HAPPY HALLOWEEN...Our Easy Pumpkin Decorating!

We don't get too carried away with Halloween here in our home...

Our kids are grown now and WAY past the trick or treatin' stage.

But we do still decorate and give out candy for all the little ones in the neighbourhood.

I purchased a pumpkin a couple of weeks ago,

and thought that we would at least carve it together as a family.

...but NO...

no one was too interested in continuing that tradition...insert sad face here  :(

This morning...I put together a quick pumpkin that required NO CARVING...cause let's face it,

 even I didn't want to stick my hands in that goop!

I got a few craft supplies together that were already here in the house...a few faux flowers, some ribbon and some push pins...

I figured this would be the easiest way to attach things to the pumpkin.

I have what my family calls an unhealthy affinity with birds...especially owls

 and I knew I wanted to try and turn this pumpkin into an owl!

The flowers had plastic backings so they easily pushed into the pumpkin.  I used them for the eyes.

Next I fashioned a beak out of one of the leaves from the flower stem...and used a push pin to attach it. Some more leaves from the flowers McG bought me last week for our anniversary were added for wings...

And here you have our pumpkin decorated for Halloween...just in time too!

Nothing scary...because we don't really need anything more scary here than this...

Sloan...our scary black cat with the glowing eyes!!  

Be careful, he's already waiting at the door for the trick or treaters!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Cheryl

Changes to the Bathroom - Part One

We had our home built in 1996 and at that time we had chosen to have stained trim and doors...

and it looked great with our oak kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

Fast forward to 2013 and those orangey trim and cabinets are really out of style. 

 Last fall we painted all the trim and doors in the public spaces of the main floor of our home.

Now it's time to take that white paint to the trim and doors in the more private spaces,

 like the bathroom and bedrooms.

Here's a shot of our main bathroom with the oak cabinets and stained trim.

You can see in the hallway we had already changed the trim to white.

 Last time I sanded and then painted four - yes four - coats of paint to cover the orangey stain 

(while McG was away hunting...he had no idea that was a project we were going to tackle)

This time I talked McG into purchasing some primer...He was skeptical because in his mind, 

the proper way to do it was to sand it first - BOY he can be hard headed sometimes!

I did some research (aka other bloggers!) and found that this primer was well liked as one that could eliminate the sanding step. 

 Although he was still unsure, McG agreed to try it - and guess what...

He Loved It!

It went on smooth and covered that orange stain with one coat.

Doors that used to look like this in our hallway...

and don't you just LOVE those brass door knobs!

Finished up they now look like this...

We even used some paint to change out the door knobs and hinges as well.

So there is a peek at what we've been up to this week.

I haven't quite talked him into painting the oak cabinets 

- YET - 

but I did get him to paint the cheap laminate storage cabinet we have in there.

I am working on getting the bathroom back together - I will be sure and show you that cabinet next week!

This was NOT a sponsored post, but I would definitely recommend both the primer and the spray paint!

Cheryl
Linking up @:
The Blissful Bee

Fall Front Yard Tour 2013

The chilly fall weather is here this morning in Ontario.

We enjoyed a lovely three-day weekend to celebrate our Thanksgiving.

Since October is now officially half over, I thought I would share my fall/Halloween outdoor decor.

It's not scary by any means, but what I feel is just the right mix of fall and Halloween decorating for our family.

We've had these wooden characters for sometime now...I love to include them every year.

This pumpkin planter is one of my favourites...just a pail screwed to a 4x4 post and then painted.

It wouldn't be hard to do, although I purchased it like this a few years back at a craft fair.

As you can see my summer flowers are still going strong!

 See, I just noticed the plastic price tag hook is still attached...

We are keeping it real here today folks!!

This scarecrow I've had for a number of years too...he really needs a new shirt.

This ghost McG made for me and drilled holes along the outline so that I could put a string of lights in him.

That concludes the front yard tour...

I'm glad you stopped over - I hope you get out and enjoy this lovely autumn day!!

Cheryl

Linking up @:
Fluster Buster
Yellow Bliss Road
Confessions of a Serial DIYer
The Happy Housie
From My Front Porch to Yours
Common Ground

Slowing Down

As I reflect on our "blog-a-versary" this week,

 I can say that this past year has definitely taught me a few things.

