Shop like a pro: Jack be nimble

Set the holiday season aflame with the beauty, originality and whimsy of these candle holders rounded up by Shop Like a Pro's Angela Koszuta.

Tuleo 4 candle brass holder, $55. Available at www.umbra.com.

Parrot candlesticks, $320 a pair. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

Ice-sculpted holder, $348. Available at Bergo Design, 55 Mill St.

Herkimer, $600. Available at Bergo Design, 55 Mill St.

Adjustable stainless steel Escandara seven-stick holder, $198. Available at Umbra.

Tall crystal "Crystalline" holder, $400. Available at Swarovski.

Soldier candle holder, $39.95. Available at Rolo, 24 Bellair St.

Diamante candle holders, $315 each. Pair shown. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

 
"U" holders, small and large shown, by Georg Jensen, $325 to $892. Available at Bergo Design.

Red wire Tradig holder, $9.99 at Ikea.

Talon candle holder, $72. Available at The Drake Hotel General Store.

  Coral shaped silver three-pillar holder, $110. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

Wordless Wednesday: Trimming the tree

 
   


 


 

  


My theme was purple, of course, with an urban girl spin - thus the shoes, sparkle and martini shakers! What will be your tree theme this year?

What are your go-to holiday gifts?

As I prepare to start my own holiday shopping this weekend - with the hopes that my to-buy list soon has a few more details than "presents" and a list of people's names - I'm also keeping an eye out for sweet hostess gifts and handy emergency presents.

While I'm all about sourcing thoughtful, personal gifts for the people on my list, I find it never hurts to have a few items tucked away in a closet in case of a spur of the moment swap, surprise present or impromptu dinner party.

My normal go-tos include silver or pewter ornaments - guaranteed to match anyone's decor, be it trendy or traditional - and pretty bottled water, like the designer series from Evian, for practical and reusable gifts. Check out some more of my faves in last year's roundup. 

Being ever on the lookout for ways to switch up my options for giving - after all, even my "unique" standbys will become tired if given year after year - I've been asking all of my interviewees this season about their go-to gifts.

This week, I asked Julia Black, of discoveringjewels.com, about her top gift picks for this article, and loved her suggestion of trolling vintage shops - her favourite haunt is Gadabout in Leslieville - for beautiful items that can be framed or put in a shadow box for easy gifts that pack a serious, and sentimental, decor punch.

What are your holiday giving go-tos?

(Shutterstock image)

Sneak peek: Tree trimming

As part of the Festival of Trees for Southlake Hospital, I found myself doing a mad dash to Newmarket last week to trim my first - but certainly far from my last - tree of the season.

After doing a lot of shopping - er, I mean research - I ended up picking up most of my supplies from Canadian Tire's Debbie Travis line.

Of course, my tree had a purple, city dweller theme, with a smattering of shoes!

Seriously, though, how cute are those little boots? I also picked up a bunch of glass slippers!

And, the final product, with one very tired homes editor and a tree topper that still needed a last little bit of TLC.

How's that for getting a headstart on a little Christmas spirit?

Shop like a pro: Night lights

Now that you're sitting in the dark a little earlier, Shop like a Pro's Angela Koszuta shares her picks for a bit of industrial-strength lighting to brighten up the house.

Library extender lamp, $360. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

Weighted floor lamp, $1,550. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

Caged-wire table lamp, $59.99. Available at Homesense.

 Vintage-style pharmacy lamp, $69.99. Available at Homesense.

Vintage pulley lamp, $790. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

1928 Cadillac headlamp, $600. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

Main hold pendant lamp, $710. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

 
Retro-style wheeled floor lamp, $710. Available at Barrymore Furniture.

Spotlight, $1,299.99. Available at In Vu Drapery Co.

Koto pendant lamp, $44.99. Available at Ikea.

Jielde Signal lamp, $440. Available at Ministry of the Interior, 80 Ossington Ave.

Photos with personality

Part of my holiday house guest prep is finally putting up some personal photographs.

An interesting part of my change in lifestyle and environment is that much of the stuff that I used to have on my walls just no longer fits.

Whether it's due to the switch from a mostly green and nature-inspired colour palette to one of purple and grey, or the fact that once your marriage is over you're less inclined to leave up all those stunning, but no longer suitable wedding photos, I've had a lot of frames to fill. And those gaps, and blank walls, just seem to accentuate the things that are no longer in my life, acting as a daily reminder of the way things have changed.

