My Own Mini Art Gallery

I'm not sure if y'all remember my post about Eric hanging some frames for me in the den and me laughing at him because they were ceiling height.  That stuff happens when you get a 6'4" man to hang pictures, I suppose.   Anyway if you want a before picture you can check out that post here, it's OK it's a small post.  Go on, I'll wait for you to get back here before I reveal the new look.

Is anyone else humming the Jeopardy theme song?

I decided I needed something different in my house that wasn't just the same old, same old when it came to displaying photos, art, prints, etc.  I tend to follow the safe routine of asymmetrical wall hangings, everything being level... you know the drill.  When I stumbled upon an idea on the P site that I thought was pretty awesome, I realized I had an answer to my desires.  It helped that I had the perfect wall space to enact my own version too!

Before, after readying it for the paint job.

The mirror after painting it pink!

I was a little bit excited to pull it together, but once I got started it was more daunting than I had anticipated.  I still had to paint the ornate mirror I had picked up at a garage sale last summer for $3.00 and I wanted to hit Value Village to see if I could find some ornate frames to use for display purposes.  When we were there though, Eric found a tacky, but still so amazing, clock for $5.00.  I decided I'd paint the clock the same colour as the mirror.  I picked bright pink because it would compliment my Twisted Sister album that I had planned on incorporating into the scheme. 

The clock, before of course.

And after!

We were able to find 3 frames at V.V. that I used, and only one I had to actually paint.  I wanted to use some of the prints my friend Syx had given me last year of a photography project he did on Graffiti he found around Vancouver:  NoGraffito. 

This was an ugly brown frame before I painted it with left over green paint.

A pretty cool gold coloured ornate frame.

Things work in mysterious way... it's pretty interesting because not two days before I planned to start my project, I was cleaning out Roan's backpack for March Break (sometimes he leaves his left over lunches in there and a week of festering food is no good!) and I literally stumbled upon a folded up large piece of art he had completed at school.  A couple of years ago he brought a similar piece home and I had it framed and it now hangs on my wall in my office at work.  I was pretty stoked to find this masterpiece and immediately came to the conclusion that it warranted a spot in amongst my new wall display.  Funny enough I had a frame that fit the picture perfectly.  It just needed a paint job. 

So, now that I had my main pieces sorted out I knew I wanted to include some personal photos of the boys and Eric and I.  I can't believe that up until this past week I haven't had a photo of Eric and I displayed in my house.  I'm a terrible girlfriend.  But now I do!!  And it's in a pretty awesome gilded frame I got at Value Village for a buck. 

I then rounded out my project with the taxidermy frames that were the original pieces on the wall.  I still think they are crazy cool so I couldn't bring myself to part with them.  I'm still not sure I'm content with the placement of everything but it's working the way it is, and I know my laziness will probably take over and I'll just eventually be totally content with it as it currently stands.  

And here's my finished art wall.

I was digging the character the wall added to the den so much I forced Eric to just sit in there with me for a while to take it all in.   I don't think he felt the energy like I did.  I'm pretty pleased overall even if I make a few changes here or there.  I've never been brave enough to hang pictures that low or that high or in that quantity, but I'm glad I went out on a limb and took a chance.  Sometimes venturing out of my boring comfort zone brings excellent results!  Have you done something you wouldn't normally have thought you would do and been pleased with the results?  I'd love to hear about it! 

Duct Tape Really Does Fix Everything!

I came across an idea on Pinterest (of course) months ago and I've finally gotten around to executing it this weekend. 

We have two occasional chairs in our living room that I bought a couple years ago.  The cats immediately took ownership over them and basically destroyed them in record time.  Bummer for me because I really liked the pop of colour they gave, but I still hesitated tossing them out because in my mind they were relatively new and still served a purpose.   Then I decided they just needed to be recovered.  What I chose to recover them with didn't match my personal decor though.  The 'material' was more acceptable for a teenager. What a coincidence!  I just happen to have one of those and he just so happens to be getting a new bedroom. 

Here is the side chair before I tackled it but after the cats tackled it. 

I basically just took my time and pieced it all together in as many large pieces of duct tape as I could.  The less seams the better as I have a feeling eventually someone will pick away at a seam.  The good thing about this kind of reupholster is that I only need a new piece of duct tape to fix it and it won't stand out like a sore thumb!  I hope he likes it.  I think it will be a pretty cool addition to a teen aged boys room and I have enough duct tape to redo the second chair if Gage decides he needs extra seating.  Or maybe I'll just reupholster the second chair and give it away to someone. 

