i'm off to stand in line w/ a bunch of hard core moms waiting to see if walker gets into preschool.  he's been on the waiting list for a year and half.  seriously.....i can't image what i'm going to have to do to get him into college.  wish me luck.

*images courtesy of pinterest

FTV Realms

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

There is a very exciting announcement over on the mothership today via WoTC Monty regarding the very next From the Vaults product due out latter this year in August. First up, just a quick 4.1.1 on this series for those newer players -

From the Vault is a series of Magic the Gathering box sets, released on an annual basis, typically in late August by Wizards of the Coast. Each box set contains 15 tournament legal, black-bordered foil cards with a common theme. Some of these cards may feature alternative artwork specific to that set.

Here's the quick round-up of previous FTV sets :

From the Vault: Dragons, featuring Dragons, released August 29th, 2008

From the Vault: Exiled, featuring Banned cards, released August 28th, 2009

From the Vault: Relics, featuring Artifacts, August 27th, 2010

From the Vault: Legends, featuring Legendary Creature cards, released August 26th, 2011

and the new one . . .
From the Vault: Realms, featuring Lands, to be released August 31st, 201

Here's the corporate for this product . . .

From the Farthest Reaches of the Multiverse

Most planes of existence have their own wondrous places. But only Planeswalkers can travel to lands beyond their own and call on their mana from across the Æther. You have seen dozens of realms, and those of your kind have told you of dozens more. Your bonds to these lands are the root of your power.

Contents and Details

• 15 Premium foil cards, including 7 with new art.
• An exclusive spindown life counter
• A collector's guide.
• Each card has been printed using a foil process unique to the From the Vault series.
• The 15 lands are all printed in the current card frame. For some, it is for the first time.
• From the Vault: Realms will be available world-wide in English only, and will have an extremely limited print run.
• All cards are black bordered and tournament legal. This means that these cards are legal for use in any tournaments where the original printings are still legal.

Please use the hashtag: #FTVRealms for discussing this product on Twitter!

Product Concept and Development Team: Mark Gottlieb
Release Date: August 31, 2012
MSRP: $34.99
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Commander / EDH, Modern, Legacy and Vintage players are all likely to go ga-ga over this and we suspect that this is another hit product for Wizards of the Coast. The preview art suggests either Glacial Chasm or Thawing Glaciers may be in the set.

We are personally hoping for Maze of Ith, Karakas, Dark Depths and / or Forbidden Orchard. Drop us a line or a comment below - what cards would make you happy were you to pull it from the box ?
~
Also of note - Great news from MTG Mint Card - They have restocked singles on one of our favourite recent sets - CONFLUX ! This is the set which brought you such notable cards as Noble Hierarch, Knight of the Reliquary, Progenitus among others. Click on over before they sell out.
~

Style in Seven - Nuha of Habibi

It's day two of the guest post train here on B&B and I'm thrilled to introduce a simply GORGEOUS...

For those of you who might not already know and love the fabulous Habibi...and it's curator Nuha...well...you're missing out...in a ginormous way.

Firstly, it's absolutely one of my favourites to look at it...the pink, gold and black layout makes my knees weak and admittedly, a little jealous- it's aesthetically beautiful.

And what's more, Habibi is packed with so much gorgeosity...fashion and design inspiration galore.

Nuha's Style in 7 will give you a stunning glimpse of her gorgeous take on all things pretty...picture board bliss I tell you.
.......

Hello B&B readers, Nuha from "Habibi" here.  I'm thrilled to be sharing my Style in 7 with you!  Christine's blog is by far one of my favorites and she is definitely a girl after my own heart.  Many of times I'll be thinking of something and check her blog to see that she is thinking the same thing - it's weird, but definitely exciting to know that I'm on the right style track ;-)  Oh, and I absolutely cannot wait to see the big reveal of her home in Style at Home!  

