the little things

my list for the day

Putting this out there.. for myself mostly ha ha... cause as you will soon see, I may need all the help remembering things that I can get! hee!

1. First up.. blog... woweeeee, good start huh!?

2. Next, scrapbook.. project deadline today that I need to finish up.

3. Try on clothes I bought last night.. see if I was temporarily insane and need to return any.. happens sometimes, I think things look good in the store.. only to try them on at home and go "what the heck was I thinking?" 

4. Set aside cardigan that I know I will keep, not in the closet where you might think, but in the bag to go back to the store.. they didn't take the security tag off... lovely.

5. Clean.  This will happen ONLY if I have time.. so not very likely! ha!

6. Get ready.. get Harley ready, head to town for groceries.. and to ummmm.. hit the mall again so I can go pick up my purse... where I ummmmmm left it in a change room. heeee!

7. OK.. maybe I should go back a few steps and make myself a mental note to NOT forget anything anywhere today.

8. Look for stocking stuffers for James.. we bought a new TV for us this year for Christmas... so stockings is where it is at! hee!  I really wanted to get him this.. but I can't find it now! :(

9. Go to Starbucks.  Of course.

10. Get groceries.. our pantry is painfully empty at the moment!   -40 weather will do that to ya I suppose though! ha ha!

11. Go to rink for Laine's Christmas skating party.

12. Sit on couch and do nothing after the kids are in bed. heeee!

OK.. so it isn't thaaaaat bad.  But oh how I wish I could stay in and do crafty relaxing stuff all day long!  Thankfully we have leftover Chinese for supper! lol

Ohhhhhh forgot one..

13. Go to post office to pick up parcels. I knooooow I am going to forget to do that. 

I can't wait until all my Christmas shopping and grocery getting is done and we can sit down and actually enjoy the holidays.. ya know, no matter how much of a headstart I think I have... I am always running around, doing last minute things.. every single year!  I think I might be programmed that way! ha!

OK.. better get a move on!  Here is a quick layout share first though.. went up in the Garden yesterday. :)

I love love LOVE those deer!  Definitely a new fave! 

Scrap time!!  I will get everything done.. I WILL! hee!  Later! :)

they clean up well!

If I don't say so myself! hee!  Yesterday, I shot my very first newborn session here at the house.. and since I had the table moved and was in 'take picture' mode, I got my munchkins dressed up in their Christmas outfits to take a picture of them as well!

 

Looks better bigger.. and yes... I went and 'matchy matched' my kids together! hee!  What can I say?  I couldn't resist! lol  

Soooo.. this is our official Christmas card photo... now I just have to get my butt in gear and do up some cards! lol ..I have good intentions this year, really I do!  Our little photo shoot lasted about 5 minutes, before Harley took off and would not come back.. there were toys to be played with, and he just could not take it anymore! lol  Sooo, this will have to do!  At least they are both smiling in this one! hee! ;) ..ohhh, you should see some of the others! ha!

2 page layouts..

Are such a rarity for me!  So, it goes without saying that this months theme at 2 Peas was a bit of a challenge for me.. but I really enjoyed stepping out of my little box, and pushing myself a little!

It didn't take long for me to realize, that I could combine my love for 'white space' with my love of using large photos!  This photo is an 8x10.. but on the 12x24 canvas... it feels sooo much smaller!  Yep, I think I could get used to 2 page layouts! hee!

 

Check out all of the 2 page layouts here.. so much inspiration!!  Love it!

Nice and cozy on my couch this morning.. watching 'Cars' with Harley (again ha!)... Piper (dog) on my feet, Molly (cat) on my legs, Newt (dog) on the floor beside me.. almost -28 this morning... yep, cozied up on the couch with a warm cup of coffee is perfect!  

cute, crafty and candy coloured

That is the theme for our Christmas decor this year. Cute, crafty and candy coloured.. or as Laine would call it.. 'funky' hee heee!  I had dreams of going all matchy matchy like these Amy Butler photos that have circled the net, and are absolutely gorgeous!  But.. I have waaay too many bright and fun ornaments from years and years of our ornament tradition.. and I cherish them waaay too much to not include them.  Previously, I did the traditional red, green and white.. but this year, I wanted to make it totally funky and bright!  Pinks, turquoise, lime, yellow.. all of it! lol

It started with these wreaths.  I took them apart (they had berries, pine cones and a red bow on them before.. very traditional).. then last Saturday, Laine and I worked on these pom poms.. and this is what we ended up with!  Love how they turned out!

