Setting Up Home

Decal Fun

2010-04-14T10:30:00.000-04:00

I purchased some decals for the nursery a few months ago.

They took a little while to get here, and once they did (surprise, surprise) I was indecisive as to where they should go. One day I just put them up.

The giraffe is on the wall as you walk in:

And the birds (an extra one on account of the delay in the seller getting them out) are on a mirror that will eventually go above the crib.

No, the nursery isn't completely complete yet, but it's ok-she's still sleeping in our room for a little while longer. Also, I thought the birds were a little girly if it were a boy, so I didn't want to commit to tacking the mirror up if it was a boy. And since we've found out it was a girl, well, we've been busy.

Anyway, the process was super easy and kind of fun actually. Just decide on your placement, rub, peel, tape, rub and peel again. Presto!

Unfortunately now though, hubs loves the process and wants to buy every wall decal he sees.

The basketeers

2010-04-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

Any Friends fans out there that get the title? Anyone?

Anyway, storage is always an issue for everyone. Especially little babies who come with proportionately WAY more stuff that their size should allow. So, once hubs installed the closet system, it was up to me to figure out how we were going to organize all Hailey's (at the time his/her) many things.

Good old HomeSense is always a great spot for baskets and I found some really nice ones that came in a bunch of sizes and were pretty darn nice as is frankly.

But, since we didn't know the gender of our babe, I thought this liner was a little too feminine in case it was a little boy who came along. So in all my foolishly eager newbie seamstress-ness, I decided to sew all new basket liners for the 6 baskets I bought. Who do I think I am?!?!

After some figuring and some almost-running-out-of-fabric, I finally got them all done.

I chose the polka dot fabric I'd used on the lamp shades and the rocker pillow so there'd be some consistency/pseudo-theme running through the room.

In the end, I really like them and I'm glad I was able to complete them, but man-will I ever NOT do that again.

DIY Nursery art

2010-04-12T11:09:00.000-04:00

Admittedly, most of the art in the nursery is DIY. And why not? It's personal, cheap and custom.

This is one idea that my sister and I both stole from Wanderluster at Rambling Renovators, but it's a great one.

It's a shadow box with a collage of all the shower cards I'd received. Great idea, no? Especially since the cards are so sweet and cute, and what the heck else are you going to do with a stack of them otherwise?

The idea had always been in my head, I just procrastinate like it's my calling so never got around to doing anything about it. Enter big sis-included in her friends shower gift was a shadow box for that very purpose.

And here it is. I'm happy to report that at least a piece of every single shower card I received is represented in here somewhere.

And here it is in action when you first walk in the nursery. I love it!

Thanks sis! And, of course, all the lovely ladies that gave me the medium.

My back's saviour

2010-04-09T10:54:00.000-04:00

In the last month, I have logged many hours in this chair. And boy, am I ever glad I took the time and went with one that's comfy and firm...and that's cute-let's be real.

Here it is pre-Hailey, before that side table was covered in cloths, and other baby paraphenalia.

I originally bought that fake sheepskin rug to go around the crib, but it didn't look right, so I tossed it on the back of the chair to be out of the cat's way. Turns out I love it there and it's SOO comfy to lean back against when you're exhausted at 2am and can semi-doze during a feeding.

The other saviour for my back has been the pillow on the chair. Again-originally made just to be cute, but it turns out you have to have all sorts of weird posture while feeding and this little pillow has made them a lot more comfortable.

Overall, the combo has been some of the most useful nursery items so far.

One month

2010-04-08T10:50:00.000-04:00

Wow-I can't believe it.

One month ago today, our little girl was born. Schnikes-that went quickly.

Ready or not, there she came-perfect and screaming as all parents want their babies to be (at first anyways :)).

Since then, she's already changed so much, grown so much and is starting to smile for actual reasons. She's had many MANY visitors, many MANY generous welcome gifts and lots and lots of love.

Ever crib needs a mattress

2010-03-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

I really love our crib. Really, I do. But Holy poop it's given me its share of headaches.

After the refinishing and air hole situations were resolved, we then had to sort out getting a mattress for this thing.

Since it hasn't been used in more than a couple decades (the last person to use it, my youngest sis is now 23), the mattresses it had were a little...um...rough. In fact, here's the one in best condition that my mom had made more than 30 years ago:

So needless to say, I wanted to get something in slightly better shape, and a bit thicker. You see, the crib is pretty deep and while I'll still use the above mattress at the bottom of the crib for a little extra boost, I still need a 5 or 6" mattress on top of it so I'm not doing deep bends every time the baby needs to be picked up or put down. Plus, the higher they are (obviously within reason), the more air circulation...that issue never really goes away.

So I sourced out a couple options from upholsterers, seamstresses, mattress stores, etc. Not too much came up, and when it did, the cost was crazy. Like $250 was the lowest one, and he was doing me a favour.

Yes, I know crib mattresses are available at most department stores and baby stores. And certainly for less than $100, BUT...the mattress needed for this precious crib is 47" x 21", and a standard mattress (all new cribs have essentially the same dimensions) is 42" x 24" or something like that. Shorter and fatter than ours anyways. So...I was on my own.

Even I, in all my ignorance knew that somehow I could do this myself for a lot less than $250. It may not be perfect, but it would be perfectly safe and much more affordable.

So I visited a bunch of fabric stores trying to get as much info as I could. From some of the bigger ones in town, even just the high density foam would run me $150+. Shize.

Then...someone recommended checking out Rockland Textiles . Thank goodness they did!

I got the mattress cut perfectly to size in 2 days for a fraction of the price of anywhere else and I managed to buy baby vinyl for cheap from my angel ( Fabricland on Hazeldean) that recommended them.

I realize I'm making this out to be a much bigger deal that it should be to anyone, but it took SOOO long to finally find this solution.

Then, after repairing a broken sewing machine, a LOT of hand sewing on the ends (to the point of a lasting claw hand), and the serious consideration of duct taping it together, I finally got the mattress covered.

And I gotta say, for someone who couldn't even thread a sewing machine a year ago, it looks pretty damn good.

Of course, though, with a wonky sized mattress, I needed to craft some wonky sized crib sheets. Damnit!

But through the wonder of google, a bit of free time and the stubborn insistence that I could do it, I managed to figure it out somehow and have made a couple fitted (yep-like with elastic corners!!!) sheets that perfectly fit (if I may say so myself) the mattress.

I'm SO glad it's over and ready for a little donkey in there.

Presto, Change-o

2010-03-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

A super simple and easy project to update any house? Updating the switch plates and plugs.

OK, I'll admit that the main reason this is especially simple, easy (and cheap) for us is because I'm married to an electrician, but still. It's a great way to update an old house.

Especially when the switches and plugs are a mix-match tone, painted all over and just ugly:

And in less than 5 minutes per box, are changed to this:

And, actually, all the plugs are tamper resistant, which means in several months when babe is cruising around and curious, they're a lot safer around the outlets and we don't have to stick those little plastic cover thingy's on all our outlets. Perfect!

I truly can't believe the difference it makes.

Le crib

2010-03-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

If you recall from an update a while ago, progress on our heirloom crib came to a screeching halt about a month ago.

Fortunately, however, since then it's all been remedied and it's now all set up awaiting a babe in the nursery.

A reminder of what the crib looked like in it's original state:

And in an effort to give examples of how it could be altered to allow for some more air circulation, I did up these drawings in my fave program (next to Excel), paint:

Then hubs and I marked them out to see which one(s) we preferred:

And finally, had the slots cut out, and then I primed, painted and verathaned parts of it all over again until we have the finished project:

Which I'm confident allows enough air circulation for our little squirt, especially combined with the wide open top, and how high the mattress initially sits while the baby is really a baby.

Phewf! One less thing to worry about.

Let the trim begin...

2010-03-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

Remember our vibrant main floor living space?

And no, I don't mean that in a complimentary way.

Well, since most of the other immediate big projects are completed, we thought it would be a good time to get started on trim & paint in these blue blue BLUE rooms.

There was an AWFUL lot of patching work in these rooms thanks to 30 years and some not-so-handy previous owners. It's a good thing I'm home from work now to do all this dirty work in the day light.

The first step was trim. Here's the trim that's throughout the entire house:

It's not terrible, but it's pretty small, standard and nothing special. So we got some new trim and here's what it looks like after:

Pretty big difference, non? But it's actually a bit of a cheat. See-the bottom part is trim and that little strip at the top is trim, but that flat space in between? It's just wall painted white. Clever eh? It's a trick many home builders are using to up the value of fairly standard trim. Sure, you can buy 8" trim, but this is a lot cheaper.

So when it's on a whole wall, it looks like this:

Still a hideous wall by any standards, but en route to being much nicer.

And once the trim's done and the wall's painted....well, there you go.

THEN it starts to remind us of a new house...

Especially after the switch plates are all changed!

Love it!

Nursery Project - still thinkin' small

2010-03-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

After the relative success of my last project, I thought I'd try another one.

After a successful shopping trip a few weeks ago, I found these great lamps:

How cute is that giraffe one, seriously? But..the green on the shade was all wrong and I wanted some bit of consistency since we're not doing the whole "bedding set" thing in the nursery.

So, I picked up a new shade

Which I didn't buy to match, just to be a neutral base and for the shape.

And since I still had all that fabric sitting around, I had an idea to do this:

Cute, non? And SO super easy. Now that lamp is one of my favourite things in the room.

Nursery Project - beginning small

2010-02-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

Knowing how I am, I knew there'd be a lot of DIY planned for the nursery. This is a great thing, I think-it personalizes the space, and often times saves some coin...both perfect. The unfortunate thing is that in planning, I always think I'm more creative, handy and capable that I really am.

So, I had to start small on the seamstress projects. A pillow cover. Simple, right? Usually yes, but this was a pillow cover for a breastfeeding pillow, which are all wonky shaped. Still pretty straight forward, though.

Here's the before pillow I got from a friend who's all done with her baby-feeding days:

So I washed that, and still had all that fabric I thought I'd use hubs' pick to cover the pillow. After a lot of shoving and tweaking and a healthy dose of hand sewing, here it is:

I really like it, and think it's pretty darn cute.

Banister completion

2010-02-24T09:42:00.010-05:00

If you recall, almost immediately upon moving in over 2 months ago, hubs and I ripped up almost all of the carpet in the house and tore out the banisters. They had to be replaced since they weren't up to code for little ones and, well, they weren't all that pretty.

So for several weeks, after the new carpet was installed and eventually once the hardwood was completed as well, we just had no banisters. We've become used to living with things 'in progress', but it was getting a little dangerous with each passing day that I couldn't see my feet. So...we priced out several options-basic DIY, medium DIY, our preferred DIY as well as several supplied & installed options since hubs had never done banisters before.

In the end, he really wanted to try them himself, and after looking at the options, the ones we really wanted weren't all that much more expensive, and for the sake of a couple hundred bucks, we were both willing to bite the (smaller than expected) bullet and get the good stuff. (Plus, for any other Canadians who know, if we bought them quick, they supplies would have counted towards the home renovation tax credit-perfect!).

So we bought the oak newel posts and installed them first (and you can see where I got anxious and tested out some of the stain):

And somehow the stain we had on hand that had been used to refinish the dining room table years ago matched almost perfectly to the hard wood. I don't think we could have bought custom stain that would have been better. Jackpot!

The next step was a bit trickier. Nothing hubs couldn't handle, but he (I won't pretend I had anything to do with it) had to cut the posts to size and install them equi-distant apart, get them in the floor (mix of hardwood and carpet), bang them in and then screw then to the handrails.

But the end result is fantastic! Nothing short of a pro job I think. And now my mom can stop complaining about vertigo when she stops by :)

Update

2010-02-24T09:38:00.002-05:00

Wow! So it's been a while.

When I last posted, I'd had one surprise shower and received a lot of loot for the pending arrival (10 days until EDD!!!) We still had loads to do in the nursery, not to mention work that needed to be done on the house in general.

Since then, since it's been a month afterall, quite a lot has gotten done.

Banisters are done, crib's done, I've somehow become a half decent seamstress, several crafty projects have been done and we've started painting the main level. Oh! And hubs has installed hard wired lighting in the bedrooms, so we have light that's not just a lamp.

I'll post several updates in the coming days as I'm now off work and not training my replacement, so I have the time to give some updates.

Le Floorplan

2010-01-29T10:00:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, we're finally getting our (bigger every day) behinds in gear to make progress on the nursery so that we're prepared when the peanut joins us.

To help get myself organized and know what needs to be done/bought/moved, etc, I went to my part-time bff Paint and did up a little floorplan:

We've got, or have ordered most of the big pieces seen here, so it's just a matter of getting it all and setting it all up, and then decorating, which I have several ideas for. Hopefully it starts coming together in the next week or so so I can get to the decorating part-that's always the most fun :)

Nursery Progress

2010-01-28T11:25:00.003-05:00

We're finally making head way on the nursery. I should hope so with an estimated 36 days left until our family becomes 3. Um...36 days? Yep-I just triple checked...gulp!

My sisters threw me a fantastical surprise shower a couple weekends ago, and the once empty nursery quickly filled with baby paraphenalia.

And I loooove our new dresser. Hubs and I both kind of want to steal it for our own room. But, no-it was bought for the nursery, so there it'll stay...for now :) It fits loads of the little sleepers, onesies and what not that we got prior to and at the shower (I say we, but hubs was gratefully relieved of shower attendance duty).

We'd also finished up painting a couple weeks ago, and it's all been touched up and prettified.

Next up was/is filling the space with baby furniture and decorating it a bit so it's nice, fun and cozy. So I purchased the following decals from Etsy after way too much deliberation:
Source - in brown

Source - in white

And I've had a hard time finding a rocker/glider that I liked. There are the typical ones, which are nice enough, but I wanted something a little more streamlined and a little less busy looking (with all those gliding parts and hinges it was a bit busy for me) and I finally came across this little beauty:
Which is hand made in Ontario! Bonus! It's made by Off Your Rocker and I've heard some great reviews on WB.

Crib progress is at a bit of a standstill though unfortunately. I've painted and verathaned it a few times, but at our pre-natal class, a little issue of air circulation was brought up, so I called Health Canada and they don't really condone cribs with solid sides and no slats or anything in them for air circulation because of the risk of SIDS (aka every parent and parent-to-be's nightmare acronym). So now we've got to discuss with my dad and decide whether to modify the heirloom crib or go buy a new one entirely.

I've also bought drapes, a rug, a closet organizer, some cute accessories and our lighting fixtures are finally in! So there's a good amount of manual labour coming our way to get these things installed, but I know they're really going to get it looking a lot more like an actual room rather than a storage closet.

2010-01-21T14:07:00.005-05:00

After a couple little stumbles on account of not being able to see my feet, we've finally got some progress on our banisters! Yay!

We loooved the banisters at our last house, so we wanted to somewhat replicate them in this house. (Seems like we're attempting to clone it, non?). So we got a few quotes, priced it out at good old HD and eventually, hubs admitted he really wanted to do it himself, and HD had the best prices for materials. So there we went.

For the record, I acknowledge that I don't have enough faith in hubs, which I should. I really thought this could turn out to be a mess. But, alas-he has proved himself and proved me wrong again. He's done a fantastic job.

A reminder of what we were looking at on moving day:

And after the stairs and hardwood were done:
Which already was a huge aesthetic improvement, but from the lookout point, it was a bit of vertigo that needed to be remedied.

So we got some oak newels:
And stained them using a store bought stain that we couldn't have paid to have custom made to match the hardwood any better:
So now it's just a matter of figuring out how to macgyver the wrought iron posts in since they don't come in the length we need them.

So from this:
To this:

I'm pretty pleased.

Nursery Fabric has arrived! (Mostly)

2010-01-15T12:28:00.003-05:00

After a discouraging trip to a few local fabric stores, I decided to hit up J Caroline Creative to get some fabrics-knowing that they had lots I've been interested in before, and certainly more variety.

And did I EVER find some I liked. In the end I had a list of 15 that I was deciding between and settled on these ones after a consult with hubs :

So the first 2 are the main-ish fabrics in the room (although the 1st one is backordered) and the last 2 I just couldn't resist. Got them to make a couple pillows or blankets or something with.

So cute though, non? Now I need to decide what on earth I need 11 yards of fabric for when I'm an amateur seamstress at best!

One thing at a time-Kitchen Windows edition

2010-01-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hubs and I have made no secret of the laundry list of things we'd like to do in our new place (or the fact that we're actually pretty stoked to do it all).

We've (ahem, he's) already been working quite hard and gotten a lot done, but there's still A LOT to do. So, we're trucking away at the list piece by piece.

Next up was the kitchen window coverings. Prompted by the neighbouring homeowner at their kitchen at the same time as I was and a glance out the window at each other, I decided to bump this up on the list.

