Not Exactly Martha

The Productive Office

2014-01-27T21:08:00.000-06:00

I've been promising myself for the past couple of months that I was going to blog more, and then I hopped on the blog and promptly found myself with writer's block. It seems that blogging about house changes is a lot harder after a long break, c'est la vie.

We have had some big projects and some small projects taking place. The big project being that I finally completed my office desk, installed it and made myself comfortable in the office right away. It's been under near constant usage since October with both school and professional projects at hand. Consequently, taking photos that didn't insinuate that I am a complete slob has been nearly impossible.

I've also been kind of waiting on a new bookshelf for the past couple of months, I found one at Ikea that was well within my price range (under $200), modern, white and had drawers. So excited! Until I went to put it in my online basket and discovered that it wasn't actually available for purchase online. Damn.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful friend Brittany who happened to be going to Alberta for vacation and promised she would brave the inner depths of Ikea for me and bring back a shelf sometime this week. So hopefully soon I will have the Fjälkinge shelf to house my books, printers, papers and all the other wonderful clutter that comes with working from home.

While I wait for that I might as well show you how far the office has come since it's first inception. In case you don't remember this is what it looked like at the beginning.

And now, we can all revel in the glory of what it has become.

The desk was far more time consuming than I had originally anticipated, each board was reclaimed barn wood which meant that none of the board edges were milled straight. Each board had to be hand planed to fit the board next to it, which meant a lot of measuring, fixing, planing and time. Once all the planing was done the actual assembly was quite easy. I ended up buying a biscuit joiner, and utilized biscuits along with wood glue to join each board to the one next to it. This allowed me to have a really minimalist desk top that was also very sturdy.

I personally like working in an L-shape configuration since it allows me to have a sketching and modelling area without all the materials invading on my computer space. I decided to build each piece of the L as a separate desktop, primarily because it meant installation would be much simpler, especially in an older house where true 90 degree angles are pretty much non-existent. Once each desktop was assembled I used tung oil to give the wood a nice finish and it really brought out the character in the wood.

An old pepsi crate made for a good shelf and storage unit for some of my most used books, trace paper and smaller office items.

I also picked up a couple Harvest Art Ledges from EQ3 to create a little inspiration space above the desk where I can put books relevant to projects or special art projects from Anique.

In order to mount the desk I went with the easiest and cheapest option available, heavy duty shelf brackets. The brackets are designed to hold 500lbs, and while I haven't tested them to that extent they have managed to hold the desk and all my computer junk without any problems. I also bought a cheap ikea cord manager to keep my menagerie of cords somewhat controlled and off the floor.

I also ended up replacing the original yellow and white wool rug I had in the room. Sadly my computer chair wheels wound up getting caught in the rug more often than not, which drove me crazy very quickly. I spent some time looking for new options, and finally decided on a low pile carpet tile for three reasons. One, being cost. I could create a 9x9 "rug" for less than $350. Two, durability. If a tile gets wrecked or worn out I can replace those tiles easily without replacing the whole floor. Three, sustainability. Flor, the brand I chose, will take your old worn out carpet tiles, break them down and recycle them into new products.

I went with Fedora in charcoal because at $10 a square it was affordable and it lent some much needed simplicity and modernity to the room.

I also found a used T. Vac Chair by Rod Arad on kijiji for a mere $50, so I snapped that up for extra seating in the office. That corner will eventually house the new shelving unit, so some re-arranging is still to occur, but for now it's my cozy reading corner. The wooden sling chair was an old school project which I hadn't quite had the heart to get rid of and then Anique adopted it as her own, and now spends a lot of time in the office playing with it so it has found a new purpose and new life.

The antique frame is hopefully soon going to house an inspiration & pin board for projects on the go if I can find just the right metal for the insert.

Overall I'm really very happy with how it all turned out, and it really is nice to have a functioning productive office space where I separate myself from all the hustle and bustle of the remainder of the house.

A Place to Call My Own

2013-07-18T22:35:00.000-06:00

When Marc and I moved into our house three years ago my brother moved in with us, and took over the third bedroom while he was going to school. And for the first year it meant that the second bedroom became my office. Then along came Anique, and my office moved itself downstairs to the dining room. Where it has resided for the last year.

When my brother moved out a few months ago, we decided that it was time for me to have a more permanent office setup.

The original room was not exactly inspiring, pea green ceiling, cracked plaster and the awful standard uplight fixture that wasn't exactly great for work lighting. Also, blinds. Vertical blinds. I hate vertical blinds.

Since this was really the first room in the house that we could fully empty out while renovating, we also decided this would be the first room that we would attempt to strip the paint off the baseboards, trim and doors.

Although I'm not in love with the board and batten feature around the room I decided to keep it as removing the boards would have caused a lot of damage to the plaster in the room. And really, there were only so many battles I was going to fight on this room. In order to make the best of the board and batten I decided to create wallpaper out of fabric and place it between the board and batten to create panels of colour. Because the office is quite small doing every panel in fabric would be overwhelming, so we opted to draw the focus to the south wall where my office desk will eventually find it's home.

