Craving Some Creativity

A Simple Moment

2012-02-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

A precious moment from earlier today...Carlee wanted to just sit and lay her head on my chest. It happens so rarely and was so nice to sit and enjoy a few cuddles:) Of course this usually means she is not feeling great, maybe some teeth on the way again, but I'll take it!

A Step at a Time

2012-01-26T20:03:00.002-05:00

My exciting news? My bathtub is now in the bathroom, not my living room:) Yup, that's the good life...it doesn't actually have running water yet, but suddenly my living room looks huge so I'm happy!

Last weekend my FIL came over and we were able to put the new flooring down and put the bathtub in place and prepare the plumbing for the vanity to be put in place...each weekend we get a little done, a step at a time. It would be nice to have several days and get it all done at once, but for now I'm perfectly happy just having a toilet upstairs again:) Going down to the basement each time was getting old...

Here are some new pictures of how the bathroom is looking now!

Bathtub ready to have plumbing attached and wall surround installed.

Sorry, didn't put the lid down for pictures, gross...

Vent will be replaced as well from our 1970's edition:)

So, the bathroom reno continues. Once this is out of the way I'm getting inspired to make a space in the main floor for Carlee to be creative as she gets older...a little table and chairs with craft supplies...can't wait!

Share

Tubbin' Around

2012-01-17T13:21:00.002-05:00

The bathroom reno continues...with a bathtub in the living room:) The life of renovations eh?

Saturday the walls came down and new walls put up, and we are now working on the putty between the pieces of drywall...that's a new technique to learn for the hubby but his skills are coming along:) That pretty much took all day for them so then Monday we called up my FIL(who is super awesome by the way - apparently 25+ years of homeowning teaches you ALOT!) to come by and hopefully put in the new bathtub...well, we got the bathtub, but once we got the old one out we saw the flooring had been getting damp under the tub so it would be wise to put a new layer of flooring down first:) So the bathtub sits in my living room, but we have a lovely new floor waiting for new flooring now! Perfect! The plan is for that to go in Friday - will let you know how it goes!

Life continues to be busy as I am running a little business from the home as well as planning to go back to work 2 days a week come February! its gonna be a bit crazy as we settle into that routine but I think it will work well once we get used to it. My business is taking off well too, and I look forward to doing that part time and quitting my regular job at some point....exciting and scary!

My weight loss journey? Going well:) I am down to within 10 lbs of the pre-pregnancy weight. I have been doing some research and found out that pcos was not to blame for my weight gain after I had initially lost most of the weight after having Carlee - nope...that responsibility lays on the drug domperidone! I had been told to take it to try to increase my milk supply when I ran into problems due to pcos inhibiting the production of glandular tissue, which didn't work....but did give me some 20 lbs extra for fun! So in a roundabout way, still PCOS issue, but not directly related:) I still find it hard to stay on a healthy diet when surrounded by friends who don't, but most days, I do ok.... And stay motivated to be healthy so we can attack the hormones with our next child and try BFing again. We did continue partially BF til 8 months, but I would love to BF exclusively for a full year or more with the next one:) A fun/stressful challenge to face for the future!

That's it for now! I will be back soon with pictures of our new bathroom!

Krista

Bathroom Reno has begun...

2012-01-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

Well, what do you think? Is it better yet;)

BEFORE

DEMO

The start of the bathroom reno came with wall paper down and tiles shattering to the ground:) No more white with blue flowers left except for on the countertop. The walls need to be taken down and new ones put up, new vanity put in, new bath tub put in and fix the flooring. Then the final touches of painting and such...that doesn't sound like much right?? ;) Excited to get the blue bathroom in the past!!

Share

A little bit of Christmas..

2011-12-13T19:07:00.004-05:00

I love Christmas....like really LOVE it. I love the family time, and the songs in church, and pulling out the nativity and the lights around the house - I love thinking of presents that will really make someone feel special(hopefully) and taking the time to slow down and appreciate our lives and family around us. And this year I am SO excited to share that with Carlee who probably won't even notice at 10 months...but I can't wait to see her little face with all the wrapping paper she will get:)

So, in the Christmas mood last night, I whipped up some cards to sell or give out myself...we shall see:)

A week from Friday we will drive out East to be home for the holidays - and I cannot wait! I hope you all are getting excited, take time to enjoy the season amidst the crazy, and each have a wonderful Christmas celebration.

Share

Ring to the Sling

2011-09-30T22:15:00.000-04:00

So recently I've met a new group of women - the majority of them who are big on 'wearing' their babies:) We had just a simple buckle carrier and I never really thought much of it, we didn't use it too much and I never really felt like it looked very comfy for her even if she did sleep well in it being so close to us.

Well, after meeting these women I was intrigued by all the options, and not too surprised to hear that a lot of the common carriers are in fact bad for the hips of babes - some even recalled. And since 'wearing' the baby at a young age can encourage a good milk supply, I would be inclined to use it with baby #2 someday when we try to overcome this dumb PCOS thing;)

What I was stunned by was that the cost of some of the name brands were $50 or more depending on the type of carrier. Well, I found someone who made their own 'moby' online and sold it for 10 bucks...my sister is testing it out with her newbie right now and I think my girl is probably a bit big for that now anyways...but I do like the looks of ring slings for their ease of use on the go.

So then...next trip to the 2nd hand store, I found a nice strong piece of material for 6 bucks, picked up a couple of harness rings at the hardware store for 4 dollars(can also be bought online at slingrings.com) and got to work. Since my sewing machine is on the fritz I pulled out the iron and some hemming tap, folded the material down the middle and cut it to about 2.5 meters. I'm about 5'6 and that gives me lots of extra material to work with. And here we go:

We tested it out today at the Farmer's market and loved it!! :)
To all you Canadians, enjoy preparing for Thanksgiving next weekend! I look forward to some great family times!

Please check out where I'm linking up today!

Share

Who Doesn't Love Free???

2011-08-29T21:35:00.000-04:00

So for those Canadians on here, you may have heard that over the air signals are changing from analogue to digital like the states did back a couple of years.... Well, we don't have cable right now and I HATE the idea of paying such inflated prices for tv....so I've been researching the last few months on what we will do when the change happens.

This week, they started switching over and I started having fun! I debated getting a new outdoor antenna to ensure we could get some usa channels since we'd be switching anyways, then I thought, wellllll, maybe I can diy it!! And then I did...

I dragged my husband off the couch and forced him to help me make this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw

And of course took no pictures but it worked fine, not much better than our rabbit ears really....then I thought, let's move it up to the attic and it started coming in much clearer on the analogue.

Then I finally figured out how to get the digital signal on our tv and found, nope, not much coming in from buffalo, a couple christian channels but that was it:( Then I went to thesource and picked up a video amplifier for 30 bucks hoping it would do the trick to get those extra channels in....and sure enough. A couple minutes .later we went from 8ish channels to 21 channels!

Total cost? Under 40 dollars and a very happy girl here...way better than 40 bucks a month, minimum!! Going from about 4 channels to 21? I don't even know what to do with myself:)

Anyone else get creative with the transition?

Ps. my girl is almost crawling!!

Taken at iSMILE studios

Minus the Gluten...

2011-08-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

In an effort to give my body a break and feed it healthy foods I have been looking into eating more gluten free foods when I can...I'm not strict with it but am introducing some foods into my diet. So, my first gluten free loaf of bread was created yesterday!

I used some pre-mixed gluten free flour from Kinnikinnick and followed their directions for a sweet bread loaf and then added some quinoa and cinnamon to the mix as well. Turned the breadmaker on and a couple of hours later...delicious!!

Even the hubby ate it with no complaints:) Maybe I'll try it with some raisins or dark chocolate chips next time! Mmmm!

Carlee was pretty jealous of the bread but found a remote to gnaw on instead:

Five and a half months and getting more fun by the day:) and with two hours naps having become a regular occurrence, Mom is having a great time too;)

Share

PCOS + Baby Weight = Square One....

2011-07-27T22:47:00.001-04:00

It was about this time two years ago that I decided to prepare to go off BC by getting my butt in gear and educating myself in how to treat my PCOS naturally. Check out this site if you have never heard of pcos: http://pcosdiva.com. Knowing that if I wasn't successful there was a chance we would deal with infertility was a pretty good motivator for me so I changed my diet, starting taking Apple Cider Vinegar daily to stabilize my blood sugar levels, and took up an aerobic class once a week.... And it worked! I dropped around 15 lbs or so and when I went off my BC my cycles were about 40 days rather than the previous 90! Much improved:)

Nothing feels better than having that goal and succeeding, even getting pregnant very soon after going off BC and having a wonderful pregnancy and delivery...only to find out that pcos was still plaguing me! Little did I know that my syndrome affected my milk supply, and since I was unaware this was a symptom, I did nothing beforehand to combat it and was unable to fully breastfeed- we do half/half with formula but I can say I'm proud of fighting for all that I have(pumping for a month and going on herbs/drugs) BUT had I known during pregnancy it was an issue I would have been able to do a lot more and possibly had more success. I was fairly sad and embarrassed by my inability to completely provide for Carlee for the first couple of months and really paid no attention to what my diet and postpartum life was doing to my body and now - five months postpartum - my pcos is back full force!

Now, I feel I am back right where I was two years ago physically...you know, except now I have a baby to cheer me up:) But nevertheless, I am about 15-20 lbs from where my cycles returned to normal last time and has get to have a period since delivery...and so the journey starts again! I find its harder not to snack when I'm home throughout the day but am ready to start getting down to business again! Now, any friends reading this...your job is to yell 'NO' anytime I reach for my beloved chips;)

Thanks for listening guys, any thoughts, encouragement or advice is very welcome!

Summer Break and a Kitchen Update!

2011-07-20T16:04:00.000-04:00

Hey there followers,
Is there anyone left?? I am having SO much fun being home with my little girl and keeping up to date here has fallen aside unfortunately! The LO is now five months old! She rolls, she sits, she 'talks', she is too cute!

Boef (dutch for 'little rascal') just hanging out in her camp chair.

Sitting up all by herself!

and a touched up photo of Boef.....so cute!

And to her mom's excitement, last week she learned that sleeping for longer than 40 minutes at a time during the day is A-OK! She now sleeps for about 2 hours at naptime and I get to do some cleaning and such around the house for the first time! SO EXCITED!

And speaking of getting things done around the house, five months after doing the kitchen reno seen here, the knobs arrived and were installed! And at a HUGE deal as well. We hit up a place in Maine while I was home in NB for a bit that sells their knobs for a dollar a piece! Compared to the 4-5 dollar price tag here, I was pretty proud of my good find! The selection wasn't amazing but good enough for me:)

And just to remind you, here's the before:

Perhaps a little more in this century now:) We are so pleased with the transformation!

Well, here we are having a massive heat advisory for tomorrow!! Gotta go find a pool to lounge in!

