Easy Flowers

The morning of our housewarming, I decided I really want to put some fresh flowers in the bathrooms! I remembered my friend had noticed some wild flowers along the road to my house, and I set out on an adventure. I was able to pick a few daisy's and buttercups for the master bathrom and then a nice pink flower (clearly not an advanced gardener) for our guest bathroom. They were just the touch I was looking for!

Sneak peek of the cupboard I have put in the bathroom and the new update from the abeautiful mess app!

My parents are here for the week, and I am looking forward to doing some projects around the house and celebrating the long weekend!

Harvest Share: Week One

I am so excited about participating in the harvest share program with Carron Farms this summer. I grew up with fresh vegetables from my mom and grammy's gardens, so I've spoiled my palate to expect new carrots and potatoes every summer. Carron Farms is really close to our house, and every Thursday night we head out to the farm to pick out our basket. I've decided that I am going to capture each week's basket on Instagram as a photo project!

Week One's Basket Included:

-Romaine Lettuce

- Asparagus

- English Cucumber

- Red Pepper

- Yellow Zuchini

- Mushrooms

- Radishes

- Rhubarb

To Do: Second Floor

Hope everyone had a great weekend! We're now on to the second floor of the visual to-do list:


Bedroom:

Left: I'd like to repaint the bedroom walls that have been scuffed through the moving process. I would also like to add some shelving or storage along this wall to complete the "dressing room" feel.
Right: The window treatments clearly need work!


Bathroom:

Left: The paint colour in the basement was not the same colour as the bathroom wall as planned, so we will need to touch up a couple of walls once we match the colour.
Right: We need to add the storage cabinet I bought, add a rail of hooks and possibly switch out the light fixtures down the road.

Left: Case in point on the light fixtures.
Right: The vent also needs to be fixed, as it is not installed properly.

The towel rack needs to be replaced with a hook rail as currently you can only hang one towel.


Hallway:

Left: A valance or blinds need to be added to this window
Right: The theme of bad lighting fixtures continues!

Craft Room

I'd like to add shelves to this wall to display my treasures and store my craft supplies.

Living with Cats: The Vet Visit Episode

Forgive the awful iphone pictures, but this story was too funny not to document. We took the cats to meet their new vet and have an annual checkup on Tuesday. We bought one huge carrier for them when they were kittens to take them back and forth to their vet appointments and until Tuesday night ten minutes before we had to be at the vet, they didn't mind sharing a carrier.

So after many failed attempts, a few growls and a hiss or two later, Boy-Cat went in a laundry basket!

For some reason, they were much more content when they were in their own carriers. What a great first impression we must have made with the new vet!

The vet was great, and just over an hour after the terrible carrier cramming of 2013, they were both pretty comfortable on the couch (could have been the drugs)!

To Do List: Main Floor & Basement

So I've decided to photo-document some of the work we have to do around the house as an attempt to improve my ability to take before pictures and motivate me to actually get the projects done so I can show them off here on the blog.


Dining Room/Hallway to Basement:

Left: You will notice there is no door leading to the basement. There was...it was brown, I am changing that.
Right: I have also picked up some pegboard from the local hardware store which I would like to mount on the wall leading to the basement so I can hang my tools and cleaning supplies.

Kitchen:

Left: Sorry for the bad lighting. As you can see my windows in the kitchen do not have curtains. The ones that came with the house were yellow to match the walls. I'd like to get something a little fresher to match the cool greys and blues we now have going on in the kitchen. I'm thinking a full curtain isn't necessary.
Right: I need to add shelving to a few of my cabinets. I thought I had an extra shelf in my pantry that just needed to be installed...turns out I have a shelf covering a massive hole!

Basement:

There is a lot to do in the basement, but the number one priority is fixing the stairs. Our inspector said they were uneven and unsafe...my dad is coming in a couple of weeks to help with this project!

I'd also like to find some kind of floor covering solution for the basement as well.

There you have it, i'll be back later in the week to post the second floor to-do list as well as the outdoor to-do list!

I'm in love...

...with a table. Chris (my true love) spotted this sweet, original, well loved, gorgeous, 1870's farmhouse table at the show we went to on the weekend. He knew it would be perfect in our dining room, and it is!

As you may recall, I have posted previously about my existing kitchen table. I still love it, and it is going to make an excellent craft table.

Kitchen Reveal...Sort Of

So here's what i've learned about myself lately...I am TERRIBLE at taking before pictures. I always forget until half way through whatever I am doing. Yes, I realize this will be terribly detrimental to my blogging success! I was painting my cupboard originally posted here on the weekend (to be shared soon), and only took a picture once I had the back of the shelves painted. It was no different for the kitchen makeover. Partly because I do a lot of work at night, and the kitchen is lacking in natural light in the middle of the day, so you're going to have to trust me that the yellow just didn't work in this space.

BEFORE:





AFTER a few coats of Horizon Gray

Painting this space was painful due to all of the tedious brush work, but I love how it turned out!

A Beautiful Mess App

I have been reading A Beautiful Mess for almost 5 years now. I love the creativity and balance Emma and Elsie bring to each other and their blog. I have never paid for an App before, but when I read A Beautiful Mess had created an App, I knew I would love it. It is awesome! Here are just a few of the pictures I have created so far:

I love all the little phrases, doodles and borders that come with the app. I also love that you can use the app to write your own messages and phrases with the cute fonts provided! 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies from this recipe on the weekend and they are by far my favourite cookies I have made in the last few years. The peanut butter chocolate combo is perfect and they have a nice crisp on the outside of them like good peanut butter cookies do. Definitely worth a try! 

***Note: I changed the flour to one cup and baked at 350 not 375 like the recipe calls for.

Raising the White Flag on the Blue Island!

One of the first things I did in the house (after removing the tacky gems and ribbons from the guest room chandelier) was paint the island. It was a blue that didn't go with anything in the kitchen (those lights are also on my list...did you even have to ask)? While painting the island, I learned that it is actually made of an old door cut in half and some beadboard. The beautiful table top is the top of an old harvest table. I primed it first and then used two coats of acrylic enamel paint that I found downstairs. I then added one coat of water-based polycrylic to protect the finish since the island also houses our dishwasher. I'm loving how it turned out!

The BEFORE shot

Post Primer

The Finished Product!