I had to pay my local Urban Barn store a visit last week. Of course, I could not leave empty handed (this is why I try and avoid home decor stores - I can't stop myself). I picked up a few things, including one sale item I could NOT pass up...yet another freaking lamp (it was half price! 89!) . This one is so cool I had to have it, even though I have to box it up and store in my basement until the new house materializes.

The shade is MASSIVE (2' long and 2' wide at the bottom) and drapey which I adore, and the tripod base is cool. 

This crinkly STUFF basket came in 3 sizes. I snapped up the middle one for $14. I realize now I have a basket addiction. 

My frame/pegboard jewelry holder has reached it's capacity so I thought a new necklace/bracelet holder would be useful (by Umbra for $17).

Everytime I stop in at Urban Barn I always leave with some sort of vase-like object. They have really funky ones, and no I did not need another but they had 3 vases that looked like crushed cans or bottles so I picked up the little one that looked like a pop can for $6.

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Busy Sunday

I didn't blog anything last Sunday and was feeling a bit guilty not blogging again today since I'm supposed to be studying for my French test so I decided to whip up something quick so as not to disappoint those stopping by today. (Things will be back to normal for me in about a week and a half so thankfully my funk won't last too much longer). I did take break for a couple hours today to check out the annual Third World Bazaar in Manotick. They always have awesome homewares from around the globe, and I always manage to come home with at least a few items. This year I picked up an amazing Thai teak cube/side table for $125, a concrete statue for $75 and a cute felt placement for $4. (Check out a couple of my previous trips to the bazaar here and here).

I've got some more goodies to share. My parents just got back from a lovely vacation in Greece and despite everything being super pricey there (my mom only bought herself one top, which is an all-time low for her), she spoiled us kids with a few small items. Here's what I got: a necklace, bracelet, bag of amazing sesame-covered peanuts, bar of olive oil/chamomile soap you can even wash your hair with, and a perfectly suited for me pillow cover.

Here is a shot my dad took from their hotel in Santorini. GORG!!!

And speaking of Santorini, as I was tweaking my photos we received an email from George, who coincidentally is the general manager of a hotel there called the Santorini Astarte Suites. It's a little 9 suite boutique hotel with lots of privacy and seems to be a favourite for honeymooners. Their views are equally breathtaking.

More from Mexico

I had such a blast in Mexico that I thought I'd share some more photos that I took. These are again from some of the shops (plus a couple extras) in the town of Sayulita. I was so in love with all the ethnic/global/wordly items that I was devastated knowing I had only part of a suitcase to fill instead of a shipping container.

Rice

My sister found this website the other day and I had to share this burst of sunshine. If you haven't heard of Rice before, they're a totally fun and colourful shop with sales offices across Europe and showrooms in Denmark, Holland and Germany that carries just about anything you can think of. Bags, bath products, clothing, home decor, jewelry, kitchenware, my favourite - Italian tableware and much more. It's all about colour and pattern and whimsy and everything is so adorable I can hardly stand it. Their product shots are so cute I want to go to the hardware store and stock up on every bright shade of spray paint they carry.

Kir DeVries

We've got a new sponsor in the house that I'd like to welcome to the DTI fandamily. Kristen has an online shop called Kir DeVries, that sells all sorts of yummy items. I don't even know where to begin. There are some really fun desk accessories, insulated lunch totes (I sooooo want and need one), jewelery, reusable shopping bags (sooooo want and need some of these too), notebooks, wall decals, mobiles, reversible aprons, lunch boxes (too cute), etc. etc. Below are some that caught my eye. Oh, and folks, she ships internationally!!! (Click on an item to take you to its location in her store).