Has it really been a whole year?!

Come visit me at A Novel Mum Gets A Puppy.

You can see our latest additions and witness the cuteness.

I'm being featured!

I'm being featured on Remodelaholic!  It's all terribly exciting!  The kind and generous Cassity will be posting my house tour on her blog on Monday.  If you haven't already been to her site, you must go check it out, and do it frequently because each day she features new and wonderful remodels... and you can never get enough of seeing the fruits of other peoples' hard labor!

If you're visiting my blog via Remodelaholic well, Hi!  Thanks for coming over!  Enjoy your visit!

Concrete Mold Walkway

We needed a walkway for our house and instead of doing the easy thing and calling a concrete company we decided to torture  do it ourselves.  Last year we watched our finicky neighbours do a path of this type in their backyard and we really liked the effect.  So off we went to our local hardware store and picked us up one of these.  Well, actually two, because it comes in a set of two, and not actually these ones because ours are different.  And not actually our LOCAL hardware store because they didn't carry it.  But you get it, it took a lot of effort and then we had this.

Then we bought 10 bags of quick set concrete.  Then we bought 20 more.  Then we bought another 20 more. Then we... OH MY GOD... why did we DO this?!

No wait.  I forgot to mention something.  First.  Even before the trip to buy forms was the 3 weekends it took to dig out all that dirt we PAID to have someone bring in and pack DIRECTLY on the spot we needed to put our walkway.  I dug and dug and although it's therapeutic I'm glad it's over.  Did I mention that the landscaper PACKED that soil, as in drove over and over until that dirt was like stone.  Gah.  Where is foresight when you need it?

Anyhow, the process is quick.  Daryl mixed the cement in a wheelbarrow and dumped it in to the form for me to smooth out and fuss with.  I mentioned that our previous neighbours were finicky because, um, we aren't.  Or maybe we are, you know, at first, but after the first two three bags we just want to get it DONE.  Are you like us?  Once we had one filled we'd start the second and by the time we needed to move to the next one the first was set enough for us to take the form off.  It was quick and fairly pleasant.  

However, we've seriously worked on this one project for 3 weekends and we're a little burned out.  Plus the kids want to help which you all know is NOT help.  So I present to you our unfinished (will hopefully be finished next spring) walk.  

Even unfinished I can't believe how much better the house looks than 4 months ago.  

Then

Now

See?  

Before (unloved)

After (loved)

It just screams "someone cares about me".  Even the sky is bluer now.

Ok, so maybe we didn't have anything to do with the sky.  

We did, however, have everything to do with putting our initials on our masterpiece of a walkway.

Immortalized in stone.

Light and Bright

I've done a lot of little projects since moving in to the new place.  Most have been in an attempt to reuse what we have rather than purchase new stuff.  I have to say that furniture with history behind it, even inexpensive furniture, is in my mind more valuable than other stuff.  I love looking at pieces and thinking that they once were something or somewhere else, and in some cases I enjoy thinking about who made them or gave them to me.  

I've repainted two cabinets in the last 4 months.  One black, one heirloom white.  The black cabinet was made for me by my father and I have no pictures to post yet.  It's still in need of some touch-ups as I've learned that black paint and a semi-dark garage can leave a few imperfections in the paint job.  

This white cabinet, given to me by my Sister In Law (and given to her by my Mother In Law) I spray painted.  I'm happy with the finish but I can see that it's just not as durable as the brushed on paint. It already has a few nicks in it.  But hey!  That's what gives furniture character right? It took about 8 cans of spray paint, but it was very quick to work on.

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Lovely.  It's in my office/family room.  I'd just say office but currently there's no actual work going on in it which I think is the defining characteristic of an office. 

If I can scramble up some before photos I'll post the black hutch shortly.

Another Year of Firsts.

I've been trying to do a yearly video for both girls.  It's a great keepsake and it's surprising how many times we watch these little movies on our various portable devices.  Here's a look at Zoe's first year.  

Enjoy

Doing It Myself- Board and Batten

Admittedly when we did the master bedroom it was really a joint effort.  My father and I cut and put up all the boards and Daryl caulked and sealed all the gaps behind us.

