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

Exciting News!

Hey there!  Just jumping on quickly this morning to share some great news - this little blog has been nominated for a Liebster Blog Award!!!

Thanks so much to Sarah @ Sarah Saturdiy for the nomination...I will be back soon with my acceptance post - stay tuned!

I thought I'd leave you with a sneak peek of some more Christmas decorating I've been doing...

Cheryl

Its Starting to Look a bit like Christmas...

Since I posted my kitchen tour this morning and you got a glimpse of some decorations going up - I thought I would go ahead and post about the wonderful arrangement I made for my kitchen "mantel"!

I started with an oblong metal planter that I already had.  It has an aqua tint to it which I love! Next I added faux pine boughs that I purchased 50% off at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago...We don't have Hobby Lobby stores here in Canada so I went cross-border shopping - actually McG and I do that quite often.

They were very realistic and came with small pine cones attached.  I also purchased some boughs from Garden Ridge - these types of things are much more affordable in the US.  I didn't even use oasis to complete the arrangement.  I just laid them into the planter, making sure to leave them hanging over the sides a bit.  I layered in large pine cones that I had here already.

I added silver sinemay ribbon around the edges of the container, tucking it in gently, to add some sparkle to the arrangement.  I also added some glittery brown ornaments and some silver glittered wicker balls that I purchased at Dollar Tree.  

I also purchased the silver berry branches and the silver reindeer at the Dollar Tree store.  I have been there about 5 times since they opened here in our city a few weeks ago - they are a great resource for budget decorating!

It makes a lovely holiday display on the ledge between my kitchen and dining room.  Here's a view from the dining room...

It's just the first of my decorations to go up.  I am hoping to get my Christmas tree up this weekend, as well as, finish up the last few projects in the entryway.

Are you decorating for the holidays too?  I'd love to hear from you!

Cheryl

Linking up @:  Debbiedoos, Beyond The Picket Fence,
                            Songbird, The Cottage Magpie,
                            Sand and Sisal, Southern Savvy Style,
                            The Tablescaper, Cupcakes and Crinoline, 
                            It's so very Cheri, Setting for Four,
                            Three Mango Seeds, 
                            Uncommon Slice of Suburbia   
                            The Frugal Homemaker       

Kitchen Tour

Hey there!  Before we start breaking out the Christmas decorations around here, I thought I should give you a tour of the kitchen.  The living room/ dining room tour will be very soon - I'm so excited to show you!  Come on in and have a look around...

This is the view as you are walking into the kitchen from the dining room.  We have a raised ranch and as you enter the house you walk up 6 stairs to the open dining room and living room...then you travel this way to the kitchen.  Here you can see our new flooring as well...I love how it co-ordinates with the kitchen floor.

This is a better view of that bank of cabinets.  As I told you before we painted the kitchen Smoked Turquoise by CIL paints.  It really picks up the colours in our counter top and I love it! Before it was a pear green - you can see that colour on the island.

Here's a closer view of this wall.  The upper cabinets used to be on the wall between the kitchen and dining room.  When McG opened up the wall, we moved the remaining cabinets over to this wall and ordered more base cabinets to match.  We were very lucky to find them and a matching countertop since we didn't do this until seven years after the house was built.

Here's a view of  the island (and the pear green paint) and a view of the other side of the kitchen.  McG built this island out of a spare base cabinet.  He clad it in bead board and painted it.  The newel post legs were a garbage find that we re-purposed.  He tiled the top for an easy clean surface.  We eat most of our everyday meals here in the kitchen. Here are a few more photos of this side of the kitchen...

This view shows you how McG opened up the wall between the kitchen and the dining room.  Here too is our coffee station.  McG loves his Tassimo and this little cabinet holds all his coffee options quite nicely.

Here's a little sneak peek of some Christmas decorating...I am just itching to get going on it.  I have been seeing some pretty creative stuff out there in blogland lately.  There will be a post later this week on this beauty!  The majority of our decorations don't go up until after the 1st of December.

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoyed this tour of our kitchen!

Cheryl
Linking up @:
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
 

Weekend Fun Turns to Weekday Work!

Well, as you all know we are in the midst of a big renovation here - it's exciting times!  And this is what the excitement was about this past weekend...

I know this doesn't seem too exciting to some...but let me tell you - I was excited as H - E - double L - about getting rid of that carpet! Woo Hoo - it's outta here! - Why the excitement you ask???  That's because  it was followed by this...

Now ain't  she pretty?! All shiny and new - I love this new floor - and McG will too once the work is done...but for now, we've got a few more days of this before it's all done...and even then, is it ever really done? No, because then there is baseboards to do and some other trim work, bringing back in the furniture and then of course the stairs will need to be done...and then all the good stuff, like fluffing and nesting...I am hoping it keeps moving along at a fast pace, but I am sure that other things will get in the way,  like this...

Yes - it seems that other work is piling up, so today I guess my job is to work on this while McG is at his day-job...so that he doesn't have to contend with this when he gets home...and he will have nothing to do but to work on the floor again...ain't that sweet of me!  Oh well, its a beautiful sunny day here, might as well get me some fresh air and get to work.

Are you working outside today?  I'd love to know what you are working on today!

Cheryl

Fall Outdoor Decor

It's a beautiful day here today in Southern Ontario...temps in the mid 50's and sunny!  I have had my outdoor  fall décor up for sometime now...actually really early on in September.  The neighbours probably thought I was a little crazy putting it out there when the temperatures were still in the 80's, but it seems that fall comes way too fast around here, and I wanted to be able to enjoy it for awhile!

This is a view of our home from the street, with our maple tree a gorgeous yellow - I swear every morning when I get up it is yellow-er (is that a word?) than the day before...You can see in the background a few of our fall décor items...nothing too scary here at this house - just the right mix of fall and Halloween décor.  Let's take a closer look...

a scarecrow out by the elm...

a ghost in a wine barrel planter on the side of the driveway...and a fall wreath on the tree...

...another look from the street

A closer look at the porch and we find the pumpkin planter filled with mums and another wreath on the front door...

For this wreath I chose a mix of orange mums and yellow sun flowers to repeat the yellow that is so prominent right now in the colour of the maple leaves on our tree...It also helps the wreath to "pop" off the blue door when looking from the street...

here's a closer view showing the autumn leaves and the yellow butterfly.

I have saved the best Halloween decoration for last....

This is Sloan, our black cat, who is waiting patiently at the door for his Momma to be done taking pictures outside...ISN'T HE SCARY!!!

I love adding seasonal touches to our home...do you decorate for fall or Halloween? I'd love to hear how you decorate for the season!

Cheryl
Linking up at: The Inspired Room, No Minimalist Here, Funky Junk Interiors, DIY showoff, A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

Where do you get your inspiration???

Most of my inspiration lately comes from reading blogs and of course, Pinterest (you can follow me there by clicking the link on the side bar).  But I must warn you, IT IS SO ADDICTIVE!!!  I could (and do) spend hours looking at photos dreaming of what my house could be...McG is not so fond of Pinterest as it just adds fuel to my creativity and more to his honey-do list.

Before the days of Pinterest, I got most of my inspiration from decorating magazines, like Style at Home and Better Homes and Gardens...or from the many shows on HGTV.

As I began to prepare for our latest renovation, I knew I had to incorporate the honey oak kitchen cabinets that were existing in our kitchen.  This is the inspiration I found on Pinterest.  The original source of the photo is http//thefreshlivingroomideas.onsugar.com

What do you think of my inspiration?  Where do you get your inspirations for decorating?  I'd love to hear from you!





P.S. - the painting has begun in my kitchen - and I am so in LOVE with the colour!!