Smiley Melly

Big Changes

2012-02-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

I have decided to do an overhaul of this blog. I plan to post a lot more in the upcoming year since I will be off work and I want a nice pretty new space to do so.

I still have a lot of work to do before I make the switchover so I would love any ideas or feedback you have. Anything you would change about Smiley Melly the way it is now? I'm toying with the idea of changing the blog name itself as well. What do you think? Too many people think that it says "Smelly Melly" and I'm not sure how I feel about this...

I'm looking for inspiration for a new name, but it hasn't hit yet. Below is a word cloud made from this blog, I'm using it as a starting point. (Want to make one of your own? Try Wordle)

I'm also trading in the purple, mint and coral colours for something new, but I think I will keep the grey. (Did you even notice those were the colours I was using?)

Any thoughts or ideas for a change? What do you think of when you think of me or the blog?

Can't wait to share the big reveal with you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

We're not big Valentine's Day celebrators, but a little something is always fun.

Cover of my handmade card to Jetty

Today I wanted to share the readings from our wedding because we picked some unique ones that we wanted as great reminders of how to display love to one another. Primarily about always thinking of the other first and looking to ourselves first when there are issues.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If they fall down, they can help each other up.   But pity those who fall and have no one to help them up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:12-17

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

Luke 6:37-42

What do you think? Hope you have a day filled with love, smiles and laughter.

Baby Bump Week 28 (Hello 3rd Trimester!)

2012-02-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

Third Trimester? Already? Baby T., time is already flying...

My Birthday Has Never Meant So Much

2012-02-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

Thinking about my "birth" day this year has been a completely different experience. Thinking about what happened 26 years ago today - the anticipation, excitement and anxiousness my parents must have felt...

I was so small...

Parenting was completely new to mom and dad...

Grand-parenting was completely new to all my grandparents...

They didn't know if a girl or boy was coming...

They were so young... (I'm so young right?)

From my perspective they were so prepared...

I'm so excited for the above moments. In a few short months Jetty and I will be the parents. That's all I can really think about today...

New Nursery Plan

2012-02-08T04:25:00.000-08:00

So you may remember this post with the nursery room layouts. My family all jumped on the idea bandwagon and came up with some ideas of their own!

I'm leaning towards this last one with the idea that I can put a room divider between the crib and the bed.

Some room divider ideas I was considering:

Source: google.ca via Melanie on Pinterest

I also spotted this one on Kijiji this morning. What do you think?

I'd prefer something all white, I like the ideas of curtains, but not sure how I would suspend the rod. I just thought it might be nice to divide the room into its two new purposes so the nursery is all up front. What do you think?

Use What You Got

2012-02-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned last week, I'm cleaning out the cupboards one at a time. I decided to tackle the spice and baking cupboard the other day. I wanted a really nice way to display our spices that don't fit in the spice rack we have so we could see them all. I also didn't want to spend any money. So I decided to use something we had on hand. Any idea what it is?

Yes, those are leftover pieces of hardwood floor. They were a perfect way to elevate some of the spices in the back!

The rest of the cupboard still needs some containers for the sugars and other bags, but it's much more organized than before.

Some other cupboards/drawers I've tackled:

Ideally I would like lots more storage containers and labels, but I want to work with what I have for now and find some good deals on what I need when I get everything organized and can take inventory. Have you used anything unconventional to meet your needs lately? Any penny saving organization tips?

Baby Bump Week 27

2012-02-03T04:06:00.000-08:00

Baby T., this is the last week of my second trimester and I can't believe how fast the time is going. I'm really starting to feel huge now and finding it more difficult to move around and especially bend over but I love the growth! Everything is right on track and you are doing great in there. The Dr. said you were perfect. He really meant your heartbeat and size, but I can't help but agree with him. You love moving kicking and I really think you love Daddy's voice. I can't be sure, but I think I feel you react to it. Watching my tummy jump around is my favorite pastime, it's so much easier to see now, I should take another video. The next time I post this update I will be 26, I can't believe that just 26 years ago my parents were meeting me, and around 26 years or so before that their parents were meeting them (yes I'm aging everyone now) but I can't help think about it lately. It's so cool and exciting. Stay cozy and warm in there for about 13 weeks longer and I can't wait to meet you then!

Love, Mommy

Simple Grocery Bag Organization

2012-01-30T18:22:00.000-08:00

So I've made a pact with myself to clean at least one drawer or cupboard every night until I get through them all. So far I've tackled two.

Our catch-all kitchen drawer:

And our grocery/Ziploc bags drawer:

Yes, I fold our grocery bags before shoving them in the drawer, I love that it's a cleaner way to store them. We try hard to always remember our cloth bags, but when we don't I try to make sure we are at least re-using the plastic bags.

I thought I would share how to do it for anyone interested:

Flatten the grocery bag

Fold in half

Fold in thirds to make a long thin strip

Fold up bottom corner into a triangle

Fold again upwards to continue to have a triangle

Continue folding all the way up the line

When you get to the end...

Tuck the loose end in

All done!

Do you have any creative way of storing items to keep things clean and tidy? Please share!

Valentine's Day Wreath

2012-01-30T04:32:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I have been re-using my white yarn wrapped wreath as a Christmas wreath (both this year and last.)

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2011

I decided that this year I would use it for Valentine's day too. I was inspired after I saw this wreath on Pinterest and decided to adapt the idea for myself.

What do you think? It makes me smile coming down our hallway.

Baby Bump Week 26

2012-01-27T04:45:00.000-08:00

This week I thought it would be fun to start a poll of whether you think Baby T. is a boy or a girl. We decided to wait for the surprise when the baby is born, but it's always fun to make guesses! You can join the poll on the sidebar of the blog! What do you think?

Oh Baby T. how I love you...

Nursery Layout

2012-01-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

Sorry about all the baby posts lately, I promise I'll share some other projects I'm working on soon!

This past weekend I spent a lot of time cleaning, organizing and rearranging things in our condo to see how we can make our office/guest room/nursery work.

Basically we decided to scrap the office part. We now have a small desk area in the living room if we need it and we really don't have that much space to make it all work. Also we rarely use the desk in the back room anymore. We're debating about using the desk as a change table. The waste pail(s) can go where the chair would slide in and we can add a cushion to the top. What do you think?

In terms of layout, I used Floorplanner to re-create the room as best I can. The following is what the room looks like now (when we get the sewing machine moved and clean out the junk):

The light rectangles are bookshelves.

Now for some of the ways we were thinking about switching things up. Keep in mind that desk is now a "change-table". The white rectangle is a crib and the chair is our future glider, we've also decided to move a bookshelf into our room. The ideas are only tentative, but please let us know what you think!

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3 (Jetty's Creation)

Which do you think would work? Have another suggestion?

Out with the Old... In with the New

2012-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we said bye bye to the old Sunfire which we loved dearly and hello to our new Equinox...

Sorry for the terrible pic, this was the early morning goodbye on my phone.

Our new family-mobile! So exciting! I can't wait to get the car seat strapped in... but I will...

