New Appreciation...

...for the kitchen sink!

Yes, you read that right, I have a new found appreciation for the kitchen sink. I also FINALLY understand the meaning behind "they packed everything; including the kitchen sink" I'm never leaving it behind again - EVER!

Hubby and I have been diligently working on our kitchen main floor renovation for the past 3 weeks...and well, we're exhausted, and also can't wait for the end.  We're so close we can both see it.  When I say close, I mean close to something functional - something that has a kitchen sink ;)  

Which brings up my dilemma - what kind of sink do I we really want!? I'm pretty sure we will go with a single one, I really like the look of it but there are so many shapes and sizes!  What to do, what to do; I've shown some of my favourites below.  

Guess I better decide soon, we're going to pick out our counter top tomorrow! 

Home stretch!

Our Honeymoon

Newly Acquired Hubby and I patiently eagerly waited for take-off for over 6 months before we went on our honeymoon!  But we made it - 3 connections and a LOT of airport lounge hanging out time later - we landed in one of the most breathtaking places I've ever seen - Bora Bora! 

Our pictures barely capture what we saw.  Rather than tell you I thought I’d reminisce and share my favourites. 

First glimpse of paradise - view of Moorea from our resort in Tahiti

the water was crystal clear - I liked the colour of this guy

Sunset in Tahiti

of all the airports I've been in - none compare to this

waited 6+ months for this picture

*sigh* 

2pm feeding everyday for these guys; scared us on day 1 when they just appeared

rain on one side, sun on the other

tranquility

shows just how far away from home we really were

picture postcard 

final glimpse of our resort *tear*

I did ask if I could stay...I was forced on the plane against my will...swear!

We're always asked the same questions to which the answer is always the same.

• Was it worth the wait? Absolutely
• Would we go back? Absolutely (once we save our pennies again)
• Should 'I/we' add to our bucket list? ABSOLUTELY move it to the very top!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, it really was the trip of a life time and the perfect "delayed honeymoon"! 

Kitchen Plans!

It’s here it’s here…it’s finally here!  It's time to renovate our kitchen, and by kitchen I mean our entire main floor…and you know who I blame for this?! Hubby, that’s who…he put this silly little idea into my head and when I get an idea I just run, run like the wind until I’ve turned the idea into a reality.  So, yes, hubby is to blame. J

Here is what our kitchen looks like right now. 

 Standard builder's cabinets and fixtures

it's pretty tight for 2 people

There really isn’t anything wrong with our cabinets; they just don’t work for us and we need more space!  We have actually donated these cabinets to our local Restore (more on this later).

Here's what the rest of main floor looks like.

I got a little excited and started taking things down before I remembered to take pictures!

 

If you know me personally, you know that the carpet in those photos is my nemesis; I should have taken it out when I moved in 4 years ago but I didn’t; and now I am so VERY excited to take it to curb, you have no idea just how excited I am! We haven’t really used the carpeted space in a functional way…it’s a mishmash of furniture and things with no real purpose, except an extra spot to watch TV and a place for  Miss Manola to sleep.  I’ll keep you posted on how we’re going to tackle this space...right now just removing the carpet will make me feel so much better.

Here are a couple more photos to capture the ‘before’.

Until we make real progress, here’s a bit of inspiration so that you can see where I’m WE (we’re in this together) where WE are heading ;) 

look at how pretty and wonderful it will be

The plan is to open the kitchen up and create an 'L' and include a small island around the wall next to the dishwasher (we can't move that sucker, it's got duct work and a support beam).  All of the tile and carpet will be replaced with hardwood and nasty lighting will be removed right after the carpet is at the curb ;) 

I’m so giddy, I can’t wait to get started!  Wish us luck J

Burlap Planter

Heya!  I've got a very small and simple project to share with you today. I'm a farmer's daughter and have a mother with TWO, yes TWO, green thumbs...so you would think that I too have the magic touch for growing things...while I don't. That's what makes this project so amazing - it's actually still alive! :D


A while back I found this and it was instant love with the burlap and I needed it to be on my porch ASAP. 

