Spring!!

Spring is my second favorite season, second only to Fall.  I love seeing everything come back to life, waking up from a long Winter's sleep.

My yard is starting to 'spring' back too.

The first flower to appear... 

Tulips in the front yard... can't wait to see the colours!

Hyacinth... It's gonna smell so good!

While I hold little hope for my back yard because of this guy:

There's no hope for that garden... He's already got his eye on it.

Oh sure, he looks so cute rolling around...

But he is a garden predator!

So while I have to keep a close eye on Jasper in the backyard in order to ensure that my flowers survive,  I am super excited about my front yard:

Because I didn't know how the bulbs in the backyard would survive, I planted a TON of tulips in the front yard.  I am super excited for when they start to bloom.

Another thing that I love about Spring, is watching the Magnolia Tree at the end of my street bloom:

This tree is huge, and the picture does not do it justice.  It must be ancient to be that size.  My husband and I bought one for our backyard last year, and it looks sad and puny in comparison.

Ah, spring... 

More pictures to follow once I see a little more colour!

Babies & Quilts: A Few of My Favorite Things

On Sunday, I went to a baby shower at The Teahouse in Stanley Park.  I think that this may have been the fanciest baby shower I've ever been too.  We had a private room looking onto the Burrard Inlet, and a menu of delicious items to choose from for breakfast.

The shower was for a friend in my Bible Study group and her new baby Hunter.

In the last year, I have been introduced to the world of Quilting and have gotten into the habit of making baby quilts for my friends.

For Hunter, I made this:

And I 'wrapped' it like this:

Where did that adorable little giraffe that conveniently coordinates with the quilt come from? 

Oh, I made it!

Still needs some perfecting, but I think it looks pretty good for my first stuffed animal!

Baby Hunter loved his quilt and stuffed animal so much, he didn't want to get up:

He was an excellent model.

I have also made these baby quilts:

Baby Judah

Baby Adaya

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due.  My good friend, Amanda, taught me everything I know about quilting.  She showed me the pattern for these quilts and has helped guide me along my way.  

I also blame her for my newfound fabric addiction and the fact that photo's like these set my heart a flutter:

Quilting, and the love of fabric, can be an expensive habit... but it's so worth it when you end up with beautiful gifts!

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Planning is not a new concept for me.

We are entering into week 135 of menu planning.  I started planning our meals shortly after getting married as I found myself stressing out about dinner all day at work, then using my lunch hour to go and get ingredients, and then getting home and discovering that I already had two containers of white vinegar.  What a waste of time and energy!

Menu Planning is such a time and stress saver.  It has worked so well for me and my husband, and I can only assume it will continue to work well once we have kids.

So, for the first time ever online, here is our menu for the week:

Monday:   BBQ'd Salmon, steamed veggies & Broccoli au Gratin
Tuesday:   BBQ'd Homemade Hamburgers
Wednesday:   Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce  
Thursday:   Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs with rice

(My husband said that he wanted to BBQ stuff this week... so BBQ we shall)

You will notice that I only plan Monday through Thursday.  I decided that I will not 'plan' meals on the weekends.  I deserve a break!  So we either go out, make something easy, or get invited to other peoples homes for dinner.

This will change once we have kids, but for now, I enjoy my weekend breaks.

Each week, I will link my 'Menu Plan Monday' post with an awesome blog OrgJunkie.  Check out her site.  Its got lots of great stuff, and you will get lots of recipe idea's.

Happy Menu Planning!!

Dining Room DIY

My husband and I bought our home over a year ago, and it finally feels like we are putting our stamp on it. We have recently been watching a lot of HGTV and getting inspired by the 'Do It Yourself' shows.  We had recently been discussing getting a new dining room set (our current set included my husbands old poker table with an MDF cutout on top) and the cost was ridiculous.  

Enter: Craigslist.  I heart Craigslist.  

We bought this table:

And my husband turned it into this:

Absolutely beautiful.  

We also bought six solid oak dining chairs:

 

And together with my husband (he, the painter, me, the upholster-er) we turned them into this:

Beautiful.

What a difference it made in our dining room.

Because I'm so excited about how much money we saved compared to buying a set brand new, I'm going to tell you how much this stunning ensemble set us back:

Solid Oak Dining Table with leaf (Craigslist): $45

6 Solid Oak Dining Chairs (Craigslist): $100

Upholstery Fabric: $120

Labour: Free

Total: $265

I cannot describe the joy this brings me.  The savings, coupled with the way it turned out .  .  . love.

My Very First Blog Post Ever!

I feel like I've been preparing for this for a very long time.  Ever since I discovered the world of blogs.  For about a year I have been composing blog posts in my head, and let me tell you, they have all been fantastic.    I was at work this morning and it just hit me, 'Tickled Pink', don't know why, but it did. And of course, 'Tickled Pink' was taken, but I think 'A Tickled Pink Life' works even better.

All day I have been trying to decide what kind of blog this would be.  Would it be about crafting? Quilting? Organizing? Life in general? I say, all of the above.  Why limit myself.

I have been so inspired by so many other blogs.  And while I don't think that I will ever be as good as the blogs that I follow, I hope to somehow encourage, inspire or just entertain you.

I am very excited about where this will go, and also nervous that my blog will suck.... but I'm going to be optimistic!

Here's to my new blog!

Yay!