P.S. On our way home with the new car (from a dealership around the corner from us) someone nearly pulled out right in front of us out of a driveway. Jetty hit the brakes hard so we wouldn't hit them... Fredericton drivers are brutal...but that could be a post all on its own...

Baby Bump Week 25

2012-01-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

This week we had a lovely treat! We got to see Baby T. again, so now you do too! Check out this gorgeous profile..

... a mix of legs, hands and the side of the head. Also check out the spine!

We took the following pictures pretty late at night Baby T. so mommy was tired. Today was one of my favorite days of pregnancy so far. We got to see you again and watch you move while I felt you kicking me. It was incredible and allowed me to picture you squirming around in my arms. You are SO active. The ultrasound technician could barely take pictures because you were moving around so much. You were also being a bit camera shy so she couldn't get a picture of your face until I jumped and rolled around a few times to get you to move. Every week we are more and more excited to meet you!

Our Top 5 Plans for Budgeting for Baby

2012-01-19T04:39:00.000-08:00

Budgeting for a baby can be tricky. So here are a few things we are thinking about doing to prepare.

1. Save up for the next 4 months

We've decided it doesn't hurt to do our best to save as much as we can while we are both working full time. We are big savers anyway so this shouldn't be too tough. Getting a new car this year will be a big one though! (We get it TOMORROW!)

2. Decide how much time we will take off from work

We're pretty sure that I'm taking the full year of Maternity leave that we get in Canada. I really want as much time home with Baby T. as possible and paying for daycare when getting EI is kind of a waste since daycare at that young age is so expensive and hard to find where we live.

3. Review our spending over the past few months using mint.com

Ok, I love this site. Have you heard of it?

As it says on their website, "Mint brings all your financial accounts together online or on your mobile device, automatically categorizes your transactions, lets you set budgets and helps you achieve your savings goals."

You can change classifications of items if you'd like and it creates awesome graphs of how you've spent your money each month. This can really help you keep things in check.

I also love that you can set budgets and it alerts you when you have gone over them for the month. This will definitely help when it comes to budgeting for baby time. Our budgets will shift a bit, but we can manage those changes here to make sure we are still living within the money we are making.

4. Detail our fixed expenses

We've already done this, but have a few things to add this year and adjustments to make. We need to review and have these set so we are prepared.

5. Plan for baby expenses

So apparently babies aren't free. There are a few things we need to budget for when baby is here. We're sure some things will be gifted, but many we will have to buy. I'm leaning towards the investment of cloth diapers. I've seen other bloggers talking about it and think it would be a great way to save some money in the long run. Jetty isn't so keen on the idea, but since I'll be doing the majority of the diaper changing I think I can sway him.

What other things should we be thinking about when budgeting for baby? Any tips you have?

The Nesting Bug

2012-01-18T05:44:00.000-08:00

So I have been looking at nursery pictures a lot lately and thinking about our space. Our nursery will also serve as our guest bedroom and somewhat of an office. (Although the desk may become a change table). I've been trying to find some pictures of spaces that have done this and made it work. Below are general nursery pictures that I love, and a few office/guest room ones I'm using for inspiration!

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: google.ca via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: babylifestyles.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: google.ca via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: projectnursery.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Some nursery office combos:

Source: google.ca via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Melanie on Pinterest

And some nursery guest room combos:

Source: weebabystuff.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: google.ca via Melanie on Pinterest

I think I need to clean out the room and move some things around to start to get a feeling for how this could work in our space. Any ideas you could add?

Jetty's Birthday

2012-01-17T04:29:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was Jetty's Birthday and it was a great one! A friend came out from Ontario to surprise him for the weekend and Jessica managed to sneak out here for the Saturday night festivities. It's so crazy to think that this is the last birthday he will have without being a daddy. The last one where our little family is just two!

We only had a "2" candle so we did 6 white chocolate chips to represent "26"although you can't really see it here.

I am so incredibly grateful to have such a wonderful husband! Happy Belated Birthday Love!

Baby Bump Week 24

2012-01-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

I'm linking up with "it's the little things" over at Aisle to Aloha this Friday because I have some fun little things to share!

This week is a very special bump update for several reasons.

1. It's week 24!
This "little" thing is not really little at all! It's so exciting. I know that each week that passes means one more week closer to meeting our little baby.

2. This is my 300th post!
I'm really enjoying posting and sharing here and can't believe this will be post 300!

3. I have a special video for you!
You can see it below, but this is my favorite little moments of the week caught on tape.

A surprise cupcake at work is definitely a little thing worth smiling about. This one was from @mmmonkeycakes

Some bump updates...

Little Baby T we can actually SEE you kick now. It's incredible and I love catching you kicking around in there.

A cute little video of Baby T kicking away! Watch carefully...and isn't the song cute!

Seeing these kicks is incredible and I wanted to share it with you. Music is "Wondering Where You Are" by Tyrone Wells.

Also, I will be guest posting over at Life For Instance on Saturday (Tomorrow!), I hope you'll join me for the discussion!

I'm it!

2012-01-12T05:11:00.000-08:00

Lauren Margaret tagged me in a three-part tag game which is super flattering and fun! Hop on over and check out her blog, it always makes me smile.

Rules:

Post these rules.
Part 1 - Post 11 random things yourself.
Part 2 - Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
Part 3 - Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
Then tag 11 people to do this. Go to their blog and tell them that you've tagged them. None of this "You are tagged if you are reading this," you legitimately have to tag 11 people! (I don't know 11 people to tag so for this part I'm going to let anyone who would like join in!)

Part 1

11 Random Things About Me

I've lived in 5 Canadian provinces.
I don't like hamburgers or ground beef at all.
I've never really been able to do a good cartwheel.
I am double jointed.
When someone says something resembling the line in the song I usually start singing it.
Smiling is my favourite!
I'm an introvert, but not at all shy.
I dated my hubby for a short time in high school.
I really look forward to having a beautiful garden one day but am not sure if I can keep one alive.
If you can make me laugh, I like you.
I can't burp. I just don't know how.

With the guy who makes me laugh all the time.

Part 2
11 Things Lauren Margaret Asked Me

What's your favorite color? Purple
What time do you wake up in the morning?As late as possible ;)
When was the last time you put on music that you wanted to listen to - not the radio, but a playlist you selected? I really don't know...it's been a long time.
What is your favorite way to exercise? Anti-gravity Yoga was by far my favorite when I did that.
Who was your favorite teacher in high school? I had a few, my English teacher Mr. Henderson was probably my favorite though.
Did you do any extra-curricular activities in college? Sure did IVCF, PR Society, frosh leader.
Do you make your bed every day? Nope- I try though!
Are you an early riser or a night owl? Night Owl
Do you hyphenate adverbial phrases, as in newly-engaged or poorly-constructed? I am a big fan of the hyphen, so yes!
What is your favorite type of weather? Sunshine and blue skies.
If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be? Curled up on the couch with my hubby. (Maybe in Jamaica? lol)

Part 3
11 Questions I'm asking YOU!

