The Holiday Season Begins |

This is my husband and I. We had our first Christmas party the other night with my husband's work.

I was a lot of fun. It was at a hotel downtown and the food was yummy. They also had a 'casino theme' to the night which I was originally not to thrilled about (being that I don't gamble or know how to play any of the games). But it turned out to be a lot of fun since we were all given a $500 coupon for chips and any of the money made over and above (via people paying to play) was given to the food bank.

I got the hang of Roulette and Craps! Good thing I was playing with fake money though ;D

When I took my first bite of food I declared "the Christmas Season has begun"!!

We are looking forward to all of the events and parties over this holiday season, and are looking forward to being with family and friends.

Dishwasher Clean Up |

My dishwasher is black and my other appliances are cream coloured. So when I came across this idea on 'The Yellow House' blog I fell in love with it!

I was originally thinking of putting bead board on the front of my dishwasher, but I really like this idea too.

She simply used paintable wallpaper (that you can get at Home Depot) that looks like old ceiling tile.

She then painted it the same colour as her cabinets. Click HERE for her full post about the process.

I think this would look great as it would make my dishwasher the same colour as my cabinets and would match the 'tin tile' that I will be using for my back splash.

She did mention that she wasn't 100% sure if it would stay on (due to the steam/heat the dishwasher admits). So that is definitely something to consider.

A very inexpensive and easy way to give your dishwasher a new CLEAN look! :D

Kitchen Facelift |

Photos of our new kichen reno - 75% complete!

Thanks dad and mom with all your help with the kitchen reno!

BEFORE: (image taken on the day we inspected the house before purchasing it)


MIDDLE:AFTER:

White and Yellow Flower Knobs on the two middle doors. I found them at Michale's and they match the wall paper that will be going up on the opposite wall! They add a unique touch to the cabinets! Some of the honey tins that were used as centre pieces at our wedding. And a cute little yellow glass jar purchased by my mom for $2 at a local rustic furniture shop!Retro Popcorn machine from my brother New Faucet New School House Light

Now all that is left to do is to put up the 'tin tile' back splash and the wallpaper and bead board wainscoting up on the other side of the room.

More Pictures of the other side of the room and the new faux tin back splash to come!

Mustard Seed Love |

I just came across the 'Miss Mustard Seed' blog and it is fabulous! Miss Mustard seed is so talented and has so many great ideas. This image below of her barn door mantel display is one of my favourties so far!

Check out more of her holiday ideas!!

My Blog was featured on...

"Polly Want A Crafter?"

Check out my featured post on the 'Polly Want A Crafter' blog!

Our 'Rustic Forest' Themed Christmas Tree |

Wood ornaments, grapevine garland,

little glass birds in rafia nests, metal jingle bells,

large acorns, golden pine cones,

rustic picture frame ornaments, fuzzy snowflakes,

moose and trees, quilted tree skirt made by grandma,

and an uncovnetional tree topper (that is supposed to be a wall hanging)

tied with cross stitch 'Merry Christmas' ribbon.

Get Vintage |

With KO TWO Photography. Watch this promo for KO Two Photography's Vintage line.

The Secret Sisters |

I just discovered this amazing sister singing Duo The Secret Sisters!
I love their sound and their old fashioned style!

Creative Christmas Cookies |

I LOVE Christmas baking, and this year being that I won't be in exams leading up to Christmas for the fisr time in 5 years, I hope to have more time to bake a number of different things.

In the past I have made 'Reindeer Cookies' unsing graham crackers as the head but I came across a similar cookie that uses these peanut shaped cookies for the head and thought they were so cute. So I hope to find cookies like these somewhere (I'm thinking that might be a US treat though?) but if you have ever seen them in Canada let me know.

I will probably use chocolate chips for the eyes and a sweedish berry for the nose (as that's what I used last time and they looked cute!)

