An Arctic Holiday this Holiday Season with The Home Depot #HDHolidays

My favourite Holiday is fast approaching and I thought I would start early at my decorating inside my home.
I wanted something fresh, festive yet elegant. So when I first laid my eyes on The Home Depot's new beautiful Martha Stewart Collection of Holiday Décor, I knew right away which theme I wanted for my home.
The Home Depot recently introduced five brand new Holiday Collections from Martha Stewart:

• Winter Berry Collection: Timeless and classic with with a colour palette of Christmas red, champagne gold and chocolate brown.
• Arctic Holiday: An elegant, snow-covered Arctic theme with a fanciful colour palette of ice white, silver, gun metal and frosted blue.
• Celebrate: A stately and sophisticated play on the classics with this elegant, traditional palette of gold and brown with a touch holiday sparkle.
• Midnight Holiday: A modern twist on traditional favourites with a contemporary colour palette of chartreuse, gun metal and dusty navy.
• Metallic Woodland: Embellishing the classic forest theme with a metallic sheen and gold-luster and silver leaf finishes. Colour palette includes: copper, champagne, charcoal, warm silver and gold.

As beautiful as they all are, my contemporary yet elegant style gravitated very quickly towards the Arctic Theme.

I visited my local Home Depot to begin my holiday decor shopping and felt like a kid in a candy store!

Upon entering, the beauty of the season illuminated throughout with a line-up of The Home Depot's newest collections including old favourites, lights, exterior decor pieces and artificial Christmas trees.

I love how they separated the decor by the themes. Easier to find things!

You can never have enough garland throughout the home!

Do you think my husband would mind if I had the Eiffel Tower on my front lawn? Love it!

These white deer are absolutely stunning. Planning to include in my exterior decor.

I really appreciated how they laid out all the decor items separating by theme which made it so much more easier to find the pieces you wanted.

The items I picked up for my Arctic Holiday Theme included:

• Shatter-Resistant Ornaments Silver And Blue 75 Pieces – 80mm ARV $34.95
• 3 Piece Set Christmas Tree Trim ARV $7.86
• 2 Silver Table Top Penguin, Assorted Selection - 12 Inch (Loved these!) ARV $12.98
• 17 Inch Silver Glitter Star Tree Topper (which I used atop my mantle as part of my mantle top decor) ARV $14.97
• 4 Stocking Hangers - 7 Inch (I got one for each member of my family!) ARV $9.95
• Owls Ornaments - White & Silver - 6 Piece ARV $7.82
• 6 Inch Silver Owl Tea Light Ceramic ARV $7.87
• Polyresin Solid Nutcracker, Silver/White-14 Inch ARV $12.88/each

And a few other decor pieces like large finial ornaments matching the theme and lots of silver and white sparkly picks. I personally love adding picks and flowers to my Christmas tree. It's truly all in the details.

They add some pretty texture and glimmer to your tree and help it to really stand out.

Another thing you want to keep in mind when decorating your tree is to mix it up with the size and shapes of the ornaments. Do a mix of a big and small, finial and round, and of course, ornaments of sentimental value -- those that you have collected over the years -- you want to make sure you display those as well.

For the fireplace mantle, make sure to create a nice vignette -- it is, after all, a visual work of art for you and your guests over the holidays and tells a story!

I love how my mantle turned out! What do you think?

Add some of your ornaments in a Hurricane Vase for a lovely effect.

The beautiful combination of silver, white and frosted blue couples so well with my white bookshelves and fireplace. We also had to purchase new throw pillows to fit in with the theme. Remember to take everything in the environment into consideration when decorating for the holidays.

And less is definitely more. You don't want to overdue your decor either. Grab some key pieces and then add some little touches. A ton of large items or items of the same size and colour, would really throw everything off. Imagine if everything I put up was only silver... wouldn't be as appealing would it?

When decorating our tree, we added a lot of new beautiful Arctic Holiday pieces but also coupled with personal ornaments that we have collected over the years that hold a special meaning to us.

Our tree topper Angel is one of them and thankfully she's in white!

Dragonflies & kids' first ornaments are among a few of the sentimental ornaments on the tree.

And what Christmas tree isn't complete without a little train track?

We definitely had to pick up the Christmas Tree Train from The Home Depot as well for our little ones. 

A must!

Instead of placing around the tree (which you can do), we opted to place on the floor around the tree. Not only was it enchanting and sweet, it also served as distraction away from our ornaments from a very curious toddler! Win-win!

Our little boy was so captivated! 

Thank you to The Home Depot for helping us create more special and beautiful memories in our home this holiday season.

