Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Happy Canada Day!!!


So, in honour of our wonderful holiday today I thought I would give you all a little Canadian humour on just what it is to be Canadian....some true, some not but funny nonetheless:)

What does it mean to be Canadian?

1.You understand the phrase “Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine on the chesterfield.”


2.You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.

3.You drink Pop, not Soda.

4.You can do all the hand actions to Sharon, Lois and Bram's "Skin-a-ma-rinky-dinky-doo" opus.

5.You don’t care about the fuss with Cuba. It’s a cheap place to go for your holidays, with good cigars and no Americans.

6.You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway.

7.You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.

8.You know that Toronto is not a province.

9.You brag to Americans that: Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion, Michael J. Fox, John Candy, William Shatner, Tom Green, Matthew Perry, Mike Myers, Neve Campbell and Pamela Anderson are all Canadians.

10.You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

11.You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is pronounced “Zed”.

12.Your local newspaper covers national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.

13.You know that when it’s 25 degrees outside, it’s a warm day.

14.You know how to pronounce and spell “Saskatchewan”.

15.You perk up when you hear the theme song from ‘Hockey Night in Canada’. (Alas, no longer. ;-( )

16.“Eh?” is a very important part of your vocabulary, and is more polite than, “Huh?”

17.Your Beer Case handles Are Big Enough To Fit Your Mitts

18.You know that we don’t all live in igloos and ride polar bears to work.

19.Every murder is reported.
20.You froze your tongue to something metal and survived to tell about it. 
 
 
I'm gone camping for the weekend to celebrate Canada Day! Have a great weekend everyone!
 
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Friday, June 25, 2010

Time to Poll - fixed?

Sorry guys, the polls not working!! Let's try this again!

Alright, I'm a few weeks away from being able to actually attack this bathroom but feel much better with a few options on the table! Will definitely be one of my first projects to improve on this bathroom!  So, I want to hear from everyone, which option did you like best??  I know which one I'm leaning towards but first want to hear from all of you! :)










Have a great day everyone!

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Friday, June 25, 2010

Friday...already???

Can you all believe its Friday already?? The weeks are flying by and we are looking at our last free weekend until September...good times! Its amazing how that happens! Well, I still took the time this week amidst our packing to take a look for a fun project that someone was bragging about...and this week I found Allison over at A Glimpse Inside who found a place in her house for some beautiful shutters with the help of her hubby.

Go on over and take a peek at her artwork:)



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Thursday, June 24, 2010

A Renter's Lament...

Ok, maybe a bit dramatic BUT....you'll see.  So I've told you about the fab 3 bedroom apartment we are moving into in THREE weeks! Its awesome and we'll love the space, especially a garage to store the golf clubs that are accumulating ya know?(who knows why the old set needs to be kept when you buy a new set???)  And, for the most part, its old fashioned but we are talking a bit of paint here and there, throw a rug down, add a window seat..ya know stuff that I can handle.  Except this....
































































Gotta say I'm at a loss with this one...can't get rid of those blue tiles right? Not sure the man will be up for painting tiles...its a little 'out there' for him I'd say...  Solutions...anyone??? A total reno is not possible or reasonable since we are renting, but just what do you do with a BLUE bathroom?  Goodness:( 

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Guesssss Whattt!! Elizabeth from Habitually Crafty gave me an award!! Here it is!! My first award!!


I am so excited to be recognized in the fun we have on here! To accept it, there are 3 conditions. 

1) Thank the person who gave me this award. 

Thank you, Elizabeth!  I am so enjoying having a blogger friend from the area! Check her out here.

2) Share 7 things about myself. This is really hard to come of with seven things that are at all interesting!

Here they are, interesting or not...!!

- I love the Maritimes and no one can convince me Ontario is better...you would know that very soon after meeting me! 
- I met my husband at 19, engaged at 21 and married at 22:) 
- I loved Tigger as a pre-teen, had everything tigger including a frame with a picture with Tigger that spoke when you pressed his nose. 
- I LOVE going shopping in the states...its a marathon of shopping when we go!
- My family would plan our vacations around where the best rollar coaster parks in the states were, it was awesome!
- I never attended public education school in my life, including university.
- I love kijiji/craigslist and check it once a day usually even if I don't need anything. 