Share

Royal Inspiration

2011-05-06T08:51:00.000-04:00

No, I wasn't one of those who got up at 3am to watch the Royal wedding, even though the time coincided with when Carlee got me up to eat...I definitely thought sleep to be more important! But in the morning I did sit and watch the recaps and the live kiss on the balcony - who can resist dreaming as watching a real live princess??

Well, when I received the invitation to an English tea for next week I was inspired by all these royal attendees to make my own fascinator to wear to the event! In about ten minutes and for one dollar I created this:

My supplies included a glue gun, flowers from the dollar store and some tulle(I used a corner of my wedding veil for this). Simple cut off the stems of the flowers and glue them in whatever arrangement you like on any headband you may have lying around. I trimmed back some of the flowers as well so they weren't so big on top.

And that's it! I think it looks better in person but not bad for a first try I thought! Should be fun to wear to the tea next week:)

Have yourselves a great weekend!

And of course I'll part with another picture of my cutie!

Homemade Baby Mobile

2011-04-20T10:31:00.000-04:00

So it doesn't twirl on its own or make fun noises like a fancy storebought one, but I couldn't love the whimsical feel of my baby girl's mobile - and now perhaps someday she'll actually notice it as well:)

Remember what it looks like from my last post?

A very simple design - I searched the dollar store to find the top piece...can you guess??? Its a fruit holder turned upside down! Perfect:) Then I used my fancy new cricket machine and cut out all different sizes and colors of circles of cardstock. To attach them I stole some fishing line from the hubby and glued the paper around the fishing line. Attach it at the top and voila!

You have yourself a cute mobile for baby to stare at:) Easy as that!

Share

A little Nursery Reveal

2011-04-07T12:25:00.000-04:00

So, yes, I'm still here and alive:) My dear baby ran into trouble gaining weight since I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which can effect your milk supply - therefore the girl has to take breastmilk and formula to get enough each feeding...Thankfully I have the best baby and she could care less what is going in her mouth, long as its food! But they had me doing all kinds of crazy pumping and herbs and drugs to try to fix the problem...but that's a story for another day!

TODAYYY, I am finally going to show you the final pictures of her little nursery. You have seen tidbits of the theme but here's it all put together. Sorry I don't have a magical camera or much skill but you get the gist:)

Take a look:

And there you have it....my sweet little girl's room...and now she is awake and crying so off I go but I'll leave you with a picture of how she is looking these days:)

All gussied up for her baptism day:

Announcing....

2011-03-09T09:53:00.000-05:00

the arrival of our sweet little girl, Carlee Alexa.

Yes, as you may have guessed based on my long absence, our little girl has arrived and we are now a busy household of three, four if you include my mom staying with us since her arrival:)

On February 23rd, at 12:49 our little girl came in a bit of a rush....arriving at the hospital about 30 minutes before she arrived! My contractions were all over the place during the night, very irregular and I was unsure this was even the real thing but by 10:30am they were getting pretty intense, even though they were still only about 20-25 seconds long, and we finally asked to have an assessment with the midwife to see how things were progressing. When we arrived for the assessment I was already 7-8 cm dilated and it was a good thing their office is beside the hospital...we quickly went over and walked right into the delivery room as they told me to try not to push, ha, right! It took them a bit to get things set up but once I could push she was out within a few contractions and we have our little girl!

Here are some pics of our little sweetie now!

Forgive me as I take some time settling in with our little girl...I look forward to catching up in the blog world soon!

Krista...and Carlee:)

Share

Ridiculous Railing Redo

2011-01-26T22:23:00.000-05:00

Remember back for a moment to those houses in the 70's....what's the worst? The wood paneling? The ridiculous amount of mustard colored things? The crazy designs on the flooring?

Well, I would suggest that this railing rivals them all:

Ewwwww.

alright, I'll give you the carpet is not that great either but at leasts its not green or plaid like the basement....so we'll deal with that later.

But seriously...what is with that railing? Random splotches of white and gold? How does that even happen? Well, we agreed that there really was no way to make this railing compliment the room....BUT it could at least try to stop detracting from it, right?

Some white paint and my mom's patience for a few hours and here's what we are left with:)

We settled on.."well, its better, right?"

Share

Rock-a-bye Baby

2011-01-24T09:38:00.001-05:00

The nursery is in that - almost finished but just needs few final touches - stage and then the reveal! One of those missing pieces was a chair of some sort for the late nights....then this rocker found us for 10 bucks at the local second-hand store- PERFECT!

Alright, maybe a bit dated, faded, and not much left to the padding...not so comfortable! But, with paint on hand and a trip to the store for some fabric and foam.....and of course a hand staple gun....

It became this!

(ignore sleeping husband in background and pile of new clothes for the little one - Oma bought her five new coats, all for a dollar! Good deals...)

Simple steps:
Remove seats from base and the material from the board, actually a pain in the butt with all the staples!
Cut foam to fit
Wrap new material around
Staple to the board and for looks you can also glue a piece of material to the back to cover up your mess.
Glue the seats back to the base and voila!!

Now she looks oh so cozy in the nursery and with a pillow to be made to match, nice and comfy:)

Take a look at the Linky Parties to see other people's great project's this week too!! I'm all linked up:)

Share

Uncle & Aunt times Three!!

2011-01-17T13:29:00.000-05:00

On Saturday my sister in law finally had her little boy via C-section since the little guy had no interest in coming out on his own apparently....at a whopping 9.10 lbs, we don't know where she had him stuffed since she is so tiny!

But man, is the little guy cute!! Just look at him there with the little yawn, even Ian seemed to enjoy holding this one since the pinkie in the mouth quieted him easily!

Well, welcome to the world Ethan David! Try to stay little as long as you can:)

And countdown update...we are five weeks to go as of yesterday!! And the baby room should be done by end of today thanks to the hard work of my mom, sister and a friend! Can't wait to show you!

Share

34.5 weeks!

2011-01-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

Your baby now weighs more than 4.7 pounds / 2.2 kilograms and is 18 inches / over 45 centimetres from top to toe. She's filling out and getting rounder -- she'll need her fat layers later to regulate her body temperature.

If you don't already talk to your baby, this is a good time to start -- at 35 weeks her hearing is fully developed. Don't feel ridiculous if you're already chatting in baby talk. Some evidence shows that newborns pay closer attention to high-pitched tones.

If you've been nervous about going into premature labour, you'll be happy to know that 99 per cent of babies born at week 35 can survive outside the womb -- and most have no major problems. Although your baby's central nervous system is still maturing, her lungs are nearly fully developed by now.

Baby DQ is growing and being crazy active during the day, thankfully letting me sleep decently though...on occasion on my back even! She responds to voices and kicks back if i try and bother her, unfortunately mostly at work so daddio misses out on the fun for the most part right now. And Oma and Tante Andi come to visit to do some house renos and finish up the baby room for the big reveal to come! So stay tuned:)

Five weeks and counting people, let's go!

Share

My husband is better than your husband....

2011-01-09T14:17:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love when you leave your house one way and you come home to find something new done??? And cleaned up....even vacuumed! That was my day yesterday, I have THE best hubby:)

Some friends were to come over and help him take out our half way and put it back together...they weren't able to come by so he took things into his own hands and took that wall out himself! We still have to wait on people to come help us put it back together now, but my dining room/living room is now definitely open concept!!

Here is the before:

And the after! Sorry, no staging...this is just how the house looks for now, deal with it;)

Holiday Wishes

2010-12-30T14:58:00.000-05:00

Hello all you blog-land friends! I pray you all have had a very blessed Christmas and enjoy your New Years' Celebration to come this weekend! We have been very busy settling in and spending time with family and friends. I can't wait to return in the new year to show you the projects completed and on the go in our new home! And maybe a little progress on the belly:)

Krista

Share

Moving on up....to the

2010-12-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

East side...of Brantford!!!

The last few days have been a blur of getting the keys, cleaning all the cupboards, sleeping on the ground(airbeds suck!), priming and painting the cupboards(needs another coat yet), and moving everything in! Thankfully my wonderful mother in law put her amazing cleaning skills(seriously, you should see her house, I"m in awe...) to work and the upstairs is spotless for all our things:) And while I had to go to work, many people came to help and some even assembled furniture so all I had to do was crawl into bed when I got home....now that is service people!

Here are some pics of our kitchen transformation in progress as of last night. Dated stain and handles to new Labrador brown and eventually new hardware!

No turning back now!!!

Share

DQ's Room Additions!

2010-12-06T11:32:00.000-05:00

Remember how my fantastic mom came and got a couple of things ready for baby? Well, here is the a couple of the pieces with absolutely no before pictures:( But you can imagine right?

The dresser came from Salvation Army for 25 bucks or so and had paint like drizzled all over the top...I think it was supposed to be artisitic.

It wasn't.

So a touch of sanding and a little paint, tada!!!! The green is to match the green from the material. I debated over doing each drawer a different color but when done, I love this!
Also went back and forth about the handles, but once white they are actually kinda cute!

So, we'll add a change station on the top of this little one and be good to go! The drawers are already full of sweet little onesies and such from Oma (aka my mom).

Now, for this one...I've had this one lying around for a while. A little history is that back in the day my mom was all up on the tole painting fad that was EVERYWHERE about ten years or so ago. You know, like this:

And she did a beautiful flower on this guy and painted it a nice blue to match my room. Very nice right? Well, ten years later...not so much:) So a little paint and new hardware annnndddd, now we have this!

Crap, now your trying to see the fantastic pictures going on in there right? Well, they will be changed out to baby eventually but for now I'll show you this special little one of my first birthday!!

Don't you just want to reach in there and squeeze the little touche? No? Well you gotta admit the outfit is classic;)

Share

Christmas Frame Finale!

2010-11-30T22:25:00.000-05:00

Remember those frames from a while back that were covered in christmas paper? Well, after picking up an embossing gun in the states for 10 bucks.....awesome deal!!!...., I finished up that project:) This little frame now sits on the shelf in the kitchen wishing everyone Holiday Cheer!

And there we are! Frame - 50 cents, everything else on hand for scrapbooking:) Embossing is my new best friend!! Instantly looks professional and be-autiful!!!

Share

Nursery Visions

2010-11-30T13:17:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how you all were able to put together a vision of how you wanted your first nursery together....how to capture the feel you wanted to create, but mine fully relies on the piece of material I showed you last day. Not too girly, not too baby-ish, something fun, but not so bright that the baby would be overwhelmed by her room! Too much thought maybe? Haha, well, I saw this material and that was it....my inspiration was complete!

Here is a sample picture from the website:

Its the perfect mix of colors that can work for a boy or girl, so as long as I still like it....I can mix it up when we have a boy(Lord willing) with the darker greens and blues while for this one I can pull out the pinks and lighter green and yellow to be softer and girly! You gettin' my vibe??