Plus, art on the walls is part of being settled. It's a sign of at least semi-permanence, meaning you intend to stick around for at least long enough to risk putting a few holes in the walls. For a perpetual nomad like me - who has held down at least six addresses in three and a half years in Toronto - getting to the point of hanging art is really a sign of making a house a home.

Part of my new decorating philosophy is to buy and use only things that I love. Which means no more stopgap art, or buying something just because it matches my decor. If it doesn't speak to me, it's not worth the investment of time, money or space in my teeny tiny apartment.

But, that's also a lot of pressure. Over the last few weeks, I've been poring over my collection of photographs, both physical and digital, looking for the shots that I'd like to frame.

It's a daunting, and emotional task. Photos with people no longer in your life don't make the cut, and many posed shots just look too stiff to be worth featuring. I want photos that showcase the real personalities of the people in my life, not just shots that remind me what they look like. 

So I found myself pulling out the candids, shots that made me smile, even if they weren't perfectly framed or didn't fit any of the photography rules I learned in J-school. Like this one:

I love this shot of my dad and I. Sure, the framing is not perfect - we're seeing a lot of that rather questionable carpet style - and I'm the only one looking at the camera. But, when I look at it, I smile. It's a sign of what was to become a huge part of my childhood and teen years: playing hockey, including being coached by my dad, and a wee bit of an indication that I may be kind of a daddy's girl.

Photos like these tell and story and elicit a reaction - and really, isn't that what your decor is supposed to do?

Feeling the holiday home project pressure

It always feels like at the very moment that kids - and a fair share of adults - are sleeping off their Halloween-induced sugar coma, retailers haul out all the holiday displays and my seasonal to-do list ramps up.

November 1 really shouldn't be the start of the holiday season, but that calendar change always makes me feel like the pressure is on. And, because I'm a holiday traveller, as are many of my friends, the month also signals the start of those "quick, have a holiday party before everyone leaves town" bashes.

And, this year, in addition to holiday preparations - decorating, baking, shopping - I've got November house guests visiting the Jen-nasium for the first time. As always, I want everything to be picture perfect for their arrival, which means I'll spend the next week hanging pictures, shopping, cleaning and generally fussing about.

My basic to do list:

- Tackle those shameful blank walls, including hanging a candelabra above my bed, framing (and printing) some treasured family photos for a gallery wall and finding a home for my cute blackboard, which is currently just a great place to stub my toe.

- Buy shelves. And hang them. Hopefully on the level. Doing so will rescue my books from my closet (freeing up space for sweaters and stockings).

- Finally give in to my "decorganizing" whims and whip my cupboards into shape, with the help of all of those fabulous lifts, trays and sorters that a girl can't help but swoon over.

- Come up with a solution to the ugly rats nest of cords behind my desk. I love my technology. I love my clean modern lines. Why can't they all just get along?

But that's nothing compared to the projects other people have in store. Casual discussions bring up plans for ripping up carpets, refinishing floors, painting rooms and rearranging furniture before a single holiday trinket is put on display.

It's an awful lot of pressure to add to an already stressful time of year, but the flurry of pre-holiday renovation and decoration projects seems to be a habit for many. So, in the spirit of the season, I'll be sharing my project plans and progress over the next month, and would love to hear about yours! Please leave a comment, and weigh in on the home page poll.

A great hostess gift for the holidays

I started off today planning for a Wordless Wednesday post, but just couldn't resist sharing the details of this season's limited edition Evian bottle, by Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.

The flower petals are pleated, in a nod to Miyake's fashion designs.

Or, to quote the press release, "This new bottle design is decorated with an imaginary, shimmering flower; a symbol of youth and the evian signature message, 'Live young.' The inspiration for the bottle sprung from the Pleats Please line for which Issey Miyake is known, emoting a modern and functional design that has attracted the attention of the fashion-conscious public across the world."

Previous, and also very pretty, collaborations have featured Christian Lacroix, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Paul Smith.

I think it's a gorgeous alternative to a water pitcher on the table, and intend to stock up on a few for hostess gifts for the holiday season (along with one or two for me, too!). For retail locations, visit the Evian website.