A reminder of where we started:
Which, honestly, was vastly improved simply by taking them down and having nothing on those windows. But that was just a transition until the next day when we installed wooden slat blinds in the place of the doileys:

Despite the colour of the walls AND the kitchen door, it's already a huge improvement and a very welcome change into the 21st century. Scratch that-half of the 20th century wouldn't even have used the doiley curtains. Regardless, an improvement.

Although the improvement is making the rest of the kitchen look bad, I have to keep reminding myself---baby steps! Can't do everything at once.

DIY Nursery Art

2010-01-06T15:48:00.004-05:00

I've mentioned once before about alphabet & animal posters that I really liked for the nursery. Unfortunately the ones I've found on Etsy weren't available in poster format, which I wanted.

What's a girl to do but make 'em herself then!

A few stock photography and a very basic knowledge of Photoshop, and here we are:
Cute, non? So now I've started barely accumulating stuff for the nursery and actually starting painting yesterday so I guess I've started 'nesting'.

Flooring Done-ito!

2010-01-05T13:00:00.001-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen (haha-as if there are plural people reading this), our flooring is finally done!

Hubs spend his 2 week vacation working harder than he does regularly (which is incredibly hard and labour-intensive to begin with), but he's done and we're finally ready to MOVE IN!!!

A reminder (once again) of what was there December 11th, when we physically moved in:

So basically, in a word-blue. In 2 words-blue and ugly. (ok, ok, blue and outdated, I'll be nice)

Here's some progress and carnage pics for good measure:

And...the end result (with some insane mess and feline tour guides:

Up next: banisters and painting! I guess hubs' 'vacation' sn't over for a while yet ;P

The crib project

2010-01-04T13:51:00.003-05:00

So I can officially say that the nursery progress has progressed. Incredibly slowly and nothing big, mind you, but you gotta start somewhere.

One of the big projects for the room is the crib. We are actually going to be using the very crib that my Oma (dutch grandmother) brought over by boat from Holland 50+ years ago, used for her 7 children and was then used for myself and my 3 siblings. Neat, huh?

It's a sturdy piece of furniture, that's for sure. So before anyone starts wondering if it's safe and in accordance with all the new standards, here's a photo:

It's solid oak and very sturdy, so I'm confident my little peanut will be in good hands.

However, hubs and I aren't real 'oak-y' people. Love the wood-not necessarily the colour. So...we've discussed with my father, who'd discussed it with my Oma before she passed away in November, and both were completely ok with us sanding it down and refinishing it in a darker stain.

So I got to work sanding it. Wore the motor out of 1 palm sander actually before buying a new, better one and making much quicker progress with it. Once it was all sanded, I tried a section with the stain..and it just wasn't working. Like, at all. It's some very old wood and I was using a water-based stain (better for the babe), and the two are just not a match made in heaven, unfortunately for me.

My dad then suggested just painting it. Obviously I'd thought of that, but didn't want to make the call to paint over a family heirloom piece from a family (and paternal grandfather) who LOVE their wood. But he said he'd ask his sisters and a painter-friend to see if they had a problem with it/ had an alternate solution for it. There wasn't and they didn't, so we bought the paint yesterday.

The CIL website is under construction, so I couldn't find an actual swatch of the colour, but it's Stonebridge Brown and (on my monitor, at least) closely resembles this:
So it'll hopefully be a much updated crib and it starts tonight with priming, so I'm very excited.

Hardwood Part 2 getting there

2009-12-29T12:55:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone had a nice, family-filled and relaxing holiday.

I certainly did, although the relaxing bit was a bit out of sight. It was still very much enjoyable.

Hubs and I spent a lot of time prepping the main floor living room and kitchen and started on the flooring in there. My FIL is in town today to help hubs with some more of the hardwood, but mostly just to spend some QT together and see the new place.

Started with the front hallway section since there's a staircase and bullnosing required there:

Looks good non? Now we just need banisters!

And here's hubs getting to work on the living room (and yes, the room IS that vibrant blue-it's not just my camera this time):

God! I can't wait until it's done and I can paint those blasted walls!

And although the kitchen got off to a rocky start with floating laminate, plywood screwed down about a zillion times, vinyl and MORE particle board that is a PITA to rip up not to mention a leaking dishwasher (this house is haunted with water ghosts), we ended up getting it all up by puck drop last night so it's 98% prepped for installation today.

See all the screws-I told you! I'm a mad woman with a drill now though after so much practice:

And if past evidence was not proof enough of the poor taste this home has a history of, please note the vinyl flooring that used to be in the kitchen:

Yes-REALLY! And the cabinets used to be dark. Can you imagine!!!!! I'm so glad I wasn't around in the 70's! And I'm so glad that we're replacing it!

I am SO excited for what I'll be coming home to tonight! ANd tomorrow we're (ahem-hubs) is installing a new patio door and getting to work on the dining room hardwood, and then...and then the flooring's done!

The Family Room

2009-12-29T12:43:00.003-05:00

Since I didn't get around to taking it once the hardwood was actually complete and furniture moved in, here's a quick shot I snapped this morning of the completed family room.

We (I) quickly added some Christmas decorations so that it'd feel a bit like home on Christmas morning. It somehoe manages to be half-assed AND over the top at the same time.

Oh well, it's Christmas and we only decorated 1 room amid lots of construction and moving, so naturally it's going to be a bit off.

Here's the view from the upstairs perch:

From the acutal stairs coming into the room:

And of the other side of the room:

I actually really love it. It's SUCH a different room from when we viewed and bought the house, it's ridiculous. And yes, it's a bit messy in the pics, but it's a bit messy most of the time, so there you go.

And also yes, that's a pot at the foot of the red chair-we came back from visiting family to a lovely little leak on the floor. Merry Christmas new homeowner's! It hasn't leaked since and we had someone by to look at it yesterday and it's most likely all fixed now that he's caulked the poop out of it. But we're advised to keep the decorative floor pot there until there's a nice sunny day to melt the snow just to make sure. Nice, huh?

Hardwood Part 1 complete

2009-12-21T13:02:00.006-05:00

Wow--a HUGE transformation took place at our new home over the weekend. And I LOVE it!

Hubs worked him little buns off to get the family room flooring done this weekend to give himself a head start for Christmas holiday project-and he did great!

First, a reminder of what we purchased with the home:

And the already dramatic difference that ripping up and replacing the upstairs & stairs carpeting did:

And then after that nasty blue carpet was ripped up (and watching our new favourite show The Sing Off):

Hubs started on Friday, so here are some mid-way pics taken Saturday am:

And the beautiful, SO much better final product (at dusk on Saturday, so lighting's wonky):

And yesterday we had some helpers with us to move our family room furniture in and I got my butt in gear getting some Christmas decorations up so that we'll at least have 1 room that's festive to wake up to on Friday. I haven't had a chance to snap pics of that yet, but I just had to post the progress.

Now we're only missing a bit of moulding, some banisters and then this room's flooring is done.

Next stop-the main level! *shutter*

Great work J!

Let the renovations begin!

2009-12-17T09:00:00.001-05:00

Hubs and I have never really been the patient kind. I mean, we are in life, but not really when it comes to stuff we want or want done.

Enter fixer-upper home. Project for the renovation eager!

We closed on Friday.

First thing Saturday morning, we had new laundry appliances delivered and replaced those because really...these are what were there: (and yes, we picked up a new laundry tub too):We also had carpet installers in to measure where we're replacing all the carpet (to be clear--it's ALL getting ripped up, but only the stairs and top floor are getting carpet again. The rest will be hardwood or ceramic).

Hubs also went to town with his saws-all cutting out the existing banisters. They were going to get replaced anyways, and this is just easier for carpet installation and they weren't up to code in regards to the distance between them, so with a bambino on the way-better to get 'em safe.

We also picked up a truckload of hardwood that'll be installed in the next 2 weeks.

Then-on Sunday hubs, my brother and his GF went to town ripping up the top floor carpet in anticipation of Monday's install.

Yep-on Monday we had the carpet guys in to install the new delicious carpeting!

A reminder of what was there Friday:

(In our squatter bedroom-no point in moving the furniture in just to move it back out the next day)And the post-demo (which could NOT have happened without the help of my bro, his GF and my dad):

Cozy bedrooms, non?And the demo carnage:

And finally after 1 guy worked non-stop from 8-1:30 to create (seriously, he worked so damn hard):

And yes-you'll notice the squatter's moved down to the family room for Sunday night to account for the plywood floors and not wanting to move anything else again first thing Monday am. Fortunately, by mid-afternoon, our room looked like this and was just calling for us to squat there again:

Which we did not do. Instead, we actually moved real furniture in! What a novel idea...and it was SOOO nice to sleep in a real bed again last night:

And here's the best I could do for a close-up of the berber we chose. It goes so well with the hardwood we're installing (which happens to be the exact same wood we installed in our last place)Which Max really seems to enjoy.

It's so nice to have part 1 done. Now at least in the upstairs we can actually move in. And with the hardwood being installed in the next couple weeks while hubs is off for Christmas vacation (heh-some vacation), soon enough we'll be able to be actually moved in.

Can't wait!

First Days

2009-12-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Phew! It really feels so good to be in.

Welcome to our new home the night of move-in (please keep in mind that most of what you are seeing will be changed fairly drastically):

Front Entrance and door to powder room:

The Kitchen, of which my absolute favourite part has got to be the wicked doiley lace curtains:

The Dining Room with the kitchen on the left and patio door to the right:

The living room which connects to the kitchen, entrance and dining room:

The Garage:

The Basement (and hubs' fanny):

The Laundry Room off the basement:

And the workshop off the laundry room:

The mid-level Family Room:

The upstairs hallway looking into the family room:

Spare Bedroom (which served as cat-central until they got used to the move):

The Nursery:

The main bathroom (and arguably the nicest room in the house before Friday):

Our Master Bedroom:

And the piece de resistance, our ensuite bathroom:

Oh yes, it's blue. It's ALL blue. A lovely matte peacock blue as well with several chips, dings and water stains. She's a beaut.

I can't wait to see what it all becomes.

The Big Move-the Sequel

2009-12-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it seems like hubs and I have made a career out of moving. This time we promised each other that we'd at least see an entire holiday season through before moving again. Phewf!

However, this weekend was indeed packed with moving. But now we're in and I'm so happy we are.

The actual moving began Tuesday night, when hubs picked up the moving truck we'd arranged. Unfortunately (kink alert!) it was way too big for our street and never would have fit on our driveway without blocking the whole roundabout. So...we had to downsize which meant more trips.

So we (I use 'we' very loosely since both hubs and my dad kept yelling at me that I shouldn't be helping. I'm pregnant...not decrepit! So I carried a couple light boxes and moved some stuff around aimlessly so he could load the real boxes) packed up all the boxes we had packed-about 45 large boxes and 20 smaller ones and drove them over to my parents house. Their house is about 3 blocks from our new house, so it seemed the most efficient destination.

Then Wednesday's snow storm hit, and that was a treat. But my older sis and her husband came over that evening and helped with some bins and a bunch of the larger furniture. They were a HUGE help and played a mean game of tetris getting so much stuff onto the truck.

Thursday we had FIL come over with his work van to load up all the garage stuff (work bench, tools, etc) and it was PACKED! Also that night, a friend come by and help with even more big stuff (a move really makes you realize how much crap you have) like the piano, cube freezer and other similar things.

After that, we realized that there's still WAY too much stuff, so MIL was going to pick up yet another cube van Friday morning for whatever's left over. (Other than what hubs and I could jam into our own cars). Had some alcohol-free champagne, which is SO not the same and conked out.

Then Friday we were up at the crack of dawn for our lawyer's meeting, brekkie and some more loading & cleaning with the help of my dad and MIL (standard moving day help).

Loaded up and went to hang out at my parents so I could let Max & Layla out of their cages, because, well--don't they just look miserable? They sure sounded miserable with the crying and hissing.

So killed a couple hours and then got the keys around 4:00.

With LOADS of help from friends and family, we managed to unload everything except FIL's van that was getting dropped off Saturday. I can't believe how much help we had (and how much I was shooed).

And now we're IN!!! There's SO much work to do, but we're both so excited about it.

First bit of Christmas for us

2009-12-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

By now, we should be all moved in and starting to unpack.

However, with all the business and, yes, more lists that need crossing off, naturally I'm not going to be online today. I did plan ahead though and actually scheduled some posts---imagine that!

As I've mentioned before-I love Christmas. I mean, obviously most people love the holidays, but hubs has needed to set a limit of December 1st for when I can start decorating and start blaring my Christmas tunes. Sadly, for the past 2 years because of moving, this hasn't been necessary.

Last year we were moving in January, so there were very few decorations around our house and many boxes and bins in their place. This year, we'll be moving in 2 weeks before Christmas and re-doing all the flooring over the holidays-so it doesn't make sense to have more than the odd few decorations out when we'll just have to box 'em back up & move them 5 minutes later.

However, it does still feels like Christmas and I made sure that before I packed up my 6 boxes (yes-6 boxes) of craft-related paraphenalia, I got my Christmas cards made.

And I succeeded, and I think they're my best ones yet.

Here are some of the one-offs I made using stickers, stamps, ribbons, brads and decorative paper:

And some of the mass-produced ones I made with more stamps, ribbons, decorative paper and even a bit of embossing powder:

I actually started by making only one of these, but I liked them so much I mass-produced them, and you can't really tell in the pics, but the 'Happy Holidays' greeting is embossed using, what I affectionately call my crafting dildo. I'm sorry, but really? Have you seen an embossing gun? Tell me you can't see it.

ANYways...after making and liking those ones so much I also tried with a different scheme. I'm not sure which I like best:

By now they're hopefully all mailed out and on their way to my friends and family.

The kink in my seemingly well laid plans though (there's always a damn kink) is that I was 2 short. I counted and counted and counted before I packed everything away, and last Monday when I sat down to start writing them I realized I'd somehow forgotten 2 addresses they'd need to go to. So those 2 will have to be made stat and mailed right away.

Hope you're all feeling the Christmas spirit!

Blog Baby Overload!

2009-12-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yowza!

Who knew there was such a baby boom among some of my favourite bloggers?!?! Well, I guess lots of people since I haven't been checking them as regularly as I once was and announcements were made a while ago.

During some free time, I cruised on over to catch up with the youngsters at Young House Love and quickly found out they were expecting and that they'd announced an upcoming May baby a couple weeks ago in typical youngsters fashion-with help of their first son-Burger.

And while reading their bebe-related Q&A I discovered that Katie over at Bower Power also seems to be expecting! So, obviously I meandered over there next. And found many posts dedicated to their bebe journey and eventually the announcement that, again-was true to blogger form. Katie announced it in a goofy fashion with herself as the model:

Even as a mummy she looks great!

So between these bloggies and some of my other regular reads (including Ramblings of a Renovating Couple and Nicole at Making it Lovely, who are both fairly new moms) it's baby mania. I'm almost afraid to hit up some of my other used-to-be-daily reads in case there's a baby boom there too!

Congratulations to all of you, and I can't wait to see your ideas in the upcoming months as I'm creating our very own nursery. I can't promise I won't steal any (or all) of them, but I definitely am excited.

T-1 day!

2009-12-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

So moving day is tomorrow...and I can't wait!

I'm so excited for this move and the potential it brings (I feel like I've said this before...perhaps about a year ago?)

It's a well known fact that I'm a bit anal-retentive and love to have thins organized and free from my mind. Is this EVER true with something like moving home!

I've had lists of packing schedules, address changes, supplies needed, renovation schedules, and so much more. Heck-I've even had lists of lists! (And no, I'm not even being facetious).

But...it's all paying off. With 1 day to go, we're all set with the truck having been picked up on Tuesday, several items already loaded and a bunch of help scheduled for tonight. And...I can finally say with some degree of comfort that we're pretty much all packed! Yahoo!

Believe it or not, all of these sweemingly chaotic rooms are actually quite organized.

There are the 'base camp' rooms, which is basically the dining room:

And part of the family room:

Which both look quite similar to 10 months ago when I wrote about moving day.

Then there are the clothes and bedroom stuff:

Some more organized chaos in the family room:

front entrance:

and garage:

And some barren land in the basement:

But not all of it,

And all this packing makes for some very pooped family-here's me with my donkeys wiped out late Saturday afternoon.

I have such a love/hate relationship with moving.

More cuteness

2009-12-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Ooh-and I found this one on Etsy as well:Oh dear---this is going to be a problem.

Great wall posters

2009-12-08T12:01:00.002-05:00

Aren't these adorable? (I have a feeling I'll be using that word a lot)

I decided yesterday to start actually making note of some of the nursery ideas that hubs and I have had in the past while and looking for additional ideas. Where to first? Etsy obviously!

After cruising some mediocre wares and some that warranted "favouriting", I found the above decals from seller sixunderatree. They're quite large, and they're vinyl wall decals and are available in B&W or colours. Cute idea, non?