Here are a few more inspiring pics for the baby room...course we'll see how far we take the painting the walls and such, but I can't wait to see it all come together in the house....and SO excited that we can really put effort into it since we'll hopefully be in the new place for a few babies:) And since Mom is returning to help out with some house projects in January before baby arrives, there should be a few transformations coming then! To make up for my slacker months recently;)

Here we go...

You all getting my drift here??? What did you use to bring your nursery together? A specific piece or focal point, color, shapes.....so much to use!!

Promise to take pics and share on the rest of the nursery projects thus far and hopefully some christmas projects too!!

Have a great day everyone!

Share

Sneak Peak...

2010-11-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

Visions of our little girl's room are coming together slowly and we picked out very fun material in the states on our annual holiday shopping trip that my mom and I take. And since she is much more talented than I, I gave her a bunch of jobs and she got right to work putting pieces together for the bedroom! Here is a sneak peak of the feel of the room.

Take a look at her newest piece for the bedroom, the polka dot material being our inspiration!

A little coat rack for her room.

Share

Newest Award....

2010-11-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

Worst blogger ever.... :( Ya I know....I promised to show you projects, I showed you nothin'...BUT in my defense....we have been out EVERY night for the last two weeks or so....so when we had a moment this weekend of sitting, I just sat. And it was great! Since I'll be working two jobs, finishing a course and packing for the next few weeks...I figured I was allowed a minute right? No eh? No excuse...

Alright, well how about I show you all this house I've been talking about! December 16th we will officially (I think....given the unforeseen!) be moving into our own little place. Note it doesn't look like much but boy do we think its got potential! And ya, its still got a fabulous blue bathroom. So while we weren't here long enough for me to do anything to our current one...the new one will definitely need an overhaul at some point!

Anywho, enough chatting, time for pics....here is our brand new (old) house!

If you click on the picture, you can take a little tour of our new place...as long as you promise to dream a little about what it could be!!

Share

Disappearing Act...

2010-11-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

Whew....its been a whirlwind that just keeps on going! Where have the past couple of weeks gone?

Well, being an occasionally spontaneous couple, we decided to start house shopping a few weeks ago....so now unofficially still we have bought a house! Will share more details on that once its all signed and sealed but that is one reason my time went from blogging projects to open houses and house showings all the time. Did I mention closing date is Dec 16...haha, good times right?

Then my mom came to visit me for a week. My mom is fantastic...she made croquettes, cleaned the house, made supper for us, decked this baby out better than you would believe, crocheted and knitted away all week, found a dresser and painted it for DQ, is going to attempt making the christening gown in addition to curtains and other decorative sewing projects for the room, helped us with putting in an offer on the house, found a cradle for the baby for the beginning, repainted a shelf for the baby room. and shopped til she dropped in the states with me all weekend. It was fabulous:)

Now I'm searching cheap flights to bring her out again in January...so many new projects in the new place for her to work on! In the meantime, I will pull out my camera and show you a few of the projects she pulled together this week.

Be back soon! In the meantime, I gotta go digest that we are soon to be homeowners AND parents...whew

Share

A Quiet Halloween Night....

2010-11-01T10:20:00.000-04:00

I knew being on a busy corner there was a chance of minimal cute trick or treaters coming around....still I held out hope...maybe close to ten??

No, three....all at once....and that was it. Sigh... maybe next time we move.

But I still had fun throwing together this little headband for some fun for the night!

Can you guess who??

Little Balls of Heaven

2010-10-25T12:05:00.000-04:00

I'm not much of a baker...but around Christmas time I always find some bits of domestic-ness within to make the Christmas season a little more delicious. One of the favorites for myself and many others are the Peanut Butter Balls that I make every year...SO GOOD! So given that I don't know how I'll be feeling in a month...I got at finishing these off early and Saturday morning was spent mixing, balling, and dipping away. And after limiting myself to sampling only one!!!....120 of them are in the freezer waiting to be eaten, given away, and shared at parties...bring on Christmas!

There are many different variations of this recipe but I keep it simple...
mix PB, icing sugar, butter, and vanilla
roll into balls
freeze for a half hour or so(then they don't get mushy as you dip them in hot chocolate
Melt the chocolate(semi-sweet choc chips for me) 2 cups with 1/3 cup of parawax
Dip away and put on wax sheet to dry

DONE!! Couple of hours later you are left with little bits of deliciousness...

What is your favorite Christmas treat??

Share

I have a little belly....

2010-10-25T11:58:00.000-04:00

oh, and I swear I don't look this tired in person all the time! Only in the pictures I share for the world to see apparently. I blame the photographer. But there is definitely a little baby growing in there. For some reason I am still carrying really high, I've dumbfounded the midwife...but all other measurements are perfect so we aren't worrying about it. And it means I'm still wearing my regular jeans...couldn't be happier:)

That's all for now...

Share

Christmas in....October??

2010-10-17T22:38:00.001-04:00

So let me tell you something...I love Christmas...like everything about it. I love shopping for Christmas, wrapping presents, Christmas baking, my new nativity seen which is BEAUTIFUL, decorating the house, cutting our own tree and decorating it each year.....EVERYTHING! Its a beautiful season and each year I try to start it early. By the time Thanksgiving passes, and since Halloween hasn't been very big since we don't have kids(yet) and live in an apartment with no trick or treaters, I am ready to Christmas-ify(?) everything in the house.

Well, this year I'll distract myself with baby-ing everything in the house first when my mom comes to visit in a few weeks. BUT when I saw Mandi over at Tidbits from the Tremaynes do this little craft I thought, I have crappy frames sitting around...looks like fun! So I tried some out....I don't have pictures for them yet and I want to finish off the edges but still... so Christmas-y...I love it! But seriously take a look at hers cuz she has THE cutest kids in hers....LOVE!

Here's the new christmas frames!

How did this happen? Super easy, mix some white glue and water equal parts, cut the scrapbook paper to fit and glue it on. I do one coat underneath and let it dry before doing a few top coats. And after the paper is on I used an exacto knife to make it fit a bit more precise. Simple as that.

Definitely taking a pic at the first snowfall to go in these babies:)

Share

Car Seat and Stroller? Check!

2010-10-14T09:19:00.000-04:00

Yup, in the last two weeks we got another couple big things on our checklist done!

First, a friend told us that the city mini was on for a great deal of 110 dollars at a liquidation place in TO...they were wrong. BUT in fact the Baby Jogger City Micro WAS there for 100 dollars. So after some quick research to see the difference between the two, we decided it would work and we went for it...soooo

TADA!!!!

The wheels are a bit smaller and the recline is not as full as the city mini but overall we are happy with our choice. And the colors to choose from our just fun:)

Since we are due in February we figure we won't be going out with the baby in the stroller in the first few months anyways, so all the features should work great.

Here are the features:

Patented Quick-Fold Technology - allows you to fold your stroller in one simple step
Swivel front wheel for precise maneuverability can lock into place for long distance strolling
8" rear and 6" front quick-release EVA wheels with sealed ball bearings
Patented universal accessory mounting bracket – accessorize your stroller with ease
One-step adjustable reclining seat
2 Position sun canopy with clear view window
Rounded handlebar for pushing comfort
Front wheel suspension provides a smooth comfortable ride
Seat back storage compartment
Under seat storage basket
Adjustable five-point safety harness
Rear parking brake
Fold strap to keep stroller folded for transportation or storage
50 lb. weight capacity on stroller

And secondly...because my in-laws are AWESOME...they bought us our first carseat! So in the mail in the next few days we should receive the Britax Marathon for our little one.

The car seat boasts these:

Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether® features a staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement, reducing the crash forces reaching the child, and a two-point attachment to minimize forward rotation while anchoring the top of the child seat
Premium Lower LATCH Connectors for a quick and simple installation featuring a push button for easy release
Built-in Lock-Offs ensure a snug lap and shoulder belt installation with minimal effort
Harness Ultra Guard System (HUGS™) provides resistance to forward movement in the event of a crash
Rear and Forward Facing Recline for child comfort and positioning
Convenient Harness Holders keep harness straps out of the way when placing your child in the car seat
Small Contoured Base ensures a tight installation in all types of vehicles
Energy-Absorbing Foam Liner (EPS) absorbs and distributes crash forces
High Density Comfort Foam provides an extra layer of padding to gently cushion your child
Front Harness Adjuster provides effortless front adjustment when loosening the harness system
Plush, Premium Cover Set with matching belly pad provides extra comfort
Energy-Absorbing Base deforms in the event of a crash to absorb impact forces
Certified for Aircraft Travel

So now if we don't ever get that crib up and assembled...baby can just sleep in the car seat;)

A successful couple of weeks for us!

A New Thanksgiving Tradition

2010-10-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

Do you have a yearly tradition of carving your pumpkins in the fall? We never did growing up but this year we hosted hubby's family for Thanksgiving dinner and asked them all to bring a pumpkin to start a new tradition of carving pumpkins together....and it was a lot of fun!

We stopped and picked up some carving tools which came with 12 different stencils to choose from, some scary and some funny. Then we all sat down and after emptying out the pumpkins and about an hour of fun, we were left with these!

And hubby with his pride and joy, he had the most fun carving I think...but it really was fun and hopefully these beauties will last til Halloween on our porch!

A little Autumn Fun:)

2010-10-08T11:29:00.000-04:00

The other night I was inspired by all the little sayings for autumn, fall or halloween so I went and found my yellow frame from the closet and threw together a little something for hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow:)

So easy, take a piece of cardstock, and arrange as you like with your saying on top of it...place in frame...voila!!! Fun right:) Added with some fall candle scents...my house feels very thanksgiving-y...

And soon I'll be able to show you our new high chair...unfortunately I forgot my camera to show hubby being very handy and using a rotary saw, and fun stuff like that to make a new table for it yesterday at work...with a little help fromt he guy who does all the handy wood stuff at his work, for a free high chair, I'm pretty excited....pictures to come! Its old school wooden which is awesome!

Alright, all you Canadians, have a wonderful Thanksgiving....and Happy Columbus day to all you Americans!

See ya!

Share

Thanksgiving Friday Fave:)

2010-10-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

Thinking ahead to hosting Thanksgiving next weekend, I can't wait to decorate the centerpiece for the day! And since I have the Friday off before, I'll have time to brainstorm and throw something together...and clean thank goodness! We really need a spring cleaning weekend before this baby grows too much more!!

Anywho, ran across this lady at You, Me and the Kid, who did a beauty of a centerpiece! So cute, take a look!

That's it for me today, Have a great weekend!

Share

ULTRASOUND # 2

2010-10-01T10:51:00.001-04:00

Baby DQ is growing beautifully and we got our second picture of the little one at 19.5 weeks along! Labeled it for ya too, for those who think its just looks like a bunch of blobs;)

At this view DQ gave a few kicks for us to watch to see how it is moving around in there! So amazing just hanging out in there and looks like DQ has mastered the art of thumb sucking perhaps already:)

Hard to believe we are about halfway but there it is...Daddy is very excited and we are having fun showing everyone and sharing the gender with those who wish to know!

