Couch Transformation

So most of you readers are already aware of my devastating situation with a beautiful couch I purchased for my newly transformed den so I don't really need to rehash that (it's just too painful, trust me).  If you want to catch yourself up on my pain and suffering you can go here. 

I ended up finding a shorter, smaller couch for my new living space, also on Kijiji but I got this one for a mere $40.00.  It wasn't and isn't anywhere near as cool and nice as the first one I got, but it shall suffice.  My intention was to spray it with Simply Spray Upholstery paint and make it grey like I was originally intending.  In order for the 'paint' to work best you need a lighter palette to start with.  So this blah, cream coloured love seat was a great jumping off point.  And if it sucked, well it was only $40 (plus the paint of course, but I was being positive). 

Simply Spray is kind of like dye in a can.  It absorbs into the fabric to change the colour so because it's not laying on top of the fabric it isn't crunchy to sit on like most fabric paints would be.  Each can covers about 17" square feet but that seems to vary depending on the type of material and how absorbent it is.  I ended up using 6 cans to do this love seat (and I have a little left over for touch ups) but I didn't bother to paint the back or one side because there really are no other placement options in this room so it won't be moved around.  They suggest waiting 72 hours to ensure it's completely dry before sitting on it (which I'll take to heart), but it's pretty much dry to the touch the next day.

I have to say, I'm quite impressed thus far with how it's turned out.  It sure makes the love seat more appealing to my eye.  Doesn't seem as dated in my opinion, looks more modern (this picture honestly doesn't do it the proper justice, I swear).  They have a vast array of colours to choose from and I'm pretty sure this won't be the only project I do using Simply Spray. 

**I haven't even been asked by them to do a trial and endorsement, I swear.  I had to buy all 6 cans of paint that I used.  If they ever read this, they should totally send me some coupons or free paint so I can do another project with their product and sing their praises.**

The only downside I found to this product is that it isn't widely available in Canada.  The only distributor that shows up on their site for our great nation is in Quebec and it's kind of costly to have it shipped.  Overall though, it was easy to clean up and easy to use.  And I'm loving that I now have an option of changing up furniture without the cost of re-upholstering.  Technology really is great! 

Placemat Pillows

So I was at Walmart the other day and I spotted these "Autumn" themed place mats for $3 each.  I scooped them up with the intention to re-furbish them into a completely different household item.  Holding plates just isn't in their future with this girl.

I decided to turn these cool, but maybe not the most practical placemats into throw cushions.  Then I quickly came to the realization maybe they weren't meant for my house but maybe they were meant for Eric's parents new rec room.  Who knows...but that's who they are intended for (a slightly tardy part of Jill's birthday present). 

First I pulled the seam out at the bottom of the pillow (with my handy-dandy new seam ripper outie thingy, thanks mom!) then I took some stuffing from an old pillow I had laying around and I crammed it all up in that leaf, getting it all nice and tight in the little tips and everything.  Once I had it filled to my liking and smoothed out, I hand stitched the opening and VOILA!  Placemat pillows!  And then I repeated the entire procedure again so she'd have two, uh, uh, uh, uh....two pillows (insert lighting bolts here)!  Make sure you read that last sentance as if the Count from Sesame Street  was saying it.  Go on do, don't be a square.  Be a leaf!   

This Moment - Part two {3}





My youngest son Roan has really taken a liking to drawing.  He's quite good at it and if I could just find a way to get past the debilitating effects of A.D.D. I could get him into a class where he could really fine tune his skills and shine.  For now though I'll take every invite I get from him to draw with him. 

I used to really enjoy drawing when I was younger.  I found I struggled with what exactly to draw and I see the same thing happening to Roan.  I was never one of those people who could just draw completely from my imagination.  I always did better following off of a picture.  I was a "mimicking artist" if you will. 

This particular drawing started with Roan hanging out in my bedroom on the floor,  quietly drawing and colouring.  Eric and I were on the bed watching television.  Roan asked if I would like to join him because he was working on a collage of monsters.  I immediately said yes.  I mean, who doesn't like to colour?  My initial thought was I'd help him colour in his work and he'd keep drawing.  But I got bit by the bug and started to draw my own stuff.  As we hung out on the floor colouring and drawing Roan thought Eric might feel left out so he too was invited to join in our collaboration. 

