Things that make me happy

We have been so very very busy lately! over the past few weeks we've had our anniversary, some extended family flew out for a visit which meant wonderful, nightly family gatherings, ParkView is still going strong and I was the Duty Parent last week at Wren's co-op play school. Plus, I'm not gonna lie, I've been dreading getting on my computer lately because I know it is on it's last leg and I am sure it is just going to give in, most likely when I'm half way through a blog post. So I better be proactive and start looking around before catastrophe forces my hand. 

I have so much I am looking forward to blogging, because even when my blog is dormant, my camera is not! 

But for today, let's talk about why I'm smiling by summing up the things that are making me happy.

Even on my busiest days I remember that it truly is

{ garden greenery is long gone, but sparse berries on a bare branch add simple texture to a coffee table }

{ melty, saucy dinners }

SOOOO happy to have the slow cooker working on my behalf now that fall is here.

 { Ikea, I still love you }

We had a love/hate thing going on at Lexington, but their '20% back in gift cards' kitchen promo this month pushed the dial toward the LOVE end of the spectrum. I'll be putting the $1200 I got back into the bathroom cabinetry or laundry room cabinets.

{ red}

I am not a 'red' person, decor wise, but lately I've been loving red and white. I know it will probably be a Fall/Winter love affair so I am accessorizing with the color using fruit, flowers, coffee table books and maybe I'll work up to a couple pillows. Nothing permanent, but enough to get my fix.

{ Halloween }

We had an adorable party today at Wren's school. Pinterest is definitely stepping up parties compared to when I was little!! Juice boxes wrapped as mummies and ghosts, hand sewn goodie bags, it was insanely creative . And the kids were cute as buttons. 

Cue the orange and black outfit because I'm not dressing up this year.

{ Wren's Halloween Candy }

Cause I am totally sneaking some!!

{ snow }

It is WAYYYY too early (can't it wait until Halloween is at least over?) but it has got us feeling all cozy and homey lately. We spent the entire weekend playing board games in front of the fire place and that has to be one of the most relaxing, happy ways to spend a night.

Happy Fall Friend.

5 years

Hard to believe that it has been 5 years since we walked down the aisle. Even harder to believe is that we have been together for 10! Sometimes you just know.

I love that he still surprises me in the most random ways, like adding this to our address when he ordered cheques last winter. I am sure the teller thought it was the cheesiest thing ever, but I love it. It really is the little things.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SEAN!

thanks for working so hard, being such a great dad, making me laugh and so much more.

if you are curious as to just how much we've aged in the last 5 years just go check out our wedding post. Babies I tell you!

MyColor inspired by Pantone Painting Party

I am super excited to join in the MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® Painting Party today! A group of wonderfully talented DIY bloggers {and little old me} have all put our thinking caps on to come up with some neat-o projects using MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint. Keep reading to see what I whipped up for the party and then hop over to visit Courtney (a Thoughtful Place), PJ (Blog-A-Dazzle), Cassie (Primitive & Proper), Angela (Number FiftyThree) and Heather (Paper Princess Studio) for even more inspiration!

Just what are we painting today? Bet you thought it would be furniture, right?

Nope! We're making:

You see, I've always adored these fun little jars from Anthropologie. 2 problems: they are kind of small; and while I LOVE their happy, colorful lids, I know they are a little too much for my otherwise white kitchen. Oh yeah, and they ain't cheap!

So I figured I could whip up a whole batch of them for about the price of just 1!

I LOVE me some blue, so of course when I saw the lovely array of Pantone colors my eyes darted right off to this color called Skylight. IT IS so soft, serene and calming. I have at least 2 pieces of furniture I see this going on in the near future. And my other colors were what I figured would replicate the look of ceramic the best: Seed Pearl (oddly enough most of our house is also painted Seed Pearl by another brand) and WhiteCap Grey (Fun fact: Our Master bedroom in our last house was also painted a color this name by another brand). In person I decided WhiteCap Grey was the best match for that look of real pottery. 

I also decided I LOVE it so much I think this will be our new Living/Dining room color. Now I just have to convince Sean to help me move all the furniture so I can get started! 

 

But back to the task at hand! Next I had to round up all my 'ceramic' cannisters. Easy to find and super cheap, you can load up on pretty much any size/style at your nearest thrift store! Obviously the bigger ones might be more, but the standard sized jars are insanely cheap. This whole collection ran me about $3.50, and most of that covered the big guy. Try to find jars that have screw on lids, and preferably ones that are a single piece (not the ones with the round piece that pops out).

