Christmas, back to the basics.

Christmas is different when you are a kid, you have the excitement of every little thing. Somewhere along the way it becomes a little less fun, little more chaotic.

Things are simpler when you are a child and that's ok. They don't care that you tried to make your tree look like one out of the sears catalogue, or the presents don't have bows because you forgot. 

I think children are the key to Christmas and to truly be happy you need to channel your inner child and let the rest go.

I came to this epiphany after leaving Chapters the other day with Charlotte. She wanted to buy a book by Usborne that was filled with pages of patterns to cut, fold and glue. Pages and pages of Christmas joy long forgotten by me.

Over the next few days we spent hours folding papers and cutting pieces out to make snowflakes, folding angels and makings garland. Remember that? Cutting out strips of paper and taping them together to make paper chains to decorate the tree?

Spending that time in front of that book brought back memories of a simpler time when Christmas meant more than perfection.

Whenever I would question something, like two coloured being alike on the paper chain, Charlotte would say, " But that's ok," and you know what? it is.

I have decided to try to let go of the ideals of perfection when it comes to the holidays, the fun in the process is better than the end results.

I will let Charlotte wrap presents, sometimes they are horrible balls of paper crumpled and taped beyond recognition but she is having fun. I will make cookies and let her decorate them however she wants, I let her put her paper chains and hand painted wooden ornaments on my "perfectly" coordinated Christmas tree and didn't lose it or cry when one of mine shattered on the floor. (Only a few tears shed on the inside)

When it comes to Christmas it seems the key to be happy, at least for me, is to be 4 years old again. Or at least to relive that though Charlotte's eyes. 

Off the Wall Photo Wall Collage

When I moved into my house in April I looked at my blank living room wall and thought "it needs something." I then looked at the massive amount of photos the movers, aka hubby and friends, left in the office and I thought I have to find somewhere to put those.

Wall meet pictures, pictures this is wall.

Now that they have been introduced I got to work putting as many together as possible. I had always wanted a wall collage but thought the frames needed to match and I didn't have the money for all new frames. Guess what? They don't need to match. These are all the frames I already had except the 3 photo frame on the bottom, that was a gift to myself :)

Focus on what you want to see and where, you can buy guides, find them on line or cut out paper in the shapes of your frames and tape them up first. Me being who I am did none if these and decided to wing it, I will never take them down in my lifetime or hubby will see all the holes in the wall where I put in the picture hanger and then needed to move it 2 inches to the left or so. So don't be me and follow one of those suggestions for having a plan. 

I showed my sister my creation and she said " how very Pinterest of you. " 

Does she spy on me???  

So I like Pinterest, I am pretty sure stealing ideas if what it is there for! See my big C? ( For Cummings if you are wondering) Pinterest steal. I also saw someone have other things beside photos on the wall and I thought that was cool. It feels good to have my little carved turtle from Belize on display instead of in a drawer. 

So there. I managed to get multiple photos on the wall and still look like I had a plan from the start. I love when that happens. 

Money For Cruising Update

A little while back I set out on a quest to get the $738 dollars I need to pay the deposit on a cruise for myself, hubby and Charlotte by selling unwanted items in our house. Big goal but my credit card will thank me!

Read the original post Here if you need a refresher!

I just thought I would give you an update and where I am so far!

1. Sold the old laminate floor from our remodel; if it comes up good people may want it for basements or cabins! Cruise Money: $100
2. Sold a scrapbooking tools I did not use. Cruise Money: $5
3. Another remodel deal- sold the old exhaust fan from out kitchen. Cruise Money: $40 
4. Sold Miche purses I no longer used. Cruise Money: $50
5. Hubby sold a winch that belong a an ATV we no longer have, Sold for $100 but he only let me have $50! He will be a few drinks less on the cruise then! Cruise Money:$50
6. Sold a ride on car Charlotte has outgrown, hey she is going on vacation too after all! Cruise Money:$10
7. Sold Charlotte's outgrown clothes by the bag. Cruise Money: $10

Total to Date: $265

Yippee! I love seeing the balance go down on my credit card! If you are doing this with me, make sure the money makes it to your credit card! No cheating and buying more stuff that you will just sell a couple years down the road!

I currently have $100 worth of stuff listed on Kijiji and on various Facebook buy and sell groups. Facebook can have great resources for selling your unwanted items.

