Friday, February 27, 2009

rideau antiques

You have to see this place in person to believe it. It may be the craziest antique store I have ever seen. It is jam packed, inside and outside, and in all the outlying buildings. I forgot to bring my camera {and Mellisa had only enough battery power for two pictures - this is one of her and I, below}, but you can check out some photos here {Renee found this blog, More Kisses Please, that has great photos}.

Renee introduced Mellisa and I to Rideau Antiques last weekend...

I found these big spools {I just like them...I don't know why. They will probably go in my scrapbooking room}...

and I am sure we will go back to this shop {I have to see what is under all the piles and piles and piles, when the snow melts}. It is just outside of Smiths Falls, so we stopped in at Tomorrow's Treasures and the quilt store across the street {where I picked up some fabric, finally, for my fabric book swap...now to get started on that project...}.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

more Winterlude

This past Sunday, we wanted to check out more of the Winterlude festivities, so we bundled up and headed to Dow's Lake...


We checked out some of the snow sculptures on the lake...

and then skated on the Canal...

We convinced R to skate a bit further by promising him a BeaverTail if he skated all the way to this stand, that is located right on the ice...

{So funny, just found this link about Obama having a BeaverTail on his recent visit to Ottawa}

After our day on the ice, we skated over to the Mexicali Rosa's in Dow's Lake Pavilion, where we shared some guacamole...

and watched the skaters outside! {Miss S didn't want to skate today because she was still not feeling great, so we pushed her around in the stroller, but she has been learning to skate this winter}. Such a fun day, and it was topped off being invited to a wonderful dinner at Jill's.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

shhhhh....

Miss S having a nap is a very rare occasion these days! I caught her snoozing on the couch the other day while she was watching Dora. She needs her rest, because once again, she is sick. Just the same cough and cold we keep getting over and over, but when is it going to end? The helpful doctor we went to see said "Welcome to the Ottawa Valley. This is the land of the allergy and asthma"! Thanks dude. I hope this is just us getting used to the change in climate, elevation...or something here, and not what we can expect every winter!

I have been a bad blogger, so here is the quick 'catch-up'... Last week there were plenty of play dates! Lee Ann has been bringing her daughter over to play with Miss S while R is at school. We played with Renee and Claire one afternoon. And played with R's classmate E and his little sis, the other Miss S, one day too.

And going back to Valentine's day... Our contractor started work in the basement - we are having the walkout developed with a playroom/TV room area. K and Ian hid in the garage all day installed our new garage door openers, while Jill and I baked cookies with the kiddies...

and made a lasagna dinner for everyone. Sarah also came over and joined us. And the contractor too! Not quite a romantic Valentine's dinner, but it was a good time!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

girls night out

to see...
Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Friday night Jill, Jen, Sarah and I hit the theatre.
Enjoyed the books.
Enjoyed the movie.
It is a fun, entertaining chick flick.
Obviously not to be taken seriously.
But perfect for a girls night out!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

luv day

R wanted to make a special Valentine for his teacher...


and he was thrilled to pass out Valentine's at school! He came home with a heart-shaped mailbox full of Valentines from his friends. How sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day!



{and Happy Birthday to Kelly! We had a great time at your birthday dinner! I am waiting not so patiently for news of your special delivery...!}

Friday, February 13, 2009

now we're cookin'

We finally have our oven! And to put it to good use right away, the kiddies and I baked some Valentine's treats, at the same time as I was baking chicken and roasted veggies...oooh I love a double oven...

and Miss S still loves cuppy-cakes...

She was a little heavy-handed with the red sprinkles when we were decorating...

And finally what you have all been waiting for {no wait...just I have been waiting for it, and waiting, and waiting}...

How nice to finally have an oven!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

52 sketches...

When I was scrapbooking at Kelly's this week, I was admiring some of her recent layouts. She has been following a blog that provides weekly scrapbooking inspiration, 52 Sketches 52 Weeks. I love the idea of getting more scrapbooking done with a little help from some sketches, so I am going to start using their sketches too...thanks Kelly!




I still love Becky Fleck's Page Maps too, for when I am stuck on a layout and need some help getting creative!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

winterlude

This past Saturday we played in the snow at Winterlude {Canada's Winter Celebration}, with Jill & her family, on opening day. We checked out the activities at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau... We went sliding on the larger-than-life snow slides...

wound our way through a huge snow maze, visited Scooby Doo in the Teletoon area {R is a huge fan of Scooby Doo lately, when the Scooby Doo mysteries are on TV he is glued to the screen!}...

admired all the snow sculptures...


and did some tubing.

