Behind the Scenes with Bijou and Boheme

For this week’s BEHIND THE SCENES, I can’t tell you how excited I am to introduce Christine from the unbelievable blog Bijou and Boheme. Christine’s blog is a daily read for me and chock-full of unabashedly feminine eye candy. I mean really, the woman can put together the most stunning graphics and moodboards like nobody’s business (and you’ll see what I mean below!). Christine is also in the midst of a huge kitchen renovation project, so I was thrilled when she agreed to take time away from her renovation and the interior design clients she also works with to guest post here today. Here’s Christine!

Well hello Mac & Cheesers, I’m so happy to be here taking part in Victoria’s fab new series, Behind the Scenes.

Name and age: Christine, 36

Your Blog: Bijou and Boheme

Current City: Oakville, Ontario

5 places I want to visit in my lifetime:

Well let’s think…there’s a long list of places I’d like to see but for now I’ll say my top ones are: Iceland, Italy, Morocco, Scotland and Bali.

4 books I want to read in the next year:

a. The Great Gatsby…because I never have and I just bought the pretty gold/white Penguin Classics version of it and I hate having books in my house that I haven’t read.

b.When God was a Rabbit…had me at hello with the title and the description only makes it seem even more charming.

c. Room…a good friend of mine just read this and said it’s absolutely one of her favourite books of all time thus, a must for me.

d. Valley of the Dolls…I’ve already read this and it’s one of my top 10 all time book loves…I’m starting to forget the details in my advancing age so want to read this in tandem with one of my bestest girlfriends again-10 years after we did it the first time:) 

3 photos that exemplify what I want my life to look like in 5 years:

2 goals I’m currently working on (and what I’m doing to get there):

1. completing my kitchen renovation…does that count?  

2. Growing my blog and readership…I continue to work on posts 6 days a week and try to visit as many other ones each day as I can- I think the best way to get your name out there is to network just like you would in real life…friendships and relationships are the key to success and happiness!

1 thing I’ve been dreaming about is…

My one HUGE dream always revolves around kids- I always think about the possibility of adding to our family…drives my husband batty- he thinks I’m one of those people that wants like 10 kids- honestly I’m not but one more would be quite delightful!  Aside from that, I also have giant dreams of achieving some type of design/styling career success…we shall see:)

How did your blog get its name?

I’ve always had a pension for quirky pretty and when I was thinking of finding the perfect name for my blog, I wanted something that evoked this type of mood.  The word Bijou is French for ‘an exquisite trinket’ and Boheme is Francais for ‘a place where no regularity is observed’…the two together seem to sum up my aesthetic in a rather well and aside from that, I just love the way they sound together…almost like pink honey in my mind.

Who serves as a source of inspiration for you?

My biggest inspiration is always my kids because they practically force me to recognize that the little things in life are always the most beautiful.  This lesson always relates to design, art, music, fashion and the like…the little vignettes, the flowers, the small treasures…they’re what make a space beautiful.  When looking through magazines or blogs, it’s these small bits of pretty that always get me excited for more.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

I’m going to sound like a sappy broken record but it’s always my kids. Aside from them, I’m also very proud  of my blog- it’s absolutely the single most ‘me’ thing I’ve ever done and allows me a vehicle to express the creativity I think I’ve always kind of had.

Where is your favorite place to rest and re-charge?

The bathtub…no question.

When did you first start blogging?

I started blogging in October of 2010.

And why do you keep doing it?

I keep doing it because it’s absolutely the single greatest personal gift I’ve given to myself.  Blogging has given me a place to use my voice and experience things I never knew I could.  I’m amazed on a daily basis by the opportunities it has opened up for me and am so happy with the amazing new friends I’ve met along the way.  Blogging feels like a journey that leads me to so many doors…ones I didn’t even know I might want to open…it’s so my yellow brick road.

A giant mushy loveball of thanks to Victoria for having me.

I was utterly delighted to visit!!!

xo