Counting Down to the New Year...

As we reflect today on what all that 2012 has given us...and count down the seconds to the New Year...

I always feel a little bit melancholy leaving the old year behind.  It's not that I'm not looking forward to all that 2013 has to offer, I think its more feeling that I should have gotten so much more accomplished in my life in the past year.  2012 was an amazing year for me - it was the year of normal - and normal is definitely good!
TREMENDOUS, even!!

For me 2009/2010 was the year(s) of Leukemia.  2011 was the year of Stem Cell transplant and healing. And 2012 brought a normalcy back to not only my life, but also to the lives of the people who share my life. I have been able to tackle projects that a few years ago I felt that I would never be able to do again.

So as we take this leap tonight into 2013 I want to SHOUT a huge THANK YOU to all of you here following along...may the New Year bring you JOY and HAPPINESS and HEALTH!!

Cheryl

Boxing Day Snow...

We had our first big snowfall of the season yesterday.  This is the view out of our patio doors in the kitchen.

A good 5 inches of snow fell, making the roads slippery and not so much fun...but it sure looks pretty in my yard...

I am not a fan of snow, even though I should be used to it, having lived here in Ontario my whole life.  

But day after Christmas snow seems prettier some how...

 I'm staying in today, cleaning up clutter and getting some laundry done, and  contemplating taking

the Christmas decorations down.

Is there snow where you are?  Do you LOVE it or HATE it???  I'd love to know!

Cheryl

JOY to the World!

Wow - can you believe that it's Christmas Eve already???

McG and I are doing some visiting tonight and the next few days will be crazy here as I am sure they will be for all of you...I have been hanging out on Pinterest quite a bit lately and what I have been seeing alot of is "JOY" in Christmas decorating.

It's a happy word and I knew I wanted to add it somewhere in my decorating.   I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off - because I didn't want to ask McG to be involved in this one.  I also wanted to complete this project with little to no money.  I knew I wanted to add it in my kitchen, so I dug around in our spare room to see what I had on hand to get this project done.  This is what I came up with...

This is mac-tac or shelf-paper, with a sticky backing.  It's a pretty taupe colour with a silvery blue flourish.

This was very easy to work with and would be removable from wherever I put it.   I thought about adding it to my kitchen cupboards, but then went with it on my patio door.  

The pictures were hard to take considering its still daylight outside...I am really looking forward to this evening and taking a few more.  This was very simple.  I just free-hand drawing the letters, but you could

print out different fonts on your computer and then trace them on and cut them out.  Simple, fun and it took only minutes to complete.

This is my last holiday project...now its time to sit down and enjoy with family and friends.

I want to take this opportunity to say thanks for all of you following on the blog and facebook.  I started this little blog not long ago, wondering if I would have any followers at all.  I am so looking forward to hearing from you in 2013 and sharing our projects and ideas with you.

From McG and Me - MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Cheryl

Really, You Want Me to Install That Today???

McG and I spent some time today running errands and checking out some last minute sales...We ended up at Canadian Tire, which is not the place he likes to take me...you see- I LOVE CANADIAN TIRE!!!  I love that its a one stop shop...and we go often for deals on paper towels and cat litter ( I know, not exciting) but they have a great housewares department and they have crazy deals all the time that aren't always advertised.

We went in actually looking for some hot chocolate for our Tassimo, 'cause I know that they have a big selection of the disks there.  They were out of stock though.  So as not to waste the trip, McG wandered off into the hunting section (as he always does) and I wandered off to see what the deals were in the back of the store. That's where they hide the really good deals - and that's where I found this...

made by Peerless...

It was regularly priced @ $179.99 - on sale for $71.99 - and, for me, that sealed the deal!    That baby was in my cart ASAP!! However,  I must have been taking too long, because before I knew it McG was standing beside me with a look on his face.  I'm sure you know the one...the one that says - "It's 2 days before Christmas, I'm off on holidays from work, and you want me to install that today???"  So I said - "doesn't everyone get a new faucet for Christmas!" (No I didn't but I wanted to!)  At $108.00 off the regular price I just wanted to buy it with the intention of installing it after the holidays.  We had actually seen this one below at IKEA a few weeks back and we both thought it would make a nice addition to our kitchen...

...but we really, really didn't like the price tag... @ $199.99 US -  I knew we could get the look without spending that much money.  One thing I didn't account for though, was the shelf I had mounted below my window in the kitchen...

I loved that little shelf.  Our window ledges are not wide enough for a plant or any other decorative elements, so this shelf gave me some more space to decorate.  Needless to say though, it was the first thing to go in order to make room for that new faucet.  Here it is half-way through the install process.  (this picture really doesn't show the holes left from the shelf)

and here it is fully installed with the shelf gone and the putty on the wall to fill the holes where the shelf was.

It looks great and I love that McG installed it today...but it looks like there will be some drywall sanding going on here tomorrow (Christmas Eve) and maybe even some painting...NEVER A DULL MOMENT HERE!  

In fact, we can't even do dishes because our hot water tank went on the fritz this morning and the company we rent it from can't send a repairman until sometime tomorrow afternoon...like I said, never a dull moment!!!

Do you like my new faucet?  Is anyone else out there installing something new or finishing a project just 2 days before Christmas??

We'd LOVE to hear from you!

Cheryl

Mirror, mirror - on the wall!

If you are a fan of The Creative Me and My McG on Facebook - last week you would have seen this sneak peek..

I scored two of these beauties last week at Homesense for $15.00 as the sticker clearly shows (actually I'm quite pleased with myself for getting such a great picture of the sticker without it being fuzzy - a new camera is on my Christmas wish list)..Anyway - back to the reason I was so excited about this find...We have pretty much finished the living room renovation, but I still had a HUGE blank wall above the couch...