This particular chair took one entire roll of duct tape and about 3 extra (long) pieces of another roll.  Not too pricey of a project when you consider these chairs were basically just headed to the dump.  Now this one has a chance at a 2nd life. 

Poop House

Last weekend I felt like I should be somewhat productive.  We've been lacking in ambition during the winter months.  (Kind of frustrating seeing as those are the prime opportunities to do work around the house, but I digress.)  Since we began building Gage's new bedroom quarters we have lost valuable real estate when it comes to storage options.  The one quarter of the basement that has remained untouched  had turned into a catch-all.  So we sorted that chaos out.   In the process of this cleansing Eric decided to amend the kitty pooping area sitch. 

Up until the walls came down connecting the finished and unfinished parts of the basement the kitties had the luxury of going to the bathroom in peace.  But since Eric was framing in a new wall, Dempsey has had free range of a kitty poop buffet.  Dogs are so gross.  Eric decided to help Dempsey avoid painful teasing of poop breath by his peers and designed a new poop house for the cats (I think I like the word poop).  Little did he know that I'd be coming home with the answer to his problems. 

At work we had a couple cremation container lids sitting around taking up space in the funeral home storage.  (When we cremate the rental casket after so many uses, we don't require a container lid thus we had two laying around without an option of disposal as they won't fit in our dumpster at work.)  I had originally thought I might be able to coerce Eric into building me a window bench using the wood but upon inspection he found a better use of them. 

 

I'm content with the end result and I'm glad we've cleared up room at work, and tidied up our space at home too!  It's environmentally friendly to boot!  I was worried at first that with the lid closed the cats wouldn't have enough vertical space to poop in comfort, but the evidence left behind suggest they have adapted quite well.  I promise no pictures of the evidence.  It didn't take long for their curiosity to get the better of them, I mean I wasn't even finished taking pictures of the finished product. 

Ceiling Art

*Snort*

I asked Eric to hang some framed animal carcasses for me on the wall in the den.  We had painted them all white to match the new room.  I laid them out in the pattern on the carpet of how I had wanted them to hang and left it to him.  Everyone knows that pictures are to be hung at eye level right?  Perhaps it's best you don't ask someone who is 6'4" to hang your photos and expect them to be at normal height (he honestly didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but I swear I don't have any other frames hung this high in my house). 

All I could do was laugh....and later I shall lower the top row of frames. 

The Wood Will Renew The Foliage It Sheds

In the spring I thought it would be a brilliant idea to turn Gage's bedroom on the main floor of my house into a den and build him a new bedroom in the unfinished part of our basement.  On paper that seemed like a logical (still does) and quick transformation (not so much).  We are still far from finished the den and no where near completion on Gage's new space.  Instead he has completely taken over our rec room and destroyed it in the process.  Arg!  Following his room creation we'll be re-doing the rec room now.  No travels for us this year! 

Gage's room before furniture removal but after personal effects removed.

The point of this post is to introduce you to the main hiccup or the most time consuming aspect of the den transformation.  Our pallet wall.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and I loved the raw look of the wood.  I knew, aside from the work, Eric would also embrace this idea as he loves all things woodsy and natural.  So pallet searching we-a-went!  We lucked out huge when a friend of ours was able to bring us a butt truck load of pallets on a few occasions.  This saved us driving around looking (which we only had to do once).  And of course not every board on the pallet was in decent shape or suitable for using so we had a lovely trashy collection of pallets on our patio all summer.

It took a lot of physical labour to remove the usable boards from the pallets.  We deemed it better to cut through the nails with a saw rather than try to pry the boards off.  Prying them off would just result in breaking and cracking the boards.  This was merely one aspect I didn't take into consideration when I envisioned a quick finish date. 



Eric showing me his displeasure.

The second set back was the fact that it was thought best that we pull the drywall down off the one wall we had chosen to recover.  Drywall/plaster, same thing right?  Nope.  Plaster is a son of a bitch!  So that took way, WAY longer than I had thought and created way, WAY more of a mess than I was anticipating.  The metal gridding behind the plaster was the bane of Eric's existance.   Finally with the wall down to the studs we were able to put up the two sheets of plywood we had purchased.  I think we got 1/2 inch plywood to put over the studs.  The thought process behind this was:  Because the slats from the pallets are of different variances if there were any small gaps or spaces between slats then it wouldn't be as obvious with the wood plywood peaking through it rather than a painted wall.  And, my wall wouldn't be jutting out an extra inch or so from the orginal studs.  Eric is so smart, sometimes his extra work pays off. 