The above is the masterpiece we ended up with.  Don't get too scared, it's just a picture, they won't actually get you. 

It's pretty cool to see yourself in your kids.  As they get older I'm seeing it more and more and it's still fascinating to me that a piece of me (many in fact) is walking around in another human being.  I hope they only get the good stuff I have to offer and not any of my flaws.  What are some of the things you enjoy doing with your kids that you also enjoyed doing as a child?  Do your kids have some of the same interests you did? 


***And on a completely unrelated note, this is my 400th post bitches!!!!  Who'd have thunk I had it in me to commit to 400 blog posts.  Not this girl.  I have a tendancy to gain interest in something quite quickly but lose it just as fast.  I see no end in sight for this blog.  Lucky you guys.  ;)  Thanks so much for reading me babble on and for leaving me comments and feed back.  It's my favourite part! 

Campfire Goodness...

Without the actual campfire!

I found a recipe that I've been looking for for what seems like an eternity and now that I've found it I want to smack myself upside the head because it is so ridiculously easy a monkey could have figured it out.  Yup, I'm a tool.  I tweaked it a teeny tiny bit and it still turned out magnificent!  That doesn't normally happen for me.  If I tweak a recipe I usually screw it up. 

Ever since I can remember, starting as a small child, my favourite cereal in the world was Golden Grahams.  Still is, with Special K with red berries coming in as runner up  (ooooh, I should make these with Special K with Red Berries next!).  So a few years ago when they put Golden Graham Crispy Treats (like Rice Krispy squares but using Golden Grahams) out on the market, I was in heaven.  At first it didn't occur to me to make them myself but after paying the exorbitant amounts of money they were asking for for said treats, it just makes sense to do it at home. 

So here's the recipe in case you were looking or in case you feel inspired after looking at the photos.  I kind of wish they would come up with a computer where you could taste a photo.  Ya know? 

6 tbsp of butter or margarine
1 bag of mini marshmallows
1 tsp of vanilla
1 box of Golden Grahams
1 cup of milk chocolate chips (or mint chips, or butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips or semi-sweet chips, or white chips, you get the drift)
1 cup of white chocolate chips (I added these as they weren't in the original recipe)

Melt the butter on medium/low heat and stir in marshmallows.  Once the marshmallows are melted and you have a smooth, creamy mixture stir in the vanilla.  Then fold in the entire box of Golden Grahams ensuring they are all coated in marshmallow mixture.  Fold in 3/4 cup of each chip (don't worry, they will melt some).  Take mixture and put into a buttered square baking pan.  Pour remainder of the chips on top and press down lightly with your hands to ensure they are stuck to the treats.  Place in fridge for 10 minutes to firm up. 

Once cool and firm, cut up into squares and ENJOY!  One square pan yields about 12 bars (if you cut them like a normal human being). 

These were actually so much better than the store bought ones.  Everyone in my house loved them (and that's an accomplishment because Roan is uber picky, even about desserts).  They only lasted one evening.  Definitely on my must make again list! 

Life is a Mixed Tape

So someone made me a gift,  a mixed tape.  For reals.  I'm not sure how I'll play it, but I love me a mixed tape.  This particular tape was prepared by one of my fellow zombies as a tribute to our Run For Your Lives 5K race day.  I'm actually saddened that I don't get mixed tapes too frequently anymore (there is a downside to all this technology), they were the best homemade gift ever.  Usually so personal and they provided an insight into the gift giver. 

Here's one example I came up with of a "mixed tape of a life" (not necessarily my particular life, but could be...dun dun dun) - the song list, if you will:

You made it out of high school alive!  You had highs and you had lows.  You made friends, you lost friends.  You thought you knew it all, you've discovered you still have so much to learn.  You are beginning to grow into your own person.  You're moving on to the real life now!

Graduation - Vitamin C 

You met a guy, he was great.  You had a brief fling.  He is just not that into you.  It sucks.   Only time heals these hurts.

Kreuzberg - Bloc Party

You meet someone new!  He's amazing in every sense of the word.  Everything else in your life takes a back seat to the time you will spend with him.  You envelope each other.  It's just you and him...  He is the axis to your world. 