It has been a very fun week:) Hope you all have a great weekend!

Share

The softer side of Ikea

2010-09-27T21:44:00.000-04:00

Having bought this pendant lamp with this project in mind just before feeling exhausted for a month straight, many thanks to little DQ growing in me (DQ = my family's nickname for the little one aka Drama Queen...hope its a girl!), I finally got around to completing the project...only took about four months.

So having seen a bunch of petal lamps out there I loved the soft and romantic effect and wanted to try it out myself. I don't have the perfect spot for it yet but I love how it turned out. It would be perfect hanging over a cute little reading chair in a corner! But for now, it hangs over my window seat and I will love using it once a snowstorm hits and I sit there with the lights off watchign the blusteriness around me:) With HC in hand of course! DQ must like the idea since I'm feeling little movements as I type!

Here we are, the final result!

There we go! Cute romantic lamp for under 15 dollars. About 10 for the lamp and a dollar for the petals!

Linking up this project so check out the links! Have a great day!

PS. 19 weeks and counting with 2nd ultrasound on Wednesday...now just to decide whether to find out the gender or not...flip-flopping every two minutes!! :)

Share

A Flurry of Favorites!

2010-09-17T13:20:00.000-04:00

So I'm am just loving all the fall decorating ideas that there was no way I was narrowing it down to one...take a look at all the fun this week!

Mad in Crafts put this on her door!

Over some dollar store craftiness over at The Penny Parlor

Or these fun guys from Life in Rehab for Halloween!!

Looks like I have a few things on the list for yard sale-ing this week!! Have a great weekend:)

Share

Fall Inspiration

2010-09-11T14:51:00.001-04:00

So I managed to get a few projects done this week after the long weekend to catch up with things last weekend! So here my pics of my version of last week's Fave Friday for our front door...it makes me smile each day as I go in the house:)

Take a look!!

So some animal ate my flowers out of there so these fake ones should be safe:)

Have a great weekend! We've got Ian's birthday tomorrow so getting the house ready all today!

I'm linked up..check it out!

Friday's Fall Favorite

2010-09-03T09:28:00.000-04:00

Continuing with the theme of enjoying the new decor that will come with the season I found a cute and quick project to spruce up an area in the house with fall-ness!

Take a look at this fun project from Emily at Decor Chick! I am pretty sure I'll be making a stop at Michael's today:)

Have a great long weekend Canadians!!!

Share

IT'S FREAKIN' FALL!!!!!

2010-09-01T10:11:00.000-04:00

Ok, so technically it's not fall yet but to me, September just feels like Fall!!! and I LOVE decorating for fall, way more than for spring! Don't ask me why, I just do. I love bringing out cozy sweaters for cool nights but not having to wear a winter jacket yet...the perfect in between! Summer in Ontario is so freaking hot compared to those in NB that I haven't adjusted yet and just LOVE when the cooler weather comes:)

So I can't wait to brainstorm some fun decor for Halloween and Thanksgiving, which I love is sooner than American thanksgiving so there is a space between it and Christmas:)

Well, here is some inspiration I've already found over at BHG, such fun ideas!

I just want to go home and start on these right now!!!

How have you been inspired with the start of a new month???

Share

Rolling Around In Style

2010-08-25T14:49:00.001-04:00

Well, someday soon I will be one of those ladies pushing around a stroller so I got to thinking about what kind of stroller do I want. Should I just walk into Walmart and pick one that looks pretty or research to the point where no one other than that one that is overpriced and unattainable will do leaving me with a budget one that I will always glare at since its not as pretty as the other one...ugh...all that for a stroller??

Well, I caved and entered the world of researching strollers, and is it ever overwhelming and ridiculous. But after two days straight of pouring over three or four wheels, all terrain or travel system, and which ones has suspension or parents trays...I narrowed it down to these three favorites, which I'm still not sure where exactly our budget lies but here we are, Christmas and birthday present??

Let's see,

#1 pick is....
Baby Jogger City Mini

By far this one seems to be the best for getting around on many surfaces, a really easy fold up system, very light, amazing canapy and rather stylish eh?

Retailing around 230 US I would love pushing this beauty around.

#2 option
Joovy Kooper

Still light, folds up pretty compact, comes with more features than the city mini so less extra costs but does not have as sturdy of wheels so maybe a bit bumpier. And at 152 and free shipping, just find an American to host this baby til I can pick it up and that's a decent price!

#3 stroller of my dreams!
Peg Perego Si Light Weight Stroller

I feel a little meh about this one...well rated and decent features but definitely not oooohhhh-ing me at all I guess. But more likely to be found on a yard sale in Canada which is definitely a factor!

Well, here's the current choices, got a few months to decide;) But what do you all think? Anyone got experience in this area, thoughts on these options, or others to consider? Would love to hear your opinions!

****Update****
Runner-up in the competition has appeared! A cheaper version that still seems to get good reviews. Let's take a look at the Instep Safari(aka Schwinn).

You can see all the info and reviews for it here:
http://www.joggingstroller.com/InSTEP-Safari-Swivel-Single.pro

Well, I'll be off stroller shopping tonight to try them all out. Anyone had an Instep before?

Share

Paper Flower Inspiration:)

2010-08-24T22:52:00.000-04:00

The awesome feature from friday just stuck in my head, so Friday night with no hubby around for the night, was spent watching tv while experimenting with making them in different sizes.

It was so easy! Here's how they turned out!

Then, we had a wedding on Saturday to go to and I ran out of time and needed a headband to go in my hair quick.... So look what's on hand right? Ribbon and to have a little fun, a tiny paper flower:)

Ok, well, way to far away to see but you can imagine. And you get to see us all dressed up...which actually happened about twenty minutes before the wedding after finding out that none of my dresses that were dressy enough fit anymore. Quick stop at Dynamite for a whole outfit for 30 dollars, not bad!

Thank goodness the church was by the mall!

Well, can't wait for this weekend! Finally am home for a WHOLE weekend! Very excited:)

Share

Friday Fave!

2010-08-20T14:48:00.000-04:00

Ok, I have been making those magnetic boards and the worst part is finding some cool magnets to go with, I hate it...til I stumbled upon this little corner of ingeniousness!! Flowers from scrapbook paper and make it magnetic...DONE!

I am so trying this out tonight:)

In between feeding the relatives, hanging out with them, making a second frame, running to the store for more supplies and finding something to wear for the wedding tomorrow, AND figuring out directions which in my world is no easy task...No problem right...sure for all you multitasking moms that's a normal day, whew, I feel busy!

Anywho, take a look and try it out on your own tonight! Then you all can show me the awesomeness you created, hehe:) On second thought I'll like yours better so maybe not...

Whip over to On My Side of the Room and you shall see.....

Cute eh? Now go see how she made the memo board too!

I so need more sheet metal!

Have a great weekend everyone!

OH and no worries, baby updates will start soon:)

Share

A little Chalkboard/Magnetic Frame

2010-08-17T22:24:00.001-04:00

Nothing new, but this little craft is still one of my favorites to make and I love mine in my house...so handy to keep the important papers on so I don't forget things! Well, mine is just magnetic so I love the idea of chalkboard to so you have options!! Well, let's take a look:)

Materials:

Any frame - I like ones with a bit of design from any thrift store for a couple of dollars.
Chalkboard paint
Sheet of metal - i got mine from the plumbing section
paint of your choice, primer and varnish

Fully cover the sheet of metal with the chalkboard paint - I use the spraypaint which is usually easier. Just follow the directions covering it fully a couple of times.

This frame originally was just wooden and had an ugly picture...but I was too excited and didn't take a picture:) But it was ugly, trust me, no loss there!

Just do a coat of primer, paint it up and cut the metal to fit the frame....and that's it!

Hang it on the wall, and you've got a handy place to hang or write the important, or just fun stuff!

Hope the newly married couple enjoys it as I do:)

Have a great day!

PS. I'm Linked Up, check it out:)

Life...just keeps on going!

2010-08-16T15:55:00.000-04:00

Do you have the same feeling like summer was just rushed away? I can't believe we are part way through August and I am into my second trimester..It can't go this quickly can it? Well, sometimes I feel like hubby and I are just waiting for when we have some weekends to ourselves and this week, even a weeknight would be nice! I hate that feeling of waiting to slow down and then when it does I'm bored and can't wait for something to happen...vicious circle isn't it?

Well, this weekend we headed to Brockville for a beautiful wedding and then explored the Thousand Islands on the border of Ontario and NY for a few days. It was wonderful and just a perfect little getaway in the midst of a whirlwind of weddings and visitors and midwife appointments.

One of the things we did was take a cruise of the islands where we came across this little beauty...

Ahh, wonderful:)

Can you imagine spending a few days on this island...and going by boat to get your groceries, sounds like a great getaway place to me. And the real fun part is that the island on the left is Canadian, and on the left, American, haha...So the man who owns it stated he loves to leave his wife behind in another country when they have arguements, cute!

What'd you all do with your weekend? Visit any of your own personal islands??

Off to plan/help out/make present for another wedding this weekend!

Veil cont...

2010-08-09T19:16:00.000-04:00

So we made it to the beautiful wedding on Saturday and had a wonderful night celebrating with them...and only had to put my sewing skills(what little there is) to use once to sew up the bustle (?) for the bride:) It was a great day and she danced the night away.

Here are some pics of the bride wearing the veil I made for her...kinda far away still but I did my best:)

Its hard to tell here but there are small beads tied in everywhere that reflect the light.

What a beautiful bride she was and now her and the hubby are celebrating and relaxing in Mexico:)

Congrats Caell & Cara!

Friday Feature...is back!!!

2010-08-06T15:07:00.000-04:00

I know, your beginning to think whether or not I'm gonna do any projects of worth in the near future eh? Well, in the meantime til I get the ball rolling again let's take a look at what another person did this week!

I just love this inspiration this week since I've been thinking about what to do on a wall in the new place which somehow takes a lot longer to put together when your pregnant!! Funny how that works:( Well, I can't wait to go home and find something fun to throw in different spots from this idea, so take a look!

This week's fave comes from Betty Crocker (wannabe) and literally sprinkles inspiration throughout the house.

That's it for this week, will share my wedding present for the wedding this weekend next week! See you soon:)

Share

Nursery Dreaming

2010-08-05T15:25:00.000-04:00

So several weeks ago I found a wall decal that is going to be my inspiration for the baby room, the tricky part being it will also be our guest bedroom...ya, a little more difficult to tie things together! Well, I put together a bunch of pictures to show what I like and hopefully will be able to put something together with all these dreamy nurseries!

See I like the touch of nature and babies space, while an adult would still not feel totally ridiculous sleeping in this room as well, right?

