Forever and Ever house

It's Christmas in July!

2008-07-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

It's "Christmas in July" over at my house!! I am so excited I don't even know where to begin!

One of my brother's best and oldest friends from high school is a cabinet maker. He has offered to spray our kitchen cabinet doors in his shop. That means we are going to get professionally sprayed doors with a lacquer finish!!!

YEAH!! I am so excited I could just break out in song! It is Christmas in July!

My spooky camera and an award

2008-07-15T17:09:00.001-07:00

Apparently, my camera has multiple personalities. I took a few pictures today of my daughter's room and the pictures turned out fine!! Weird eh??? I still want a new one for my birthday though!! It is just too spooky for me!! LOL!!

So here are the pictures...

A chandelier purchased from, of all places, Canadian Tire....

New basket to hold some of her books from Micheal's Arts and Craft Store...

An old toy chest that I spray painted "Heirloom White" from Rustoleum (it was a dark walnut colour) and her doll house....

So my other news is that I got an award!! It is the Brilliant Blog award and I got it from Jo at "To a Pretty Life". You know, she is such a sweetie, that Jo!! It really made my day...THANKS JO!!

Now, here are the rules:
1. Display logo and link of whoever gave you the award.
2. Nominate at least 7 blogs
3. Add links to those 7 blogs
4. Leave the nominees a message that you are giving them the award.

So, here is who I nominate:
1. Painted Prairie http://paintedprairie.blogspot.com -who amazes me with her remodelling skills
2. The Bunnies Bungalow http://thebunnysbungalow.blogspot.com/ -who recently posted a recipe for strawberry pretzel salad. I am sooooo going to make this!! IN ADDITION, her mom has Alzheimer's disease. All people with parents with Alzheimer's disease should get an award --especially this daughter who is doing such a wonderful job at caring for her ((((HUGS)))
3. Bless Our Nest http://thedavisfamilynwa.blogspot.com/ --who is giving us all a tour of her house. Now that girl can decorate! Go check her out!!!!
4. Grace Violet http://www.graceviolet.com/ -who is so darn crafty I do not feel the urge to craft because I can just visit her blog and pretend I am doing it myself.
5. Preppy Cricket http://preppycricket.blogspot.com/ -who isn't afraid to "tell ya how it is" when it comes to breastfeeding!!
6. Tiny Old House -who is fun, creative AND "environmentally friendly"! She was one of the first people to post on my blog. Love her!http://tinyoldhouse.blogspot.com/
7. The Lettered Cottage http://theletteredcottage.blogspot.com -who will wonder who the heck I am when I tell her that I gave her an award because I just lurk at her sight!! LOL!! However, she recently painted her cabinets and I am going to copy her idea about adding 1" x 6" wood along with crown moulding on my cabinets. Also, she has super cool videos of some of her projects. Now I've never seen THAT before!!

The good news and the bad news!

2008-07-08T17:33:00.001-07:00

Hello Internets!

I have good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?

O.K., I'll start with the bad news....my camera is dying. It takes fuzzy, dark and/or yellow-ish photos like this one:

Isn't it lovely?

While we are visiting this picture, what do you think of my green construction paper? I am going to do a photo montage on this wall. That paper is my attempt at trying to figure out how to place the photos (and also a large letter M that I bought a while ago).

The good news??? My birthday is a few weeks away!! I have my eye on this camera.

It is a Panasonic Lumix camera DMC FZ-18 (everyone say oooooohhh!! ahhhhhhh!!!) My friend has it and she just raves about it so now I am going to buy it too.

So, the bottom line? It means that I will need to "tap dance" for a few weeks with my "archived" photos until I have a camera good enough to take pictures.

I found this in my stash of old photos:

I bought apothecary jars and they are displayed in my master bathroom. I put epsom salts, ivory soap bars and make-up pads in them. I also bought the shelf behind the jars. It is just above my toilet. Anyone have any ideas about what I should display on there?

Daisy says "Happy 4th of July!"

2008-07-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

.......and because my uncle is an equal opportunist (and because he lived in the USA for a number of years), here is Daisy wishing all of our American neighbours a Happy July 4th!!

Happy Canada Day -The True North Strong and Free!

