Terrific Tot Tuesday: Hot Fun in the Sun!

I have to admit I have been completely side tracked from blogging since the amazing weather arrived! And to help me get in the swing of things I need your help! Today I want to create a list, with the help of your added comments, of all the things Moms, Dads, Families do together during our short Canadian summer. I'm not looking for anything elaborate, just simple things like picnics, or playing soccer - the sky is the limit!

So help me out! Leave a comment describing what simple things you do during the summer! Who knows, maybe we'll inspire one another to try some new things!

Thanks for reading and leaving your comments!

Thursday Doodle: Repainting Furniture

I'm trying my best to give hubby and I a master bedroom to relax in, and eliminate the buffet of leftovers that seems to describe it more fittingly. We had an old dresser that last summer I sanded and tried to restain - it looked TERRIBLE after all was said and done. It was also one of the hottest summers, I was almost 8 months pregnant, and I didn't feel like trying again. I decided to try again, but paint it, not stain. I'm soo happy with the results. I have some small touch ups that I'll try to tackle today, but for the most part I think it looks pretty good. I also got new hardware to spruce it up. The top drawers had big handles like the rest of the unit. I decided to change it up a bit and wood filled the existing holes from the old hardware and just put a single knob for the top drawers. I apologize though as I didn't take any before shots (some friends will remember this set of drawers though!)

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by.

Terrific Tot Tuesday: Kids' Parties the Finale

This past weekend Kman celebrated his bday - we had a great time with family and friends! And I have to say, I'm a big fan of the morning party...gives you the rest of the day to enjoy and do what you want!

Here are some pics:

Sorry about the quality of the pics! Overall, really happy with how everything turned out. As I mentioned, this was my first time making a fondant cake, and as there are no molds for the characters faces, I had to free hand cut them myself!

Whatever you're celebrating be creative, put your own mark on it, and above all have fun!
Thanks for reading.

Terrific Tot Tuesday: Kids Parties Part II

I mentioned last week that our family had some busy, exciting and creative parties coming up; two have passed so far! On Saturday we attended our niece's first birthday party. It was so well done! Our niece's name starts with the letter B, and to celebrate her big day, she had a Bee themed birthday party! My sister in law had the party girl dressed as a bee (which she happily kept on, antennas, wings and all!), made a birthday banner, made a two tiered yellow and black fondant cake (which looked and tasted amazing!), had a bumble bee craft for the older kids, and cake dipped in yellow with black piping as the give aways for the kids.

Then, our youngest had his Baptism. Like my brother and sister in law, you want to ensure everyone has satisfied bellies (and they delivered, with salads to accompany their BBQ). I may have come a little short in this department! I had planned on 20 family members coming and made three lasagnas earlier in the week, froze them, and added time for cooking according to the recipe books instructions...and waited...and the guests waited...and we waited some more; the lasagnas ended up taking almost an hour and a half to cook!

With all these parties here's the scoop; planning helps! Both parties were not whipped together over night. Ensure you know your numbers, and plan accordingly for food, party favours and maybe some activities little guests might get involved in to keep them entertained while they wait for food!

Kman's second birthday party is this coming weekend. Planning has been in the works for sometime. Here are some shots of some things I've been working on, inspired by other blogs (I will list next week) I read, and some of my own ideas too:




Hand painted buckets for serving food. The buckets were from Michaels for just $1.50 each!




The visors were also from Michaels. This weekend they had them on sale for 2 for $2, regular price $1.50. I also bought some large foam pieces that I used to cut out the eyes and accessories. I am planning that this as an art activity for the little guests, and put some together to show how it should look (or could look, with the imagination of little people) in the end.



Yesterday, Kman and I were outside drawing on the driveway enjoying the amazing weather - I got inspired by his birthday and drew these for him. Can you guess the theme for his big day???

Stay tuned for next week for the outcome of the party and more pictures!
Thanks for stopping by.

Wainscoting - The End Result!

A few weeks ago I wrote about how we were adding character into our front entrance by adding wainscoting with mdf boards; this process was similar to the treatment we did for the wall panelling in the office. And here is the final result:

I absolutely love the look of the panelling, so much I would like to extend this further into the house. What we were both surprised by was how long this process took compared to the wall panelling in the office. We removed the old base boards, put up 8 inch mdf on the bottom, and then another 4 inch base board on top of that. then we framed with 4 inch mdf to get the look. We finished it off with a piece of trim for a chair rail. What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Community Clean Up

While out for my walk this morning I came across a sign saying there would be a community clean up for all the parks in Brooklin. Last week in Brooklin we had a horrible storm pass though, which also happened to be garbage and recycling pick-up. The amount of garbage and debris that ended up on lawns, in parks, and on streets was disturbing. My husband was picking up trash on our part of the street last weekend just trying to help with some of the clean up. Now, I think most would agree, we don't need a special day to do a yard or park clean up. Lets all do our part and help make our communities shine. If you notice something that needs to be thrown out, do it! And hey, if you want, come out Saturday and help clean up the parks too!

Thanks for reading.

Terrific Tot Tuesday: Kids' Parties Part I

Our family has a few celebrations coming up for the young ones, and I thought I'd share with you some of the tips for throwing a great bash. First things first - invites! This year I wanted to be a little more environmentally friendly, and wanted to send the invite electronically, so I want on Etsy and searched for sellers who designed jpeg invites that could be used online and later I could print one hard copy as a keep sake. Check out Etsy - there is a great selection of creative invites to meet the needs of your theme, and occasion. I also had a friend who found eBay helpful for this too. And the price is fantastic. Between $5-$10 you can get a custom made invitation to match the theme of your party. Kman is having an Elmo themed party, so there was no problem finding many sellers with Sesame Street themed invitations!

Here are some great samples from Etsy:

Once the invites out (I try to give about a month's notice), then it's time to organize! Think about your theme and then work around that. think of colours, activities, and food that will entertain your guests. I have been researching a lot for Kman's party. I found a great blog called Karas Party Ideas that has many kid theme ideas, and a lot of creativity as well. This website has got me making craft activities, banners, and baking up a storm!

Speaking of baking, my sister in law is also planning a bumble bee themed bday party. She made this amazing fondant cake for a Dora birthday party, and has inspired me to learn how to make one myself. Check out her Dora cake:

She recommends baking your cakes ahead and freezing them, making them more moist when served. A couple of days ahead of your celebration is when you create your coloured fondant and shapes...but stay tuned for more details on the cake. I get my tutorial from her this week!

So whatever you're celebrating happy planning!
Thanks for reading.



Delights: Weddings

Friday's big Royal Wedding got me nostalgic, and had me thinking to a few years back. I loooved our wedding, and was so happy with how everything turned out. Watching the newly weds reminded me of how love starts, and how weddings are the first of many amazing things to come. So here's to happy days and events in our lives!

Thanks for reading!