Movie Night : )

Hey All . Hope you had a fabulous week! Mine wasn't too shabby. I'm sure you're looking forward to the weekend. I know I am. Even though I've been on holidays the past two weeks, it's still nice when the weekend comes. And Friday night calls for a movie. This is gonna be a movie night with just me and Matthew. McConaughey that is. LOVE him! He's my fav! Just a little trivia for ya - he and I share the same birthday, not year, just the day, November 4th. Nice, huh?  : )

Yep, I'm watching The Lincoln Lawyer all by myself. Well, maybe Mr. CC will join me, but I don't mind watching alone. ; )  I've been wanting to see this since before it came out. I even rushed out and bought the book a week before it opened, but then I was told I should actually see the movie first because it wouldn't be as suspenseful if I already knew what was going to happen. So, I've had the unread book since March. I'll have to start reading it tomorrow.

So, what are your plans tonight? Have you seen or read the Lincoln Lawyer? If so, how'd you like it?

I'm off to get the little one ready for bed. Then I'll be popping some popcorn and puttin' on my movie. Yay, movie night!! Have a good one.  : )

After the Storm...

Summer in Calgary and thunderstorms go hand in hand. We can have a beautiful , warm sunny day and by the evening, we're paying for it in the form of a thunderstorm. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE them, but they sure do give the plants a beating. Earlier this month our peonies that run along about 25 ft of our driveway were in full bloom. The weather had been rainy when they first opened and I never got a chance to get out and take pictures of them. Two days after they bloomed, we had a MASSIVE hail storm and they were completely destroyed. It was pretty sad actually. Half of them were laying down on the driveway, petals all over the place. What ones weren't completely beaten up, were bruised and tattered looking. So my idea of doing a post about our gorgeous flowers was washed down the sewer drain that day.

This happened last week, minutes after I'd finished the first coat of paint on the shelf I was painting for the sunroom. Before this was taken it was warm and sunny. The storm took about 40 minutes to pass over and after that it was warm and sunny again. Crazy!! 

Not only do our flowers get beaten up, but our weeping birch out front does too. After every storm you can look outside and see a sea of twigs and small branches blanketing the lawn. Most times I just go about picking them up and throwing them with the rest of the kindling for our fire pit. Today however, I looked out there and got an idea. Bring some inside and put 'em in a vase. Hmm... would that look ok? Let's find out.  : )  

I started with a vase I recently picked up at a thrift store for a couple bucks. This was just 

a little experiment to see if I liked the look enough to follow through. Me likey so far! 

Then I grabbed some twigs from the yard, got out some floral foam and dried moss. 

First I cut a piece of the floral foam and pushed it into the bottom of the vase. Then I started shoving 

the twigs into the foam, it holds really well. As I went along I began adding the moss. 

Here's a shot of the moss. I love the texture of it all! You'll notice the plant next to it 

magically disappears in the reveal picture. It just wasn't doing it for me. 

Ta da!! 

Ms. A declared that it was beautiful when I set it on the table. She's was also making sure I was taking pictures for my blog while I was putting it together.  : )  Such a cutie. Anyway, what do you think? I'm liking it for the now. We'll see how long it stays there. I just wanted something with a bit of height for the corner. There had been a couple of antique crates stacked there with a tall plant on top. Ever since I moved them and put this side table there it's felt empty in that corner. So the twigs will stay until I start moving things around, again. 

Have you made anything from twigs for your space? If so, please share. I'd love to see it!

Sharing with: 

Funky Junk Interiors 

Changes in the Sunroom

Hi There. Many of you have already seen our garage turned sunroom. Well, this past week while I was on holidays, or staycation if you will, I added a few new accessories. The first was a shelf above the TV. This is what it looked like before.

Not to shabby for a room that was once a garage! Don'tcha think? : )  Well, I wanted more room to display things. So up with the shelf. It was one that we'd had sitting in the actual garage side of our garage. It needed some serious help and only stayed up for a few days before I took it 

down to give it a fresh coat of paint. Here's what it looked like before. 

Lots of water stains and some sort of mark that resembled the bottom of a paint can. 

Kinda gross, huh? 

So I took it down, sanded, and started painting. This was after the first coat. It already looks
a zillion times better! I used the same paint that we used on the folding wooden chairs in the room.
Last night I did the second coat to finish it. This afternoon I sanded it a bit to give it a
shabby, beach cottage look. And here it is now. 

Much better! Did you notice the addition of my new bird on the right? Love it! $5 at a thrift
store. I've seen similar ones at Pottery Barn, they started a $25 for a small one! And I
have to say, mine is better looking. : )

There's a couple new pieces I put up on the wall. On the right, a basket I picked up for $1 at a thrift store. Under that is a paper umbrella in a nice dark aqua color. On the left I hung my textured bag, and the little boat used to be on the right. The other walls got some new accessories too. Where the textured bag used to be is now home to four cooper cookies cutters in sea life shapes. They were a gift from my mom years ago. I love them and a can't wait for the copper to get all weathered looking.  : )

The little boat hangs above the love seat that's on the right. That was a Kijiji find for $5. It's soo cute! 