2008-07-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day! Here is a picture of "Daisy", my uncle's dog from Sherwood Park, Alberta who is celebrating Canada Day along with the rest of us Canadians!!

In the spirit of Canada Day, I thought I would include a few links to some of my favourite "home and garden shows" from Canada.

City Line: http://www.cityline.ca/

Design Inc.: http://www.designinc.ca/home/

Take this House and Sell It: http://www.wnetwork.com/tv_shows/shows/take_this_house_and_sell_it/index.asp#episodedetails1

Divine Design: http://www.divinedesign.tv/master.asp

Home To Stay: http://www.hgtv.ca/hometostay/default.aspx

Gotta go! Time to fire up the BBQ and get ready for the fireworks!

Stair Progress

2008-06-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

The project for the weekend was the stairs. Here they are in August 2007:

Here is the progress as of today:

The carpet was pulled up, the treads were stained and the spindle/risers were primed. The stain is a walnut colour. Never mind that the risers/spindles were painted prior to being stained. That was done in error.

Sorry for the blurry picture. For some reason, my camera continues to not cooperate with me!! I figured that this was better than not posting at all!

Can I just say that renovating the stairs is a HUGE undertaking?!?! As in, if I knew how much work it would be, I may have settled for the dusty rose carpet??? (well, maybe that is a bit of a stretch...) Anyway, I am having sympathy pains for my husband who did most of the work. He worked very hard on these stairs and I am so proud of him!!

The sad thing is that "we" (meaning he) are still not done. The risers/spindles need to be painted so that will be another weekend's project!! We are both going to be so glad once it is done!!

You should go.

2008-06-19T09:01:00.001-07:00

Have you read this post. If not, you should go. It was so good, I had to cross-post it over here.

MEME

2008-06-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

Oh me oh my! Two posts in one week? I'm on fire, now aren't I?? I've been tagged by Marie from Watch the Wind Blow By for a MeMe. Here she is. Isn't she cute? If you haven't been to her blog. You should go. She is really funny and has great taste.

O.K...So, here I go...

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was 26 years old and was married for a year and a half. I was living in my "new" starter home with my husband Dale. I had recently painted my living room a deep navy blue colour after having "faux finished" my computer room using a feather duster. I was also contemplating painting my hallway deep red (which I did go ahead and do a year later). I was working for the Seniors Division of Kitchener Parks and Recreation and was working on a committee to plan a huge "Oktoberfest Bash for Seniors"!! Prosit!

Oktoberfest is more of a Bavarian festival than it is about the beer (in case you were wondering)...unless you are a university student. Then, I won't lie. It is all about the beer.

2. Five Things on my To-Do List Today.
Since the day is almost done, I am going to tell you what I did today.
-I woke up. Got my daughter up and dropped her off at Nannie's house.
-I went to work. The day was full of calling-people-receiving-calls-writing- e-mails-answering-e-mails-tracking-statistics-updating-a-form-making-an-advertisement-consulting-and-being-consulted. Then I went home.
-I stopped at Micheal's craft store and browsed the aisles. I didn't buy anything because I lost my 50% off coupon.
-Had supper.
-Watched Henry's world with Madison.

-Put daughter to bed.
-Worked on my blog!

3. What are you favourite snacks?
Please sign me up for carrot sticks, whole wheat toast (no butter) and a glass of ice water with a twist of lemon....NOT!! (do people say NOT anymore??) Sadly, how I wish it were true...as does my waistline.
My favourite snack is a Tim Horton's coffee and a blueberry muffin. Large with two milks and two sweeteners please and thank you.

4. Places I have lived.
I have never lived outside of Ontario, Canada. I lived in Mississauga (a suburb city of Toronto, Ontario)until I was three. I've always lived in Waterloo Region except for a brief stint in Guelph while I was at University of Guelph! What can I say? It is a nice place to live and it is home.

5. Five Things I would do if I was a billionaire.
Hmmm....I am sure that I will think of some really creative things once I hit the "publish post" button on Blogger. However, at the moment, I think that I would:
-host HUGE vacation getaways for all of my friends and family.
-Schedule weekly massages and pedicures.
-Travel to China, Australia and Africa.
-Have my own charitable foundation and give money to worthwhile projects.
-Enjoy renovating my "Forever and Ever House"!!

