Another new year is upon us – welcome 2016. 
So…..any resolutions for this year?
I resolve to ignore resolutions and live life with balance.
EAT MORE CAKE!
‘Cake’ being code for what makes you happy.
Life should be happy!
Find more love, 
Spend time with your BFF’s, 
Let pent up emotions go. Chill out. 
Find beauty in simple things, 
Take time to reflect, 
And definitely take time to eat cake! 
All images created and photographed by MODMISSY
December 1st marks the start of winter for me.
Black ice and whiteouts, 
Snowed in and digging out, 
And ice storms, 
The hazards of winter. Get ready. Be prepared.
But fortunately December also marks the month of celebration – Christmas!
When ‘whiteouts’ are beautifully decorated white Christmas trees with ornaments, 
‘Snowed in’ is a birch bark inspired decoration for the fireplace mantle. 
And ‘ice’ is only found in a bold black ice bucket or whiskey glasses. 
The first 3 photos are my snaps taken over the last few winters and the celebration photos were taken this past summer when I attended the PC Home Holiday Preview.
Yup…..Christmas in July! (Actually it was August)
I could not and would not mention Christmas in sweltering August to you but today I officially can.
And next time you are in your local Loblaw’s or Real Canadian Superstore® check out the stunning holiday products that will have you jingling all the way home.
And this year enjoy your HO-HO-HOsting and entertaining!
Cheers
All images photographed by MODMISSY
We have a candidate sign for the upcoming Federal Election on the front lawn of our home.
My son wanted to make a political statement so it was his doing.
Bravo I say, be involved.
Of course not everyone will agree with the ‘colour’ of our sign.
Different political party, different colour.
Unfortunately, someone in our neighbourhood disagreed with our choice and hung a bag of dog poop on our political sign.
I say…..Freedom of choice has gone to the dogs!
Imagine if we all chose the same colour whether it was for our political party or the colour of our homes décor.
Where would the individuality be?
Given the choice my recent clients have all chosen grey sofas for their living rooms.
Beautiful I say.
But my living room sofa is not grey; in fact nothing in my home’s décor is grey.
However that did not make me want to place dog poop on my clients’ heads.
When working with my clients we choose what makes them happy! 
So on Voting Day get out there and vote. Choose your color and make your choice!
Images via MODMISSY Sofas by http://www.jonathanadler.com
Image via MODMISSY
Over the years we have shared many moments together here on this blog on the topic of “change”. 
I have written numerous times about how I enjoy “change”
“I like change and I like to change often“ talking about my 6th living room sofa.
“I like to change up my holiday décor each year” never adhering to any traditions.
“I change the linens and accessories in my bedroom” often! 
To some of you this probably sounds like way too much work.
I’ve suggested to you on numerous occasions,
“Go ahead, change it up. Embrace the new. Take the ‘Mod’ from MODMISSY and “Mod-ify”!
Well here’s the thing…..I recently found myself ‘eating’ those words!
This past year I experienced a huge change in my life – I became gluten-free.
And if there’s one thing you should know about me is that wheat/gluten played a large part in my diet and lifestyle.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all about bread, pasta and baked goods.
In fact one of my very first blog posts was Stand With Style April 2011 where I wrote that life gets better and tastes better when things are elevated. Like my delicious homemade Buttermilk Apple Cake. (made with wheat flour!) 
It has been a big adjustment figuring out what to put on my dessert tray, in my pasta bowl and my bread basket.
Definitely a year of learning and maybe now I am a bit more understanding of how ‘change’ is not always an easy experience.
I am adapting though; can you tell which chocolate cake is the gluten-free version!!?? 
Bon Appetit!
All images via MODMISSY
I have been remiss in not writing.
I apologize.
Over the last few weeks I had sunk into a ‘hole’ as far as ideas and writing goes.
Although I have been busy, I just had nothing interesting to tell you. 
But today I had to write as this day marks a momentous occasion.
Forty six years ago today on June 11, 1969, my Mother (R.I.P.) scored her hole-in-one on the golf course. 
Beating the odds of about 1 in 12,000 my Mother ‘aced’ the 6th hole.
I still remember her recounting the play-by-play details of her proud achievement.
My Mother loved golf.
I do not follow in my Mother’s footsteps as I am not a golfer, although I do own a pair of golf pants made from the most outrageous fabric. Very mod indeed! 
Interestingly I am currently staging a home for sale of which the homeowner is an avid golfer.
Hanging in his home office is a 4 ft. X 4 ft. framed picture of the winners of the Masters Golf Tournament from 1934 to 1997; Tiger Woods being the 1997 winner. 