Want to save even more money? Don't forget to look on Kijiji or other pages when you need something yourself. I needed a new microwave when we moved and I refused to buy a new one so I found one just like new for $80 on Kijiji instead of $180 in the store. 

I am 1/3 of the way to repaying the despot I put on the cruise. Very exciting! Has anyone else tried this as a way to pay for an item?

Hold on Cruise Ship! I am coming!

My Fabulous Junk

First off this is not an article about my derriere. Wrong junk get your head out of the gutter.

My Junk Before

I have become my father's daughter. I hauled home someone else 'junk". While looking for a desk on Kijiji I found an ad for a few items that were out to the side of the road free for the taking. In it was this solid wood pedestal table. I love pedestal tables!!! My budget loves free ones even more.

So off I go with hubby in the truck to claim my prize.

It is flaking, water damaged and stained, by all means.. junk.

I can do junk, I think.  I have somehow convinced myself I a a savior of old wood. It started with a set of very old chairs that I got from a flea market. Just a coat of paint and some new material on the seats, easy peasey. Never mind I can't sew a button none then less reupholster anything!
Well months later I am still working on the first one! Who knew I would haev to remove all the old paint from every tiny crevice I thought made that chair look so unique, I kinda hate them now.

But let's move on to a success, shall we? 

I had a vision. Black pedestal with a cream coloured top. I was a woman on a mission. Could I do it?

Yes!!!!

My Fabulous Junk After

Woohoo! Look at that fabulous table! The best part? I did this, me, not me and my hubby, all me. I wielded a hand sander, used a deglosser to get off any leftover stain and laboured over 3 coats of paint. My father will be proud.

I love that the table was stamped handmade in Eastport on the bottom. This table is not only solid wood but it was made right here in Newfoundland!

 

Keeping it Canadian I painted the bottom, not just black, but "Hockey Sweater" black. Can't get much more home grown than that! 

 

The top colour is antique quilt leftover from our cabinet redo. So the grand total on this table redo was $ 20.

I am officially a savior of wood! Now if I could just get those chairs done I would have somewhere to sit....

Little House on the East Coast

Those who have grown up in Newfoundland and other parts of Atlantic Canada are aware of our distinct and rich history. We have memories of life before many of today's luxury's.
Thanks to stories and photos from my grandparents are am also aware of a time before mine, where life revolved around fishing and often relocation for many.

I recently had a chance to read a short novel written for youth that had passages that took me back to my youth and back to my grandparents youth.

Wishing Stone and Other Myths: Learned on Gull Cliff Island by J.M.Lavelle may not be written based on a Newfoundland childhood (it is based on the Lower North Shore of Quebec) but the similarities still rang through with me. Especially the part when they moved their house across water to a new home. I have a painting on my wall of this spectacular undertaking as my grandparents lived throughout this.
Imagining the sheer manpower it took to move your house frown to the waterfront, get it on barrels and then have a boat tow it across water, praying every minute that it survived. Is amazing to me. I wish the book had gone into this remarkable feat a little more bit I am glad to see it in there anyways. Youth today may see an episode of "Big Moves" on television and watch amazed as they move houses with trucks and trailers, well how about moving it with none of that? That's amazing, that's our history.
The book moves quickly, weeks, months and years go by, in less than 100 pages, but it has an allure to it to see what life was like back then during the different seasons of the year. It reminded me a little  of a Little House on The Prairie book, Canadian style.

It is refreshing to see a book geared towards tweens that does not have sparkling vampires, hobbits or other imaginary creatures. This book has real history from the first page to the last. The main character in the story, Dot, has to come to terms with many of the pains of growing up that a teenage girl still deals with today; boys, love and finding your true self. She just dealt with then in the 1960's instead.

If you have a tween at home or you are just an individual proud of our heritage, take a look at Wishing Stone and Other Myths: Learned on Gull Cliff Island. You can purchase it at the link below.

http://morningrainpublishing.com/project/the-wishing-stone-and-other-myths/

There is also still time to enter a contest being held by the publisher, act out your favourite scene from the book and send it for submission. Sounds like a great class project for those teachers out there. Here is the link for that

http://morningrainpublishing.com/a-special-wishing-stone-and-other-myths-video-contest/

**I recieved a free copy of the book but the opinions are all my own** 

Growing Up and Growing Old

I seemed to have aged a little faster than I have liked. Don't get me wrong I am not old. I mean I am only 32, but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I am no longer in my 20's.

