Happy Halloween

Love, 

Shamu and her Whale Trainers.

*Better photos and more info on Shamu to follow!

I got home today at 10:15.

I am working on a large fundraiser and haven't stopped today until now.

I went to climb into bed and saw this....

At first I felt frustrated that there was yet another mess to be cleaned up,

but as I tidied them up I began to smile.

This little mess is a reminder of our morning routine.

I get The Girl from her crib,

and put her in bed with her Daddy.

 She lays there,

 has a bottle 

and watches Mickey Mouse Club House.

 I finish my shower,

 hop back in bed,

and have breakfast with my Girl.

She points out Minnie Mouse,

 and squeals like it's the first time.  

We eat together.

Her with her cheerios and I with cereal or toast.

Part way through, 

her cheerios spill in the process of hijacking whatever I have.

I love my morning cuddles and quality time with our little one before we start our day.

Happy 30th Birthday

Today, my beautiful older sister turns 30!!!!

We spent Saturday celebrating her, in what could only be describe as Italian Gluttony.

My Brother-in-Law is a chef, so we ate AMAZING food from 7:00 until 11:00.

I have so many pictures to share, including his decor, and the fact that the table in the photo below was built specifically for her party. So much more on this.

For now...Happy Birthday Sister!

Love you lots and lots!

Fall Fashions Re-purposed

Fall really crept up on me this year.  The weather literally switched from hot summer days to crisp cool and sometimes down right chilly nights.  Normally I am so excited to slowly build The Boss' wardrobe but this year it happened too fast.  We got caught without our tights on.

I was thrilled when I saw this tutorial posted on Make it and Love it.

I always love Ashley's projects and  one of my favourite outfits The Boss had last Fall was a gray dress that looked very similar to this. I had the perfect old sweater dress from Victoria's Secret to use and  I love the idea of re-purposing.  I set to work on her dress much to the dismay of the Hubby.  Apparently he loved the dress I cut up...sorry Hubby, it was so two years ago.

I followed her directions, which we so easy to follow and was surprised at how great this dress turned out.  There was only one thing I was not happy with, the neck.  Some how in my cutting, cropping and inexperience I made the neck way too big.  Have a look.

So I opened the neck and strung thin elastic threw and tightened it up.  It worked perfectly!

Proof it was a sweater dress before, here's the label and all. It was a cowl neck style hence the larger hem at the bottom of the dress.  I actually really like how this looks in the completed project.

This dress is cozy, soft and versatile.  I am thinking about adding a flower or something that clips on and off to spice it up a little.  All and all a great dress for free and the perfect outfit for a trip to the doctor.  Gotta love cold season!

Baby Tights

The weather is turning cool hear and so las weekend I had to dash out to the store to buy The Boss tights to wear to church.  Last year I posted about Baby Tights here, but it's that time of year again and I think this is hugely important for Mama's of Baby Girls to pick the right pair! There is nothing more annoying than saggy tights...think about it, when your tights sag you feel like you have filled your pants, so uncomfortable.  Now, think about if you are wearing a diaper and likely have filled your pants...ugh terrible.  No wonder babies in tights are crabby.  I think there's no reason girls can't look fabulous and be comfortable while doing it.

So incase you missed my first post on this or don't feel like clicking here, these are my tips!

The key to great tights is not the store you purchase them from it's what the tights are made of.  I have purchased two very different pairs of tights from the same store and love one and hate the other. Here is what I've learned.   The tights that fit the best are mainly cotton (70%), with spandex (25%) and a small amount of nylon (5%).  The tights I hate have lots of nylon and lycra.  My favourites also have the shape of feet cut out this helps them to cling to the Boss' legs and fit comfortably.  The mainly lycra ones bag on the top of her feet instead of clinging making them baggy all over.  When you find a pair your thinking about buying flip them over and read through the materials.


Here are little girl tights I am LOVING this season!

The Gap has really done a great job with their tights.  I love the colour of these dark violet tights, and these cute striped ones.  I also love the ruffles on the bum.  The Boss had a pair of these last year, they were awesome.

 

I am also loving the pink thin stripes, and multi-striped tights from Old Navy.  How cute are the hearts on the bums?

.

I also LOVE these from Target.  They only go up to 12 M but if The Boss was younger I would for sure be picking these up.

What Baby tights are you loving?

Linking up Here:

Halloween Costume Hit...

If only The Boss was not so obsessed with Shamu, she would be Audrey for Halloween.

I am obsessed with this project Simple Simon & Co did for Project Run and Play.

I am a huge fan of it, and everything they do.

They won this cycle, which is no surprise to me, they are so talented.

If you don't already follow them, you should!

I showed The Boss this picture and asked her if she wanted to be this or Shamu...she responded "Mamu"!

This is a choice I am sure she will regret when she is older and looks back on her photos.

This Weekend...

I have a fundraiser dinner tonight and then I am hitting the spa tomorrow for a girls weekend away with my Mom and Sisters.  

Hope your weekend is as enjoyable as mine!

The Story of a White Pumpkin

My Mom LOVES white pumpkins, however the second part to her love is the stem.  A pumpkin is not perfect unless the stem is also as beautiful as the pumpkin itself.  So the other day when my Dad presented her with a pumpkin, much like a hubby presents his wife with flowers (yes, he is adorable), she was thrilled but had to hide the sinking feeling in her stomach.  What was wrong with this sweet act of kindness you might ask?  Well, take a look...

When my older sister stopped by she took one look at the pumpkin and died laughing.  Yes, her stem obsession is that well known in our family that my sister knew it was killing my Mom to display her pumpkin without a stem.  When I stopped by today I noticed she had found a solution to this stem problem.  Take a look.