I'd been looking for something similar to use as posters/art in the nursery for a while, but had never quite found the appropriate graphics. So I messaged the seller and asked if she'd be willing to sell the alphabet in 12x18 poster form rather than the large vinyl decals. Unfortunately not. :(

So...if you come across something similar, please let me know. I'm definitely interested.

I wish I'd picked it up...

2009-12-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

I'm sure no one remembers, so I'll remind you.

Back in May when I was still very much in shopping mode for our then-new home. Although-I don't know if I ever really leave shopping mode for anything, but that's besides the point.

ANYways, during one of my spring time jaunts to HomeSense, I came across the cutest lamp I'd ever seen. (You may remember the post here) Isn't it adorable? Seriously-I still love it. I know, I know-those in the design-know blah blah blah probably say that the owl trend has passed or whatever, but I can't help but love it-design trend past, present OR future.

At the time (May 2 specifically) I really REALLY wanted it and even called hubs from the store to ask if he thought I should/could get it. You see-it's not really a lamp that we'd have in our family room or anything, so it's purpose would be saved for a future nursery, and it didn't make sense to buy a lamp we'd (God-willing) be using in who knows how long.

So-that time is now. Yep---one of the driving forces for our sell/purchase/move is to make some changes for the upcoming babe. I'm 6 months pregnant and due March 6, 2010...so less that 3 months to go!!!!!!

And I'm SO excited to get into our new house so I can get started on creating the nursery for our gender neutral design (baby's gender is and will remain a surprise until we hear it from the doc after delivery).

So-be forewarned, not that the cat's out of the bag in my blog land, expect way too many baby & nursery-centric posts.

The Plan

2009-12-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

So, I might have mentioned that our new house (that we get in 5 days!) requires quite a bit of work. Hubs and I have made a list of the things that need to/we want to/should get done. It's quite extensive and will keep us and our bank accounts quite busy:

Replace the washer & dryer (although we've already purchased these-yay)
Carpet: Remove and install new on 3rd level and all stairs
Hardwood: Install on main level & split level
PAINT!
Entrance & Garage Entry ceramic tiles
Replace backyard sliding door
Replace all windows (yep)
Replace kitchen appliances
Replace powder room countertop
Gut & Reno ensuite (it's all blue fixtures, sweet huh?)
Replace front entrance closet doors
paint or replace the powder room door
Remove or replace front screen door
Paint or replace front door
Replace garage entry door
Re-do & expand driveway
Open up main level by removing 2 walls and installing a kitchen island there
Replace ancient, fugly lighting fixtures
Replace banister & spindles
Change electrical panel
Plus: chimney fixes (thanks inspector)
Plus: 3 foundation crack repairs (thanks inspector)

Phew---looks tiring, huh? Hope hubs' is as up for it as he says he is!

December Goals

2009-12-04T09:30:00.001-05:00

Keepin' it short & sweet this month as there'll be lots to do this month and I want to make sure I take some time out to enjoy the holidays.

Send Christmas Cards
Have a real date night with hubs
Have fairly straightforward move
Enjoy the holidays
Eat delicious food and do some holiday baking

That shouldn't be too tough, you think?

Hope you're all taking it easy on yourselves this month!

November Goals-Judgement Day

2009-12-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Holy poop! In all this frustration and excitement, I forgot we've changed months!

Normally hubs has to physically restrain me from putting up Chrismas decorations and blastinc NSync Christmas until December 1st...but not this year. Yikes!

Here we go, I anticipate crummy results:

1. Send cards Completed
2. Have a real date night with hubs Completed
3. Sell House Completed!!!!
4. Buy House Completed!!!! (come on! It counts as November!)
5. Start Christmas shopping Partially completed
6. Meal plan each week Hahaha---not even once
7. Sew something-anything Not completed
8. Try making a stew Not completed
9. Try 1 new recipe Completed-the week I was off sick I tried 2!
10. Have people over for dinner at least once Not completed

Overall, I'd say I broke even. Meh---with #3 & 4 crossed off-I couldn't care less.

Happy Dance

2009-12-03T13:31:00.004-05:00

We got it! We got it! We got it!

Yay-we got the house!!! Late last night after some tough negotiations and some frustration presumably on both, but certainly on our side, the deal was done baby! [exhale]

I'm so pleased and relieved and annoyingly happy today I don't know what to do with myself!

Here's how it played out using pretend numbers(as if you care):

Wed. Nov 25:

Went to see 3 listings, our new home was one of them listed at $274,900 (ok-this number isn't pretend, but I'd already included the MLS link)

It was the only one to date that stuck in our head once we left the door

Thurs. Nov 26:

Decide to make a low offer looking for our very quick closing date

Meet with agent and sign up the offer

Fri. Nov 27:

Seller counters price and a closing of 5 weeks later

We go see another house that I quite like

We counter splitting the difference in price keep the Dec 11 closing

Seller counters price but succumbs to our Dec 11 closing

We ask if we can see the property again before making a decision

Sat. Nov 28:

Visit the property with my pops and our agent

Despite a lot of work that needs to be done and an obvious lie in the listing, we decide to split the difference and counter that

Seller is petty and counters the price once again

We agree to accept because it's only a matter of pennies on the mortgage at this point.

Sun. Nov 29:

Sign papers and offer is done-conditional on an inspection

Visit Home Depot and see bargain on new washer & dryer and snag 'em for delivery at our new house

Schedule inspection for Monday afternoon/evening

Mon. Nov 30:

Inspection is basically the pits. There's a lot of work to be done-most of which we knew about, but some of which is new or more immediate/important/severe than we's anticipated.

We're really discouraged, as seen in an earlier post, but decide to basically counter our very original offer.

Tues/Wed Dec 1 (it kind of gets muddled):

Seller counters price

We split the difference and counter that

Seller is petty once again and counters a stupid amount

We fret

We're about to walk, but decide to counter once again, but before we do, our agent speaks to their agent and together decide a price that might be agreeable to both parties. Fine-we offer that.

They accept!

We all dance for joy!

I exhale for the first time in 4 days!

OK, I realize that's annoying to read if you're not me or hubs (well, even if you are it's pretty dry and annoying), but the most important part is....WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!! It's a house we are going to love, a house that is going to need quite a bit of work, money and TLC, and a house that took a lot of stress to get. But it's ours.

We bought a house...but,

2009-12-01T12:10:00.003-05:00

don't get your hopes up.

This is the house we put an offer in on, negotiated for a while and eventually agreed & accepted:

I deleted it from our search on exterior esthetics alone, but hubs really liked it and wanted to check it out. What have we got to lose by looking, right? So we went to see it last week along with several others. There are definitely cons to it, but a lot of pros as well. So we slept on it, or more accurately in my case-lay in bed awake thinking about it and our options, and the next day had our agent put an offer in on it.

Through several rounds of negotiations, we got our closing date (happy dance!), and eventually an acceptable price. Conditionall sold! Only financing, insurance and an inspection to go.

Financing-check!
Insurance-check!
Inspection....well, it's done. And it was done well. But there wasn't the greatest news that came from it.

Hubs and I aren't dummies. We like the house, love the area, love the potential of it, but realize it's a bad investment at the originally agreed to price. We were absolutely sunk last night. Everyone around could tell.

But, we decided to offer the sellers a reduced price agreeing that we'd waive the conditions. We're waiting to hear back...and the wait is excruciating.

Here's the sitch:
I'm from a family in construction.
Hubs is from a family in construction.
Hubs IS in construction and has access to many trades.
We're looking for a house that needs some TLC and more.

In my opinion, the price is still very fair, and a big majority of the population (let alone the buying population) would turn around after that inspection and never look back. So, if our agent and the selling agent are doing their job (I know ours is), they'd advise the sellers that these problems are going to come up no matter who they're selling to. Frankly, we're perfect candidates for a house like this. We're not afraid of the WORK, we're afraid of the MONEY needed to complete all the work. I'm confortable stating that most buyers would be afraid of the work for sure.

We told our agent in no uncertain terms-it's the reduced price, or it's nothing. I want that house, but I don't want a money pit at that price.

Anyways, here it is:
(**Disclaimer: We know she's not a beaut aesthetically, just use your imagination as to what some paint, hardwood, nice furniture and some other work can do for it...we certainly have)

Another view of the exterior:

The entrance and powder room door:

The mighty bright living room: (imagine that wall made into a kitchen island opening up the living room, kitchen & dining room...yum!)

The connected dining room:

And half the kitchen:

The family room a half-level up (don't you LOVE that fireplace?):

The master bedroom:

Spare Bedroom #1:And finally the backyard:

Serious potential, huh? Teriffic layout, it just needs us to give it a little beauty makeover (and maybe a bit of plastic surgery around the windows and doors).

Are your fingers hurting from crossing them for us?

:)

2009-11-30T12:19:00.000-05:00

That is all. Happy Monday!

C'est Sold!

2009-11-25T15:59:00.002-05:00

Got the call this morning...the buyer DID end up waiving the conditions and the deal is firm!!!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

So, we gotta be out by December 11th...a mere 17 days away!

Better get packing and better get buying.

Another strange tidbit-our last house was sold about November 3, 2008. This house sold on November 16, 2009. I guess we're fall sellers.

Gouing to see 4 places tonight-hope one of them's our next home!

The buying side of things

2009-11-24T15:53:00.002-05:00

Well, this is a new experience for us. Being a home buyer and all.

Sure, we're looking for our 3rd home. But...our first 2 were new construction, so the 'looking' part was pretty easy. Cruise websites for floorplans and locations (and prices) we liked, check out the showhomes and essentially custom order your home. Sounds like fun, right?

Yeah, it was I won't lie. But we definitely wanted to try for resale this time around.

1-Time. we're on a serious time constraint. Builders are too, but a very different one. There's no way we could have even got an inventory home this quick.

2-This urban sprawl business. I admit I've added to it with our previous homes, but I'd like to not be a sulprit it I can avoid it. I like greenspace and having animals in the 'wild'.

3-The project. Hubs is handy, I've always said he was. And I like to think I'm pretty darn handy for an accountant too. Plus, I think we work well together, have good ideas and have good taste. So the project of taking something less than perfect and working to get it closer is definitely appealing.

4-Land! New construction doesn't have any. Well, certainly none we'd be able to afford anytime soon. Most try to squeeze as many lots in as small an acreage as possible, making for fairly small, very close lots.

5-It's new. We haven't done it before, and we're not planning to stay in the next house for more than a couple years at most, so what do we have to lose? It's exciting, it's something new and it gives us more information on the real estate market/industry.

So last Friday, I sided with hubs and decided to have some faith and trust that this sale would work out. I'm still not 100% (as evidenced by my unwillingness to pack up anything that we'd need to immediately unpack if the deal falls through), but I'm getting there. And I've certainly acknowledged that if we have a hope in hell of moving into a house on the 11th, and not temporarily boarding with a relative, we have to get our behinds in gear.

We called an agent with a couple degrees of separation that my sister used successfully to buy their first home recently and has been raving about since. She started quickly, setting up our first showing that very evening. It was a bit of a dud-not her fault at all. It fit our criteria, there were just some very serious problems we weren't willing to take on. But...it was pretty neat to try the 'buyers' shoes on.

Since then, every single house we've inquired about has been sold, conditionally sold, or taken off the market. SONUVA!!!

And then...last night at graduation night from level 2 cake classes, our agent (who is 36 weeks pregnant) called and is now due any day. So she's understandably and obviously off the case, but referred us to a friend and seemingly great agent.

The new agent has set up a new search for us and I'm working her to the bone! We're feeling the crunch for sure and, although we're not desperate, at the same time we kind of are. So...I e-mailed her 12 listings from her search to look at...12! Surely there'll be something worthwhile in there...anyone? Anyone????

I'm finally excited about all of this.

Now if only my lawyer would call that the deal's 100%.

Update

2009-11-20T08:54:00.002-05:00

I know this has been an incredibly dry blog for some time now, and I apologize for that. It's been a busy, stressful time for a number of reasons and hopefully soon I can get back to shopping, idea boards and fun stuff. For now though, it's another picture-less, all talk update on sale progress...

So, here's what's been happening since Monday (apart from stress, anxiety and general unease).

Yesterday (Thursday) was the deadline we set for the negotiation worksheet to be prepared into an Agreement of Purchase & Sale, sent to the lawyers and signed. Yesterday at 5:00 specifically.

So Tuesday I called our lawyer just to give him a heads up that a) we were selling, b) we had sold, and c) there should be some paperwork coming to him. I left a message with his receptionist and left my number, but no call back. That's fine-he's my Godfather, so I'm sure he's looking out for my best interest and would call as soon as anything came in.

Thursday I called back to check in-he hadn't received anything as of 10:30 or so, so hubs called the buyer and asked what was up. The buyer mis-read the document and thought he had until 5:00 Thursday to get the paperwork to his lawyer. Fortunately he realized this on Wednesday, so had delivered the deposit cheque and signed paperwork then. However, it still hadn't made it to our lawyer yet, so there was no relief late yesterday afternoon as we had hoped for.

Bright and early this morning, I get a call from our lawyer (he's a very early riser) saying he has the agreement, read me the clauses. Everything sounded kosher until...he said there was a financing and inspection condition. Say what?! Hubs and the buyer had agreed to no conditions as he'd been pre-approved, the home was brand spankin' and it was still very well covered by new home warranty. So I called hubs in a panic, who then called the buyer. The buyer mentioned his lawyer advised him to add these conditions for extra insurance and he was considering voiding them anyways.

OK-I can understand his desire for extra insurance, but this is an incredibly time sensitive deal. We close in 3 WEEKS! According to this new agreement, he has until next Friday to satisfy these conditions. So...cynic that I've become (thus not wanting to act until this deal is 100%), that means that starting next Friday, we'd need to find, purchase and move into a new place in a span of 2 weeks. Which also happens to be 2 weeks before Christmas. Um---my little heart canNOT handle that.

Side: I'm actually impressed with hubs who was quite proactive about all of this and seemingly (what's the opposite of a pushover?...he was that). I'm very much the organizer and planner of our household and for all of our sales, have pretty much been the one in charge. I'm impressed he's taken the reigns and is managing them well.

So...I'm hoping that the buyer sticks to his side of the agreement and voids those 2 conditions, which is what was agreed to on Monday. And I'm hoping he does it fast. Truly, this needs to be taken care of today.

Puh-lease cross your fingers, toes, eyes and whatever else you can for us.

Thanks for the help Om's

2009-11-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

So, I think Oma got to work quickly in the past week pulling some strings and helping us all out she never could while earth-bound.

Sunday-we had a day full of wakes and family. Hubs still hosted an open house though as we'd already made some appointments for people to come by during it. Overall, it was a pretty uneventful open house according to him...until just after it ended.

4:00 rolls around (open house 2-4) and he gets a call from a guy who's come through a couple times over the past couple weeks and has expressed interest, although he's certainly not the first to tease us. Guy calls, hubs charms, guy offers, hubs negotiates, gents agree. He'll be coming by Monday morning first thing to agree to terms and sign the negotiation worksheet to bring to the lawyers. Yay! I'm not getting my hopes up, but this sure isn't a bad thing.

4:20 gets here and another guy comes through that's also been through a few times (we knew he'd be late) and this time brought his wife and child from Toronto. Hubs charms, guy expresses desire to make offer, hubs informs, guy says he'll call tonight if he's making an offer for same conditions, higher price than other guy. No call.

So the paperwork's signed the morning of Oma's funeral and it's off to the lawyers to do their thang...so Thursday, if not before, this could be a done deal. December 11 closing, no conditions. Sweet Jesus---don't make me go through the actions again for it to fall through once again.

Thanks Oma! Thanks St. Joseph!

And apparently I've become a Holy Roller...these things happen.

Memories

2009-11-17T10:11:00.004-05:00

I have so many countless memories of this house and things that have happened in, around, and about it.It is my Oma & Opa's house and it's been around for over 50 years. My Opa literally built it with his own 2 hands (although I'm sure some friends and, eventually, my dad helped out as well over the years).

I know a lot of families say they're close, but we truly are SUCH a close family. There are 7 children (my dad and 6 sisters, poor pops), 16 grandchildren, 1 great-granchild and more on the way. With a family that big, you'd think people would start to go their separate ways over the years, start their own traditions, etc. Not so with us. We see them all every Christmas and Easter, of course. But birthdays, miscellaneous Sundays, anniversaries and just cuz dinners are certainly common.

My Opa passed away a little ove 4 years ago from the big C. Since then, we've all gotten to know my Oma just a little better, spending some one on one time with her really getting to know her as a person, not just as Ma or Oma. Many meals are still shared in this very house, and my Oma, a woman with so much loyalty, pride, dignity, class and love always politely refused to move. In fact, we had dinner there last night.

Sadly, however, it was a dinner following my Oma's funeral. She passed away to join Opa this past Thursday November 12th suddenly, although peacefully while visiting with her second born child.