What's your favorite memory?
How would you spend a perfect weekend?
Who do you admire most and why?
Do you have regrets?
What's your favorite movie?
What book could you not put down?
Do you ever enjoy walking in the rain or splashing in puddles?
What's your ideal job?
What's your favourite dessert?
Bath or shower?
What's your favourite song that makes you smile?

Answer one or two in the comments section too if you'd like!

Another Use For Our Christmas Cards

2012-01-11T03:48:00.001-08:00

What do you do with your Christmas cards after Christmas? I wanted to re-use some this year and came up with a simple idea of how. A while ago my parents gifted me with some coasters that you can put pictures in. I decided this was the perfect place to reuse some of our cards.

I think I will tuck these away at the end of winter with our Christmas decorations and maybe see if some birthday cards work for spring coasters. We'll see, but I love the idea of having a great way to reuse our cards. It's hard to know what to do with them when the holidays are over.

Do you keep your Christmas cards? Throw them away? Have another way to reuse them?

Holiday Napkin Rings

2012-01-10T04:12:00.001-08:00

I don't know if you remember my fall napkin rings. If not, you can see them here. You might notice in that post that the box of knit napkin rings had tonnes of colours to choose from, so I decided to create ones for each season. I waited until after Christmas to tackle this so I could get supplies on sale. All I ended up buying was a box of small ornamental glass balls for under $3. I also used red thread I already had on hand.

I mismatched the coloured balls and made a dozen different napkin ring holders.

What do you think? I'm looking forward to pulling them out next year. For now they are tucked away with all of our other Christmas decorations.

Too Many Pictures of the Same Chair

2012-01-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

So I have wanted this chair from the moment we received our lovely ladder desk but we couldn't bring ourselves to spend the money on it. Then we were in Urban Almanac on boxing day and everything in the store was 25% off and so the chair came home with us, tucked in the back-seat on two of our wonderful friend's laps. (Thank you Deeths!)

So now here are a bunch of pictures of one simple white chair in its new home...

Any Boxing Day deals you took advantage of this year?

Also stay tuned this week for two post-holiday crafts I finished this weekend, a fun bump update and more!

Baby Bump Week 23

2012-01-06T05:37:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that we are now at 23 weeks. I think 2012 is going to breeze by. I am so excited that this is now the year you will be born. It is kind of crazy to think that you will never see the 1900's and you will think mommy and daddy are so old because they were born in the 80's. I am so excited for what this year has to bring and am loving watching my growing belly. Can't wait to meet you THIS YEAR!

New Year's Eve

2012-01-04T04:10:00.001-08:00

This New Year's Eve we spent time with the Deeths and us ladies put together a delicious feast. It was so fun and we enjoyed making a delicious meal for our hungry men.

Below are some pictures of the process!

French Onion Soup

Asparagus with Sesamee Oil

Scalloped Potatoes (This recipe)

Chicken Diane (A Thompson household tradition)

Group Picture! We even dressed up for the occasion.

Spending New Year's Eve with together was really special. This was the Deeth's second wedding anniversary and we were so blessed that they wanted to spend it with us. We are also thankful that their travels were safe. We spent our time together playing Euchre (which us ladies kicked butt at), chatting and watching some hockey games. It was the perfect quiet weekend in.

How did you spend your last moment's of 2011 and the start of 2012?

2012 Reading List

2012-01-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

The following are some books I will be reading this year. All were gifts and I can't wait to dive into them!

I adore Shel Silverstein books and this is his latest!

A couple parent books that were recommended and gifted to Jetty and I.

So excited to read this book about a boy's experience in Heaven.

Already motoring through these, Jetty and I just can't put them down.

This book I have read several times, same with Jetty, but we will continue to read it to our little Baby T.

My Aunt's book which I am excited to re-read this year! You should read it too! A great read for anyone.

This is just a small sampling of some of the reading I'll be doing. Any other suggestions? I always love a good book!

Bump Update Week 22

2011-12-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

It's Friday, and you know what that means- bump update!

I'm definitely feeling bigger this week and looking obviously pregnant which I love! I'm also sporting my super cute wrist warmers made by my lovely Aunt Lori. Aren't they beautiful?

Still so excited to meet you Baby T. In week 22 a lot of my family has felt you kick and say hello. It's so fun to watch the look on their face when they feel you kick at them- shock, amazement and love. They adore those first few feelings of you really being there. We all can't wait to meet you and can already tell that you will be very strong! I hope you are nice and cozy in there. You are in all of our prayers and we cannot wait to meet you.

15 vs. 22 Weeks!

Our Holiday Family Fun

2011-12-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

Some things that made me smile over the holidays...

Putting out the gorgeous nativity that mom and dad LeBlanc made.

The pretty red and blue table Erica and I set at the LeBlanc house.

The "happy" breakfast daddy made. (Mmm crispy bacon!)

This beautiful blanket that my cousin crocheted for Baby T... she learned how right after she heard about the baby. So touching and wonderful! (Sorry about this odd picture of me, it's somehow the only one we got!)

The centerpiece we made from a kit (mom gets us a fun craft to do every year) this year it was a collaborative project with my sisters and Jetty. I cut our faces out of this one because they were all too scary for public viewing.

I also had so many lovely moments with family talking, playing games and hanging out. It was a great time to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

What were some of your smiles this holiday season?

Holiday Update

2011-12-28T06:37:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in Moncton for the holidays. I have so much to update you on, but first I wanted to share pictures from the necklace I made with the outfit and a little bump picture! I will share some more projects from the holidays tomorrow after I re-organize my life!

Bump Update Week 21

2011-12-23T04:05:00.001-08:00

Today I'm at 21 weeks, and I think I have officially "popped!" When I wake up in the morning the belly is definitely showing and it used to be that when I would wake up and be flat on my back you couldn't really tell I was pregnant. I am loving every minute of this. Every kick, turn, punch I can feel inside my belly.

Little Baby T. I cannot wait to introduce you to the family, but I'm especially excited that when I see them this weekend they will be able to tell you are here with us already moving around in there.

What anticipation Mary must have felt all those years ago when she was expecting baby Jesus. That song "Mary Did You Know?" makes me wonder every time. What did she know? What must it have been like? I can't help but think about it often this time of year.

I just cannot believe it when I look at my changing body that there is a little life growing in there! Baby T, I hope you are comfy and well and that you will someday know that your mom is a huge dork!

Rosette Necklace

2011-12-19T17:46:00.000-08:00

I decided to try my luck at a rosette necklace. These can be seen all across the DIY space so I can't say exactly where the idea came from, but you can see some examples here or here.

It was really pretty easy. I just rolled a strip of grey material around on itself and hot glued every once in a while until I had what looked kind of like a flower. I then glued some fake pearls on the top.

On the back I glued some hoops (they aren't beautiful, but they will be hidden).

Here they are all glued together from the front.

This way I can loop any chain or material through to wear it.

Here it is around my neck! I made this to wear with my Christmas Eve outfit because it really needed something for around my neck. You will see when I post the pics!

Have you created any jewelery to spice up an outfit lately?

