Bought Cheap...cheap bite.

I like to think I am fairly easy to please. From playing scrabble with my good friend on a Friday night to going on a "dump date" with my husband...I'm pretty sure I am not high maintenance!
I have always loved playing board games, but have never run across anyone who shares my passsion. So, I am very glad to say I have recently found a scrabble partner and we steal a chance to play when our daughters have a play date. A cup of coffee and some healthy Scrabble competition...it's all good.

I had a great "date" the other day with my husband. We started with a "dump run" to get rid of the left-overs from tidying up our garage and back yard. On the way in to the "dumping grounds", I spotted a really old baby carriage that I immediately wanted to pile onto the truck. This was the only glitch in our day. My husband has the firm belief that a dump run is meant to unload junk...not bring some home. I, on the other hand, wildly scan the heaps for hidden treasures...and he is never amused by it. We quarrelled back and forth as he unloaded the junk off the back of the truck. We both dug our heels in; and as he was uttering the words, "If you stop to look at that carriage, you'll be pushing it home...", I spied another baby buggy...this one meant for dolls. It was perfect: no smelly fabric like the other one, and made of metal that could be painted a pretty colour for a project I have in mind. As I didn't take too kindly to his threats of abandonment, I think he knew he had better backpedal and butter me up a bit. Soooo, he reluctantly piled the little buggy onto the truck.photo: Baby Goes Vintage

Well, you'd think he just bought me the earth. I was so happy to have that little treasure on board and my mind was spinning with the image of it all prettied up and serving its purpose. Even my yard-saling hating hubby couldn't deny how happy he'd made me, and he simply remarked that he'd make a mental note not to bring me to the dump again...!

After a quick lunch break at McDonalds...his choice...where we sat on the pleather chairs near the gas fireplace (when did McDonalds decor get so trendy?) and ate our chicken wraps, we headed off to our his/her doctor's appointments. My husband, who can't seem to sit still for more than thirty mintes, was content to simply hang out with me...it was a perfect date in my books.

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So, to prove how easy it is to make my husband happy (and to get him to start on my most recent project), I made his all-time favourite meal: my famous meatloaf! This meal is certain to make him putty in my hands! If you, too, have something you want your hubby to do for you, then make this meatloaf - served up hot with mashed potatoes, turnip, carrots, peas, and gravy. He'll be forever at your mercy...at least as long as it takes to digest it anyway! Just as I predicted, after dinner he headed outside to get started on our project...

Here goes...now use this information wisely:

Linda's "putty in your hands" meatloaf:

2lbs ground beef

2 beaten eggs

1 pkg of Club House meatloaf seasoning

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

some generous dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup milk

one small, chopped onion

Mix all together, dump into a loaf pan,

cook for one hour at 350 degrees... and, hearing my mum's voice, "Don't forget to drain the drippings (fat) off!" Then, sit back and reap the rewards!!

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Hmmm...this little one has to do decidedly less to make her daddy putty in her hands...!!!

Hiding some bloomers!

Continuing on with my desire to do cheap and easy projects, I decided to address a privacy issue I had. Because we live on a fairly small lot, we are within spitting distance from the neighbouring homes. This was the view from my bedroom piano window:

I was pretty sure it was too high up to offer a bird's eye view into our window, but still I wondered. So, after purchasing some Wallpaper For Windows, I decided to apply it all by myself...!

As I was cleaning the window beforehand, I got a good giggle at this new addition to some nearby landscaping:

Oyyy...they still make those?? Oh well, with my new window wallpaper, neither they nor I will be getting that view!!

In through the Out door...

photo: House to Home

A while ago I wrote about grand front entries, and I must confess, I can't really say I have ever had one. Some of you live in grand homes that naturally possess foyers that make your guests know right away that they have entered into an elegant home - one that prides itself on being character-rich and exuding an air of quality and grandeur. While that is admirable, my homes have all been more along the lines of attainable, relaxed and casual.

I have never managed to wander over to the other side; basically because I am a very informal person. I could care less whether you serve me wine in a glass meant for red or white wine; taking out my good silverware seems like too much trouble (seeing as it requires hand washing); and I prefer a big old mug to a delicate tea cup. I like to wrap my hands around my mug of tea, as opposed to carefully balancing a china cup between my clumsy fingers. When I sit on my sofa, I want to fling my legs up on it, and the thought of formal rooms meant to be admired from afar makes me cringe inwardly. Needless to say, when you enter my home, you inevitably find proof that we live in our home...cats run in and out, children's shoes have been casually kicked aside, and mail inevitably lands on my piano - along with the odd gum wrapper, chapstick, and whatever the more messy occupants of my home toss on it. While I tidy often, I am no match for four comfortably messy people.

