Mini-Project

I'm often overwhelmed by the sheer number of projects we have on the go in this house.  We are really good at getting things 'done enough' - you know, 90% there?  Just about complete?  All the little projects that pile up needing to be completed can sometimes get out of hand for me.

I've decided to break down all the little projects piling up around here and tackle them one at a time.  This week's mini-project is my living room curtains.

This is my coffee spot:

    You'll find me here every morning at 6 am sipping coffee with my hubby.  The spot's not bad - I have a nice view out the big bay window and usually have a fire going.  My main problem is the curtains.  I bought Ikea curtains for this spot when we first moved in.  But we were in such a hurry to get the window covered that I never hemmed them!  They bunch up on the floor in a most unattractive way. And it makes them difficult to open and close. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get to this little project.

I took the time to wash the curtains, hem them, and properly pinch the pleats with the little clips.

Much better!  Sometimes it's the little things.  I love my coffee spot.

   Who knows, perhaps my next mini-project will be a makeover on that cute little footstool that I found on the side of the road! Or maybe I'll hit that ugly fireplace with a coat of White Dove!  It's inspiring just getting a little something done around here.

xo Meg

This Kitchen...

   is so good. 

 I don't think I have ever seen a kitchen renovation that is more me than this one.  I even have one of those lights in my dining room! It's exactly the feel I'm looking for once we decide to take the renovation leap.




We haven't gotten our thoughts together enough to do any kitchen reno planning at our new house but this one sure comes close to what I imagine the finished product would look like.  I love all of the materials and finishes.  The cabinetry - the mix of dark gray and off-white, as well as the simple shaker style.  Of course the subway tile and marble counters are my first choice. 

You can check out the full details about this kitchen on Create Live Design.  

so Meg

Well hello there, Blog World!

     I've been away for a long time and I've missed you.  There have been so many changes at our house lately - I think I'll share a little bit.

 
     First up, my long absence from cyberspace.  Although I've been reading blogs and pinning like a mad woman, I haven't been very inspired to post.  Here's why:  I got caught up in the comparison trap.  I thought for a time that I might like to make this blog my business.  And then I began to look into the world of sponsorship and increasing my online presence and got really overwhelmed by all of it.  I knew my blog would never have as many followers as some other blogs.  I wasn't a great photographer.  I wasn't enough as a blogger.  And that made me feel badly about blogging.

     Around the same time, big change number one happened.  I got a real job in my field.  So I'm working at the university here and I'm loving every minute of it.  I'm loving the extra income, using my brain and having a professional life after 8 years of being stay-at-home mom (not that being a mom wasn't some of the hardest work I've ever done... and not that I would trade those 8 years for the world).  But the transition has been a little...er... tricky.  Things are disorganized, messy and we're often eating take out because nobody has time to cook.

"Want me to pick up dinner or are you going to do it?"

"Where is my soccer gear?"

"I don't even have a clean gymsuit!"

     Things have not been pretty.  As a result, there hasn't been time to take photos and write well thought out posts. Over the holidays, I did some thinking on what really makes me feel satisfied as a blogger.  I thought about how I'd like this blogging thing to look for me.  I felt better when I wrote this blog as a journal of my life.  I was recently looking back over my posts and I really enjoyed reading about all our projects.  I'm hoping you do too.  I've decided to remove the links to my facebook page and twitter.  I'm not going to do that stuff - it's too much pressure and I really don't have time.  I added my instagram feed and I'd love it if you'd follow me so I can follow you back.

     My posts will be about the renovation projects that are going on around here.  And some other things in my life (like my kids, some outfit posts and some meal posts).  I'll still write from my heart about the things that matter to me.  There are so many things to catch you up on.  We've painted the exterior of our home and done some other curb appeal updates.  We've finished the basement and are mostly done with Elliott's Room.  But this blog won't be about self promotion and I'm not looking to be the next big blog on the block.

 I hope some of my old friends are still out there reading this little blog of mine.  And I hope you'll join me moving forward.  If you're a reader with a blog, I'd love to follow along on your journey.  Link up with your address in the comments section and I'll add you to my sidebar.  I'd really love to continue the conversation.

xo Meg

Audrey's Room Reveal

I feel like we worked on this project for a hundred years.  And the truth is, it isn't quite finished yet.  But really, what in this house ever is?  Things are always evolving and changing as we get used to living in tighter spaces and with less stuff.  