3) Pass it on to bloggers that I have recently discovered. 

Sarah Says... is a fun blogger lady with a list of amazing life goals, love her stories of just life in general: )
An Inch of Gray is always a fun read and you have to read her latest post of taking advantage of an unexpected day of adventure and fun with her son. 

5271 Miles Away is one I have been reading recently, dreaming of the Netherlands.  She is a nanny from the US living in the Netherlands. 
Marital-bless is entertaining and heart tugging to read, a woman striving to live a godly life no matter the stresses surrounding her. 


These are all fun and enjoyable to escape life to the blogger world for a few minutes! Take a look and enjoy:) 

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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

It's My Birthday and I'll....

Animated Birthday Wishes With Three Candles



Well, I'm not sure what I'll do for my birthday but at the very least I figured I'd throw myself a little party on here!  Yup, that's right, I've hit the BIG 24!! 


Ok, so its not that big, but it feels old to me:)  I'm off to have a little cake and enjoy the hubby's attention for the day since he has to do as I say today right? hehe, have a good day all! 

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day!

Me and my sister...we're his girls:)  That's what you hear all the time, "Peter's girls"! And that we are!  My dad is wonderful, supportive, full of advice, loving and always ready to talk when I need it...he makes it easy to live 16 hours away:)  He is the one racing to get the last roller coaster of the day in, making sure all my taxes are done the absolute best, will drive sixteen hours here and back in a weekend just cuz I said my computer was acting up, the first to offer help whether you are a stranger or not, and would drive through the night in a moment to get to Florida....I am overwhelmed by the love you give and how you take care of us without complaint. Thanks Dad for all you are! 






Have a wonderful Father's Day:)

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Friday, June 18, 2010

Being Featured and this week's Feature:)

 So did anyone notice the added page to the blog this week?? No?? Well, wander over and notice on the left hand side that there is now a page calllleeeedddd: "I've Been Featured!"  How excited was I?? This is my first time being featured and I am pumped! So everyone take a wander over to this lovely lady's blog to see the feature and everything else fun she has got going on!

Then, moving on to this week's Friday Feature...let's take a look! 

This week's feature is......Snowy Bliss.  Mainly because she can sew, and I can't...and I need more friends who can.  Sadly my friends call me the one that can sew, and all I can do is sew a hem...its a sad world!  But back to this fun craft! She created these cute flowers on her blog this week.


They are just ridiculously cute right? This would be awesome in my sister's new shabby chic house! Good job over there by Anj:)

Ok, I've got a weekend filled with little girls, camping, roasting wieners, and maybe a thundershower mixed in! See you Monday:)


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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Ten Minute Pillow

Happy Wednesday all:)
So in looking forward to the move next month I decided it was time to do a mini shopping trip to Ikea just to get some decor ideas from their nice set-ups...and found some red pillows for the futon that I have been eying the last several times I went there...they were six bucks so I caved and brought them to their new home:)

Once they were home though, I found a new problem...that white pillow I have had sitting around on the couch was old and used but not TOO bad right??....well, it was...VERY BAD.....pretty dingy really, it will not do!  Then I remembered a tutorial I saw this week, if you know where it was, please tell me!

Since I'm not much of a seamstress, and I have not replaced my other machine yet this sew-less pillow sounded like a fantastic idea to me!

Cost and Supplies:
2 Placemats: $4.00
Hem Tape: $3.00 (with plenty left over so this will go to many other projects...like new curtains for the new place!)
Iron: on hand:) 

So cost is about $7.00 but since I didn't use all the tape I felt like it was less:)

And here we go!



Place tape in between the two place-mats on an edge, hold the iron in place for 10-30 seconds on the steam setting, time depending on thickness...mine took quite a bit since it was very thick.

Flip over and do the same on the other side just to be safe:)








I grabbed this one for mine since it was super weight and the material was pretty heavy...and pillows get a lot of use in our house, even supposedly decorative ones.