Now it was finally time to put the slats up onto the wall (the one part of the project I was totally focusing on).   After 5 lines I was coming to really appreciate how this wall was going to look upon completion.  Thank goodness we were only doing one accent wall.  I can't imagine trying to 'panel' an entire room with this process.  Now that the slats are all up it looks amazing.  Even though this project set my den make-over back like 3 months (working full time for a living and trying to squeeze this in isn't always practical) I have no regrets about this decision.

It's time to start piecing the room together.  I can't wait to see the finished project with all the crafty stuff I've done for it and in turn, show you the end result!  I'm looking forward to having a new room to hang out in.  I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  It will all be worth it.    

 

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! 

Drapes are the Eyeshadow to the Eyes of my House

Today was very rainy, so I only felt it fitting to stay inside and check out my brand new sewing machine that Eric got me for my impending birthday.  In the past whenever I needed to sew something I'd have to drive over to my moms to abscond with her machine and then return it after.  Thankfully she doesn't live too far but still, not overly convenient when you're in the middle of a project. 

Another sweet Kijiji find for $50.00.  Hadn't even been taken out of the box yet.

A couple of weeks ago there was a sale on bed sheets at our lovely Giant Tiger.  Ten bucks got you set of twin sheets.  The advertisement showed navy blue and white striped sheets which I thought would go perfectly in my den.  What's that you ask?  Why would I need sheets for my new den?  Well I'm not going to use them on a bed silly!  I'm going to turn the flat sheets into window coverings!  Drapes to frame the window in fact.  And, as an added bonus, Roan just scored two brand new fitted sheets for his bed and since he doesn't use the flat sheets anyway, it was totally win-win!

So today seemed to be the day to break my new machine in and get those drapes made.  And so it was.

I started out by taking 2 inches off the bottom of the 'drapes'.  I then folded one flat sheet in half vertically and cut it so it was now two long rectangles (one for each side of my window, makes sense right?).  I then hemmed the raw sides (where I cut) of the rectangle to clean them up and stop them from fraying.  Following this I folded over the large 'hem' that would have been the top of the sheet if you were to put it on your bed (you know the finished part up by your chin?) and stitched it.  Following that, I ran a seam about an 1 1/2 in from the top to create a bias so there will be some material above the curtain rod.

Et voila!  New curtains for the den for about 10 bucks total if you consider that the other 10 is allotted to Roan's new sheets.  I know they aren't high fashion or anything but they are totally acceptable for my den and they serve no purpose but to frame my windows.  The added bonus is because they are sheets, they are made to be laundered without huge fears of ruining them. 

**I even took my old broken bamboo blinds and fixed them with some new navy cording!  Look at me being efficient and frugal.  No use buying new blinds when these were salvageable.  I'm glad I didn't end up tossing them.

***This photo makes them look stupid.  But I assure you, they don't come off this hokey in real life.  I'll post more pictures once the room is completed and re-furnished.  I'm thinking new curtain rods might help too, oh and ironing them.  I just wanted to get them up to check length.  

Kijiji Fail

What started out as a complete high, ended in a melancholy low.  Once again Kijiji.ca had pulled through for me in my quest to find a suitable couch for my newly converted den.  I scored this beauty for 150 buckaroonies:

I loved the colour (What were the odds I'd find a decent grey couch like I was hoping?), I loved the lines (modern design to boot), I loved the condition it was in (near perfect) and I loved the price.  Too bad it didn't love me back.  It refused (similar to Dempsy being forced into his dog crate) to go down the hallway to its final forever home.  Just outright, stood its ground, refused.  There was no way we could even beat it into submission.  

So back to searching for a new forever home for this lovely lady (I think of this pretty couch as feminine and my current beige corduroy couch as masculine, is that weird?) and a new shorter couch for my den.  I've accomplished part one, Lesley is going to take her off my hands which doesn't make this disappointment as painful.  I've recouped my financial losses and every once in a while I'll get to visit with couch again and sit on her!  And I might be on to another smaller couch to take up residence in my home soon.  But with this new option I'm gonna have to paint her grey, because right now I feel she's more masculine than I'd like for my pretty new den. 

This den completion keeps eluding me. 

Pouring Down

It's pouring rain right now.  I remember the feeling I used to get as a kid when I was stuck at school and it was raining like it is right now.  The skies would be dark and it felt like nightfall which made me feel slightly strange that I happened to be sitting in my desk.  The florescent lights always appeared to shine that much brighter on days like this.   It was a bittersweet feeling:  I'd love the rain and how it made me feel as if I was at school at night but I'd dread the fact that in a short time I'd have to walk home in the same rain and it wouldn't be so comforting then. 

