spring burlap wreath.

Hello friends!  It has been just over a year from my last post.  Wow!  That's a bit embarrassing especially when I contemplate what exactly I have been up to in that time....Well, let's see.  I have a prince in grade 2 and the other prince started kindergarten.  That's pretty big.

I have also become a shopaholic.  It is surprisingly not that hard to confess.  You should see my closet!  I seem to favor, handbags, shoes, watches, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, sweaters, jeans, pants, t-shirts, blazers, jean jackets, casual tops, dressy tops, scarves, and pajamas.  Nope, haven't really gotten into bras and panties...yet.  I should probably tell you about the housewares thing, but I'll leave that one for another post.

I think it is safe to say that Pinterest has fueled my addiction.

Whoa, I just got off on a shopping tangent.  I need to find a hobbie and fast.  There is always my wreath fascination   I do love me a wreath!

What better time to reintroduce myself to the blog world than Springtime?  Spring is all about renewal, and I have plenty to renew!  For example my closet needs a total overhaul to introduce it to all my cute Spring stuff!  But I digress.  I need a new outlook on life.  I am going to find inspiration in my family, in my friends and the things I love and the people/things that love me back.  I let people and situations push me around.  I will not let that happen again.  Life is too short.  I am going to live mine to the fullest!

Now with that, I introduce you to my wreath!  (I realize at this point I should probably unveil some extraordinary something or other, but baby steps people!  Baby steps.)

I saw I really spectacular one on Pinterest (of course) and it got me thinking that I could create one just like it.  So, I did.
Here is my inspiration from Life on Mars.

Really pretty.
And here is my own...

I think it turned out pretty well.  I used the instructions from Life on Mars but probably should have paid a little more attention to the supplies required.  I bought only ONE roll of burlap garland...oops.  Luckily I had some other burlap that I could cut down to strips and substitute for the garland.  Live and learn I say!

At the end of the day I have a beautiful wreath to hang on my door to remind me of Spring.  Jokes on us Calgary folk though, as the snow just keeps on comin'!

Happy Spring friends!  It's good to be back!

P.S. Thanks Maria for making me remember how much I enjoy blogging.

Cabinet Redo - Then & Now

My dad made this cabinet for us a few years ago. It was never really my favorite, but we needed something to house all of our TV components and I LOVE that my dad is handy and agreed to make us something, instead of shopping at IKEA. When he first built it it looked liked this...

nice, but just not great...

I fell in love with this paint color at Benjamin Moore. It's called Wedgwood Grey. I just knew I was going to use it for something. Crazy huh? I buy paint BEFORE I know what I am going to do with it. Anyway, I got home and looked around my house to see where my paint was going to land up. I looked in the living room and AHA! The cabinet that I like, but don't love...perfect! I got to work on it right away. Well, actually I did have to wait till my husband came home so he could empty out the electrical stuff for me. But after that, it was off to the races!

I popped off the doors and punched out the metal inserts (they were garbage anyway). It took about three coats in total. Next, I had to re-figure the door inserts. We always wanted something that looked cool, and kept the TV components cool as well. After much thought, I came up with the idea of using cloth table napkins. I loved the print on the napkins and it worked perfectly with the paint color. I borrowed (he may never see it again) a staple gun from my friend and in about 5 minutes was done! I didn't want to cut the napkins, just in case I changed my mind and wanted to actually use them as napkins one day, so I just folded them down to size and stapled them securely in place.

Volia! I love the cabinet now!

It looks like it finally belongs...welcome home cabinet, welcome home.

Oh hey! I stopped by Anthropology and picked up some sweet bone cabinet pulls. Check it!

Easter Wreath

Good Day! Are you one of those people who just gets inexplicably happy around this time of year? I am! The seasons change, the days grow longer, and thankfully the grass gets green! I live in the prairies. For those of you who are familiar, enough said. For those of you who have no idea...the prairies are cold and can be extremely unforgiving. Our winter's are long. Not like a few months long, like 9 months long. I need this season. To celebrate, I created an Easter Wreath and wanted to share it will you. Check it out!

Here is where I glued a whole bunch of cute things to a regular grapevine wreath. As you can see, I have butterflies, Easter eggs, and a beautiful garland that I found on sale at Micheal's. A very easy wreath to complete, and I just love the results.

Happy Easter everyone!

KONY 2012

We have the power to make change.

Let's show all of our friends and family what we are capable of.

Share this link/video and make Joseph Kony a household name.

Valentines Day Rant

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. I have mixed feelings about this "holiday". I always feel there is a lot of pressure to do something.

Well, this year the ginger princes, my hubs and I are going to partake in a heart shaped pizza at Boston Pizza. Most likely we will show up at the restaurant at 4:30, order for the kids before the waitress puts the menus down and be gone in 45. I may throw in a huge glass of wine this year just to mix things up.

In years past (pre-ginger) we used to go out for dinner, buy each other gifts. Ultimately, spend WWWAAAYYY too much money.

I see pros and cons for each, but really...it's just a day. Like any other day. But it is nice to be reminded to kiss a little more, hug a little more and snuggle a whole lot more. I am not a hater. In fact, the people who hate on V-day and call it a cash grab irritate me. Yes, Hallmark created the day. Yes, flowers cost a fortune on this one day. Yes, you do spend more money than you would like to. But suck it up and do it. We all appreciate the love. Don't we?

Just Like Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't like fresh, out-of-the-oven, warm chocolate chip cookies? I love them. My ginger princes love them. My husband loves them.

My husband is addicted to browsing the Internet. If he has a question on home improvement, he consults You Tube. If he needs to research a new electronic devise he finds his answer on forums. He is THE go-to guy for all things technical from our family, friends and work. So when he came across this recipe on yumsugar.com he sent it on to me to give it a go. I happily obliged.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Mrs. Fields

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup C & H dark brown sugar (firmly packed) 1/2 cup white sugar 1 cup cold salted butter, cut into cubes 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk.
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer blend the sugars at medium speed.
4. Add the cold butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix at low to medium speed just until blended. Do not over mix.
5. Add the flour mix and chocolate chips and blend at a low speed just until mixed. Do not over mix.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, two inches apart.
7. Bake 20-22 minutes until golden. Transfer cookies immediately to a cool surface with a spatula. You can line sheets with parchment and transfer to a cold surface to do it faster.

Makes 30-36 cookies, depending on the size of your scoops.

(recipe taken directly from website)

Enjoy your day of baking, creating, or whatever else you love to do!

Halloween Skeleton Wreath

BOO! Did I scare you?

I don't know what it is about Halloween that I love so much, but it very well could be one of my top 2 holidays (Christmas is ALWAYS number one). I found this amazing idea for a spooky wreath on Pinterest. This creator is genius! I really wanted to try this out, so when the stores started stocking up for Halloween, I bought all my necessary supplies at once. I already had some of the bones required from a skeleton that the wind ravaged last year, so I only needed one bag of bones that I found at Walmart. I glued them together with Gorilla Glue and No More Nails. Truthfully, I like No More Nails the best as it doesn't move around on me like the other. The bones didn't match up in color, so to remedy that I spray painted them with a light grey primer and then rubbed some chestnut shoe polish over the whole thing to look more uniform. Lastly, I attached some spiders with twist ties, added a ribbon and done! It looks so cool on the door! Now I just have to wait and wait and wait for Halloween night to come!

Wishing you all a very Happy and Spook Halloween Night!