That's it! O.K....Now who to tag. Well, I am going to tag two new friends cuz they both look like interesting people and I want to know more about them!

Jo from To a Pretty Life http://www.toaprettylife.blogspot.com/

Friend from Frills Fluff and Trucks http://frillsfluffandtrucks.blogspot.com/

In the Pink!

2008-06-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Ladies!!

I am so excited to show you Madison's room!! I painted it "Apple Blossom Pink" by Benjamin Moore. For some reason, my camera is taking dark pictures so hear is a "paint chip" of Apple Blossom to give you a better idea of the colour....

I also bought her a new quilt. It is the "Ditsy Daisy" Quilt from the Simply Shabby Chic line at Target. I bought it on E-Bay because I live in Canada and we don't have Target here. I suppose this is a blessing in disguise because when I visit the US, I always go to Target and amazed at the home decor section. I just KNOW that I would spend too much money if it was any closer to my home!!! LOL!!

I also framed some artwork for her room.

I used pages from the book "Guess How Much I Love You". I just love this book, don't you??? I love it to the moooooooon and back!! LOL!!

I re-used frames from our starter home. I just spray painted the frame and also the mat "Heirloom White" by RustOleum. Here is the before picture of one of the frames.

I have a ton of things to show you that I've been working on!! Coming up shortly is the lamp shade that I made for her room!

Oh yes, I would also like your advice...what sort of curtains do you think that I should use for her room? Sheers? Twill? I am thinking that they should be white, don't you? I am not sure what sort of fabric weight?? Any thoughts?

I am going to go shopping in the US in a few weeks. I am not sure if there are matching curtains for this line. Anyone know (I know there is a valance but I don't that I want to use that in this room).

Thanks!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-14T15:50:00.001-07:00

Look at his face. Look at her face. It says it all.... :o)

Cottage Charm Giveaway Winner

2008-06-12T18:16:00.001-07:00

Hello Internets!

How are you? I am fine.

Long time, no post. I know. I Know. I KNOW!!

I am sorry. I took an unplanned leave of absence from blogworld. Hopefully someone out there in blogworld is still checking in on me. I've missed all of my friends on here.

Under the category of "better late than never", I thought I would announce the winner of the draw for the May 31 giveaway. My camera is not cooperating so you are just going to have to use your imagination for the actual draw because I don't have a picture.

Me pulling name from hat....

....and the winner is Elizabeth from "Thoughts from an Evil Overlord. Here is her link for some reason, my mouse will not let me highlight her blog name so I have to do it this way: http://ebogie.blogspot.com/. You should check out her blog. She is super cool.

The Saga of Madison's Room: Chapter FOUR -'Dis is doooo TOOL!!

2008-05-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well, if you have followed along with my saga about painting my daughter's bedroom pink, I am sure that it won't come as a HUGE surprise to know that I caved in!! I didn't last long folks, now did I??

Here are some pictures I took of "the reveal". Madison's reaction to her new pink room was (while jumping up and down on the bed) "I love it! I LOVE it!! I LOVE IT!!!"

Lauren (my friend's daughter who is younger than Madison and is working on her speech) was pretty cute. Her reaction was "WOW! Dis is doooo TOOL"! (Wow! This is too cool!)

After all of the excitement of the reveal, we had Popsicles on our porch.

Now, I know what you are wondering....where are all of the pictures of the actual ROOM? Well, that, my friends, will be saved for another post!! Don't worry, I won't keep you hanging for toooo long!!

Cottage Charm Giveaway

2008-05-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Kim at the Twice Remembered Cottage -One Woman's Cottage Life is hosting the second annual "Cottage Charm Giveaway". I think that this is such a fun idea and have decided to play along! Above are the items that you can win by leaving a comment on this post. The items are a decorative plate, tea towels, a silver cup and a copy of the June 2008 Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

The contest is open to everyone living in Canada and the US who leaves a comment by 12:00 p.m. EST on May 31. I love the regulars who visit my blog and I also love new visitors!! Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment!!

Watching Grass Grow, Paint Dry and Other Adventures at Forever and Ever House

2008-05-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Internets!

Let me tell you, we have been very busy over here at "Forever and Ever House" watching the grass grow and the paint dry while also completing a few other projects!