After a bit of thought, it was suddenly hard to narrow down my favorite things to only 7, but I tried my best to give you a brief glimpse into my mind.  Let me start out by saying that gold has been my favorite color ever since I can remember.  I’m a bit embarrassed to add this to my list because it feels like every other blogger/ girl out there is currently obsessing over gold.  I promise I’m not hopping on the bandwagon!  So because of that, I nixed the gold, and went with a few other things that make my heart pitter patter.  Enjoy!

1.) X-Chromosome:  Let me start out by saying that I am over-flowing with the x-chromosome.  I am unabashedly obsessed with all things girly, flirty, and pastel.  The number of dresses and skirts I have probably outnumbers my pants by 3:1, and romance movies make me weak in the knees.  You know the girl who loves to bake, get dressed-up, and sew things?  That is me.  Nice to meet you.

2.) Classic:  I’m an old soul at heart and anything vintage/classic/ antique is right up my alley.  While trends are fun now, I’d rather not look back at a picture of myself ( or my home) and think “What was I thinking?!”  That’s why I tend to lean towards classic pieces in both my wardrobe and home, I know that I'll love them now and forever.  Oh, and buying and renovating an old mid-century home is high up on my bucket list.  Baby steps, Baby steps.

3.) Fashion:  To me art is so fun because each person portrays it differently.  Which leads me to my main point- fashion is the most powerful form of art.  In what other way can you portray your emotions to the world without uttering a single word?  And equally as important, I’m a firm believer that if you look good, you feel good.

4.) Flowers:  This should come as no surprise after my excess x-chromosome confession above.  Nothing makes me more weak in the knees than a bouquet of flowers- or better yet, a whole garden of them.  I simply cannot wait for the spring to roll around so that I can get started on our garden.  I’m thinking to cover the backyard within an inch of it’s life with hydrangeas, peonies, and herbs.  It’ll be grand!

5.) Books:  Wherever shall I begin?!  Books are my fool proof way to relax.  And even better is sitting in a whole room devoted to them.  Don’t get me started on the smell of old books- so relaxing!  

6.) Glamorous:  Maybe it’s because I’m from the Middle East and we're used to going all out but I simply adore all things glamorous.  Dressing up and being a girl is basically my idea of a fun time.  Lipstick, baubles, hair & make-up- tell me these things don't excite you!  Trust me, you will never regret buying a one of a kind piece that screams love me- or looking like a million bucks. 

7.) Quirky:  Life is wayyy too short to take yourself seriously- that’s why God invented awkwardness.  No one is perfect and the best way to deal with that is to embrace your quirkiness.  I love adding a little bit of something unexpected to my house as well as wardrobe.

A  big thanks to sweet Christine for having me take part in her series! 

xo N  

......

Gah...wasn't this post just heaven?  So pretty.


And PS, any girl who loves glamour, flowers and quirkiness...so my kindred spirit!


xo

Standard U/B Control

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

For today's post, we are still going on about our most recent Friday Night Magic event report and have to provide an errata from yesterday's post.

Specifically, we reported that our fourth match against 'Matt S', that he was piloting an Esper Control Build, where in fact Matt was playing a Blue / Black (U/B) Control build.

Matt, who is a very decent guy has shared his decklist with us today. A quick Bio on Matt first - when he is not slinging Magic the Gathering cards at OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario, he is retrieving treed cats and assisting the elderly across busy roadways as an Ontario Provincial Police Constable.

Anywhoos - here is Matt's U/B list . . .