 

This next one is on the side entrance door.. the door we use, and it is snowing and soooo windy out right now.. so the cute little pom poms are getting a taste of winter! lol

 

Brrrrrrr!  

Yesterday I got in over my head with Christmas crafting and decorating.  The house was a disaster (photos to come! lol) and there was stuff EVERYWHERE.  I had picked up this little wreath form to do a yarn wrapped wreath, so in my crafting craze, I did that yesterday morning.  I found the cute white accents last night (at Canadian Tire believe it or not lol) and knew they were perfect!  How cute is that deer!?

 

I hung it from the curtain rod in our living room.  I have now officially used up all of my black and white gingham fabric too!  Best $10 ever spent! lol  I made a ruffle garland for the tree with it as well (although it kinda got lost in there! lol).. speaking of garland.. I made some 'finger knitted' garland that took me FOREVER the other night.. but it ended up looking silly, so I am going to have to figure something else crafty to do with it! lol 

 

These little guys were from last year.. that white flocked one makes SUCH A MESS... but is ohhhh so cute!  They got a wee bit of a makeover this year (as did the star with some pink glitter.. and the trees on the pail used to be green... like I said, it was crafting chaos in here yesterday! lol).. a pink tree would be a welcome addition to the duo... maybe when they go dirt cheap! ;)

 

My little white tree was really really dreaming of having a giant sized (compared to it anyway) white companion.. but I can't really justify going and buying a white Christmas tree quite yet.. again, maybe if it goes dirt cheap. heee!  I did spot one last night that would be ohhhhh so lovely though!  SO, to fulfill little white trees wishes (and maybe a wee bit of mine).. I picked up this white garland for the railing at Jysk... it will do just fine I think! ;)

 

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! heeee!  I am sooo in the Christmas spirit now!  Next up.. some more colourful button trees!!  I just need some more pins first! lol!  I am sooo enjoying crafting Christmas decor this year!  So fulfilling! :)

Later! :)

our new (to us) kitchen island

Ever since we moved into this house, I have dreamed of having a kitchen island.  Just a little free standing one, that could be moved out of the way if we needed.. something to fill the big 'u-shape' that is our kitchen.  It just screamed 'put and island here.. put an island here!' lol.. I looked at a few, but never committed.  Honestly, for the size we needed.. the quality just wasn't easily found.  I wanted something solid.  I didn't really want it to have wheels.. and as time went on, I wanted something I could paint.  Locally, I could find nothing.  NOTHING.

Then, this summer.. I found an island on an online classified site.  They were asking $100.  Originally from Ikea she said (which is fine by me).. but what I loved is the plain simple build of it.  PLUS.. it came with 2 large baskets (and you know how much I loooove baskets lol).. pretty good deal.  Well, the summer went by.. and then fall... and after originally contacting her and then sort of backing out (I felt horrible).. but the timing just wasn't right, and I didn't want to bring it home and have it sit there waiting for me to paint. lol  I assumed it would be gone actually.. then last week (well into winter now! lol) it came up on the site again.  SO I phoned her.  Apologized for leaving her hanging.  James went the next night.. brought it home and ended up paying $80 for the island and baskets.  SCORE!  Plus, I already had the paint.. so all we needed on top of that was an little can of polyurethane and we were set!

After 2 coats of paint and 2 coats of polyurethane.. this is what it looks like!  I looooooove it!  I can't remember what the kitchen looked like without it!