What a great idea.  Not only does she look cutting edge with her modern pumpkin sculpture, but she can rest now and enjoy her stemless pumpkin.  Very creative Mom, looks great!

Fall Cleaning??? Landed me a Rooster

As I mentioned yesterday, I am not understanding this fall purge people are doing, but I am taking advantage of the stuff we are getting.    I also mentioned that my parents are re-doing their kitchen which is resulting in a number of hand-me-downs for us.  One item I scooped was this rooster.

Yes, my Mom did have this in our kitchen...her teal and purple kitchen I might add.  Don't worry that was like three kitchens and at least 15 years ago.  And, as she always reminds me, if your in-style then you will look back on your designs and die laughing at some of your previous choices.  What was in at one time,  is definitely out a few years later.  Don't worry, my Mom is super in-style and her new kitchen will be GORGEOUS.  I'll post those when they are done.

Back to my Rooster.  I loved the shape of it.  I think it's so neat and I do tend to be attracted to solid coloured animals (do you call them statues, pieces?) in stores like West Elm and Pottery Barn.  I decided I would spray the rooster solid red and place him in our dinning room living room.  I Grabbed a can of Krylon in Banner Red and went to town.  Like I said before, the weather was gorgeous so I set up all my different projects and sprayed away.  Even though my colour choice for the toy chest was a total fail; the Rooster, in my opinion, was a total hit.  What do you think?

I'm Linking up here:

Fall Cleaning??? Landed me a Toy Chest

I have heard of spring cleaning...who hasn't?  But Fall cleaning?  Maybe it's because the weather around here is even nicer than spring that is getting people in the mood to clean and de-clutter.  I however am in fall mode which mean collecting and settling in for the winter.  Hahah I sound like a squirrel.    Either way I am gaining huge from the purging others are doing.

My parents are re-doing their kitchen which for some reason means they are purging and cleaning out their basement?  I don't ask questions, I just benefit from their free-sale in their garage.  This weekend The Hubby went over to help move some of their unwanted furniture into their garage.  The Boss and I joined them for breakfast and then I headed to the garage to collect my goods.  One of the things they were getting rid of was this white wicker toy box that was in my younger sisters room about 16 years ago.

One of my pet peeves, and I am sure I have said this a thousand times, is a house that resembles a Toys R Us.  Don't get me wrong, we buy The Boss pretty much everything she wants but I see no need in letting it clutter our home.  I also don't child proof my home (ie. move breakable things out of reach...I just tell her no) but that is a discussion for a different day.  Back to the toy box, I wasn't really loving the white wicker but every good DIYer knows that a good piece is just a spray can away from being a great piece.  I decided to take a risk and spray the toy box a bright colour.  It is for a child after all.  I grabbed a can of Krylon Ivy Leaf, took advantage of the gorgeous weather this weekend, and sprayed my little heart out.

I was a little worried about the colour.  The can looks more olivey thank yellow however after one coat it looked really yellowy which I was not going for, the second and third coat helped a little.

Here is the finished toy chest.  I think the colour is a total fail.  I wanted it to be a pop of colour but this is a little extreme.

  I am going to try to add throw pillows ect. but in the mean time I am brainstorming other colours...suggestions?  I am considering doing it a metallic, perhaps bronze or maybe even gold.  I will add pictures of it in the room once I work with it a little.  Stay tuned!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Today we will eat turkey and be thankful!

We have so much to be thankful for.

Off to finish our dance party we are having in the family room,

and drink Starbucks with my love.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends wherever you are today.  

Our family is extra thankful so we will celebrate again in November! 

It's Game Day...

Today is game day...how do I know that? 

Well as I sit here and type I can hear The Boss saying "Go Gators" 

(sounds a little more like "Go Gago" but we know what she means).

One of her Game Day uniforms

While my favourite things about fall are apple picking, the weather and fall decor,

The Hubby lives for his Florida Gators and college game day!

Teaching The Girl to tackle! Hilarious!

Over the years this is something that I too have come to love.

While I can't stand the idea of being trapped in the house all day on a beautiful fall day,

I usually drag the hubby away from the TV during the "unimportant match ups"

promising to return him in time for his Gators.

Funny how perspective changes.  

As I child we never watched college football (I'm Canadian, it is meek in comparison)

We would attend a University game in our city once a year,

when my Mom was away and Dad was in charge.

But now our tradition is football, family time and football food on fall Saturdays.

Here's a secret to why I love it,

While The Boss naps and again once she is in bed, I sit on the floor and craft.

Quality time with the hubby...he's happy and so I am!

After all, Friday night is date night in our house, by Saturday we have nothing left to talk about! 

Fun Friday with Pumpkins

When I was on maternity leave for a year with The Boss my Mom and I would spend many Fridays together.  It was rarely ever planned but by Friday I had done all the house work I could tolerate and I generally needed out of my house.  We nicknamed the day "Fun Friday".  It didn't really matter what we were doing as long as it wasn't house work.  My older sister was also on maternity leave at the same time and would join us from time to time.  Now we are both back at work but have Friday's off or at least work from home on Friday's so we have the mornings to do something fun with the kids to tire them out for naps.  Today we went pumpkin picking!  It was so fun!

Picking the right pumpkin is tough work....you need to check them over completely!

(These two love each other to bits...so cute!  I also love that completely unplanned they matched.)

 

I am so thankful for three healthy babies in our life, and time we get to spend together.  We had a great time looking at all the pumpkins and picking the best ones.

My favourite picture of The Girl from our adventure.  "Say Cheese"..."eeeze!"