We inherited a lawn that was a mess with weeds and bare patches. Since "the budget" is always an issue, we thought we would try growing the grass back from seed rather than re-sodding the lawn. I am excited to report that the first few sprouts of grass begin to appear from the earth!
I also have been waiting for the "paint to dry" on a night stand that I painted for Madison's room. It has been so damp here that it took almost a week for the paint to thoroughly dry (the fact that it was painted in our already damp basement didn't help).
The night stand was mine as a child. Prior to painting it, it looked like a typical "1970ish" piece of furniture complete with gold trim. I gave it two coats of melamine paint and added glass knobs. It's as "good as new"!

I've also been busy adding accessories to my master bedroom. Here is my wedding photo along with a "Happily ever after" sign that I ordered online.

Here are pictures of my hubby and I as children. I had these photos displayed in the nursery of our starter home and liked them so much, I thought I would move them to our master bedroom in our new home.
Here are some new plates that I bought from Home Sense last week....

Finally, here is a heart "tassle" that I made out of leftover fabric from the pillows on my bed. I have it hanging on my closet door.

You are really a mom when...

2008-05-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

You're Really A Mom When...
-You count the number of sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they are equal.
-You want to take out a contract on the kid who broke your child's favorite toy and made him/her cry.
-You have time to shave only one leg at a time.
-You hide in the bathroom to be alone.
-Your child throws up and you catch it.
-Someone else's kid throws up at a party and you keep eating.
-You consider finger paint to be a controlled substance.
-You mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.
-Your child insists that you read "Once upon a Potty" out loud in the lobby of the doctor's office and you do it.
-You hire a baby sitter because you haven't been out with your husband in ages, then you spend half the night talking about and checking on the kids.
-You hope ketchup is a vegetable because it's the only one your child eats.
-You find yourself cutting your husband's sandwiches into unusual shapes.
-You fast-forward through the scene when the hunter shoots Bambi's mother.
-You obsess when your child clings to you upon parting during his first month at school, then you obsess when he skips in without looking back.
-You can't bear to give away baby clothes--it's so final.
-You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "Not in your good clothes."
-You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.
-You read that the average-five-year old asks 437 questions a day and feel proud that your kid is "above average."

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day!!

More Kitchen Plans

2008-05-07T16:44:00.001-07:00

I thought that I would show you some more of my kitchen plans.

We have already purchased a sink. It is sitting in a box in my basement waiting to be installed. Here is a picture of a sink that looks similar to the sink that we have purchased. As I am typing this, my hubby just told me to tell you that it is made out of silistone quartz and that he got a really good deal on it by purchasing it from E-Bay (everyone can simultaneously give a "shout out" to him on that one!!). Apparently, the sink normally cost about $400 but he got it for $150. What do I know. I just live here. :O)

Here is also a picture of our custom range hood that Dale purchased from E-Bay. The plan is to paint it white along with the cabinets.

I am thinking about going with butcher block countertops from Ikea. I love granite but it "isn't in the budget" and I am not a fan of granite tile. I would rather go with natural material than do laminate so that leads to butcher block. Here is a picture of what I had in mind...

I've heard that sealing butcher block countertops with Waterlox really helps to protect it. Waterlox is a tung oil based product that waterproofs the wood. I am not one to cut directly onto my countertop so I think that this might "work" for me.

My plan is to refinish the floors on the entire main floor to match the countertop as I read somewhere that you are supposed to have all of your horizontal surfaces be the same tone (floor and countertop) and all of your vertical surfaces be the same tone (cabinets, backsplash etc.)

I like the suggestion about adding crown moulding to the cabinets. I have seen this on One Woman's Cottage Life and also Chris from Just Beachy . I think that this looks great. Since I have a space between my cabinet and my ceiling, I was thinking of adding some more height to the cabinets by adding a strip (3-4") of MDF and then the crown moulding on top of that. If anyone has done this or knows a blog that has, please let me know as I would like to see pictures.

I have a few questions for you based on your suggestions/comments:

Paint Colours:

Blueberry mentioned that the yellow on my paint chip and the yellow on the curtains may not match. I see her point. I had plans to paint "butter cream" and then got all excited about the curtains in Linen's N' Things that I didn't look very closely to see if they would match (told you I am an amateur)!! So, thanks Blueberry for pointing that out. I'll have to look at it "in real life" to see if it matches or perhaps look at the other colour you thought might work.