Christmas Wreath Re-Done

2011-12-18T17:18:00.001-08:00

I just realized that I forgot to share our Christmas wreath for the door this year. I decided to "bling" it out a bit this year. As you can see I kept the white yarn base from last year and just re-decorated it. Again, not gluing anything so that it can be redone again next year perhaps!

The sparkly jewel came on a dress I wore for New Years in 2007.

The beads are from a key chain that I had and just hung behind the wreath.

What's hanging on your door this holiday season?

Bump Update Week 20

2011-12-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

Not much bigger than a couple weeks ago!

18 Weeks

Halfway there! It's so hard to believe that 20 weeks have gone by already. To me, this is the greatest JoY this holiday season and in life really. I'm loving every minute. XO Baby T!

Cookies for the Condo

2011-12-14T05:07:00.000-08:00

So we started a social committee at our condo this year and to warm people up to joining us for events in the new year, we wanted to bring around some holiday cookies with warm wishes. I decided to make two kinds of snowflakes and give everyone one of each in a small festive bag. with a little card on it.

This was a new recipe that I found here. I didn't use her icing recipe though... I wish I did because this one was a bit too thick. Next time!

It's fun to bring around sweets during the holidays, what are your favourites to make?

Cookie Exchange 2011

2011-12-12T05:51:00.000-08:00

So we are doing a Christmas cookie exchange at work again this year and I just had to share my awesome find with you. It's a Dollaram find, which is my favourite kind!

I had 7 Dozen cookies to make for 7 people (then a dozen for ourselves) so I wanted something cute to share them in. For $1 I found these beauties. They came in at least 8 different kinds even though I only bought 7. I want to go back and buy tonnes more, they are so cute and fit 12 cookies perfectly!

I mentioned last year's cookie exchange in this post if you want to take a look, and yes, I made the same thing, but with a bit of a twist! (They were just too tasty not to make again!)

Are you doing any Christmas baking? How's it coming along?

The Stockings Aren't Hung...

2011-12-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

...by the chimney with care. But they are finished! I think that I might end up re-doing them. Not sure if I like how the shape turned out even though I loved the pattern I made... I think my sewing job got a bit sloppy.

I don't have hooks to put them up yet, but I added cute bells to detract from the weird shape. I was going to post a how-to, but there are many better ones out there (Such as this DIY Cuffed Stocking one from Centsational Girl). If someone is really interested I'm happy to share how I made mine though. What do you think?

Sneak Peek and Exciting News

2011-12-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to quickly share a sneak peek at how our Christmas stockings are coming along (yes they still aren't done). I decided to bead Jetty's and hand stitch mine... it was a lot of work. This is for the top of the stocking. Wait unti you see it all put together! To make the beaded letters look uniform, I put wire through them to hold the shape. It definitely helped!

Also the exciting news... Jetty felt the baby kick!!! It was very exciting for all of us (even the baby I'm sure.)

Hope you had a great weekend!

Baby Bump 18 Weeks!

2011-12-02T05:17:00.000-08:00

Little Baby T, you are growing so fast and I can feel you move all the time. We are so excited to meet you, but I have to say I'm loving this being pregnant thing so I don't mind waiting a while to hold you in my arms instead of my tummy. This week you are around the size of a large mango and weigh about 7oz. Daddy talks to you all the time and I hope you can tell how much we love you already.

Love, Mommy.

Some Christmas Decorating

2011-11-29T06:40:00.000-08:00

So my Christmas decorating is off to a rocky start. The mantle is still missing something...some greenery perhaps? And other things seem to just be tucked about in our living room, but I wanted to share where we are so far to see if you have any fun ideas. I still have to hang the stockings on the mantle and I'm trying to do everything on a budget (might need to do some end-of-season buying again this year), but what do you think?

Festive Weekend: Making our Gingerbread Village

2011-11-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

Jetty and I had a great weekend this past weekend because he was off work both days which hasn't happened in a long time so we took full advantage and were inspired to build a gingerbread village.

First of course came the icing making...

Putting the little houses together was kind of tricky, but with Jetty the architect and Melanie the construction worker things went just fine.

TA DA...gorgeous right?

Candy that we needed... we also threw in some others at the last minute and of course we bought more than the package came with.

Finishing up the little village.

Would you like to see each house? I thought so...

The "Fun House" (Every village needs an "A" fram Fun House)

The old stone church.

The houses of the two families that live in the village.

The outhouse...because it was shaped like one and we thought it was funny. (Do you like the moon on the door?)

What do you think? We had lots of fun making them.

I, of course, missed my younger cousins and Aunt and Uncle in Hali when making these because it was a tradition we partook in together, but it looks like we can't make it to Hali before Christmas this year. Next year with a baby in tow perhaps? Yes? Ok, wonderful.

Getting Ready for Christmas

2011-11-22T04:41:00.000-08:00

So I'm a little bit late pulling out the Christmas decorations this year, but I have decided it's happening this week. I have some new decorations to pull out so I'm super excited! One of the most exciting parts of decorating now is tackling the mantle.

I have been pulling inspiration and stil haven't completely decided which way I'm going with it.

Source: google.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Classic Green and Red?

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Sparkly gold silver and blue? (But the stockings I'm making are mostly red).

Source: midwestliving.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Something completely different and colourful. (I'm sure my sister Jessica would love this one!)

Source: bluecricketdesign.net via Melanie on Pinterest

Some non-traditional colours?

Source: thebookofsecrets.tumblr.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Or just pure sparkle?

I'm leaning towards classic green, red and gold with a hint of a non-traditional colour. Can you guess which one? Hopefully I will have the chance to reveal our new mantly, the stockings I'm attempting to sew/bead as well as a twist on my old wreath with you later this week. (Stockings might be next week considering I'm not sure what in the world I'm doing.)

How are you preparing for Christmas or the Holidays? Please send the links to your pictures so I can be inspired!

Bump Update: 15 Weeks

2011-11-17T04:50:00.000-08:00

We were away all last week on vacation in Florida with some of our wonderful family on Jetty's side and I have been a bit slow to jump back in the swing of things and blog.

At Universal!

I thought I would start with a baby bump update and then try to do much better next week and share some projects I've been working on.

It's really starting to look like a bump now! So exciting!

I thought I would also answer some typical questions I've been asked.

Cravings? None really.

Boy or Girl? Not sure and don't know yet if I want to find out ahead of time (but I think it's a girl).

Names? We have a few names we've talked about but I don't think we have settled on our top picks.

How much weight have you gained? Not sure, I usually only weigh myself when I go to the Dr. I'll keep you updated.

How are you feeling? Great- they don't lie about the second trimester. I'm back to normal from the exhaustion of the first trimester.

What are you looking forward to? Feeling him/her kick for the first time!

How big is the baby? About the size of an avocado! (4-5 inches)

Hope your week is going well and thanks for sticking around through the lack of posts.

xo

Los Angeles, California

2011-11-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't already know, I'm currently in LA for work. The event is called BlogWorld Expo and it's been an amazing experience so far. I'm meeting tonnes of great bloggers, marketers, and people in general and learning so much. I can't take notes fast enough!

