Ambition or "While Charlotte was Sleeping"

I'm not sure when (or if) I will actually get to this list, but I wanted to write it down, so that it is out there, and I can hold myself to it as best as possible! This is the list of everything I would like to accomplish while Charlotte is sleeping on my maternity leave. I have friends who have said forget it, but I am going to try!

Maternity Leave To-Do List
- Paint the hallway
- Paint the master bath and update the lighting and vanity
- Refinish the shelf that's in the shed
- Host a yard sale
- Add shelving to the sitting room and spare bedroom

- Strip the wallpaper in the spare bathroom and paint or update wallpaper

- Master white bread making

- Attempt sourdough bread making

Nursery Update

The nursery had a bit of a do-over once the crib arrived as it didn't quite fit where I thought it would. We moved the change table to the other wall, and it seems to be working quite well.

Funny story about the crib- it's not the one I thought we were getting, but I am so happy it turned out this way. I was expecting a white crib , and when it arrived it was grey. I love how it fits in the room and pulls grey from the polka dots and stars. I still have to add the yellow chevron crib skirt I made.

Chris gifted me the balloon print that says The Best Is Yet To Come for our first anniversary . The nursery chair was a Kijiji find.

The reading nook got a brand new pink colourful clock and a repurposed red side table.

All in all I am pretty happy with how this space turned out for our little girl .

DIY Nursery Art for Under $3

I wanted to create some colourful art for our white walled nursery, so I took to Pinterest to see what free printables I could find. If you check out my Nursery board, you'll see I managed to find a few!

Instead of paying a fortune for new frames, I hit up goodwill on a day they had 50% off their frames and scored  six for $8!!! I then enlisted help to paint them (using spray paint I had on hand) to give new life to the frames!

I love how this guy turned out, and plan to do a couple more soon!

Fab Find Friday: Chris' Nursery Update

Have I told you lately that I have the best husband in the world. I know I am pretty biased, and probably don't say it enough, but when I came home on Tuesday night this week- the man was a hero! He told me that he had a big surprise for me, and then proceeded to tell me that he really liked what he did, so if I didn't like it- I should use my best poker face and let him down gently! When I got home, he led me upstairs, I closed my eyes and he showed me that he had selected and installed a lighting fixture in the nursery!

The nursery room didn't have any overhead lighting, and Chris was able to purchase a fixture that we could plug in (thanks to the random outlet in the closet, and run the line around the frame and hook it with a ceiling hook. It looks great and I absolutely love the fixture...that man has good taste! It comes with a handy on/off switch that Chris will mount on the wall for me and then cover the cord with cable cover.

Here's a glimpse of what it looks like lit up!

While he was out, he also managed to find me a very cute fan for the nursery as well. I love the style and its playful colour!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Chris' mom is hosting a baby shower this weekend. We're less than 6 weeks away now and sh*t is definitely getting real!

Weekend Find

I stopped by a garage sale on the weekend and found this really cute metal rack/planter/stand/I really don't have any idea what it is. When I asked the hosts how much, they said "10 cents, actually we'll give you a bag of cookies if you take it away." The garage sale was for charity, so I offered them a dollar and they gave me a bag of cookies and this lovely item. I don't know exactly what I am going to use it for, I think it would be a great stand for cupcakes if I had a bakery, but I do think a coat of bright spray paint is int its future! Right now I am thinking red or yellow, but we'll see!

Does this item look familiar to anyone? Anyone have any idea what it may have been used for in the past? Happy Wednesday!

Nursery Progress

This weekend we made significant progress on the nursery. Chris installed the crates for shelving in the closet. We moved the newly painted dresser to its spot, lined the dresser with fun paper and added colourful polka-dot decals to create an accent wall.

Close up of the dresser/change table

Cute anchor wall paper- a great value village find!

Crates bought at Michaels for 50% off installed for organization

We still have lots to do including adding shelves for books, hanging pictures and bunting, putting the crates and closet to use, filling the dresser drawers, setting up our crib when it arrives and figuring out a lighting solution (this is winning at the moment)

Handling the Dresser

When I last left you, this was the state of the dresser that we purchased for the Nursery. After testing to make sure it didn't have lead paint in it- which it didn't- yay; I then had to decide what we were going to do with it, and specifically if I was going to do it myself. Although I feel my pregnancy has been fairly easy (knock on wood) all things concerned, the one struggle that I have consistently had to deal with is not being able to do everything I want to do independently. Asking for help is hard, especially when you are used to doing things on your own and you enjoy doing those things.