Also, Chris wondered if Cloud White is the right colour. I will definately look at the whites you suggested. I appreciate the suggestions and also Blueberry's offer to send me paint suggestions when she gets her fan deck back!! While it is "just paint", it is still painting cupboards which is a huge commitment. I want to make sure I get it right the first time. You all have great taste and I welcome your comments and suggestions!! ;O) My goodness! What good friends I have made on my blog! How lucky am I?!!?!

Glass on Cabinet Doors:
Do you think that I should do all of the cabinets above the counter top or just a few? If just a few, then which ones? I was thinking of just doing the corner cabinet?? Also, do you think that frosted glass will work? I like the look of glass but not how it shows my mess behind the glass.

This has turned into a long post! Thansk for taking the time to read it!!

New look and an award

2008-05-06T20:33:00.001-07:00

How do you like my new header? I made it myself using digital scrapbook supplies from Heather Ann Design. It is 12:00 p.m. and I am about ready for B-E-D. I have been obsessing over this header all night and I am "done"! I am beyond the point of knowing if it looks good. I probably shouldn't even be putting it up on my blog except that I want the satisfaction of knowing that I "finished" what I started to do tonight!!

Before I go to bed, allow me to whine for a minute longer. Is it me or does Blogger make things waaaay to complicated?? I have been trying to figure out how to make the header go all the way across the screen and do you think that I can figure it out? NO! Yes, I am new at all of this blog stuff so maybe there is a way and I just haven't figured it out yet??? Why can't they write instructions in normal language that even people like me can understand? Why is it so hard to search for things in the Help section?

Why? Why? Why? Waaa Waa Waa!! LOL! Yes, I am complaining so I better move on to happier news before I go to sleep..

So I wanted to tell all of you that I am sooooooo excited! I was given an award from my new bloggy best friend, Marie (from "Watch the Wind Blow By) who now shares the role with Kate. Marie is sooo funny and has amazing taste. You really have to go and visit her blog. You won't regret it! While I am talking about my bloggy friends...you should also go visit Kate. She has a really interesting post about Dorothy Draper which I think you would enjoy reading about. I know that I did.

So the award that Marie gave me is called the Art y Pico award. I am so thrilled...especially because I totally feel like I am making all of this blog stuff up as I go along. When I started blogging regulary in January, I was so "green" to the blog community, I really had no idea of all of the amazingly talented, creative and inspiring home decorating blogs that there are out there. I am kind of glad that I didn't know because I know I would have been intimidated and would probably not have started a blog. My renovating/decorating is all very much "trial and error" at my house . There are "many a misses"...amongst the "hits", that is for sure!

So...here are the rules for this award:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.

4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. Each award winner has to show these rules.

O.K. so now here is the fun part...giving the award to some of the blogs that I just LOVE. Now with that said, it is also the hard part because there are sooooo many talented people out there. I really had a hard time narrowing it down! So here are my 5 in no particular order...

Now, it is 12:12 p.m. and I have to go to bed. I have to work tomorrow for crying out loud!! I am not going to notify the award winners until tomorrow so if you are reading this and see your name...surprise and congrats!!

Night! Night!!

Kitchen Dreamin'

2008-05-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Internets!!

How are you? I am dusty from unpacking boxes in my basement this weekend.Yes, you read that correctly. I am still unpacking even though we moved in August 2007. It was rainy in my "part of the woods" this weekend so it was a good day to tackle the disaster that I have been avoiding down there!!

I've been meaning to show you some of my plans for my kitchen renovations for a while now. Since part of the plan is to paint the walls yellow, I thought I would share my plans along with the Cottage Magpie's "yellow post challenge".

So, first of all, here is a scan of the paint chip that has been on my bulletin board in my kitchen for months now. It is the colour "Butter Cream" by Benjamin Moore and it is the colour that I am "leaning towards" for my kitchen walls.

I was recently at Linen's n Things and found these curtains. They are dupoini silk and are lined. I have fallen in love with them and I am thinking about putting them in my kitchen. My thought is that I would use white curtain rods and white clip on rings.