It's been a rough weekend, seeing our parents, aunts, uncles and cousins deal with this sudden loss while dealing with it ourselves, however-it's also comforting to know that she's at peace and smooching Op's. She never had to see this house sold, she maintained an incredible amount of independence and activity until the day she died and she went quickly, peacefully and in the arms of loved ones. And...she got to avoid another lonely, brutal Canadian winter, which she's cursed in recent years. Above all, she knew she was loved beyond comprehension and her legacy lives on in the family that waits to see her again one day.

Love ya Om's!

Crafty Dreams...

2009-11-12T13:11:00.006-05:00

I've added and removed this item from my wish list many times over the last few years. I've only removed it because of expense, not at all because I lost interest.

It's the Quickutz Silhouette. If you're crafty at all, I'm sure you've heard of the dream machine, Cricut. This is a similar concept.

Basically, it cuts shapes and fonts out of paper, vinyl and I'm sure other thin materials. In my case, it would be for cards, scrapbooks, misc crafts, etc.

The appeal of this one (personally) over the cricut is the price and the ease. I am ALWAYS drawn in to the shopping channel when they're featuring the Cricut and they make it look so easy. After that much use, I'm sure it is. But my understanding of the Quickutz Silhouette (QS) is that it works basically like a printer, except rather than ink lines, it cuts. Come on-if I'm right, that's genius.

Also, for the Cricut, you have to buy cartridges for each design, font, etc you'd like to use. I'm sure this can get fairly pricey. But with the QS, I've heard you can use any TFF font you already have (or download) and you can buy their designs for a couple bucks or something. Also, I read today that it can also print jpeg's pretty well. Sa-weet!

Anyways, obviously this blog doesn't invite any kind of sponsorship or anything, so this is completely my opinion and thought process as I'm getting ready to make my Christmas cards.

Here are some of the project ideas I've found:

Frig, this thing would have been handy when I was wedding planning.

It's about $250, so certainly not cheap. But for me, or anyone who likes crafting, it's certainly something to have on the list that includes a KitchenAid stand mixer, a sewing machine and a cuttlebug (another paper crafting machine thingy). I.e. the list of things you'll probably never get, but you can pretend you may sometime soon.

How about you? Any experience with the Cricut or QS?

Another One Bites the Dust...

2009-11-11T13:31:00.002-05:00

Another deal fell through.

I didn't write anything about it on here, or really even talk to anyone other than hubs about it in the off chance that being superstitious would affect anything. I didn't want to jinx it.

It was the guy who came through when hubs did his first open house a couple weeks ago. They came back twice that day and upped their offer from the first to second visit. We hadn't heard from them, so thought (like most 'leads') it was a dead end. Then he called back and upped his offer again. It was still lower than we were comfortable accepting, so countered back and forth until we agreed on a number, date, etc. Yay! He works nights and we work days, so we were trying to figure when we could meet up for paperwork. Trust me-I was willing to take a vacation day and drive across the city if it was required. He was going to speak to his mother and call me back. That was yesterday. I hadn't heard from him today, so called and apparently they're putting an offer on a property in Centrepoint. I.e. NOT ours. Blech.

STOP now if you don't want to read excessive whining....

......

I warned you...

I have NO idea why our house isn't selling! It's priced very well (too well?) and other homes very close to ours (like down the street close) are selling quickly. Our house shows really well and it has tonnes of upgrades and features that people genuinely are seeming to really appreciate.

Obviously we've considered that it's us. Of course we have! We're not stupid, but I sincerely and honestly believe that I'm quite natural at this and very comfortable at it. Damnit-I'm good at it! I don't make it personal, I make sure to point out what should be pointed out and often cater these to the person/people viewing the home. I chit chat where appropriate, but always keep it professional/home related unless the viewer takes it somewhere else. And although I haven't really seen hubs do his thing, he got an offer his first open house, so he can't be that bad. He's very smart and knows construction and our house, so I'm sure he's good at it.

Seriously...why hasn't anyone bought our house! I'm flabbergasted. Truly. And not in a 'I love our house, so why don't other people too?' way, but in a realistic, rational way after a lot of research into the market, talking to professionals, etc.

So...do we take it down and stay a while? Do we enlist an agent? Do we reduce the price (again)?

I don't know, and although I'm at my wits end, hubs is also slowly getting there too.

I need a fairy Godmother...or something.

November Goals

2009-11-10T09:00:00.002-05:00

I've personally got a short month this November right from the start, but let's give 'er a shot:

Send cards
Have a real date night with hubs
Sell House
Buy House
Start Christmas shopping
Meal plan each week
Sew something-anything
Try making a stew
Try 1 new recipe
Have people over for dinner at least once

Quite food related...could I possibly be a little hungry this morning???

October Goals-Judgement Day

2009-11-09T13:51:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, it's November 9th!

But I was in captivity being a mutant and quarantined last week, so didn't have easy access to the internet.

So, here goes:

Send cards Completed
Have a real date night with hubs (it's anniversary month afterall) Completed-more than once!
Sell house Not completed!
Sell house (Twice for good measure) Not completed OKAY! Sheesh-I get it.
Buy house Of course also not completed
Enjoy Thanksgiving Completed!
Make at least 2 decent meals a week (I have been sooo supremely lazy/unmotivated to do any kind of meal planning or cooking in the last several weeks. Time to remedy that) Actually completed-I'm shocked.
Bake something (besides bread) at least once a week Partially completed. 3/4 weeks I did.
Go apple picking Completed
Get to work on time 2x this month I can't remember. I'm going to say not completed if I'm honest though-I wasn't as late as I have been, but I don't think I've been on time either.

Whoopsie-not my most successful month.

Missing

2009-11-09T13:40:00.002-05:00

Wow--have I really not posted in that long?

Unfortunately, our excitement has waned slightly about the sale process the longer it's lasted.

Our listing went up on Sept 9-exactly 2 months ago. Since then, we've had 8 open houses (1 week we did the Saturday too) and had approx another 8 private showings. The open houses have always been successful and have always brought in at least 4-5 groups, often more.

In fact, hubs even did one open house while I was away in Toronto (to see the SYTYCD finale---yep. And no, I'm not a teenager). He was very nervous and was reluctant to do it at first, but it went really well, and it even got him his first offer! It was low, but still an accomplishment I'd say.

Our plan has been to show until the end of October and then take it down for the holidays, etc. This weekend's open house was to be our last, but we're just not ready to accept that it's not selling, so we'll see-maybe another week or so.

Last weekend, hubs & I hosted the open house together. Strange? I thought it could have been too, but I was really sick (actually was quarantined all of last week) and didn't want to do it alone. Plus, secretly, I wanted to see him do his thang and see how he does it. Maybe learn from each other? Before the open house, we buried a cardboard statue of St Joseph. A friend told me that doing this would bring luck, etc to real estate sales as he's the Saint of (among other things) real estate. I know! I had no idea there was such a saint either. But another friend had done it and sold their place within the week.

Anyways, we followed the directions, said a little prayer and off we went.

Here's hoping we've got a little miracle coming our way!

A couple quick touches

2009-10-19T16:50:00.005-04:00

Home Sense is a dangerous, dangerous place.

The new store opened in Ottawa October 1st. I've already been twice. And I don't go shopping very often.

Last weekend with my younger sis who I totally got hooked on the place as it was her first visit.

This past weekend with my older sis who is also not totally hooked after it being only her second visit.

I picked up a couple random things, despite going in with the intention of doing a return only. But...isn't that always the way.

Excuse the crummy colour in the pics-camera's being hormonal again.

First in the main floor powder room:

Cute, non?

And also in the ensuite. The monogram hand towels I got for my birthday , so not totally vain. The brown bath towel I found in the almost exact-matching colour as the monogram thread and, I gotta say-the towel is pretty much the softest towel I've ever felt.

A bit fromage, I acknowledge, but also (I think) pretty cute. It is our master bath afterall, so other than house showings, we're the only ones who see them, and it feels pretty posh.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-10-16T11:29:00.005-04:00

A few days late, I realize, but as much as I love 4 day weeks, they are bizaaaaayyyy!

So this past weekend was Thanksgiving weekend for my fellow Canucks. Hubs and I offered to host our family dinner on Sunday night with our new place and gigantico dining room. Plus I love hosting and figure my mom's dang tired of it. So the immediate family that was in town joined us Sunday afternoon-7 of us in total, although we easily had food for 12+.

I was pretty much filled up until Wednesday from all the food & treats that we consumed. The menu was:

Appetizers:
Cranberry pinwheels
Cream Cheese w Red Pepper Jelly spread
Pumpernickle bread & spinach dip
Cheese & deli platter

Main:
Turkey (but of course)
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Baked butternut squash
Flat beans
Garden salad
Homemade rolls
Gravy, cranberry sauce, apple sauce

Desert:
Homemade Pecan Pie
Homemade Pumpkin Pie
Homemade Apple Pie
Homemade personalized sugar cookies

Whew! I'm full just writing it all! Of course I can't take credit for it all-it was somewhat of a potluck, so everyone contributed at least one dish.

Friday night prior, I spent many more hours than I a) expected b) care to share creating a pinecone wreath I found on U Create.

For a little extra seasonal decor. There were many more pinecones than I needed, so I glued some hemp around a vase Thrifty Decor Chick -styleand tossed in the extras for a little fall in the main bathroom.
My younger sister has a bit of extra time on her hands lately and felt motivated to share some table setting ideas with me, namely, this one:

Which we slightly adapted from the LCBO magazine.

All in all, we were definitely try-hards with the table setting, but I think it looked great for our first big holiday family dinner:

To end the night off, and to help digest a bit of the massive quantities of poultry and sides consumed, we played a little Guesstures (fave game of all time), and of course some Beatles Rock Band:

Overall a very exhausting, but very nice and fun day!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!!

Update

2009-10-08T10:19:00.003-04:00

So, it's fair to say that it's been an anxiety-ridden week. To say the least.

After Mondays heartbreaking e-mail (and I'm not being dramatic), we've waited impatiently through that entire day and Tuesday. Both of which were among the top 20 longest days of my life. We were supposed to hear by sometime on Tuesday, but hadn't.

So, Wednesday morning, I call P&K at 10:15 or so. I wanted to make it clear that we were interested in selling to them, but also not be a pain in the ass, so made 1 call at a reasonable time with enough time after we were supposed to have heard back from them that I wasn't being pushy or annoying. I leave a message-clear and concise.

All day yesterday I hear nothing back. I hadn't expected to as I suspected it was their home number they gave me and they'd likely be out working all day.

At home with hubs that evening, I was getting beyond anxious, so I checked our e-mail account for about the billionth time that day. There was a new e-mail. From P&K.

Now, let me point out-I'd had my phone with me basically 24/7 since Monday in case they called. I figured a call is the most direct way to update us and the least passive way too. Also, I figured if they called, it's more likely to be better news, and an e-mail likely meant bad.

So we stared at the computer screen for a few minutes, not really wanting to open it-fearing the worst. It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't good news either.

The jist: The guy they're dealing with had his inspection pushed back until Thursday (today), and he lost his phone so couldn't get the calls and couldn't call them. So they got his e-mail when they got home last night. The inspection should be going down today, and they should know at some point today what's going on.

GAH!

A couple things:

1-It sounds like the other seller is full of excuses. It almost sounds like he's reluctant to sell. Probably knows he has to, but doesn't want to. Self-sabotage if you ask me.
2-I'm clearly incredibly biased in this specific situation, but why would you make such an important purchase from someone so clearly unreliable. I acknowledge that a little hassle up front is worth a dream home in the long run, but...if he's this wishy-washy and inconsistent when he's trying to sell his home, doesn't that make you wonder how well he's maintained said home?
3-It doesn't take a genius to figure out they love that house more. Why would you put up with all this BS if you didn't. That's kind of upsetting for obvious reasons. I, of course, want to sell, but I almost don't want it to be to someone who's 'settling'.
4- And I'm just dang tired of waiting! I'm tired of selling (although it's only been a month), and I'm tired of being a prisoner to strangers' whims and times of day wanting to come see the house. And I'm SOOOO tired of the relentless agent calls!

And yes, I am being a whiney brat...so what?!

So that's what's up. Whatever happens, we're taking this weekend off from open houses & showings to enjoy Thanksgiving and an actual weekend, so that will be a nice break no matter what.

So I'm still on pins & needles, filled with anxiety and waiting for some guy to get his act together or not.

Sunk

2009-10-05T09:20:00.004-04:00

That's how I feel this morning.

After an exhausting, yet incredibly eventful and exciting weekend. I arrived this morning to an e-mail that's made me feel heartbroken and sunk.

First, let me give the gist of the e-mail I would have written 40 minutes ago:

Thisclose!

Wow---what an awesome weekend. Non-stop and didn't have a second to rest, but worth every moment.

Got a call Friday afternoon asking about our house for sale and when this couple could come see it. Informed them we were having an open house Saturday & Sunday, but they were busy, so asked if they could come by earlier. I offered up 9:30. Done.

So after a dinner party Friday night and going to see Fame with the ladies (so cheesy, yet so us and thus quite enjoyable), I came home, cleaned up the dinner mess and went to bed. Woke up early enough for the final touches and met P&K to show our home. It's not an overstatement to say that they loved it. The showing went really well in my opinion and they were clearly not 'just looking', they were ready to buy. K went around for another look of the house while P stayed in the kitchen with me. K said to P "yeah, I know-you're already sold". !!!!!!! Yeeeeeeeeeeee! OK-heart, slow down.

So K finishes the second tour and comes down. After a bit of conversation and small talk we decide to do this thing and write up the offer. Excellent! A price we're both happy with, no conditions (Tarion does the work of the inspection), and a closing date of November 20th. Super excellent!! So I make a copy and they go on their way to enjoy the weekend and take the paperwork to their lawyer first thing Monday to get this thing official.

Open house Saturday afternoon. No one comes except one group. That group is P&K with another couple to 'show off their new home'. Seriously-they love it. It makes me so happy, relieved and truly warms my heart because you always want the person/people who buy your home to love it as much as you do. Like I did with our last house, I WANT P&K to have this house. I'm sentimental, so sue me.

Anyways, the weekend progresses. Another open house Sunday and it's more successful, but my heart's just totally not in it.

Hubs and I are SO excited and happy, yet still somewhat cautious because we know nothing's signed yet. We agree that P&K don't seem the type to just leave us hanging, so we're a bit more assured.
-------------------------------

Enter Monday. Demon of days that it is.

I'm exhausted, but have a long to do list that includes scouring MLS and Grapevine for our next home.

I check the e-mail account we've set up for the sale...and my heart drops.

There's an e-mail from P&K saying that they got a call this weekend from another person they'd been negotiating with saying he was ready to accept their offer. *Gulp* The deadline has expired, so it's not as if they're legally bound to this agreement (I believe), I just don't know if they love that house more. :(

In their defence, the e-mail sounded quite apologetic. It's not a done deal one way or another and the other party has until tomorrow (Tuesday) to let P&K know what their lawyer says.

In the meantime, our hearts are troubled, my mind's going a mile a minute and I'm on pins & needles. I just hope to hear back ASAP (in the most ASAP way you can ask for).

October Goals

2009-09-30T09:24:00.004-04:00

I think this month, it's clear where my goals lie. I'd like to do a lot more Suzy-Homemaker-y stuff, but for now, I'm going to try to focus on selling our house. If we don't sell it in the next couple weeks we'll un-list it in order to enjoy the holidays, so I'll give it one final push, and if it doesn't sell, at least we didn't already buy a new place!

Send cards
Have a real date night with hubs (it's anniversary month afterall)
Sell house
Sell house (Twice for good measure)
Buy house
Enjoy Thanksgiving
Make at least 2 decent meals a week (I have been sooo supremely lazy/unmotivated to do any kind of meal planning or cooking in the last several weeks. Time to remedy that)
Bake something (besides bread) at least once a week
Go apple picking
Get to work on time 2x this month

September Goals-Judgement Day

2009-09-30T09:18:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned earlier this week, overall I don't think I did too bad this month. Let's see:

Send cards Completed
Have a real date night with hubs Completed
Finish organizing the basement Completed
Stage 2 spare bedrooms Completed
Hit up an antique store or auction Completed (see review here)
Make cinnamon rolls w breadmaker Compeleted (and deeeelicious-recipe here)
Get to work on time at least 1x per week Haha--massive FAIL. I got to work on time ONCE. All month.
Organize our closet Completed
Host at least 1 open house Completed several times over
List & sell our house Partially Completed. It's listed, it's just not yet sold.

Me thinks that may be my most successful monthly list to date! Unfortunately the one that would make me the happiest, is the one that's only partially completed. Oh well, soon-I can feel it.

Goal numero 5

2009-09-28T14:17:00.005-04:00

Wow---I'm not doing too bad on my goals this month! What's up with that??? (Although, we'll see about # 7 in a couple of days)

So my older sister and I hit up a few antique places this weekend, something I've been meaning & wanting to do for a while.

