Did I say come back "tomorrow"?

UHHHHH.... Yeah.
"Tomorrow" is only a figure of speech around here

like when hubby says,

"Hon, could you iron my shirt?"

"Ummm...yeah, I'll do it tomorrow..."

he irons his own shirts.

Onto the bathroom remodel.

mmmmm.... peachy....

although everything went

including the toilet and the tub

(I liked the avocado colour--hubby did NOT)

we did repurpose that cool mirror into the kids bathroom...

Good bye avocado...
Hello master bath surround and snazzy new shower!

they made a hole in the master bedroom closet

...don't know why...

It's got to be some..um...plumbing thing..

busted our the ceiling as there were no fans in either of the bathrooms

so we had to bring it up to code.

they were just going to patch up a few holes...

oh heck!

let's just take it all back to the studs!

Why not!

I was not initially party to the above mentioned decision to

evacuate all the plaster walls in my bathroom..

but by the time I saw it we were already looking good again!

Whew!

There used to be a linen closet here and one day they decided we needed more room...

so at 10 to 4pm they started rippin' her out!

again, not my call but now I'm so glad hubby and the designers did it!

mmmm.... yummy colours!

hubby no likey, even now....

but I really do!

Lovely ceramic

his and hers pedestal sinks

Lovely cabinets from Bed, Bath and Beyond

and my lovely matching toilet!

Not the initial lighting choice... however I'm very happy now.

I really wanted some pendants
but there just wasn't enough room to pull it off :(

TA DA!!!!

Sorry about the clutter...

but we live here!

And I know one of you decorating police (or my designer)

are going to show up at my door ranting about how my towels don't match,

but I just can't bring myself to spend $$ on towels when I have some!

I know, I'm so cheap!

Stay tuned and we'll look at the living/dining room extravaganza!

and then the kids bathroom--but that one is still in the decorating stage...

Remodel

Two years ago we bought a house and began to remodel it.

We were fortunate enough that the dates from our existing house overlapped so we could do the work while living in our old home.

My father was very ill and we were initially away when the work on the house began.

We were lucky to have a great husband and wife team on our side,

and we trusted them to get underway with out us.

The home was previously owned by the lady who built it with her husband 40 years earlier.

At that time it was at the height of the decorating world,

however, not when we got it.

Old style out, new style in...

This is my kitchen the day we moved in...

It's huge and spacious and boasts a beautiful custom island.

We can easily fit 20 people in there for buffet and it doesn't feel crowded.
We feel so blessed.

Not that we're going to have 20 kids or anything,

but we are going to have more....hmmmmm.....

This is what it looked like the day we bought it.

ummm....yeah.

dated and empty...

(this pic was taken in a showroom--not my home--hence the price tags)

This is the table set that started it all!
the colours for the cabinetry and the island were derived from this little baby!

We had the cabinets sprayed and varnished by a very talented cabinet maker.

took out a cabinet to make way for a dishwasher.
put in a very durable peel and stick floor found at Home Depot.

My cabinet maker put dividers in for my baking sheets...
ahhhhh... love him!

bought new appliances for the first time!
it felt like Christmas!

this is the wine rack hubby designed with our cabinet maker to go over the refrigerator.

the cabinet that had been there had to be shortened due to the height of our fridge and this was a great answer!

The lighting was the designer's choice. I love it now.

the colour gets mixed reviews

but we love it!

My favourite thing is my backsplash!

So sparkly and shiny...

and easy to keep clean!

Come back tomorrow and I'll share our bathroom reno!

thank you everyone

Thank you to those who took the time to write their well wishes

I am feeling MUCH better!

I was beginning to feel like a PEPTO-BISMOL commercial

As well as I am now feeling,

life has taken a hand

and I am up to my elbows this week

But do not fret!

I will be back in full swing next week!

chow!

p.s. I leave you with the beauty of my decorated house...

Festive Fall Decor

Welcome to my home!

I'm getting into the fall decor a little late as here in Canada

we're already in the -minus temps.

and it's popping up Christmas everywhere

However,

We had a Dinner Party at our home and a fall theme it was!

Our porch and entry way were full of pumpkins and gourds...

Hubby did this display all by himself!

Isn't he a regular Martha Stewart?!

The centrepieces were a trio of filled antique canning jars...
The large ones were 1/2 gallon size.

I filled them with chunky pot pourri,
dried apple slices and
some faux berry twigs from the dollar store.

All on a bed of coffee beans.
I love to use coffee beans in decorating
and they fit the theme perfectly!
We wrapped the cutlery in a napkin and then tied them with twine.

So cute!

I had been racking my brain on that one and my very creative cousin came to the rescue with that idea that she had seen in a magazine.

Our place cards were mini pumpkins (gourds) with a small slice cut in them off to one side.
We slipped in some handprinted name cards and

VOILA!

My friend MO made the cards
and made short work of helping me set up!

She is a fabulous friend and I couldn't have done it without her!