So off I ran to Fabricland, where I happened upon this wonderful modern floral fabric that was slightly reminiscent of Marimekko. I loved it instantly.

Using fabric as wallpaper was incredibly easy, a mixture of cornstarch and water provided the "glue" and after a little bit of trial and error I found the easiest way to get my fabric on the wall.

I cut each panel, and then pinned the fabric in place. Starting from top to bottom and from the middle to the edges I used a stiff paintbrush in order to spread the cornstarch across the fabric, until the fabric was saturated. We let the fabric dry and then simply trimmed the edges of the fabric with an Exacto blade.

We also replaced the original light fixture with the 24" Brasa Pendant from Ikea, which gives me great light and has a fantastic sleek modern look. I wanted the lighting in this room to really stand out and provide a central point of focus.

For some unknown reason the hardwood in the office was stained a much darker colour than the rest of the house. The wood was also not in great shape with many scratches and large chunks of wood missing. Replacing the wood with the same style of wood was impossible, and repairing the floors would have taken weeks. The quick fix was a cute clearance wool rug for $50, which adds some warmth during the winters and lightens the overall effect of the darker wood floor.

We also decided to try minimize the battens and lighten the entire room by painting the battens and the ceiling the same colour.

I've been so happy with the transformation of the moulding and trim since we stripped all the paint off. There is just so much more life in the room now. As you can see, we aren't totally finished yet, but it made more sense to us to wait until the summer or fall to take the windows and doors out of the frames so that we can do a proper job.

Also, many many thanks to my mother and father in law, as well as my brother and sister in law who spent a great many hours helping Marc and I strip paint off of this one small room. Only a few hundred more feet to go!

It may not look like much yet, but my sewing closet is going to be fantastic and decorative in the coming months, updates will be ongoing!

We also have finally had a chance to start working on my office desk. Why didn't I just buy a desk, you might be asking? Well, because I'm picky, and designy, and kind of a total perfectionist. I spent months and couldn't find one desk that I loved, so instead I'm making one out of reclaimed barn wood. Anique and I have been working very hard as of late in order to get the desktop ready.

The Art of Quilting

2013-07-12T15:12:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it is already almost the middle of July, I swear there was snow here yesterday and then I turned around and it was summer. Incredible!

It has been a bit crazy around here, we welcomed our nephew Loïc into the world in March, which meant I was already behind on making a baby gift. Because, you know, that's how I do things.

I decided since my sister in law (and all of her sisters) are so fabulous at knitting and crocheting that I would branch out from my usual knitted baby gift wear and try something different. So one day while cruising pinterest (damn pinterest and all the wonderful things posted on there), I saw this gorgeous baby quilt.

Image credit: http://www.pinknewbornservices.com sadly I couldn't not find the original image source.

And of course my brain thought "well that looks easy enough", even though a)there was no online tutorial and b) I had never, ever quilted in my life. In my head it was a bunch of straight lines and some hearts. Easy.

I had some vintage fabric hanging around from my grandma's house that I decided would look great, as well as some grey quilting cotton from a previous school project. So all I needed was some backing fabric, batt, binding and some more quilting fabric for a bit more variety. I could do this in a weekend or two, max.

Wrong.

It took me almost 3 months to finish this quilt, which (even though it isn't the prettiest or most refined quilt around) I am quite proud of it. I had no idea how hard it is to sew a heart, but I caught on eventually. The last three hearts look really nice.

I probably should have ironed the quilt before photographing it, but that's asking a bit much don't you think?

I created my own binding from the same material as the backing, which was really easy thanks to a tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew.

I had a lot of fun with this quilt, my next goal will be a hand stitched quilt since I can only imagine that that would be infinitesimally more difficult, complicated and time consuming. But that's what 8 months of winter weather is for!

A Studio and Semester in Review

2013-01-02T15:55:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty sure there was supposed to be a blog post on here approximately four or five months ago, and that is about where my life hit the ground running.

The second my studio class began a lot of things had to take a backseat to deadlines and designs, and this blog was the major casualty. Between a business and a family, school is a major addition, and a major time suck. The reality was that my blog had to take a serious backseat, and may have to again in the future.

But, for now I'll give you a sneak peek of what I was working on instead of blogging these past five months. In syllabus there is currently no way to get course equivalency for studio projects done in the past, which means that I have a lot of studio left to do.

Frustrating on some levels yes, but on others completely freeing. This was the first design studio where I wasn't worried and stressed. In fact it was the first studio that was really a lot of fun, and that is a big statement to make.

There were a total of five projects for the semester, each project building on the other. Rather than a heavy focus on architectural design, there was a focus on design and art in general.

Project 1 was a logo design, my concept was how to build a logo out of voids, nodes and paths of movement.

The initials were mandatory, as was the black and white.

Project 2 was to create a 2D compilation of five pre-given elements; My concept was about transparencies, what happens when two elements overlap, and simple colour addition.

Project 3 was to build a 3D model based on the plan described in project 2; My concept was to look at extrusions based on a single focal point, forced perspective, void, volume and construction.