Yesterday I Live blogged an awesome session, you can read the post here. Tom Webster was super savvy and it made me want to sit and chat more with him on the subject of reliable data. All I kept wanting to yell out was "YES!" As Mrs. 20 Questions I love the idea of digging deep and finding the right questions.

You can follow along on Twitter with what I'm up to while in LA if you are interested, but if you don't have access or don't want to, here are some pictures that I've shared so far!

Excited to head to LA!

Hollywood Sign wayyy in the background! (Did you know if I made $ with this blog I wouldn't be able to share this pic or the Beverly Hills one below?)

Chinese Theatre

Kodak Theatre

Hotel Lobby (The Rendezvous Court)

Baby Update and Another Change

2011-11-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the small change from 6 weeks to about 13!

Mostly just looking a bit chubbier so far, but I love watching the growth! I've also made another big change recently and chopped off my long hair!

What do you think? I even managed to cut off the required 10inches needed to donate my hair to Locks of Love. So excited to send it in!

Cookie Jar

2011-10-28T04:11:00.000-07:00

So I bought a dollar store cookie jar and I thought I could get away with it not looking like one. But then I took the giant price tag sticker thing off the front and left behind a bunch of goo...

Yuck! (I know it almost looks pretty and frosted here, but trust me in real life it just looked gross).

So I decided to use this pretty paper to cover it....

Since the jar would be spending time in the kitchen I covered it with mac tac.

I wasn't loving the finished look though.

So in came a spare mirror I had lying around and voila!

I think it looks so much better and now when I take a cookie I have to look at myself in the mirror. ;)

What do you think? Does it look any better or you think I should just cover the whole thing with material or perhaps something else?

In the Oven

2011-10-27T02:44:00.000-07:00

And in case you don't get that...

I can't even tell you how excited we are, and I can still hardly believe it. I will update with baby bump pictures soon. (Yes I already have a small one at 12.5 weeks!) Expect this blog to have some baby posts speckled in for the foreseeable future!

Perfect Paper Snowflakes

2011-10-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

Did you know how to make the perfect paper snowflakes? I've been prepping these for an upcoming winter party. Making as many as I can so I can do something like this:

Source: Uploaded by user via Melanie on Pinterest

The instructions are above, but I thought I'd share mine too! Start with a square piece of paper or an 8.5X11 and fold such as:

Cut off the excess.

Fold in half again.

Then fold in three like so:

Cut the ends off to make a triangle.

The following are a few of the patterns I tried out and how they looked.

What do you think? Do you know any pretty snowflake patterns?

Last Night's Dinner: Chicken Ceasar

2011-10-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of our favourite quick go-to meals to make. Chicken Ceasar Salad with homemade dressing.

Recipe:

Crush one clove of garlic

3T of Olive Oil

1-2T Fresh Lemon Juice

1t Dijon Mustard

1/4tsp Salt

Whisk Together

For the creamy version add 1T of Mayo

Mmm so delicious! (Can you tell I like croutons!)

Fabric Covered Push Pins

2011-10-19T04:28:00.000-07:00

Yea! I got one of the projects done already (one of the ones I mentioned in yesterday's post)!

I had some of these small button makers lying around so I thought I would tackle the push pins.

The part to attach a button with was pretty much stuck on there so I used pliers to force it away.

And then pinched them to make it come off completely.

The button maker came with all the tools I need so I just needed to cut small squares of fabric.

After I made the buttons I glued a thumb tack in the back. I used bright coloured ones I already had.

I made four in each colour and I love them! (Might need to make more).

What do you think? Have you tackled anything on your to-do list lately?

That's So Pinteresting

2011-10-18T04:22:00.000-07:00

Source: thehappyscraps.blogspot.com via Jedidah on Pinterest

Today I saw the picture above and realized that I need to do the same. I haven't finished a good project in a while. So I thought I would share some that I have planned to do in the next few weeks as a push to get me going! (All from Pinterest of course!)

Source: apearantlysew.blogspot.com via Melanie on Pinterest

I have the perfect fabrics to match our bedroom that I want to replicate this with. Just need to get some lace this week!

Source: None via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Melanie on Pinterest

I love the fabric covered push pins! I am planning on making some for my bulletin board that I put up in the entry-way.

Source: tcktyboo.com via Melanie on Pinterest

This is such a cute idea for places you have lived. Anyone want to send me a map from Courtice or London? ;)

I'm also planning on starting to work on my small Christmas project for this year. I have a few ideas rolling around. Have you seen any great ones lately? This is what I worked on last year.

Little Things!

2011-10-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving. (Yes, nice and early here in Canada!) There are so many little things that I feel thankful for, but here are a few that I captured this week.

Smiles and an evening walk after Thanksgiving dinner.

Our beautiful walk in Centennial Park to work off Thanksgiving turkey and enjoy nature. If you look carefully you can spot mom!

Mom and my sister made delicious deviled eggs for Thanksgiving brunch.

Coming home to a delicious lunch Jetty had prepared.

New discovery: Tim Horton's white hot chocolate. Yummy!

Thankful

2011-10-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

http://instagr.am/p/Pvylw/

There was so much to be thankful for this weekend. Most importantly I am so thankful to God for the wonderful family and friends he has provided me with. I felt incredibly blessed to be surrounded by family this weekend and to be able to speak with my dearest friends.

While I missed some of our family members and definitely missed most of my friends, I still feel as close to them as ever and know we will always be there for each other.

I couldn't help think about Luke 5:18-20 (Maybe because the radio station I was listening to brought it up) because the verse says:

Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven.

This strikes me most this Thanksgiving for 2 reasons:

1. The friends dug a hole in a roof because they cared so much for their friend and wanted him to be healed so badly. (What great friends to be thankful for!)
2. Jesus seems to be forgiving the man's sins based on his friends faith, not just his own. "When Jesus saw their faith..."

I feel like this passage so clearly describes the role and importance on friendship in our lives. Of having friends who are there to have faith for us when we may not have it ourselves. In the end Jesus not only heals the paralyzed man of his sins, but also heals him of his paralysis so he can go out and praise God too.

To all my friends and family- I'm so thankful for you. =)

xo

Fall Finishings

2011-10-05T04:21:00.000-07:00

I've put the finishing touches on our fall decor for this year.

Black books and mini pumpkins!

I also used more leaves I had and red hemp to make leaf garland.

Trusty cereal box so I don't get glue on the carpet!

This leaf garland seems to look really cute in person, but now that I see it here, it might need some adjustments. Or come and see it in person and enjoy it with me!

Baking

2011-10-04T04:04:00.000-07:00

I did some baking on the weekend which immediately made me excited about getting started on some Christmas backing! (I'm already looking for a couple new recipes to add to the roster from last year.)

First of all I made some chocolate chip cookies for our board of directors meeting last night for the condo. They went over very well. =)

And then I saved a few of those for us...

Secondly I made some tea biscuits which is a super easy and delicious recipe from my mom.

