Monday, December 23, 2013

Good-bye Buddy

 It's hard to believe it's that time again.  



If you were wondering what the candy puzzle looked like, here it is!  
We had so much fun doing it.


I will be on vacation now until January.  Have a wonderful Christmas and come on back in the New Year when that delightful and amazing organization bug will start biting!






Sunday, December 22, 2013

Jingle Bells

When this adorable sleigh arrived here as a hostess gift, 
Buddy couldn't resist taking the Jingle Bells lyrics literally.


Now the ground is white
Go it while you're young, 
Take the girls tonight
and sing this sleighing song!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Buddy Gets Locked Out

Sofi hasn't been too pleased with Buddy's use of her Rainbow Loom and Jets hat,


so he tried to make amends.


Who could resist that grin?

Friday, December 20, 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

G'night Jets

Sofi's fabulous uncle got her a great souvenir last night from the Jets.  
Buddy wasted no time in taking over.



Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Rainbow Loom

I do not know how he does that with his little hands all sewed together.


If you're not familiar with the Rainbow Loom, it's only THE hip gift this Christmas.  
You can tell this because the elves are using them.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Another One Bites the Dust

Despite a day spent resting up with sick kid number 3,


Buddy (and kid number 4) fell ill again last night.


It's a multifaceted flu.
I like how Buddy remains cheerful throughout.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Sick

With 3/4 of my kids struck with some form of flu this weekend, this really was inevitable.


Poor Buddy.  

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Puzzle Bath

Christmas part one brought along a puzzle for the kids.  
I think Buddy is excited to get started.  


Me too!!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

How DID He Carry That?

If you ever had doubts about his magic, you can set them aside today.  There's no way that tiny elf carried that ping pong table down for the kids, so obviously,  it was magic.  
It certainly wasn't some parent up till 2am setting it up!


Today is Christmas (part one) around here.  Can't wait to watch them play!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Creative Surge

A good night's sleep gets the creativity flowing!


Not, that I'd know personally.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Shhhhhhh!

It's rough being an elf.


I wonder if I could tape a sign on myself...

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Buddy Crochets

It's not maybe his number one elf skill...


Perhaps if his hands were not attached?

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Monday, December 9, 2013

Buddy Returns

Buddy made his come back today.  


I can't wait to see what trouble he'll get into.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Elf on a Shelf

Buddy will be coming to visit us in early December.  We'll be skipping the first week due to some travel, but if you need ideas, check back on the 9th.

In the meantime, my elf, the one I had growing up, has been up to a bit of mischief himself.  
He gets to sit out as decor, unlike Buddy who only arrives in December.



The other day when I walked into the kitchen, I found him hanging out with some Barbies.
It was only Cate and I at home that day.



She laughed and laughed and was quite proud of her trick on Mama.

The best part?  
When she cleaned up she used a spoon to carry him.


Cause every kid knows you don't want to touch an elf and make him lose his magic.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Christmas Tree Decorating 101

 I thought it might be fun to discuss the organization of tree decor.

To start, let me say, in the real/artificial debate, real wins for me every time.
However, circumstances have dictated that we go with artificial for the past few years.  I miss the real tree very much. 

Okay, let's dig in.

If you ignore everything I say for the rest of the post, please, please at least follow step 1.

Fluff

It was really tricky to get a shot of squished vs fluffed branch but basically, after your tree emerges from storage you need to take the time to go through every branch and straighten and fluff out the wires.
Yes, I did say every branch.

Before
After


Once you have your tree all prepared,



move on to step 2.

Layer

Sort your ornaments into categories.  
For Cate and I, it was easy...we just did one type of ornament at a time.  Start with one category and space them out evenly. 

Red balls.



White snowflakes.



Mirrored ornaments.



You may have to sort by colour of ball or by size of ornament.  The key is to layer everything evenly all the way around the tree and from top to bottom.  Stand back and check it out every so often.

I chose to go easy on the decorations this year, but even if your tree is loaded, just make sure you're spacing things evenly.



Step 3

Tinsel

My favourite part is tinsel which looks like this in daylight,



and gets all glittery fabulous at night.



Have fun!
And remember, there's never too much tinsel.

White Christmas



Thursday, November 28, 2013

Renovation Reveal - Dining Room

Here's a before of the dining room.  
The window had to be filled in since there is now a room on the other side of it instead of the outdoors..



And here it is now!



Take a closer look at some of my favourite features.

My hutch travelled from its 1994 state into the 21st century, providing my milk glass collection a home.  

Before
After





















The stippled ceiling got a make-over.  



 I've always wanted to add some writing to the wall!



These guys have been in storage for quite awhile.


And probably my favourite feature in the entire renovation, the pantry doors.  Dino did an amazing job of making my exact request a reality.
I just LOVE them.  
And him.


It's been lovely to get to sit down to eat again.  Squishing into our 4 stool kitchen was getting old.

HUGE thanks to all our friends who so generously gave their time to help us see this project through!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Renovation Reveal - Living Room

 As you may remember, the last peek at our living space involved this wall



coming down to open into our addition.



Here's the view from the other side...in the addition looking toward the old living room.
Obviously, a lot had to be done still...tape, mud, baseboards, trim,



and paint.



One more time?



Ta daaaaaaaaaa!



My very fabulous and talented husband has been working tirelessly on all the finishing touches.

Let's take a little tour.

The baseboards are fantastic.  LOVE them.
And having trim around our front door (rather than insulation) is dreamy.






















Here we have the beverage corner.  Now you see why I needed so many chairs!



One of my very most favourite details are the curtain rods that Dino built using plumbing piping.  He did an amazing job!



On the decor side, my skis are a favourite.  I got them last year at a yard sale for $5.  Love them.  And my newly bashed up chairs are pretty happy in there too.






It's so nice to have so much space for a Christmas tree!



And over here, we have another whole room!  We're calling it the sitting room...I know, so original.  



Favourites here include a school house light from Old House Revival and a fireplace, and, more skis!





















Let's have a last look...

Before

After

If you are wondering about the paint, I did choose the dark sample which is Benjamin Moore's Templeton Grey.

Dino, you are a miracle worker.
Thank-you for the sleepless weeks and countless hours of work you put in to give our family this dream space.