And I love the decor of this room and how its ties together the baby area and the bedroom area all in one: )

Good thing I've got a few months to dream about this! How did you all put together your nurseries??

Share

Newsboys

2010-08-05T14:37:00.000-04:00

So if you were raised listening to Christian music as I was, you have to know who Newsboys are....if not, this will mean nothing to you:) But for me, this was time number 8 or so of seeing the Newsboys, and it was fantastic! Me and a friend headed to Darien Lake Park in New York to spend the day doing rollar coasters(safely for the baby, no worries!) and then see the concert at night!

It was fantastic, and I'm pretty sure the closest I've ever been to them as this picture was not even zoomed in! For a while they played in the center and we got nice and close.

see? SOO close:) Then we ended off the trip by shopping around for a day before heading home... By the way, The Christmas Tree Shop is amazing!

Awesome concert, awesome weekend (other than the minor accident I was in, baby still ok) and excited for another wedding on Saturday! Have a great day all!

Share

Annoucing....

2010-07-28T15:21:00.000-04:00

the newest addition to the family is on the way! And yes, that is why I've been MIA for a ridiculous amount of time...making a baby is no easy task!! Ok, well making it was easy initially but its getting to be harder work now:)

Anywho, we are very excited to start our family and eventually get some nursery decorating going on over here! So here's the first peak at the babe on the way:)

Have a great day all! ~Krista

Share

Home-made Wedding Veil!

2010-07-26T16:19:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!
So unfortunately we still do not have our internet working at our new place so pictures for posts aren't possible yet but I'm hoping to have the problem fixed tonight! Then we'll be back with some projects for the house. I apologize for the boring picture-less post:(

In the meantime, let me tell you what I was up to this week when I wasn't unpacking:) As I hinted at, a decided to make a veil for my friend's wedding. Since I can't post pics and I know bride's like to keep the attire a secret...you won't see it til her wedding day in a few weeks...but I'll tell you how I did it for now! If you have the time and energy, this project is about three hours long in front of the tv I suppose...some may be faster than myself but that is what it took me!

Supplies:
Tulle - color/shade of your choosing, I used about a meter and a half. $10
Scissors- on hand
veil comb - on hand(took apart my veil, haha) but these can also be found at Michaels or walmart maybe?
Quilting thread - $3
Sewing needle - on hand
a pattern to trace that is the shape you want for the veil- used the bottom of my wedding dress.
any beads/lace you would like for decor $ 4

And that's it! All in all, cost about 17 dollars and a few hours of time. This veil was two layers so I'll tell you how to do one with that, though its easy to condense for one layer.

Step 1:
-Lay out the tulle and make sure it is the width you would like...the width it came in worked for me so no problem!
-Go to one end of the veil and lay it over you pattern, trace out the shape. To make sure both sides are even I folded the material in half and cut both sides at the same time

Step 2:
- Decide on the length of the veil - I measured just by laying beside the tulle to gauge how long it would be...worked for me! Fold it over and cut it at this length.

Step 3:
Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the 2nd half of the veil which likely will be a few inches shorter.

Step 3:
Take your comb which will look something like this:

They usually come with holes in them to make it easy to sew onto.

Lay the comb right side up and the veil wrong side up on top so that when place in the hair the veil will fall and cover the sewing work with the right side out. This will give the veil a little pouf at the top as well. The sewing work on the inside will be hidden once placed on the head.

Step 4:
Lay both layers of the veil together so that the center is in the center of the comb. Start sewing from the center out to one side, then repeat to the other side. I did this by sewing through the tulle about 8/9 times and then scrunching it up and securing it on place on the comb. Repeat til you get to either end and tie several knots, securing with glue if you feel it needs it.

And done!! the tulle should fall nicely over with the shorter layer on top. If you want, you can also add some beading(pearls or diamond beads or something...). The bride wanted some diamond-y beads so I did this by putting a bead on a piece of thread and then pulling both ends through to the wrong side of the veil, tied the two ends together and secured with a little bit of hot glue(otherwise the thread will go around and be visible). Repeat as many times as you like!

That's it...a 15 dollar bridal veil sure beats the 150 ones in the bridal stores! Try it out for the next person who trusts you enough to give it a shot;) They can always go out and buy one if they hate it anyways and for 15 dollars, who cares!

Good luck in all your veil-making attempts.

Hope to be back soon! ~Krista

Share

Back....and still alive!

2010-07-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

Hello....any readers still out there??? So sorry, did not mean to be gone that long! Will have to explain what all is going on around here soon...but for now, get ready for some Wedding related madness! We have a few weddings coming up so presents and some wedding-wear will be posted soon!

I've been busy this week making something this lady is wearing...can you guess?? Its been pretty fun!

See you all soon again:)

~krista

Share

A Wedding and a Funeral

2010-07-08T09:05:00.000-04:00

Well, I just thought I've drop in to make sure you all know I haven't disappeared! I have nothing exciting to share and no big projects at the moment...just a few more pillows being made for friends and such:) And since I am headed to New Brunswick for a wedding on friday, a funeral here in Ontario before I head out for hubby's Opa, and then move next week...well, it feels a bit crazy around here:)

Before I go disappear though, let's take a look at the poll! Congrats cousin Daniel!!! Seems your idea was the most popular and it definitely appealed most to me! As soon as we get in and semi unpacked, I'll be going paint shopping!

Have a great weekend,

~Krista

Share

Friday's Feature:)

2010-07-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

As we speak I am sure I am lying on a beach at the lake but \i had to be sure to leave a nice feature for while I'm away....and wow, did I find a good one to leave you! I can't wait to get into the new place so I can start up some projects again...hard to do when everything is in boxes here:( Week and a half now!!

Moving on, my feature this week is......Meet Virginia who took some wallpaper and a few mirrors to create a wonderful backdrop for her new tv...which can look pretty boring without her creativity! Here's the great before and after and if you go over and take a look she does an awesome how-to for the whole process!

Enjoy and see you all next week:)

Happy Canada Day!!!

2010-06-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

So, in honour of our wonderful holiday today I thought I would give you all a little Canadian humour on just what it is to be Canadian....some true, some not but funny nonetheless:)

What does it mean to be Canadian?

1.You understand the phrase “Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine on the chesterfield.”

2.You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.

3.You drink Pop, not Soda.

4.You can do all the hand actions to Sharon, Lois and Bram's "Skin-a-ma-rinky-dinky-doo" opus.

5.You don’t care about the fuss with Cuba. It’s a cheap place to go for your holidays, with good cigars and no Americans.

6.You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway.

7.You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.

8.You know that Toronto is not a province.

9.You brag to Americans that: Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion, Michael J. Fox, John Candy, William Shatner, Tom Green, Matthew Perry, Mike Myers, Neve Campbell and Pamela Anderson are all Canadians.

10.You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

11.You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is pronounced “Zed”.

12.Your local newspaper covers national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.

13.You know that when it’s 25 degrees outside, it’s a warm day.

14.You know how to pronounce and spell “Saskatchewan”.

15.You perk up when you hear the theme song from ‘Hockey Night in Canada’. (Alas, no longer. ;-( )

16.“Eh?” is a very important part of your vocabulary, and is more polite than, “Huh?”

17.Your Beer Case handles Are Big Enough To Fit Your Mitts

18.You know that we don’t all live in igloos and ride polar bears to work.

19.Every murder is reported.
20.You froze your tongue to something metal and survived to tell about it.

I'm gone camping for the weekend to celebrate Canada Day! Have a great weekend everyone!

Share

Time to Poll - fixed?

2010-06-25T17:15:00.006-04:00

Sorry guys, the polls not working!! Let's try this again!

Alright, I'm a few weeks away from being able to actually attack this bathroom but feel much better with a few options on the table! Will definitely be one of my first projects to improve on this bathroom! So, I want to hear from everyone, which option did you like best?? I know which one I'm leaning towards but first want to hear from all of you! :)

Poll Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Have a great day everyone!

Share

Friday...already???

2010-06-25T11:09:00.000-04:00

Can you all believe its Friday already?? The weeks are flying by and we are looking at our last free weekend until September...good times! Its amazing how that happens! Well, I still took the time this week amidst our packing to take a look for a fun project that someone was bragging about...and this week I found Allison over at A Glimpse Inside who found a place in her house for some beautiful shutters with the help of her hubby.

Go on over and take a peek at her artwork:)

A Renter's Lament...

2010-06-24T13:30:00.000-04:00

Ok, maybe a bit dramatic BUT....you'll see. So I've told you about the fab 3 bedroom apartment we are moving into in THREE weeks! Its awesome and we'll love the space, especially a garage to store the golf clubs that are accumulating ya know?(who knows why the old set needs to be kept when you buy a new set???) And, for the most part, its old fashioned but we are talking a bit of paint here and there, throw a rug down, add a window seat..ya know stuff that I can handle. Except this....

Gotta say I'm at a loss with this one...can't get rid of those blue tiles right? Not sure the man will be up for painting tiles...its a little 'out there' for him I'd say... Solutions...anyone??? A total reno is not possible or reasonable since we are renting, but just what do you do with a BLUE bathroom? Goodness:(

2010-06-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

Guesssss Whattt!! Elizabeth from Habitually Crafty gave me an award!! Here it is!! My first award!!

I am so excited to be recognized in the fun we have on here! To accept it, there are 3 conditions.

1) Thank the person who gave me this award.

Thank you, Elizabeth! I am so enjoying having a blogger friend from the area! Check her out here.

2) Share 7 things about myself. This is really hard to come of with seven things that are at all interesting!

Here they are, interesting or not...!!

- I love the Maritimes and no one can convince me Ontario is better...you would know that very soon after meeting me!
- I met my husband at 19, engaged at 21 and married at 22:)
- I loved Tigger as a pre-teen, had everything tigger including a frame with a picture with Tigger that spoke when you pressed his nose.
- I LOVE going shopping in the states...its a marathon of shopping when we go!
- My family would plan our vacations around where the best rollar coaster parks in the states were, it was awesome!
- I never attended public education school in my life, including university.
- I love kijiji/craigslist and check it once a day usually even if I don't need anything.

3) Pass it on to bloggers that I have recently discovered.

Sarah Says... is a fun blogger lady with a list of amazing life goals, love her stories of just life in general: )
An Inch of Gray is always a fun read and you have to read her latest post of taking advantage of an unexpected day of adventure and fun with her son.

5271 Miles Away is one I have been reading recently, dreaming of the Netherlands. She is a nanny from the US living in the Netherlands.
Marital-bless is entertaining and heart tugging to read, a woman striving to live a godly life no matter the stresses surrounding her.

These are all fun and enjoyable to escape life to the blogger world for a few minutes! Take a look and enjoy:)

Share

It's My Birthday and I'll....

2010-06-23T09:13:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm not sure what I'll do for my birthday but at the very least I figured I'd throw myself a little party on here! Yup, that's right, I've hit the BIG 24!!