However, yesterday I wanted to surprise Daryl and decided to tackle our next trim work project on my own.  Well, as 'on my own' as a mom with two young children can be.

It was setting up the radial arm saw when I realized that although I've used a lot of tools, I hadn't ever used them completely on my own (well, besides the screw driver, sander and various hand tools).

I was pretty proud of myself.

On to the project.  This is our back entrance.  It's flanked by another front door leading to our deck (not the main entrance) and the garage door.  This being the most used entrance to the house it was definitely lacking in places to hang coats.  

We hung this little coat rack, which I love, but not here, and it sufficed for a while.

Once I was all set up I cut the pieces to fit.  Unlike our last project this one is attached with large screws (not finishing nails).  I didn't want this pulling out of the wall.

Once the pieces were all cut and attached there was nothing left to do but fill in the gaps and paint.

It's amazing how simple this looks on here.  I should have done a time lapse thing so you could see how many cuts and how many trips to the garage this involved!  Oh and don't forget the snacks.  Many snacks were consumed by toddlers in the course of this project.

By the way, 

Shiny paint + large screw holes = frustrating

Add hooks (more will be added after our next shopping trip).

The finished product.

Loving it.

Daryl was pleasantly surprised when he came home!

Next Project...a pretty shelf for shoes.

Optic Fiber Star Ceiling - Hooray!

First, as promised, here is a shot of the star fixture I made-over hanging in the girls' room.  

Lovely.

I think it goes nicely.

Now, let's talk about Fiber Optics.  Or optic fibers.  I've been corrected so many times on the order I've completely forgotten.  Both make sense to me.

AnyHOO... a little background.  I purchased the kit online.  It came with 175 fibers jacketed (bundled in black casing) of 7 or 14 strands.  It also came with a light kit.  "ALL" we had to do was climb in the ceiling, move the insulation, drill 175 holes with a tiny drill on our dremel, feed the big bundle through a hole in the closet, connect it to the light source and plug it in!

Easy peasey!

It took me 4 tries up the ladder before I was confident enough to actually stand on it and look around.  It was then that I decided, Holy Shit, I don't want to go up there.  It wasn't dirty or dark, it was big and spacious and...Holy Shit, I didn't want to go up there.  Lucky for me, my wonderful husband who recognizes distress and dogged determination when he sees it, came to my rescue and volunteered to go up there.  First he was just going to look around, then he decided to "just start", and later he "finished it".  Hooray.  My hero.  

I had mapped out a bunch of constellations while we were in transit and staying at my parents.  My mom threw them away.  So...um...no constellations.  

Once we started drilling, we discovered that the large gable (which takes up 1/3 of their room) does not have access to it from above.   It has it's own little roof.  This was pretty disappointing as it looks like we just forgot or ran out of stars for part of their room.  However, in the end the rest looked so lovely we didn't care.  And screw you if you have a problem with it.  

I'm trying to come up with something creative to fill in the gap. 

The insulation was a problem as there was just so damn much of it.  Daryl spent more time trying to pile it up and out of his way then actually drilling holes.  I shouted encouragement from below and cheered every time a new star poked through.  It was like watching the big bang right in my girl's room.  You know without the big gaping sucking black hole implosion stuff.  

Fantastic.

And here it is (in daylight).  In all it's random-y, star-y, my kid's are so freakin' lucky goodness.

The lights are on a timer that come on just before they normally wake up and shut off by the time we're headed downstairs to start our day.  They come on at night and stay on until midnight or so.  They twinkle too.  

The girls LOVE them.

I eventually did make more constellations and there are several on the ceiling.  

It will be fun to find them when the girls are a bit older.

I can't say how happy I am with them.  I've always wanted a ceiling like this.  

I hope the girls get as much enjoyment from them as us.

And because this is a blog and it's what I do...

The before(s)

The after

House Tour Part TWO

I can hardly believe we've only been in this house two weeks.  It's crazy how much has changed already.  Oh and when I said that my list of troubles for the week had ended I spoke too soon.  Right after I posted that my car battery went completely dead and had to be booked in for service.  But things have a way of working out and yesterday we received news from our lawyer that our bank had made an error and where should they send the cheque!  Bank error... in your favor, why that only happens in Monopoly.

