She's in Slings: A Room Reno

A while ago we bought some hardwood flooring from a friend who had the some on hand that they didn't need. It's a bit of a tangled story, but long story short we ended up with a really good deal on some really good hardwood that was perfect for finishing off the last two rooms in our house that still had carpet. Good intentions met up with competing priorities and somehow the wood sat untouched in the garage for months on end. We finally decided the time had come to get 'er laid.

We love the dark shade.

Of course, it wasn't as simple as that. We I figured that if we were going through the process of pulling up the carpet, now would be a good time to update the paint colour on the walls in our bedroom as well. We I was tired of the baby poo green shade and ready for something new. It made sense to paint before the carpet came up as we wouldn't have to worry about drop cloths all over the floor. Paint, drip, pull 'er up and replace. We I agreed that this made the most sense and we were off to the Paint Shop. (More on paint inspiration, options and selection in another post).

obviously a grey shade for the walls

Then of course the baseboards had to come off before the flooring goes down, which reminded us that we were not really happy with the ceiling mouldings either. Flooring logically leads to thoughts of ceilings for everyone right? Seriously though, both the baseboards and mouldings were just the very basic style and the mouldings were even absent along the slanted sides of our ceiling/walls. If we were going through the trouble of pulling off the baseboards anyways well... we might as well update both with something a little nicer. So off to the hardware store we went.

As we looked around at the boxes of flooring, cans of paint, and bits of wood we realized it would be absolutely ludicrous to do all that work and leave the 20+ year old light fixture in place. C`mon, you`re with me on this right? If you`re not convinced take a look at this:

this was basic even for the late seventies when we're certain is was installed!

So, we made our way to the light shop and placed an order. It`ll be a few weeks before it gets in. In the meantime, the painting began and we Des realized we`d he`d like to try a little something different with the slanted walls/ceiling. I got excited about his idea, so we were back to the hardware store for more supplies.

Somehow the simple installation of already purchased hardwood ballooned it a complete room overhaul. And I`ve yet to begin picking up the new bedding or working on some of the other projects I now have in mind to finish off the new look. Alas, isn`t that how renos go?

At this point, the bedroom has been emptied of furniture, stripped of baseboards and mouldings, painted, and flooring installed. With the second room (the hobby room) also emptied of furniture for the flooring installation, everything has been crammed into our upstairs storage space + Hudson`s nursery + the hallway + the living room + the spare room and basically any other corner where there`s space.

Literally stacked and stuffed everywhere! At least Hudson seems unfazed about the temporary additions to his room.

Right now, she`s in slings `byes she`s in slings. We`re working on getting it all straightened back up over the next few days (only for the holiday decorations to come out and we can start all over again!). Stay tuned for more reno updates and eventually the finished room.

Our Weekend Lens

Our weekend was filled with good friends, good food, good hard work + good fun.

There was some chilling by the fire, this time indoors.

There was hanging with friends over dinner on Friday night.

There was Saturday morning coffee downtown at the Rocket, enjoying the first real snow, and sporting (aka showing off) a new mini-pea coat. Love.

There was a much need phone upgraded for D. hello iphone 4.

 

There was deciding on paint colours. As you can see there was much discussion.

But there was a decision followed by plenty of prep + painting.

There was some paper crafting ( + Starbucks)...

and some canvas crafting.

There was a fun visit with Nanny + Poppy. H's head is almost a good fit in Pop's hat!

And of course there was plenty of play time + fun. I love that face.

There was also brunch @ Blue with some fabulous friends on Sunday morning + visit to the hardware store. All in all, it was the perfect blend of productivity and R&R.

How about you, how was your weekend?

Getting Outside

Amelia over at Tales of a Mountain Mama and her hubby have a family rule about getting outside for at least 15 minutes every day regardless of the weather. I love it and think it's an awesome way to instill a love of the great outdoors, appreciation for fresh air and nature, and enjoyment of physical activity in your children. I'd be lying (to you and to me) if I said I could that here with my family. I mean everyday is tough and I'll be honest, as much as I love being outside and active, I am a fair weather gal... meaning those cold winds of the Atlantic ocean and the wet Newfoundland snow are some what inhibitive. What I can do though and what I am really trying to do is simply get outside more often.

Late yesterday afternoon, Hudson was getting a little antsy (aka whiny) sitting around the house with me. I can hardly blame him. After two plus weeks of being under the weather with laryngitis followed by a head cold and me still with a head cold, there's been a limit to his out-of-the house excursions. And let's face it, too much time between four walls will make any of us antsy. We had already worn out our jolly jumper, excersaucer, play table, book nook, treehouse TV and sing-song games for the afternoon. Nap had been had and belly was full. At a loss of what else to do, I thought of Amelia and her notion of getting outside.

Hudson's sniffles are all but gone and we had been at the doc for a check-up earlier yesterday, leaving with a clean bill of health. Des was already out back with a fire in the firepit, so I bundled H up in his bunting suit, put his hat on him, and out we went.  It was exactly what we all needed.

We showed H the fire again and talked about it a little bit. Got close enough to feel the warmth and talk about hot, but stayed far enough away to be safe!

We enjoyed some baby love. Seriously, how cute is a baby so bundled he can't move his limbs?

love from daddy

and love from mommy too

I walked Hudson around the "back nine" showing him trees and branches and leaves. There was plenty of exploring and fortunately the bunting suit immobilized him enough to keep dead leaves out of his mouth!

We played some peek-a-boo with daddy from behind the birch tree, quite the fun game!

While outside, I remembered I wanted to take in a fall sunset with the fam before the end of November and the timing was perfect. H enjoyed the late afternoon bottle outside by the fire as the sun went down before we finally headed in for supper. While we couldn't see the sunset into the ocean from the backyard, we could watch disappear behind the trees and watch the sky change colours from a bright blue to a pale blue edged with orange and gold before it finally darkened up. Lovely way to wrap up a day.



the mid-sunset sky

Getting the fresh air, seeing new things, playing a few games and simply enjoying each others company was the perfect cure for a bored little boy. Note to self: remember this. Remember this afternoon mid-winter when it seems too cold and go outside anyways. We were all happier after our 15 (plus!) minutes outside. It is amazing what a little fresh air can do.

A bonus: seeing those sweet cheeks turn oh so rosy pink. Too cute.

love you handsome boy

Pull Up Your Peonies

For anyone who grows peonies, you know how difficult it can be to keep those beauties upright once they start to bloom. The gorgeous big flowers are just too heavy for the stems and they droop forward and/or, as in our case, often lay on the ground. We tried the wire hoop things from the gardening centres without much luck. We've strung them up with heavy strings and household wires to no avail. They've always just drooped and looked pooped. That is until this weekend when my ever-creative hubby came up with this ingenious solution:

Yes, that is a old wooden chair you see in our garden. We have a bunch of these in our attic. While some are waiting for a home in our hall/entryway, this one has made a home in our garden. It holds up the peonies wonderfully and blends in perfectly with the rustic (aka grassy-n-weedy) garden and clapboard-sided home.

I love it!