Ok, so its not that big, but it feels old to me:) I'm off to have a little cake and enjoy the hubby's attention for the day since he has to do as I say today right? hehe, have a good day all!

Share

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T20:52:00.000-04:00

Me and my sister...we're his girls:) That's what you hear all the time, "Peter's girls"! And that we are! My dad is wonderful, supportive, full of advice, loving and always ready to talk when I need it...he makes it easy to live 16 hours away:) He is the one racing to get the last roller coaster of the day in, making sure all my taxes are done the absolute best, will drive sixteen hours here and back in a weekend just cuz I said my computer was acting up, the first to offer help whether you are a stranger or not, and would drive through the night in a moment to get to Florida....I am overwhelmed by the love you give and how you take care of us without complaint. Thanks Dad for all you are!

Have a wonderful Father's Day:)

Share

Being Featured and this week's Feature:)

2010-06-18T14:41:00.000-04:00

So did anyone notice the added page to the blog this week?? No?? Well, wander over and notice on the left hand side that there is now a page calllleeeedddd: "I've Been Featured!" How excited was I?? This is my first time being featured and I am pumped! So everyone take a wander over to this lovely lady's blog to see the feature and everything else fun she has got going on!

Then, moving on to this week's Friday Feature...let's take a look!

This week's feature is......Snowy Bliss. Mainly because she can sew, and I can't...and I need more friends who can. Sadly my friends call me the one that can sew, and all I can do is sew a hem...its a sad world! But back to this fun craft! She created these cute flowers on her blog this week.

They are just ridiculously cute right? This would be awesome in my sister's new shabby chic house! Good job over there by Anj:)

Ok, I've got a weekend filled with little girls, camping, roasting wieners, and maybe a thundershower mixed in! See you Monday:)

Ten Minute Pillow

2010-06-16T17:15:00.008-04:00

Happy Wednesday all:)
So in looking forward to the move next month I decided it was time to do a mini shopping trip to Ikea just to get some decor ideas from their nice set-ups...and found some red pillows for the futon that I have been eying the last several times I went there...they were six bucks so I caved and brought them to their new home:)

Once they were home though, I found a new problem...that white pillow I have had sitting around on the couch was old and used but not TOO bad right??....well, it was...VERY BAD.....pretty dingy really, it will not do! Then I remembered a tutorial I saw this week, if you know where it was, please tell me!

Since I'm not much of a seamstress, and I have not replaced my other machine yet this sew-less pillow sounded like a fantastic idea to me!

Cost and Supplies:
2 Placemats: $4.00
Hem Tape: $3.00 (with plenty left over so this will go to many other projects...like new curtains for the new place!)
Iron: on hand:)

So cost is about $7.00 but since I didn't use all the tape I felt like it was less:)

And here we go!

Place tape in between the two place-mats on an edge, hold the iron in place for 10-30 seconds on the steam setting, time depending on thickness...mine took quite a bit since it was very thick.

Flip over and do the same on the other side just to be safe:)

I grabbed this one for mine since it was super weight and the material was pretty heavy...and pillows get a lot of use in our house, even supposedly decorative ones.

Leave a part open to throw in whatever stuffing sort of stuff you have around...I took the stuffing from the old pillow, fluffed it up, and reused it. Then, because its a bigger pillow, I used some leftover 'snow' from an earlier project to fill in the gaps.

Seal up the rest of it and you are ready to go! I ran the iron over it all once more just to be safe and threw it on the couch! Here's how it looks now!

Not bad for about ten minutes of work right? Hubby wasn't quite as excited as me but I thought it went pretty well...guess I just get really excited when I can avoid sewing!! Anyone else got good ideas on this? Feel free to share!

Check out the Linky Parties I've linked to.

Share

Dated Dresser turns Fresh

2010-06-14T23:05:00.002-04:00

Who doesn't love the crisp, fresh look of something painted white? Well, that's exactly what this 'linen storage cuz i don't have a cupboard for them' turned guest bedroom dresser needed, cuz that's right, I'm gonna have a guest room...moving up in the world;)

Ian has had this dresser since the elementary days so it definitely needed some updating and removal of the "aim for the sky" stickers to make it suitable for the guest bedroom. So with some sanding, a few coats of primer, several coats of Cashmere paint, a mishap with the varnish turning yellow, several more coats of Cashmere paint....I was left with this:) Take a look at the transformation.

Before:

Here's the almost after - where I realized that the drawers stick out a little leaving a little bit of brown peaking through that should not!...back to the paint brush:)

And the FINAL after, with new knobs and fully painted....a beauty:) Can't wait to see it in the new bedroom and I can decide how to really pizazz it up:)

And here's my hubby showing his dislike of our current state of the household....ya, this is just embarrassing how messy it is right now. I'm in packing mode which consists of a lot of organizing and this is about five piles or my own organization, haha. There is stuff everywhere...I need a week off to deal with this:( But instead, I will start getting ready to camp with a group of girls for the weekend and go in denial of what the house looks like...and trust me, the whole house looks like this!

Sounds like a problem for future Krista:) Have a good night all.

Check out the Link Parties I'm linked to:)

Share

Apartment Update...

2010-06-14T09:30:00.002-04:00

Well, through the power of advertising on facebook...a friend of ours tipped us off to an apartment that her grandfather is renting out...in the same little village we are in, for the same price BUT it has three, count 'em, THREE bedrooms...and a little "other" room that will be my craft room...its really too small to be anything other than a walkin closet but will suit me fine! And a space in the garage!!! Who's happy? Moi:) Sometimes I wonder why I even bother complaining when God always works it out, haha....Moving is still a pain to a point but to get that many bedrooms is amazing:) We are blessed...

Want to take a look? Here's the landlord waving from the side of the house, haha:)

You can see there are two side doors, one is ours, one his. So the house is split in half so we get a main level and an upstairs..Its a bit outdated but that just means I have projects to do:)

Like building a kitchen island for our new kitchen:) Definitely need the work space! Look for that once we move in next month! July 17, here we come!

And cuz I'm a bit crazy, you can look at my floor plan for the new place here!! Fun right? I always need to see it laid out in front of me so I love this...

Have a good Monday everyone! I'll be back later to show you the dresser I transformed over the weekend!

~Krista

Share

Free is my favorite too!!

2010-06-11T14:53:00.000-04:00

and let me tell you...If I had a garage it'd be fuullll... :) I'm thinking my hubby might not want us to ever get one. But this week's fave friday blogger is actually two people and they must have very understanding husbands since they get to take their 'end of the driveway, someone just take it away' finds home! I love those...sometimes at the end of a Saturday morning I just drive around to see if I can find any that i can justify to hubby haha:) Good part about moving...all kinds of new stuff to re-purpose! Like one of the apartments we looked at needs a kitchen island...i might want to move there just so i can make one!

Wow, getting off track, ok this week I am featuring Twice Lovely who shows us that you can never find too many tables hanging out...there's is always a new way to repurpose:) We totally need a coffee table(I'm currently using that bench i refinished, shhh!) so the wheels are turning! That might have to wait til after the move though...hmmm:(

Hope you enjoyed my fave this week, have a wonderful weekend! We need to go buy a saw now:)

~Krista

Share

Moving = Trip to Ikea, right??

2010-06-10T16:25:00.011-04:00

So we took a look at the one bedroom apartment that is available last night and it is still double the size of our current apartment! Well, a downsize in kitchen cupboards and its not a walkout...but doable! So walking through the apartment I found my creativity somewhere along the way, dreaming of what I would do....if Ikea was absolutely at my disposable, money no option!! That's always fun right...imagine the impossible, haha:) Let's take a look!

This would be our new work area with hubby's desk and some extra storage cubbyholes to hide the mess:) OR I would love this as my workspace for crafting and such...beautiful!

We still have money set aside from the wedding as a gift from my Oma for a good coffee table...and its still not bought because how can you buy a lasting piece of furniture without knowing where it will go? But if I could...I'd so buy this one for the time being...love that it is clean looking from the outside but still has drawers and storage!

And this would be right behind my sofa(that I don't have cuz we just have a futon for now) looking pretty with fresh flowers on them:) I would change the decor with the season beautifully!

This would be hanging above my kitchen table! So funky, but as soon as i find supplies i will be making my own anyways:)

This would be displaying my dishware, utensils and anything pretty although I would probably frost the glass, just cuz its fun! or put chalkboard paint on it....hmmm:)

Best therapy ever...probably should take hubby along next time I go just to be safe:)

Do you have a fave place to dream shop?

Poll Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Creativity? Where??

2010-06-08T16:01:00.000-04:00

Anyone else notice the lack of creativity flowing around here lately? Ya...not so much at my house right now.

We found out that we have to be out of our apartment by mid August since they don't want to rent the apartment anymore to make room for a future growing family...that's fine, no big deal...in fact, I like moving...yup I said it...I like moving. During university I was moving every six months or so and actually enjoyed weeding through everything and setting it all up anew and refreshed...given this was a small apartment or even just a bedroom getting moved around. Now, its a larger apartment and two people's stuff that is fast accumulating being out of university and buying "grown-up" stuff, ya know?

And I'm getting used to the idea and getting more excited BUT...in my head I think I felt that the next move would be our BIG grown-up move that will happen when hubby gets a job with a designation supported in accounting and we would know where we would be for the next several years...we would use all the money we've been saving and have a down payment and I'd get to go house shopping and browse through the house looking at the fun projects I could learn how to do and maybe even have a CRAFT room...ya, it was gonna be amazing!

vs.

But no, its just another move to a small apartment, something rented, not owned...just a sideways move it feels like. And after looking several weeks I still haven't seen anything I like either...So ya, no point in decorating an apartment that I have to move out of and I don't know where we will be and did I mention I have an intense dislike for the city we live in? Oh ya...so we are moving and its NOT out of that city either.

So spirits and level of creativity? a little low right now...just saying....it'll happen someday but its like the world yelling "Haha, not this time!" ya know? Alright, complaining and ranting done...will be back soon with some bit of creativity mustered I hope...better browse more blogs for therapy:)

Share

FANTASTIC and Fabulous Friday Feature!

2010-06-04T16:09:00.002-04:00

...a little late! Internet went down for the weekend but we are up and running! Happy Monday:)

That's right people...I love this project so much it is fantastic as well as fabulous!!! Some people are so much more gutsy with their projects, it amazed me...like this lady! Her kid's play kitchen just wasn't cutting it, so she made her own! And its awesome and pretty and definitely will last longer than the original!

You can thank Cassie over at Primitive and Proper for this awesome transformation! Be sure to take a look at her other stuff to cuz her creativity is just over-flowing!

Take a gander:)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I'm off for a weekend of catching up with friends! Lovely:)

~Krista

Share

Dutch Doors!