We sure did get a lot accomplished here in the last year,

 even though it sometimes feels that we are at a stand-still as far as updating the house goes...

My photography skills need to be worked on, 

but I guess its not so bad considering I don't have one of those fancy cameras

 and all my shots are taken with my Canon PowerShot A2300.

 Living life with my camera with me, almost always makes me slow down,

in the hopes of getting a good shot.

I may have to take thousands of pictures, just to get one good one.

  And that might take me a little longer to get a post done, 

but almost always,

 it makes me slow down and enjoy my surroundings a little more...

Even if that means driving three hours in a car, for a Dr's. appointment.

Here's hoping you take time this weekend,

to slow down,

breathe,

and enjoy your surroundings.

We are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend here in Canada.

What I'm thankful for this year...

My loving family and friends,

my health (which not so long ago was not so good)

and all of YOU

who follow here!

Blessings

Cheryl

(These photos were taken from the van as we drove down Highway 401 in Ontario 

and don't worry,I wasn't driving when I took these)

Linking up @:

The Tablescaper

Healthy Encouragement

For those of you who have followed here from the beginning...and know my health story - skip down to the next paragraph...

For those NOT in the Know...here's the skinny...

Four years ago I was diagnosed with CML -Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

 This happened during a routine physical - I thought I was going through menopause at the time.

It turns out the reason I wasn't getting a period is because my body wasn't building enough blood cells...

After many scary months and searching for a stem cell donor (of which no matches could be found),

 I did a trial protocol using my sister's 1/2 matched cells.

 Suffice it to say that I am now someone's science project - but doing very well!!

For a long time my health was my top priority - fast forward 3 years and I am still doing well and

I am in Remission 

but here's where I need some "Healthy Encouragement"...

During transplant I lost a "ton" of weight because of having mouth sores for seven months and not being able to eat much.  While I enjoyed being "skinny" - I never looked healthy.  Here is it 3 years later and after "living large" for so long, I now need to put the focus back on myself and get some weight off..

The picture of me here on the blog, is one I am most proud of,

 a healthy weight, sadly that was 25 pounds ago.

I struggle with staying out the fridge during the day...like many others out there I am sure,

 so I found something to help remind me to make better food choices. 

I found this image @ Simply Bloom Blog

It is a FREE printable - so I printed it out and hung it on my fridge!

  It is helping to remind me that I am WORTH the effort and when I do go into the fridge for a snack...

I come out with a healthier choice!

If you are struggling with weight issues, this just might be the "Healthy Encouragement" you need too!

Cheryl

WE MADE IT!! - Our One Year Blog-a-versary...

This post, believe it or not, was difficult for me to write...

Never in a million years did I think this little blog would still be going after one year.

It took everything I had to click the "publish" button that first time,

 never really knowing if anyone would find this little blog,

 when there were already so many great and big blogs out there.  

In my heart, I hoped there was room for one more.

We've covered a lot of ground in the last year...I thought it would be good to review a few of the bigger projects we have tackled.

A total renovation of our living room/dining room, including putting up a half wall, painting and installing new laminate floors.

Some small changes and organization in the Master bedroom..

I showed you our awful laundry room and then we changed it and made it more presentable..
.by painting and re-arranging cabinets and installing new vinyl tile flooring.

We also...

painted the kitchen and hallway...a beautiful teal colour.

...completed a budget-wise makeover of the bathroom by adding a new shower curtain and a few accessories.

Even with all that we have accomplished, there is still so much I want to do!!

We are always looking for ways to get the look we want on a budget,
just like so many of you out there.
There are no sponsors here...
and we are a single income family, so money is tight!


We are getting ready to start to paint the remaining trim on our main level white from stained, and
we are looking at completing a wall treatment in our master bedroom as well.


We hope you stick with us as we venture into more budget friendly projects!!

Cheryl

(P.S. - Please help us grow our blog, by sharing it with your friends!)

Fall Decorating - outdoor edition...

Okay...this week has been crazy around here...trying to get my outdoor decorating done for fall...

and catching up on laundry from McG's hunting trip last weekend.

Until I can get my yard decorated and photo-ed,

I thought I would share a couple of shots of last year's decorations.

I pulled these guys out of storage and put them in much the same spot as last year...

But I added a few new things that I will share next week!

Until then,

Hope you have a great weekend!

Cheryl