lately.

as many of you know i took march off from this space to get my house in order, spend time with my kids and breathe. it's been awesome. probably one of the better things i have done. i found myself burning the candle at both ends, too many irons in the fire, run ragged.
i am more refreshed now.

yes i still have too many irons in the fire {i LOVE that saying} but i am finding myself managing them better and letting go of deadlines and i have to get that done more.
sitting back...slightly. {let's not get carried away here - i don't think i will ever find myself as laid back and relaxed as one is on a chaise lounge, fruity drink in hand. ever.....unless i am somewhere where that behavior is required. demanded.}

but i lived. i created. i enjoyed.

+st. patrick's came out of no where and there was no resting around here. cooper won a giant tie in his kindergarten class for having the most shamrocks - he earned them by being a good and helpful leprechaun. good for you buddy!

+aydan's weekend was jam packed with two days of irish dancing! saturday was spent dancing for a retirement home and on sunday her school took part in the annual saint patricks day parade in downtown montreal! she did so well - she's the one in the pink pom pom hat. it was so much colder this year than last year!!! holy smokes!

+the following friday was spent at a cabane a sucre {sugar shack} in the countryside with the brownies. we went at night this time and after dinner there was a dj for the kids and it turned into a real disco! the kids went wild when a certain song came on. can you guess which one?? {it has a style all it's own! ha!}

+the next saturday was filled with another irish dance performance - this time for our local legion.

+last week tony went to a conference in san francisco. there was an award show as well tied into the conference and....far cry 3 won two audio awards!!! the fearless audio director for the game {who we call dad in these parts} went up to accept the two awards! well done tony and the whole audio team from far cry 3!!

+ we decided to celebrate his win with make-your-own ice cream sundaes back home! aydan has been asking for these and was pretty excited when she realized what all the fixings were for! {we may have gotten a little out of control with the whip cream.....}

+while tony was away my mom came to visit for a couple of days. kids love their grandma time!!!

+oh yeah...i re-painted the tv room coffee table. for a while i have wanted to get my hands dirty with a sander and paint and since this week i had a couple extra days off i decided to tackle this. more on this later.....

+create. create. create. i decided that if i want our tv room finished on this side of the decade i have to get my sewing machine in gear. i gave it quite the workout!

+sunday was easter. tony was home. it was a perfect lazy day filled with egg hunts, movies, giggles, board games and a wonderful ham dinner. i made my best stuffing yet!!!!

+for april fools we decided to haul out some christmas decorations to give a little spin to the morning. {thanks for the idea amanda!}

+monday was a day off as well and i found this - aydan quietly working on her lego friends in her room with the sunshine flooding in. awesome moment in time.

+i have been stumbling on scenes like this one quite often lately and it makes my heart happy. this is what it's all about. i live for moments like this. the getting along. the love. siblings.

there you go - that's it! did i get all i wanted to get done this month? no. did i get most things crossed off my march list - not even close. but there is always this month......and lucky for me the snow hasn't melted yet so i can't quite move my efforts outdoors.

;)

hanging prints in the dining room...finally!

so here we go..another post about the house. what was that i said the other day? that i won't really post about our house here? and now another so quick? i might have to eat my words!!! because i was going to tell you about our new and improved entrance way soon as well! ha! maybe it's the fact that we have been here almost three years and it's not where i want it to be? hmm...

okay so today i have a confession to make.
when it comes to hanging pictures {or anything!} on walls that we took a while to paint and look all crisp and clean, i am a bit of a nervous nelly!
i really take my time because i hate screwing up and seeing random nail holes which reveal my rush and tell my story of oops to others.
this is just how it is.

that's why it took over  year for me to hang anything in the dining room. {and for the record we still have nothing in the living room and my freshly painted tv room is still naked as i need time to lay out our photo's that were in there, pair them down, choose what's right and do it once.}

i decided last month though that enough was enough. we had to do it. it looks like an unpersonalized show home in here. just a little bare.
i got these amazing prints from eva juliet last year and have been mulling over and over what i was going to do in here. where i eventually hung them was not their originally thought out place when they arrived but one day i just decided that that was where they were going to go - it hit me like a thunderbolt. i also decided that enough procrastinating was done on the situation and that action was needed.

so i took action.