This Kiss - Faith Hill

Things have changed.  He isn't the 'be all and end all' anymore.  You've discovered he has faults and so do you.  Maybe you don't meld together like you thought you did.  You are both young.  You both make mistakes.  He's strayed from the relationship.  He's found another girl who makes him smile like you used to. 

9 Crimes - Damien Rice

But you're not innocent yourself.  You've made him feel guilty for stepping out of the relationship when you yourself have found someone who makes you feel beautiful and sexy again and wants you as bad as you want him.  He does and says all the right things, your boyfriend can't measure up.

Rapture - Pedro the Lion

You talk it out, you both realize you aren't meant for each other.  You are both full of mixed emotions:  Love, lust, comfort, familiarity, hurt, anger, resentment.  You fall prey to what most couples do at the end of the relationship.  You have one final hurrah.

One More Night - Stars

He misses you.  He misses what he had.  It's easier to ask for you back than to venture out into the unknown alone.  You just wish he'd go away.  It's just easier that way.

Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri

Your single again, rid of the headaches and heartaches. You want to take back the life you once had.  You want to surround yourself with your friends, have fun and live life.  Tie up those laces and leave your worries on the dance floor.

Party Hard - Andrew W.K.

You're finally ready to meet the right person and start the next step of your life.  The planets must be aligning for you because you've met someone who just clicks with you.  Someone that doesn't make it hard.  Someone who just gets you -  Everything about you, good and bad.  Someone who is teaching you to be a better person. 

Arms - Christina Perri

You decide to make it official, dedicate yourselves to each other through sickness and in health, until your dying days.  You vow to stick with each other.  You complete each other.  He waits for you at the end of the aisle to take your hand because he already has your heart.

A Thousand Years - Christina Perri

It's your first dance as husband and wife.  Being in each other's arms just feels right.  Everything else falls away, it's just the two of you, taking on the world together.  You've begun this journey in each other's embrace and you hope to end the journey in the same stance.  

The Luckiest - Ben Folds

Your life takes the expected route and the two of you are lucky enough to join forces and create another human being to walk this earth.  You nurtured her, you sheltered her, you loved her with every fibre of your being.  You put little arms and legs on your heart and you released it to run free.  You became a mother and you no longer could remember what your life was like before that day.

This Woman's Work - Kate Bush

You raise your kids and it gives you an entirely new perspective on everything you put your own parents through and what your parents sacrificed to make your life better.  You have a whole new appreciation for your own parents.   And you hope someday your kids will be able to say that you were a good mother with complete conviction. 

Good Mother - Jann Arden



You've watched your husband grow old beside you, and now he's taken ill. You're the one he turns to for comfort.  You're the one who still makes him smile through his pain.  You are running out of time.  You need to tell him what he means to you, how he's affected your life.

The Story - Brandi Carlile

He slips away from you.  You feel so hollow.  He completed you and now a piece of you is gone.  You hold on to your memories and the love you shared, but it's difficult to pick yourself up and carry on.  He was your world, your everything.  You have to say good-bye.

Good-bye My Lover - James Blunt

He only comes to you now in your dreams.  You dream about how things used to be.  You dream about the day you will reunite.  You hold on to the hope that there is more to this union than just our physical beings.  You want so badly to believe he's out there, surrounding you with his presence.  He tries his best to let you know he's here.

I'll Be There - The Escape Club

It's your time to move on now.  To say your final good-byes.  It's okay though, your kids are grown with their own families and you have got someone on the other side waiting to greet you, to show you around.  You won't be alone.  You'll stand watch over your family.  You can go with the peace of mind that you lived a good life.  You did it your way.

My Way - Frank Sinatra

So there's my blog version of a mixed tape to symbolize a life lived.  Obviously there are so many additional circumstances in one's life where there could be an appropriate song playing in the background.  This is just one quick version.   It's fun to make mixed tapes.  You can have them represent one specific time like the tape Barb made for me, it can just represent you and all your favourite songs, or a period of time.  Making one can be cathartic and sharing them is a silent way of sharing yourself. 

I've always maintained that we have soundtracks of our lives.  Kind of like in the movies where at pivotal moments in life there is a song to accompany it.  We've just stopped hearing the music, but it's there lingering in the background...similar to how we've tuned out our own heartbeats.   What would your mixed tape be like?  What songs would you choose to represent you? 

This Moment {3}

It's Monday folks!  Here's the picture of the week.