Tanya had a great snack idea
of mixing candy corn and peanuts
on her blog the other day so I filled some bowls for the tables.

YUMMY!
What a success!

He SAID IT!!

Hubby helped me clean up my sewing area over the weekend.

(I told you he's a cleaner)

I think he now "gets it".

He looked around and felt totally overwhelmed at first but then dug right in.

I organized, boxed and labeled.
He vacuumed and sorted.

We folded the piddly little stash I have.

It's embarrassingly small.

Not even a diaper box worth-

-but someday....

then he said it....

" We might need to get you some shelves."

That was it. One sentence.

But it was an acknowlegement that summed up all that I have been trying to accomplish down there with my 17 year old Kenmore boring straight stitch sewing machine.

I don't know if my fabric obsession will ever be completely understood but my ability to sew and need to do it has been acknowleged and even accepted!

In his defense,

up until now,

my life has been a lot of starts and not so many finishes--

so I think I have now proven how much I enjoy starting and finishing sewing projects!

Big steps in this house!

You can see a bit of my tidying in this pic.

My sweet fabric basket from Jodi holds my bobbins and seam ripper.

I also toss whatever I need to take upstairs with me for hand sewing in there so it's portable.

So...

fresh off the sewing table is an apron that I zipped up for Pumpkin.

I made it from a tea towel and used this quick tutorial from A Spoonful of Sugar.

As you may notice, it has a stain already.
She wore it yesterday and wiped her hands all over it.

Apparently this is what you do with an apron.

"you do it all the time mom"

I guess I do.

Oh well. I made it to be used.

This is the one I'm making for Bubby.

Almost done.

Maybe hubby will let me buy a little more fabric...

you know...

to fill the shelves?

* Hee Hee *

so...

It was supposed to be a little hole.

"No big deal."



The city owns the first 10 feet of our property from the road.
You hope that all the problems happen within the first 10 feet.

This was not the case.

I got back from the salon to find this man

(not hard on the eyes--however--not the point)

in my basement "studio"
with water on the floor running towards my quilt I have laid out for piecing.


"Hi" he says.

"Hi?" I say.


He was doing this.
I think it's going to be expensive.

I hate expensive.



So um....

It never ceases to amaze me...

you dig up all that dirt from the same place,

and then when you put it back in it doesn't fit?

Maybe it's because they buried my TREE in there!!

(see the place where my shrub USED to be)

What a mess.

I think we're going to need LOTS of grass seed!

I may need to open an Etsy shop to pay for this!

what would I sell?

vials of dirt,to start, I think.

I could wrap them in vellum

tie them with a grosgrain ribbon

and charge $9.99 for them.

what do you think?

He's a CLEANER!

You know Mr. Clean?

yeah.

The bald guy on the commercials?

The one with the earring?

mmm hmmm....

Well he lives in my house.

I know aren't I lucky?!

Only....

Except he's not bald -- he's blonde.

And no earrings --

but he is tall and has a cute butt!

*giggle*

I married a Dutchman and I DO recommend it.

He cleans like no one I've ever known.

And the sick part is he likes it!

He likes a clean house.

A tidy home.

He can't go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink

and we can't leave a mEsSy house over the weekend because

"no one likes to come home to a mess"

and it's TRUE.

It's nice to live in order.

I do believe he is somewhat...

shall we say...

anal (read as compulsive)

--but in his defense--

I think it's genetic.

Regardless,

he vacuums, dusts, cleans the floors

and at this very moment

before he sits down to enjoy his book

he is swiffering the house.

It's a near nightly routine.

And where am I?

What am I doing?

Sitting on my butt

surfing the net and

eating chips.

Yeah this is the life.

Now don't get me wrong,

this isn't the ONLY good thing about the Dutch...

they also know how to make a mean dessert!

p.s. I LOVE my husband.

In fact,

I *BIG PUFFY HEART* HIM !!

and we all know that that kind of love is saved for only 2 things...

husbands

and MODA FABRIC!

*big smile*

A little fabric can go a long way...

Our poor bathroom needed something.

ANYTHING!

The right something,

the wrong something...

it just was...lacking...

so I had a frame.

This frame.

Albeit lovely...

it was on the empty side of life

"But LOOK!

it's not empty" you say.

And you are so right.

But I didn't fill it with pictures.

That would have been boring.

No.

I filled it with lovely fabrics from

one of my favourite Etsy fabric shops

Fabric Closet

She has this great listing called

a Designer Fabric Sample Pack

It basically allows you to pick 6 fabrics

and she sends you a 9 x 11" cut of each.

Just the perfect size for me to fill my frame

and try out some other really cool fabrics!

Ahhhhhh.....

much better :)

To Magnolia, with Love

Oh Magnolia,

how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways.

I love your soft pink petals,

And how delicately you curtsy.

I love that you are waiting on me in the early morning.

The secrets that you keep,

And the pride with which you bloom.

I would if I could, climb into your graceful limbs and build a sanctuary.

If only you would stay a little longer.