Here are some "before pictures" of our kitchen as it appeared to us when we decided to purchase our home. I am going to paint the cupboards and replace the countertop. My thought is that I will paint the cupboards "Cloud White" by Benjamin Moore.

Yes, there is work to be done!! If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions for my kitchen, by all means, I would soooooo love to hear from you!!

Family Room Updates

2008-04-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

After considering all of the suggestions from the family room post from a couple of weeks ago, I was so inspired with ideas on how to "finish" my family room. I thought I would show you where I am "at" with this room as of today.

First of all, here is my updated entertainment unit.

My husband and I are still hemming and hawing about painting it white or leaving it black. The debate is between leaving it black (and therefore the TV doesn't contrast as much as it will if it is painted white) vs painting it white (and therefore the dust doesn't show as quickly and won't be as "heavy looking")!! The bottom line is that there are about a bizillion other things that need to be updated at our house and we only have so much time in the week. I don't see us painting it any time soon!! I suspect that the rate we are going, it will remain black for a number of years. LOL!!

When arranging my book cases, I read somewhere that the best thing to do in this situation is arrange your books/knick knacks on one side and then simply "mirror" what is displayed on the other side. That is what I did here. I also used the old trick of removing the dust jackets from all of the hard cover books. In addition, I used black spray paint to update old baskets that I had from my starter home. I shopped for these baskets "in my basement". I had completely forgot that I owned them until I saw them in the pictures that I posted recently from my starter home!!

Moving on, here is a picture of my fireplace:

Some of you may recall that I had a mirror on the mantle. Well, I took it down because it was reflecting our crazy plaster ceiling (which we will be definately will be removing that at some point). The mirror was moved to our dining room and replaced with metal art work from Home Sense. I think I might buy some candle sticks to put on the mantel too but I just haven't gotten to that yet!

I "shopped in my basement" for most of the updates on the right side of the room: The dog wood branches and the metal sap bucket are Christmas decorations found in my basement (shhhhh!!!). The picture frames were also from my basement (although I updated the pictures --see my post about finding "Public Domain" photos and also below). The lantern was a house warming gift from my friend, Christine.

For the black and white frames, I ended up using a vintage sailboat photo because it was taken on Lake Ontario, Canada which is near my home. I also found a vintage photo of people mountain climbing in British Columbia, Canada (which is definately not near my home but is a photo that I just think is really interesting).

Finally, here is a picture of the left side of the room.

Someone had suggested moving the lamps to "frame" the couch. Good idea! I think it makes more sense this way. I am still working on art for this side of the room. I have some ideas up my sleeve. I just need to finish working on them!!

Well, there you have it! Thanks so much for stopping by and touring my family room!

Our Starter Home: Part 3 -Upper Level

2008-04-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

In the last of my "three part series", I am going to show you the upper level of my starter home.

If you are just joining me in this series, allow me to bring you up to speed. This is the home that I lived in for about 10 years prior to living in our "forever and ever house" (we moved in Aug 2007). My friend and real estage agent, Leanne dropped by the other day for coffee and gave me photos of our starter home (the ones that she used to sell the house). I thought it would be fun to show them to all of my blog friends.

First, we have Madison's room.....Oh! I get so sentimental looking at this picture. This is the "one" room in our starter home that I wish that I could have moved in its entirety to our new house!! I know that it isn't much to look at...it is just that there are so memories for me with Madison as a baby in this room. Sniff Sniff!!!

O.K... moving on (before I have a nervous breakdown --lol), here is the room that was our home office. Now I know what you are thinking..."It doesn't look like a home office and I thought you only had one child???" Well, as we got our house ready to sell, we decided to "stage" this room as a nursery. We had just moved Madison into her "big girl bed" when we had decided to move. We moved her nursery items into the home office because our desks/computers are so messy looking. Fortunately, the bedding matched the yellow that was already on the walls so we didn't even have to paint.

Lastly, here is our master bedroom.
Well, thank you so much in joining me as I took a trip down memory lane. I have so many wonderful memories of our starter home. It was fun to share these photos with you!

I have been sooooo busy with a ton of projects for my "forever and ever house". I can't wait to show you some of the things I have been working on in my next post!!