photo: House to Home

In my heart of hearts, I love crossing the threshold of someone's home and immediately feeling that people come and go there. Perhaps I see skipping ropes tossed across the arm of a rustic wooden bench, or a pocketful of "special" rocks placed in the purposefully placed bowl meant for keys only. I love the look of vintage hooks with a little boy's jean jacket hanging from it, a pretty pair of rubber boots lined up neatly waiting for a rainy day, a unique vessel to store umbrellas...from Strawberry Shortcake to a great Burberry-inspired plaid. The stuff of life...

photo: House to Home

Although I grumble when my kids and husband come in my front door instead of my mudroom, I understand the draw. Whether it is the convenience of popping one's head in to ask what's for dinner, or holler in a request for car keys, the cordless phone, or a drink of water on a hot day... sometimes the occasion just calls for it! I call it coming in through the out door. You're really not supposed to do it, but sometimes it is sooo much more convenient. I am learning to relax and realize that I shouldn't be the only one to be able to bend the rules (I always use the front door). Despite my desperate campaign to bar most everyone from using this entry, I have found myself adding a wooden screen door to my list of wants for the summer. Somehow, the sound of a child racing out the door to catch the bus, or join his/her friends... coupled with the inevitable squeak and slam of the wooden screen door...conjures up images of country for me. The sound is familiar, and if I close my eyes and concentrate, I can almost smell apple pie baking, hear the sound of little girls singing skipping rhymes, and bicycles skidding to a stop on gravel.

photo: Landstil.com

If you live in a home where everyone comes in the out door, take a deep breath, close your eyes and go to my "happy place". Because someday that door will be quiet, and the skipping ropes and rubber boots will all go away...and perfection will seem like a sorry alternative to the happy sounds of a family at play.

photo: House to Home

Second Chances...

Today we send up thanks for being allowed to continue on with the journey of raising this child...and we quietly reflect on this day, three years ago, and celebrate second chances that we are so grateful for. We make a fuss of our youngest son on this day ever since his accident. This year, he said that it was no big deal to him. The innocence of youth...We simply explained that it is special to us because April 24th could have meant something very grim to us had things gone differently that day. Instead, it means that we get to go forward with our lives as a family of five...with healthy children. I simply pray that this fortune continues and that my children live long, happy lives. Isn't that the prayer of every parent?

A one-room schoolhouse...under the stairs!!

I either have a future fashion stylist, business woman, or teacher on my hands. My little girl seems to flip flop between the three career choices...so being a being a good mama, I try to "support" her in each of the roles. She loves clothes, jewellry, and most of all shoes, so to humour her in that regard, I dutifully buy her pretty clothes, take her to ladies shoe stores to try on "grown-up" shoes, and most of all smile at her attempts to be more stylish than me, which isn't difficult given the lack of trendy style choices in my wardrobe.

She has also recently taken a shine to the white marker board in our office and will often entertain herself while her daddy is working, by drawing pictures and doing sums on the board. The other day, my husband announced that we should bring this board upstairs in order for her to have easier access to it. I casually agreed and thought no more of it until later that day.

I was spring cleaning our finished basement which includes the family room, boys' bedrooms, and bathroom. It also includes, however, a little "room under the stairs" which we had, up until then. simply filled with an overflow of toys and blankets. As I mucked it out, a lightbulb went off and I realized that it would be the perfect spot for a school room/office to foster her teaching/business skills! We had outfitted the space with a wall light and fully finished it with carpet and paint, so it was literally a blank canvas awaiting inspiration.

In my previous homes, we have always finished the space underneath the main stairs as a playhouse for the kids. We simply dry-walled the nook, after framing a child-sized doorway and window (no glass) for it. We always added a covered light, carpeted the area, and furnished it with either their toy work bench or kitchen and a mini chair or two. It also provided the perfect spot for hide-and-seek, puppet shows, or simply a cozy place to snuggle up and "read" a book. In this house, we kept it simpler; and decided to either create built-in shelving or store things like our vacuum or fold-up cot for little overnight friends. Up until Friday, however, it was simply a dumping ground for the miscellany of our lives!

Keeping with my decorating for free theme, I poked around in our basement storage area and found some things to use to create the little school room: I hung up her beloved whiteboard, added a little table to hold her collection of stamps, stamp pads, envelopes, calculator and other teacher/office needs. I hauled in the school desk that was cluttering up her brother's room, and threw a yellow sheet over the box that holds my wedding dress - creating the perfect ledge for an abacus, basket of funky coloured pencils, and the like. I tacked up some of her artwork, and hung a curtain on a shower rod to allow her "privacy" and to hide the space when needed. I surprised her with the little room after school and with delight, she hurriedly invited a little friend over to be her pupil. Simple... easy... and it used up some "junk" that had been cluttering up our basement - junk that we weren't quite ready to get rid of just yet.

What about you? Do you have a little nook you can repurpose to inspire creativity in your little ones?

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disclaimer: I actually don't give a hoot what my sweet daughter does when she grows up, providing she lives a happy life, is in a role that fulfills her, and...as long as she lives near me!!

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