first though i had to "live" with it for a day. this way i would know if my decision was right and be happy with it from this day forward.{please do not judge me by my light fixture...it's coming down soon and another like the one in the living room is going up...it's just that whenever it seems like i have the money aside it's needed for somethings else more pressing! all in good time i guess!}

i cut out three pieces from the flyers {yes i could have used plain paper i realized afterwards but the flyers were at my finger tips.} that were the same size as my pictures and punched in a hole where the nail would go.

then i taped them up with painters tape, leveled them and spaced them accordingly. i think i changed the around three times that day.

after living with this for the day and liking the position i hammered in a nail through the flyer in the prepared hole, ripped them down and hung my prints.

for the first week i have to admit the space felt busy as it is a small nook - i am trying to define the space and since tony won't do some board and batten for me i am going another route - but now i love it and can't imagine the space without them!

i have also decided it's the tables fault why the space seems awkward and a round one would suit the space much better.

;)

there you go - my simple diy!!

this place is really starting to come together and since we have decided that we are going to live here for at least another five years {excluding if there is a transfer} i really want to get it "done" this year so we can enjoy it! {in reality though...is it ever done?}

going to tackle the stairwell and tv room next week - wish me luck!!!

Delta to the rescue again! {a sort-of bathroom reveal.}

we are not construction knock the wall down type of folks.
we know that and we are okay with that.
we are pretty handy with a bucket of paint {i'm the official hole filler and sander - got that position when we re-modeled the bakery!}, a wrench and wallet for decorating.
we can install things where they is already a planned space for it.
that we can handle.

we also watch a lot of house hunters on tv and from that have come to terms with our limitations. i cringe every time i see a husband say he is looking for a house with a project. i can't remember EVER hearing that out of tony's mouth when we have looked for one of our three house.... E V E R. we have, however, never been detered by wall or trim colour. or by the prospect of taking something down. removing. i would never look at him and ask non-nonchalantly to re-do our kitchen or our bath. never. but you would probably never ask your construction husband to create a custom video complete with video, photo's and music or design sounds for a video game that has been nominated for a BAFTA Award...you heard me!! did you know the BAFTA's had a video game category? so proud of him and his team!
anyways - my point is, we are even.

but look what we can do with poly fill, paint and a wrench!! i think it's pretty cool.
{disclaimer...i never saw this blog space as somewhere to show off our house - you will most likely never see a house tour section but proud moments in home remodel may pop up from time to time so the before pictures i took in the early stages - i have learned my lesson - were purely for our documentation and not really thought through for blog presentation so for the lack of before shots, i apologize.} 

{these are after ones.}

when we moved in, as you can {kind of} see,  the back wall was covered in mirrors. yuck!

one day one of them came loose and we took it off and this started a domino effect. take the mirrors down - so much glue! {the guy who used to live here LOVED attching things with glue!!} then fill the holes and ripped patches, sand and paint. we found this gorgeous paint...glidden's china rain. doesn't it go brilliantly with the dark wood cabinets? love it.

next was on to the ceiling and trim. white not tan. check.

then the light {top}. oh that light. it matches the old living room one and the entry way. they look crystal. they are plastic!! we had no idea for the longest time. yuck. i found this beauty {below} from restoration hardware and i am going to get two more - one for the main floor bath and one for the stairwell.

the best part of the room by far? the "nose". i don't know if you are like me {tony says NO ONE is like me in this..} but the nose is the first thing i see on a face. to me, it's the anchor. it adds the character to your face. defines you. if you get a nose job or break your nose your whole face changes. i am always checking them out. as i am with faucets. i feel they are the nose of the bathroom. the anchor of your space. they give it character. you could have a beautiful space but add an ugly faucet to the mix and you have just been down-graded. that's why this was so important to me....and that's how delta came to the rescue.

the victorian model in the stainless finish. love.

again. isn't she beautiful?

you know what else is awesome about this faucet? {other than how pretty it is and how EASY it was to install?} i can put a watering can underneath it perfectly. now i don't have to run downstairs or use the tub to fill my jug - lazy i know but hey, i'm trying to keep it real here!
also it shoots right down the drain - no more water back-up in the sink!!! hooray!!

i have this awesome faucet in the kitchen and love it {i have talked about it around these parts once or twice.} and when we decided to give our bathroom that little extra oomf without actual construction the choice was clear. DELTA.
the only thing that has me a little bummed about the space is that we can't change the faucet on the tub or the shower. but to re-iterate...i understand our limitations and i am okay with it.

we have also been switching out all the door knobs in the house! it's all starting to come together.....that perfect westcoast beachy feel in the quebec-almost-countryside. you can take the girl from the coast but you can't take the coast out of the girl.....

so there you have it. our mini bathroom makeover. a couple cans of paint, a new light and that amazing faucet transformed this room so much that i don't notice it contains the smallest shower ever.
don't notice one bit...except until i bang one of my elbows of course. 