Project 4 was to take an image of a "space" and to abstract it in a drawing, the drawing then had to be abstracted again into a sculpture.

Le Corbusier Apartment in Marseilles, photo credit: myself

The fifth and final project was to create a portfolio case that would hold the final product of each project, one through four. My final ended up being a mockup, as the final case will be constructed of laser cut and laser etched 18g steel. One major boundary of a non-traditional university set up is that you no longer have easy access to tools like laser cutters and digital printers, instead you have to rely on local resources, which sometimes won't always meet your school deadlines. C'est la vie.

My concept was to create a portfolio system that would allow my logo to create the overall form; everything held in one compartment; a system that would unfold and allow those viewing it to interact with the portfolio as well as with its contents.

Everything was held in by magnets, and could be moved as desired. The entire box was also held together in its closed form by a series of magnets.

Each book showed the design process and was bound with a Japanese Stab Binding.

I should be picking up the final steel pieces this week, and hopefully will be doing my final assembly this weekend. So excited!

Working With What You Already Have

2012-07-16T09:27:00.005-06:00

I still haven't taken photos of our new front yard, what can I say, I'm pretty fantastic at procrastination. In all honesty though, with the ridiculous heat wave we've had for the last couple of weeks its been a battle just to keep my new plants alive. Twice a day I've been dragging our hose to the front yard just to keep them from wilting, sadly we may still lose a couple of plants. But, with the heatwave easing off and the rain coming my plants will hopefully rebound and we can take some pictures soon!

While our front yard has been coming along nicely everything else has kind of been put to the backburner. If you have ever heard me talk about our backyard, you have probably heard me utter the words ugly and hate.

Our backyard is a giant deck, landscaping brick everywhere and a garage strategically located right in the middle of the yard.

While big plans are on the horizon for the backyard, these last two years haven't seen much use beyond being utilized as a painting area.

Marc, decided that for our first anniversary he would make that backyard a little bit more palatable. So with the help of his brother Dan, his sister-in-law Rachel and my mom Carol, Marc put together a pretty good backyard.

I couldn't believe that such a small change could make such a big difference. This last week I have found myself sitting out in my backyard enjoying it! All because of a patio set and a few planters.

I'm still looking forward to completely renovating the backyard, but for now, we are working with what we have and it's going pretty well.

Sometimes you finish a project, and sometimes you run out of brick.

2012-07-06T08:46:00.000-06:00

The title pretty much says it all, we ran out of brick yesterday for our walkway, a whole 30 bricks short. When we decided to widen the walkway I forgot to adjust my oh so careful brick calculations. Thankfully the lady who sold us the brick still had about 300 left so we will pop by sometime this weekend and pick up the last batch.

I did manage to get 8 plants planted yesterday as well, so it is actually starting to take shape as a yard, and it feels really really nice! Hopefully we can finish this weekend and have pictures ready for Monday!

These last few weeks have been a bit ramshackle with posting, its been a busy time for us, so posts haven't been regular. But, I'm going to try and get back on track today with the usual "Pictures of the Week".

Enjoy!

Confessions

2012-07-03T11:18:00.001-06:00

This Canada Day weekend was exhausting. Long, hot, humid and exhausting. While people were watching fireworks and drinking beer, Marc and I were cutting sod and smashing concrete. I think we need a vacation from our long weekend.

Now here is the hard part, I have a confession you guys. My yard is 100% not at all complete. It's about 50% of the way there, I guess, maybe...

I have about half a walkway and three plants planted, but considering that at 2pm yesterday my yard looked like a brickyard and a dirt pile had blown up, three plants isn't so bad.

It wasn't meant to be, finishing a yard in a weekend. Thunderstorms, stuck pickup trucks, concrete and tree roots added up to an eventful and long weekend.

Many, many thanks to my inlaws who drove 2.5 hours on super short notice just to help us out!! Without them I don't think we would have gotten nearly as far as we did, and our walkway definitely wouldn't be as level as it is.

We will keep moving along, and hopefully tonight will be last night of laying bricks and pulling sod.

Farmer Joe

Anique was ready to work hard this weekend, and between the rock throwing and dirt eating it was a lot to accomplish for one little kiddo. She did a pretty good job though, and even got a couple of naps in on the side.

Big Changes

2012-06-29T11:49:00.003-06:00

The reality of owning a home is spending money, the bigger the project the more money, time and people you need. So, in two years of living in our house we haven't really had the resources to tackle some of the big projects on our wishlist. Until this week!

Finally, we decided to start on a big redo. The front yard.

That right there ladies and gentlemen is my completely underwhelming yard.

It's not bad, just really boring and fairly unkempt. Three scraggly cedars right next to my house (completely blocking sunshine by the way), an overgrown honeysuckle bush, and a sidewalk that is pretty much no longer in the ground.

So a fair portion of this last week has been devoted to this

Between Marc, myself and my brother Craig we've gotten about half of the sidewalk pulled up. It only took an entire day. That is a 4 inch thick, reinforced sidewalk. I mean, if you're gonna do it, you should do it right.