I'm still not quite sure what I want in it, but the shells are ok for now. The little bottle has sand in it from the British Virgin Islands. It was a gift from Ms. E's mom, Ms. J, after she'd taken a trip there. 

One last look. I'm really happy with all the little changes I've made. Sometimes I can't believe I'm outside when I'm in there. It's soo cozy and homey. We just love it! So what do you think of the shelf addition?

If you'd like a look at the entire sunroom please click here. 

Sharing with:

Michele @ Primp's Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays

Sarah @ A Beach Cottage's Good Life Wednesday

Debbie @ Debbiedoo's Newbie Party

Gina @  The Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday

DaNita @ Delightful Order's Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

Shaunna @ Perfectly Imperfect's DIY Furniture Makeovers

Courtney @ French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday

Vanessa & Heather At The Picket Fence's Inspiration Friday

Wendy @  The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday

Jenn & Jenna w/ Saturday Spotlight

Summertime Salads

Hello again! Hope you had a great day. Ours was very quiet and relaxing. I even had a little nap! I'm back now to share a couple salads I made up for dinner today. I bbq'd some chicken and these went perfectly. I love summertime cookin'!

First on the menu is a tomato and cucumber salad. Healthy, quick, easy and delicious.

Here's what you'll need: 

2 tomatoes

1/2 long english cucumber

1/4 of a red onion

dressing of your choice

(I chose roasted red pepper & parmesan. It has only 1 gram of fat per serving and is 

sooo tasty!! I use it all the time. Can't you tell by the nearly empty bottle?)

Here's the tough part of making this salad, the chopping.  : )  Chop everything into bite size pieces. 

Wasn't that hard? Phew, I'm exhausted! : )  Last, mix in about 1/4 cup of dressing, more or less to your taste. Cover and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour. The longer the better, the tomato and cucumber really soak up the flavor. And if you like, transfer to a cuter serving bowl. 

Doesn't that look like summer in a bowl? I love this salad! It's soo light and fresh tasting. 

On to our next salad, classic potato. Mmm!! Now bare with me. I never measure, except when I bake, but I'm pretty good at eyeballing amounts. 

Here's what you'll need: 

8 potatoes

4 eggs

1/4 of a red onion

3/4 - 1 cup mayo 

(I use the 1/2 the fat kind.)

about 1 tsp mustard

1/4 - 1/3 cup relish

pepper

First we have to peel and chop the potatoes. Yes more chopping, and we're not done yet. Put potatoes into a large pot and fill with water. Now I'm gonna tell you a little cooking secret, shh. When you fill the pot with water, put in extra water, then add your eggs and cook them in the same pot!! Wow, I know! Once your potatoes are tender, 10 -12 minutes, your eggs are done too! This little tip works when making macaroni salad too. Tricky.  ; )

Aren't my arrows helpful? : ) 

 While those are boiling you get to chop some more. Finely dice the onion. Once your potatoes are done, drain them and set the eggs aside in a dish with cool water. Be careful handling them, they're hot! Put the potatoes into a large pot. Next add the mayo, mustard, relish, and onion. After that your eggs should be cool enough to handle. Chop them up, toss 'em in and gently mix it all together. Keep in mind that the potatoes are still hot and extra tender, so the can get mushy if you're stirring too hard. Transfer to serving bowl, cover and chill for at least two hours.

 I sprinkled on a little paprika for some added color. 

Oh yum! Doesn't that look good? I still have some in the fridge. Hmm.... 

So there you have it, two salads in one post! Aren't you lucky? I will warn you, the potato salad is REALLY good and may be addictive.  : )  

Sharing with:

33 Shades of Green 
Serenity Now
At The Picket Fence

Funky Junk Interior's Healthy Recipes Linkup
Remodelaholic's Recipe Link Party
Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays

Breakfast of Champions

Well, not really, but I thought that was catchy.  : ) This morning's post is inspired by Donna at Funky Junk Interiors. Over the past couple of weeks she's started eating cleaner, healthier, and invited us to join her. At this week's link party she asked us to share our favorite healthy recipes. I was going to, and still will be sharing a salad recipe. That'll be later today. But while I was getting the things out for my breakfast I decided to take some pics and share it too. Ms. A even wanted in on this one. She loves cooking!

This is an easy peasy breakfast to make up. You'll need cottage cheese, vanilla yogurt and canned peaches. I use the ones sweetened in juice, not syrup.