 

You can click on the pictures to see them a bit bigger.. it really is fantastic... I wish you could all see it in person! hee!  Our kitchen was one of the things that we didn't get to select many of the materials when making the decisions on the house.. we bought the house after it already had a start on it, so all the plans were already made.. it was seriously like pulling teeth to make the changes that we did.  The cabinets were one of our changes.. and they actually went in wrong the first time! ahhh!  But the counter top and backsplash are soooo very neutral (we didn't get to pick those.. well we might have been able to fight them.. but we chose our battles carefully ha ha ..they aren't bad though, so we chose to battle them on something else! lol), I am so happy to have a bit of a 'statement making' piece in the kitchen now!  Something that is 'us' so to speak!  

 

 

I also recovered the stools a few weeks ago.. those are originally 'garage stools' found in the automotive department... and they were sooooo cheap! lol  So cheap, that the vinyl cracked and peeled within months of having them.. children's picky little fingers didn't help the situation all that much either! lol  I covered them with fabric this time.. I was going to do vinyl again, but I was bored one day.. I had the fabric here, so I figured I would give it a go! lol  Definitely won't peel this time! hee heee!

 

It is definitely coming along.. the island to me, made the difference... to me, it is finally a cozy kitchen.. the way I picture a kitchen.  Not bad for $80 hey!?

Later! :) 

he can be sooo sneaky sometimes!

A quick story to share this morning.  Then I have to run to town and grab some groceries and some cat litter (because OMG we are out, and the litter box is sooo nasty).. and some yarn... for some fun Christmas stuff.  Busy day!  Then home to scrap.. because a deadline isn't a deadline unless you cram on the day it is due right? ha!

OK.. the story.  So, the other night.. I am in the kitchen waiting for James to get home.  He had picked up Pizza and we were huuuungry, so we were just chillin' right there in the kitchen waiting for him! lol  He also went to Home Depot to pick up some doors (my yellow paint project).. when he got home, I knew he had to unload the doors.. so I went to go out to his truck to grab the pizza, so he wouldn't have to make quite as many trips into the house.  Well, he grabbed the pizza out for me instead, and then passed it to me.  I thought hmmm weird. lol  Then I bugged him about having something hidden in the truck that I couldn't see. ha!  I took the pizza in, and he carried the doors in.

Harley was helping himself to the pizza (seriously reached up to the box and pulled out a slice and then walked around munching.. like I said, we were hungry! lol).. so I was trying to help him with that (James was back outside at this point)... then the house phone rang.  I went to answer it.. the caller ID said it was my cell phone.  WHAT?  My cell phone was sitting RIGHT THERE beside the house phone.  What the heck is happening?? OMG.. I seriously did not know what to think!  I am saying hello? hello? ..no answer.  WHAT? lol

Then walks in James carrying the prettiest white box I have ever seen.  Holding one of these..

AHHHHHHHHHHH! lol  Sneaky isn't he?  OMG.. eeeeeeeeeeeek!  He is so bad, but ohhhhh sooooooooo gooooooood! heeee!  Oh yes, he knows I have a thing for sparkly gadgets! lol  I still can't get over the fact that he just went and did it, and surprised me! heee!  I have the one on the right there.. a shiny white one!  It is soooo purrrrrty! lol  Seriously cool.  Seriously seriously best hubby in the whole entire world! ;)  I suppose the persistent 'white or black' question the night before make a little more sense now.. I kinda figured maybe there would be a box under the tree, and that was why he was asking... never in a million years did I think he would do this!  Crazy man of mine.  Oh how I love him. :)

Really though?  HOW FREAKED OUT WAS I??  My cell phone that was sitting there phoning the house?  Oh yes.. I think he cooked up this plan and haaaad to go get the phone just so he could follow through with it. lol  He likes playing tricks like that!  Nahhh.. he is just the bestest hubby ever!!  xoxo  OR.. maybe he just wanted me to stop yapping about the phone, it has been kinda non stop chatter in the house since our provider started carrying them about a month ago! hee heee! lol ;)

So, to pay him back (for his little horror movie phone call trick lol)..

 

A picture of him in his undies! ha!  My very first picture from my phone! lol  The protective plastic was still on.. couldn't bring myself to take it off quite yet! hee heee!

How fair is that hey?  He surprises me with an iPhone, and I take (and post) a picture of him in his undies.  Oh yes.. that is true love I tell you! xoxo <3 <3 <3  Love you babe! :)