Life Lately: I Got a Lob, Tea for Cocktails, The Dramatic Tale of One Pergola + Some Cheap Home Updates

I got a lob! I rarely get my hair cut and choose to live with dead ends on the reg, but it was due time I get a healthy cut, so my blonde tips (which were as dry as hay) are gonezo! I hope it grows out a few inches by August (for a big reason I’ll share more about later), but it feels soooooooo good to be able to achieve a beach wave. Isn’t this boston terrier shirt also awesome (below)? I got it using a Groupon code way back, but you can buy it (or any other dog breed or animal for that matter) online at The Mountain.

Also, I’m loving SnapChat. It’s just fun as heck. If you like my blog, then you might like my more candid snap stories. Admittedly, it’s a lot of Piper, but here’s my snapcode or whatever it’s called!

I bought this black steel pergola from Lowe’s which is amazing, but sadly, no longer available (which I’m not surprised by as it was a steal at $550). However awesome now, the box dimensions online read 11′ x 11′ or something nuts like that, so I got my dad’s employee to pick it up in a huge truck only to discover the box was actually 2′ x 5′. How embarrassed was that little box to be on this massive truck on the highway? It sounds hilarious, but it wasn’t so funny when you think of having to find or rent a big truck…

I called to complain and asked that they change the dimensions online so others don’t run into the same problem or pay $75 for delivery only to discover they could’ve fit that bad boy in their SUV. Drama aside and a Saturday morning spent on hold aside, it was worth it, even after the three hours Shawn, my mom and me spent putting it together! It’s made a massive impact on our outdoor game, and will make for one hell of a backyard transformation reveal! (If you haven’t seen my hideous before photos, you’ve gotta. And then hop on over to see what I bought.)

In continued outdoor news, I finally snapped a vague, angled photo of my side walkway because I’m curated and IG-y like that. 😛 I shared the story on Instagram, but if you didn’t get it: This cost me far under $100 versus the almost $1,000 I was quoted by the place that did my patio. The whole area is 25 feet long, 2 feet wide, and rather than getting a solid patio installed, I opted to lay some stones I found at The Home Depot (that creepily matched my patio almost perfectly) ontop of existing screening from my old patio. Then I installed some black hard plastic edging (so stones wouldn’t fall into the grassy lawn and be all annoying) and filled it in with pea gravel (free from my dad). Et voila! Note the little annoying weed poking out of the corner. Yup. I may be a home-improvement nut, but that don’t mean my lawn is weed-free. Ugh.

I’ve also been finishing a tiny remodel of our spare bedroom, transforming it from a giant mess to a smaller mess. Haha, AKA I’m going to use as a giant walk-in closet and store-all room for random crap. Last week, it looked like this:

I’ve since painted it (just using leftover off-white paint from my kitchen/living area, so nothing crazy exciting) but it already comes in super-handy! I get dressed and put my makeup on in this room. Feeling’ fancy. 😛

In other news, I’ve had some great mail days lately. I was surprised by the makers of Owl’s Brew who generously sent me 5 bottles of their tea blends made for cocktails. I cannot wait to try them all! No, I haven’t yet cracked any open: I’ve been going to yoga a ton lately, so the last thing I’m tempted to do is eat crappy or drink alcohol. I’m saving that for weekends or important occasions, but I’ll let you know how it tastes when I try ’em! Always love supporting small-batch makers and entrepreneurs. I believe you can buy them at Whole Foods in the GTA or online, of course.

I also got these goodies from Wayfair in the last last week, purchased for my backyard makeover reveal photos and video. It’s been years since I’ve been meaning to buy one, but I have yet to pull the trigger on a wine decanter. After struggling for a while between this pink-tinted carafe, I settled on this chiseled glass wine decanter because of its stopper top. Although I adore pink, I chose to forgo these highball glasses in favor of these these smoke-tinted cafe glasses. More timeless, and I liked the stout size (perfect for juice or wine). (These beveled low-ball glasses were also high on my list.) They’re screaming for some Owl’s Brew cocktails. Also, while I adore this buffalo-check reversible table runner, it was simply not quite long enough, so I nabbed this handmade linen piece in white and indigo.

In related health-concious news, I stopped putting sugar in my coffee after watching Sugar Coated on Netflix (a documentary about — you guessed it — sugar and the FDA and food industry in general). In its place I’ve been using Xylitol which tastes pretty darn close. I’m simply hoping won’t also be proven to kill me later. Any scientists or nutritionists out there, please weigh in and save me if I’m still killing myself, haha.

In work news, I recently had the honor of illustrating Hazel McCallion for The Globe and Mail which was printed full-page on an inside cover. The piece will also be used to promote her position as chancellor of Sheridan College for all time! It was a pretty awesome job.

I started up my YouTube again and have shared a few videos lately. I hope you take a mo’ to check out my latest YouTube videos. If you have a channel, what’ your name? Let’s add each other, or is it subscribe? Haha, trying to get more involved in this vlog community but have no idea where to find some fellow peers!

After a bout with Bloglovin’ (couldn’t claim my own blog, rawr!) I finally got it to work, but lost all my followers in the process 🙁 If you have Bloglovin’ and more importantly you actually like my blog, add me up, yo!