We started by going to the Fall Flea Market at Landsdowne, which was sold to me as an antiques show. Nah-it was definitely a flea market, and borderline a room of a bunch of garage sales (which I suppose are almost the same).

I certainly didn't find anything of substance, but I did manage to pick up several children's books for a future collection that I remember from my childhood
Remember these books? Wow--they used to have a lot more imagination built into them back then. I always loved these guys:
And classic 70's & 80's children books-the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit series: (sorry, I don't know why it keeps rotating)
And of course...a start of a Dr. Seuss collection:
After that, we went further down Bank St on a hunt for the Ottawa Antique Market. We didn't remember the exact address, but about where we thought it was we saw a big old "Antiques" sign, so figured that must be it. It wasn't. It had some neat stuff, but it wasn't super well organized, it was incredibly expensive and it was very dusty.

On the walk back to the car, we slipped into Found Design, which was definitely neat. Total blast from the past (literally, like the movie...it was before my time) and made us wonder how much similar stuff our parents would have had 30 years ago (or even 10-15!).

And eventually, we did accidentally come across the Ottawa Antique Market, which was definitely better than the other place. Far better layout, much better prices and much cleaner. Lived up to the hype, and my sister almost walked out of there with a buffet.

Overall, I think a pretty well accomplished goal considering I didn't actually buy any antiques...

Fall-ified

2009-09-28T13:56:00.003-04:00

Since last week saw the first official day of fall, I decided to Fall-ify our home. (And if you're in Ottawa...hoo-wee is it ever feeling like Fall).

I started with candles, candles and more candles,

Added some fall 'florals':

Sewed some less green throw pillow covers (apparently I CAN sew!):

And some seasonal decor:

And I even picked up an unintentionally-seasonal piece of art last weekend that fits right in:
You can't tell, and my camera's not good enough to get a good close-up, but they're all individually pressed actual maple leaves (or marijuana if you're my guy friends, and no, they're not 18). I really, really like it, and love it in our formerly-bare front hall.

I also switched up some linens, tissue boxes and other accessories to have a bit less blue, green and bright and a bit more neutral, warm and fall-y.

I thought I'd go overboard, but I think it's subtle overall and I really like it (hubs does too). I figure, it's our house until it's sold, and you might as well stage it seasonally if you're going to all that trouble anyways. (And yesterday's open house visitors all seemed to very much approve).

How do you fall-ify your home?

Fall Decor

2009-09-24T13:07:00.007-04:00

I need to think about something else, and leave it to Style at Home to send their newsletter today featuring fall decor. [Enter angels singing].

I love fall and I love decor.

Some of my favourite tips, must-haves and accessories to bring in the fall?

1. Candles, candles, candles

I love these 2 festive ones from Bath & Body Works, and wish I'd picked them up when I was in Toronto a couple weeks ago:

And these Gourmet Apple Pie scented candles from Pier 1:2. New pillows & throws.

Or at least, recovered pillows. I plan on recovering a couple of ours if I ever look up how to sew a zipper, so I can remove it in a nice (coincidentally) fall-coloured fabric I picked up a while ago. Others I like include these 2 from, you guessed it, Pier 1:

3. Candle Holders, Centrepieces & uncheesy Decor:

I'm sorry, but I don't like too-literal fall decor with cornucopias overflowing with squash or hay or stuff like that. And yes, I have been to homes where they're all around. Although-I have been known to have some hokey decor on the 2-3 days surrounding Hallowe'en. Hey-sometimes it's just fun!

I love the centrepieces that the Thrifty Decor Chick has been posting on her blog. Seasonal, warm and still very pretty.

I don't at all mind, and in fact even have, some ceramic pumpkins and other squash. But they're subtle and I think pretty, and I do love me some florals. All are older or from HomeSense, so I can't have pics of them without taking some, but here are some other items I really like (conveniently, all from Pier 1-sorry, I just love it there and they always have good stuff):

And just for fun, how cute is this to give out your Hallowe'en candy from?

He called back

2009-09-24T13:02:00.002-04:00

The same guy who offered us $330K called back last night to 'check in'. He asked if I'd considered their offer and discussed it with my family.

It was basically a less surprised (on my part) repeat of our previous conversation, where I said I'd discussed with my husband and we don't feel it's a realistic starting point. We're open to negotiate but not from there.

He keeps going on and on about window treatments and how expensive they'll be...seriously? Seriously? If you're so concerned about the window treatments, I'll spend the $2K on getting some on every window in the house!!! Then are you willing to offer a reasonable amount?

I'm sure he's got a list and that's the main/only one he can think of when we talk, but it makes his whole argument sound so silly.

After only 2 weeks being listed and the amount of interest we've had, there's no way we're settling for $330K. Sorry bud.

Still, though, I think it's all good signs that he's calling back and I'm sure they're interested.

This weekend brings a rainy Sunday and Open House numero 3.

Update

2009-09-23T09:21:00.002-04:00

Not much of one unfortunately...we had our second open house on Sunday. It was steady, but not nearly as busy as last weeks. There were 5 groups go through I believe. If nothing else, it was far less draining this week. None of the 5 were repeats though, unfortunately.

On Monday I got a call from the couple that came through twice last week. He wanted to discuss price. Ok, let's discuss. He thought it was overpriced and explained why. For the market, it's actually fairly priced and 3 real estate agents have come by and agreed that we'd sell it in no time with little problem (so far they're all liars though). So he basically made an offer $30K below asking. Are you serious??? I more or less said it wouldn't sell for that at we went over some other things to consider.

He offered to give me his number and if we changed our mind, could we call him. Sure! We won't, but sure.

So that's it. I've made a couple changes to the listing: the header pic, and moved the kitchen appliances from negotiable to included. And we'll be having another open house this Sunday.

Fingers crossed!

While I was hosting the open house, hubs and a friend went to a couple other open houses we had on our list of potentials. He really isn't eager to move to a town house, so his impressions of those ones were a little biased. There was one in an area that we really like, but the house itself needed A LOT of work. And not good work-like, the addition was sinking and needed to be completely re-done. There was another that hubs was really excited about. Great potential, and the only potential draw back is it's incredible proximity to my parents. We both love them very much and have no problem being close to them or spending lots of time with them, it just might be a bit strange. If that's the only thing against the house, though. It's a very good thing.

Memories

2009-09-15T11:30:00.003-04:00

I'll always be crazy for Swayze. RIP.

Goal # 9 and Open House Recap

2009-09-14T10:25:00.002-04:00

Well, the first open house has come and gone. At least I can cross another goal off my list.

Short answer: It went quite well, had a lot of people come through and several of them seemed genuinely interested.

Longer answer:

The open house was supposed to be from 2-4. The first couple came at 1:40 and the last group left at 4:50.

I tried to keep track, and I think there were about 12-13 groups that came through. At one point, there were 5 groups in at the same time. It was hard to give them all a tour and/or the attention I thought was necesary to acknowledge the potential buyers. I managed pretty well though I think, and double-teamed a couple groups with the tour and questions.

Of the 12-13, I figure 5 of them I wouldn't be surprised to hear from. Everyone seemed interested (they wouldn't tell a homeowner their home was crap), but the other groups were 'just starting to look' or something similar. Just didn't get the "I'll hear from you soon" vibe from them. But hey, all we need is one, right?

It was so busy, I had to keep cancelling my texts to hubs giving him updates and it took me about 40 minutes to finish my sandwich I'd planned to eat before the open house started (plan was vetoed by the early arrivers).

The last couple to leave also came back for another showing at 8:30 with a friend who's in real estate. I asked if they wanted to tour again, or if they wanted to walk around on their own. They opted to go on their own as I'd already given them the tour, so off they went. They were looking for a while and I even overheard them placing furniture, discussing changes they'd make (hmph!) and stuff like that. It doesn't take a real estate agent to know that's never a bad sign.

Overall, I was poo-oooooped when all was said and done and was asleep before my head hit the pillow after the group left last night. I'm hoping it isn't necessary to have another open house, but I'm trying (again, and probably unsucessfully) not to get my hopes up. It seems very promising though.

Cross your fingers for us if you don't mind. I'd love to put a great update similar to this one and this one sometime very soon!

Outlook not good

2009-09-11T16:44:00.003-04:00

Remember Magic 8 Balls. Man, they were popular.

Unfortunately, if I had one and asked it about the potential of last night's couple making an offer, the subject would equal the answer.

I came across this posting on Grapevine, which is basically just down the street from us, a slightly more expensive model and not a whole lot more expensive. Obviously I think ours is nicer and better, but I also realize that this one has it's own appeal. And depending on the demographic, possibly even more. Boo!

I know I said I was trying not to get my hopes up, but then why am I so glum now?

To make myself feel better, here are the things I don't like about it:

The write up starts with "A FABULOUS HOME!!!" Why all caps? Why 3 exclamation marks? Why waste the space with hyperbole?
Lower Level description: "Unfinished basement left for you to add your personal touch!". Ew.
Eavestrough. It's one word, not two.
Extra pieces of hardwood from builder left in basement. Why even bother writing that?
Hood fan: it's two words, not one.
Year Built: 2007 Approx. You're the original owners, and you don't know when it was built? Shaaaaady.
Weird siding -why the random bit of a different colour?
Horrible drapes/sheers in the dining room
Where is the crown moulding? They say it's there, but I don't see it.
Drapes in the bathroom? Directly over the bathtub?
The desk looks way to large for the 'loft' (which is really just a large landing). It makes it look cramped.
I straight up just don't like the 'gazebo'. It looks like you're camping. And it's not a gazebo for heaven's sake. It's a mosquito net.

Anyway, I'm just being bitchy and juvenile, but all those things are true. It is a nice kitchen though.

Showing, First Act

2009-09-11T10:38:00.005-04:00

So, we had our first showing yesterday evening.

The short version: it went well, and the couple should be making a decision today. Fingers are crossed, but the plan is still for an open house on Sunday.

The long version: I left work early so I could get the final prep stuff done. Nothing serious, my list just included closing all the windows, turning on all the lights, turning on the speakers, and putting away Max & Layla's food & water dishes.

That was done quite quickly, so I had a quick drink of water and the doorbell rang. I gave them the tour, and they asked questions along the way. A middle-aged couple originally from the area moving back from BC because grandchildren are on the way. Seem quite well educated in the market, industry and the area as well. Thankfully I'd done my share of research and have paid attention to the build, so could answer his questions quite easily.

Once I'd given them the tour, which ended in the master, I went back downstairs, leaving them to check it out without someone peeking over their shoulders. I, for one, find this essential. If it were me, I wouldn't be nearly as comfortable talking with my partner honestly about the house and peeking in all the nooks and crannies if the homeowner was right there watching me.

My one complaint, and I'm still kicking myself for it, is that as I was turning on the lights, I did a quick sweep in the laundry room because of the litter box. The room didn't smell, per se, but no one ever notices smells they're used to, so I gave it a quick Febreeze spritz. Bad move! I never use the stuff, so I'd forgotten how strong & overpowering it is. Rookie mistake. So I turned on the vent to try to eliminate some of it and keep it from travelling, but that didn't help at all. I had to apologize as we got upstairs because you could already smell it. Damnit! I hate that stuff-I threw out the bottle as soon as they left.
When they came back down, I gave them a feature sheet and we talked dates. They're home in BC is closing Oct 29th, so they asked how flexible we were. I said we can be as flexible as needed since we haven't bought a house yet, but our listing noted October 30th closing-so no flexibility is needed. Perfection.

They were on their way to another showing, and had a few more today. He said they'd likely be making their decision later today.

I have no reason to believe they didn't love our place, but I also have no reason to believe they didn't love another one more. So, I'm cautiously optimistic, but still planning an open house in 2 days. It would be amazing not to have to bother, but that's so ideal, it's fairly unrealistic.

PS-Is the top exterior photo better than yesterday's?

Thoughts and opinions...

2009-09-10T15:18:00.003-04:00

Does this picture make our house look like a town home?

I was cruising Building Homes and ~~stalked~~ came across this link where they were discussing if it was a town home or not.

I realize the homes are quite close together (as most new builds are), but I thought this pic best portrayed the whole house. Since it's a corner lot, it's difficult to get both the 'front' and the 'side'.

We may have to have another pic tonight after the showing.

Wondering if you think so too???

My version of Twitter-Home sale edition

2009-09-09T11:53:00.005-04:00

I'm way too boring to actually have or use Twitter for anything.

However, at times like this, there's a lot going on and it changes all the time.

So, our house went up at about 10:15 this morning. At about 10:35, moments after posting the link here and e-mailing it to the fam, I get a call from someone visiting from BC who's buying a house ASAP and wants to see ours today. Wowza---that was quick.

We're not ready to show today, hence the open house on Sunday, but she mentioned near the end that they're very interested and asked if she could leave her name and temporary number so that if we were ready sooner, she and her husband could come by. She said she hoped we wouldn't have to bother with the open house.

Let me just say that again...She said she hoped we wouldn't have to bother with the open house!!!

So, heart a-flutter, I called hubs immediately and he was obviously excited. I asked him if he thought we could be ready for a showing tomorrow night. He said definitely-he was going home tonight and working his tail off.

Yes!!! So I promptly called her back and made arrangements for the showing tomorrow night.

Imagine? Can you just imagine??? *insert daydreaming*

No, no-I can't get ahead of myself. It's only been 2.5 hours. But imagine...

Unfortunately the flip side, is that the houses out there I can find are shit. Truly. I think we're going to have to enlist the help of an agent to find a realistic place. Especially if it happens quickly.

Wish us luck!!!!

And we're on...

2009-09-09T10:30:00.002-04:00

Here's the link to our actual listing...my nerves are going crazy right now.

Here goes nothing...

2009-09-08T13:18:00.008-04:00

Well, I've made the listing, loaded the listing and even paid for the listing.

Here goes nothin'.

Last night, after coming home from a trip to Toronto, I was so pleased that hubs was motivated to help me take the pics for our listing. He played photographer and I played stylist (or, more accurately-remover of style) and remover of cats from shot-er, and I genuinely think we got some great pics of our home.

We were fighting against night-fall (side note: since when did early nights start? I'm not ready for fall!), but we made sure to get the exterior shot among the first.

Despite my own advice, it proved extremely difficult to get bright, clear photos that accurately depicted our house. We're not professionals, and we don't have one of those cool round lenses that fit a lot more room into one shot. I managed to adjust some colours and brightness in Picasa, so I hope it's paid off.

Here are the images we selected for the listing:

Family Room:

Kitchen:

Dining Room:

Master Bedroom (extremely hard to capture):

Ensuite (again-lost the battle against dark, so the lighting's a little off):

Aside from the main exterior shot, there was room for 8 images and 2 floorplan files. Rather than try to get a shot of every room, where they would be less than stellar photos, we opted instead to put a couple of the kitchen and the family room so the whole room could at least be represented. Also-especially for the kitchen, so the appliances could be shown.

We purchased the Sign & Internet with Open House signs from Grapevine, which is the same package we bought for the sale of our last home. We were happy with it, and we don't need the consultation, etc, so this was perfect for us. I also called and asked if we could get it up ASAP and get the signs delivered & installed ASAP as well. It'll all be up and ready for sale to the public tomorrow! Eeek!

We've decided to have our first open house this coming Sunday, hence the slight rush, but I don't see why we'd wait. We don't have plans, it should be a decent day weather-wise, and we want to see what's out there. So, why wait?

I tried to keep the write-up succinct, and after several drafts, here's the final product:

Brand new 3 bed/2.5 bath 1900 sq.ft. corner unit located in Mattamy Fairwinds near Scotiabank Place. This home boasts numerous upgrades and custom touches,including hardwood and pot lights throughout main level, a hard-wired multi-room stereo system and high end appliances.Third floor features a spacious master bedroom with large walk-in closet and a retreat-like 4-pc ensuite. Automatic garage door opener for 2-car insulated garage, rough in for security system and central vac make this home move in ready. New construction still covered by Tarion Warranty.

And that's that. Tomorrow I'll (hopefully) have the link to the actual posting. In the meantime, I'd love to know what you think...did I follow my own advice? Would it peak your interest?

My Tips for Home Staging

2009-09-04T12:27:00.010-04:00

There are lots of websites, blogs and everything in between that give tips on how to stage your home for a sale. Since hubs and I are doing that right now, I thought I'd make my very own list from experience in selling and looking to purchase. I've tried to include images to show what I mean. For most-a yay and a nay in regards to the topic.

Cleaning: This one I hope goes without saying. Clean the crap out of your house (not literally, I hope). Clean like you would if your whole family, including aunt Margaret who "secretly" swipes her finger over windowsills, and who "innocently" looks in your fridge to see if there's some juice (but really is looking to see how clean & stocked it is).

Those wall vents-vacuum 'em. Those baseboards-wipe 'em. Behind the toilet-clean it. Stair rails-wipe those too. Window ledges-clean them all. Appliances-clean them inside and out. No, at an open house or private viewing, people probably won't check all those things, but in case they do check, you want it to give the impression that the house is very well maintained, and nothing is forgotten. Yes-it's more work, but not all that much if you think about it. And it may sell your house.