I also want to do a lot of sugar cookies. I usually just do the basic icing (in different colours) and then put sliver ball sprinles on them. However this year I would like to try my hand at piping! And I really like the pastel colours like in the picture below.

I also want to use coconut on my sugar cookies. I will use white coconut on the snowmen and snoflakes and then I will die some coconut green for the on the trees (to make them look like pine needles). And then I would even use for for trimming / fur on the stocking cookies and for feathers on the angle wings. I think the coconut will bring a nice dimension to the cookies as well as a yummy texture.

I might also make my 'snowman cupcakes' again this year. they were a big hit with the kids at our family Christmas party. They too use coconut and are very easy to make. I simply made plain vanilla cupcakes with white frosting, then I dunked them in a bowl of coconut to make them look snowy. Then I used a Christmas coloured candy corn for the nose and chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth. I then glued a ribbon around the base of the cupcake to make it look like a scarf. This year I might even try sticking pretzels in in sides of the cupcake to look like the snowman's arms.

Picture of my snowman cupcake:

I would also like to try 'twist cookies' again this year. I made candy cane twist cookies a few years ago but they were way too big. This year I made try twisting the different doughs together in a straight/stick cookie (great for dipping in hot chocolates) and I will make them a lot smaller/thinner this time.

Candy Cane Twist Cookies from a few years ago:

Pictures of my 2010 cookies to come!

Cookie Jar Wars | I Need your Vote!

I wanted a retro yellow cookie jar to match my decor in the kitchen. So I typed that into E-bay and it came up with a lot of great options!
I don't know which one to choose so I thought I would ask for your vote!
Based on the way my kitchen looks in the pictures in the previous post, which cookie jar gets your vote?
Thanks for your input!

The Choices :

The Striped retro jar with Handel?
Vote 'Retro Cutie'!


The clear yellow glass antique jar with the pretty design that would match my new little glass pot?
Vote 'Antique Glass'!

The yellow milk can look that would match my old-fashioned tea kettle?
Vote 'Milk Can'!The rounded glass jar with a barrel look?
Vote 'Yellow Barrel'!
OR the Cute Bee Hive to go with all my honey tins?
Vote 'Honey'!

"A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand"

Keep an eye out for a future post to see which cookie jar will win the War to be the first and only cookie jar in my kitchen!

Our New Cabinet |

We LOVE our new cabinet!

We ordered it from Truly Wood Furniture about a month ago and have been eagerly awaiting its delivery.

I matches our table (also made by that company) perfectly!

I was SO excited to finally take out the wedding dishes from their boxes, they had been sitting in the corner of our dining room for 3 months!

I love how everything looks together, it is the dining room furniture I always dreamed of and at such a reasonable price!

Wreath Re-Creation |

I use the same grape vine wreath for every season. I simply change out the ribbon and folliage that I place on it.

Christmas 2009:

Summer 2010: Fall 2010: Christmas 2010:

Winter 2010:

I have also made an Easter wreath using branches of pastel colour eggs, a colorful summer wreath with plad ribbon and fruit, as well as a Valentines Day wreath using heart garland and a felt 'Love' word. (I don't have pictures of those wreaths).

Using a grape vine wreath with simple additions to it is an inexpensive way have a wreath for every season!

Newspaper Style Save The Date |

My newest Etsy shop offering if a newspaper style save the date.

These save the dates are not only adorable and vintage looking but are also great save the dates because your guests will get more information than just the typical 'date' and "formal invitation to follow" message.

With these save the dates your guests get a story outlining the places and locations of your wedding day, how you got engaged, some information about the style and theme of your wedding and even a quote from your as a couple describing what you are most looking forward to about your big day.

Make your save the dates more fun, exciting and personal!

I recently had a request to include the new york sky line on a couple's save the date as well as a map of the park where they will be getting married!

Contact me with your unique ideas for your save the date by visitng my Etsy Shop.

Simply Click HERE to vist the Save the Date Newspaper listing to get started.