Our Starter Home: Part Two -The main floor

2008-04-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

In the second part of this three-part series on my starter home, I thought I would show you some pictures of the main floor.

The house was small (1000 square feet) so the main floor consisted of the living room, kitchen and hallway. It was such a breeze to clean. I could get my light cleaning done in about an hour or so (i.e., wash floors, vacuum, dust, change bedding, empty trash, clean bathroom). I miss that so much!!

Our taste has changed since we decorated our starter home. When we first got married, I really liked more of a modern look. You can see that in things like our wall unit and the lamp shade. In my "Forever and Ever House", I seem to be leaning more to traditional/country decor. While we kept our leather couches and the area carpet for our new family room, the rest has been designated for our "rec room" in our basement in our new house!

Here are some pictures of what the kitchen looked like. Isn't it "oak statement"?!?!!? LOL!! If we ended up staying at this home, I would soooo have painted the cabinets white. The funny thing is that I have oak cabinets in my "Forever and Ever" house too. However, I have plans to paint them white at some point down the road. I think that I am going to paint the table and chairs too. I am undecided about whether I will paint them black or white...maybe black.

So, there you have it, the main floor. Coming up, the upstairs!

Our Starter Home: Part 1 -Outside of home

2008-04-22T17:10:00.001-07:00

My friend and real estate agent, Leanne Carnevale, dropped by for coffee the other day. She had a surprise for me....a CD with the photos that she used to sell our home last year. I thought that I would give you a tour of our starter home. In the first of this three-part series, I'll show you the outside of the house.

Here is the front of the house. We did the landscaping ourselves. Each year, we bought plants in August so that they were drastically marked down (i.e., 75-90% off the regular price) and "chip away" at the landscaping. By the time we were ready to move last year, it was almost done!

Here is a picture of the backyard. The mulch was sooooo low maintenance.

There were lots of fun times and good conversation on this deck!

Stay tuned for the next part of the series...the main floor!! Ohhhhh!!! Ahhhh!! Ohhhh!!!

The Saga of Madison's Room -Chapter Two: Kate Smith -my new best blog friend!

2008-04-20T18:57:00.001-07:00

Hello bloggy friends!

Well, I have had "quite the week" here in blog world. It all started when I decided to take part in Angela, the Cottage Magpie's "Green Post challenge". Well, guess who won her draw? ME!! I am the happy owner of a trug. Here is a picture of it:

Isn't it nice? I just love Angela and the ideas that she shares on her blog. Don't you think that she has the most impeccable taste? I am so thrilled to have won!

As a result of participating in her challenge, guess who visited me on my blog? Kate Smith!! Now I must admit, because I am from Canada, I sheepishly wasn't exactly sure who Kate was when she visited me and left a comment. However, given her blog name was "colour expert", I had a hunch that she was a bit of a "big wig". When I visited her blog, my hunch was verified. Folks, she is indeed a HUGE big wig!! LOL!!

For those of you who are living under the same rock that I am, allow me to fill you in....Kate is one of the world's leading colour experts and has had a ton of corporate clients like American Greetings, American Online and Reebok. She even goes on on television for shows like CBS Sunday Morning and the Christopher Lowell show AND she is the Chair of the Colour Marketing Group Conference (you know, the people who decide what colours are going to be "in" in the future).

You know what? More importantly than being a "big wig", she is nice!! When I visited her on her blog to thank her for cross-posting about the green post challenge on her blog, I mentioned my saga about Madison's room. I asked her "if" I decided to paint Madison's room pink, did she have any advice on how to pick out the right shade? I was worried that I was going to pick a pink shade that was too pepto-bismal-ish in colour.

Kate not only responded to my comment personally (you know that she must be very busy with all of the big wig things that she does) but actually wrote an entire post about Madison's room on her blog. You should check it out! Don't forget to leave a comment! I don't care who you are. If you blog, it is so nice to read comments from people who have stopped by!

Kate suggested a number of shades of pink that are so beautiful and sophisticated. They are not at all the typical "little girl" pink that can be so overwhelming and brash. I could really see these shades appealing to Madison right up into her tween years (and beyond).