I can no longer do crazy things without having to deal with consequences.

Crap, I partied until 4 last night, now I have to get through this work presentation and all day meetings. Or I just had to have that $700 piece of electronics now the mortgage payment will bounce.

Besides the number on your drivers license there are signs that say " yup I'm no longer 20 something". 

For me the first one came when I picked up an edition of Cosmo after not reading them for a period. I used to read them every month, they are the Bible for many woman. Now that I am in my 30's and married with a family I find the contents of Cosmo to be down right comical. 10 places he wants you to touch, what he really means when he says this and 15 sex moves to try. Umm yeah right, If I find time in my day of working, supper and kid duties to touch anything on anyone, it should be celebrated. 15 moves? How about how to do it in 15 seconds while Dora is on. Silly Cosmo. I got further away from my 20's when I bought my first Better Homes and Garden.

Drinking is no longer a game. Once drinking games were a must, what else was the point of drinking. When you get older it becomes more about enjoying what you are drinking and enjoying the social time with another adult human being. Last year was another "ah ha" moment whe we returned a drinking game given to us for Christmas and bought a butter dish. My husband said "I can't believe we just did that." I could, I needed a butter dish.

It's not all bad, you don't just "get old" you grow up. You know who you are and what you want to be, you become more comfortable with yourself. People tend to treat you with more respect like you actually have something to contribute to society.

But I still have that little glimmer of hope at the liquor store check out. " Please ID me...."

Just because I like being in my 30's doesn't me I want to look like I am! 

My Kitchen, My Way

Earlier this year I saw a quote "If you don't like where you are in life, then move." I took that a little more literally than they probably meant it to be and sold my house.

It was a brand new build in a brand new subdivision and I hated it. I now live in a wonderful thirty-year-old two storey house in an established subdivision.  It is not quite as new and shiny and it is a little rough around the edges after 30 years on the earth, I mean so am I right? (My ego is hoping you are all correcting me right now about how wonderful I look).

But here's the thing, I love renovating, I love having a concept and making it come to life, I love when everything in my house is made for me! Not something that was mass produced for profit by a builder.
And I can love this type of stuff because of my wonderful husband who puts up with my visions and ideas and constant plans.

Project Kitchen

Original kitchen

I hated those old light wood coloured cabinets and don't get me started on the fruit tiled backsplash.
Spending $15,000 on a new kitchen was not in the stars for me. Unless I win the lottery, since I don't play that will be never....
But the cabinets were solid so we decided to try our hand at refinishing them. What happens if we ruin them? We have to replace the cabinets anyways, back to square one.





So off we went to Rona to pick up a refinishing kit. This is where I lose my husband. I decide I want a vintage  cream coloured cabinet. He just stares at me for  a minute. See we have always been lovers of dark wood so this is a little out there for me. But my new house has windows everywhere and I have this urge to make everything bright and cheery!
"Just go with it, I have a vision," I say. He shakes his head and allows me to follow my whim. Love that man.

So first of all don't attempt to refinish your cabinets if you are on a short timeline! It is actually a really easy process it just requires about 8 steps and drying time between each one to finish the job. But we did it! I can say we because I did actually help with the painting and glazing. I earned the right!

Ta Da!

I picked out my tiles from the discounted table at Kent. The glass tiles were regular $25 a sheet! Who pays for that! I paid $5 a sheet for two boxes and $10 a sheet for two unopened boxes. the small subway tiles were also on clearance for .75 each.

My big splurge in this kitchen was the new hood vent. We took out the small cabinet that was not being used above the stove and put in a beautiful stainless steel chimney style vent. It may have been my splurge but if it was still online of course! I saved $110 off and another 10% off the $440 price tag on a scratch and save event.

Since the countertop was fairly new we decided to leave it for now. My dream there is corian stone one day. You know when I win that lottery again....

Kitchen Reno Breakdown
Cost to refinish cabinets $225
Cost of tile & grout $390
Cost of hood vent $410
Total for my makeover: $1035

Not bad for a completely different look! I could get another decade of of these cabinets now. Talk about stretching a dollar.

Now what can I move onto next????