Have a great weekend and may all your shots land exactly where you want them!
All images via MODMISSY
Today is Earth Day.
A day when over a billion people in more than 192 countries give thanks to our tiny orb and demonstrate awareness in support for the environment.
This year my nod to Earth Day occurred on my way to the recycle box.
In an “OMG” moment I realized that something I had barely used I was throwing out. Truly a blatant waste of the earth’s resources! Sinful right?
The item plaguing me with guilt was a fabric sample brochure from Keilhauer; a company whose corporate goal is to be ‘environmentally benign’. Far be it for me to mess with a company Mission Statement!
Surely I could think of some way to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’.
Back in the house I went with brochure in hand.
And got my creative juices flowing.
I started with this,
I really liked these, 
Tried this, 
But then was inspired by this, 
Came up with this, 
Which finally ended up looking like this, 
Let’s all try to make the 3R’s part of our daily lives.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!
All images via Modmissy
Years ago while being interviewed for a pharmaceutical sales job I was asked “what books was I currently reading”.
I paused, thought and then answered, “the dictionary and the thesaurus”.
I did not land that job.
(I wonder what book would have gotten me hired!?)
I was single at the time and the idea of sitting indoors by myself and reading a novel or a lengthy piece of non-fiction was just not on my (very social) agenda!
But the truth was I really was reading the dictionary. A great big lexicon was always open, sitting on an antique hutch in the apartment I shared with a girlfriend. Actually it was part of our humble décor. 
Any interesting word we happened to stumble upon in that dictionary was written on a scrap of paper and taped to our brown fridge. Roomie and I then tried to incorporate these words into our vocabulary. (true story)
Fast forward to today; I am an avid reader.
And once again I was recently asked what books I had on my bedside table.
To be honest I don’t place books on my bedside table. Its clutter. For me. 
And the few chosen books I do keep in my home often do dual duty. They must be a good read and look beautiful.
So right now I am reading, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO COCO CHANNEL from my stack of beautiful black coffee table books. 
I also just finished a John Grisham novel that someone passed on to me. It is a beautiful mint green and chocolate chip coloured hardcover book. Definitely a keeper to be used as a prop for my home staging business. 
Along with Coco Channel I am reading OF MICE AND MEN by John Steinbeck. This is the first time I’m reading this 1937 classic novel; I realize there is no time limit on being current! This book also makes it as a beautiful staging prop due to the lovely lavender colour on the cover. 
Of course I always have close at hand my cherished copy of MARILYN by Normal Mailer. It is a beautiful linen coloured hardcover book full of wonderful photos of Marilyn Monroe; although far too special to be used as a home staging prop. 
So…..what are you reading? Or decorating with?
All Images by MODMISSY
“Gotta run!”
The catch phrase of today.
Everybody is on the move. Go, go, go!
Subsequently multi-tasking has taken on a whole new meaning. Eating on the run, driving and texting, walking and talking on a cell phone and even applying makeup or shaving while driving.
Unfortunately in many people’s haste the once beautiful ceremony of drinking tea (or coffee), 
has been reduced to drinking from a paper cup while ‘on the run’. And the worse part of reducing this historical ritual to a “gotta run” activity is the random placement of finished cups. 
So today if you can take time to smell the roses tea/coffee. And please don’t litter!
All Images via MODMISSY
Today is the first day of Spring.
Or at least that’s what my calendar tells me because where I live the temperature keeps dancing around the freezing mark.
Mother Nature teases with blue skies and sunshine, 
And due to the piles of snow in my back yard I certainly could not entertain the idea of setting up my patio furniture this weekend.
But one can anticipate. And plan.
Actually a few weeks ago I attended a few Spring Previews showcasing what’s on trend for Spring 2015.
The Home Depot’s campaign of ‘Spring Starts Here’ certainly brightened a cold, snowy day in February. 
A fabulous lineup of outdoor furniture, colourful BBQ’s and zippy looking lawnmowers helped chase away the winter blahs. 
Then I sledded (still lots of snow) across town to Loblaws Outdoor Living 2015 Spring preview for a glimpse into what’s hot for this year. These gorgeous colourful beach towels are Loblaws’ interpretation of “A Heat Wave”, “Soft With a Pop” and “Very Vivid” colour palettes introduced into their outdoor furniture and accessories. 
As for this season BBQ’s, Loblaw’s knows that backyard cooks get personal with their BBQ’s so each one has been named based on their character; the Ami BBQ is trustworthy and petit while Troy is tough, powerful and big. Choose as you may! 
Anyways I’m glad spring has finally arrived and with it the onset of COLOUR.
Bring it on!
All Images by MODMISSY
MODMISSY 