To learn more about The Home Depot's Exclusive Martha Stewart Holiday Collections, click here.

You can also visit them on Facebook and Twitter @HomeDepotCanada.

To view my shopping experience and more photos, enter hashtag #HDHolidays on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Are you excited to start decorating? Have you started already? 

I'd love to know what your holiday decor inspiration is this year!

And here's some more fantastic news! The Home Depot is being featured in my upcoming CAC 2013 Holiday Gift Guide and also donating an awesome prize for the DIYer on your Christmas List!

Stay tuned!

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Disclosure: I received compensation to complete this review and reveal; however, as always all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

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A Gourmand and Hostess' Affair in Toronto: Delicious Food Show

Indulge in delectable delights, learn some tips on entertaining and cooking and meet a few of your favourite Food Network Celebrities and Chefs.
Food Personalities include a few of my personal favourites such as David Rocco, Michael Smith and Chuck Hughes plus many more!

Among the famous faces, there will be an array of exhibitors, booths and shows to help you get your creative juices flowing in the kitchen and home.
There's something fun for everyone at the Delicious Food Show! That includes your little ones too!

Kids will learn how to make pumpkin shaped shortbread cookies, Gluten Free Veggie Rice Wraps and their very own chef’s hat at the Petits Chefs Academy.
Dates:
Friday Oct. 25th 4-5PM, 5:30-6:30PM, 7-8PM
Sat. Oct. 26th 12:30-1:30PM, 2-3PM, 3:30-4:30PM
Sun. Oct. 27th 12:30-1:30PM, 2-3PM, 3:30-4:30PM
*Visit Booth #561 for full workshop schedule and to sign up!

More exciting and must-see special features at this years Delicious Food Show include:

The Food Network’s Celebrity Kitchen presented by The Home Depot Canada will feature a stunning Martha Stewart kitchen with beautiful appliances by GE Café.

On Saturday, the Delicious Food Show orchestrates an epicurean pre-battle, leading up to Mount Sinai’s renowned fundraising event, Chef’s Challenge, in early 2014. Of those raising monies for the hospital’s ultimate culinary showdown, the highest fundraisers-to date are divided into two teams, each headed by a fierce celebrity chef, to compete for unbelievable prizes at the show. Notable culinary stars will judge the competition, examining dishes and selecting an ultimate DFS Mini Chef’s Challenge winner! For more information on how to get involved and to register for the main event in 2014, visit www.chefschallengeforacure.com.

Toronto and Vancouver’s Video Restaurant Guide & Online Lifestyle Magazine, View the Vibe, takes over a 1,000 sq. ft. area replete with lounge seating, wine, cocktails and an HD video wall showcasing the vibe of the city’s best restaurants.  Ten of Toronto’s top restaurants, like burger sensation Holy Chuck and hip pub fare joint Habits GastroPub, join the section to serve up signature bites of bliss for DFS attendees.  A perfect lounge to stop in, enjoy some delicious food, sip on great wine while getting a glimpse at Toronto’s best restaurants.

How amazing does that all sound?

This isn't even half of what the Delicious Food Show has to offer attendees this year.

Ticket Prices: $20/each, Adult | $18/each, Senior 65+ | $10/each, Student (13-17 yrs old) | $15/each, Group Admission (10+ People).

To learn more, visit www.deliciousfoodshow.com.

Make sure to follow along on Twitter @DeliciousShow and Facebook too!

See you there!

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Master Bath Facelift DIY with The Home Depot: The Reveal!

Waking up in the morning, one of the first things I see before I start my day (aside from my Keurig) is my Master Bathroom.
Walking into the white room of bore up above, a zombie mom with zero caffeine in her system is bound to fall even more tired, wouldn't you agree?
I'm sure you already know about my small projects #CACBathroomDIY in collaboration with the wonderful folks at The Home Depot (Check out my Powder Room Reveal here!).

We started in August (began to receive the supplies end of July) and even in between our hectic day-to-day this summer, was able to complete all these small projects in a very short time.
I would never have known it was that easy to do prior to tackling this DIY project because as you may have already read: I was not the DIY-type of gal.

For our Master Bath, I wanted to transform it into a space that would create not only warmth but vitality. Positive and bright energy with a touch of elegance.
Our Master bath is the first thing we walk into upon waking in the morning and getting prepped for the day ahead -- it only makes sense that it's a space that will give you that boost of vigor and happiness first thing in the day.

Aside from everything being white and boring in our master bath, there was just way too much congestion for the small space it already is.
There were also a couple of items in the bathroom that were situated in the wrong place.
On top of that, everything was outdated -- the lights, the vanity, sink and faucets and even our shower head was showing major signs of wear and tear.

