We've made a lot of progress in our dining room since we moved in...

Except for that crooked, sad little light fixture. I came across the perfect replacement on theFoundary.com: a woven wire pendant light - for just $34. Unfortunately there was no shipping to Canada, so I had it sent to my dad, who not only drove it from Wisconsin to Nova Scotia, but also installed it.

Love.

My dad is in town for my upcoming wedding and while he was checking out our new place, he installed a new vanity light in our bathroom.

It works! I've been waiting months to have it installed (the placement of the junction box + my paranoia around all things electrical = too complicated for me). I love it, mostly because we now have a lighting option that doesn't involve a noisy overhead fan (which made quietly getting ready in the morning next to impossible).

Next steps: paint the ceiling gray and add crown moulding.

Hello blog friends! I took an inadvertent break from blogging to catch up on some DIY wedding projects and to enjoy some pre-wedding festivities, like my second bachelorette party and wedding shower (I'm a lucky girl, I know).

I managed to slip in a few home improvement projects, including this mantle update:

A cute start, right? I used heavy-duty double-sided tape to hang the mirrors, since I didn't want to mess with drilling or nailing into brick (to make it look like the mirrors were hanging from the ribbon, I hot-glued small nails to the ribbon and used tiny pieces of double-sided tape to attach it to the brick).

Apparently the tape wasn't heavy-duty enough, since hours later I heard a smash when one of the mirrors fell to the floor. Oops.

You see him down there waving hi? (or maybe bye?) Well once again, that's why you don't see me too much around these here parts.

He's hit the 2 month mark already, but his tummy is all infanty (new word there). These things don't last forever though...

Is there anything cuter than baby feet?

I've heard they might be coming out with a maintenance free model of the above pictured item. I think we'll pass on an upgrade though, we kinda like the one we got;-)

So I'll be popping in and out to say hello and such, but my projects are all shelved for now. Running over with some ideas though, so once my boys are all grown (15 years or so?) then I'll be catching up on some of them. Heh-heh.

That really is a joke there I think. I do hope to do a few things before then.

Canada may have come to the rescue. I'll let you know...

I found these gorgeous French planters at Winners - on clearance - for $29. It was love at first sight.

I drilled some holes into the bottom of each one and added a few handfuls of gravel for drainage...

Then planted some lavender - one of my favourite scents - for a pretty and fragrant way to greet visitors.



At less than $50, it was a relatively inexpensive way to boost our home's curb appeal.

I did something, never expecting payment. For real.

No really, I didn't!

It was something I enjoy doing. Sorta like therapy for me. Anyway, they "repaid" me and I just had to share a few of the things they gave me.

They made me this sweet vintage spoon necklace with my 3 boys names stamped on it.

I can't even say how special this is to me.

Our bedroom has been going through a very slow redo and this pillow was the perfect addition. Terry (one of The Vintage Bricoleur team) handmade this.

She made it personal by adding the initial of our last name and the year we were married.

Perfect.

If any of you happen to live in California then you have the chance to actually meet The Vintage Bricoleurs and maybe even purchase some of their amazing wares.

They travel all over California to sell at different shows with a host of many other amazing sellers.

(Check with their blog regularly to see where they will be next!) 

Plus they have booths in two stores in the Sacramento area.

Be sure to stop by their blog and show them some love.

You are welcome to drool over the stuff you see there as well.

Just know that I already did.

I checked a few things off the 'to-do' list this weekend. Finish painting the shutters? Check.

There's still lots to do outside - paint the windows, replace the rain gutters, finish digging and mulching the flower bed, redo the driveway, replace the light fixtures - but I'm thrilled with the progress we've made so far.

All of you Shabby Apple fans! Don't forget about the sale going on the whole month of July! Just click on the link below to get your shopping spree started!

Our wedding reception will be more of a fancy backyard BBQ than a traditional reception, and since Adam's band is playing a big outdoor festival the day after our wedding (oh life, you and your timing), clean-up needs to be a breeze. Enter paper napkins and plastic cutlery.

Each guest can grab a knife, fork and spoon wrapped in a napkin and tied with a simple piece of twine (we're also using twine in our centerpieces) from galvanized planters that will sit on the buffet tables.

I decided to add handles to the planters by drilling two holes into each side, threading twine through each hole, and knotting the ends to create a handle.

Pretty pretty, non?



Adam and I have slowly been trying to improve our home's curb appeal (it turns out peeling windows and beat up shutters don't give a house that "cared for" look). For reasons that probably involved some discounted green paint, the previous owner started painting the exterior...

and then stopped (apparently it wasn't until they got to the shutters that they realized the colour didn't work).

So we pressure washed the siding and painted over the green paint...with more green paint. It's actually called "Dark as Night", and it's an example of why you should never ever buy paint without seeing the colour in person. I chose the colour online (obvious mistake) and asked my mom to swing by the hardware store to pick it up for me (the store, which is close to my mom's house and not so close to our house, was having a big sale on paint). When I opened the can, it was hunter green. Which was not what I wanted. At. all. Luckily we were able to take it back to the store, where they added some more black. Phew (wipes brow).

Then, while we hummed and hawed about buying a ladder, it rained for two months and Adam had to listen to me start every conversation with sentences like, "Imagine how much better the house will look after I paint the shutters" and "I really can't wait for this rain to stop so I can paint the shutters" and "WHY HAS THE SUN FORSAKEN US? P.S. Still excited to paint those shutters."

Luckily, he's pretty patient. And frequently has an excuse to leave town with his band.

Anyway, it finally stopped raining, we bought a ladder (which Adam used to take down the ugly string of Christmas lights running along the front of the house), and I got started on painting the shutters. So far it's five down, three to go, but I had to share a little preview:

So. much. better. Up close, you can tell that they should really be replaced (I scraped and painted them without taking them down for fear that I wouldn't be able to put them back up again), which we fully intend to do, when we replace the windows. And speaking of the windows, unfortunately the newly-painted shutters make the peeling windows all the more obvious, so that's painting step two.

Life has been a little different for me lately and I've missed being able to remake and redo anything except my bed!

Sooo, I purchased an outdoor clock off of Joss & Main the other day with credits that I had there so it only cost me a few $.

I liked it (especially for the price) but it was a little to blah for me.

So I got out my paintbrushes. Actually the first thing I did was rub a little stain on it. I then dry brushed some black and gray acrylics on. It still wasn't quite right so I dug around and found a container of metallic glaze that the people at DecoArt had sent me for a try.

It gave it the perfect coppery look.

I love it now!

Plus, when I'm laying here watching the boys swim, then I can glance right up and see my time and temp.

Perfect.

Interested in joining Joss & Main? They have some great stuff.

Liikkkeee, all that stuff you see above! But the sales only last a few days, so don't wait to sign up! (it's free!)
Just click on the button below to get started.

My patriotic spirit is out like striped bunting and spangly floats...unfortunately you can't see my spirit cause my body is too tired to show you;-)

I do wish you all a safe and happy 4th of July!

Get started on your celebration by stopping by Shabby Apple and take advantage of their 20% off sale!! The best news is that it lasts alllll month long! Just click below on the cute little checker-dressed lady to take ya right there.

Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments on my previous post. I promise I really am doing fine and my little guys are treating me good, not to mention their sweet daddy who surprised me with a diamond ring a few weeks back. He's amazing, just pure sweet honey. (I'm pretty sure that was riding on the side of waaay sappy!)

Once again, have a safe and happy holiday!