Tchochtkes: Put them away. Despite being hard to spell, they're not that hard to box up. This one's mostly based on purchasing experience since I'm not a knick-knack person. I don't care about your collection of antique dolls, teapots, figuringes or anything else. Pack them up and put some neutral decor in the display case if you need to. Baskets, candles, etc, but keep it un-cluttered. Keep counters cleared, shelves bordering on sparse and tables/surfaces with the absolute minimum. I want to imagine myself there-not your stuff and your memories.

Oh-and for heaven's sakes. Take your magnets, reminders and children's art off of the fridge.
Photographs: Same idea as knick knacks. You can have a couple photos out to warm the house up slightly, but generic-ish ones and in not-so-prominent places. Display areas should be clear and nightstands, etc shouldn't have any. Again, I want to imagine myself there, not you and your dog/mother/children. Speaking of which, I've heard it mentioned (probably on Opes) that any photographs of children should especially be put away in case someone viewing your home is less than trustworthy or potentially pervy. Awful to think about, but you never know.

Think about it: If you visit a home builder's model homes, there are almost never photographs in the home.

Curb appeal: Do not forget the outside! I know hubs and I have participated in the creepy slow drive-by when we see a home we're interested in. And first impressions say a lot. You can crop/angle images for MLS in a very positive way, but driving by and seeing it in person can make or break it. Hose down all porches, railings, etc. Wipe your mailbox, banisters, tables, etc. Put out a nice potted plant and make sure there aren't any dead plants around.

And don't forget to get your car(s) out of the driveway. Park it a few houses down so there's room for potential buyers to park and feel comfortable.
Bathrooms: Clean them, clear them and empty the trash. I don't want to inherit a gross bathroom, I don't want any indication of how's it's currently used, and I certainly don't want to see your bathroom garbage.

Clutter: Has been mentioned several times, but bears repeating. Keep clutter OUT of your house if you're trying to sell it. It may make it feel colder to you, but hopefully it won't be yours for long, and sorry, but no one else really cares if your favourite memories are on display in their potential new home. Just look at it this way: You're getting a head start on packing!
Furniture arrangement: Any unnecessary furniture you can stash or store somewhere else-do it. You want the home as functional and "blank-slate"-y as possible. If there are any obvious traffic-stopping pieces of furniture (get an honest outside opinion) move 'em or store 'em. Any very stylized furniture you may want to temporarily replace too. Slip covers can be wonderful things.

Assume anyone coming to look through your home has never read Style at Home, Domino or watched HGTV. Sure, they appreciate a nice design and a beautiful home, but they don't understand that vintage art is all the rage, that your collection of ottomans are handmade in Nepal or that ikat is actually very trendy right now.
Closets: Clean them, organize them, and get rid of anything you can. The idea is to make your home seem as spacious and functional as humanly possible. If you can store stuff so there's extra space in your closets, all the better. Try to make them seem like you couldn't possibly fill all the closets because they offer you so much storage. This is a great way to get yourself to purge,purge, purge too. Easier for packing later and for the move. See-it's not all for someone else's benefit.
Windows: Open the blinds, close the windows. You want to let in as much natural light as possible, but keep the noise to a minimum. You never know when some loud, annoying motorcycle is going to drive by your open window.
Lighting: Key. Perhaps this is spoken a bit too much as the wife of an electrician, but I think lighting can really make a space. You want to avoid any dark looking spaces whatsoever. I usually turn every single light on in the house for a showing/open house. Sorry planet (but they're energy efficient!). When someone's going through, I don't want them to have to fuss around with the switches to see a spare bedroom, etc. And we all know that generally the switches aren't exactly where you'd think they'd be, so help potential buyers avoid the frustration of this task and let them enjoy your home!
Scent: Don't try too hard. And don't use a million plug-ins: it looks like you're hiding something. Have an outsider (that doesn't visit your house often) come by and let you know how it smells. We all know every home has a smell, and we all know some of them aren't that pleasant. Have someone tell you so you can take action if necessary.

Baking cookies, bread and stuff---nice for a restaurant or grocery store, but frankly I think it's a little too gimmicky and obvious. I like to keep the windows open for as long as I can before a showing for some fresh air, and keep some nice reed diffusers wherever they can be. Think linen, spring, etc over cinnamon, vanilla, etc.
Pets: This one hurts. If you've read my older posts, you know that we had some tough times when it came to our cats when we were selling our old house. It was a smaller home with no basement to stash their stuff, so we had to get them out of the house. I know my house is clean and I know my cats are clean. But no one else does, and even as an animal lover myself, I still hypocritically prefer a pet-free home. Or at least one that doesn't shout "Animals Live Here!!!"

So, get rid of their gear. We are guilty of having a lot of cat beds, posts and toys throughout the home. Hey-they're our babies. But...when it comes time to sell, they get stored. Some come out again after photos & an open house, but not all. This time, since we have a little nook for it, we'll be keeping their litter box out. It's risky I know, and I may not be taking my own advice, however...we've since crafted a nice fabric door for it which really contains the smell and hides the visual. We'll also be keeping it IMPECCABLY clean. It will probably look like additional storage to the uninformed, but we have no intentions of misleading anyone. If they ask-we tell. Simple as that.

A bonus for us-our cats are sissies. So as soon as they hear someone come in that's not us, they run and hide. If they determine it's someone else they know, they may venture to see them. If not, they generally remain hidden. If, however, your animals don't have this brand of social anxiety, I'd take them on a road trip. Especially if it's a big dog or something. I know it's hard on you and the animal, but sometimes it's for the best.
Kids: I almost forgot about this one because we don't have to think of it quite yet. However, by a similar token as above, unnecessary baby & kid furniture, accessories, toys, etc should be stored out of view. Not everyone is familiar with or as welcoming about the immense amount of 'stuff' that comes with children, and certainly not everyone is a fan of kid-centric designs (especially in bedrooms). Hey-not everyone is even a fan of kids, period. But that doesn't mean you can't sell your house to them.

Clear out the kid-clutter, paint their bedrooms beige if you need to (it's temporary and their imaginations can still function), put away their fingerpainting projects until your next home and get them out of the house for showings.
Online Listing: Your listing will bring in your potential buyers. With a crap listing, you'll have a crap turnout.

Take good pictures. Take a variety of pictures. Don't take 3 of your kitchen, no matter how awesome you think it is. There is a maximum number of pics allowed on a listing, and if they're all of your kitchen and backyard, it seems like the rest of the house is crap. Make sure the pictures are well-lit and clear. Download and play around with Picasa if you're able. It's a simple way to really improve your pictures. If you can't go that far, at least use the Edit Photos function in MS Picture Viewer.

The blurb...KISS. Keep it simple, to the point yet informative. Don't use infinite superlatives saying how gorgeously beautiful your stunning home is. I won't read it, and I certainly won't believe it until I see it. Don't tell me it's a 'must-see': everyone says that. It's only a must see if I like it. Also, don't tell me it's the nicest home I'll find or the best on the block---that's an opinion. I'd like to make my own thanks. Include the square footage, a couple highlights and maybe a simpleton's statement on where it's located (Not everyone would know your specific neighbourhoods name, but they will know a mall, arena, etc)
Price: It's all about the Benjamins. For you and for the buyer. You know how much you 'need' to get from the sale. If you're looking for a fairly quick and painless sale, look at the comparables in your area and don't get greedy. If you can sell the home for $250K and the homes in your area are listed at around $260K and have the same 'basics' as yours, don't list it at $275K because you like yours better and want more. Unless there are quantifiable upgrades on your home (hardwood floor, premium lot, etc), don't be stupid. List it along the lines of the other models, or even be really savvy and list it for a smidgeon less to pique interest. Also, don't say 'priced to sell' unless it really is.

If all else fails and you need a kick in the butt, head over to Lovely Listing (formerly It's Lovely I'll take it) and be reminded that the above isn't as obvious as one might think or hope. Also a few excellent reminders of what NOT to do.

September Goals

2009-08-31T12:05:00.002-04:00

For obvious reasons, September's goals are a little more home-centric.

Send cards
Have a real date night with hubs
Finish organizing the basement
Stage 2 spare bedrooms
Hit up an antique store or auction
Make cinnamon rolls w breadmaker
Get to work on time at least 1x per week
Organize our closet
Host at least 1 open house
List & sell our house

Although the first 9 individually aren't super ambitious, all combined together to make goal # 10...yeah, it's a big month. But we're ready for it. I think. No, no, we are. I hope.

What's on your monthly goal list?

August Goals - Judgement Day

2009-08-31T11:36:00.002-04:00

Wait a second--August's over...ALREADY?!?! That's totally insane and I feel soooo old, but I feel like I blinked and it was over. C-razy.

Because of that and a fairly busy month that made it seem even quicker, I just don't think many goals will be met this month. Let's see:

Send cards for every birthday & event Yay! At least one goal is met. I got my parents anniversary and all the birthdays, one that even required a little street stalking since I didn't know my friends exact mailing address.
Have a real date night with hubs Just in the nick of time. We've had a bit more us time lately and Friday night we went on a real date.
Ugh-Organize the basement Mostly complete. I made a huge dent in this goal over the month, and actually plan to finish it tonight. If I do (ha!) it'll be officially completed.
Seriously! Work on Bedroom drapes Yay again! Despite a little hiccup, I've since hemmed and ironed the drapes and moved them to fill out the rods a little more. Now genuinely think they look great. And make SUCH a difference.
Get creative with my birthday parteh As I've mentioned, I've already counted this goal as completed. The party was a success and there were definitely creative components.
Look for new desk for office Failed. Totally wasn't a priority this month.
Art for Front entrance...a little DIY Ditto.
Hit up at least 1 antique store Just couldn't swing it. Although I found out a friend likes to hit up auctions, so...I'm very excited about that option.
Enjoy cake decorating classes (they start tomorrow!) Definitely met this goal. As discussed here, here, here, here , here and here. (Wow-I apologize for the cake infestation this month)
Enjoy summer and stop stressing about the house Partially completed. I definitely have been enjoying the summer thanks to a few nice days and weekends (finally!), and I certainly haven't been stressing about the house on a day-to-day level. However, our recent decision to sell has definitely caused excessive thinking, and, I'll admit it, a good dose of stressing.

Well, alright! I guess I did much better than I'd anticipated. I guess I did make it pretty easy on myself. But for the last month of summer, I think that's more than fine with me.

How'd you do?

Birthday List Revisited

2009-08-28T11:10:00.004-04:00

I'm a lucky, lucky girl. This I already know. I was reminded yet again over the weekend/this week throughout my birthday festivities that I'm lucky and have some very thoughtful and generous people in my life.

Enough with the sappy stuff...here's my (huge, wonderful) haul.

If you'll recall from late July, I posted a birthday wishlist in the absence of anything else to post. Since very few people other than my family read my blog, I'm told it gave some ideas.

Unfortunately though, I was unaware that a certain sister *ahem* had forwarded this blog to my best friends for ideas. I hadn't updated my wish list because, well, that's silly and also because hubs and my siblings are the only ones who read this blog who may be inclined to give me something for my birthday and they all know what I've already bought myself and more or less what I have (we're a very close family and see each other very often). So...my friends went off and, using my wish list and my current obsessions with all things cake decorating and got me these wonderful things:

A turntable/lazy susan, a cake/cupcake carrying case (the very one from my wish list), some silicone cupcake liners (fantastical) and a lovely glass cake pedestal. Great gifts, non? Do my girls know me or what? However, I already have the carrying case and a pedestal, so I'll be exchanging them for some equally great gifts.

Aforementioned sister still did very well though, and true to form, gave great gifts. Specifically, some Bumpits (somewhat of an inside joke) and some bookends:

From my other sister, I got a lemon zester, a very nice metal (and thus chemical and yuck free) water bottle and some totally cute monogrammed hand towels (an A and a J are embroidered in brown). And we all know how much I like my monograms.

And hubs...well, hubs is getting very good at this gift thing. He pays a lot more attention than I give him credit for, I'll say that much. So he had originally bought some lovely metal bookends (almost identical to the ones in my wish list) and a car cell phone charger. Apparently I let my phone die constantly and forget to charge it...and apparently this is a problem :P However, since sis already got me bookends, which I opened Sunday at our family dinner, he had an errand to run and instead got me this:

A bread maker, which I initiated last night. Seriously. Phenomenal. How have I not had one of these in my life before? With less than a minute of effort and a little bit of patience (3 hours for last night's loaf) I had fresh baked homemade bread. Although I was a little eager and didn't really plan too well (wanted to get it going as soon as I was home), the bread was still very soft and fresh this morning, and last night at around 3 am when I was up for a bathroom break, our house smelled ah-mazing! I can't wait to try some other recipes, like cinnamon rolls, cheddar jalapeno bread, banana bread, etc etc. Yum yum--good work hubs!

And I can't forget my parents early birthday gift, which we use almost daily. Our wonderful BBQ! They also gave me some restaurant and store gift certificates which will be put to very good use.

And a similar idea from my in-laws-they got us central vac back in February that covered a whole lotta gifts and occasions.

And you can never underestimate the appeal of money and gift cards. Some birthday money from my Oma got me my very first item of lululemon clothing, the groove pants (which are definitely as amazing as everyone says, but also ridiculously overpriced, which is why they were my first purchase)-thanks Oms!

Also, a HomeSense gift card from my bro & his gf will be welcoming some fab accessories either to this home or our next one if I can wait that long. And a Pier 1 gift card from hubs aunt which will also bring in some lovelies. A cheque from my other in laws as well as some booze from several friends are all such great, appreciated gifts.

Wow--isn't that ridiculous?!?! When you list it all out like that, I feel like a spoiled little brat. Which, apparently I am. Thanks everyone---love you all!

How about you? Any birthdays or occasions lately that make you feel so blessed and maybe even a little guilty?

The finals are over

2009-08-27T09:23:00.005-04:00

Cake lessons course 1 are officially over. Last night was our 4th and final class and we learned how to 'master' the Wilton rose...WAAAY easier than it seems, and even than the course implies.

So last night we learned leaves, ribbons and the remainder of the rose. Then we went to town on our final cake. You were given 2 options. The one I chose was to look something like this:

Or, the ridiculously perfect one from the course 1 cover:I liked the purple I'd used for the birthday party cakes & cupcakes, so I decided to go purple again. Plus, we had to make the little border flowers a few days in advance so they could set and I still had some icing leftover, so it worked out nicely. And here's my cake:

Unfortunately, the cake carrying case I got for the course, although multi-purpose, is a little shallow. So when I went to put the lid on to leave class, it smushed the top rose.
Whon Whon. But I made a few extra roses, so if I cared, I could swap it out for a new, un-smushed one. I haven't yet decided if I care or if hubs and I are going to be the ones eating it. Overall, I'm pretty pleased and had a great time in the course. We even signed up for level 2, which doesn't start until November.

Decisions Part Deux

2009-08-26T12:13:00.004-04:00

I am having a MUCH more oprimistic week so far regarding our recent-ish decision to move.

Hubs and I both know the decision's a good one-better for us, a great way to make some quick money, and necessary to keep us on the right track to building capital. But that doesn't mean it's easy!

We love our house. Sitting in the family room watching some TV, I see the fireplace I painted (oh my-I forgot what a difference it made!), the potlights hubs installed, and all the other little bits and pieces that make it what we made it, and I'm melancholy.

Combine that with the complete and total lack of inventory, especially that we would like, and we begin to doubt what's going to happen once we make the bucks. Afterall, there's less point in making the money, if we're then just going to get another expensive house and blow all the profit on interest. It's still money, yes, but our goal is to keep it growing.

However, yesterday---I must have had a birthday light bulb. Either that, or I really am getting wiser as I get older-ha!

So, where I've been searching MLS and grapeving using our ideal price range, as you can tell, we've been finding nothing. Run down town homes, condos, complete fixer-uppers and everything in between. There's nothing wrong with any of those options if that's what someone's looking for, but for us, for now-we're trying to steer clear of total fixers, and we're done with our condo days.

Then--I thought "Well, I could expand our range by a few grand and allow room to negotiate in there!". And, voila! Seriously, some of these places that are INFINETELY better than what we were gearing up to have to consider were less than $5,000 away from our original cap.

So now, when I go home and hubs and I check out any new additions I've made that day to our list, it's with a bit of excitement rather than dread. It now looks like we can still use the profit wisely, and not have to totally settle on a place. In fact, with the money we'll (hopefully) be making, we could do some renos and come out with even nicer places, with actual yards (a couple even with pools...nice pools).

We've definitely had to make some choices and think about our plans a bit more concretely than one normally would, but I don't think that's a bad thing. And it's very nice, and very comforting to know that hubs and I are totally on the same page. (It doesn't hurt that with a cheaper house, he'll probably be able to afford a truck he's been pining after like me for Becks).

