The Worst Room In The House

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my house. It's old, it's quirky, it's lovely. It  has great moldings, doors and built-ins. But the TV room has seen better days.

We added the colour testing patches.

And the junk.

And now for the overhaul. I started with gathering pictures and arranging them on the floor, then hung them on the wall.

You may think that this is a rather backwards way of doing things, but I didn't want to fill in holes in my new paint job if  I didn't get the nail in the right place the first time. Patching and sanding plaster can be messy work! When I was ready to paint, I simply took down the pictures and gently pulled out the nails. When the painting was done, I put the nails back in the holes and rehung the pictures. (I'm not sure you could do this if you have drywall instead of  plaster.) I used the above picture as a reference guide to make sure I got the pictures in the right spot. It worked well.


Down with the pictures and nails, out with the furniture and on with some paint. Some of the furniture got a much needed new coat of paint.

After.

The pictures have been up for a few months now. (Would you believe that I started this post in June?) I love sitting on the couch and looking up at all those charming faces! I didn't realize how much I missed having photos on the walls.

Little Miss' paintings displayed in frames found at the Re-Store. A coat of white paint unified the mismatched frames. There is one spot left for a future materpiece.

One little table painted white.

Books, vintage finds, souvenirs from abroad and a yellow framed painting by Little Miss. You can see the transformation here.

Some rusty, vintage items from my dad's workshop. Remember this post? And Mousey Boy, a friend to Little Miss when she was, well, little.

Of course there is still a little left to do....some paint on the tins and baseboards. But, it's greatly improved, don't you think?

A Summer of Firsts

We've had a few firsts this summer. It is the first year that Little Miss went off to camp.

Thankfully she went with a friend. I can't wait to hear all about her week at camp! This week has been quieter without the Little Miss. The phone hasn't  rung nearly as much!

It is the first time that we've had a puppy.

I know the previous two posts were all about Sneakers, but I just couldn't resist posting one more picture of this cute little pup.

It's the first summer that Mr. Man has played baseball.

It is the first time spending a few days at a cottage with friends from Singapore.

What a fun-filled few days both at the cottage and in the city. James and Faith, I will post more photos soon.

It is the first time that Andrew made preserves.

 More photos to come of all the yummy things he made.

I promise to post more photos soon of baseball, friends from afar and preserving. Many of you have been asking to see more of what's happening at the house on the corner. Computer time has been hard to come by this summer. With the heat wave this week, 30 plus with a "feels like" into the 40s, I don't feel guilty about being inside on the computer!

More Sneakers

Well, puppy love has hit our house, that's for sure. I mean who couldn't love a pup as cute as this?

Bounding through the kitchen.

Sneaking.

Monnkey-boys.

 Tuckered out.

Sneakers

Friday night, this little guy became part of our family. Meet Sneakers.

He's a Dorkie, a Dachshund and Yorkshire Terrier cross. It was hard to get a good picture of him as he is often on the move. I did manage to snap a few once he had tired himself out.

More photos to come!



Starting Point

Our dining room needs help. It's long and narrow. It's undefined. It's the absence of colour. And it's the first thing you see when you enter the front door. Open our front door and you step into the dining room. This room is need of some serious help.

Where to start? With curtains, that's where! After spending what seemed to be an eternity in the fabric store I came home with this:

Now, I had planned to take my time. I thought I'd work on the curtains a little bit each day. Then we found out that friends from out of country were coming, so a marathon sewing session began. And ended with this:

I love the fabric on the top. It's a nice mixture of grey, cream and black. Since it was expensive, I only bought a metre. I added the red for a pop of colour. The room is already looking better. Now for paint, art and.....

A Week of Parties - Part 2

At the end of May, my mom turned 65. Sorry Mom, it's a milestone, so I had to share. After this post you go back to being 39 again.
We ate at a local restaurant. They serve locally grown, naturally raised food.

Celebrating the birthday girl.

Little Miss ordered cheese pizza, but ended up eating most of her dad's steak. Lucky for her, Andrew has a soft spot for the Little Miss.

Goofy Mr. Man. Love the psychedelic moose.

My brother, Glen and his wife Cassandra.

Happy birthday, Mom!

A Week of Parties - Part 1

The end of May was full of parties. First there was the 51st Annual Dessert Pary at the school. An evening full of fun, games, and yes, desserts. It's the school's biggest fundraiser of the year, raising over $15 000 in one night. I baked these for the dessert table. You can find the recipe here. Best rolls ever.

Then it was Mr. Man's birthday. A Lego party in the park. Fun. Very fun. My inspiration came from Delia Creates and this post. She does a fab job of listing all sorts of resources.

The invite.

The set up. Up popped the canopy. Up went the ballons and streamers. Out came the materials for the first activity. Parachutes and Lego dudes. And we were ready. Easiest set up ever.

A kind man playing in the park with his kids helped set up the canopy. It was up in a few minutes. Mr. Man blew up his own balloons.


Mr. Man and the Little Miss goofed around while we waited for the guests to arrive. Seriously, we're never ready this early.

After the parachutes were decorated and the Lego dudes assembled, it was off to the playground for some target practice.

Searching and finding Lego men paper cut-outs.

Cupcakes.

Pinata.

Part of the loot bags. Lego heads.

Mr. Man is already planning his next birthday party at park. I'd say it was a success.