A Pastel Home

Just in time for the Labour Day long weekend, the massive project we’ve been working on ALL summer long is finally here: THE PATIO!

Let me start by saying the outdoor space at this home is a LOT, like easily as much space outdoors as we have indoors between the yard, back patio, front yard, front porch, and small front patio as well. The backyard came together fairly quickly and easily once I planted my veggie and flower gardens, although I have added some flowering shrubs and bushes that I hope will really expand next Spring and transform the space a bit more. The front yard garden is still a very sad outrageous mess of weeds, and other than a power wash, we decided to leave the front patio and porch as projects to think about NEXT YEAR. Which just leaves… the back patio!

When Jonnie and I first toured this apartment, we were both overwhelmed by all the potential we saw for the back deck. It’s massive, partially covered, and gets a ton of great sunshine all throughout the day. On the day we got our keys, we did another little walk around, and he casually mentioned maybe it would be nice to do some painting to brighten up the space out there (sometime down the line). Unfortunately for him, he’d said it out loud to me, and I never do things reasonably or slowly or “in time”.

Shortly after moving everything into our East Van apartment, I came up with a plan for the back patio and got to work. Benjamin Moore very kindly supplied all of the paint we needed for the project, and I thought from there, the rest would be easy! A little sanding, a bit of painting, and voila – new patio! What can I say? I have a poor sense of reality. This turned out to be the most labour intensive home project that I’ve ever embarked on, and the work ended up taking nearly the entire summer to complete. We started with sanding back in June, then moved on to extensive pressure washing, and once everything was dry and prepped, we finally started painting. Turns out, outdoor painting, with various textures and previous paint jobs and endless cracks and corners and weather restrictions is much less straightforward than say, painting an accent wall inside.

I need to give credit where it’s due here: I had a lot of help. It took me, Jonnie, my sister, and her girlfriend Emily countless hours to finally get every inch of the patio painted, from floor to ceiling beams. Luckily Benjamin Moore’s Aura Exterior paint had such good coverage that we could get away with just one coat on all the woodwork (after a light sanding) but it still took ages to get between all of the fence posts, every angle of every roof beam… you get the point! The floor painting was my favourite part – we used a product called Sure Step, which had texture built into it that both prevents future slipping, and evens out the cement. Painting over our stained, bumpy old cement flooring and watching this paint fill all of the little holes and cracks was so satisfying.

When all of the painting was finally done, all that was left to do was decorate! A jungle of plants was obviously a must, but beyond that I felt a bit stuck. I used a lot of the same IKEA furniture from my last patio setup on the North Shore, so I really just some pops of colour to bring life to this space. I’m not sure how I landed on , but it turns out almost all of their pillows can be made as outdoor throw pillows! Once I fell in love with Megan Galante’s , the rest came together. White string lights and a couple of colourful candles pulled the vibe together for both day and night, and Summer’s favourite addition was definitely her from Busy Puzzle (love that nice neutral gingham fabric).

I shared the before and after video today in my reels, but I also wanted to put together a list of sources and share our experience with this project in full on here! Let me know your favourite part in the comments below!

Scroll down for shopping links

SHOPPING LINKS

All paint by Benjamin Moore

Floor paint (special non-slip product) here (colour is “Desert Sand”)

Outdoor paint for beams and fencing here (colour is “Peach Cooler 022”)

IKEA Outdoor Couch here

IKEA Outdoor Rug here

IKEA coffee table (similar )

IKEA side tables here (no longer available)

Miss Garden Glory Shell chair pillows here

Oui by Indigo large pedestal planter

Oui by Indigo medium pedestal planter

Society6 leopard floor pillow

Society6 sun throw pillow

Society6 leopard throw pillow

Minnidip Banana Leaf Pool here

Similar banana leaf throw blanket here

Busy Puzzle indoor / outdoor swing here

CB2 Bistro set gold table here

CB2 Bistro set pink chairs (no longer available)

*this pink shell bistro set is also so my style and so affordable

White string lights here

Paddywax arch candle holder (similar here)

IKEA gold tray (similar here)

Candles by Homecoming and Lohn

Bloomin’ Easy low maintenance plants (like my pink lemonade rose!) here

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not much of a salad fan, and though my general feelings on the matter haven’t necessarily changed I did find myself craving cold, crunchy veggies more than ever over this humid, hot summer. It’s pretty hard to imagine eating lasagna, soup, or other hot savoury foods when you step outside and break into a sweat!

When I went to Calgary earlier this year on my Subway Ambassador trip we got to learn a handful of recipes on the grill with their head chef, and my absolute favourite part was learning how to marinate and grill romaine lettuce. It’s shockingly simple, quick, and makes a massive taste difference to your salad. I was instantly hooked.