That said, my super friend Dixie Anne agreed to paint the dresser for me, and I couldn't be happier. She has been keeping me updated by texting photos of her progress:

1. Here are the drawers all primed (love your thumb DA)!!!

2. Here is the frame primed and ready for paint!

3. And here is the finished product she texted me last night- so exciting:)

The next step for this project, will be to replace the handles for an updated look. My dream handles are little white anchors from Anthropologie, but for $10 a pop, i'm not sure they're worth it. Here are some of the ones I have liked so far.

What do you think? Any that stand out as favourites in your mind?

Blank Slate Big News

When we moved into this house and I set up my craft room, I knew it would be short lived, but it would be short lived for a good reason. This room has always been destined to be a nursery, and come August it will have its first occupant! Chris and I are expecting our first child, and we couldn't be more thrilled.

We're not the only ones thrilled, our families are also looking forward to the first grandchild (not including the kittens of course) on both sides. Chris' mom has signed up for painting the nursery, and once we got everything cleared out, she got two coats of Behr Clear Moon on the walls. We still need to paint the floor and closet, but definitely making good progress. We're not going to find out the gender, so planned for a crisp white room with lots of colourful accents and decor. I'm excited to be finally sharing our news, now I can pin nursery inspiration photos to my heart's content!

DIY Friday: Dollar Art

I have been MIA lately. I'm not sure what it is about 2014, but I haven't been taking as many pictures. I am hoping the Spring will wake up the photographer in me!

Last weekend I walked into a calendar store selling all of their calendars for a dollar because they're going out of business. I picked up a couple that I thought I liked for the art, and thought this one was particularly great. It is basically a calendar of positive messages, and I just love the font and colours.

I plan to pick out my favourites and either frame them separately or make a collage!

I hope you all have a great weekend. We're catching up on some Homeland, and I am exploring a small town with one of my girlfriends tomorrow. I promise to post more next week!

Bedside Love

My bedside got a bit of a makeover last week when I moved the wooden crate to the newly renovated sitting room. I moved in this little side table (originally picked out of someone's garbage) from the craft room and hung the bunting from our wedding above our bed.

The little rug beside the bed is actually a small afghan my grandmother made me years ago. I have it folded in half so I have a cozy place to step out of bed in the morning. It's just the right amount of eclectic!

Reading Nook

We recently bought a new sectional for our living room which left us to find a new home for our comfy old green couch. Since our sitting room has never had much in the way of seating options, I gave up my dream of built-ins for a cozy reading area with a gallery wall in the not so distant future. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my favourite spaces in the house.

I've repurposed almost everything we already had to make this nook cozy, but I did add an inexpensive clamp light from Ikea to provide for reading light when it gets dark outside. I also plan to add bookshelves to the wall where my diploma is currently hung. I love the natural light in this room and the stone fireplace. It really is a great space. 

Favourite Spaces- Bathroom Corner

Although this room has a long way to go, and I have major plans including a full paint job and totally new light fixtures before Spring, I love this space. With the cold winter we've been having, I've spent many an evening soaking in our deep claw foot tub, which I hadn't really taken advantage of until now. I added the snowflake garland at Christmas time, and liked it so much I left it up. I think one of the reasons I like this space so much is it has so many treasures I've collected over the years, and everything has a story (like the old liquor bottle or the cracked Japanese china jar on the little shelf above the tub.

In the picture below, you can see the old metal hospital table that Chris negotiated at Christie a few years ago, a wash-stand given to my by close friends, a pretty tray I picked up at Aberfoyle, a vintage suitcase and old painting I found at Goodwill

Here is a close up of the pretty tray. I think I paid $6 for it, and loved it the moment I saw it. The frame is wooden and the tray is ceramic. No room would be complete in our house without a couple of fruit jars. I have also added an old first aid kit and tin of baby powder for good measure!

As you can see from the pictures above, I'm not the only one who likes this space. This is Missy Cat's favourite bathroom activity- catching drips on her nose. In our old house, we used to let the tap run for her, now we use an old enamel pan to catch her drips.

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a good weekend, we're going to see a good friend, and I am hoping to get some thrifting or antiquing in at some point, definitely in withdrawl this time of year!

Steal of a Deal

Chris is convinced we need a new sectional couch, so we went furniture browsing the other night to see what the market's like. One of the local stores is blowing out their inventory to make room for new stock, and there was a bin of clearance pillows. I fell in love with the bolster first because it reminded me of a grain sack. Chris found the linen one, and I praised his good eye immediately.

The price listed on the bolster was $55 and the price on the linen throw pillow was $89 (highway robbery only a furniture store- we paid $12 for each of them! I love a good deal, and $12 quality pillows is  good deal in my books!

