the hunt for votivo

A few years ago, my sister and I were visiting our brother at his home in a small surfing community on the coast of California. He's a photographer and great lover of design and lived in a charming beach bungalow that he and his girlfriend had decorated in simple, stark beach-appropriate decor - all in hues of white. It was beautiful. My sister and I fell in love with it.

A staple in their home and, according to my brother, in his suitcase for all his travel hotel stays, were Votivo candles. He swore they were the best scented candles ever and we quickly believed him and spent our limited shopping budget on a few at a local boutique. Hooked on Votivo and back in Canada, we quickly realized these pretty goodies were hard to find and we were always on the lookout for them.

I have yet to find them here in Ottawa and would love some for my apartment. They have dozens of scents and I want to try them all! I have, however, found their website (don't know why I never thought of looking there before ;), and if I can't find any soon, I'll order myself some.

I wish I could copy flash images onto this blog, but I can't, so you'll have to view all their petty pieces here. I had no idea they had so many collections!

And speaking of family, my decor-savvy sister is flying in from Vancouver tonight to visit me for the Canada Day long weekend - yay! She is the hottest interior decorating student in Vancouver and I can't wait to have her help me with my new apartment and scour Ottawa and Montreal's design shops with me :) Have a great weekend everyone!