More boring white! And plastic! 

It does not take much to completely revamp and convert any space in your home.
We did not change the tub, toilet or tiles on the floor and shower walls but WOW you will see what a big difference some DIY can do.

Paint is always an extremely important part of a space transformation.
Our old walls were a dingy grey and coupled with the white, did absolutely nothing but amplify the dreariness of the bathroom.
I love teal! It happens to be one of my favourite colours so when I saw the Teal Ice paint colour using my Behr Color Smart Mobile App, I knew it would be the perfect match for my Master Bath!

We love Behr's Premium Plus Ultra 2-in-1 with Primer plus it's mold-resistant which is perfect for bathrooms where it can get moist often.

The first things we changed while we allowed the paint to dry for a day were the items in the shower/bath.

What a difference just changing our caddy made! It looks much nicer and I have more storage for all our bath products. I even got a small separate corner caddy in chrome for all the kids bath stuff. Perfect!

The Delta Lahara In2ution Two-in-One Shower head was the one both my husband and I instantly agreed upon.

I love how it elegant and sleek it looks but most importantly, I really love the integrated shower head and hand shower! The separate hand held is so helpful when bathing the kids and also cleaning out the shower walls and bath tub. Learn more about the Delta Lahara In2uition Two-in-One Shower here.

The light fixtures and mirror were the first items we replaced. They were items that we selected to bring the touch of elegance we wanted in our master bath.
For the lights, I selected the ML Traditional Vanity Fixture in Brushed Nickel which went perfectly with the lovely Cosmopolitan Byzantium Mirror in Crystallized Silver.

The other two most important items that made a world of a difference in our master bath was of course the Master Bath Vanity and the Vanity Top/Sink.

Although online it looked much darker to me, I had to see it in person at our local Home Depot (which I highly recommend you do instead of relying on online photos alone when making purchases).
And once I did, I knew it was the perfect Master Bath Vanity!
I loved the dark chocolate colour of the Haven 36" Vanity.
So much that I had to get the matching Haven Wall Cabinet.

You'll notice it in the reflection of the mirror located on the opposite wall. That wall use to be empty and really was wasted space. Because there isn't as much traffic in that part of the bathroom, I thought it was the perfect spot to place the wall cabinet.

Because of the darker brown of the Haven Vanity, I selected the Pegasus 37" Granity Vanity Top with Bowl in Beige. A perfect match!

Reducing congestion and clutter in an already small space was crucial when picking items to replace the older ones in our master bath.
I knew that the wall cabinet hanging over the toilet had to be replaced. It was just overcrowding the space where the toilet, the bath and the vanity mirror met.
I know it's a normal location for wall cabinets but I found a much better replacement!

Having the gorgeous, solid sculptural and functional Kohler Purist Towel Shelf over the toilet next to the shower was an absolute MUST for me.
I do hotel reviews often and one of the things I notice in many of the beautifully designed hotel bathrooms is the towel shelf.
Its design and functionality in that particular spot of the master bath worked perfectly -- it just screams "Come in and take a nice warm bath! Oh and here's a fluffy towel for you!" 
I love it!
Learn more about the Kohler Purist Towel Shelf here.

The final item that really brought on the "Oooh's" and "Aaah's" was the stunning Moen Banbury 2 Handle Wide Spread Bathroom Faucet in a Chrome Finish.
So refined and luxurious - such a beauty!
You can learn more about it here.

Once you're done reveling in the allure of a faucet, check out this cool item that I consider a must-have in every bathroom.

The Zenith Sliding Vanity is perfect for hidden storage space in your vanity! Reducing visible clutter in an already small space is essential so this piece would be a great addition!

Our paper holder, towel ring and towel bar were all from Stockton in a Brushed Nickel finish.
You can check them out here.

All items featured in #CACBathroomDIY are available at The Home Depot.
Visit them at: www.homedepot.ca.

Without further ado, here is the After Reveal of our brand new Master Bathroom!

And here is the comparison.

What do you think?
I am loving our new Master Bath and I am very grateful to The Home Depot for working with me on this fantastic and refreshing DIY experience. They've made a DIY-er out of me!
I'm also thankful to my readers for following me on this #CACBathroomDIY journey and your support throughout. It was a lot of fun!

Now that summer is coming to a close and the cooler months are approaching with the kids back in school, wouldn't you say it's a good time for some DIY?

If you haven't had a chance yet, please make sure to enter my Get Your DIY On contest for a $200 Home Depot Gift Card. There's only a few days left!
Click here to enter!

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