…and the saga continues.  With the exception of a couple stuffed shams waiting for extra fluff, the majority of pillows were complete.  As the sun set, my Sunday late afternoon was spent fluffing and staging our finished products; ensuring that they were comfortably styled in their new home.  Perhaps more exciting than fabric shopping is seeing it all come together.

The first of the lot were a pair of lumbars.  These rectangular pillows were made to accessorize a set of amazing armless chairs that Shereen and I fell in love with.  Not wanting to compete with the chairs’ slightly metallic purple and yellow tie dye pattern,  we decided on a solid muted mauve to sit atop them.  The colour picked up on the pattern’s purple and calmed down the tie dye.  I love these chairs!

The 2nd set of pillows were for Shereen’s den; a space that doubles as a receiving area + guest room.  One of the major challenges this space posed was it’s lack of natural light.  Not only was it a challenge for decorating, but it was also a challenge for taking pics.  By the time the space was ready for its close up, the sun was setting, and though Shereen’s condo is South East facing, we were still casted with its warm glow thanks to the reflection from the surrounding buildings.  …so, no, it’s not a filter, it’s all natural #nofilter.  Ha.

To help brighten up the den, we used this sea foam blue side table as our inspiration point to set a light and airy palette for the accent pillows.

note: a table by the door is a must for easy keys and “out the door” accessory placement

Supplementary, to the colours and textures, we added more light to the den with the addition of a floor lamp and a large leaning mirror on the wall opposite it.  The mirror helps to give the illusion of a larger space and reflects the light from the floor lamp when turned on.

The “lightness” consideration was also carried into our choice of art.  Above the day bed, we hung a trio of wide white matted and gold framed watercolour scapes.  It’s hard to see from my pics, but they are water colours of Venice [one of Shereen’s favourite places] which also have flecks of our sea foam blue inspiration colour within them.

We have 1 more textile to pick out before the space is complete.  To add more warmth to the space, the next item on the shopping list is an area rug [to be continued].

tie dye chairs | Home Sense
mauve + floral + light blue fabric | Designer Textiles, Toronto [Parkdale]
white faux fur fabric [including its faux suede back fabric] | Affordable Textiles [Queen St. West]
mirror | Ikea
floor lamp | Ikes
side table | Home Sense
daybed | West Elm
framed Venice water colour trio | Home Sense
chalkboard + hook + photo board | Urban Barn

Amongst the long list of TV shows that Mike and I weekly PVR, is Hell’s Kitchen.  We love Ramsey and this show of his is one of our guilty pleasures.  When deciding on what to do for dinner, I jokingly threw out ‘beef wellington’; the cursed dish that all Hell’s Kitchen chefs choke on yet continues to reappear season after season.  Surprisingly, Mike has never made a beef wellington, so beef wellington it was.

While I was staging and stuffing pillows, Mike was [as usual] watching football and stuffing beef tenderloin into puff pastry.  For the recipe, Mike used Gorodon Ramsay’s.  He made one change and created his own duxelle  [finely chopped mushroom mixture] recipe.

…duxelle…

2c mushrooms | finely chopped
1/2c shallots | chopped
1/8c  garlic | chopped
4tbs thyme | chopped
4tbs butter
salt + pepper for seasoning

cook all ingredients in a pan over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until you start to see browning
add 2tbs sherry vinegar and cook down
let cool

Mike timed dinner according to when he was expecting me home from Shereen’s.  I arrived later than expected and walked into a scolding.  According to Mike, he pulled the beef wellington out at med rare but by the time I got home, med rare longer the case; whoopsie!

[it wasn’t the most photogenic dish]

Keeping with classical French, the beef wellington was served with potato gratin, turned [referring to cut] beets, and a mushroom demi-glaze.

Regardless, med rare or not, dinner was delicious!