It's 25+ years later and I still love the rain.  I love laying in my bed (in the attic) listening to it crash down on my roof.  Lately though, I haven't been able to enjoy it, AT ALL!  For, you see, my roof has been leaking.  So everytime it rained I'd get a feeling of dread.  What was once a calming and leisurely experience was causing me stress and doom and gloom.  Each rain storm would create more and more damage to my dry wall and plaster.  In crazy storms, such as this one, it would drip down my inner wall and leak through the ceilings in my kitchen and living room!  ZOINKS!!   

The state of my kitchen pre new roof.

But, ladies and germs, my roof is now repaired so it can rain and rain and rain all it wants, and I can love and love and love it with my whole heart again.  And there isn't much better (weather-wise) than a summer rain.  The other day I stood outside in the pouring rain and did this:

 

 

 

I just stood there with my face up to the sky and my arms out at my side and I took it in.  It was a great rain.  The temperature in the air was warm and perfect and the rain was cool and refreshing.  Now the weather is changing and it's cooling off, the time to stand in the rain is coming to an end for another season.  Next up?  Jumping in puddles.  What do you like to do in the rain? 

Do ya feel lucky, punk?

I've never been a recipient of too much good luck.  Just not meant for me I guess.  I have gone through lengthy periods of time where I thought if I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all.  I felt like a black cloud was always lurking over my head.  Then I gave up thinking about it and the world shifted.  Not in any "I just won the lottery" way, but it shifted in 'the bad shit seems to happen to others now' way.  My life is mundane...lacking of excitement and I'm completely ok with that.  Good excitement would be nice but if it means I have to give up the chance of good excitement to lose the bad excitement then I'm willing to sacrifice. 

Until last week...well I suppose a little while longer, but mainly last week.  Let's venture back a couple of months, because that's when this kinda, sorta started. 

I went garage sailing with my mom one weekend and came upon a 60" Sony Wega flat screen television.  At first I wasn't entirely sure that it was even for sale as it was on, and playing the Terminator.  I first assumed the owner was merely watching it to help pass the time during the sale,  but upon closer inspection I noticed a little "for sale" sticker on it.  So I inquired, pretty sure that it was going to be out of my spending range.  He told me that the picture was starting to darken on it but that he had a brand new bulb for it that just had to be put in and he wanted to sell both of them together.  So again, I asked, "How much?".  His reply?  Thirty bones.  Yup, you read that right, I wasn't missing the hundred in front of that thirty.  Thirty measly dollars.   "I'll take it!", I shouted and then proceeded to try to cram it into my car with no success.  I mean it is 60 inches after all.  So other means were taken and the tv eventually came home with me.  To Eric's lovely surprise.  And it was all I talked about for days months.  Who am I kidding?  I still talk about it.  It was hard not to blog about it but I was waiting.  Waiting for what I'm not sure, but I suppose for just this post. 

See how big it is next to the chair and my attic access?  Oh sweet score...

Anywho, fast forward to last week.  Eric and I were working some more on the new 'den' which is taking forever to complete (but that's an entirely different post)!  We got to talking about what tv we should put in there as this 60" is way too big for the space.  We decided a nice 40 or 42 inch flat screen would be a perfect size.  And then the conversation was over.  Later that afternoon Eric's brother shows up for a visit bearing mail from the parental unit's house for Eric.  Upon opening it we discovered a lovely $700 from Revenue Canada that we were not expecting.  Oh hello!  What a nice surprise.  That surely never happens to us. 

Then Monday after work I took Gage to the mall to buy some new shoes.  After visiting three stores umpteen number of times he finally settled on a $90 pair of shoes.  Groan.  But when they were rung in at the cash they came up as $50.  Quick, let's pay and get the hell out of here!  What I think happened is whomever keyed the code into the register keyed in the wrong price because not only was the shoe marked $90, but the ledge it was sitting on was also marked $90.  It was pretty clear that I was supposed to be paying $90.  Sweet score!  We were both pretty happy about it.  Frankly I'm surprised he didn't try to convince me to buy him another pair. 

