Master Bedroom Mini Makeover

I'm sorry I've been MIA this week...I feel like I haven't posted in soooooo long...

It's been kind of crazy here this week - lots of things to get done during the day and then working on the laundry room with McG in the evenings...we are almost to the painting stage!!!

We did go shopping in Michigan this past weekend...those of you who follow on Facebook got a sneak peek of something I purchased...

I'm sure you all guessed that it was new bedding!!  When I posted the tour of our Master Bedroom, our bedding looked like this...

A lovely quilt of soft blues, greens and white.  I love this bedding and won't be getting rid of it by any means, but I wanted something a bit warmer in colour for the winter because this is definitely more of a spring and summer print.  I wasn't looking to do a big makeover and definitely wanted to keep it under $50 which is kind of hard to do when it comes to bedding.

HOWEVER...

When we were in Michigan last weekend we went to The Christmas Tree Shop...Have you ever been there??  A lovely store with much more than Christmas decorations...that's where I spotted my new LOVELY...for just $29...that's right a queen size quilt with 2 shams that came in a matching tote bag for that low price.  It had the blues in it that I wanted but also some gold and rust and a darker green - great colours for winter!

I folded the other quilt and laid it at the end of the bed and topped it with a teal coloured throw I had in the living room.  It really brings out the darker blue in the quilt.  Here's another closer look...

I also picked up 2 gold tablecloths to use as new curtains in the room...they help to bring in the gold colour from the quilt as well...and I got them for a steal!!

Can you believe that price - $2.99!!!  They were 60 inches wide so they took extra curtain rings - I used 9 on each panel.  They can easily be pulled closed at night to add some extra darkness to the room.

Our old panels were a creamy beige and will go back up when the summer bedding comes back out.  Here's a side by side look of both of the quilts.

The new quilt really brings out the "cherry" on the headboard and warms up the room.

Do you have "summer" and "winter" bedding for your room?  I think it's nice to have something different in there - especially if you can find it on a budget like I did!

Cheryl
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Organizing the Bathroom

Organization seems to be a theme this time of year out in blogland...I have been following Peter Walsh and his 31Days2GetOrganized as you know and the other day bathroom organization was the challenge...

My medicine cabinet is always neat and tidy...its the other two cabinets that tend to get over-run with stuff and out of control very easily...those are the one I tackled.  And let me tell you, it was a big job that took me  quite awhile to finish!

Here's what they looked like BEFORE I started...I could barely fit any towels in there!!

If you look closely in both cabinets I had already made a previous attempt to organize using dollar store containers...it wasn't working and what I needed to do was to PURGE!!!  I was relentless, tossing all kinds of good stuff - some things not even opened or used yet.   I kept only the brands of things I knew I would use in the next few months - and I made a VOW only to buy replacements when I needed them...no sale is a good one if you are not using the products...(HOPEFULLY I WILL BE ABLE TO STICK WITH THAT!)

Here's a few AFTER shots of both cabinets...

Gone are the multitudes of hairsprays that didn't hold my hair...and the shaving cream that McG doesn't use now because of his electric razor...the new bins store dixie cups and guest towels.

Now I can actually store more than just a couple rolls of toilet paper in here...that means less trips down to the basement to get some when we run out - makes my life so much easier!

Are you doing the challenges along with Peter Walsh?  There is a small one each day - it really makes getting  organized so much easier...

Cheryl

P.S. - all the new unopened items we took to the local Woman's shelter - so it was a win-win!

Our Dirty Little Secret...

McG and I have been trying to hide our "dirty little secret" from everyone who enters our home...

Sunday we spent the better part of the afternoon hashing out a plan to make this room more presentable.

You see when we had our home built almost 17 years ago, the basement was unfinished.  And in the last 10 years or so we've erected walls, insulated, ran wiring, layed floors, installed a fireplace and all the bathroom fixtures.  And when I say WE, I mean McG did it ALL, with just a little help from me.  He is good at making my dreams come true!

And life was good here until I started following blogs, and decided to start one of my own...

Right now our "dirty little secret" looks like this...

And I want it to look like this...

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or this...

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or even this one...

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I want my laundry room to be a place I WANT to go and get things done...not the HELL HOLE (pardon my french) that I have now!  And WHERE do all these bloggers have their furnace and water heater tanks...it never seems to be in the laundry room like mine is???