I think that today may be the first day in three weeks that we don't have a contractor here.  Our beloved cats were returned to us from their hiatus at my parents.  We had a terrific weekend with friends and family and actually had people over.  My best friend is coming down soon.  Things are looking up.

On with the tour you say...

To save you a few clicks I'll post the before of the master bedroom for you.  

Ugly.  

Smelly.  

Yuck. 

This was also the room that we left off the painters list so that we could do the board and batten technique I kept seeing around the web.  Later we tried to add the painting back on their agenda but NO luck.  "We're busy"  they said, snickering as they left.  So although we did finish the main bedroom before we moved in, we were still painting the closet and the ensuite last week.  Thank goodness it's all done and hopefully I can burn my painting supplies.

Here is the master bedroom now.  

I think it's my favorite room.  

A surprise hit.  

Off to the right is our walk UP closet.  

I didn't think it would be a big deal but can I just say,

I LOVE IT.

And yes, that's my wedding dress hanging there because,

well...

I unpacked it along with the plethora of other dresses I don't wear and it just looked so gorgeous

hanging there.  I decided to leave it.  

It was one of the best days of my life and I want to see it.

And that picture on the right,

it's also one of my favorite things. 

It's a custom print of the night stars and sky over the place where Daryl proposed.

Underneath are the dates and the words 

"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes".

I'm so glad it's in my room now.  Who knew seeing it every morning would make me so 

happy.

Through that glass door is a private balcony.  My plan is to create a secret little garden.

But first my plan is to create a not-so-secret garden out of the rest of our

barren acreage.

My Dad made the rotating shelves/mirror on the right.

Still loving it.

Best. Dad. Ever.

The bathroom,

The hall.  You've seen the view looking down from here before.

The foyer/hall and access to both the laundry room and another private balcony soon to become the girl's secret garden.

I still can't find the stuff to fill this shelving unit.  

Where do these things go when you move?

Oh and I have a story about this glass door to the laundry room.

I sent in a request to a local vinyl decal maker to reproduce something I'd seen from a place in the states. 

I want a sign that says Laundry Room with a cute little bird on it.

I didn't order because I didn't want the hassle of bringing it through customs and such.

Anyhow, I asked if she could do it, she said, sure but why not just order from where you saw it.

Hmm.  I didn't write back but um...

if someone contacts your business to do work, wouldn't you just offer to do it unless you really didn't want the job.

So, OK, local vinyl person, I WILL use that other company now and for any future purchases.  

And last but not least...

the girl's room.

I still haven't put in the optic fiber ceiling but I did crawl up there to look yesterday.

Hopefully this weekend will see the ceiling installed and the finishing touches on this room.

Yes, that's a tiger.  

Veronica has slept the majority of nights on her old mattress underneath the house, but has slept up top as well.  I think she loves the privacy of the top bunk.

It's all working out swimmingly.

Hope you enjoyed it.  I'll do the final installment later this week.  

 

House Tour Part One

But first let me just list the highlights of the past week:

1.  Failed septic pump and overflowing sewage

2. Emergency call to the furnace company after Zoe dropped the phone down the heat register.  It had to be taken completely apart.

3.  Found out our radiant heating can't be hooked up.

4.  Um, I guess that's it, but hey...it's only WEDNESDAY!

Now the main floor tour.

I know you've seen versions of this area before so now I'll present you a slightly different angle.  That's the dining room on the right.  Not sure if that little black ladder shelf is staying yet.

This is looking back at the front door.

I made these just for this house.

 They're the keys from our previous addresses.  One each for Daryl and I when we met and two for the houses we've shared together.

This is the view from the couch in my new office.  

I hadn't thought I'd like this room so much, but right now it's one of my favorites.  I love my picture wall and although you can't see it, Daryl set up a TV on a swivel arm for me right above my desk.  Now I can just plug my laptop in and either use it to watch movies through my computer or as an extra monitor while I "work".  Cool.

This is the straight shot from the main floor potty, I mean bathroom, looking to the living room.  On your left is a door to another spare bedroom.  Also referred to as Veronica's room.  She has one she shares and this one which is all her own.  