She even found the most gorgeous artwork that I could use as a source of inspiration. It is from Kelly Rightsell. Kate says that pinks can work really well with browns and greens. Now, I would have never thought that in a million years but look at the artwork...she is right!

Now, how could I possibly NOT paint Madison's room now that I have all of this inspiration?? Thank you Kate!

The Saga of Madison's Room -Chapter One "Pulling the Nanny Card and Watching Angels Dance"

2008-04-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Let me start off this post by stating that when we moved into our house last August, we knew that there would be work involved in our "Forever and Ever House". The house was outdated. We knew that every room would need to be painted, every ceiling would need to be scraped and all of the floors would need to be addressed.

There was ONE exception to the "need to renovate" rule at our house and that was my daughter's bedroom. Seventeen years ago, when our home was built, it was painted a very pretty, classic shade of yellow and it has remained that way to this day.

So, when we moved into our home I said to myself "Self...well, at least THERE'S one room that doesn't need to be painted." Madison's bedding and valance from our starter home even had some yellow in it and with a few strategic placements of art, the nail holes in the walls from previous owner's art would be covered. Easy-peasy. Yippy Skippy.

Well, you know where this is leading now, don't you?

My daughter really wants a pink room.

She just doesn't want a pink room. She is dying for a pink room. She even "pulled the Nanny card" yesterday and casually "mentioned" (in an ever so mournful voice) to her adoring and influential Nanny that she really, really wants a pink room and that maybe one day if she is a really good girl, her mommy will paint it pink.

Oh Lord.

In all fairness, she's four. I have yet to meet a four-year old girl who does not love the colour pink. In addition, she has opinions. She watches the decorating shows with her parents. Her mother has a blog about home renovating so she imitates what she sees. Her pretend play includes "reveals" of makeover rooms for goodness sake!

Like most parents in the freeworld, I try to maintain the delicate balance between giving into my child's every whim and knowing that when I make her happy, it is like watching angels dancing.

So, stay tuned folks. We'll see how long I last!! In the meantime, I did put something on the walls to hide the nail holes from the previous owner's artwork.

I didn't do anything too fancy. I just used some of those wooden letters that you can buy at Arts and Crafts stores. TIP! I used "removable adhesive putty" to mount my letters and ribbons (you know, the stuff that looks like chewing gum). This is much easier than velcro (too permanent) and nails (too permanent and won't lie flush with walls).

I also displayed two of Madison's dresses (left and middle) and one of my baby dresses (right). I need to find pretty hangers. If anyone knows where I can find them in Canada, please let me know.

The dresses covered a multitude of sins (er nail holes).

Tag...you're it!

2008-04-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Tara from Days Missed on a Hammock to list 7 random and/or weird things about myself. So....here they are:

1. I am vegetarian and I own two leather couches. We bought them before I was vegetarian. They remain because a) I rationalize that I don't have to eat the couches b) My husband isn't vegetarian and he likes them. c)Marriage is about compromises. d) We don't have a money tree in our backyard for crying out loud! So there.

2. My husband and I identify with "John and Kate" from John and Kate Plus 8 (me being Kate and Dale being John). Now I know we all have our opinions about Kate so I hope that I don't loose any regulars who read my blog about this confession!! LOL!!

3. If you haven't guessed already, I LOVE a good deal. With few exceptions, most of my furnishings in my house were purchased as either 1) scratch and dent 2) floor model 3) on deep discount sale 4) on Kijijji (like Craigs list) 5) all of the above.

4. I am NOT a pack rat. I have issues with too much clutter. I joke around that I don't like Christmas trees because there are too many knick knacks on them!

5. My daughter just informed me that she would like a dog, a cat and a goldfish. Please and thank you very much.

6. My favourite ice cream is mint chocolate chip.

7. My hobby is digital scrapbooking. I love it because there is no clutter (see #4) in comparison to traditional scrapbooking and I have found it faster to do than regular scrapbooking.

So there you have it! So....hmmm....who am I going to tag? O.K, here is my list...

Emily from Drew and Eli

Melissa from the Inspired Room

Chris from Just Beachy

Kim from Niesz Vintage Home

Candy from Candy's Home

Georgie from Georgie Girls World

Katie from Philigry

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog. Some random, some weird.
3. Tag up to 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Thanks, Tara, for inviting me to join the fun!