2010-06-02T19:29:00.001-04:00

Did you know how boring our doors are here in North America? Neither did I but that was one of the first things I noticed as we explored different villages, towns and cities throughout the Netherlands. I took some pictures of my favorites to save for inspiration later. Aren't they amazing? Added in that they often get five weeks vacation to start...why are we living here again??

Beautiful! What about you? Got a door that inspires you?

Ik ben gek op Holland!

2010-05-31T15:05:00.000-04:00

or for those non-dutch readers, I am crazy about Holland! Yes, I'm back and the trip was a trip of a lifetime...AMAZING! No projects have been done, hubby was left by his lonesome, there is now laundry all over my house, I have no more vacation for the rest of the year, and my daily blog readership has vanished...was it worth it? Totally:)

It was two weeks straight of getting up leisurely, having some wonderful cheese and chocolate sprinkles(yes we do that in Holland) on our bread and a ridiculous amount of tea for breakfast and heading out in whatever direction we felt like exploring! This country is so clean and beautiful, they do so much with such small space compared to us in North America!

Want to take a little picture tour of some of the places we saw? Take a look!

These delicious deep fried beauties are kroketen! One of our fave dutch meals. We aimed to have one every day and just about did that. They come with bread in real restaurants, or plain at a snackbar for about a dollar fifty!

Or you can buy them 'out of the wall' in some places! Its like a vending machine for hot items! Crazy:)

A royal palace:

Paleis Het Loo and its royal gardens!

Schiermonnikoog! A beautiful island in northern Holland.

We also went biking like the dutchies do on the island! They have so many bikes that there are parking garages for bikes in the big cities!

A beautiful bakery, just one of the many we tried out. Think cream puffs but ten times better!

Panenkoeken of course!!! This is their version of pancakes which come with anything you can imagine in them!

Including pizza ones!! This was A-MAZING!

Beautiful Canal houses in Amsterdam!

Windmills everywhere, for all kinds of uses! Others may have invented it, but the dutch utilized it beyond anyone else!

A sobering morning at the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. No pictures allowed so you can only see the front of the simple house hiding the amazing story of this young girl.

Followed by a less sober visit to the Heineken Experience!

This barely touches all that we saw but it was amazing to see all these little pieces of the dutch traditions we were raised with come alive! Coming home was pretty hard after the whirlwind tour making it to 10 out of 12 provinces of the Netherlands but the best part of coming home? Finding the house cleaner than when I left thanks to my sweet husband:) And now life returns somewhat to normal...but I feel a little less phony saying I'm Dutch now! What a wonderful, fun, crazy, beautiful vacation!

Tot Ziens Everyone! I will try to return soon with some new projects:)

Share

Time & Memories:)

2010-05-16T09:00:00.001-04:00

Goede Ochtend!!
Well, as we speak I am hopefully in Holland, given no volcanic ash came in our path:) But no worries, I saved a few projects to share while I am away gallivanting through Europe for a couple of weeks! This one comes from my very crafty Mom who took this ugly looking cardboard.....

And turned it into this! A clock mechanism, pictures, a cricut cutter, and some scrapbook paper later and a great decor for any room is ready to be given for a wedding present!

Share

New Friend Friday and...A $2000 Wedding???

2010-05-14T10:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! This is the last post I will make live for the next two weeks as tomorrow night I head out to the Netherlands and the house we are staying at has no internet so sadly I will be "off the grid" :) Although at the same time, it is a wonderful feeling to be completely disconnected and unreachable...only way to really be relaxed I think! Don't worry though, I pre-published some posts for the next two weeks to give you an idea of what I'm up to and some more little projects I've been working on:)

And now, on to my fave blog of the week!! This week I went for a bit of a change...normally I pick my favorite project that inspired me this week but this site just wowed me as a recent bride myself:) Take a look at how this lady put together a wedding for under 2000!!!

EXPENDITURES

Thank You Postcards + Stamps = -$31
Balloons to Mark Ceremony Street: -$4
Money Remaining from Lodging: +$110
Margarita Machine: -$232
Whole Foods: -$317
King Soopers's (Food): -$372
Sam's Club (Food): -$403
Boxed Wine: -$80
Beer Kegs: -$140
Clips for Nametags: -$24
Photography (extra flickr storage): -$25
Wedding License: -$10
Cakes: -$178
Wooden Sticks for Ceremony Program Fans: -$19
Wedding Quilt for Ceremony: -$8
Wedding Favors: -$21
DJ (iPod): $0
Photographers (friends): $0
Bride's Hair (friend): $0
Bride's Necklace and Shoes (reused): $0
Groom's Tie (made from old fabric): $0
Sash for Dress (made from old fabric): $0
Fabric for Cloth Napkins: -$50
Tablecloths: -$33
Stamps to Mail Instructional Dance DVDs to Our Wedding Party: -$6
Compostable Forks, Spoons, Bowls, and Cups: -$64
Stamps (Invitations): -$20
Water Color Paper (Invitations): -$6
Embroidery Thread: -$2
Wedding Dress (+Shipping/Handling): -$20
Domain Name for Website: -$7
Wedding Books from Library: 0
Total Spent: $1,962
Total Remaining: $38

Those who know me and my family know we are thrifty (some mention cheap but that seems a little harsh!!) and both my sister kept our weddings within a reasonable budget; however, this lady....I think she put us to shame...some really awesome ideas like a margarita machine make me want to do my wedding all over again!

That's it for today! Anyone got some good advice for an 8 hour plane ride?? Pass 'em on! :)
Share

A Night of Enchanted, Little Girls, and Making Things Beautiful

2010-05-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

I teach a girl's group in my church called GEMS where each week we do games, crafts and Bible studies. This past Thursday was our final group night so I wanted to do a special craft for themselves and for their mom's for Mother's Day. So our night consisted of watching the movie Enchanted(so cute!), popcorn, and making a chalkboard frame! One for themselves, one for Mom:)

So last weekend my yard saling consisted of searching for cheap suitable frames...Here's my finds!

The girls were very excited to get to work, though most of them were not patient enough to do several coats..just one big one, but hey....they loved it!

And at the end of the day, my door now has this beauty waiting to welcome our visitors! I was iffy about the yellow but now I LOVE it!! Makes me so happy!

Have a great day!

Share

My Favorite Mom ;)

2010-05-08T23:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day! To my mom, the crazy ridiculous funny lady, the most supportive loving mother, my generous best friend who would do anything I ask...no matter how silly it is, and the most creative lady I know whom all my blogging could never compare to.....I LOVE YA! From practically doing all the work for my wedding, coming out to visit me for a mother-daughter weekend each year, every vacation you planned for us and each thoughtful gift you give....I can't express how much it all means and thank God for the mom I am blessed to have.

Have a very Happy Mother's Day:)

Share

A little Cardboard, glue and paper...Fabulous!

2010-05-07T09:44:00.000-04:00

Just getting creative with things lying around the house can have fabulous results as this week's feature blogger shows us!

Take a look over at Christie's Creative Chaos at what this crafty lady can do with a little cardboard:) You would not believe how easy this looks to do!

Well, I'm off to pack to Holland! Have yourselves a good weekend!

Share

Mother's Day? Oh...Crap!

2010-05-05T23:03:00.006-04:00

Yup, that was me a few days ago realizing that Mother's day was this weekend and we were suddenly invited to celebrate at the in-laws this Friday!! So a new project of mine I had in mind quickly transformed into a present for my MIL:) I hope she likes it.

For my engagement a couple of years ago my sister in law gave me this beautiful frame that had sheet metal where glass should be so that it was magnetic! I loved it and there began my fascination with different things to create with frames. I recently saw an idea to turn it into a serving tray so I pulled out my good will find and here's the result!

Unfortunately the pre-transformation pictures were lost somewhere along the way:( But you can imagine a really ugly drawing in the center of this frame, ok? Seriously, awful landscape...got it?

So the frame was already white but needed a little spruce so I gave it several coats of cashmere paint, an off white color and added cabinet handles to the side for carrying purposes. Then I took the picture from the center and glued material cut to fit to it, leaving one side open to fill with batting...or in this case, fluffy snow leftover from Christmas...use what's on hand right?? That's also why I used a cut up pillow case for the material...who's to know right? Then close up the last side and place back in the center of the frame. I also cut a piece of the material to cover up the rest of the back of the tray, just in case someone looks:)

And there you go, Mother's day present? Check!

Share

Another Starburst Mirror...

2010-05-03T13:33:00.016-04:00

No wonder I have seen tutorials and numerous DIY's of how to make a starburst mirror at home....cuz it is EASSSYYY! A friend from work mentioned she liked them so of course I thought, I can make it way cheaper! So I did, and gave it to her for her birthday:)

Here's what it took:
1- package of skewers
1- Styrofoam half ball
1- can of spray paint (I used aluminum)
1- 1 glue gun and glue
1- Scissor
Packages of mirrors in varying sizes based on preference:)

Since I had most of this on hand, it cost about five dollars for all of it. Most of it from your local Dollar store:)

I used the Styrofoam ball to hold the skewers while painting. I just found this was easier than trying to turn the sticks while holding, etc...

Now cut the skewers to varying lengths and space them out around the back of the mirror. I eyeballed it for spacing but if you are a bit more Type A than me, use a ruler and draw on the back of the mirror.

Then just glue them in place and when done cut out a piece of cardboard to glue to the back so you can attach a hook for hanging.

And VOILA!!!

C'est magnifique, non? (Mandy, if your reading this are you proud of my en francais skills???)

Easy, about twenty minutes of work and some sparkly decor:)

Have a happy Monday everyone! I'm feeling good as the countdown to Holland is like 12 days!! woot, woot!!

Linking to:

Sumo's Sweet Stuff
http://thepersimmonperch.blogspot.com/
Making the World Cuter

Medieval Times

2010-05-02T22:42:00.000-04:00

I told you that we went to Medieval Times to celebrate our 1st Wedding Anniversary so I thought I would share some pictures from our time. It was great! We both got really into cheering for our color so it was a lot of fun:)

This is us right before leaving for Toronto:) About a 30 minute drive from our house...and yes, that is the awesome wall paper in the entry way to our apartment...I'm trying to ignore it but its difficult:)

So every gets a crown of the color of their section. And you are taken back into the 11th Century!! Very exciting...You are each assigned a knight to cheer for and the games begin with all kinds of jousting contests and such.

The Chancellor!

Our blue Knight! He was pretty good but lost in the end:(

Our dinner setting, minus the bowl...

Note the lack of utensils? Yes, apparently they didn't need those back then! But, they did have Pepsi:)

And I caught a carnation from the Knight:)

All in all, a wonderful time and if you have good neighbors for cheering, it can be a ton of fun:) Unfortunately our neighbor was crying for the first ten minutes but we had fun anyways! If you have one near you, GO! So much fun and good entertainment:)

Share

One Year Down...About fifty to go?