To my bowl I added about 1/2 cup cottage cheese. Then about 1/4 cup yogurt and one peach half. I think it looks like an egg. Don't you? For this dish you could use your favorite flavor of yogurt and whatever fruit you like. After watching me make this Ms. A wanted in on the fun. 

Here's what she mixed up to share with you. She chose yogurt with cut up peaches and added blue berries and sprinkled on some Vector cereal crumbs. I always save the crumbs, they're just like granola and there's at least a cup at the bottom of the bag.

And now for the taste test. She likes it!! The thumbs up and belly rub of approval.  : )

So what did you have for breakfast today? Have a great afternoon. I'll be back later tonight to share the cucumber tomato salad I'm making to go with our dinner tonight. See ya!

Linking to: 

Funky Junk Interior's Healthy Recipe Linkup 

Living Room Dreams

Evenin' All! Today has been a gray, rainy, chilly one. Our high for the day was barely above 50 degrees!! I thought about taking Ms. A to the movies, but there's not much out for a 5 year old. So, we've spent the day mostly at home. This lead me, of course, to Pinterest. While there I started looking through the living room pics I've pinned. They felt so warm, cozy and inviting. Just what I needed on a cold day like today. I thought I'd share a few with you. So grab a warm cup of tea, or iced tea if you're lucky enough to be somewhere warm.  : )  Enjoy.

I love everything about this room!! The typography on the throw pillows and ottoman. The subway art on the easel. The crates stacked as a side table. The wicker chairs... well like I said, EVERYTHING!! The two lovely ladies behind this fabulous room design are Roeshel from The DIY Showoff and Kassidy from Remodelaholic. They are competing in the Shaw Floors HGTV Home Design Challenge. I'll let you know once voting starts. I think their room should win, don't you? 

I'm loving everything in the room except that console table and glass vases. They just don't fit with the rest of the room, in my opinion. The bamboo blinds are fabulous. I'm really wanting some for my bedroom and the kitchen.

The jute rug and wicker folding screen add such a warm feel to the room. They balance out the white in the room. And roman shades are always a nice touch to a window. Who doesn't like them?

Don't you just want to pile onto these couches with your girlfriends, chatting and giggling just like you did when you were teenagers? This room is bright and soo cheery. There's not one element I don't like.

The color combo in this room is so trendy and now. I love the tradition look with the unexpected zebra rug. And those ceiling to floor drapes are soo lovely. I am swooning over the pattern on them.

all photos via Pinterest

Lastly we have this light, bright and airy room. Loving the pops of color they've created with the throw pillows. That yellow one on the slipper chair, it would look perfect on my bed.

They're all gorgeous, but I'd have to say my favorite is definitely that first one. Which one was yours? Wishing you all a happy and safe weekend. I'm looking forward to ours warming up!!

A Table for the Mr .

Hey All! After my post the other day about my cutie retro table, I was on the hunt for a side table that had a similar type of feel for Mr. CC's side of the bed. You may remember we used to have these night tables - wood, wicker, dark and a bit heavy looking compared to my new girl. My search on Kijiji paid off! I mentioned in that last post that I had found a small round brass bamboo table with a marble top and was waiting to hear back from the seller. Well I did hear back from her and boy was I happy. I picked it up and hit the Depot for another can of heirloom white to pretty it up.

Here's the so, so before. I guess it's not soo bad if you're into brass.

After one coat of paint. We're gettin' there. 

And after two coats of paint, the after!! 

Isn't it cool? I think the marble is a bit more masculine for Mr. CC's side of the bed. What do you think? The only thing I didn't like was how the cords hung down in the back. So I got tricky and used two twisties to secure them to the leg of the table. Yeah, sometimes I'm tricky like that! : )  

Did you notice the silver tray on the bottom? It makes a great addition to the table. Of course it was a GW find I picked up for $1. It used to look like this before I sprayed it silver. Retro/vintage cute, but not my colors. Too dark.

I'm soo pleased with how our bedroom is FINALLY starting to come together. It's only taken 11 1/2 years. Next up will be new lampshades. Today while I was at Home Depot I bought two harps for them. They don't have them and it's made finding new shades nearly impossible. There aren't many nice lampshades that slip onto the lightbulb. I'm most likely gonna get drum shades. Love those!

And here's a quick transformation of my jewellery tree that sits on my dresser. Since I was already spray painting I figured I might as well get it done too. I've been meaning to do it for a while now and I love how it turned out. You'll have to check back to see how it looks in my room.  : )

** Mr. CC is on holidays too, so once again I missed the good morning light! I should've kicked him out of bed so I could've gotten some better shots.  : )

Partyin' With: 

Shaunna @ Perfectly Imperfect's DIY Furniture Makeovers
Vanessa & Heather At The Picket Fence's Inspiration Friday
Courtney @ French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday
Kim @ Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays
Sarah @ A Beach Cottage's Good Life Wednesday
Wendy @ The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday
Gina @ The Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday