Spring is in the air

It must be spring because I am bringing out the pink heels , the sun is shining and things are looking good .

I am on day 10 of spring training , feeling sore muscles today ,but happily feeling a little trimmer , just a little but this takes baby steps , my goal is to create signifigant changes in 70 days , I am working hardcore like this is my day job , and part time job too .

Blue beadboard

Boring

Much less boring , don't you love my martha stewart glasses?

I haven't found any projects to get to lately but I have always wanted to back my open cabinet with beadboard , I had extra of laying around ,so there was no time like the present , a quick little makeover for the kitchen . I used the little sticky veneer rounds to cover all the holes for the adjustable shelves , it makes such a difference I think.

Turkey veg soup

Here's my turkey veg soup with a tiny bit of Parmesan and 10 corn chips {just 10 for a little crunch} and half a garlic pita , nice healthy, hearty low cal dinner . I have never used turkey before besides roasted turkey for the holiday's and it is good , I saw Kirstie Alley using it in a recipe on Rachel Ray the other day so I thought I would give it a try too , yummy glad I did.

We had my in-laws over for dinner yesterday and its the funniest thing , it seems the whole family is on a diet right now , some more strict than others , my MIL is on the Dr. Bernstein's diet which is very restrictive and highly monitored by the doctors , it was so against my nature to not make treats while they were here , but since we all seem to be on the journey of weight loss it was easy to stick to our diets { meaning healthy low fat foods and healthy portions} we had chicken picatta and steamed broccoli and brussel sprouts and cucumber slices for appetizers , I don't think we have ever all been co-ordinated on health kicks at the same time before boy was it easy to keep on track and not sabotage our progresses.
I suppose this is how it should be , eating healthy for the long term or course but it sure seems the treats go hand in hand with company don't they ....

2 cups of onions chopped and softened in 2 tbsp canola oil

3 cloves of garlic slices and sauteed with onions

1 lb of ground turkey browned

4 carrots sliced

3 cups of bok choy chopped

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 pkg of taco seasoning

salt, pepper and cumin to taste and parsley
1.5 tetra packs of veg stock

bring to boil and then simmer for 4 hours

add two cups of egg noodles in the last hour

Happy Monday

I had to show those who saw my lovely hostas from yesterdays post what that spot looks like right now , barren dry awful and dead, but in oh about 6 weeks maybe I will have a lush full green garden again .

Today is a leap of faith for me , my youngest Sophie is on her second sleepover tonight , she is my peanut allergic child , and this is hard for me , but I know I need to let her do these things and the mom sounds very capable as she has a child allergic to bees and knows how to deal with a reaction .

So anyway Mason has let me play with her eyes , she has such pretty eyes , she doesn't really wear much make-up but it was fun for me to play a little , I think she is striking and beautiful she has beautiful features , when she came out { as a baby that is } she had such lovely full lips , still does , I wish she saw how beautiful she is , growing up is so hard sometimes , and boys her age can be cruel .

Just keeping on

{this photo taken last summer }
At this time of the year when the snow is all gone and the air is crisp and cold and the garden just looks like a mess it is so hard to remember what it looks like when it comes back to life.

{this photo taken last summer too}

Especially this spot , its looks right now like there is no hope for it , but this will happen again , now that I am reminded I do have faith , after all I see the tulips popping up already .

I am now remembering the beautiful peonies my sister in law Janice surprised me with , these were fresh from her garden.

I remember back to last June when we travelled to Orlando and vacationed during a most uncomfortable heat wave , it was nice to get away but lesson learned we don't travel to hot locations during the summer months , especially my husband can't handle it he's hot in our Canadian winters, he did his best to tolerate the heat , but when he slept nightly on the floor right next to the air conditioner by choice you know how much he must have been suffering .

Doesn't that just warm your heart , a relaxed and sleepy puppy .

Happy weekend everyone.

I have completed my first full week of workouts and improved diet , things are going well , but the journey has just begun , anyone have any tips to keep motivated that have worked for you , I'd love to hear them , I am feeling stressed lately and been getting stress headaches for about a month now , so I need to keep those factors at bay to keep me on track ,there is no giving up, there is just keeping on .

A new focus

This photo expresses how I feel about this next little journey I will be on for oh the rest of my life , its an up hill battle for me , I wish I was one of those naturally thin people , do they really exist?

I don't focus too much on myself on my blog , in fact in my life I don't focus on myself , first comes family and then my passion for decorating , over the last two years I have really trucked through one project to another and made a huge difference in the house that is for sure , it is a home full of character and I am very proud of that . As a mom of two lovely growing girls I am busy all the time , keeping things running the way I think they should be.

But somehow as many of us do I have forgotten to really take care of myself , everything else has come first , so I have decided since the house is almost finished and I have no money to complete the two biggies left , the basement and backyard , that is is time to take care of me , to makeover me , to get fit and healthy , to really put in the work that is needed . I sure wish I was one of those tall women who could eat anything and never gain an ounce , I am in awe of those mystical creatures , turns out I need to work at it , much to my dismay ..... who really likes to workout and watch what they eat .... well hopefully I will again .

There is no better motivtion that impending spring and summer right around the corner .

I am putting myself through a sort of spring training .

Daily workouts consisting of a mix of cardio , weights , gym visits, yoga and walking , whatever I feel like that day.

I am now keeping a food blog diary , private of course, that is the only way I have found to really keep track of how I am doing .

Today is day three of full force really conciously working at it , my legs feel like they are made of lead , and I need to get used to my appropriate portions , it does take some work doesn't it .

The sun is shining , things are popping up out of the earth , trees are budding , the perfect time to shake off the winter blahs and get out there again .

Think its time for a walk.

Inspiration

Doors painted with color add personality

Horizontal planks enhance stairs

My flat cupcakes thrown in because they are yummy and are very right for spring

Simple white tile work used to enhance a tub shower combo

My favourite marble tiles

Thinking out of the box here makes for a standout bathroom

Hidden storage , brilliant

What a dreamy laundry room , soft blue , beadboard and loads of custom cabinets and drying racks and sunshine what could be more perfect

Storage , baskets and benches , always appreciated of course

All of these have inspired me , even just for day dreaming , I hope they bring you inspiration today also

{photo sources unknown}

Last week Jenny from City Cottage Store and simple casual living blog invited me to share my cottage style , please stop by and check out her blog and some other great Canadian bloggers takes on Cottage style , thanks.

Busy with life right now

I can not believe I have not blogged properly in so long , I hope my former content keeps new readers busy , I am having a lull , its March break so I have a house full of kids , I do not have any projects currently on the go , this is the curse of having a nearly finished house , what is there to do but live , right?
Great for life but not for blogging , do I move then ????? do I start re-doing perfectly good rooms , no I can't do that , what I am doing nearly full time is outdoors planning , a pergola , a BBQ structure , a tall privacy wall and twin sheds , I have grand plans , a permanent pool is out of the question , the cons well out weight the pros , I am thinking of a large lower terrace for seating and fires and raised brick planters , I can not longer ignore the fact that I have two male dogs who love to pee on everything , raised planters , why didn't I think if that before? I think I may be able to make this work. {image from Velvet and Linen}

Isn't this is beautiful image , I know it is just lovely , why aren't there shops like this around me?

And the winner is.... Crafty in Paradise , the 64th entry of 65 entries , I will be happy to mail that out to you soon.
Congratulations.

Happy newbies

I perfected my chocolate cookie recipe by using mini chips , these more evenly distribute , and baking them at 400 degrees for 9 minutes instead of 325 degrees for 15 much better outcome , then I decided to mush a marshmallow into each cookie , voila toasted marshmallow chocolate chip cookies , yummy.

I found this perfectly shaded blue sugar in this vintage style jar , perfect for Easter sugar cookies.

And pierced spoons , they intrigued me , for those soup eaters in my home who love the noodles and not the broth , for fruit salad , for serving olives and pickles too , a clever and unique addition.

Day dreaming

The beachy bathroom , actually this is a jack and jill bathroom ,I am dying for that sink aren't you ? I also like the cabana stripes , although I do prefer horizontal stripes I must admit these look awfully nice too . The maid service could have cleaned the mirror, that is dreadful.

Now this is a walk in linen closet , see I don't have a linen closet at all in my house so I think any linen closet it awesome , but this one is amazing with its fold out ironing station with steam unit , come on ....

I absolutely love angled ceilings especially when they are this high . Things I would change in this room would first be the carpet , which is an odd blue swirl design , I would change it to dark wood , secondly I would clad the ceiling with v-groove panelling and of course I would change all the furniture its not my style.

A great spot to relax and read maybe even get a little blogging done.

And the creme de la creme a dog bathing station , awesome....and located in the main floor laundry room

This is my house , well not "my" house it is a house I would take in a minute , it is open , airy , well laid out and well appointed with 9 ft ceilings wood floors a built in wine fridge in the kitchen , lots of pretty sinks and toilets , a main floor laundry , a generous all glass shower , huge walk in closets and ample bathrooms 3 full and one half , soaring ceilings in the family room and plenty of space to spread out especially for a house with tweens , loud singing girl tweens and an over sized back yard that would easily fit my dream pool with in ground hot tub and water fall , OK I am dreaming here , just for fun , sad thing though this house will go on the market very soon , for now it is a model home but soon it will be someones "home" someone with a big juicy mortgage though .....ha! lucky bastards

I would like to share with you a copy of Flea market Style magazine go here to enter now.

{ www.ckinteriors.blogspot.com }

dry brushing

Nothing was wrong with this little lamp , but I wanted it to have a more worn weathered look so I dry brushed on grey and brown paint , {dry brushing is when you dip the brush in the paint and wipe off the excess so that it only has a touch of paint on the brush} , quick and easy makeover.

baking quite a cake

Here it is in the morning light , everything looks better in the morning , right , I also added a royal icing spider that was drying over night .

I thought I would show you what I have been up to ...

That's right spiderman and Belle together at last , I made this cake for a friend of mine who's children are turning 4 today , they are twins , I think it is a cute combination .

I have found the perfect spot for my made over chair , this corner seems to be the perfect location .

making my own trim for the chair update

I cut 1 1/2 inch strips of fabric on the bias to create the trim to cover the staples , I ironed it into a tidy strip

I then zig zagged the strips to keep it all together.

then I hot glued the strips all around the edges to finish it off , click the photo to enlarge for more detail.

Its so pretty it might just stay in the family room after all.