Upon arrival home following our good luck I walked past the den on my way upstairs and spotted out of the corner of my eye a 40" Samsung flat screen television sitting in a completely sealed up box looking all pretty.  At first I was taken aback that Eric would just go ahead and buy something like that without me around.  And then I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he did, as that just isn't like him.  I asked the boys if they had seen him leave to buy this, they hadn't.  Then we just stood there staring at it like it was a dead body.  We might as well have had sticks to poke it.  Later that night Eric called me from work (which he only does if he's in the hospital) to ask me if I'd ordered a tv on line.  I was shocked silent because if he's asking me that, then he clearly didn't go buy it.  Did we seriously just have a 40" flat screen show up randomly at our house?  Why crazy kids, yes we did!  Thank you Purolator TV Gods!   We figured they'd show up (or someone would) sooner or later to retrieve it but in the backs of our minds we were hoping Walmart would just send the purchaser out another one.  We were willing to leave it untouched for two weeks, after that squatters rights kicks in doesn't it?  Doesn't matter, the point is moot.  The tv was picked up and taken to its rightful home two days later.  Boo-urns.  And thus we return back to the land of "meh".  It was fun while it lasted though. 

Shiny Head, Shiny House

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers have to be a main household word by now right?  Everyone who's reading this has heard about them, RIGHT?  These little foam-like blocks of pure awesomeness have wiped their way into my heart.  Mr. Clean and I have a little bit of a love affair going on.  I call him ME for short (for Magic Eraser, d'uh) and he loves to clean like an F-ing boss all over my house!  I'm sure you guys know the basics and how much stuff this little guy can destroy, but I'm gonna give you a list of what else he does (that isn't listed on the box with the instructions)!  Get ready to be inspired, I'm not even kidding!

• scuff marks on the wood or tiled floors
• greasy and dirty finger prints on the walls and switches. 
• the build up of grease on your hood range
• dried on jam
• the porous handles on your appliances (fridge handles)
• the rubber soles on your tennis/jogging shoes
• white tile grout
• coffee and tea stains in mugs, coffee pots, teapots
• computer monitors (probably should not use it to clean the screen), keyboard and mouse
• dried on food bits in the teeny, tiny spaces of the can opener
• soap scum on your shower walls, bath tub and sinks
• all that grossness in the toilet bowl and the gross caked on pee all over it
• kool-aid stains on your counter tops
• splatters in the microwave
• tarnish from silver
• dried paint from door hinges
• dirt off painted metal and vinyl siding (on your house!)
• pet saliva on window ledges
• polishing gold jewelry
• mold and mildew on anything made out of plastic
• defogging of bathroom mirrors (what what??)
• left over price tag glue
• light coloured suede (yup, like on our furniture or shoes or purse)
• vacuum marks on baseboards
• burnt on food at the bottom of pots and pans
• inside plastic coolers that have sat all winter long
• the rubber trim around the fridge doors and dishwasher doors, gross
• rust stains
• soot on the wall around your fireplace
• kitty or puppy puke in your carpet (I know right??)
• spilled nail polish and dried nail polish on walls, carpet, wood
• oven shelves
• toothpaste splatters on the bathroom mirror
• melted plastic on the side of the toaster oven or stove burners, etc.
• stains on your actual hands and arms
• built up grease in the deep fryer
• outdoor furniture and upholstery
• oven door window
• bike tires and rims
• caulking around sinks, tubs, toilets
• polishing fixtures
• surfaces inside your cars
• stains on leather
• brake dust from tire rims
• dirt from plastic garbage cans
• permanent markers, crayons and pens from virtually any surface
• inside the fridge
• plastic toys
• glass stove tops
• plastic and vinyl mini blinds
• luggage
• kitchen cabinets and all that greasy build up
• textured shower floors
• residue from dry-erase boards
• grease splatters in the kitchen
• outdoor kids equipment

But wait for the best one, if you cut a piece of the eraser off and put it in your toilet overnight, it will erase the toilet ring!  You don't even have to scrub anything.  Insane right?   And that rumour that these magic erasers are dangerous is just that, a rumour!  You can also cut the eraser in half to prolong it's life too.  Such an amazing invention that's made cleaning one's house and properties so much easier.  And if you buy the four pack you only pay just over a buck for one. 

If you have any other uses for this magnificent tool that I've not listed or am not aware of, please leave me a comment!  So get out there and get cleaning (right after you leave me a comment)!  ...Now if they only had the power to erase the odd blemish on my face.  Wouldn't that be magical?  Cause I mean seriously, who still gets zits at 38 years - 2 months and a few days?

Pergola Party

Roan concentrating so hard on the measurements that his tongue is sticking out!

My boyfriend has some serious talent (even if he's mopey and miserable whilst doing it).  I don't think I mentioned the fact that my mom's awning, on the back of her house over her patio, blew off in a wind storm this past spring.  But that actually happened so she decided since the shitty awning was no longer there and the insurance company would compensate her for her over exposure to the sun that she now wanted a wooden pergola.  Thus she immediately turned to the one man who had the capabilities to create and produce her wish...My Eric!

