When looking at houses for sale, you see everything! From the professionally staged to the hoarder type who insist they don't need to do anything to attract a buyer. To tell you the truth, it's the people in between that are the most appealing to a buyer. The house should be clean, uncluttered, but feel homey and lived in at the same time. 

By nature I'm already OCD (and get made fun of for my perfect organization all the time). However, for the selling process it came in handy for staging. And it must have worked (along with other factors too, like location and price), because we sold our condo in one day! In fact some of the people who came through our place thought it was professionally staged, there was no way people lived like this! Oh well, I guess I'm unique individual, with liking my pillows arranged just so. Here are a few tips on staging we gathered up from our experience selling. 

# 1
Clean, Clean, Clean
Can't stress this enough, it is by far the most important aspect, and the first thing people notice.

# 2 
Clean Out Closets/Cabinets/Fridge
People are going to look everywhere when they come in! You don't have to be super organized in these areas, but make sure they are clean. 

# 3
Fix Minor Problems
You might be able to live with them, but they will be a turn off for your buyer.

# 4
De-Clutter Everywhere
Keep things to a minimum. However, you still need to keep some stuff out to give it the lived in look, so don't put everything away. Pick a few favourite objects that you think make your place look great and keep them on display.

# 5
Open Up Space
If you are really crowded in remove some furniture so it's easy for people to move around, and see the room.

# 6
Arrange Furniture and Accents
Make your place look inviting! Think of how you would make your place up for important guests.

# 7
Get Rid of Very Personal Pictures/Objects
 Sure, keep your own art and photographs on the walls, but any super personal photos or objects, put them away for now. For example, we kept out some travel photos, but put away our wedding photo.

# 8
Night Time Lighting On
Leave your lights on for nighttime showings; don't make them fumble around trying to find the switches. Make it a warm, inviting atmosphere by playing with your lighting. How do you like your lighting in the evening?

# 9
Get Rid of Smells
Don't cook smelly meals right before showings, and leave the windows and doors open before people arrive. However, make sure to shut them again before the showing, so it doesn't look like you are trying to cover something up.

# 10
 Plant Life
Have a couple of plants around, it adds to the overall atmosphere. Another thing you can do is have fresh flowers out in the kitchen and bathroom. Or you can go with a theme based on the time of year you are selling. As it is autumn for us, we actually had a few mini gourds out on our kitchen island. 

Be creative, and show your place off! Putting some time into your place shows you are proud of it, and buyers will see that your place is taken care of and worthy of purchase.  

The big surprise is...WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! After much stress, and twists in the process that kept us on our toes, this puppy is ours. 

We are so happy and excited! I can't wait to get started on projects and renovations to make it home. We already have some grand plans, some are pretty crazy. In fact, our home inspector was very excited about our house, he was designing a new floor for us on the roof, which included a spiral staircase. We will see when we get that ambitious, but it would be amazing! For now there are lots of small things that need to be done around the place, including some unglamorous jobs.

Our new house is located as far east as you can go and still be in the City of Toronto. The area is called Port Union/West Rouge. It's close to public transit, a few stores, and the lakeshore. Most excitingly it's right beside a huge park, Rouge Valley Park, and a public beach! I can't wait to explore!

The house is essentially a raised bungalow, where you are walking in on the basement level. The house is build on a steep plot, and our backyard is a big hill. We have some fun ideas as to what to do with our slope. Lots more plans and pictures to come!

Sorry for the delayed posting this week, but it has been a very busy weekend! But something big is in the works for Jeff and I. I'll tell you all about it later this week!

I have been collecting photos of things I like long before Pinterest came along. This is done the old fashion way of cutting up actual magazines! However, I also use Pinterest for all those objects I find in the digital world that I love! 

This is a great second life for all my magazine subscriptions. Instead of keeping the whole magazine, I cut out the photos that I want to keep and remember. Takes up a lot less space, and keeps the photos organized by category. Of course if there is nothing I would like to keep in a magazine I tend to pass it along to someone who might like to read it. 

I got these fun file folders a little while ago to hold all my clippings and keep them organized. Every so often I have to go through them to get rid of similar things or items I don't like as much any more, as my tastes change. Next project: Keeping all the recipes I cut out organized!