Goal #5 AND #9

2009-08-24T10:47:00.004-04:00

So this past Saturday night was my and one of my best friends birthday parties. Our birthdays are a week apart and have had the exact same group of friends since I can remember, so we usually do a joint get together.

Unfortunately due to the timing (ACDC in Toronto, a sports conference in Toronto), several of our close friends couldn't make it, so it was a smaller get together with somewhat of a random group of prople. As such, I didn't really feel it necessary to get particularly creative, per se with the party as I goaled (eh?) myself to do this month. A little bit though, and I think it was perfect for our group.

Lots of food. I mean, LOTS of food. Since I know our friends and I know that, despite several requests, I may know get an rsvp, so I wanted to make sure that there was enough food for unexpected drop ins. Plus a few people brought food that I wasn't expecting, which was very nice. So there are a lot of leftovers, and hubs will be bringing hamburgers, sausages and pasta salad for lunch every day this week. And probably most dinners too.

The menu was:

Nacho dip

Veggies & Dip

Chips & other munchies

Plus, some friends brought spinach dip & pumpernickle as well as a veggie puff pastry pizza appy

Hamburgers (we ran out of ground beef, so had to buy meat for the first time in 7 months)

Homemade chicken burgers (using our bulk meat)

sausages

caesar salad

potato salad

pasta salad

Birthday cake

Birthday cupcakes

Fruit skewers/kabobs

Plus, a friend brought a bin full of sliced watermelon as well

Sounds delish, huh?

I was relieved for a change, that my job has some *ahem* dry spells, so I could plan everything prior to the weekend and avoid scrambling around trying to get everything done and being stressed & panicked when it wasn't. And, I'm an accountant, and naturally anal-retentive by nature, so of course I had a spreadsheet to organize everything, including the timeline (inspired by the now defunct Hyper Homemaker). Most of the prep was done Friday night, so I even had time for a pedi on Saturday afternoon-excellent.

So, basically the point of this all is to toot my own horn at the cake and cupcakes I made for us. The cake was for my amiga and the cupcakes were for me (it just didn't feel right baking my own birthday cake). Both took significantly longer than I'd alloted to decorate, but I think in the end, it worked out:

So I'm pretty certain I can check off both goals this month with confidence. I'm definitely enjoying the classes, and I did put a lot of effort into Saturday's celebration. Plus---if you consider the coincidences of matching plastic table ware thanks to Dollarama, as well as my co-birthday girl and I both wearing white bottoms and purple shirt, which happen to (unintentially, I swear) coordinate with the cupcakes & cake...it's pretty flippin' creative :)

Rugs & Pots

2009-08-24T10:16:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned last week, hubs and I finally got to work on a few things that could have been done a looong time ago. I guess the incentive of 2 weeks until we list our home is a good one for a kick in the bootay.

Hubs installed pot lights in the family room, and we finally picked out an area rug for the same room. Yay! I've only been waiting for the area rug since we first layed the hard wood..approximately 6+ months ago:

I love them both...so much! I think the rug makes such a difference, and it's true what everyone says when they're talking designer-speak; it really does ground the seating area in the family room. (Plus it doesn't show every flippin' speck of dust and cat hair that inevitably ends up under that table!).

One of the benefits, for us at least, of buying new construction, is that hubs can sneak into the house while it's mid-construction and run wires for future electrical projects. Having an electrician for a husband is really pretty handy. So this is what he did-for the dining room, the kitchen, and now the family room too.

He put 4 regular sized pot lights in the corners of the room and 2 smaller, more gallery-esque pot lights above the fireplace to kind of showcase it a bit. These 2 smaller ones are also tilt-able, so they don't have to showcase the mantle if we don't want it to (but why wouldn't we? It looks awesome!).
Naturally, they make the room SO much brighter. But not in an annoying way-it's just very nice. And the 2 over the fireplace really do make it seem showcase-y, or, dare I say-model home-esque.

W're both really happy with this progress and there were a number of compliments on them at our party on Saturday night, so I know hubs is feeling quite proud of his work.

In somewhat related news, a home similar to ours was sold this weekend-very shortly after being listed. And it was listed at $30K more than we're planning on listing ours...this is very comforting news...

This is why they scare children...

2009-08-20T13:52:00.002-04:00

3rd cake class was last night. It was clown night. Unfortunately, when I went to Michael's 40 minutes early to peruse the aisles and pick up clown heads, they'd cleared out their cake section. So there were no heads. There wasn't anything really, it was frankly quite annoying. So, I wasn't going to do the clowns, but instead work on roses and drop flowers.

But, I didn't want to be the a-hole student that did their own thing while the instructor was going around helping everyone else with the lesson (don't you hate those people). So I made them.

They actually weren't too bad. With the multi-coloured icing, it made it significantly more interesting than dumping a load of icing roughly in the shape of a body. Actually, the multi-coloured icing was pretty neat. You use the food colouring to paint each colour thickly on each third of the bag. Then you have to manage to drop a whack of icing into the bag without squeezing it (definitely makes you feel like a bit of a tool). Then squirt the icing and the multi colours come out. You can see in the above clown...the one at about 9:00...that the colours were really vibrant there. That was my second practice clown we made on the practice board.

My options were to either transplant him and his practice friend or eat them then and there. I'll be honest, I considered both options at length. In the end, there were strangers around and I thought it might be embarassing to wolf down a good 1/2 cup of icing in no time. So I transplanted them, which is why the cake's a little full of clowns.

Personally I like the little guys hanging off the side. A little less weird.

Until I'm reminded that THEY HAVE NO HEADS! How am I supposed to give a cake to anyone when it's (a) full of clowns, and (b) the clowns are headless?

Fortunately, I didn't have to ponder that for very long...

Hubs to the rescue! Those clowns'll be gone in no time.

Really though, last night we learned how to do that shell border, several drop flowers and some figure piping (which is pretty much making dots). It was a good class and I'm excited to make the final cake next week!

Closet Talk

2009-08-19T12:53:00.004-04:00

OK, so it's note really closet talk. More accurately, shoe talk.

However, I needed a distraction from the barren land that is house listings and I'm a girl. Henceforth-shoes cheer me up. Plus, as seasons begin to change (I'm sorry-I prefer summer too, but it's a fact), I know I'm not alone in the increasing itch to shop.

Alas, I hit up my favourite cheap shoe shops:
Payless Shoes
Joe Fresh
Globo Shoes
Cutesy Girl Shoes (I apologize for the name, they do have some cute stuff though)
Spring (formerly Transit)

And..despite lots of drool-worthy shoes/sandals/boots, only 2 of the above managed to get their own board:

Payless Shoes and Cutesy Girl Shoes (again, despite the name) were the only 2 places where I considered making a purchase (...or two...or seven). That very first shoe; the purple ruffled peep toe-that started it all off. Yes Please!

And so that it's at least a little bit 'setting up home' related, here are a few pretty sweet closets (which are surprisingly hard to find inspiration pics for online):

And, if you much know...had hubs and I made our current home our forever home, the closet would have looked something like this (sorry it's so small):

With lots of space for shoes, bags, and everything else in there. Ah well...one day!

Decisions...

2009-08-18T12:07:00.003-04:00

So, hubs and I are currently deciding when and how to sell our house.

Yep-you read that right. This home that I've been blogging about setting up may soon be re-set up by someone else.
The market conditions are pretty good right now to sell it, and we'd make a good few dollars of it and the work we've put into it the last 7.5 months (has it really only been that long??). We both love this house, but if we eventually want to be mortgage free (or close to it) at an age younger than 85, we've got to keep moving on and building our capital.

So, this puts a lot of things into motion, which is kind of why I've been awol from the blogosphere.

First, we need to decide timing:
We'd like to move before the end of the year because we really don't want another mid-winter move and this winter looks like it's going to be a fairly busy one. So...that leaves us basically 4.5 months! We realize the number of people looking to move (us included) is limited in December with Christmas and the chaos that surrounds it, so...we figure a November 1st-ish closing. We don't know how long it'll take to sell, so we figure we should list September 1st.

That's 14 days from now.

Our list of things to do before we list/show:

Completely finish all trim/caulking/painting trim (95% done)
Family room pot lights (85% done! Post to come)
Rug for family room(done and done! Post to come)
Organize garage & shelving(hubs just needs to get the wood and then we can work it)
Organize basement(Fortunately an August goal anyways and on my list for tonight)
Fix & Iron master drapes(Slow process-they take a looong time to iron, so I'm 2/6 there)
Electrical for Master TV(should only take DH about 30 mins or so)
Hardwood in upstairs hallway(yee!)
Staging (move some stuff around, pretty it up and clean)

I'm sure there's oodles we're missing on there, but that's the bare minimum. I have a write-up done and we'd need to take pics of course once the above list is done.

Since we're waiting until after we sell to buy a new place, there's not technically a rush. If for some reason, there aren't any bites, or we're not getting what we're looking for, we can reconsider since we haven't already bought a place. Do you think that's smart, or are we shooting ourselves in the foot either way?

Therein lies one of the big problems I'm wrestling with today. There's NOTHING out there to buy! Seriously, no wonder it's a sellers market---there's no inventory!

I've been on MLS and Grapevine (the local FSBO authority) very regularly lately, and there's nothing. nada. zilch. Not a thing that appeals to us. Remember-a potential new place has stiff competition in our current home.

Well, let me correct that. There's nothing in our target price range, in our target area and with our target criteria out there currently.

In order to make money off the next house, it needs to be cheaper than this one sells for and have room for improvement (hubs is quite handy, have I mentioned that?). Plus, we like the area near and around where we live right now, and we don't really want to live downtown or much more East than we do now. Does that mean we have to move to the boonies? Kemptville? Manotick? Munster? Arnprior? Carleton Place? How far is too far? Clearly a personal decision and one we've been wrestling with a lot in the past couple weeks.

Another problem? We're cheap. Cheap, cheap, cheap. So we'll be FSBOing it again. No problem-I'm pretty sure our house shows very well and I can handle some open houses. This time though, the cats are staying. Their stuff can be put away, but we're not dealing with that BS again now that there's plenty of room for them to hide in the meantime.

However, with a potentially rushed purchase, do I enlist a realtor? Is that shady---selling it ourselves but then getting someone to help us buy a new place? They may know of better ways to search, better questions to ask us to determine our ideal home, not to mention make the process a lot easier. We've never bought an 'old' house before, only new construction, so a realtor could really help there.

Anyways, there are clearly a lot of decisions we'll be making in the very (very!) near future and, hopefully a lot of progress I'll remember to photograph to post here.

Cake Numero Uno

2009-08-13T11:59:00.003-04:00

I realize I've been departing from the theme of setting up my home fairly regularly lately. However, I'm just so caught up in the cake classes as well as a case of I-don't-wanna-do-any-work-at-home-because-it's-summer-and-I'd-rather-enjoy-it-and-do-nothing syndrome. It's quite serious actually, may require medical attention.

With that said, technically this hobby requires my kitchen. And technically it encourages creativity (or will) that I'll hopefully be able to transfer into more home-related projects in a few weeks/months.

But really, I just want to post about my cake, ok?

So last night was Level 1 Class 2. We had to prepare a cake and have it flat iced for class. We also had to bring a whack 0f medium icing so we could practive those star things, lines, borders, writing and getting started on roses.

Turns out, they're actually really easy to do once you're told what to do (as most things are), but it just gets really, really tiring for your hand. No, I'm serious, and I'm not being a wussy-it's hard work and I'm pretty sure I went to bed with my hand in fits of repetitive stress something-or-other. In the end though, I managed to finish my cake in class, which I really wanted to do:

It's totally girly and juvenile, but meh. You don't have much choice at this point. Our options were to make a rainbow cake, a character cake, or bring a cookie cutter and use that as the shape. Fairly limiting to how modern and cool you could make a cake. For me, anyway.

In the end I quite like it though. Considering I made it and it looks pretty darn good. There's even space to write something if I choose to.

But get this: next week we're doing clowns! Yep-ones like these:

Which, I realize is part of the course curriculum, and perhaps one day I'll need to make a clown cake for my or someone else's child. At this point, though, I'd rather learn how to make more practical designs. Aren't most kids scared of clowns anyways?

Oh well, it'll be more practice and get my hands numb again to get used to the pain.

I actually can't wait. I may practice some more before then...especially on the first stage of the Wilton rose: the turd base as I lovingly refer to it.

August goal 4-YAHOO!

2009-08-11T11:16:00.012-04:00

Phewf! I was starting to get embarassed about my August goals..thinking the only shoo-in (weird word when typed!) was #9. Fortunately, however, we've made a bit of progress otherwise.

I picked up some Ikea Merete drapes and some Lummig rods last week and we finally got around to getting them up last night. Yay!

So, just so you understand what exactly we were dealing with, not to mention the relative "urgency" (obviously not really urgent) of improving on our ghetto window covers, here are the before pictures, which have been exactly like this since January 30:
Please note 2 different throws flanking the bed. Although they match each other fairly well, they are certainly different (1 fleece, 1 cotton) and certainly not drapes. You will also note 1 (one) set of drapes hung on 2 (two) separate large windows, clearly way too short to even attempt to pass as actual drapes. All 4 of these coverings were being held up with miscellaneous nails and tacks. Lovely, non?

It's amazing what you learn to live with, and what your eyes and mind just accept. Looking at them in the photos, I can't believe we didn't change these immediately and I can't believe we showed anyone this room after 6 months of them looking like this.

Anyway, despite their former coverings, they really are gorgeous windows that deserve to be showed off. Here they are sans coverings and with all our new drape stuff spread out (not to mention a curious feline checking out what all the fuss is about):
Unfortunately you can't tell with these photos, but the lighting is phenomenal with no drapes, or if we had been able-open drapes. Seriously it's so open and light in there we had to just sit back for a moment to enjoy what we had no idea we were missing.

So after washing, drying, measuring and iron-hemming them, we hung them all up. Which, unlike our nailed-in-place, ghetto previous coverings, can be opened to let all that gorgeous light in (when it's not raining during this crummy "summer"):
Honestly, though once they were up I was kinda disappointed. Obviously INFINITELY better than the before, but they just weren't what I was hoping for. I guess I was so stuck on getting drapes with grommets/eyelets, I didn't consider that I may have preferred something a little softer, like these (which, of course, happen to be significantly cheaper): Also, I love him, but hubs hung the rods so we couldn't have the drapes wider than the window frame. I'm going to play around with them tonight to see if I can put a grommet on either side of the support to remedy that rather than have him re-do them all though.

And as a final kicker, they're so flippin' long! After washing and drying them (in order to account for shrinkage, heh heh) I measured one, assuming they'd all have shrunk the same amount and hung them. Wishful thinking on my part I guess, because some of them were perfect, but some of them look like this:
Which isn't working for me. So, I'll have to get in there tonight and re-hem them and measure them each individually...ugh. Oh well, better to get it right in 2 nights than adjust to another set of blinds that don't measure up (pun intended).

Still much better though, don't you think? And certainly overdue.

Ken Paves

2009-08-11T10:37:00.005-04:00

Isn't that a celebrity hairstylist or something? Fortunately this post has nothing to do with him, Jessica Simpson, ugly high-waisted pants or hair.

It has to do with Ken, one of the ~~lovely~~ ~~pleasant~~ competent men who took our driveway from this: to this:

Isn't it great? As someone who wears 3" heels on a very regular basis, let me tell you...it' a Godsend for the ankle! No more pebbles, stones and debris to trip over, stumble on or sink into.

(And yes, I drive a '97 Buick Skylark...she's a beaut)

Between the grass coming in beautifully, the driveway being paved, and my green thumb becoming slightly less black into a more dark chocolate brown shade, the outside of our house ain't all that bad I don't think. Certainly better than 5 months ago! Egads.

Are you wondering how I know the name of one of our pavers? (I say our like we hired them. Really they're the builder's pavers. Had we hired them, I'd hope we'd know their name!) There's some unspoken comraderie between tradesmen where there's a mutual respect and understanding no matter what their trade. Married to an electrician, I've come to really appreciate this bond they have. A pair of work boots and Carhartt's equals buddies. So last week when they were out there tramping (or something...flattening in preparation for the paving), hubs came home and struck up a conversation with the guys. Throw a can of beer in there and they were chatting like long lost buds.

(As another note, have you ever tried to type without the letter s? My keyboard's been funky all morning and my s key hasn't been working. Let me tell you...it's a pain in the a**!)

It's starting...

2009-08-07T10:42:00.005-04:00

Yeah, I'm officially obsessed with the cake decorating lessons. I can't even pretend I'm not.

Last night my sister and I met up now that we were armed with our 40% off Michael's coupons courtesy of flyer land. (As an aisde, how was I not aware of this site's existence until Wednesday night??? This could have come in handy when I was planning an entirely DIY wedding).