The back of the house after the remnants of the awning got taken down.

So he drew up a rendering of a pergola (a mish-mash of a couple samples she had found on the computer) and shopping we all went (I got roped into designated driver duties because we borrowed the company van to cart all the oversized supplies home in).  I'm pretty sure I've spent more time in Home Depot this past month than I have - ever.   It was slow moving in the beginning because there was a lot of tedious prep work before the assembly could get started.  This made it appear like we weren't doing anything (and thus the feeling of guilt which attributed to the above two emotions Eric went through whilst displaying his serious talent). 

Mid build.

Because of the size of the structure (21 feet long) Eric deemed it best that he erect it in three stages, starting with the middle section.  Once there was obvious progress being made the guilt started to melt away.   I was impressed with just the middle section!  I'm obviously easy to please!  My mom (who is actually the person whose opinion really mattered) was equally impressed. 

So the following weekend Eric and a friend were able to finish getting the entire pergola put together (for the most part).  There are still some finishing touches to be added but overall the structure is up and secure and my mom has started decorating it and adding her personal touches.  Next year I think he'll be building one in our back yard.  It won't be as big as my mom's but it will still be just as amazing.  Great job Eric!

Dinner Talk

We've been taught from a young age that talking with your mouth full is a sign of bad manners.  It's also been said that a well rounded family is often a result of many dinners together.  But "elbows off the table" or 'eat your peas' don't make for getting to know your family and teaching your children the importance of time spent together.  They say that kids who participate in regular family meals often have better grades, larger vocabularies and just better overall health than kids who don't.  So I say make dinnertime more entertaining for the entire family.  Share your ideas, listen to other's ideas, explore your creativity and be let in on your kids wildest dreams.  Pick a topic of discussion for each dinner (sort of like this blog challenge).  Challenge yourself to come up with unique, interesting and thought provoking questions to ask once the food has been dished out.  This idea can be used with families, on dates, or just to get the conversation going when you feel like you've run out of things to talk about with your partner.  I've included some questions to ask your family to get things started:

1.  What drives you crazy?  (This is meant to be lighthearted.  A discussion about pet peeves, not an out and out attack session. However, once pet peeves are brought out into the open, family members might actually realize they do things, unknowningly, that irritate other members of the family.  So something good could come out of this.)

2.  What is the best thing that happened to you today?  (This will get things off to a positive start and force your family to think about what they should be grateful for.  Make sure you encourage your child to tell you more details about this 'best' thing to help keep the conversation going.)

3.  Ask each family member to create a story about what happens when you flush the toilet.  (Be prepared for some silly and imaginative answers.  Hopefully you hear some really creative stories with, of course, the appropriate age related bathroom humour thrown in for good measure.  Don't inundate your child with the logistics of the sewage system...BORING!!!)

4.  If you could build your own house, what would it look like?  What special features would you build in it?  (This allows your kid to come up with some crazy and probably brilliant ideas {like a trampoline room}.  Some that you likely wish you had in your own house!)

5.  If you could live anywhere - truly anywhere; it could be the Earth, in outer space, a fictional world - where would you live?  (More than likely your kids will draw on recent books or movies they've seen but this should bring out some creativity if you continue to ask detailed questions.)

6.  If you were a superhero, what would your super power be?  (This is a timeless classic, I've used this one many times myself with many people.  But since most young children fantasize about this particular subject, you'll likely find them shouting answers out to you pretty quickly.)

7.  If you had a giant pool and could fill it with anything you wanted, what would you fill it with?  (Depending on the age of each person at the table, this question should yeild you a huge range of answers.) 

8.  If something was broken and you had to fix it but didn't know how, what would you do?  (This conversation starter will idealy help your children start to problem solve.  Or at least pick up tips from the older people at the table on how to find solutions to problems.)

9.  If you could follow a rainbow to the very end, what do you think you'll find?  (The common answer is a pot of gold or a leprachaun, but if you've never really gotten into that with them, the answers might be more unique.)

10.  If you were to meet a space alien, what three activities would you do with it?  (This question will let the children dominate the conversation because most kids are thrilled with the idea of making friends with an alien.)

So there are 10 questions to try out on your family over the next few weeks while you are sitting down together for dinner.  It's probably best not to bombard them day after day with these conversation starters, but maybe do a couple a week and start increasing from there.  Hopefully they'll catch on and start to enjoy these dinner talks and maybe even come up with their own questions for everyone.  What a great way to learn more about the people your kids are becoming and a wonderful opportunity to hang on to your childhood imagination and creativity. 

