Nurturing my Creative Side

A while back, Beth knocked over and accidently broke the large mirror that we had leaning up against our bedroom wall.  Fortunately, she was not hurt.  But it seriously was a close call!

Once I recovered from the near accident (which took me a while - you know how hard Mom's can be on themselves), I decided to use what was left of the mirror somewhat creatively....

I broke up the mirror and with my creative friend, Sue's help made a mirror/mosaic backsplash in my kitchen.

Here's a closer look :)

Next, I had to decide what to do with this....

Voila!

I taped around the inside of the frame and painted with 2 coats of  chalkboard paint.

Here is the finished product hanging in my kitchen.  I can't even begin to tell you how much I love it!  It makes a great 'communication board' and the girls think it's awesome.

Help me win a new $25K kitchen makeover from House&Home and IKEA

I am going to enter a contest with House & Home magazine to win a $25K kitchen makeover from IKEA

I have always wanted to redo our kitchen - but its such a massive undertaking that it still hasn't happened yet. We are getting closer now - at least in the talking sense of what we want, possible layout options etc and now with this magazine contest........I know that I have to sell my house and my story to them since they are looking for more than a kitchen - they need a great magazine article.


Here are my pictures and entry - any comments are helpful as I still have a week or so before I have to send in my info.

Our 130 sqft kitchen is old, I am not sure when it was redone (I assume its not the original kitchen to our 1964 home) but it needs help, there is still sections of the walls that were not plastered properly and I have just painted over for the quick fix. The cabinets had faux hinges that I removed but the marks still remain in permanent grime on the cabinet doors. The floor is a whole other story as you can’t ever tell if its dirty which may seem like a good thing but its not,  not to mention that it’s green. The lighting is bad and there isn’t enough counter space for prep. Our kitchen has great storage but isn’t quite big enough for a table. So it always feels awkward getting stuff out of cupboards/fridge if you are also planning on a sit down meal at the table. Our latest family member is 8 weeks old and we want a more functional space for when she starts to join us at the table for meals. Our wishlist for the kitchen include better lighting, a new layout with island that we can eat at, wall/window opened up to the living room and also to the front entry. A gas stove and convection oven (I love to bake!).

- Lauren

Back to School

Well, this week is big for me.  For the first time ever, I have 3 kids in school.  Yikes!

I don't know about the rest of you, but it feels weird.

Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic summer.  As a Mom, I was ready for September and getting back to routine and structure and decent bedtimes and all that...but now that it's here, it just feels plain weird.  I guess that is the 'madness of motherhood'.

Anyone else grieving the loss of summer?  On second thought, maybe it's just all of the gloomy weather we've been having...

Carrie

Camping 101

Last week my husband and I went camping with our three daughters.  We were camping for 10 days and it was fantastic.  If you know anything about my husband, you'll know that he LOVES to camp.  He was born for it and he is the best possible version of himself when he is camping.  On the drive home from our camping trip, I took the liberty of interviewing Steve.  He humoured me and what a great sport he was :)

How long have you been camping?  "35 plus years"

What are your favourite things about camping?  "the outdoors, pace of life, campfires"

Any advice for first time  campers?  "go for it.  It's a great and inexpensive way to spend time with family and friends"

Any favourite camping items?  Things you can’t live without?  "pie-irons, beach toys, griddle for making breakfast, axe"

Favourite camping meals/snacks?  "breakfast, apple and mars bar pie irons, pringles, purple fanta"

Best camping investment?  "my broil king portable barbeque"

Favourite campground?  "MacGregor Point Provincial Park"

How do you keep the bugs away when camping?  "don’t shower" jk

How do you cope with rain when camping?  "my tarp - rainy day camping is better than a day elsewhere"

Do you own patio lanterns?  "nope - just Christmas Lights"

On average, how much do you spend a week at the camp store on candy?  "75 dollars"

Camping nick names?  "Sugar", "Luke" (from Gilmore Girls)


Readers, what do you love about camping?  Any questions you would want me to ask my resident, expert camper?

~Carrie