The last of the sidewalk should meet it's end today, and so will a large portion of the lawn. Perennial garden, here I come!

Busy weekend ahead, full of big changes. The ultimate goal for the weekend will be to keep the entire front yard reno under $500 bucks.

Lot's of work ahead!

Organization For the Not So Organized

2012-06-21T09:26:00.000-06:00

I love organization, or at least the idea of it. See, I'm not as organized as I would like and I'm always astounded by my friends and family who can organize in their sleep. Their houses are spotless and everything has a place and is in it!

Organizing is a system, a system that I am very slowly learning. When you work from home being organized is pretty paramount to getting anything done, so I'm starting to figure out how I like to organize.

One of the biggest things I've learned about organizing is that you need containers to organize stuff into. I like to organize by function and type, and I found some cheap organization tools to help me put items away.

Ikea has the whole organization thing CASED. If I know that someone is going to Ikea, I send a list, and then hope they have enough room in their vehicle for everything.

I recently got the entire Kvissle set for my office and the whole set quickly became a favourite. Clean, modern, white and with just a nice touch of cork.

Kvissle Desk Organizers, set of 4 Boxes

Kvissle Desk Organizer

My office just happens to be in my dining room at this point in time, so being neat and organized is key. Some quick, cheap and easy mount shelving from Rona along with some more Ikea makes keeping all my work odds and ends in site and neat.

Tallisker Containers from Ikea

You don't actually have to spend money to get organized though, It can honestly be as simple as re-purposing items you already own or found or made.

For our wedding my husband and I made almost 100 vases out of old wine bottles. While we gave a lot of vases away we still had a couple of boxes left, and ultimately they were suited very nicely for pencils and paintbrushes.

Mason jars are really popular right now for decor, and here's why. They can be used anywhere and for anything, and they look pretty cute at the same time.

Here was my tea and coffee cupboard pre-organization and pre-mason jar.

It was pretty much a total disaster. Bags of tea and coffee everywhere, and I never really knew what I had.

Post mason jar organization:

Clean and simple. Everything stacks, I can read all my labels and I know exactly what I have. Apparently, I have a lot of tea.

I'm tempted to add some Chalkboard paint labels at some point later down the road, it would up the cuteness factor by at least 10%.

The downside to this whole organization thing? I no longer have any excuse to stop by my local tea shop, not until I empty a few of these containers anyway.

On Pink and White

2012-06-19T10:19:00.001-06:00

It's finally done, nearly a year later and my fun, stained, beaten up chair is finally finished! Remember the before? Bad fabric, nails and screws everywhere, horrible deep red stain and creaky joints.

This chair had some really great bones though, and ultimately there wasn't anything that a bit of paint, epoxy and fabric couldn't fix.

Beyond revitalizing the wood and fixing the joints and some of the cracks in the legs with epoxy and wood putty it was a fairly simple redo. Can't believe I didn't do it sooner!

It was also a really budget friendly redo, I managed to get that lovely coral fabric for $2.50 a metre. Crazy!! Plus I finished the edges with leftover fabric from my bedroom lampshades and sewed my own welting. The cording for the welting was about $4.00. Paint was at a cost of about $6 a can, for 4 cans.

Since my father in law was amazing and picked up the epoxy and wood putty supplies, then gifted them to me those were free!

Total cost: $30.50

Not too bad for a ramshackle $75 bishop's chair. I love it, though I haven't quite decided where it's final home will be.

Also for a bit of fun, instead of covering the bottom of the cushion with the usual black mesh netting stuff, I used the last bit of my lampshade fabric. Waste not, want not, right?

It's our excitement for the day when we need to pick up toys from underneath our furniture. I'm so happy with the finished project, not to mention just getting it finished felt so good!

Relaxing Weekends

2012-06-18T09:54:00.000-06:00

Well, I finished my last assignment for my first Syllabus class last week and it feels good. To be perfectly honest the theory class I took was pretty similar to my undergraduate theory courses at Ryerson, with probably less expectations than Ryerson. In the end it was pretty simple to get through and finish, but taking courses online at home while working full time with a kid is a whole different system. Instead of classes taking up 90% of my time and focus, they really only got the measly 10% of my focus this time. I took just one class this semester so I could see what it was like, and through it, I've determined that any of my design studios (which are run in city, so it isn't online) will be taken alone in a semester, while I could probably handle two or three other courses at a time.

Now, the next couple of weeks will be focused on finishing up my course assessment so I can get some of my credits transferred over. Lot's of work still ahead of me I suppose.

I celebrated my completion of my first class by finishing up some outstanding DIY projects around the house, plus starting a couple of new ones. Marc and I also spent some time this weekend taking Anique to the park where they have a "baby sized slide", which she loved! Down the slide, up the stairs, down the slide. That slide entertained her for hours, ok, minutes, but that's kind of like hours in baby time.

Plus, this weekend Anique kind of decided that she actually likes the swing, a little bit anyway. It was a bit of a rainy Father's Day, but we enjoyed it outside anyway.