Folder Categories:

• Travel
• Architecture
• Decor
• Kitchen
• Bathroom

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! We didn't get a chance to visit family this year, but we had our own little family meal complete with pumpkin pie tarts! As far as I'm concerned, we can eat anything for the main meal, as long as there is pumpkin pie, it's a Thanksgiving dinner. We ended up roasting a chicken, having mashed potatoes, veggies, and fresh homemade buns! As well, for an appetizer, I stuffed orange bell peppers with goat cheese and fresh basil, grilled them, and then drizzled a balsamic reduction over top. So yummy! 

Another thing about the holidays that I love to do is to set the table. Right now I only have a kitchen island to set up, but hopefully soon I will have a proper dinning room table to host beautiful dinners on. I enjoy picking a theme for the dinner and creating table settings to match. Holidays come with a preset theme, but that doesn't mean it has to be ultra traditional. 

This was our table last Thanksgiving and how the table looked this year.

I usually make my own pie crust, but feel free to use whatever method you like for the crust. You can use this recipe for one whole pie or a dozen or so pumpkin tarts. I also like my pumpkin pie spicey, so put less of the spices in if it will be too strong for you.

• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 Sugar
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 2 cups of pumpkin
• 2 cups light cream

1. Mix the eggs with the sugar and spices. 
2. Then add in the pumpkin and light cream.
3. Cook in a pot over low heat just to warm it up before pouring the mixture into your pre-baked crust.
4. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes for tarts and about half an hour for a pie, until the pumpkin mixture shakes like jello. 

Yes, this artist is my mother! I'm so excited to share her work with you. She is a Fibre Artist, and creates modern art pieces made from all sorts of fibres and materials. I sat down with her and asked her a few questions about her work!

About:  An explosive eruption of brilliant red molten lava.

About:   Exploding ribbons of molten lava.

About:   A creative idea using different materials and exploring texture.

About:    My imagination ran wild in designing this floating creature that breaths fire.

About:  A beautiful April evening moored off the inter-coastal waterways of Florida.

About:   An expression of diversity as it grows from the roots into a beautiful full grown tree.

Copyright: All pieces belong to Marilyn White and may not be duplicated.

Over the years I have received many postcards, from all over world, from lots of different people. I have kept them, just sitting in a box, and I thought maybe I should do something with these (picture a light bulb over my head turning on). 

• I got some simple black 4" x 6" frames from Ikea. 
• Then I created a square grid for them using plain white paper and a pencil. This made it easier to get the frames equal width and height from each other before putting the frames on the wall.
•  I then hung up the white paper and put the nails where I wanted them, and then ripped the paper away. Voilà!  Nails in place even before the frames have gone up! 
  

Each frame holds one postcard, some are facing front and some so you can read the message on the back. Recently I have received more postcards in the mail, maybe I will have to make my square even bigger. So, if you go anywhere amazing, your postcard would have a place of honour on our wall!

The other day I visited the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the two special exhibits: Ai Weiwei, According to What? and the exhibit from the V&A David Bowie Is. Both shows were excellent, and I recommend visiting them if you get a chance. 

Amazing and beautiful art installations by Ai Weiwei from China. At first glance his pieces give a sense of awe and then at second glance the piece instantly becomes disturbing. One example of this is Ai Weiwei's large green and grey snake that hangs on the ceiling at the entrance to the exhibit. At first it is really wonderful to look at, until you realize the snake is constructed entirely of small children's backpacks. They represent the 5000 children who died in the earthquake in Sichuan in 2008.  He creates art that talks of the political corruption in China. As a result he has been placed under house arrest by the Chinese government, but his work is still making a statement across the world. Make sure to check it out!

If you visit Nuit Blanche this year in Toronto, one of his installations will be on display in Nathan Philips Square. 

This exhibit is stunning, lots of visual corners to explore and music to hear. It's quite large, so if you visit give yourself lots of time. It has many of David Bowie's costumes on display, interviews to hear, art to view, and music videos to watch. There is even a section on Andy Warhal and some of the other influential artists at the time. The whole exhibit is exciting and keeps you interested throughout even if you are not a David Bowie fan. However, as I am a fan and grew up in the 80s, my favourite part was seeing the props on display from the movie Labyrinth. I definitely recommend it, you will be swept away by all the characters David Bowie has played as a trend setting artist!