Tick Tock Clock

We got a few beautiful handmade gifts for our wedding. I have already posted about the gorgeous afghan crocheted by my good friend Jessica here, and today I am back to share the beautiful clock that Chris' good family friends built for us. This clock is beautiful and very special to us. My grandmother used to have a grandfather clock, and the sound of the chimes still makes me think of visiting her when I was little.

Virgil put so much time into building this beautiful clock for us, and we love the way it looks in our home. The cats are also very fond of the swinging arm!

There is and inscription with our names and wedding date on the back. I have dreams of this clock becoming a heirloom we pass down to our children and grandchildren one day!

DIY Friday: Wedding Venue Decor

After reading the Style Me Pretty and Ruffled blogs religiously for over a year and a half, I knew the decor for my venue was going to be really important to me. I didn't want to spend a ton of money, but I did want it to reflect my style; rustic, colourful and full of patina! It was hard because we don't live where we got married, so I had to make sure whatever I planned was manageable. I was very lucky to have the help of my parents on this one. They travelled to visit us earlier in the year, so they were able to take all of the jars I have collected over the years that I planned to use for my centrepieces. My dad also arranged with a friend to borrow a few items his daughter was using for her rustic wedding that was held just a few weeks before mine. One tip for brides getting married in a different city is to check Kijiji and Craigslist in the city their getting married in for items they may want to use. That's where I found my colourful bunting and old door I put my menu on. You just need a Super Dad or Relative to pick stuff up for you. I'll never forget when I sent him for the door- "You need me to pick up an old door...and you want to use it as decor?"

I found the wooden C and J at the Christie Antique Show, after a coat of paint they were ready to go. My mom and grandmother arranged all of the flowers in the canning jars.

I got this printable online (Wedding Chicks Blog) and put it in an old frame that use to have my mom's grad picture in it!

This old door was converted into a chalkboard and used to display the buffet menu. It is currently living in my parents shed and we're working on ways to bring it back to Ontario as I am in love with it.

The centrepieces were a burlap square with a stack of old books, two flower arrangements in canning jars (the smaller one on top of the books) with tea lights and a floral table number held up by a vintage spool. My friends did an awesome job arranging these and I loved how they turned out. We personalized a few of the tables by picking books that related to the people sitting at that table. 

Since only my maternal grandparents were still alive to witness our special day, we wanted to do something to remember all of the grandparents. We got black and white copies of each of them and had a table dedicated just to them with the word "Memories" in scrabble tiles.

When we asked our baker to put sprinkles on our wedding cake, I think she was probably very surprised. It turned out exactly how we pictured it, and looked great with the DIY bunting cake topper I made (tutorial here). When I sent a thank you card to the Baker, she said that her and her husband drop off a lot of wedding cakes, and most decor set ups don't make them take a second look like ours did. I like that we didn't have a cookie cutter reception, and I'm glad we did it on really light budget by using a ton of items we owned already.

We also used scrabble tiles as place settings for the wedding party at the head table.

Speaking of head table, here was the panoramic view I took on my iphone during the reception. My dad and brother hung all of the bunting along the top of the room the morning of the wedding. Did I mention how thankful I was to have family and friends pitch in to make this day great?

I love this picture. Chris surprised everyone with this big kiss! I made the Mr. & Mrs bunting out of burlap and stencils I got at the dollar store. Behind us is the crocheted bunting my mom made that says "Love Is All You Need". It was such a great day, and we truly are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives that helped put it all together. I also need to thank my friend Shaun for taking many of these decor and venue pictures. He knew how much work I put into planning everything, and knew it would be important to capture all of the details. He did such a phenomenal job!

O'Christmas Tree 2013

We have been surviving a storm since Saturday which I will post on later this week to commemorate our first Christmas in our new home.

We picked out our tree last Sunday. We went to the same guy as last year, despite learning there are three closer lots to our house on the drive home. I really wanted a big tree this year for our first Christmas in our country home. At the time I thought the one we chose would be a little too short, but it turned out to be the perfect size.

Here's how it looks all lit up:

Here's a blurry night picture I think is beautiful

Favourite Holiday Spaces- Sitting Room Mantle

I have seen tons of Holiday House tours on blogs I read lately, and I wanted to join in the fun. Instead of giving one tour of all my holiday decorations, I decided to share some of my favourite spaces. This is our first Christmas in our old country cottage, so decorating was exciting this year as I had to pick new places for everything to go.

Our sitting room doesn't get used very often, but it does have a lovely fireplace with a barn board mantle. It already had my collection of blue fruit jars and the wooden C and J from our wedding. I added some garland and lights as well as my Christmas mitten bunting. I found two bags of vintage glass Christmas bulbs at Value Village earlier this month and used the green and blue ones on top of each of the jars. It looks great during the day, but magical at night!