 And the dining room.  My nemesis in the house.  This should be such a feature but somehow I'm having a hard time bringing it all together.  I'll post more on it later.

The kitchen.  Although it has more cabinets than my last one, it is much smaller.  It's very functional and I find cooking in it great, but I miss the old one.  I guess you can't have everything.  

This is the great room/living room.  I'm buying some more art work for it today so perhaps I'll post some updates later.  The photos don't really do it justice which means I should take some better ones.  Maybe then I'll get the lighting right!  The only problem with this room is that there is another entrance off to the right (you can see the garage door, but there's also another glass side door) and no storage to speak of.  The bench is there to catch shoes and hopefully soon we'll be doing a little project to provide some hangers for coats.

There you have it.  Part one.  Upstairs coming soon.

More House Photos

It's been crazy around here.  We still had people laying carpet (on these stairs actually) while the movers were bringing in furniture.  It took a while to get internet back too, and for a while we were pretty darn miserable in a hotel room.  Yikes.  I'd blog it, but I'm trying to block the memory.

Anyhow, I thought you'd all be more interested in seeing some of the changes.  

Remember this?  Not bad, but that color was putrid in person.  That carpet gives me nightmares too.  

And now...  Brighter, fresher, cleaner.

The decal, if you're wondering, was custom-sized to fit our wall.  

And here's another before.  This is the view looking down.

This is now.  New carpet.  New paint.  New accessories.  New love.

Sorry for the quality of the pictures.  I'm still working off my iphone.  Once all the pictures, drapes and blinds are hung I'll do a full blown house tour with better photos.

Right now I'm busy unpacking and organizing and keeping Advil in business.  Ouch my back hurts.

In transit

Well, it's like this.  We sold our house.  The people who bought it wanted it like yesterday.  We moved out.  Last week.  We're in a hotel.  It's torture (besides the pool and hot tub).  The new house is being painted and cleaned and refinished and wired and ... the list goes on and on.
But for those of you wanted a sneak peek.  Here's a look at our master bedroom.  This photo is so fresh the paint is still wet!  Or at least it was when we took the photo.

We're loving Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage (seen above).  Let's hope it looks this good in all the rooms.

YaHoo!

Or is it YeeHaw?
Anyhow,  the Calgary Stampede just ended and can you believe we made it another year without winning the dream home or pot of gold?  Go figure.
We haven't been down to the grounds for a few years, thanks to these babies, but this year we braved it.  All I can say is that once we left we all agreed that it'd do us for another couple of years.  Good grief those crowds!

Of course Veronica didn't mind.  She hated the crowds but thanks to Papa those precious feet never touched the ground and as for the people, what people?  She only saw the tops of heads.

Zoe seemed to enjoy herself.  Or maybe it was just the cotton candy.  Mm mm.  Cotton Candy.  Did you know they use it to make martinis now?

Oh my.  That looks good.  Apparently once you add the alcohol it just adds a little sweetness and color.  What a great drink to serve for a girl's night.  Do they still have girl's nights?  I could use 1 or 10 of those while I pack.  Martinis that is.  I don't want a girl's night unless it involves a spa.  In which case yes, I could use 10 spa days.

And there's something I won't be having 1 or 10 of.  Deep fried jelly beans.  They were good.  They tasted like corn fritters with berries in them.  Not really like jelly beans.  Either way they were a whole lot of empty calories and they were hot, with little molten bits of hot melted jelly bean.

Oh, and did I mention packing?  Yes packing.  Because uh... our house is SOLD (more later)!  I've decided that the important thing about moving is to maintain a sense of humor.  I've also been relentless about accurate labeling of all boxes.

That pretty much sums up what's in that box.  Funny thing though, I hadn't noticed what was on all the boxes we purchased until I looked at the side view of the 30 some odd ones stacked neatly in our garage.  Every one of them says TOILET PAPER.  If you're driving by and happen to look in our garage you will notice that a family of TP hoarders lives there.  Or maybe you might think we have potty issues.  I'm not pointing any fingers but some (VERONICA) of us do.