A DIY I didn't do

2012-06-08T08:51:00.000-06:00

Were you just "dying" to know what the last DIY project was? No? That's ok too. The best part about this next DIY project was that I can't even take credit for it, because Marc did pretty much all of it.

Remember this fantastic end table with the really horribly beaten up veneer?

We picked it up for $30, and then sanded and sanded until the veneer almost came off of the top. Basically there was no way to salvage the top and have it smooth if we stained it. But, since the rest of the table was in pretty good shape I didn't want to paint the entire thing.

So we went half and half, sort of anyway.

Painting just the top and sides of the table really helped make the dark wood on the rest of it really stand out. We usually use General Paints HP2000 for furniture projects since it is a durable paint made for high wear and high wash areas, we didn't this time and I'm not sure that I love that decision. We used Behr, and the finish just doesn't seem as durable, I may do a quick once over with some General Paint when I get the chance.

Overall though, I think Marc did a pretty good job!

Elephant

2012-06-07T09:24:00.000-06:00

Elephant was the name of our choice paint, but it ended up seeming surprisingly blue for an elephant, until I realized that it was almost the exact colour of Dumbo! It really helped lighten up our bedroom which was a really awful dark matte brown before. Matte paint helps hide imperfections on plaster walls, but it also deadens light and makes everything seem far more dreary.

Pretty awful before pictures, hey? Ok now on to the good stuff! The after(ish) pictures!

We went with a semi-gloss from General Paints in the Z-Coat line (which is their low VOC line that I love!), semi-gloss won't hide imperfections as well, but it does allow natural light to reflect off of its surface thus making the whole room brighter.

I found those bedside lamps on a weekend Salvation Army shopping trip with my Sister-in-Law Rachel, $10 a lamp. Most likely early 70's, but originally they were pretty dated, and the bases were in rough shape.

Three coats of a glossy blue spray paint, and about 3.5m of fabric and those lamps got a fantastic easy and cheap redo. I honestly rarely like lamps, which is why it took so long to find just the right ones. But I am so happy with how it all turned out!

There is actually one more DIY project in the above picture, can you guess what it is? Don't worry I will post it tomorrow, so you can see the before and afters.

Trending: Cephalopods

2012-06-05T09:00:00.001-06:00

Or more specifically, octopuses! These, usually, eight armed sea creatures are the latest trend to hit the home front. The move from the sea to the domestic residence was a big evolutionary step, and it is one that I'm kind of loving. Now everyone's home can have just a little bit of 10000 Leagues Under the Sea, without the imminent possibility of drowning.

From The Deep Plates - Anthropologie

Revamp Homegoods Octopus Triptych Tutorial by Meg

The orginal Lord Bordner's Octopus Study goes for a whopping $3550, but thankfully Meg from Revamp Homegoods created her own version of the famous triptych and was fantastic enough to share her tutorial with the internet, so now you can create your own tentacled masterpiece.

I'm hopping on this bandwagon, and fast, thanks to some wonderful Octopus printed fabric I discovered on Spoonflower recently.

Yellow Octopus Fabric by Bonsaimechagirl

This amazing print is going to be front and centre as my new curtains in the master bedroom! Now all I need to do is order it and sew some curtains, super simple, right?

Are you loving the Cephalopod trend or do you think octopuses are better left in salt water?

Aren't Renovations Glamorous?

2012-06-04T09:03:00.001-06:00

It is always the weeks where you have the most to say and absolutely no time to say it, these last few weeks have been crazy! DIY projects littered around the house, paint, family and rugby meant that I lived entirely in the real world for a while and the internet world was left behind, so I will try to catch things up as best as I can.

The real work on the master bedroom finally started, and we've been pulling it together piece by piece, and I am so excited! I would say we are at about the 60% mark, only because some big pieces like the closet and the drapes haven't been started yet. But 60% is still so much better than the 10% we've been sitting at for a year and a half!

In the beginning of renovations I get so inspired, I see all these "before" and "after" pictures on Pinterest and I oggle, I oooooohhh and aaaaaaahhhh, I design in my head, I pull colours and fabrics, and then we do the work.

The work is so much less glamorous, you guys. Halfway through painting my master bedroom looked something like this:

Everything we own shoved into one corner of our room, paint and patch on the walls, ladders and dropcloths. Pretty sexy right?

Thankfully, we are just passed that stage and onto the putting everything back in its rightful place stage. I can't wait until we are done that stage, because we have three pretty fantastic DIY projects that need some photo love!

Anique may be watching a little too much DIY go on around the house since she has effectively started her own projects. I'm worried about what she is going to start DIYing when we start the big renos on the house... or maybe we can channel those creative energies into installing new wood flooring, or patching plaster?