McG tells me that this blogging is going to be the death of him...and I certainly HOPE NOT!  But I have to agree that following blogs and going on Pinterest gives me WAY too many more ideas for my home than I can fathom.  And it sometimes makes me feel that my home falls short and doesn't look as great as it could!

He did agree that we could use some re-arranging and some "prettier" shelving and stuff in the laundry room and he worked this afternoon on starting some of the things we planned out...He hasn't VETO -ED any of my suggestions, YET...so I'm taking that and running with it...This will be our next major project, since it is too cold here to stain and varnish the stair treads outside.

I'm so excited - I have to get back on Pinterest and see what other ideas I can come up with - I will keep you posted!

Cheryl

Adding some Valentine's Day Decor

Normally I don't decorate for Valentine's Day...and really this post is NOT about decorating my home.

It's just about changing my front door decor!

It is cold and snowy here today...this is the view out my front door this morning...

I had to go out and get a few things today, so I stopped at the Dollar Store and picked up a couple of things to change up my wreath...

Just some small glitter hearts and some red and white roses on wires, a small sign, and a red and black plaid scarf. Nothing too fancy - I wanted a wide ribbon for a bow, but decided on the scarf since the weather is so cold here and will most likely be that way the next few months.

I took down my Winter Wreath...and took off the scarf - I could have just used this as the background since the colours would have worked, but I wanted to change it up!

I made a big bow with the black and red plaid scarf and pinned it to the grapevine wreath.  I just tucked the flowers and hearts in randomly around the wreath and then wired the sign in the middle...EASY, PEASY!

This grapevine wreath has seen alot of different types of decor on my door...and is always a good investment when you are looking for something to decorate with.

A great low-cost project - $5.00!

And a great new cheery way to welcome guests to my home!

Cheryl

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Sharing Something Personal...

Today is very special to me...

Today I will enjoy my life just a little more...

Today I will hug my children and tell them I love them...

Today I will make sure that McG knows I would not be here without his love and support...

TODAY I CELEBRATE

 MY 2 YEAR RE-BIRTHDAY!

Two years ago today, I received a gift from my sister - THE GIFT OF LIFE - her stem cells to rebuild my body and life and to kill off the leukemia that I had been dealing with for a year prior.  THANK YOU SUZANNE!

Today LIFE IS GOOD!

Cheryl

A Bit of Sunshine...

It's really cold here this morning...and the wind is whipping.

The expected high is 20 degrees F today with a chance of snow...typical January weather in Ontario.

We had an unexpected peek of sun this morning that I wanted to share...

I grabbed my camera and headed out on the deck in my pj's...brrrrr its cold!  I didn't want to miss the sun.

We had a good day here yesterday; enjoying family, food and meeting our new great-niece...she's a beauty!

Hope there is some sunshine where you are!

Cheryl

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Adding some "WOW" to the Entryway

Back when we were first starting our renovation (and this blog) I showed you this picture of our living room...

I told you then how I HATED that orangey railing that divided our living room from our entryway... Step one in the renovation was taking that down and installing a half-wall in its place.

At that time we also painted the trim white and the walls a soft grey-blue called Canadian Sky by Glidden paints.

I knew this large entryway wall needed more than just a paint treatment...and that's where the WOW comes from...A STATEMENT WALLPAPER!

I purchased the wallpaper at Walmart.  The pattern is called Floral Trail and I paid $22.97 for each package.  It took 1 1/2 packages to complete the wall.  Its a chocolate brown background with a grey-blue and pear green flower, all the colours I love.  Our living room furniture is chocolate brown and we have a feature wall in the dining room that is painted a mocha colour so I knew this would work.  We painted the molding that was previously in the entryway and installed it where the new wall portion meets the old wall..

It breaks up the wall a bit and helps to bring your focus down when standing in the entryway.  McG also added a shelf onto the top of the wall to finish it off,

I needed a narrow entryway table, so I shopped my house and found an antique plant stand that would work and McG had some leftover door panels in the garage from the media cabinet makeover that I put on top for the table surface.  I draped an old curtain panel from the living room over top of the doors and then accessorized with some more items I had on hand.  I did purchase the small lamp at Walmart for $9.97 to finish it off.