Jetty also insisted I add raisins to some of the batch and he loves them.

Today I thought I would share the tea biscuit recipe in case you want to try this easy 7 (or 8) ingredient recipe on your own!

3 cups of flower
4 T of white sugar (Plus some extra for the top)
3 T butter (Plus some extra for the top)
1/2 t salt
6 heaping t of baking powder
Mix 1/4 cup of milk with 3/4 cup of water together to add to dry.
Raisins as desired.

Put dry ingredients together then cut in butter, add liquid and mix (add small amounts of additional milk if needed). Knead quickly by hand and roll the dough out on a flat surface and use biscuit cutters or round cookie cutters. Place on pan and butter the top sprinkling with additional sugar before cooking in oven at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.

EnJoY

Quick Fixes

2011-10-03T04:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend I tackled some quick fixes in the condo.

Remember our curtain wall? The curtains cover both our balcony and door to it.

Because of the heater the curtains hang just above it and we measured so they hung perfectly.

Unfortunately that means the longer panels in front of the patio door hang too long. They have been sitting like that since we got them, dragging on the ground. This weekend I decided to tackle the problem!

I pinned and took them down and tackled then with the sewing machine.

Now look how pretty they hang! I tried to make sure my sewing line was the same distance from the bottom as the other curtain panels.

Now when they are pulled to the side they sit perfectly. As you can see the other side is higher because it goes over the heater.

The other quick fix I tackled was the broken cupboard hinge. For some reason the corner hinge broke, it's been like that for about a week. Off I went to Home Depot and then Kent and finally found the exact piece that was broken and I just re-attached!

It was our oven mitt holder portion of the cupboard that was broken (very annoying).

These quick fixes made a big difference and I love quick and easy projects to tackle. I have a few more fun ones that I'll share this week. For now, happy Monday!

It's the Little Things

2011-09-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

This week was full of wonderful little moments, but I will share 3 of them with you today!

My African Violet officially has a flower!

We made pancakes for dinner and the mini pancake our family always makes at the start is my favourite. (Jetty and I shared him).

This moment was my favourite! Jetty and I went out for dinner and this is his plate after he finished his burger. This is after the second application of ketchup he made reaching a little further across the plate. He was leaving the ones on my side ketchup-less in case I wanted to nibble at them. (I'm not a huge ketchup on my fries gal.)

How was your week? Any wonderful little moments?

P.S. My Aunt's book launched yesterday. "The Happy Place" It's beautiful and inspirational and you won't be able to put it down. Take a sneak peek and see what I mean!

Excess

2011-09-29T04:33:00.000-07:00

Jetty and I went through our clothes the other day to do something I try to do every season which is purge any clothes from that season that I didn't wear. Jetty has not done this in, well, YEARS. We found some clothes in the closet from grade 11!

Needless to say, there was a LOT to get rid of. We will be handing some down to family members and donating the rest. If you are wondering how much clothing I'm talking about I took a nice couple pictures for you. As you can see, I wasn't messing around. (Yes, some of it is mine, I would say maybe the top 10 items on the pile...)

It really got me thinking about things we do and have in excess. How often do we have to throw away food because it's gone bad? In what ways are we spending too much? What are some things we can get rid of/donate. I think we need to be more aware of these things so we can make sure we aren't being wasteful.

1 Timothy 6:6-8: But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

I also started a small box from last season that has to be donated and it's sitting in our spare room. These things will be going this weekend! (Except some clothes that will be making the hand-me-down trek). I will be tackling some more areas that need purging this weekend too.

Have your purged your closets lately? What things are you holding on to that you do not need?

Fall and Thanksgiving Decor

2011-09-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

The start to our fall mantle.

The rest of my napkin ring holders on the plate I got last year.

The cute table runner from mom!

I also got out the wreath from last year.

Just a few things I've done so far to welcome fall. What about you?

It's the Little Things

2011-09-23T04:07:00.000-07:00

Today I'm doing another "Little Things" post!

Making a meal that looked kind of like the recipe book! Woo!

Re-purposing something my mom made about 20 years ago.

Recreating one of our engagement shots with a friend from the Community Team while we were doing our #silhouetting project! (So fun! Yes I am playing Jetty.)

Those are just three little things making me smile... how's your week been?

Napkin Ring Fall Project

2011-09-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

I've been planning on doing this project for some time now and I finally got some of it done and wanted to share!

First off, my mom had this amazing box FULL of knit napkin rings lying around (that she made!) that she wasn't using. She let me snag it and I've been planning how I'm going to put it to good use ever since. Look at all the colours!

I decided that since fall was pretty much upon us I would start with some fall themed napkin rings. I had some faux leaves left over from last year so I started there.

I wrapped black wire around the bottom of the pair of leaves so they would lie close together.

Then I sewed it on to one of the napkin rings...

...and after that I simply attached some buttons to each of them!

Paired with me pretty fall napkins this will be a great way to dress-up the table for fall! I especially love that the knit look makes me ready for fall sweaters!

What do you think?

Odds and Ends

2011-09-20T03:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday! Today I just wanted to do an odds and ends post of some of the things that have snuck their way into our condo in the past month or so. Mostly because I haven't finished a project that I wanted to share yet. ;)

This panther is so cool and is made of wood! You know how I love big cats!

A sweet magnet from one of my besties has made its way to the front of the fridge which is kind of a big deal since it's the only one there. But I just love the reminder.

The magnet also came with these napkins and pretty Gerber Daisy napkin ring holders!

I love, love them because now I will be able to try to re-create this:

Source: breakfastatritzys.tumblr.com via Melanie on Pinterest

I also popped in to Superstore not too long ago and spotted these for $2 each and grabbed four. You can never have too many pretty white and yellow striped place mats!

In other news we need a new bracket for our corner cupboard door as we managed to break this one off. =( I also need to clean out that corner!

The final exciting piece of news is that our plants are doing a kick-butt job of growing! Remember what they used to look like?

And now... (yes we did lose one ...minor details, minor details!)

Stay tuned for a fun fall project that I hope to share tomorrow and have a terrific Tuesday!

Reflecting on the Reading

2011-09-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

Did you miss me last week? I had the worst head cold and just wasn't getting much done in terms of life and especially this blog! I'm back this week though and to make up for it I'm planning on posting every day this week! Today on this lovely Monday morning I wanted to share some thoughts from this Sunday's gospel reading in church, first I'll share it with you:

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

I just love this reading and wanted to share the 5 main things I got out of it.

1. God won't just wait for us to come to him, he will go out to get us.
2. It doesn't matter how long it takes to come to Him, we will still be equal to all those who have always followed Him.
3. God will call us even in our last hour.
4. Christians have to be careful not to think that "working in the vineyard" all our lives means that we deserve more.
5. God is generous.

What are your thoughts on this?

Happy Monday!

It's the Little Things

2011-09-09T04:23:00.000-07:00

Lindsay from Aisle to Aloha is having her first ever "Little Things" link-up! It's where you take the time to appreciate those special little things from the week that has just passed. I wanted to share some things that made me smiley and thankful this week!