Audrey was so surprised by her room transformation and we are very pleased with how it turned out. 

Especially since we started with this:

before

after

The most notable thing that we are still missing is the bedskirt.  My mom seamstress is still working on completing the box pleated skirt in the striped fabric.  I figure I can wait for the free labor. 

The fabric was super duper cheap.  It's from Ikea and comes in at a whopping $6.99 per metre.  When we found it, I was so surprised at the heavy weight of the fabric and the perfect colour palate it gave me to work with.  If you remember, Audrey wanted a riot of colour and I wanted calm, simple and more neutral.  I feel like we really struck a perfect balance here.

We both really love the desk wall.  Jay made the desk out of two brackets we bought and some wood he cut to fit the exact space.  I painted the brackets in the same aqua as the bed to unify the space.  I especially love how all the bright colours pop against the dark chalkboard wall here.  The desk is the perfect size for Audrey, although it doesn't offer any storage.  She isn't really one to put things away anyway ; )

This way, her pencils and markers are right out on display so she can keep things tidy (hopefully).

I also think this little hook system will help keep her things up off the floor.  It's funny, when I was spraying out all the frames I absolutely detested this lime green colour we used, but now it's one of my favourite parts of the room.  Audrey, of course, loves it.

So there you go.  One room looking good.  I'll talk about sources and paint colours in another post.

What do you think of Audrey's new room?

xo Meg

Project Surprise Room - Part 2

Last week, while our kids were away at the cottage with my parents, we did a major overhaul on Audrey's room. If you remember, it looked like this:

before

Poor kid.

  I have a few posts lined up about this project (there were lots of small DIYs in here) but for now, check out my girl's reaction to her new and improved bedroom:

She had no idea we were working on this while she was away. And the good news is that she loved it.

   Slowly, but surely, we are working away at this house.  Things are really starting to look like 'us' in a lot of rooms.  

    The basement is nearing completion - Elliott is now in his new room downstairs and loves having his own space. We even watched our first official family movie in the basement family room last night. I can't tell you how much happier I feel now that things are shaping up.  I'm a homebody and it's really important to me that our house feels like home. We've spent a lot of months with somebody else's decorating choices. And we will spend many more while we budget and work on the things that are important to us.   

Have a wonderful Monday!

xo Meg

Project Surprise Room

In about a week, my kids are heading to the cottage to spend a week with their Nanny, Grandpa and Auntie.  They are so looking forward going and love everything to do with cottage life - swinging in the hammock with a good book, playing on the beach, swimming and boating.  I've written about Cedar Beach before and what it means to me and my family.  It's my true north.

While they're gone, I have some big surprise plans for Audrey.  When we moved into our house, her room was one of the first ones we painted.  It's pale lilac, although I know she wishes it was a much brighter colour.  But that's all we've done.  I wrote about that here, you can check out the little bit of progress we've made.

The list of projects for this room was long. And sadly, we've yet to accomplish anything on the list. Not. A. Thing.  In all fairness, we have been working hard on other reno projects around here.  However, it's my goal to complete a few projects to make her room something special while she's gone.  And then surprise her when she gets back!

This is the fabric for her long pillow.  

 

It's been purchased and is just sitting there waiting to be sewn.

This is the bed:

She wants a brightly coloured room so we're going with turquoise.

We found her chandy in someone else's trash.  My favorite kind of treasure. We're planning to dress it up with a paint job. I have yet to choose a colour.  I will likely choose something pulled from the striped fabric we're using. Pink?  Any colour suggestions would be appreciated.

Additionally, a chalkboard wall is happening on the desk wall, a la:





I have a zillion ideas swirling around in my head.  I'm always good at making inspiration boards for a space - but it's somehow hard for me to commit the ideas to the actual room and actually get it done.  There are a few craft type projects I'd like to create for the space but we'll see what kind of time crunch I run up against.

Some things that also need to be addressed:

• hooks for hanging sweatshirts and pjs
• hooks/jewelry organization/display
• hang string lights?
• make a pompom garland/flower/paper/other creative garland 

Isn't planning a surprise FUN??

xo Meg 

Doggie Helper

Gilmore helping me with filling nail holes, caulking and priming out the trim in our basement.  Love that guy.  He's actually afraid to walk on the new flooring down there.  It makes him nervous!

xo Meg