If you are stuck for more ideas, you should check out the book Dinner Talk by Emily Hall, Philip Hall and Nancy Hall.  There are enough similar questions and conversation starters in this book to keep you going for an entire year! 

What do you talk about at your dinner table?

Green Thumb Girl

Last year at a garage sale, I found a sweet score.  An red, antique toboggan made of wood for a mere ten bucks.  I picked it up with the intent to give it to Eric's brother for his son, but it really wasn't too practical for winter walks.  So I decided I'd keep it and use it for a planter this gardening season. 

I ended up having Eric extend our garden up the side of our front walkway so I'd actually have space to enact this idea.  I also thought the pea shrub Eric's parents got us in memory of my dad would look really nice closer to the walkway rather than tucked away at the far end of the garden.  Of course I was right.  (It's really not too often that I'm not.)  I moved a couple hostas over and planted some annuals.  There's the before picture up top and the after picture (by after I mean, two weeks later). 

Today after breakfast, Eric's mom surprised me with a rose bush she had picked up for me appropriately named the Marilyn Monroe rose.  It's an apricot/peach coloured rose.  I ended up planting it in the spot where we had originally planted the pea shrub last year, under my bay window.  I hope it takes off, it's a beautiful rose and it smells fantastic.  It's unfortunate with all the roses that come through our building at work that none of them smell so sweet.  They have all just been so over bred that they've just out and out lost their sweet smell. 

Et Voila!  This is my garden before I got all the annuals planted (well one side of it anyway).

In dreams, we enter a world that’s entirely our own.

During one Saturday of sailing through garages Eric found two wooden light switch covers for 50 cents.  Upon returning home it dawned on us that we didn't have one light switch in this house that could use those two plate covers so it was decided that I'd "Pinterest" the crap out of them and pass them along to my sister in law who seems to be a recipient of a few of my crafts now.  I hope she doesn't mind that I'm adding clutter to her house. 

I borrowed the idea from one I'd seen on Pinterest and since I know Anita loves all things Harry Potter, just like this girl, I woodburned a couple sayings from the books onto the plate covers.  Upon finishing the burning, we put a coat of varithane on them.  I'm no master at woodburning but I didn't think it turned out too bad for the second time I've ever attempted it. 

Sounds like she likes them as they've already taken up residency on her wall. 

Put Some Clothes on Those Windows!

A couple of weeks ago I got the brilliant inspiration/desire to 'redo' my living curtains.  I've had these curtains for the entire 5 years I've been in this house and for three years at the house prior.  I felt like it was time for a change, but I still loved the material.  I wasn't up to redoing my entire living room because frankly I don't mind it and we have a few other large projects that come first.  I figured I could turn the current panel drapes into something more modern (I suppose) so I started cutting.

And then I lost all interest.  So we lived in a fishbowl house for a couple of weeks while I tried to talk myself into finishing the project I'd stalled out on.  Eric wandered downstairs one night before bed to find this in the living room with the lights glaring, front door unlocked, no curtains for the whole world and even a potential pedophile to see...



So needless to say I got inspired to finish what I had started.  Turns out when I bought my ribbon to tie the blinds, I didn't bother to calculate that I was actually making FIVE blinds instead of only covering the previous four windows.  Live and learn.  I now have tons of lovely ribbon to use on future craft projects!  Bonus!  And since I couldn't use the ribbon, I just made ties out of the same material.  So this entire project cost me NOTHING!!!  Pretty good deal if I do say so myself.

Not too sure how I feel about them but I'm pretty sure they'll look 50% better once Eric builds me a sweet built in window bench.  Do y'all agree?  

Two for Tea?

You might already be getting tired of reading about my crafting projects, but too bad.  So far I haven't lost interest in doing them.  Which is shocking because I tend to lose interest in things as quickly as I get interest in them.  Maybe this will be my final curtain call.  Though with garage sale season starting up soon, I highly doubt that.  And I'm pretty sure I already have a grasp on what my next project is going to be.  I merely got my inspiration from Pinterest, not the actual idea.  Whoa me!  I'm gaining insight here.  But back to the project at hand....

This time around, I made two teacup bird feeders, and assisted with two that Roan painted.  I've decided to keep the red/white/black one for my own front garden.  I know right?  How utterly selfish of me!  And I'm paying forward the blue/white/silver one to my sister in law, Anita to take up residence in her garden.   Roan already has the recipients in mind for his two feeders as well.  So today we shall venture out and pick up some bird seed so we can do up little baggies to accompany our gifts. 