Of course, it would not be an authentic Ottawa experience without indulging in another famous tradition, the BeaverTail...


and then we headed home to warm up! We had planned on seeing the ice sculptures and doing some skating on the Canal the next day, but the warm weather and melting snow put some of the Winterlude activities on hold, I think.
I don't think Miss S minds that we decided to stay out of the snow the next day, she'd had enough of the white stuff by the time we left the park...

Happy Winter!

Friday, February 6, 2009

rocketman

I have tickets to see Elton John in concert again!!! I am SO excited...I am singing Elton to the kiddies and adding more Elton to my Playlist right now. I {heart} Elton John}!


This concert is Face 2 Face: Elton John & Billy Joel...


June 1 at Scotiabank Place. It was just announced very recently and tickets went on sale this morning. I saw Elton in concert, back home a couple years ago, and it was a fabulous show.

I can't wait for this one...

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

conversations with a 4 year old

The other morning R and I noticed some animal prints in our backyard. We were trying to guess what they were.




Mommy: A deer?
R: No, they are too close together. Not four legs.
Mommy: A bunny?
R: No {laughing at me}. They are all in one line.



Hmmmm....



R: I know! It's a flamingo.
Mommy: Sure. I bet there are lots of flamingos in Ontario.


{This is R, showing the footprints to Miss K and Baby G later that day, when I was baby-sitting them for Jill}

The other great conversation I had with R recently involved him trying to decide on his career path. He was sitting at the table drinking his apple juice. And he was telling me he knew how they made apple juice. It was very technical.

So R decided he wants to be 'the guy who makes apple juice' when he grows up. I said I thought that was a wise choice.

But then R changed his mind...he said he might want to be 'some one that helps people that are in trouble'. He said 'maybe a fireman'.

I would probably worry less about him as an apple juice maker than a fire fighting tough guy, but I'm good with whatever he decides!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

almost done

the living room..

{we have really high ceilings all throughout this house - I think they must be 10'...maybe I should start measuring things...that would help in decorating!}

I just need to hang some art.
And chase a little monkey out of there...

And figure out what type of window covering I want on the bay window. Any suggestions...?

Monday, February 2, 2009

i love my sink

I really do.
As much as a person can love a sink...

That is my farmhouse sink {at our walk-thru, so no furniture in yet. The backsplash and sink are more of an off-white in person but look really bright in this photo}.

I have been getting requests from back home, for photos of our new house, but I do not want to take photos before the house is unpacked...and well, clean. It is taking longer than I thought to get things organized!

I also love, love, love the view of the trees in our yard {that I can stare at, while standing at my sink washing dishes}. And love my green bead board island.

I do not love the fact that I still have no stove. {It would be wrong to publicly bash GE appliances on my blog, right? So I will not do that}.

I am in desperate need of some light fixtures in my kitchen {for your viewing pleasure I have cropped the bare light bulbs out of the photo}. I am on the hunt for some vintage school house-type lights for the bulkhead above the island, and the kitchen chandelier of my dreams... I'll let you know how it goes.

Here are the new bar stools in a distressed black paint...

And here you can see our new kitchen table {a big 7' farm table, up close it is all crackly and distressed}. Please ignore the bare light bulbs and soon-to-go builder light fixture...

I designed the little hutch area you see behind the table - it has a bead board backsplash {the rest of the kitchen has off-white subway tile}. I need to figure out what I want in the hutch - right now it just has some glassware and dishes in it - but I think I am going to move that and put more decorative things behind the glass.

I love looking at photos of people's homes, in magazines and online. I hope you liked this little peek into my kitchen. As I add and change things I will update my photos here!

more kitchen

My coffee area...

I changed the door to the laundry room to a french door, to let more light through...

The last part of the kitchen is the area where we had a custom hood fan made...but I will have to take photos after {or if} our oven ever arrives!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

the big chill

It has been just freezing here lately, and the snow never stops falling. But it did not stop these two...

from wanting to play outside. On Saturday, we went to Renee's for a little sledding in her backyard. Mark makes a big hill, and pathways that look like a bobsled track {only in Ontario can you sled in your own yard with the snow you shovelled off your driveway}! And you should see his tunnels in the front yard {the snow was piled higher than our SUV}...R wanted to sleep in one overnight {he might have been a bit chilly, it was -29 that day}!

Here is Mark launching R...

{I know the photo would have been better taken from in front of my child...but this was the best angle I could get, through the window, considering my location inside Renee's warm kitchen}!


Note to self: must go buy snowshoes asap...