Coming home to a clean kitchen (thanks Jetty and visiting mom!) It makes such a difference coming home to a condo that is all clean and tidy...

...and homemade muffins by Jetty and mom. (Love the silicone muffin holders!)

Getting my "San Francisco" hat back less than a week after I return. (Mostly just ironic). I bought it to wear when I was there but accidentally left it in Halifax when I went.

Rocking the sunglasses I bought in San Fran. I love them!

Reading the latest issue of Style at Home and seeing things that just made me smile...

Such as the quote I put on Facebook right after returning from Ontario:

And the owl bookends I've been eying for weeks (I think it's a sign!? hahaha):

Yesterday's post which was very overdue but I'm happy to have created another wreath for our door.

There were so many special moments and fun things this week that I think I will have to get used to taking more pictures! (Also, I think I need to invest in a good camera!) What about you? What little things made you smile?

Festive Wreath #5 (About time!)

2011-09-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

So I haven't done a very good job of updating my door wreath lately.

After I saw this great post at Nesting Place and knew I wanted to participate. Problem was, I was away in San Fran so I JUST finished my wreath. I figured, better late than never right? So here is my "beginning of fall" wreath!

I made mine out of scrap fabric I had leftover...

I just ripped it into strips and tied them to an old picture frame.

It has a messy look to it, but it makes me think of fall and I like using material I already have.

What do you think? Should I spruce it up with something? I feel like it might be missing a finishing touch somehow.

San Fran Day #5

2011-09-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

My final day in San Fran and I got to visit an Anthropologie store! It was as cool as I imagined. I didn't get to many great pictures but I wanted to share a few with you!

Mac & Cheese boxes and paper to recreate the Golden Gate Bridge

So cool, mesh wire with cut-up maps draped over each square. Reminds me of the YHL project here.

Cutest plate with an adorable quote.

Danielle and I on the Cheesecake Factory balcony waiting for a table.

View of Union Square from the same balcony.

The Cheesecake Factory was DELICIOUS!

All-in-all San Fran was amazing and so much fun. I would love to go back sometime - especially if I can bring Jetty with me. =)

San Fran Day #4

2011-09-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

Lots of touring today in San Fran after the event was over!

Hotel Elevators

Coit Tower

GIANT iPad

View from my Room

Self-cleaning public washroom.

Awesome Fountain

On the top of the same fountain.

Everyone joining the Half Face pictures.

Carousel at Fisherman's Warf

Sea Lions you can kind-of see in the back.

In the lobby, another person to join the half-face!

Giants Game on the Water

Half-face

Smiles!

More Smiles!

Hot tea and book on the balcony to end the day.

San Fran Day #3

2011-09-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

Didn't get too many pictures today, but wanted to share anyway!

The conference expo floor before anyone arrived.

Union Square

Saks Fifth Avenue

Stay tuned! Tomorrow will be filled with way more great pictures!

San Fran Day #2

2011-09-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

Morning run scenes day 2!

METALLICA!!!

Rock on!

San Fran Day #1

2011-08-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Busy day getting organized, but here are a few pics I squeezed in!

Checking in for the Event

The cool R6 iPad covers modelled by two of my awesome colleagues.

The thing getting me through the jet lag...

Outside my room overlooks the lobby which has pretty twinkle lights!

I'll try to get more pictures tomorrow!

Like old times: A weekend in Hali-wood!

2011-08-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

This past week and weekend my bestie Alli came to visit. We spent a night in Freddy and then took off to the place most of our University memories took place- Halifax, NS!

This time the hubs got to be a part of the fun too and as much fun as University was, it was even more wonderful having him there to join in our shenanigans!

Alli even brought along her sweet friend Tracey who had never been to the East Coast! I think she loved it almost as much as we do! Oh yes, that's Jessica too! The three roomies back together again!

So when are YOU coming to visit next? Hmm?

Also, today I'm off to San Francisco for work! I'm so excited and hope to share lots of the fun with you here (mostly through pictures). In case I don't get much time to post though, take a peek on twitter where I'll be updating lots!

Thoughts and Prayers

2011-08-23T05:24:00.000-07:00

My thoughts and prayers are with so many today.

Of course there is the sad news we all heard yesterday about Jack Layton passing away.

I am also thinking a great deal about the people from Goderich, Ontario. A tornado ripped through their small town. You can see pictures here and footage here.

Almost a year ago exactly I wrote this post about our quick visit to Goderich. I loved it there and am so sad to hear the news. Here are a few pictures from that post of the very cute town.

I hope you keep the people from Goderich in your prayers too. They will have lots of rebuilding to do.

Quick Craft

2011-08-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

So I did a quick little activity over the weekend. First, I forgot to share that I put up a couple more pictures. They were added to the future "reading corner" in our bedroom...

It's the collage Jetty gave me and the verse from our wedding that Aunt Rosemary read. She gave it to us all framed and signed. It's so wonderful to have for our wall to look at all the time. (It was the first reading, Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12)

This is my little craft. I had the supplies laying around so I thought it would be cute. The yellow matches our bedroom too!

What do you think? Have you made anything from things you already have lately?

Friday Motivation

2011-08-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

So today marks the 5th day in a row I got through 6am gym and I'm so happy!

Post Gym Smile (ish)

I tell you this because I recently read a quote on Pinterest that said:

Source: funstoo.blogspot.com via Melanie on Pinterest

It really stuck with me how often I think that if I had just started that plan at the start of the summer, or last year, where would I be now? Do you ever do that?

So now the goal is to just keep at it!

Want to join me? =)

Meal Planner

2011-08-17T05:17:00.000-07:00

So I said I would share some of our family binder which was a great idea that I got from IHeart Organizing (she has a great shop where you can buy amazing pages for your family binder too!)

Since I can, I had to create my own. So step one in family binder creation was linked to our new dedication to healthy eating. To start we knew it would need to be deliberate and planned so the first page I created for the binder was a menu planner.

We filled it all out and Jetty got the groceries yesterday! This allowed me to start my 3rd day of 6am gym off with a great breakfast of egg whites, english muffin and kiwi. Yum!

How do you menu plan? I would love to hear other ideas!

Tasty and Healthy Snacks

2011-08-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

As I said Jetty and I are organizing our lives more. That includes going to the gym more, eating healthier and I'm also creating a family binder to keep track of pretty much everything (stay tuned for fun updates that make me look like a big dork).

We wanted to eat a bit more dried fruit and nuts as healthier snacks and, well, you know me. I couldn't just have them sitting around in bulk barn bags. Jetty laughed at the ridiculousness of moving the food from the Bulk Barn bag, to these jars to our containers for lunch, but I think it's much more fun!

I'm also thinking of labelling them using the fun tags I made for the lemon, lime water and orange juice from the brunch I made. Thoughts?

How do you store your snacks?

*Jars are from Dollarama!

Vacation Over

2011-08-15T01:35:00.000-07:00

Hello! We are back from a week long vacation and my plan to have posts up and ready to cover the week was a hug flop. Lots happened in life before we went away and I got lost in a whirlwind. On the upside that means I've come back with a new dedication to organize my life. Get ready for Melanie 2.0. I've started with some inspiration from this blogger that I will share as this week progresses. Let's just say there will be lots of changes around the Thompson household. I'm getting started on them right away so I can share in the coming days, but in the meantime here is a peek at our little vacation! I always forget to ask people we are with if they mind if I put their picture on the blog so these pics are only of Jet and I!

After the wedding we took some pictures on the beautiful farm that is owned by the groom's parents:

Taking the Ferry to Toronto Island:

On the island with Jetty crushing the CN tower:

We rented a canoe on the island:

Heading back after an awesome day:

So sad to leave Ontario, but happy to be back to life on the East coast. Can't wait to share some of our new plans around the Thompson residence this week!

Have a Marvellous Monday!

Being Married - Year 1

2011-08-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

Today is a day where I share a bit of what I have learned so far about being married. I'm definitely no expert since we just hit the one year mark in May, but I've been learning so much along the way that I wanted to document where I am so far for when I look back in years to come.

Top 10 Lessons or Marriage for Year 1

10. Date night is important.
9. Ridiculous situations where we argue about nothing come up. The best thing is to be able to both stop and realize how silly the situation is and just laugh about it.
8. I have to learn how to be wrong....gracefully.
7. I'm usually right.
6. Some chores just belong to him and some belong to me. When we discover those we need to keep it that way.
5. Those odd habits that I found so cute in the beginning, well...they are still cute (come on, it's only been a year!)
4. I think how we are during long drives says a lot about our relationship. (Although I often sleep through them, when I'm awake we hold hands and have great chats or belt out stupid songs. Love those moments!)
3. Praying together is SO important, and praying for each other.
2. Remembering to think about someone else in almost every dicision I make can be challenging at times, but always worthwhile.
1. This is FUN

The Pinterest Challenge

2011-08-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

By now you probably know a bit about my Pinterest obsession from posts such as my ruffled pillow from this post and this post, my Pinterest inspired brunch, ideas for our Ikea nightstands, two more pillows from this post, among a few others where I didn't expressly mention Pinterest.

All this to say that when I saw that there would be a Pinterest Challenge put on by some of my favourite bloggers I was really excited. You can hear all about the challenge on Young House Love, Bower Power, Emily Henderson and Making a House a Home.

Basically the idea is to make something that's inspired by all the great things found on Pinterest. So I actually used inspiration from several pins to create something simple and cute.

The following are the pins that inspired my craft:

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: lovelycraftyhome.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: brownpaper--packages.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: cherrystreetcottage.blogspot.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Melanie on Pinterest

Any ideas of what I made?

No need to guess, I'l tell you! Basically I had this box lying around that I liked, but no longer worked with our decor.

Since I planned on using thinner twine than the basket inspiration above, I didn't want any of the box design to poke through so I glued burlap on the box first.

Then I used the method from the twine ball from Pinterest. to cover the box.

I covered the lid as well.

Then I cut off the corners and wrapped twine around the bottom part of the lid as you will see in a few pictures.

Then I used the fabric flower tutorial to make a flower out of off-white cotton.

I love the pearls in the centre of some of the flowers above so I added those with the hot glue gun.

I cut two petals with the fabric from when I reupholstered the couch.

I attached the petals and then the flower.

I love the box now! I am not 100% sure what we will use it for or where it will stay, but now it's something that I can keep out and not leave tucked away because it doesn't go with the decor.

What do you think of my Pinterest Challenge project? I can't wait to see what everyone else made!

The Winner is... ME!

2011-07-29T03:40:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I shared a picture with you to hint at my post today. I'm sure that no one guessed what it was about, but the anticipation is over! Today I'm going to be posting, my first, and probably only ever "fashion" post. I don't even feel comfortable calling it that because I'm far from a fashionista, but I wanted a chance to show off the beautiful purse I won from Silver Daisy Designs. I thought it would be a fun tribute to the blog I won it from: Fortunate Fool

Let me back up and tell you how I won the purse! I entered a giveaway on this post because I love the purse and because Julia was celebrating reaching 10 000 views on her blog (how awesome is that!?).

I read only about 4 fashion blogs daily and 2 belong to Awesome Maritimer Gals: The fabulous Fortunate Fool and the very sweet O My Heart! the others are the always adorable Jen Loves Kev and the always inspiring Cupcakes and Cashmere. I dream of having their wonderful fashion sense and expertise at building a wardrobe. I'm normally a work-with-what-I've-got gal and don't shop often enough (if you ask me) and maybe too much if you ask Jetty... but it still doesn't feel like I have what I need to put together a fabulous outfit so I decided to let the purse do the talking and just 'white blouse' and jeans it. I also don't have the modelling skills of my lovely little sister so please bare with me....

I liked the hydrangeas outside of the building next door so I posed there...

I got a couple pics and then this is when things started to get out of hand and I realized I should stand up...

but then I did and didn't know what to do...so I just made a face at Jetty.

Then I remembered fashion posts usually involve a pic of the person looking at the ground so I tried that...

And then Jetty snapped a picture of me checking the time which also shows off the bag...double duty!

I thought I might as well show off the accessories too...then I realized I should have done that with my hand on my hip or something...right? Ahh well, there it is just stuck out above the ground. Did you see my awesome gold glitter fingernail? Inspired by this cute post, but I think I like pink and silvery better...maybe next time?

Also, check out the awesome shoes I was rocking. I really love them, but Jetty does not (at all) and perhaps no one else does either? They were my mom's and I think they are just so cute!

Purse: Matt & Nat via Fortunate Fool and Silver Daisy Designs

Blouse: Smart Set

Jeans: Cheap Monday via Aritzia

Bracelets: Aldo

Nail Polish: Revlon Plum Attraction

Sandals: Hand-me-Down from Mom

I'm absolutely loving the purse already! It's just big enough to hold what I need, but not so big that I tip over. I also love the details on the outside and the fact that the liner is made from 18 recycled water bottles (awesome!).

So there it is, my fashion post... never again...

Have a great weekend!

Glitz

2011-07-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

Today I don't have much of a post except to say that I have a really fun one coming tomorrow...and I wanted to give you a small random clue...

Guesses?

More Pillows

2011-07-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

I think that pillows are my current “thing”. There is something about soft fluffy easy-to-make accessories that just makes me smile. They make any space softer, comfier and cosier. When you’re sad you cry into them or angry maybe you scream. You lay your head on them to sleep or sit on them so your butt doesn’t hurt. They are an acceptable cuddle object after the blanky and stuffed animals go (not that they should ever go ;) )

I think pillows can make a home homier and so I worked hard on two of my favourites so far for a good friend and her new place. (I think I might recreate them for my own space!)

I used the tutorial found here for the flower one...:

Source: jonesdesigncompany.com via Melanie on Pinterest

...and for the bow I modeled it slightly after these:

Source: e-tells-tales.blogspot.com via Melanie on Pinterest