Because I may want to put food  or food related items in the jars I only painted the outside. The easiest and fastest was is to flip them upside down and either spray them real quick or do 2 coats with a good artists brush. I find sponge brushes aren't that great with curvy projects like this.

I LOVE the color of them and how they turned out. Very minimalist and modern if you ask me. I actually see cool replica jars like this at a couple high end home stores locally and books stores like Chapters and Indigo for about $20 each! I think they would be really pretty all down a table with fresh flowers, etc. But our project doesn't end here...

Next, we are going to add snazzy chalk board labels! I made my own using a roll of adhesive backed chalkboard paper I got at Dollarama for $1, but I am sure you can probably buy similar paper or pre-cut labels at the craft store. OR you can be even more artistic and paint the label on with chalkboard paint.

While the jars were drying I painted all the lids in Skylight blue (not on the jars, obviously). When the lids and jars were both all dry I threw the labels on and VOILA!

 

I'm keepin' it simple with some numbers for now, but later on I could label everything with what's inside, or the type of flower it is holding, etc. I think they would be insanely cute for those jars people give as gifts with all the dry ingredients for cookies or brownies, so the label could be the gift tag or recipe.

 

It was a good excuse to swap out a few things on the shelf for a while and I am loving the outcome!

 

My favorite part is how nicely the black labels tie in a few of my other black/dark elements like the light and stools.

 

Simple and fresh, probably my two favorite adjectives for our kitchen.

It was a weird day for lighting so I thought I would take an opportunity to show you how much I rely on the White Balance adjustment on my camera once the days get shorter here. What I see (looks good here,  but doesn't really accurately portray some colors)

 

And how my camera sees the same thing. It always comes off a little cold, but it seems to be the most accurate portrayal of color.

 

What do you think? Yay, Nay? Will you just buy the real deal at Anthropologie?

I think I'm kind of smitten with them, and the itsy bitsy price tag on this bunch is just icing on my cake!

Thanks so much to MyColor for sharing their beautiful new paint with me! Please make a trip over to visit Angela on the next stop of the paint party by clicking here. 

Here's the best part! MyColor is giving away 3 cans of paint to one lucky commenter on this blog post (as well as at every other blog participating in today's paint party). All you have to do is leave a comment for me with what project you would tackle with your winnings. The contest will be open until 8pm Pacific on Monday, October 22.

 For a second chance to win, tweet your project ideas to @MyColorPaints using hashtag #PassItOn. Also check out and like the MyColor™ inspired by Pantone® Facebook page to get access to the schedule for today’s parties as well as the rest of the parties going on this month! Share your project ideas there for one more chance to win!

GOOD LUCK GUYS!!

{ My post represents my honest experience with MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint. I am not being paid for this post, but I did receive MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint to use for this project.}

Halloween 2012

MUAHHH HA HA HA!!! It is that time of year again! 

Sorry I've been doing such a good ghost impression here on the blog lately!! We are eye balls deep in permits and blueprints and elevations, etc.... at ParkView. Lots of work, but not a lot of exciting blog content. And with all that work there hasn't been much of anything happening back here at home, besides getting a little ghoulish. I am just happy Sean gets home tomorrow after being away for the last week, so I can finally finish up a few blog posts that have been on the back burner. Being a full time mom/renovator/housekeeper is not easy alone, so I had to drop Blogger from my job description for the last few days.

But back to the REAL scary stuff! Wren and I had a blast getting into the Halloween groove this year. She is at a great age to help decorate now that she knows what is happening and what to look forward too (she has been practicing her "trick or treat" lines nightly!}.

 

Our decorating strategy this year centered around 'the Birds' again. We already had quite a murder of crows last year but we added a few more.

Last year I got all my crows at Michael's but I was insanely excited to discover a hoard of goodies at the Dollar Store lately. All of these spooky creatures were $2 or less at Dollarama, and I also loaded up on black cheese cloth (only $1!) to cover dressers, tables, and lamps around the house.

Here is a little glimpse into our temporarily Haunted House:

Check out my previous Halloween ideas here!

A person's a person no matter how small

Wise words, Mr. Seuss. In the last few weeks it is unbelievable how much Wren is losing the last remnants of babyhood. She is still a full fledged toddler, but definitely not a baby any longer. A good reminder to enjoy these moments before they, too, pass. 

I know I will look back in the not so distant future and long for the days when she would sit on the window ledge while we whip up pancakes together on a sunny Fall morning. But for now I will just savor them and remember that right now it is important to enjoy every moment.

I think today might be the perfect day to bring out the pumpkins and get ready for Halloween. Wren is really excited about it all this year!