27 Lands : 4 Darkslick Shores, 4 Drowned Catacomb, 2 Ghost Quarter, 8 Island, 2 Nephalia Drownyard, 7 Swamp

33 Spells : 2 Consecrated Sphinx, 3 Snapcaster Mage, 3 Black Sun's Zenith, 1 Blue Sun's Zenith, 2 Curse of Death's Hold, 2 Dissipate, 2 Go For The Throat, 3 Forbidden Alchemy, 4 Mana Leak, 1 Ratchet Bomb, 4 Think Twice, 4 Tragic Slip, 1 Tribute to Hunger, 1 Liliana of the Veil

15 Sideboard : 2 Batterskull, 2 Bloodline Keeper, 1 Dissipate, 1 Flashfreeze, 1 Negate, 2 Nephalia Drownyard, 2 Nihil Spellbomb, 2 Phantasmal Image, 1 Ratchet Bomb, 1 Surgical Extraction


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It was anticipated that U/B Control would do rather well in the recent Pro-Tour Honolulu but this archetype appeared to not quite got there. Altough the U/B deck Lukas Jaklovsky played did get to 9th place, the day was won with Wolf Run Ramp decks such as Brian Kibler (1st place), and Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (2nd place). Definitely do not dimiss this build as we think it will adapt and overcome.

We think that Tragic Slip may be one of the most important one-drop cards in the mix as it will kill Delver of Secrets before it flips or Champion of the Parish before it grows totally out of control. Surgical Extraction is not to be underestimated as well and we can imagine players making more space in the build to accomodate additional copies to battle Delver of Secrets, or Lingering Souls. Curse of Death's Hold are also very relevant against Lingering Souls and Sorin Esper decks. Nihil Spellbomb also helps against mirror matches or other builds featuring Snapcaster Mage.

In summary, card advantage and spot removal are the hallmarks of this slick build and we expect to see it not only at Friday Night Magic but also heavily favoured by pro-players.
~
The latest Magic the Gathering set ,Dark Ascension, has now been out since February 3rd. MTG Mint Card, has this list of the top ten selling Dark Ascension cards to date in February.

1. Dungeon Geists
2. Geralf's Messenger
3. Predator Ooze
4. Gravecrawler
5. Vault of the Archangel
6. Lingering Souls
7. Increasing Savagery
8. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
9. Drogskol Reaver
10. Drogskol Captain
~

just in case you didn't get the memo....stripe are hot!!  you better get some :)

*images courtesy of vanessa jackman, decor pad, pinterest, tick tock clock

Style in Seven - Aubrey of All Things Bright and Beautiful

I am SO happy to welcome one of the true gems of the blogging world to B&B for a completely delish....



If you all aren't familiar with Aubrey...aka...All Things Bright and Beautiful...then let me just say you my friends are missing out...large.

She's well...a total peach...period...simple...end of story.

Aubrey is one of those people who manages to perfectly combine dry whit and heartfelt kindness...trust me...not always an easy mix...she's totes one of my 'I've never met you in real life but know we'd be girl soul mates if we were ever face to face' internet peeps.

I also adore her blog- filled to the brim with fashion and decor prettiness I tell you.

So...I'm tickled/touched/delighted that she happily agreed to put a little Style in Seven swag together for all of us to enjoy.

.......

Hey there good lookin'...

Aubrey from All Things Bright and Beautiful checkin' in...and no, I don't do much cookin' (in the kitchen), but style I *LOVE*!

Which brings me to how much I just adore Christine and her adorable style-speak and devastatingly amazing eye for gorgeousness. Don't you wish you could just stick her cute self in your pocket and carry her everywhere???

I guess that is a big advantage to a smart phone, right? (c:

Anywho, I won't pretend for one second that my eye is anywhere near as honed in as Mrs. Fabulous here, but I do love me some pretties! So my style seven would have to include...

Numero Uno: 

COLOR

Live in Color via The I Am Project

I don't think I ever put anything together without putting some sort of bright color in the mix...not even furniture, as evidenced by my latest endeavor:

If you couldn't tell already, I thoroughly enjoy being a girl so #2 is Feminine Frills...everything needs just a dash of girl to it (c;

And it also has a shot of my fave color and number 3:

PINK

 #4 would have to be the favorite metallic hue of GOLD...