Leave a part open to throw in whatever stuffing sort of stuff you have around...I took the stuffing from the old pillow, fluffed it up, and reused it.  Then, because its a bigger pillow, I used some leftover 'snow' from an earlier project to fill in the gaps.








Seal up the rest of it and you are ready to go! I ran the iron over it all once more just to be safe and threw it on the couch!  Here's how it looks now!































Not bad for about ten minutes of work right? Hubby wasn't quite as excited as me but I thought it went pretty well...guess I just get really excited when I can avoid sewing!!  Anyone else got good ideas on this? Feel free to share!

Check out the Linky Parties I've linked to. 
 

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Monday, June 14, 2010

Dated Dresser turns Fresh

Who doesn't love the crisp, fresh look of something painted white? Well, that's exactly what this 'linen storage cuz i don't have a cupboard for them' turned guest bedroom dresser needed, cuz that's right, I'm gonna have a guest room...moving up in the world;)

Ian has had this dresser since the elementary days so it definitely needed some updating and removal of the "aim for the sky" stickers to make it suitable for the guest bedroom.  So with some sanding, a few coats of primer, several coats of Cashmere paint, a mishap with the varnish turning yellow, several more coats of Cashmere paint....I was left with this:)  Take a look at the transformation.

Before:



















Here's the almost after - where I realized that the drawers stick out a little leaving a little bit of brown peaking through that should not!...back to the paint brush:)



















And the FINAL after, with new knobs and fully painted....a beauty:) Can't wait to see it in the new bedroom and I can decide how to really pizazz it up:)



















And here's my hubby showing his dislike of our current state of the household....ya, this is just embarrassing how messy it is right now.  I'm in packing mode which consists of a lot of organizing and this is about five piles or my own organization, haha. There is stuff everywhere...I need a week off to deal with this:( But instead, I will start getting ready to camp with a group of girls for the weekend and go in denial of what the house looks like...and trust me, the whole house looks like this!














Sounds like a problem for future Krista:) Have a good night all.

Check out the Link Parties I'm linked to:)

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Monday, June 14, 2010

Apartment Update...

Well, through the power of advertising on facebook...a friend of ours tipped us off to an apartment that her grandfather is renting out...in the same little village we are in, for the same price BUT it has three, count 'em, THREE bedrooms...and a little "other" room that will be my craft room...its really too small to be anything other than a walkin closet but will suit me fine! And a space in the garage!!!  Who's happy? Moi:)  Sometimes I wonder why I even bother complaining when God always works it out, haha....Moving is still a pain to a point but to get that many bedrooms is amazing:) We are blessed...

Want to take a look? Here's the landlord waving from the side of the house, haha:)

You can see there are two side doors, one is ours, one his. So the house is split in half so we get a main level and an upstairs..Its a bit outdated but that just means I have projects to do:)





Like building a kitchen island for our new kitchen:) Definitely need the work space! Look for that once we move in next month! July 17, here we come! 


And cuz I'm a bit crazy, you can look at my floor plan for the new place here!! Fun right? I always need to see it laid out in front of me so I love this...




Have a good Monday everyone! I'll be back later to show you the dresser I transformed over  the weekend!

~Krista

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Friday, June 11, 2010

Free is my favorite too!!

and let me tell you...If I had a garage it'd be fuullll... :) I'm thinking my hubby might not want us to ever get one.  But this week's fave friday blogger is actually two people and they must have very understanding husbands since they get to take their 'end of the driveway, someone just take it away' finds home! I love those...sometimes at the end of a Saturday morning I just drive around to see if I can find any that i can justify to hubby haha:)  Good part about moving...all kinds of new stuff to re-purpose!  Like one of the apartments we looked at needs a kitchen island...i might want to move there just so i can make one!

Wow, getting off track, ok this week I am featuring Twice Lovely who shows us that you can never find too many tables hanging out...there's is always a new way to repurpose:)  We totally need a coffee table(I'm currently using that bench i refinished, shhh!) so the wheels are turning! That might have to wait til after the move though...hmmm:(

















Hope you enjoyed my fave this week, have a wonderful weekend! We need to go buy a saw now:)

~Krista

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Thursday, June 10, 2010

Moving = Trip to Ikea, right??

