Entries from January 30th, 2012

Race Car Birthday Wrap Up

17

30.1.12

We spent Saturday celebrating this little guy’s 5th birthday with his favorite things… cars! I love having a theme for a party, but I also like to keep things simple. So, instead of buying Hot Wheels tablecloths, napkins, etc. I bought items that could be reused in the future and adapted them to work with our race car theme.

I also staggered black & white napkins for the look of a checkered flag.

I’m thrilled that Kellogg’s has made Gluten Free Rice Krispies available in Canada now… since I was able to make mini Traffic Lights for him!

And here are the License Plate Thank You’s that I made last week, now attached to the take home gifts!

I hope you had a great weekend! What did you get up to?

Race to the Weekend

11

26.1.12

It’s a race to the weekend for different reasons this week! Our youngest is turning 5 on Saturday! And Friday is a Pro-D Day! Yikes!! So far I’ve been working on race car invitations, and license plate thank you notes to attach to the take home gifts, as well as planning some pretty fun race-themed food! I’ll be back on Monday to share some pics of the big event! We’ll be hosting the kids party in the morning, followed by a party for family in the afternoon, so I imagine that we’ll all be crashing hard on Sunday.

Do you have exciting plans for the weekend? Know any good party games?

Whatever you’re up to, have a great one! I’ll see you on Monday!!

Design & Photo Credit: Rosa Pearson (FlutterFlutter)

DIY by Candlelight & a Guest Post

12

25.1.12

Well, this post was supposed to be written last night, but we had no power in our neighborhood! The power shut off just after we had drilled the first hole for a curtain rod we were putting up… so thank goodness for cordless power tools, flashlights and candles! It’s our most romantic DIY yet! I’m excited to show you the new addition to our eating area very soon! More excited than Jason was to have his picture taken that’s for sure, haha!

In the meantime, I’d love it if you would come and join me over at Cottage & Vine today, where I’m sharing my Favorite Room! If you haven’t met Rene before, make sure you say hi! And for those of you visiting from Cottage & Vine, hello there! I’m glad to meet you!

Proud

14

23.1.12

He pleaded to use my “real” paints, and requested canvases to paint on for his birthday. Now he’s paintings a series of his favorite stuffed animals. Boy do I love this kid!! I couldn’t be more proud of my sweet seven year old.

I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

A Place For Everything

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19.1.12

Does anyone else feel the urge to organize? I sure do! My dining room table is a dumping ground for any item without a home. So, my goal this year is to find a home for everything. Things won’t be in their proper place all the time, because with kids that is unrealistic. Heck, for ME it’s unrealistic! But, I’m determined to make use of every inch of this house!

This antique fruit crate is a great addition above the coat rack in the entryway closet. It’s divided into three sections, so gloves, hats, and scarves all have their own spots. And, not having to hunt for a rogue glove among the scarves saves time when we’re trying to run out the door.

Herb pots play double duty as art supply storage next to the kitchen table. The kids take whichever pot they need to the table, and put it back into the empty spot on the tray when they’re done with it. Easy!

With kids comes a lot more books, which I love! But finding homes for all of them where they will still be seen is not always easy. I bought this antique tool box to store some of those books in our family room.

And last, but not least, this is my favorite drawer in our house right now. With the help of Japanese cups and saucers from this fabulous store, and a vintage cutlery holder, I’ve managed to put all the many batteries, tapes, screen cleaners, etc into one organized little spot!

How about you? Are you getting organized too? I’d love to hear if you have any tricks to staying organized!!

PS – I’m linking up to Cottage & Vine’s “Get It Together” Party!

Photo Credits: Rosa Pearson @ FlutterFlutter

Snow Day!!

9

14.1.12

I have been eagerly waiting for a snow day since last year’s one and only. So, it’s a happy day for me today!! To celebrate in style, I’m leaving you with my favourite snow day commercial.

Have a fabulous weekend people!!

Video Credit: Starbucks, Music: Matt Pond

A Little More

37

11.1.12

Check out the picture that I found from when the previous owners lived here, and before we tackled our kitchen renovation! It’s shows a little more of the room than you’ve seen before, so I thought I’d take some pics to show more of the family room/eating area/kitchen. I always hesitate to show too much because it’s a work in progress.

It looks kind of cramped in this picture, but I wanted the sofa to visually break up the long room, and I’m happy with the layout of the furniture. The beige wall on the left is currently the same colour as the rest of the walls, and now that they are all going to get a paint job I was thinking about trimming out and painting that one wall to match the kitchen cupboards. I think it would make the kitchen look a bit wider. What do you think? Keep it the same as the rest of the walls, or treat it like part of the kitchen??

I haven’t shown a view of our eating area before because for the longest time we had no chairs! We borrowed chairs from the dining room while I was waiting to find the right chairs for the space… turns out they were waiting for me at Ikea all along! The table is a hand me down, and we’ve been searching for a long time for the right replacement, but can never seem to decide. And so it goes I guess! Life gets busy, and things fall to the bottom of the list if they aren’t completely hideous.

Thankful

10

09.1.12

How was your weekend?! I was happily designing logos this weekend. For the last seven years I have almost exclusively worked on graphic design projects in the evenings after the boys are in bed, but this weekend Jason took the boys out for the afternoon so that I could have some peaceful time alone to work… it was fabulous to not have to rush, and to be able to look up from my work and see some form of daylight outside! (This was the somewhat distracting view from where I was sitting.)

Photo Credits: 1. Cyd Converse for (The Sweetest Occasion), 2. Rosa Pearson (FlutterFlutter)

Ringing In The New Year!

10

07.1.12

My hubby surprised me with an iPhone for Christmas, and I’m so excited!! (And intimidated, if I’m being honest.) I have had a flip phone FOR-ever. You know, the kind where a phone is just a phone?! There seems to be so much to learn when you add a camera, music, email, etc. but I’m hoping for a fairly easy learning curve since I’m already on a Mac. Fingers crossed!

When I was in Seattle, I was searching for a case for my new phone, and instantly fell in love with the colour of this one. I love the gold & white design of this Kate Spade case… but the reviews on this were way better, and the colour makes me smile.

Speaking of color, have you heard of Pantone? As a graphic designer I rely on Pantone swatch books to show clients what colors will look like after they are printed. But did you know that they choose a “Color of the Year”? The color for 2012 is Tangerine Tango (Pantone 17-1463). Look familiar?

I’m off with a girlfriend tonight for a night on the town, but hope to play around with my new phone this weekend. Do you have an iPhone? If so, what are your favorite apps? Any tips? I hope you have a great weekend!

Beaver Brook

10

04.1.12

Want to come and join in on my daydream? You’re all welcome here. Please, help yourself to some hot chocolate on the deck after your swim. I had to share this dreamlike property with you! Now to find out where Beaver Brook is! Would love to replicate this one day… or at least rent it for a weekend!

Photo Credit: Zach Klien’s Flikr Pics via Sweet Home Style

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