;)

gorgeous.
love it.

on to the next!! {i think i just heard tony's shoulders sag and sigh!! ha!}

but i have to ask you one more time...isn't that faucet divine?!

:)

exciting stuff.

things are happening over here.
stuff is being painted, sewed, built and decorated.
i couldn't help it..i had to give you a sneak peek.....

i'm so excited to finish it up!!!
it probably won't get totally done till just after the new year but i had to share.
i think it looks so purdy!!!
{yes i know that that is a santa pillow. he somehow made his way upstairs from storage and i didn't have the heart to put him away!}

remember the before pictures?

i am the WORST at keeping surprises!!

;)

{fyi..this is my 4ooth post! wow - i had no idea we were up that high!! thank you to everyone who has supported me and continues to do so....i love this work!!}

a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

it has been one of those weeks.
the kind where the goal is the widdle down the to-do list.
the dreaded to-do list.
that one where you are all ambitious to what you can accomplish in a day, a week, that no matter how hard you try and how busy your day seems you really only get one or two things crossed off? {except of course if you put laundry, dishes and vacuuming down - which i sometimes do to make myself feel better....}

things on my list right now:

• pay hydro
• set up monthly equal billing on hydro
• photoshop selected photo's
• order photo's
• blank blank blank for summer
• steam clean kitchen
• laundry
• email meg re: bunting and aprons
• aydan's tutu
• sand down door tops
• orange peel cleaner
• week in the life
• december daily

to name a few. it happens to be longer but i won't bore you with all the gory details.
although i have been super busy...in three days i have done three things of my "list."
blerg. ugh.
{notice i actually did put laundry down so i could cross something off!}

plus my constant companion has been a chest cough which makes me sound like i smoke 2 packs a day and gave me a rough sleep last night. no aches and pains anywhere else. just this awful cough.

monday was actually nice {cough and all} and not filled with 60 mile per hour icy winds so we took to the outdoors, going to the park and fixing up the yard.
progress was made - beds were prepped, plants were assigned and now it's been raining for two days.
really??!!

on the weekend we got a box of goodies from my mom and in it were leather jackets for the kids.
they rocked them all weekend and then aydan sported hers to school on monday.
too cute is all i have to say.

tuesday we took to the comfort and shelter of the house {since the rain continued} to do the dreaded house work.
floors and laundry were on the agenda and i did feel rather accomplished when it was all said and done.
even made it to the second floor after the main and basement were complete.
pat on the back - i earned it.

made this for dinner in celebration of the husband being able to join us - he left work the previous night at 12 midnight! poor fella.
it was so good!! broke down and bought the sherry - will be put to good use when i make this a million times over & i bought that fast fry steak which i would normally do this with it but it went with this recipe perfect.

and we ended the meal with this.....to celebrate my extended elliptical time.
i keep adding more time without the huffing and puffing. getting up there.

you will find the recipe here. {next time i will add the oats.}
and you're welcome.

today has a rather gloomy outlook outside so inside has been the top choice for everyone again.
kitchen is actually clean. {amazing!!}
house looks okay. {double yeah!!!}
so i am going to let you peek on the next project.....the tv room.

we are going to paint the walls gray & trim white, add curtains - i'm thinking white and green thick striped, create a desk/computer area behind the couch, some new decorative pieces and a new light fixture.
a new couch would be heaven but the dollars DO NOT stretch that far. too bad, so sad.

this was lunch for my today:

trying real hard to work off the 20 extra pounds i am carrying.
was really good and had most of this for good measure....

but i can't stop thinking about the black bottom cookies hiding in the bread box!!!
what's a girl to do???

for tonight we are going to have poached eggs, pumpkin waffles and bacon {for coop}.
i need to incorporate spinach in there somehow.....or maybe some sweet potato hash.
something.

also i would love to wish our niece jamie a wonderful 18th birthday!!! happy birthday darling and i hope you have a very special day. we are thinking of you. xoxo

{this post took to long to write and i had a cookie. oh crap.}