And I what kind of girl would I be without my #5...GLITTER (c:

#6 is ANIMAL PRINT...I don't discriminate: zebra, giraffe, python, tiger, dalmation...they are all pretty fab in my book. But leopard will always be my favorite (c: And a little goes a *looooong* way, dontcha think?

#7 is BEING ME. Now that might sound like a cop out for the last one (and hey, maybe I should've added "lazy" in there as one of my style 7), but seriously, I've found that when I stick to what I love and feel good in is when I really feel like it's my style...

So what if I want to wear sequined Sperry's when I'm thirty??? Or wear 4 (or more) different bright colors at the same time??? So what if my 5 year-old son tells me "Mom, your hair looks crazy!" when I try out some new 'do??? Or someone walks in my house and tells me my fantastic velvet tufted chair looks like I stole it from my grandma's house???

So that is my cray-cray style in a nutshell...I think Christine has gotten to the bottom of this post and is really debating whether or not to push "publish"...(c:

Thanks for letting me kidnap the blog-o today!

.......

I could eat her for breakfast...such a charmi-pants...and as further proof of our bossom buddy status, I think she likes pink and leopard just as much as I do...aces my friends.

A big mwah to Ms. ATBAB for joining us today- such a treat!!! xoxoxoxo

And to all of you, guest posts galore will be filling the pages of B&B for the next week or so...enjoy my friends...beaucoup goodness coming your way!

Oh and don't forget about my abstract art giveaway...a stunning Zoe Pawlak original could be yours...you have until early morning Sunday to enter:)

xo

Lamp Shade Switcharoo

Got a ho-hum lamp shade that could use a little spicing up? New lamp shades can be very pricey (pretty shades here are always at least $50. Usually closer to $100/$150+!). I had an old white silky shade on hand that I decided to paint red a couple weeks ago. I tested two different colors, but I knew I wanted the Oxblood color from the get-go. I think it's a really good idea to temper bright, garish colors with muddy, off-tone colors in a space.

I had an old quart of glossy red paint on hand that was the perfect color (Man, I wish Home Depot still carried that Ralph Lauren paint line! Those colors were so pretty!). So, the trick to painting lampshades? Either water the paint down, or better yet, thin it down with paint conditioner. I've used this brand with great luck.

But the real trick to painting lampshades (or furniture, or really anything with a brush) is to load the brush with a consistant amount of paint every time, lay the paint down smoothly the first time and then resist every temptation to go back over what you have done! Just let it dry. Once it's fully cured in a couple hours, you can lightly sand the whole shade and give it a second coat to cover up any imperfections in the first layer.

Don't forget to paint the inside rims, but I like to stop where the fabric hem rolls in. Leave the inside white or black (or line it!). You can paint paper shades too, but I wouldn't water your paint down in that case- use the conditioner or just straight paint. I've painted a couple different types of shades and most of the time it works great, but it should go without saying I wouldn't mess with a really lovely expensive shade. Reserve this project for those approaching-nasty yellowing shades that so often come with lovely vintage lamps!

PS The Homies are out again! (They always sneak up on me, so thanks to those of you who nominated and voted for me already in both the Best DIY blog and Best Home Design categories - I'm not holding my breath, but I am super flattered. xox) I love the Homies because they make it so easy to find really great, new-to-me blogs! It's risky business though, finding a new blog that fits you so well you just can't go to bed until you've read through to their very first post! :) Dare I click through the list before the weekend?!

Like LGN on Facebook

Follow Jenny on Twitter

FNM Report 2-24-2012

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

It is not very often that we stay for the full evening of Friday Night Magic as we unfortunately have some other obligations to attend to. Typically, we play the first two or perhaps three matches at our local WPN Games store, OMG! Games and Collectibles here in Barrie, Ontario and then have to take off. This last Friday was however an exception and we stayed until the bitter (approximately midnight) and took in the full 5 rounds of matches slinging our favourite new Magic the Gathering cards in our favourite format, standard constructed.