So with the class receipt, you get 10% off all Wilton products. This is great, but some of the stuff is just darn expensive, so I'll need to make a couple trips with the larger coupons. So here's what I got on trip #1: Which is more or less the basics.

I got the 50-pc tool caddy set (which replaces the course 1 kit for more or less the same price with the coupon) where I got a whack of stuff all handy in a little caboodle. I liked the idea of the case and I thought the 101 piece larger kit was a bit overkill for my aspirations. I'm interested, yeah, but I still haven't started and I'm not going to make a career out of it or anything.

I also got some meringue powder for the buttercream as well as some butter and vanilla flavouring. I need to hit up some grocery stores to find some clear lemon flavouring...yum!

I still have to decide what I'm going to decorate on my first cake next week though, and our options are:
1-character cake (i.e. shaped pan and lots of those star dollop things)
2-rainbow cake (round cake with a template painted on of a rainbow)
3-cookie cutter cake (instructor's option-choose a cookie cutter to use as the template and then star dollop the shape)

I'm thinking of option 3 as it requires fewer purchases and could be more personalized and less childish. I'm also thinking of making it a quasi-black forest cake. OMG--delicious!

Has anyone else taken these classes? Any tips, tricks or ideas I should know about? Or online sources for cheaper goods?

New Obsession: my cake classes

2009-08-06T11:16:00.007-04:00

So, I think it's safe to say that August goal # 9 will NOT be a problem.

We had our first cake decorating class last night at Michael's and the instructor was extremely sucessful in achieving her goal for class 1: to inspire us to want to go home that night and bake & decorate a cake. Mission accomplished for at least myself and my sister & brother's GF.

We got our books, learned the recipe for their buttercream icing, and how to ice our cake for next week (dirty ice it if you're the Cake boss, crumb ice it if you're Wilton). Then she gave us a teaser of some of the things we'll learn in the next 3 weeks and then gave a quick tour of the cake section as well as what we'll need for this class.

She offered to let us taste the icing-only me and 1 other person went for it. Weirdos! It was delicious, so I'm excited, but my waistline is quivering for what's to come in the next month.

My sister's already created a spreadsheet of all the items she'd like to purchase for the class. Some of them are necessary, some aren't, but all are helpful. And I'm pretty much in complete agreement with her list (with 1 exception).

Her list:

-course kit (agreed, but I think I'm going to get the 50-pc caddy instead)

-bake even strips (the exception, I just don't really care if there's a bump-I'll just cut it off)

-coloring (included in the 50-pc kit)

-meringue powder

-baking pan (I already have several, but may spring for a new one)

-spatula (that angled one looks too perfect to pass up)

-easy release goop (or spray) (meh-we'll see)

-footed plate with lid (this will be the turntable to make icing it that much easier. If there's one available with a lid so it doubles as a carrying case, that's wonderful)

My additions:

-flavouring (some included in the 50-pc kit, but I'd like to find lemon)

-slicer-saw thing. (this guy)

And then hopefully (although doubtfully), I'll be able to make these in no time:

OK, I started getting a little overboard saving inspiration photos considering I've never even decorated a single cake (well, not well anyways), and clearly I need to take the fondant class.

Can't wait to try it all out!

Ikea Home Planner

2009-08-05T16:13:00.004-04:00

OK, seriously cool!

Has anyone ever tried this? It's Ikea's home planning program and I just tried it for a theoretical kitchen re-do and it's fantastical!

Hubs and I are entertaining some ideas...several of which include some completely redone rooms. Having the one-track mind that I do, I had to act on it immediately, so I was looking at ways to roughly price it out before further consideration.

Enter Ikea.

I downloaded the program and got to work on familiarizing myself with the program with a space I know quite well-our current kitchen.

It's super easy to use and in about 30 minutes, I'd created this:Although, the coolest part came with a little press of the 3D button at the top, which resulted in:

Come on...that's just straight up neat.

And although the 3D view was the coolest part, the absolute best part was when I hit the button that looked like a calculator. Sure enough-it gives you the cost of your choices...and mine? $3,604.83 +tax.

Are you serious??? That's insane. I have no idea what I was picking...as I said, it was just a trial run to familiarize myself, but there's a pretty sick gooseneck faucet, some walnut countertops and mucho pot drawers. I was expecting about 3-4 times that...clearly I'm horribly uninformed.

Anyway, this little exercise (/time waster) was a very valuable one and opens up a couple more possibilities to the ideas we've been entertaining.

Seriously-try it.

August Goals

2009-08-04T12:50:00.002-04:00

Here they are:

Send cards for every birthday & event
Have a real date night with hubs
Ugh-Organize the basement
Seriously! Work on Bedroom drapes
Get creative with my birthday parteh
Look for new desk for office
Art for Front entrance...a little DIY
Hit up at least 1 antique store
Enjoy cake decorating classes (they start tomorrow!)
Enjoy summer and stop stressing about the house!

Clearly, the main goal is the basement, which is a disaster. So I'll be focusing on that and trying not to take on too much so that I actually have a hope of completing it. Otherwise, I think I'm taking it pretty easy on myself. But so what?

Good luck to anyone with their own August goals!!

July Goals-Judgement Day

2009-08-04T12:41:00.002-04:00

1. Send cards for every birthday/significant event Failed I'm totally slacking on this one.
2. Have a real date night with hubs Completed! It was great, even though we left it until Friday July 31st!!!
3. Make or bake 1 new dessert each week Completed
4. Make a care basket for our friends going through a very hard time Completed (and seen here)
5. Spend more time with my girls! Failed Miserably. In fact, I saw them less in July than in several months..boo! But I saw my sisters a lot...so different girls.
6. Work out at least 5x per week Completed. This one was a challenge.
7. Make or buy window coverings for family room (let's hope 2nd time's a charm) Failed. Seriously, I need to get it together!
8. Surprise goal Partially Completed. I've started and just have a few more things to submit before it's official. Hopefully I stop procrastinating and get it done soon.
9. Decorate at least 3 walls/areas...it's just silly that there's a stack of art & hangings sitting in our house and so many empty walls Completed and loving it!
10. Hanging plants: Hang 'em somehow...our front porch looks lonely Failed-didn't even think about it.

So...all in all, not an incredibly successful month. 50% completed only...

In my defense, it's summer though. And who wants to actually do this kind of stuff in the summer? Anyone? Anyone?

Here's hoping August's a bit more successful.

How'd you do???

Stolen Simple Projects

2009-07-30T09:40:00.003-04:00

First of all, although it may seem like I sing their praises a little too much, I assure you, Style at Home has never heard of this little blog, me, or that I post on here and talk in real life about them a little too much.

With that said, here are some totally stolen simple ideas from my Style at Home newsletter:

Button Lampshades : I love this idea, and it really is that simple. You never think to dress up a lampshade, pillow, or even top with buttons or ribbon, but, done right, it could make it a totally new piece.

Covered Canisters : Again, totally obvious, and I've actually tried something similar with a cylinder piggy bank before. A great way to reuse and to inject colour or pattern into a room on the cheap!

Framed Papers : Admittedly, this display isn't all that nice. For my taste anyways. But some nice craft paper or even gift wrap (because you can never find something to wrap with the scraps) framed in a bathroom, nook or even in the kitchen could be really nice. And...yep-cheap.

Covered Stools : A nice way to pick up plain jane stools (or even homemade) and give 'em some pizzazz (or flare if you're into Office Space...yes please)

Paint Can Candles : Totally cute homemade gift, hostess gift or favour if you're an avid painter, or can get some friends to save some up for you. And cheap as can be.

Birthday Wish List

2009-07-29T12:49:00.008-04:00

Whew---it is HARD to get back into things after vacation. I'm pretty sure I'm sleep-typing right now and may have sleep-driven to work this morning. Hey! At least I wasn't also doing my make-up on my way in, which I've been known to do :)

So, since I've been awol and haven't thought about my home for a few days, I thought I'd post my home-related birthday wish list, which hubs asked for last week.
This board is mostly Decor-y stuff:
1-I can't remember where I got the original image (me thinks ZGallerie?), but an umbrella holder similar to these ones would be too cute.
2-I've loved these book ends for a while. Not these ones specifically, but ones similar would be fantastical in the office.
3-Z Gallerie Vector Sconce. You may have seen this on other "I want" lists, and that's because I love it.
4-Anthropologie Monogram mugs. Same deal as above-you've seen them before here, but a good thing is a good thing, right, Martha?
5-Apothecary Jars-the ones on the left from Pier 1 (and a bit too big) and the ones on the right from Restoration Hardware. Both lovely and would both look great in either bathroom with some bathroom-y stuff in them (q-tips, soaps, cotton balls, epsom salts).
And this list is a little more kitchen/crafty related:
1-Corner punch: You see, I make my own cards (laugh if you will) and it would be great to be able to round the edges in a less ghetto way that I am currently (holding plain-jane scissors and curving the paper resulting in a less than stellar corner). Enter Fiskars.
2-Cake carrying case. As the default baker in the family, and especially with decorating lessons starting August 5, something like this would come in super handy. And that it can carry cupcakes, mini cupcakes OR a cake is just icing on the...well cake. Baddum ching.
3-PVR. Enough said.
4-Bread maker: to be able to plop some stuff in before bed and then wake up to the smell of fresh baked bread...yes please!
5-Microplane Zester. Totally unnecessary if you have a grater, but sometimes it's just handy!
6-KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Doesn't everyone want one of these?

What's on your wish list?

Dear Genevieve...love!

2009-07-22T11:41:00.003-04:00

Has anyone else seen this show on HGTV?

It's now taken on the Tuesday night at 9:30 slot from one of my faves, Design Inc, and happens to be on right after Sarah's Cottage. Great news, right? So I've watched a couple episodes-3 to be exact, and it's friggin good.

I've always liked Genevieve Gorder from her Trading Spaces days and then on a show I can't recall where she tried to makeover a whole community. It was a cute show, but I don't think it lasted very long. I hope this one does though.

Her design is very much my style and she's such a seemingly genuinely nice, sweet and totally cute person. And apparently she has a 6 month old! How are you that cute with a 6-month old?

So last night's episode clinched it. It was a kitchen of a couple that had and pretty hideous kitchen to begin with, and it became seriously a dream kitchen. Well, mine at least.

Here's the after:And...I found a flaw. The show's website is a pain in the a$$. I hope it's only because it's still new and they have to work on it, but it's kind of hard to navigate and, at least for me, takes for.ever (shout out Sandlot) to load anything. It's ok though, I don't watch it for the website.

The other episodes I've seen are a a family basement episode and a family room re-do episode.

And...as much as I'm loving the show right now, I'm pretty annoyed with the website, so that's all I have to say about that.

I don't know if there's HGTV in the states, or the equivalent, but I urge you to check it out (the show, not the site) and see for yourself.

the Sound of Music...

2009-07-21T09:59:00.005-04:00

Nope, this isn't a review, comment or ramblings about the von Trapps.

It's about a new addition to our dining room:
It's been a busy few days getting ready for, hosting, and cleaning up after our first real house guests! Hubs' dad and stepmom came for a visit this weekend and a trip to Bluesfest to see Blue Rodeo (which was, as usual, fantastic). They've retired to their cottage in Quebec, so they don't come to "the city" too often, and it was nice to finally get to host them for a change.

They brought with them lots of hugs, stories and...a piano. Yes, I knew it was coming. Yes, I knew it was coming this weekend. Yes, I know hubs loves it and has been playing every free moment since we got it. Yes, it's a lovely heirloom from several generations of his past and it'll be great to have.

But for now, I don't know what to do with it.

There's so much wood in that room and there's not much of a budget to make too many changes (that I can think of).

Obviously, the first thing to do is reupholster the seat. C'est facile! Easy peasy. And of course, hang up some art work on the walls. Now that we have it, and once we determine the layout, we can finally do that, and that'll make a huge difference.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can lighten this space up?

(Besides not take photos at night?) Or how I can make it more interesting?

I'm thinking of re-recovering the dining chairs as well. Perhaps to match the piano bench? Yay or nay?

The dining table and chairs are actually from the same family and same original owner. About 5 years ago, hubs and I stripped it, routered the edges and stained it, as well as recovered the chairs for a huge improvement. Now it's pretty, sentimental and a little piece of history. Something I hope we can eventually work out with this piano.

So...ideas? Help. Please.

Edited to Add: Hmmm...I came across this post today. Coincidence???

Sarah's Cottage

2009-07-14T09:51:00.006-04:00

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Sarah Richardson. I've gushed about her before and I'm always sure to watch her shows on Tuesday nights. She's done 2 seasons of Sarah's House, where she flips a house and you get to watch the whole thing. The most recent season was Sarah's Cottage, where she made-over her very own cottage. Let me tell ya---serious envy going on.
I've seen each episode at least 3 times each. Hubs just rolls his eyes whenever it comes on now and asks if I can give the commentary yet. Sadly, I probably could. Yikes! (And yes, I watched it last night--it was the bedroom episode)

So yesterday, I found this post on Apartment Therapy and thought I'd share the cottage love with all y'all.

I'd hope to save some of the images from the HGTV site, but they're in flash and I'm just not techie enough to figure it out. I'd taken screen shots and gone that route, but it just doesn't work. Next step-google images! Not quite the same, but you'll just have to check the site out for the real eye candy.
The Living Room Addition/Exterior episode boasted some pretty swanky open concept living, and a good amount of antiques:

There was also a whole episode dedicated to the 2 guest bedrooms, appropriately and conveniently named East & West Guest Rooms:

As well as one for the master bedroom & their children's loft (did I mention she was uber preggers during the show waiting on number 2?):

Another devoted to the super swanky cottage bathrooms:One of my personal favourite episodes was the kitchen & dining room episode where Sarah used a lot of rustic looking stuff to cottage-up an otherwise quite modern kitchen & dining room:And the final episode was fairly Sarah-less because she was thisclose to delivery, so they recapped the season as well as focusing on the bunkie, which was just too cute:They just make it look so easy! I've asked before how and where these designers find their resources (seamstresses, antiques, reupholstery) because I've seen and dealt with some, and nothing ever turns out like any aspect of these rooms.

I definitely recommend you check it out though, and if you're anything like me, you'll love all the little details and personal touches. While you're there, check out the galleries for Sarah's House 1 & 2. Just be prepared for some serious day dreaming...

Sidewalk Rummaging

2009-07-13T11:50:00.004-04:00

I'm not ashamed to admit I did it.

OK, that's a lie, I'm a little bit ashamed. But not really.

Hubs and I were dropping my sister off at my parents place Saturday night and their neighbours are moving very soon. As such, they had a pile of stuff on the sidewalk waiting to be scavenged and take to reduce their garbage load this week. We're on a tight budget these days, so thought, "hey! what have we got to lose by taking a peak".

Well there was some half decent stuff there, but not much of it that we needed. But there was a patio table that quite nicely matches our front porch set. So we snagged it.

It's in great shape structurally, and if we wanted to, all it needs for a complete pick-me-up is a good sanding and a coat of stain. Since we have one set of in-laws coming from out of town this weekend, this'll be perfect for lunch or dinner if the weather's warm since it'll be a tight (not to mention impossible) squeeze to fit 4 adults at the bistro table. Perfect timing.

Anyone else have any good finds on a sidewalk? I figure it's just like a garage sale, but even cheaper!

Like a good neighbour

2009-07-13T11:39:00.004-04:00

Hubs decided to finally mow the lawn last week. It was new sod, so we had to wait awhile, but it was looking nice and plush and very very welcome, so he gave it a quick snip.

Since we have no side fence yet, and we've got a decent "how's it going" kind of relationship with our next door neighbours, he continued the snippin' and did their back yard too. Plus, he's a nice guy. He didn't think anything of it, but was glad he did.

So yesterday while napping after a day of torrential downpour beach volleyball tournament, I heard a knock on the door. It was our neighbour dropping off cupcakes as a thank-you for mowing their lawn. I was floored-it was so thoughtful and sweet...not to mention delicious!

I guess she runs a cupcakery shop out of their house, The flour shoppe.

And her stuff looks amazing! I want to have a party or shower or something just so I can order some. But you know I wasn't just going to leave them for hubs to enjoy since he did the favour, right. Snort, don't be ridiculous. Besides, I'm the sweet tooth of the family!

So I dug into one of the white topping ones:

And it didn't stand a chance. Flippin' delish, cute and oh so thoughtful!

Thanks Melissa, and if anyone's in Ottawa, I do not hesitate to vouch for an amazing taste to these treats.

Backyard Lovelies

2009-07-09T11:15:00.005-04:00

I've posted before about some backyard lovelies here. And, oh boy would I looooove any one of those images for my very own.

However, I likely never will, and certainly not with this home. Among other things, they're all on a serene waterfront, which is not the same as backyard neighbours with a trampoline. I promise, it's not.

With that in mind, here are some of my (slightly) more realistic inspiration images for the backyard:

Hey, I never said they were completely realistic. Nor have I ever claimed to be realistic myself. A girl can dream though, non?