Source

I picked up a liner at good old Home Depot for $6 and grabbed some plants while I was there.  

I already had left over burlap from my wreath project and found some ribbon at the bottom of my crafting bin. 

I cut the burlap in a large square around the liner; and added the flowers and potting soil to the liner; final step was to wrap the burlap up around the liner.  If you have a second pair of hands you may want them for this step, otherwise you may struggle like I did;)  It took 4 tries before I was able to properly get the ribbon tied around the burlap.

As we all know, I am terrible with pictures, so here's a few showing off my plant that is STILL ALIVE!!!

It looks super cute on the porch with my other flowers (that are also still alive) - OK I totally rely on my mom coming by each week and picking at them and hope that water does the trick ;)

Total Project Cost - $21!!!!
- $6 for the liner
- $15 for the plants
I already had the burlap, ribbon and potting soil.



What do you think?  I like it! It's simple, cute, easy and effective!


See that chair in the background, I'm thinking of spray painting it, but not sure of the colour, any suggestions?

Happy Victoria Day!

I think we can all agree that this weekend was pretty fantastic - the sun was shining, us Canadians got an extra day and depending on where you live you could catch some fireworks!


Thought I would share with you how I spent my weekend. I'll also use this as a "sneak peek" of my front porch makeover that I have been working on :) 


Here's what I go up to the past 3 days...

FINALLY painted the front door 

did a little gardening

added in some burlap

caught a Jays game 

enjoyed a beverage (or two;))

and caught up on some zzzz's

Don't you just love long weekends?  Makes me wish that every weekend could be a long one. 

What did you get up to?  

 

Burberry Tote Giveaway!

Ok, I am not giving away a Burberry Tote; but I do want one!  I found someone who is hosting a give-a-way - YuppyLady!

Source: YuppieLady

Head on over, check out full contest details and the other fun things she's got going on!  I've entered this one myself so I wish you only a bit of luck ;)

The Rise (and Love) of Pinterest

Move over Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms - Pinterest is here and I think it’s staying; it’s the latest form of social media and it’s generating a lot of buzz!  Lately, Pinterest has been popping up everywhere – blogs and magazines; and now with the integration with Twitter and Facebook it’s even on my news feeds!

For those not familiar with Pinterest it’s an online bulletin board allowing you to collect images of all your favourite things and post them to your boards – I like to refer to my boards for inspiration. When you pin something new your followers will see it; they can like, comment or re-pin to their personal boards.  Depending on the content your pins have the ability to go viral just like a Facebook status or a Tweet.

Does anyone else find themselves pinning all of the time? I pin over coffee, I pin while watching TV, I pin while on the phone and occasionally I pin on my lunch hour – for someone that often wants more hours in the day I seem to be dedicating a lot of my precious little time to this site.  I hope I am not alone…someone please tell me I am not alone!

I read on Mashable.com that Pinterest is actually driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google and LinkedIn combined - that’s insane.  Maybe Pinterest isn’t for all businesses; after all, not everyone sells fancy white dresses and home renovation products ;) but it is something to consider.  Where else do you have this kind of access to this many consumers – consumers who are pinning and researching; consumers who are telling you exactly what they want?  Attention small businesses – get on the bandwagon you are currently missing out on sales!

When I first joined Pinterest; I started with inspiration boards for the wedding; since then I have graduated to the “Hubby, can we do this…???” board(s) – stay tuned to see if any of my pins become a reality during our renovation phase ;)

Here’s a peek at 2 boards I have been building up.

For the Home

My Style

All of these things will eventually be in a house I live in – hopefully sooner rather than later! ;) 

As a budding blogger, DIY’er and somewhat of a domesticated house-wife  Pinterest is a great OK SAVIOUR for inspiration; if it happens to also kill some of my precious little time I am OK with that too.