Long time no blog! Its been a month of vacation for us, so I decided to put down the computer for a little break and spend some relaxing time with my fam.
Mr. Fix-it, the kids and I started our vacay with a road trip down to the Maritimes. We both have family there so we spent almost two weeks driving through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Remember my road trip post "Road Trip - Oh the Places We'll Go"? Well, those wrapped surprises for our big guy...saved us!! Thank God for those. My big guy would open those up and whatever was inside would amuse him for sometimes over an hour. PHEW!!
The Maritimes are so beautiful. If you've never been, it should definitely be on your "bucket list". Our kids swam for hours in the ocean, we breathed the fresh salt air, had sand everywhere, ate smores and stayed up late. So fun!! Oh and Mr. Fix-it...he ate his way through our trip at every restaurant that served fresh fish.
Nova Scotia really is our second home and there is something about that fresh salt water beachy air that I think is in our blood forever. Maybe that's why our home has a touch of beachy coastal style.
What a beautiful part of Canada!!
The rest of our vacation we spent here in Ottawa. We did lots of day trips, stayed in our jammies longer than usual, played at the park, at out a ton (honestly I hardly cooked this summer...I think we went out at least 3 times a week...eeks) and we celebrated our big guy's 4th birthday!
We did manage to get a couple "home reno/decor" projects underway. The main one was the building of a shed (a.k.a Mr. Fix-it's "man shed"). Its still underway, but I have to say I have been thoroughly impressed with Mr. Fix-its dedication to getting this thing built. This last week has been a scorcher and he's been out there slogging it. I'll definitely keep you updated on its progress and give you a few tips and tricks when picking a shed for your stuff!
We did lots of planning ofr upcoming projects this vacay and I did manage to spray a beauty. My Aunt Mary added it to her "Great Glebe Garage Sale" pile and I quickly snapped it up. To be honest, I took out almost everything from her pile to "sell". Honestly, my idea of stuff to sell is usually a pile of randomness. Aunt Mary's collection was full of Pottery Barn goods, antiques and this bird cage. Its a real bird cage...reminds me of what Tweety Bird frantically flies around in while that cat terrorizes him. We're really not bird people, but I thought with a little spray paint, this cage could look fresh.fabulous.sophisticated in our house. Soo....
Here it is in its original state....
Check out the carved detail....
A couple coats of white spray paint and it now has a home on our dining room table (sorry I took the picture at night so the lighting is off - it really is a pure white)....VOILA! REMEMBER, YOU CAN SPRAY ANYTHING!!
Can you believe there is only one more week of summer? Its hard to believe that our big guy is starting school in a couple of weeks and I'm going back to work (mat leave is officially over in one month...gulp)!
Even though January marks a new calendar year, there is something about the month of September that feels like the new year for me. Maybe its the change in season and the kids going back to school, that it feels like a fresh start. So, Mr. Fix-it and I have made a list of our projects that we would like to get done this year. With me going back to work its going to be BUSY!!
Here's our house reno "bucket list" for this year:
Obviously there are always little projects here and there but the biggies that we're going to focus on are:
- Well the shed...Mr. Fix-it is almost done. We dont have a garage so the tiny shed that is attached to our back deck holds most of our outdoor stuff, and the basement holds the rest of it (ie: our bikes, camping gear, outside Christmas decorations etc). With the new shed, all that stuff can leave its home in the basement and Mr. Fix-it can start the basement re-do. Gulp! THIS IS A BIGGY!
Have you been down in a 100 year old home basement? Slightly scary. Our plan is to move a few walls, put in a bathroom and create a family room. All easier said than done. It will be a place we can all watch tv, hang out and store all the toys.
Which means....the playroom on the main floor can be transformed into a beautiful sitting room. I hear the church bells ringing. No more staring at plastic kid toys on the main floor!
The basement reno is going to be SLOW but a good long winter project that likely will go into spring and summer....SLOW.
Before the basement starts, we would like to make better use of the breakfast room. We're thinking of replacing the sliding glass door with french doors, adding a breakfast counter and creating some built-ins. LOVE built-ins.
The living room mantel could use a little pick-me-up. Its the first thing you see when you come into the living room and frankly one of the first things you see when you come into the house out of the front hall. So, we would like to build up the mantel and make it a little more grand looking.
Finally, our bedroom needs some mega help. When we moved in it was wall-to-wall blue carpet and floor to ceiling pepto bismal pink paint. Ugh. That's all gone, but we got side tracked on other projects and our bedroom project got ditched. Seeing how its on the third floor in the eaves...our bed frame was too high...so our boxspring and mattress are still on the floor. Can you say university students? Brutal. It needs help.
That's it for now. I'll of course find lots of little projects here and there to share with you and this Fall I'm going to focus on ORGANIZING spaces (ie: why is my linen closet throwing towels at me everytime I open it?).
I hope that you've had a fresh.fabulous.sophisticated summer. What's on your house renovating or decorating bucket list this year?
I never thought I would say this, but I'm actually ready to feel the cool crisp feeling of Fall and starting to think about all the fun things Fall has to offer.
I'll be covering the Glebe House Tour as the local blogger on September 16, 1-4pm. Tickets are $25 which allows you to explore 6 gorgeous homes for inspiration. Get your tickets now because it always sells out!
The Sears "Christmas Wishbook" arrived on our front step this week...yikes...Christmas?
Keep it Beautiful.
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