I was looking for something different and had been on pinterest for awhile when I spotted these lovelies...

                                                                                source

                                                                                source

                                                                              source

I knew my beauties would look lovely like these mirrors do...horizontal on the wall over my couch.  McG was a little skeptical because after all the mounting hardware that came on the mirrors was for a vertical hang.  But once I showed him these "pins" he could see the look I was going after.  My mirrors are smaller than those in the pictures above, but I really love the way they look in the room...

The are a lovely finish to our living room...for now (lol) - because, really is any room ever finished?!

Cheryl

What I've been doing this weekend...

...working on some last minute gifts...

...so grateful for all the people in my life...

Cheryl

Christmas Vignettes...

Vignettes...is a word  that seems to be "buzzing" in blogland lately...

So - not to be left out - I'm showing you all the Christmas vignettes around my home.  Christmas decorating here has taken a more subdued tone...in small doses all around the house.

The wreath on our front door has changed from this scarf wreath...

to this...pine cones and sugared fruit on an evergreen and grapevine base.  Simple and elegant but not over-the-top.

The entryway table has only a few baubles..a couple of ornaments and a white metal 6-point star.

Moving upstairs finds a vignette on top of the sideboard...I showed you how I made that here.

A small tree and an old photo of the kids with Santa in the living room on the media cabinet...(shhh...don't look at the mess in the background on the kitchen counter!!!)

Heading downstairs...4 penguins my daughter won at a Christmas raffle when she was in elementary school.  They stand guard every year here in the entryway.

Now vignettes in the family room...JOY, PEACE, LOVE on the mantel.

And my favourite Christmas vignette of all - our new tree inside our antique trunk!  This is a popular trend now, using unconventional containers to hold your tree.

...but now a vignette that I haven't shown you yet...NUTCRACKERS!!

These are on a side table in our family room.

and not to be forgotten...Christmas vignettes in the bathroom - with RUBBER DUCKIES!

In a boat in our nautical themed bathroom, these duckies were a gift and I love to include them in my decorating each year. 

and lastly - a small vignette on the shelf over my kitchen sink.

A christmas cactus blooming in the window!

I hope you enjoyed this Christmas Home Tour and all our small vignettes.  

Are you Christmas decorating in small vignettes or in big doses??

Do you decorate your bathroom for Christmas?

I would love to hear from you!

Cheryl

Linking up @:        No Minimalist Here
                         5 Days...5 Ways
                               The Inspired Room
                       The Tablescaper
                       Kathe with an E
Savvy Southern Style

A Break from Holiday Decorating...(Living Room Reveal!)

I am taking a break from all things Christmas to post our finished living room.  McG celebrated his 50th last weekend and we really didn't work on any projects...except adding a rug to our living room.

Well - last week you got the reveal of the dining room - this week the living room!  I don't want to say it's "finished" - cause we all know for a home decor junky like me, a room is hardly ever done!  But it's one step closer to feeling done...This is what our living room looked like before we started our renovation.

Pear green walls with aqua accents and that orangey railing...and beige carpet that was way past its prime!

Now we've got grey blue walls, autumn oak laminate floors and white trim...and that railing is outta-here!

And here's the carpet we got for a steal of a deal yesterday at Home Depot - a golden-y chenille rug (originally way too expensive for our budget at $449) but in the sale bin for just $79!!  WOO HOO!

McG and I couldn't believe our eyes when we found it in the sale bin.  We had the sales clerk double check and sure enough it was marked down!  We quickly paid for it and got out of there before they came to their senses and changed their minds...

It has a two toned look with a soft backing that won't harm our new floors.  It also has a border of gold-y carmel which is lovely with our curtains.  Here's a closer look...

Oh, and this is our new coffee table/ottoman - that we also got on sale at Home Depot.  It really shows up now on the new carpet.  And below is a close-up of the fabric on our pillows...It reminds me of bark-cloth.

It has a mix of greens and blues that go well in our new room.

And finally here's a picture of the new wall that is now in place of the railing.  Sloan loves the new wall and likes to greet everyone from here - its so much easier for him to climb on than the old railing.

Except for some artwork over the couch, this room is finished.  I hope you enjoyed the tour of our living room renovation.

Cheryl

Dining Room Reveal

Last week I promised a post revealing the finished dining room...It's been crazy around here with decorating for Christmas and shopping and getting ready for McG's 50th birthday, which is tomorrow!  We also have had some holiday events and things to attend, so I apologize for being a little late on this reveal.

I posted this buffet vignette not that long ago - this is our old buffet...

and this is our new buffet decked out in its holiday finery...

As you can see my Christmas centerpiece (here) has made its way to another spot in the dining room.  It's a fickle thing that can't seem to find a comfortable spot.  It's first home was the ledge between the dining room and the kitchen, then it migrated to the dining room table, but it was too big to leave on the table during meals .  So, now it I think it's found its home on the new buffet.  As you can see I have an ornament wreath, which I made a few years ago using a plant ring from the garden center and a whole LOT of ornaments.  

This is the view of the dining room from the top of the stairs as you enter.

This is a view from the hallway...

And this is the view from the kitchen.
  

We are really loving our new floors and our dining room furniture.

I also added a small tree in the living room - a little alpine tree that I placed in a bucket and decorated with ornaments from the Dollar Tree.  For some reason from this angle, the tree looks like its right up against the ceiling.  In actuality, its about 2 1/2 lower than the ceiling.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our small dining room.  I can't wait to have company over to entertain tomorrow!

How's your Christmas decorating coming?  

Cheryl