Sep 2, 2012

New Pot Lights & ATI Electric customer review

When we purchased this house, the wiring was half aluminum and half copper.  We thought, no biggie, we had it inspected and as long as it's safe, we can put off rewiring the place for a few years.  But, as we started replacing light fixtures, we came across a number of burnt wires in the ceiling and that was it.  We better get the wiring updated sooner than later.  Better safe than sorry.

So we hired ATI Electric based out of Burlington.  These guys have been amazing.  Very professional.  They have been in our house for over 2 weeks now, and I'm expecting them for another week.  It's always awkward when you have strangers in your home for days upon days, but having these guys around hasn't been bothersome at all.  They are respectful of my space, they clean up after themselves each night, and they communicate with me every morning.  Their work is detailed and meticulous. 

Check out my new pot lights....

Living room view 1

Living room view 2

Family room view 1

Family room view 2
We are also getting some new pot lights outside.  Ohhhhh, they are going to look amazing.  Can't wait until they are done!

All in all, a great experience with these guys and would recommend them in a heart beat!

Aug 30, 2012

Chair Make Over

Scooooores!!

Scored these awesome chairs at the Salvation Army a few weeks ago for just $7.50 a piece.  I had driven by the night before and saw 6 of them, but, stupidly waited until the next morning to go pick them up and only got 2.  'Tiss okay!  I am in love with the two I got!!!



Like my new "project" room?!?!?


I painted them with some left over CIL "Crisp Linen" and covered them with Ragg Tagg frabric from Tonic Living.



I'll be using these in the new office. Yea, sorry Ryan - no longer "Ryan's office".  It's now called "The Office".  I'm moving in!!

Linked Up to:
Happy Go Lucky

Aug 21, 2012

DIY Decorative Balls with Paint Chips

Sometimes I like to get a little crafty.  What can I say. 

I saw this post on Pinterest from Did Someone Say Party Site


And thought it would be a good way to get rid of some of my paint samples (I think I have over a thousand!!)  So, here's my version.






I bought some Styrofoam balls from Walmart for a buck and a Martha Stewart flower punch for about $10 bucks.  Busted out the massive collection of paint chips and went to town.





Start punching.  (Grace helped me)





Put 2 together and stuck in a pin. 





Then started decorating my balls.






And ta da




Aug 12, 2012

James's Room


James got lucky.  His room is next on the list.  I don't know why since not much in his room is bugging me.  I think I chose to do his room next because I have had this inspiration shot in my files forever, and I can't wait to execute it.

I believe I found this picture in a BHG magazine a few years ago and then tracked it down on line.  I've always been a fan of Navy and White, so here goes nothing.  The blue colour is called BLUE by Benjamin Moore, and I'll be using left over CIL Crisp Linen for the white.

I'm going to paint his tall boy dresser a light gray.  I got a quote from Paint It Like New in Burlington to have it sprayed.  It'll cost me $300, so I'm going to attempt to do it myself, and if it's horrible, I fork out the dough to have it done professionally.


I'm also going to be building his some cornices for the windows.  The windows are awkward since one goes right up against the wall.  Can't put panels, and I hate roman shades since they are difficult to pull up and down. 

So, I'll do cornices with white wood blinds.  Here are the fabrics I am considering.  Although I am sure I'll end up on Ottawa st. in Hamilton picking out something...
tonicliving.com

tonicliving.com
What else??? I'll be searching for some bedside tables to paint black and maybe a desk.  I've already got the bedding....

This is going to take a few weeks since we are getting our entire house rewired for the next 2 weeks.  All projects on hold until that's done.

:) CAIT

Aug 10, 2012

DOGGIES!!

My best bud in the entire world is my dog Marley.  He's an 80lbs Goldie Poo, and by far, the best dog in the whole world. 

What's a better inspiration...?


Source

Source  
Awesome Wallpaper!
Cutest Fabric Ever!
Source


Source
Source
I Love Dogs xoxo

Aug 4, 2012

Toy Room!

I finally finished the toy room!

Here are some Before & After pics!



 AFTER!!










What do you think???

The wall colours are CIL Apricot Brandy & Crisp Linen.  I've always painted with Behr Paint and Primer in one, but Canadian Tire had a promo on Benjamin Moore's Origins Paint & Primer, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I loved the CIL colours so they matched it for me... yea, worst paint EVER.  The gold took 4 coats and could honestly use a fifth.  Stick with what you know works.  Lesson learned.

The toy room is the first room I redid in the new house and I must say, I LOVE IT!!! And, so do the kiddies.

