diy prettiness

I saw this idea somewhere around to blogosphere recently and was intrigued enough to give it a try. Here is a before photo of our plain, boring medicine cabinet:

With just a single piece of embossed cardstock, here's the after:

Ahh .. so satisfying. Here's a close-up:

The flash sort of drowned out the pretty green colour, but it's much more attractive than it was before!

maltesers are not for kitties

Somebody discovered chocolate ... and instead of being in bed at midnight, she's still running around the apartment ... hmm ... 

She seems really concerned about the chocolate she's getting on the carpet, doesn't she?

five-dollar challenge: before and after

This challenge was a toughie. 

Living with Lindsay issued a blogger diy Five-dollar Challenge a few weeks ago. It seemed like a simple task at first; here were her only rules:

1. You may only spend $5 out-of-pocket (not including sales tax).

2. Your $5 may only be spent at a "dollar store." 

3. You may also use items you already have around the house, such as tools and supplies.

The trick for me was coming up with an idea that would suit our decor, using only items found in the Dollarama. Easier said than done.

So I started with this little sign ($1):

Husband liked it as-is. "It's true!" he said. He's very excited about adopting our new addition in a few weeks!

Then I got paint and brushes — it appears that I went over budget here, but I only used two colours of paint (so $3 more spent in this pic):

I painted the sign red to go with our kitchen decor:

Then, for my free, diy stencil, I printed out the words in the font I wanted and carefully cut them out with an Xacto knife. It was tricky to keep the paper steady while trying not to let the paint bleed around the lines. 

Here is the final result:

I added a bit of ribbon to cover up the nail. And voila! New, personalized sign for our entry — and for only $4!

to dye, or not to dye?

First, it was one. And I took care of it.

Then it was two or three, and I got sick of laying down the law.

Now, creeping out of my roots are several grey hairs. And they're getting busy, multiplying like nobody's business. So, I'm forced to come to terms with my feelings about it. I've been asked on different occasions if I mind the idea of going grey and I've always said no. But now it's really happening, I'm not totally sure.

I will probably get in trouble for saying this to the world, but husband is ... well ... loosing a bit of hair. Let's just say that. So his reaction to my silver strays is, "Oh well, you'll be grey, and I'll be bald." Fair enough. 

The thing is, he can't really do anything about his issue — I will not be married to hair plugs guy — but I can correct my changing hair. I just can't decide if I want to make the commitment. Dying my hair every couple months or more is a pain, in terms of time and money.

I tease certain people — cough Mum cough — about dying grey hair. I always tell her to let it go natural. But now that I have my own, I'm singing a different tune.

i almost called in sick

Husband and I have worked ourselves into a pretty good morning routine. Husband hits snooze just once — oh, the willpower!  — and he then gets up to make the coffee, while I sprawl across the warm bed until he tells me it's ready. Then, at about three-minute intervals, he reminds me that the coffee's ready. This goes on for about 15 minutes. Sometimes he grabs the duvet and pulls of off the bed. But, eventually, I get up, enjoy my coffee, and get ready for the work day.

Today, that all changed.

Husband: "Umm, wife?" 

Me: "Hhhmmmm?"

Husband: "Do we have anymore coffee?"

Me: "Aagggghhhhhhhhh."

Husband: "You sounds like a dying cat."

Me: "No coffee?"

Husband: "No coffee."

Me: "Can I call in sick?"

Husband: "No ... but you can get Starbucks."

This was enough to get me out of bed in record time. Today I got to break our budget-friendly, no-buying-coffee rule and pick up a delicious hot dark roast on my way to the office.

I know I might sound crazy or addicted, but I just really like starting my day off with coffee. Really really. I can see my sister-in-law, A, nodding her head in agreement. She understands me.

How do you like to start your day? 

how do you judge a book?

This is such a neat idea. I read about this another blog recently — I can't remember where, so if you saw it too, leave a comment to remind me. 

This has got to be the quickest and easiest reno tip I've ever seen. Just take the jazzed-up book jackets off of your favourite books and you'll discover that the book underneath often looks cleaner and more sophisticated. 

total transformation

Husband and I have economically decided rather than putting money into new bedroom furniture while we're still living in an apartment, we'll renovate what we have to better suit our needs.

Exhibit A: Our dresser. A hand-me-down from my childhood.

Confession: I'm a baddd blogger. I totally forgot to take a before photo! Oopsie! Lets just say it had that lovely, shiny faux wood exterior that most pressed wood pieces had back in the early '90s. 

This dresser belonged to my parents more than 15 years ago and I've been carting it around since I moved out of residence.

And not to toot our own horns here ... ok, maybe a little ... these renovations were done in the middle of our living room, thanks to a plastic drop cloth and a day warm enough to keep the patio doors wide open.

After a lot of sanding, priming, two coats of paint and some sassy new Lee Valley antique brass cup pulls — voila:

For those of you who like to know these things, like me, the paint colour is Pebble Mosaic by Glidden.

Exhibit B: Our headboard

Also a cart-away from my younger days, this baby has adorned my bed for about 20 years and counting.

And the after:

Then we'd really caught the painting bug. I remembered a little end table that I'd packed away for a rainy day, and it got a splash of Pebble Mosaic, too:

The lesson here: It doesn't have to be new, to be new to you. In one day and for about $60 (with all the new hardware), we've transformed our hand-me-downs into a matching set. Success!

don't underestimate last season's beauties

By mid-February, I was dreaming of buying a new spring purse. I do this with every new season — fantasize about the new accessory possibilities that come with the changing weather. 

But, I am proud to say that I have saved myself $40 by being slightly neurotic. Allow me to elaborate. This is somewhat embarrassing to admit, but I started packing for our Florida trip about a week ago. For those of you keeping track, the trip is still two weeks away. What can I say? I'm excited. Anyway ... packing for Florida meant digging out a neatly packed box of our summer clothes, and imagine my surprise and utter delight when I opened the lid and found this little baby:

Last year's spring purse! Hooray! 

just a tease

I tried really hard to have our weekend projects completed and photographed for blogging yesterday, but it's taken a bit longer than initially anticipated, so here's a little taste until I can get the wonderfulness properly documented.

These are the old pulls from our hand-me-down dresser:

And these are the lovelies that now adorn our drawers:

And this is just the beginning ...

ah, how the tables have turned

You know when you're a kid and you absolutely hate it when you're parents drag you into stores like Kent, Canadian Tire and Home Depot? I remember these dreadfully boring days all too well, mum and dad. That's right. You. 

But it's confession time. I am finally ready to admit that I have crossed over to the other side. I love these stores. We don't even have a house, yet I have an amazing ability to wander in the hardwood floor and marble countertop sections. 

Husband and I went to Home Depot this weekend and I practically skipped down the aisles. We spent our time in the paint department this weekend, choosing the perfect colour for our bedroom furniture. 

Me: (staring at the employees with paint-smudged aprons) Man, I'd love to work here.

Husband: (with one curiously raised eyebrow) Why?

Me: Imagine the colour possibilities!

Husband: But you'd be mixing colours for other people; you wouldn't be taking them home with you.

He just had to burst my bubble, didn't he?

hey, mother nature, what's the big idea?!

A snow storm? Are you kidding? Boooooooo.