I'm Back!!

Who knew getting back from holidays could be so busy!  This week has been crazy, but I'll be back at this next week!

I'm looking forward to sharing my next couple posts you!

So, thanks for your patience.

See you all next week!

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...

In two days, I will be heading somewhere that looks like this:

I'm going to Cuba for two weeks!  My Dad is taking the family (which includes, myself and my husband, my sister and her husband and my little brother) to an All-Inclusive resort.  Its going to be a great time of relaxation, fun and family time.

But... while I'm gone, I have some things that you can look forward to when I get back. 

Since getting our 'Old is New' dining room set that I showed you here, it has become glaringly obvious that we need to add a little something to the big blank slate that is the wall.

I found some things that I am IN LOVE with, and they may or may not have something to do with:

Pop on over to Etsy here

I'm excited to show you what I came up with!

Also, Jen over at I Heart Organizing has a challenge going on right now called '30 Items in 30 Days' and she started with the Front Hallway which includes shoes.  While I am terrible with sticking with things, I can totally participate in the 'Shoe' portion of this challenge.  

Yes, these are my shoes, and I love them to bits!

Since moving into our house, I have struggled to find a storage solution for my shoes that doesn't include them being filled with Jasper's fur.

I will show you the solution I came up with when I come back!

I hope you all don't forget about me while I'm gone.  I'll have a Pina Colada for ya!

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Stainless Steel?

I love my stainless steel appliances, love, love, love them. They look so pretty, all matchey-matchey, shiney and sparkly. 

Don't know why I could't get a straight picture... this was my third attempt!

With all that good stuff being said, I have a pet peeve.  This pet peeve really only pertains to my fridge.  Before I bash my fridge, I should make it clear that this fridge does many things well.  It keeps all my food cold, very important.  It makes me ice. It freezes stuff, and it looks good doing it.

My problem - it is not magnetized. 

This made it extremely difficult to make a magnet stick (no matter how hard I tried!).

I needed to find a solution to this.  I had things that I wanted to attach to my fridge: photo's of our nieces and nephews, birth announcements, and other random things.

There is a small wall that is right next to our fridge that I wanted to turn into a magnet wall.

After much scouring of the internet, I discovered that Home Depot carried a magnetic paint. I bought said magnetic paint and left it in the capable hands of my husband, the professional painter.

The magnetic 'paint' is really a primer.  The can suggests using two to three coats, the more coats = the more magnetic the wall will be.  My husband found that that didn't cut it.  He did about five or six coats.  After finishing up with the magnetic primer, he topped it off with three coats of our kitchen wall color.

Voila!

This definitely solved my problem.

This also gave us the opportunity to get a magnetic poetry kit. Oh man, the things that can be created with a simple magnetic poetry kit.

I absolutely love it when a problem is solved.  Especially when it is solved so creatively.

Ta Da!!!

So.... notice anything different?

How 'bout a completely different look!  If it's possible to be in love with a blog design, I think I am.

I need to give a huge THANK YOU!!! to Krystal over at Sassy Sanctuary for desigining this for me. If I could give her a hug, I would.

I had a heck of a time trying to create my own header ( I didnt want to use any pictures, or else it would have been simple) and just got so frustrated.

I knew that Krystal had starting doing some Blog Design, so I checked out her prices and thought they were incredible.  Then I checked out her past work, and was sold.

Check her out if you are interested in giving your blog a face lift.  I highly recommend it!

Let me know what you think of the new design!

Menu Plan Monday - Week 136

Last weeks menu planning got off to a solid start.  It wasn't until Thursday, when the Rosemary Ranch Chicken came up that I realized about 12 hours too late that I needed to make it on Wednesday night in order for it to marinate.  

Oh well, we went over to my Dad's to watch the Canucks game anyway.

This is what our week looks like:

Monday: Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs

Tuesday: Homemade Fettucine Alfredo (the sauce, not the pasta - that would be WAY to much work)

Wednesday: BBQ'd Hot Dogs (we have Bible Study on Wednesday nights, so I like to keep dinner quick and easy)

Thursday: Broccoli & Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

As I mentioned last week, I HIGHLY recommend 'Menu Planning'.  If you're not sure how to get started, check out Laura's blog for tips on how to get started.  

I will be linking up this post with her blog and will be one of around 400 other blogs.  Its a great way to get menu idea's, and to find other great blogs!

Hope you have an awesome week, and happy Menu Planning!

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!