Anyway, that's the big reveal.  Don't know what room is next... I'm in the mood for wallpaper, so we'll see what happens...

Aug 3, 2012

Love you Dr.Laura!!




She's not everyone's favourite, but she sure is mine.  You've gatta read this interview from the Wall Street Journal (then read the comments, they are very entertaining.)

The Mommy Wars: Dr. Laura on Stay-at-Home Moms

Aug 2, 2012

Occupation: SAHM


I feel like if I had a boss, I'd be fired.  I can't keep my house clean for the life of me, there are never any groceries in the house, the laundry is piled high,   I haven't successfully cooked a good meal in days (okay, weeks), and I wear yoga pants and leggings everyday because officially, my 'fat' jeans don't fit me anymore.

This whole Stay At Home Mom thing(internet slag: SAHM) is way friggin harder than I ever imagined.  I honestly try so hard to be the perfect mom, perfect wife, and perfect maid, but this shit is hard.  Especially now, that in an effort to drop off the extra 15lbs I so easily put on with melted peanut butter over ice cream and pinot grigio dinners, I've quit drinking.

My husband comes home from his big wig job in the city and I try and talk to him about how overwhelmed I am.  His solution is for me to go back to work.  Oh, there's a friggin' genius idea.  I'll give up being the primary caregiver of my own children, work 40 hours a week, come home exhausted and STILL have to do everything I had to do when I didn't work. Why didn't I think of that???  Makes me laugh :)

 Anyway, what I am trying to say is that I am so thankful for such a beautiful family and appreciative of all the hard work my husband endures in order to provide such a life for me and the kids, but, like any big wig job, being a Mom is damn hard work.  Some days I feel like I am failing miserably, but other days I am so proud of my beautiful kids and my 10 homes I have taken such care of.  I came across this article tonight, and just had to share.  It's what inspired this non-home-decor-post.  Made me laugh out loud because it is SO true. (Source)

20 funny secrets from a stay-at-home mom

By Kathy Buckworth
Humour writer Kathy Buckworth on why being a stay-at-home mom is so annoying....oh, er, satisfying!

1. The title "stay at home" is a passive-aggressive term. There is nothing flattering, glamorous or remotely attractive about the word "stay." "Too Much Woman to Be Confined to a Cubicle Farm" works better.

2. Apparently, you are expected to be "at home" for some parts of the day; particularly those parts when children under the age of 12 are in your care.

3. Repairmen are not sexy in any way.

4. Nothing very exciting happens. But you need to talk, so the best entertainment is gossip and backstabbing. It is unavoidable and addictive.

5. People will say, "Well, its not like you're working or anything" just moments before they a) sign you up for lame volunteer duties at your child's school, b) dump their own brats on your doorstep, or c) redirect all their home deliveries to your front door (even the fertilizer order).

6. Cleaning the house is not a problem, keeping it clean is. If the house is as clean at the end of the day as it was when you started, you win.

7. You cannot be late for anything, or with anything. You have nothing else to do.

8. Your perceived intelligence drops by at least 50 IQ points. You may have run the computer science department at MIT before you decided to stay at home, but two weeks into the new job and your kids will be asking Dad for help on the family computer.

9. You have no excuse for not exercising.

10. You have no excuse for not eating a healthy lunch.

11. You can be truly bored at the same time you are acknowledging that you could be exercising, cleaning the house or watching someone else's kids.

12. The minute you resign form your old position, they promote it to a higher level, increase the salary and bestow a fabulous new title on that bitch who took over from you.

13. Your husband either a) shirks all domestic duty, which makes you mad, or b) doesn't shirk any, making you feel guilty. Yay! Something new to fight about!

14. Your children expect you to be at their beck and call. Even in the middle of an emergency manicure, one is expected to drop everything and rush to the school over a perceived "sore stomach."
15. You now have time to launder the sheets.

16. Even after 5 p.m., drinking with only children in the house is still considered to be "drinking alone." What, you had a hard day or something?

17. Your children are no better behaved simply because you're the primary caregiver now. In fact, most often, they're worse.

18. If you dress nicely, neighbours are suspicious. If you dress like a slob, you've let yourself go. If you dress too old, you're middle-aged before your time. If you dress too young, you're a slut.
19. Teachers expect you to be on top of the notes they send home.

20. You're not supposed to be too tired for sex anymore.



Excerpted from Journey to the Darkside: Supermom Goes Home by Kathy Buckworth. Copyright 2007 by Kathy Buckworth. Excerpted with permission from Key Porter Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
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