When I got my Lil’ Tex Pellet Grill this past August, trying my romaine tricks at home was at the top of my list, and I had a feeling Traeger’s Blackened Saskatchewan Rub would make the creation even more delicious. With grilled romaine lettuce as my jumping off point I made a list of other ingredients to incorporate – I’ve been experimenting with making the perfect vegan caesar dressing for what feels like years, and I think I finally managed to perfect it over the past month. Paired with smoky chickpeas and cashew nut cheese crumble, this salad might just be so good that it has the power to change a salad hater’s mind!

Scroll down for the recipe!

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ROASTED CHICKPEAS

Ingredients //

Can of organic chickpeas
Blackened Saskatchewan Rub
Smoked paprika
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Recipe //

Strain and rinse one can of organic chickpeas, toss with olive oil, Blackened Saskatchewan Rub, smoked paprika and salt and pepper. Spread evenly across a bed of aluminum foil or bbq safe cooking sheeting and cook on medium-high heat for 30 mins.

NUT CHEESE

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Ingredients //

1/2 cup Soaked cashews
1 garlic clove
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
pinch of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Recipe //

Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until it reaches a crumbly texture.

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VEGAN CEASER DRESSING

Ingredients //

1/2 cup soaked cashews
Juice of one small lemon
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup tahini
1 tsp dijon
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper

Recipe //

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or high powder blender until completely smooth.

Wash the romaine lettuce well and allow to throughly dry. Cut each Romaine heart in half length-wide, cutting off the stocky part at the bottom. Use a brush to lightly coat the cut surface with olive oil and season with Blackened Saskatchewan Rub. Place face down on the grill on high heat for 10-15 mins until grill marks appear. Place grilled romaine on a bed of finely chopped kale and top with roasted chickpeas, crumbled nut cheese and vegan caesar dressing. Garnish with a lemon wedge and enjoy!

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Blush dinnerware from Ikea Canada

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

Peach season is a precious time for us here in Ontario and I’ve been extra obsessed with fruit this Summer – somehow as unhealthy as I usually am, fruit has been my biggest pregnancy craving!

When I moved into #heaveninhighpark back in March I was already scheming to get equipped with the perfect grill to use in my newly acquired outdoor space. Going from a tiny condo to a home with both a yard and a front patio was a bit daunting at first, but as soon as I started filling the space it was such a fun project to dive into. I planted a fruitful garden (no peach trees… YET!) and set up seating, but the grill hunt took a lot longer than expected. There was so much to consider – charcoal or propane? How does one even use those flavoured wood chips? What type of grill was least likely to accidentally singe my eyebrows off while lighting it? After months of passively searching I finally found Traeger.

When it comes to BBQ’ing, it doesn’t get much better than Traeger. These pellet grills use wood-fired fuel to cook your food, giving everything a seriously delicious smoky flavour, plus there’s an actual smoker setting to play with too! I wanted to set up my grilling station on the front patio for easy access, so I went with the Lil’ Tex Pellet Grill – it’s the perfect size for an apartment but still fits quite a lot of food. The best part? It’s super easy to fire up without lighting yourself or anything else on fire, and food cooks everything from corn to tofu steaks fast!

When the grill arrived, I couldn’t wait to get one thing cooking: peaches! I know most people think meat when they think BBQ, but my lifelong veggie diet means BBQ season has always looked a bit different, and I love getting creative with fruits and veggies on the grill. I had tried grilled peaches at restaurants, but never made them myself, so I was determined they be the first thing I try to make, especially with it being the height of peach season! Of course plain old grilled peaches wasn’t all that exciting, so the idea evolved into strawberry grilled peach basil and honey ice cream sundaes with powdered donut crumb topping. Served up on perfect blush pink dinnerware from Ikea Canada, this recipe makes the dreamiest Summer treat!

Scroll down for the recipe!

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Ingredients //

Fresh local peaches
Vegetable oil
Strawberry ice cream
Mini powdered donuts
Liquid honey
Fresh basil leaves

Recipe //

When choosing peaches for grilling it’s best to stick with slightly firmer ones. Wash and dry the fruit and carefully slice each one down the middle, vertically from it’s stem end. Twist each half in the opposite direction of each other and gently pull apart, use a spoon to dig out the pit.

Apply a light and even coat of vegetable oil to the cut side of each peach half. Place on a medium to high heat grill until golden brown grill marks appear.

While the peaches are grilling, crumble powdered mini donuts into small crumbs for the topping.

Place two grilled peach halves on the strawberry ice cream, top with donut crumbs, then drizzle with honey and garnish with a fresh sprig of basil!

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