We are rather pleased that we did stay longer as not only did we finally get our paws on a Friday Night Magic foil promo card (this month is Despise) but also did not too badly in our matches against some of the club's very best players. We also collected an additional 15 Planeswalker Points for the evening. We went on to 5th place in a field of 32 players with 1 match loss and 4 wins with our W/B Token Deck.

~
Our first match was against David N who won rather handily in two games with an Esper Control build. In both games, we were just trying to catch up after a series of counter spells. Having our 'anthem' enchantments blown up really did not help our cause at all either.

The second match was against Zach K, a new player who had just started playing. Zach was playing a Red Deck wins featuring Grim Lavamancer, Chandra's Phoenix, Stormblood Berserker, Volt Charge, Shrine of Burning Rage, andIncinerate. We were able to get past all the burn and field a small army of pumped up Human tokens thanks to Increasing Devotion which we also were able to cast again with flashback.

The third match, against Dan L was rather interesting. Dan is a great player and we love the home-brews he brings to game with. Unfortunately we can't really recall very well what he was playing but do think that after Dan fine tunes it, great things may be expected.

In the fourth match, we were pitted against Matt S who also fielded an Esper Control build. We did take the match in two but it was a very tight race in both games - the second one especially. We took the second game after we were able to stick four anthems (2 Intangible Virtues and 2 Honor of the Pures) in play followed by an Increasing Devotion.

For the fifth and last match, we were paired with Taylor W who had brought along a Mono-Green Aggro build featuring solid Mana-ramp, Young Wolf, Strangleroot Geist, Thrun, the Last Troll, and Vorapede. Taylor had just put the deck together earlier in the day and (thankfully) did not have an opportunity to tweak it against the ever evolving metagame. Had there been some Overrun trample spells in the mix we seriously think we would not have won.

Anwwhoos -stay tuned to MTG Realm - tomorrow, wel'll give a run down of the Esper Control archetype which are doing rather nicely at most casual and competitive circles.
~

Also of note - Great news from MTG Mint Card - They have restocked singles on one of our favourite recent sets - CONFLUX ! This is the set which brought you such notable cards as Noble Hierarch, Knight of the Reliquary, Progenitus among others. Click on over before they sell out.
~

Giveaway - Zoe Pawlak

I am beyond...and I  mean BEEEEE-YOND...excited/thrilled/honoured to be sharing a very special giveaway with you today.

Let me start with a little glimpse of what's to come...a little preview if you will....brought to you by the stunning work of artist...


{via Jamie Mann}

...Zoe Pawlak...

I hope you're sitting....

Absolutely to die for stunning.

There's such a beautiful variety in her work and yet, it's so consistently full of movement, passion and  gorgeous colour...I'm officially obsessed.

And because I love you so so much and am eternally grateful for all the support/kind words you've sent my way (especially these past few weeks,) I thought it a perfect time to feature Zoe and giveaway one of her divine pieces...and PS, I'm still pinching myself over this one.

So...without further ado...

...this original oil on canvas painting..... 

...entitled Truly, the Mighty......could soon be yours!!!!!

Are you still conscious?

Jumping up and down?

I would be.

Now...to enter:

1. Leave a comment below

For extra entries:

*And please leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry*

2. Follow Zoe Pawlak on Twitter

3. Go to Zoe Pawlak's website and tell me which of her pieces is your favourite
4. Pin your favourite Zoe Pawlak piece to Pinterest

5. Follow Zoe Pawlak {@zoepawlak} on Instagram

6. Tweet the giveaway

{enter to win a stunning original painting from @bijouandboheme and @zoepawlak http://sherwinwilliamswallpaper.blogspot.com/2012/02/givaway-zoe-pawlak.html?spref=tw}
7. Become a new follower of Bijou and Boheme

8/9. Blog about the giveaway for 2 extra entries!

I'll be drawing for the winner this Sunday morning so get your entries in quick!!!

xoxo