(McG has' yet to finish the stairs.  We are waiting until next week as we are having a family dinner this weekend, and I didn't want the stairs torn up until after the party.  I will post an update on the finished stairs once he has got them done.)

Next I added an mirror I purchased at Hobby Lobby on one of our cross border shopping trips.  I just LOVE that store!  Mirrors were 50% off that day, so it was a good buy at just $15.  

It's a creamy white with a lovely edge detail along the mirror's edge.  I love the way it finishes off the entryway!  I also purchased the metal cross in the clearance area at Hobby Lobby for $4.99.

I really LOVE the bold statement the wallpaper makes in the entryway.  

Are you BOLD enough to make a statement like this in your home?!!

Cheryl
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The Spice in my Life...

In case you aren't aware, I've been trying to get my home organized by keeping up with Organizer Extraordinaire, Peter Walsh, and his 31Days2Organization...

Yesterday's challenge was organizing the spice cupboard.  Here's a look at my cupboard BEFORE.

It wasn't a total mess but there were alot of spices that were old and not being used.  First thing I did was to take everything out of the cabinet and place it on top of the stove.

I had this spice organizer hiding in the back of the cabinet.  Many of the spices were old so I pitched them in the garbage and refilled many of them.

I also bought a few more spice jars at the Dollar Tree to free up some of the loose bags of spices that were in my cabinet. They were a great deal at $1 and have the shaker lids on them. 

 To keep track of what spices were in them I just used some cheap labels and a sharpie marker.  But you could get very fancy and make your own labels or perhaps use chalkboard labels and some chalk.  I was looking more for something that I had on hand and that wouldn't take alot of extra time.

Now I could get rid of all this extra packaging that was taking up valuable space in my cabinet.

Here are my AFTER photos!

It took me the better part of an hour to get this challenge completed.  But its nice to know that all my spices are now fresh and organized...

Thank Peter Walsh  for another great challenge!

Cheryl

Having a Hoot of a Time Attempting a Pottery Barn Knock-off!

Okay - if you follow us on Facebook - you know that I was taking advantage of Friday's lovely weather here in Ontario to tackle a spray painting project...I've always loved the Pottery Barn Owls..

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I have been collecting owls lately.  I seem to have something for birds...back a few years ago, it was roosters...now its owls and other bird knick knacks.  The two on the ends, I purchased at the Value Village for $2.99 and the middle one I got at Hobby Lobby during a 50% off day.  They really don't fit in to any of my colour schemes that well, but I do like the look of them and I knew they would be great to use for this attempt at a Pottery Barn Knock-off!  I had been waiting for a warm day to come around and we had record high temperatures here on Friday!

So I got out my spray paint...

and set up a make-shift work bench in the garage...

Here they all are after a couple of light coats of glossy white!  Aren't they lovely?

Now I set them out in three separate spots around my home to brighten up the decor.  The first one on the shelf in my kitchen...

One on the table in my entryway...

And the last one, on top of my sideboard in the dining room.

There you have it - three snowy white owls...shiny and looking lovely all over my home - at a fraction of what you would pay at a store like Pottery Barn!  I love it when I can get the look for less - don't you?!

Have you been taking advantage of this spring-like weather?  I'd love to know what you've been up to!

Cheryl

Warm Weather Gives Me Little Fuzzies!

Here in Ontario, January weather is supposed to be very cold and filled with snow...much like it did on Boxing Day when we got this six inches of snow..(this is the view from our patio doors)

But its been very mild the last couple of days with rain.  We even hit record temperatures here yesterday of 60 degrees.

I took advantage of the warm weather to take down some of my Christmas decorations outside.  While doing so I saw an amazing sign of SPRING, which really shouldn't be happening here just yet...

THE PUSSYWILLOWS ARE BLOOMING!

This really shouldn't be happening...BUT I was so HAPPY to see this...I am not one who LOVES the winter.  So this really made my day!

I know this weather is a fluke and it won't last long, but while its here I am going to take advantage of it.  I went out this morning and checked for other signs of spring, but didn't find any in the garden...just some squirrels in the bird feeder, but what else is new!  There were lots of birds chirping.  I am sure that they are enjoying this warm spurt too...

I think a day-trip is definitely on the agenda today for McG and I...maybe some antiquing in the country and lunch at some little diner...can't wait 'til he gets home from work!

Hope you're enjoying the warm weather - I know I am!!

Cheryl

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