Happy Monday

2012-05-14T09:45:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend, ours was a blast! As usual it was a jam packed weekend full of sun, rugby, family and homework. I coached a highschool girls rugby team in a tournament this weekend, and honestly I couldn't be more proud of the girls after what I saw this weekend. We didn't win one game, but that didn't matter one bit, my girls went out there and played their hearts out and enjoyed every second! In the end we won the sportsmanship award, and the girls deserved it! Seriously, they inspire me to be a better coach, and really, a better person. Never have I met such a fantastic group of kind-hearted and determined individuals and I am so lucky to be able to coach them!

We spent most of Sunday with my mom, my sister, her boyfriend, Anique and three dogs. It was nice to spend time with family, we all (almost, my brother had to work) went for a walk to the park on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Three dogs, a kid, and a play structure make for a pretty rambunctious afternoon, so I wound it all down with some 'on my own' shopping. To be honest its been ages and ages since I've been able to go shopping alone, and it was really nice, surprisingly nice.

I am really amazed that yesterday was already my second mother's day and I can't believe how much Anique has changed in that short amount of time. She astounds me with her expressions and how she can communicate so much with so little. I could spend all day just watching her roll her eyes at me; or smiling and laughing with the biggest grins ever; or yelling 'PUPPY' and taking off to try and grab a handful of Brunswick. There are days and nights that are tough, temper tantrums and thrown soothers abound, but the smiles and giggles nullify all of those tough times. Some days I'm surprised at how much I've enjoyed being a mom, I never saw myself as super maternal (though maybe my nickname of "mom" in highschool should have been a clue) but I truly have enjoyed almost every second with Anique. Being a mom is a part of me. I still play rugby, I am finishing school, I still gawk over architecture magazines and books, I paint and draw, and I'm a mom. But, being a mom isn't all that I am, and I am totally okay with that. I want to teach Anique balance in all parts of life, something that has taken me a lot of years to learn and something that I am still learning.

Keep smiling Anique, I'll always be there to smile back. I love you.

Pictures of the Week

2012-05-11T08:28:00.000-06:00

We had some beautiful weather this week, and so we took some time out of our days to wander around the city and go on a playdate.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and a fantastic Mother's Day if you celebrate it!

The Never Ending Project

2012-05-10T09:43:00.000-06:00

Sometimes there are days where I don't listen to my own advice and sometimes it works out great, and other times it results in that one project that just won't end.

A year ago I fell in love with a chair, I spent more than I had intended and I brought it home. I loved it, but it was in bad shape, really bad shape.

The legs were broken, it was stained badly, it creaked, it wiggled and it had screws in all the wrong places. But I loved it. So I told myself I was going to fix it, I was going to paint it, I was going to make it all better. That was a year ago.

And so I've been slowly plodding along with this chair, working at it from time to time, and I am finally getting close to getting to the point of painting and upholstering it.

I can work with wood, I can make new furniture, I can build architecture models, I can make stuff. But, I have never worked with old, beaten up wood. Thankfully my father in law is a wood carver and has an amazing knowledge of wood and how to fix it. So he has been instrumental in helping me along thus far, and always has great suggestions for what products and techniques to use to fix everything on this chair.

So far I tried to strip off the bad stain, but the wood is in such bad shape that it isn't worth trying to salvage. I did strip the stain off the metal patch, which I love and am going to keep for sure! I've also used a wood epoxy to fix up some of the decor that came off.

Slowly but surely it's coming along, now I need to pick some fabric, I was looking at patterns originally but I'm thinking maybe a really bright solid would be nice. Still haven't fully decided, I need to go shopping I think.

Sorry for the crickets

2012-05-07T08:17:00.000-06:00

It has been a bit quiet on the blog lately, unfortunately last week was a bit rough as I ended up with an awful head cold and sinus infection. I'm not sure what it is, but the second I get sick I just can't even think about be coherent.

So, most of my week was spent lying on my couch, moaning for more soup and tea while knitting and watching 'Being Human' on Netflix.

This last weekend was spent on the rugby pitch, both playing and coaching. It was a good weekend, though with lots of rain and a tad bit cold.

As the weekend ended I was left feeling a bit sad, and couldn't quite figure out why until I really sat down and spent some time thinking about it all. There has been a lot of negativity in my life lately, and this blog is really my place of sunshine and happiness, its hard to write happy things when negative stuff is bringing you down.

Last week I was dealing with a rough client, one that tends to deal with things in quite a brisk and negative manner and it just kind of left me dreading the idea of work. Add in some really negative coaching stuff, a couple bullies, plus some bad weather, and you pretty much have a recipe for sad. For the most part I try to let that kind of stuff slide off of me, turn the other cheek and all that, but sometimes I let my inner mean girl out and it isn't very nice. I hate walking away from an experience thinking, "wow, I didn't deal well with that at all."

I know better, I know how negativity breeds more negativity, how it just sucks the life out of you. I've seen it. I've lived it. I'm tired of it. I need to remind myself sometimes that compassion and sensitivity breed the same, and I'm pretty sure its a lifelong lesson that I'm constantly going to be relearning.

I don't want to walk away from my life thinking about the negative, I have some fantastic shit going on around me. I'm 27 years old (almost, anyway), I have an amazing husband, wonderful little girl, my own company, and some pretty fantastic friends and family. I have my health, I can run, play rugby, knit, paint. I can do all the things I love, and that's pretty damn incredible.

I don't have to let negativity ruin my day, or my life. Compassion and joy breed the same, I need to remind myself of that, to pass those gifts along to others.

I need to smile more, love more and give more.

Superheros really do have it right I think, you can use your powers for good or evil, that's really up to you. But if you use your powers for evil you can't expect to get good things in return.

Unless your Dr. Horrible, in which case bad things happening to you actually helps further your horribleness, but that's a really finite case I think.

I'm going to leave you with some of my favourite faces, because honestly, 99.9% of the time they make me happy.

Pictures of the Week

2012-04-27T09:06:00.000-06:00

Wow, Friday kind of snuck up on me this week. Here I go promising you guys all sorts of fun posts, but its already time for pictures of the week. Sigh. Guess you will have to wait until next week!

Just writing in my moleskin mom.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

More thrift

2012-04-26T09:40:00.001-06:00

A while ago we all drove up to Saskatoon to enjoy some family time with Marc's family...and pick up a couple of end tables I saw on Kijiji.

The first end table was a reproduction campaign furniture piece, I was really excited because campaign furniture was all about storage so the top should have been able to lift up to revel an interior compartment, like this campaign table. So to say I was a bit choked when I found out mine didn't, would be a bit of an understatement.

But, there is a silver lining to this cloud, thanks to the way the end table I bought was constructed, it will be super easy to create a lift up top! DIY number one for this piece. The table wasn't in great condition either, the stain is super beat up and it looks like someone took a saw to the bottom of the legs, so its going to take a bit of work to get it looking nice. I think this will go in the front foyer, though it was a bit wider than I had anticipated, so it may not work.

I'm thinking a deep grey stain, and I'm going to get some brass caps for the legs this weekend from Lee Valley to finish it all off.

The second thrift of the weekend was a phenomenal, and really heavy, modern end table for our master bedroom.

What you can't tell from the picture is how beat up the top veneer is. I think even with a good sanding it won't be salvageable, so I think I'm going to paint the top and side white, but leave the drawer and shelves stained wood.

I also can't decide if I love the drawer pull, or hate it. What do you think? Should I leave it, paint it or replace it?

that veneer is hurting.

There are actually a couple of other pieces, but they kind of deserve their own post for a number of reasons, so stay tuned!

Some New Acquisitions

2012-04-25T08:06:00.000-06:00

You know those days when you are wandering through a store looking for something as innocuous as a giant bin to hold dog food, and you decide to just wander the other aisles. You know, just in case. And you pick up one thing and put it in the cart, and then you see something else, and what do you know it has a sale tag on it, and its pretty, so you put that into the cart too. And then suddenly you have a full cart, but no dog food bin.

Totally my trip to the store today, though I did manage to actually find a dog food bin. While normally DIY and thrift is my thing, sometimes, somedays you just find things that you really don't want to attempt to DIY or thrift.

Especially when you have three DIY projects sitting around your house staring at you every time you enter a room... and none of the gumption to just "git'r done".

Purchase number one, was a fantastic rug all bunched up in the corner. I don't even know what drew me to it, because honestly, I don't like patterned rugs. I like textured rugs, all wool rugs...expensive rugs. But this one made me stop and look twice. I'm not sure if it is because the pattern and colours are similar to cowhide or what, but I love it.

There is one sad part though. Its about two feet too narrow and too short for our living room, so it will probably find a home on the veranda or in the master bedroom.

I was going to DIY a living room rug like this DIY latch hook t-shirt rug, but now I'm kind of loving patterns.

What do you think, should I DIY pattern or texture in my living room rug?

This was another thing that just made me stop and pick it up. Who doesn't love an oragami bull? I know I do. I kind of want to buy another one for my bedroom. Is that wrong?

I'm finally starting to feel like my living room is coming together, throw in some drapes and some new throw pillows and I think we will have it!

There are more thrifted and DIY items on the way this week!! Including a post about kid's toys, storage, and how those "before and after" photos with and without kids stuff, are usually lying.

Sunny Weekends!

2012-04-23T09:20:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend this weekend! We finally got to see some more sunshine and hot weather after some cold and snowy April days, and oh it was fantastic to wear shorts! In Canada April means taxes, so much fun... A good portion of our weekend was just dedicated to getting that all sorted out, and unfortunately we aren't quite there yet. But I'm sure with one last push we will get it done just in time to send it in.

We had a really relaxed Saturday morning, I made breakfast while Marc slept and Anique watched Dan Mangan on youtube. Anique wanted the song "Robots Need Love Too" to be played over and over again. Which was kind of strange because last summer Marc, Anique and I went to an outdoor concert last summer where we saw Dan Mangan. Anique was so tiny, and was cuddled up in the wrap carrier. It was a rainy weekend, and as Robots Need Love Too was sung Anique and I were cuddled up underneath a blanket that a stranger had given us to keep us both dry and warm. It was sunny, yet rainy and the whole crowd was singing along. Totally amazing and kind of romantic.

My inlaws came in to town that same Saturday and we had a great visit with them, we don't get to see them often enough, so it was nice to have them in town! I was only sad because my sister in law couldn't make it, but hopefully we will be travelling to see her next weekend too.

Thanks to my brother in law, Dan, we were finally able to get the hitch we needed for our bike trailer and so we took the whole family on a nice bike ride on Sunday. Hopefully this wonderful weather sticks around so that we can go bike riding some more, I really missed it last summer. Anique was too small for a bike helmet last year, so it really wasn't safe for her to be in the trailer. I was a bit worried to be honest that Anique would spend the whole ride freaking out about having to wear a bike helmet. But, since both mom and dad were wearing one, she wanted to be cool too and wear hers. She didn't even want to take it off at the park!

Robots need love too

Tickle Monster!!

Pictures of the Week

2012-04-20T09:24:00.002-06:00

Anique has hit a new milestone, and its probably one of my favourites. She wants to come and give hugs all the time, and she gives the biggest and best bear hugs. There is nothing I love more.

Anique`s also learned where the pantry is, and how to get into the chips. Twice this week we caught her munching on nacho chips.

Oh, and I got a new hair cut this week. Shiny!

Trending: Thrift

2012-04-17T09:28:00.005-06:00

One of my favourite thrifted pieces!

Thrifted, DIY and redone furniture, lamps, and decor are big trends right now. So big in fact that stores like Anthropologie and HomeSense are making big bucks out of items that look thrifted, but really aren't. But if those price tags seem a bit high, you can get the look of thrift in a pretty easy way, by actually thrifting! If you are new to the thrifting game though, it can be a bit intimidating. So here are some tips to help you get started.

1) Have a "Big Picture" of the Space You Want.
Thrifting is hard if you don't know what styles, colours and patterns you are drawn to. Places like Pinterest are great for browsing through and finding furniture, fabric and rooms that inspire you. Create a pinboard for each space you want to work on, either virtual or real. It will help guide you in finding what you want for each room, and help give a cohesive look to the whole space. You probably won't be able to find exactly what is on your pinboard, but often you can find similar pieces that can be adjusted for the total look.

2) Know What You Are Looking For.
Keeping a running tally of furniture and decor items that you need or want will help you find the items you want faster and more easily. Often if you know what you are looking for, the piece that you buy will more easily fit into the design ideas that you have. It will also help prevent you from taking every item that seems like a good deal at the time and storing it until you know what to do with it.

3) Check Your Local Resources.
Kijiji, Craigslist, local thrift and antique stores, estate and garage sales are great places to find fantastic deals on the furniture you want. But the catch is that you have to check OFTEN. I often check my local online resources 3 or 4 times a day when I am actively hunting for a new item. It can be worth checking your local thrift stores, antique stores, estate sales and garage sales weekly or bi-weekly, depending on your neighbourhood. Remember, the good stuff goes fast!

Don't forget to check your own home or garage (or that of friends and family). You might be surprised at what the old microwave stand that's collecting dust in the garage could become! The best thrift is often a free thrift!

4) Set a Budget.
Doing lots of price browsing will help you decide what a good price is for a particular item, then you can set your budget according to what you see as well as what you have. Remember to try and include any DIY modifications into the budget as well.

It is totally ok to break the budget occasionally, if that bedframe is $50 out of your budget but you are in love and can't get it out of your head, then GO FOR IT! You probably won't regret it.

4) Look Beyond the Piece of Furniture in Front of You.
Don't worry about colour, style, function, or aesthetic condition of the piece of furniture in front of you. These can all be changed with some minor DIY and new materials. Paint, fabric, stain and sandpaper are going to be your best friends. Websites like Curbly and Knockoff Decor (and Not Exactly Martha!) are fantastic places to get tutorials and inspiration, you never know what a dresser might become!

5) Know Your Limits.
How much time am I really willing to commit to a DIY project? Can I do woodworking? Am I willing to learn a new skill? Do I have the resources I need? If I can't do it, do I know someone who can? How much will this really cost me in the end?

These are all good questions to ask yourself before starting in on a DIY project. Sometimes I fall in love with an item and forget to ask myself these simple questions, often resulting in a lot more work, time and money in order to bring a piece around to what I want it to be.

6) Know When To Let Go.
Use it or lose it. If you bought it and all it's doing is collecting dust, it may be time to find it a new home. Generally, I try to buy only what I can effectively DIY in a month or two, otherwise my house would be full of unused furniture and decor taking up space.

If you have a great chair that just needs to be reupholstered but has been sitting around for a year (or longer) and hasn't been touched, maybe its time to let it go. If you really can't let the piece go, set a time line to complete the required DIY modifications in a month or less.

7) Have Fun!
The best part of thrift and DIY is that you can make almost exactly what you want! Who cares if you can't find drapes with anatomically correct hearts on them in a store? Or whether or not "Style at Home" puts mauve and teal cushions on a yellow couch?

Make it! Do it! Thrift it! LOVE IT!