So we took a look at the one bedroom apartment that is available last night and it is still double the size of our current apartment! Well, a downsize in kitchen cupboards and its not a walkout...but doable! So walking through the apartment I found my creativity somewhere along the way, dreaming of what I would do....if Ikea was absolutely at my disposable, money no option!! That's always fun right...imagine the impossible, haha:) Let's take a look!



 This would be our new work area with hubby's desk and some extra storage cubbyholes to hide the mess:) OR I would love this as my workspace for crafting and such...beautiful!









 We still have money set aside from the wedding as a gift from my Oma for a good coffee table...and its still not bought because how can you buy a lasting piece of furniture without knowing where it will go? But if I could...I'd so buy this one for the time being...love that it is clean looking from the outside but still has drawers and storage!




 And this would be right behind my sofa(that I don't have cuz we just have a futon for now) looking pretty with fresh flowers on them:) I would change the decor with the season beautifully!









 This would be hanging above my kitchen table!  So funky, but as soon as i find supplies i will be making my own anyways:)









This would be displaying my dishware, utensils and anything pretty although I would probably frost the glass, just cuz its fun! or put chalkboard paint on it....hmmm:)








 Best therapy ever...probably should take hubby along next time I go just to be safe:)

Do you have a fave place to dream shop?



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Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Creativity? Where??

Anyone else notice the lack of creativity flowing around here lately? Ya...not so much at my house right now. 

We found out that we have to be out of our apartment by mid August since they don't want to rent the apartment anymore to make room for a future growing family...that's fine, no big deal...in fact, I like moving...yup I said it...I like moving.  During university I was moving every six months or so and actually enjoyed weeding through everything and setting it all up anew and refreshed...given this was a small apartment or even just a bedroom getting moved around.  Now, its a larger apartment and two people's stuff that is fast accumulating being out of university and buying "grown-up" stuff, ya know? 

And I'm getting used to the idea and getting more excited BUT...in my head I think I felt that the next move would be our BIG grown-up move that will happen when hubby gets a job with a designation supported in accounting and we would know where we would be for the next several years...we would use all the money we've been saving and have a down payment and I'd get to go house shopping and browse through the house looking at the fun projects I could learn how to do and maybe even have a CRAFT room...ya, it was gonna be amazing!





vs.






 But no, its just another move to a small apartment, something rented, not owned...just a sideways move it feels like.  And after looking several weeks I still haven't seen anything I like either...So ya, no point in decorating an apartment that I have to move out of and I don't know where we will be and did I mention I have an intense dislike for the city we live in? Oh ya...so we are moving and its NOT out of that city either. 

So spirits and level of creativity? a little low right now...just saying....it'll happen someday but its like the world yelling "Haha, not this time!" ya know? Alright, complaining and ranting done...will be back soon with some bit of creativity mustered I hope...better browse more blogs for therapy:)

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Friday, June 04, 2010

FANTASTIC and Fabulous Friday Feature!

...a little late! Internet went down for the weekend but we are up and running! Happy Monday:)

That's right people...I love this project so much it is fantastic as well as fabulous!!! Some people are so much more gutsy with their projects, it amazed me...like this lady! Her kid's play kitchen just wasn't cutting it, so she made her own! And its awesome and pretty and definitely will last longer than the original!

You can thank Cassie over at Primitive and Proper for this awesome transformation! Be sure to take a look at her other stuff to cuz her creativity is just over-flowing!

Take a gander:)


















Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I'm off for a weekend of catching up with friends! Lovely:)

~Krista

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Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Dutch Doors!

Did you know how boring our doors are here in North America? Neither did I but that was one of the first things I noticed as we explored different villages, towns and cities throughout the Netherlands. I took some pictures of my favorites to save for inspiration later.  Aren't they amazing?  Added in that they often get five weeks vacation to start...why are we living here again??



Beautiful! What about you? Got a door that inspires you? 
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