2010-05-01T01:00:00.002-04:00

One year ago today we were married on a slightly rainy but sunny day in Fredericton, New Brunswick and that year just seemed to disappear. I have never felt so blessed and content in my life as to be able to spend each day with my best friend...sappy right?

Well, since its time to celebrate the one year mark I thought I would take you down memory lane and share favorite moments of that beautiful day! Enjoy!

Our Wedding Day

Share

What a Girl can do with Streamers!!!

2010-04-29T23:20:00.000-04:00

When I think of streamers I have always thought of tacky decorations pulled out at last minute to throw a bit of color in just about every party I've ever been too...can you relate? Well, no more!

My featured lady today has changed my view of streamers and made me enthusiastic about the look they can achieve in your decor! Take a look....

Oh so soft and pretty and if I didn't know, I would not have guessed what it was made of : ) Would you believe this is what happens when you run it through the sewing machine? Nope, me neither! And when you think it can't get any better, she teaches you how to make the flower too!

Well, take a look at my fave this week and have a fantastic weekend! I'll let you know how the show is tomorrow when we celebrate our anniversary at Medieval Times:)
Share

Medieval Times: Toronto Version

2010-04-28T10:05:00.001-04:00

So this Sunday, May 2 is officially one year of marriage for us! And in celebration we are going to the Medieval Times show in Toronto on Saturday. I went once when I was about 10 or so...so its been a while. Any of you been there before? This is what we have to look forward to:

From the website:
Welcome to the 11th century! Just beyond the great doors of our Hall of Arms waits the celebration arena, the heart of each of Medieval Times' nine castles. From high above King Philippe and his daughter-in-law, Princess Leonore, preside over a four-course feast. Below, privileged royal guests are transported to faraway lands including a romantic snowy rendezvous in the woods and an authentic medieval tournament for the Battle of Champions ® -- with the help of Hollywood-caliber special effects, of course.

Sounds fun right??? We are excited to go and do something special for our anniversary since we typically skip such celebrations...nice to go off the two of us for some fun:)

Any of you do something special for your one year anniversary?

Share

Tea for Two

2010-04-26T09:28:00.007-04:00

Hellooo Monday!!! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and took a look at the feature from Friday! I survived the sleepover, although I did sleep for over three hours Saturday afternoon to recover... I don't remember ever having that much energy!!

And today I am excited to show you the project for my niece Stella that I completed. Unfortunately I ran out of time as we are not able to bring it down ourselves so I had to send it with the in-laws so its not quite the vision I had in my head but I still think it turned out pretty cute:)

Here's the before:

The table and two chairs cost me six bucks at value village:) I thought that was pretty good!

My husband thought I should keep the little bear on the top of the table....I did not, so the sander was put to work!
Then all the pieces took a coat of primer and several coats of paint. I just went to Home Depot and found the mis-tints and oops section so the cans were three bucks each, primer I already had a the can of spray paint was six bucks...not bad right? Looking online these things sell for over 100 dollars so I was feeling pretty good about myself!

And here's the after!

Ended up more soft and pretty then the funky vibrant colors I originally had in my head but things don't always go the way you imagine I guess eh?

What I love about it is that the table is now a chalkboard for her to draw on, when she learns to draw rather than eat it...hopefully not too many incidents with that!

Now we have to see in October if the colors in this table and chairs predict the gender of the baby on the way:)

Have a great Monday everyone!

Linked to:

Making the world cuter
The Persimmon Perch

Another Friday, Another Fabulous Lady!

2010-04-23T09:16:00.000-04:00

It is just ridiculous how fast Friday comes! Well, I've have been "blog browsing" for the last day to find my favorite blog post this week, one that wowed me, made me jealous as all get out, over the top amazing, and was just all around awesome!

And who would that be this week?? Kristine at The Painted Hive for her transformation of these BEAUTIFUL chairs...i love them, so soft and a beautiful spot to sit for some tea and a book!

Take a look and love it everyone! And be sure to take a look at the rest of her projects cuz she will wow you!

Have a wonderful friday everyone! I'm headed out to chaperone a sleepover with nine thirteen year olds....crazy? I think so!

Share

Have Paint, Will Spray

2010-04-20T19:12:00.002-04:00

In my books, a can of spray paint is one of the best things EV-AH!!! Have you ever had one of those days where you can just walk around your house finding stuff to spray paint until someone must come and pry that bottle out of your hands, or you have used every finger trying to keep that trigger going and you have to stop before losing use of your whole hand? Or is that just me?

Well, a while back I got a can of aluminum paint to redo some hardware and I rediscovered it this week...Here's what happened:

The blue never fit in anyways....

I LOVE my stars here...and am proud to say they were a total of two dollars at Mardens...but the rest of the space still needs some inspiration I feel. Definitely not spray painting those:)

and the mailbox - the landlords put up a falling apart partially black/mostly rusting eyesore of a mailbox....haven't found a replacement yet so yup...it got the full treatment..

Maybe I can still make it work, got some black paint and need make a stencil....hmm, ideas?

Oh and this too:

Please don't look at the mess in the back of the picture...Notice the pretty wedding album though?

Yup, I'm a spraypaint-aholic:) but a little addiction never hurt anyone right?

Homemade Coasters

2010-04-18T19:28:00.020-04:00

Hubby and I had a pretty quiet weekend this week, cleaning around the house and hanging out with friends but still, somehow Sunday night always comes too soon every week!! Saturday was pretty cold and I wasn't feeling well so not too much got done...but it warmed up a bit today so we had a nice BBQ outside with Dairy Queen ice cream cake...not quite in my diet nowadays so please don't tell my mom (mom I hope you didn't read this) as she is one of my accountability partner! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well.

Needing only the slightest reason to tray out the coasters tutorial I discovered earlier, I sat down to create some of these beauties for a friend's birthday this week. I set out hoping to find some scrapbook paper with a kind of beachy feel which would suit her well but could not find anything I liked:( But I do love these sets of scrapbook paper with a design on one side and matching color on the other. No more wandering the aisle of paper to find the color that will match perfectly! LOVE it.

So here we go, the tiles were 29 cents at Rona, the paper 2.50 at Michael's and I already had the glue and varnish so we're good to go:)
I used plain dollar store glue mixed 1:1 with water for a nice glaze. Brush a layer on the tile and on the back of the paper, then carefully place in center watching for any bubbles around. Let dry about 20 minutes. Then cover the paper with a layer of glue to seal in. I repeated this three times, then did three layers of varnish to get that nice shiny look and so it will withstand any spills as they get used. Finally place some felt on the bottom to prevent any scratching on your table.
And the final product....Not too time consuming...I left it on the counter and came back to it in between doing other things so it didn't take up too much time....and present done! Hope she loves them as much as I do:)

Well, that was fun...anyone want to order some? I'm on a roll:)

So I've started on my project for my niece but its not quite ready for reveal but I hope to have it done sometime this week. Can't wait to show the final product on that one!!

Hope you are all ready for Monday morning! I'm certainly not...

This is linked to:

http://theherberfamily.blogspot.com/2010/04/talented-tuesday_20.html

Fabulous Fridays

2010-04-16T09:06:00.000-04:00

To celebrate my first Friday of blogging I thought I would start a new tradition of picking my favorite blog post of the week and featuring it here. So to start it off, because I LOVE a project that can be done quick and easy and still have the effect of tranforming a room, or in this case, a hallway, the feature this week comes from Tidbits from the Tremaynes.

In the space of a few hours a hallway was taken to a thing of beauty...take a look and love! Can you imagine doing this in your hallway, or anywhere in fact. I can picture doing the same thing in sort of a garden fence style in a bedroom....that would be adorable. Can't wait to own a wall to do this to someday:) Sigh...

Happy Friday everyone!
Share

Bringing Nature Indoors

2010-04-15T11:22:00.000-04:00

Well, the consensus is ....... LEAVE IT, ITS BEAUTIFUL! Makes my job easier and I have a project for a certain niece of mine that i can't wait to get to so I think I'll agree. Maybe once I get a sewing machine again I'll tackle making a removable cover so it can go either way:) Hmm, sewing not my strong point so we'll see!

I have been feeling especially inspired this week with all the spring weather, flowers, and everyone just seems happier around this time right? Not to mention I hit my ten pound weight loss goal as of last Friday! Now that's inspiring!

What is a better or cheaper decoration than just bringing something from outside indoors?? Especially as spring is starting to show its face now... Well, I painted those branches from our walk on Sunday yesterday evening in ten minutes and think they look very cute and spring like in my living room now:) They are a mixture of white and silver and I am loving them in my red heart shaped vases(which were a steal at 1.50 on sale at Michaels!!)

Any of you have some sparks of color that you just love or good deals in your house that just make you smile inside every time you see them?

Share

Bench Update

2010-04-14T09:14:00.019-04:00

So as I've been refinishing this bench to add to my dining room table set I have been debating between leaving it the plain wood or adding a cushion. The chairs have cushions and I love how they turned out when I recovered them as you can see in the before and after below:

I think it looks better in person than in pictures, but no matter what, its an improvement over the ducks, right? I'm sorry to take off my Oma's hard work but I hope that I'll be able to give them a new home someday:)

Anyways, finished the bench tonight and love how it looks but probably will need to let it sit a few days before deciding if I want a cushion...

Well, here's the pictures thus far...like? I forgot to take a before pic of the bench but it has a matching table that I will use for something else later...

I love that we can now easily sit six instead of four at our table and that a bench can easily hide or be re-purposed in our little apartment where space is precious...

Hmm...Mix a new pattern in, leave the wood, cover it in a solid and add the awesome nail head trim? Still pondering the options:)

How should I finish the Bench?

Coasters....from Tiles??!!??

2010-04-13T10:03:00.000-04:00

So the fact that these places charge an obscene amount of money for four little squares to place your drinks on has always bothered me and I have just tried to avoid them altogether. However, my mom redid my Oma's old dining set for me and it is BEAUTIFUL and there is no way I am getting any water stains on it! So I bought little Ikea cheapy ones for the time being but they are just not doing it for me.

And that is when I came across this beauty of a tutorial! Do It Yourself Coasters made out of tiles and some scrapbooking paper! That is my kind of project! Easy to do and easy to replace when I decide I want new colors around! PERFECT!

Don't these make you drool just a little bit?? So tonight I shall finish my beautiful bench and maybe paint those branches BUT I can't wait to try out this little project soon:)

Have a great Tuesday!

A day in God's Creation

2010-04-11T18:44:00.003-04:00

Today we had a wonderful day with some friends enjoying breakfast, and a little walk to these beautiful falls.

Isn't that beautiful? It was a little windy so we got a faceful of water quite a bit but it was warm enough that it was alright.

Put first layer of varnish on the bench and got some branches on our hike to paint for some decor in the living room. Some beautiful red vases have been sitting empty for too long! At some point this week they will become silver or white or both...we'll see:)

Hope you have had a wonderful day however you worship on your Sundays:)