We started with some pressure treated fence spindles (as they were cheaper than stair spindles) and thrift store teacups and matching saucers.  I have a feeling this project will be much cheaper come garage sale time, but for now each feeder cost me $5.00.  I can assure you no kitty was painted or glued in the making of this project.  He was merely there to supervise.

Having now finished this project I think I might choose a tapered spindle so it's easier to insert into the ground.  These ones are going to facilitate us actually digging a hole for them rather than just being able to spike them into the ground.  I saw another sample of one with copper piping.  That would be cool too as it would patina over time, whereas these ones are just likely to rot over time.  Oi vell, I digress.

I painted the posts with a base coat and then add some accent colours.  I thought about doing little stencils all over it, but frankly I'm not that crafty yet and I wasn't inclined to go out and buy stencils to fulfill this desire.  So simple is as simple does.  I then buffed the surfaces on the teacups and saucers that were going to be in contact with the glue itself and allowed them to cure over night.  Once my painted spindles and dried and the glue had cured I affixed the teacups to the top of the spindles and then allowed them to fix over night as well.  The majority of the time was spent waiting for glue to dry.  It's about as exciting as watching paint dry too.  Take my word for it.  Thank god, for Pinterest and Netflix to keep me occupied during this lull. 

Voila!  The finished project.  Easy peasy!

I Love Me a Great Idea!

I came across a seemingly swell idea on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago and today while I was grocery shopping I thought about it and purchased the supplies I'd need to attempt this project. 

I have made an everlasting dryer sheet.  I took a good 5 minutes and sniffed all the fabric softners in the aisle, though I don't know why because I just settled on the Gain fabric softener anyway.  And that doesn't surprise me because I love, love, love the smell of original Gain.   Anywho, off track... I then poured almost the whole bottle into a large bowl and soaked an old terrycloth hand towel in it.  Once it was completely penetrated I wrung it out and hung it outside on my railing to allow it to thoroughly dry.  Then, my dear readers and friends, I THREW it in the drier.  Yup, just like that!  Tossed that puppy in with my wet clothes.  I showed it, didn't I?  I know, rather daring on my behalf.

So according to the website, the softener sheet should be good for at least 40 loads of laundry.  Which is so crazy helpful in stretching out softener use and lessening waste (I figure Eric will like that part).  I ended up taking all the fabric softener out of the bowl and pouring it back into the container and voila, almost the entire container is full.  This is going to save me muchos moolah.  I'll be able to repeat this craft every two laundry soap purchases (average), and I won't have to buy dryer sheets anymore. 

So far, my hands smell fantastic, my laundry room smells lovely and my clothes are static free and Gain scented!  Win-win-win!  The whole thing cost me an ugly hand towel that I no longer used but cost me nothing and a $5.00 bottle of fabric softner and if this all proves to be true, that five bucks is going to last me the rest of the god forsaken year!

Red Eyed Flies

In the beginning of summer Eric and I were shopping and came across an item for three bucks.  It was guaranteeing that it would catch all the flies in my backyard so they didn't pester us when we sat out on the patio.  We opened it and set it up.  Mildly disappointed and pretty sure it wasn't going to work.  We were right.  Not one fly was caught (in the first month or so).  But the magic potion that was supposed to lure the flies, reeked.  Like a dead fish.  So disgusting.  We ended up having to put it pretty far away from the patio so we weren't constantly grossed out by the smell of decaying fish.  All for naught.  Or so we thought...

At the end of August Eric pointed out to me what our 'fishing for flies' expedition yielded.  Double ew!  The bag weighed about 4 lbs, made up of mostly dead flies.  The weird thing was that in the solution, their eyes turned red. 

Porch Safety

Lately we've been doing work around the outside of the house.  Well, mainly Eric has.  But I buy the stuff, so I'll include myself in that statement.  I also cleaned up my gardens, laid mulch and planted flowers, so I'm not entirely useless.  Though my poor Forget Me Nots that someone gave to us when my dad passed away have also passed away themselves.  I'm hoping I can revive them, but if not, I'll have to go buy some more...

Anywho, you've already seen pictures of the shed.  And soon I'd like to be able to post pictures of it painted all lovely like and matching my house.  I'd also like to be able to state that the back fence has been repaired and re-installed but so far I can't.  What I can announce right now though is how amazing my new porch railing looks, although it, too, is not complete.  Eric just has to nail down the very top boards, as you'll see in the picture (the boards that give it a completed/finished look), cut the posts down so they are all even and I'll grab some post caps this week to complete the whole task.  

Next up, finishing the projects we have started (as mentioned above), and working out a price quote for the fencing I want him to do next to make my backyard completely private and thus giving us some extra patio space to further enjoy beers on.