Eye Heart: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

February 2012: I Heart Blogging Blog Hop

Today I linked up to a blog hop from Blogaholic Social Network. We were allowed to copy the post and post it in our own blog in case anyone else would like to join. You have to be a BSN member so you can go to the link below where it says "join here for free" or here. If you do decide to join and link up remember to copy starting where it says "Welcome...". Happy Blog Hoppin'.

Welcome to this months community blog hop: "I Heart Blogging"

Here is how it will work:

The one and only rule: You must be a member of Blogaholic Social Network. If you are not a member you can join here for free.

This month link up to a post you love!

Once you add your blog- stop by a few other blogs on the list to follow and leave a comment, let them know you are stopping by from BSN so they know you are a new friend and can connect with you on the community as well!

Feel free to Tweet about the linkup, post it on Facebook, or even grab the code for your blog (the code is located below the linky list) a great way to fill up a post for a day ;) If you add it to your blog please copy the full post so others know the rules.

If you don't want to grab the full post and linky code feel free to grab a blog hop badge!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Bedroom Reveal

When we first moved into this home our bedroom was the only room that was the most complete out of all the rooms in the house except for one major detail. The headboard wall. It was so plain and boring but I wasn't sure what to do with it.

Months ago I sketched up an idea for a painting and just a week ago I actually started painting it and actually finished it. It's my first painting in about two years so it felt good to start and finish it within two days of starting.

The painting is just one part of what I wanted to have on the wall but one day while surfing the Internet I saw the "You and Me" letters and knew that it was exactly what I wanted to do. I just can't remember where I saw it so I can't reference the original idea.

Here is the completed look in the master bedroom just in time for Valentines's Day. I'm pretty happy with it except for one small detail which I'll talk about a bit later.

This project cost me $60. The letters were a bit pricey and the cost was $43 just for the letters.

This is the other side of the bedroom. It's not relevant but I felt like it would have been an incomplete picture which I am trying to paint for you here for our bedroom reveal. So here is my vanity.

This is the one thing I don't like. My hubby really wanted to wall mount his TV but now we have the small dilemma of the unsightly cords. I'm not in love with the table either but we got it for free which is more than two thumbs up in my hubby's eyes and he refuses to get rid of it.

So there it is. Now I need to focus on other rooms. Plus I stole the phone from the kitchen so now I need to get a new one. My hubby doesn't like the rotary phones and I guess their not all that practical so I will be ordering this one for the kitchen since the colors there are also red. It's not as pretty as the rotary version but it will make ordering pizza an easier task. Ha ha.

http://ericofon.com/catalog/repro/cr60.htm

To see where I've been hoppin' go to my Linky Parties Page.

I also linked to:

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Anything Goes at Eye Heart Monday's

What a short weekend I tell ya! That zoomed right by and here I am on Sunday evening already. I got a few thing done that I wanted to do so it must have been a good one. Didn't get enough sleep so my jaw is getting really sore from all the yawning. LOL.

Without further adieu let me start on this weeks features.

Homemaker on a Dine posted this. What a great idea to turn a space you're not using into something more practical.

Loopy Loop Creations posted this really cute Valentine's Day idea that is super simple to make.

We've probably all been in this predicament so this project, which My Very Educated Mother posted, is such a great idea and it does the trick.

These Ginger Snap Delights look delightful. The Studious Stitch linked these and you just have to go check them out.

I know this chair doesn't look like much right now but it's only because this is Part I to the journey that Loren is going through in the transformation to making this chair new, hip and modern. To see how this transformation unfolds please visit Loren at Pandora's Craft Box.

Don't forget to grab a button if you were featured.

And now...drum roll...the time has come to link up to Anything Goes at Eye Heart Monday's. Yay!!

Linky Party Rules:

1. Link to a specific post on your blog (but not your home page) for pretty much anything new and fresh you would like to share every week as long as it's family friendly. You can link your sewing, craft projects, recipes, photos and giveaways. Anything Goes and we want to see it! The link party will be open every Monday.

2. Please follow me on my blog and while you're here it would be lovely if you also followed me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn (but it's not a must). Please link back using my button above by posting it on your post or on your home page. Let everyone see where you've been and share the fun.

3. Check back the week after to see if you were featured.

4. Visit some of the other blogger's posts and share the party love because after all it's all about getting to know one another and because you might just make someones day extra special.

5. Link away and have fun.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Five Questions Friday

I found this fun idea for a post on My Little Life. It's as she put it:

"...a fun, easy post or if you've suddenly discovered your muses have decided they are on strike for the weekend."

So here are the five questions and my answers.

1. Do you swim in the winter?

I wish I could say that I can swim but I can't. When we take the kids swimming I play in the kiddie pool with my little guy. Plus the water in the kiddie pool is warmer.

We've occasionally gone to the hot springs out of town and if it's too cold I don't like it because no matter how much effort I put into keeping my hair dry it get's wet and then it freezes.

2. Do you love or hate winter?

I can't say I hate winter because I think it's beautiful. I don't love it though. I just don't like the cold. I don't like bundling up. No matter how many layers you wear you can feel the cold and if you go indoors you sweat half to death. Also try carrying your kids on your hip...you know the mom way...and not have them slip off every 5 seconds off of you because their layers are making them less "wrappable around you". I don't like that they need to put gravel on the roads and everything gets filthy. I don't like winter sports. I tried snowboarding and found that I slipped and slid everywhere which is not cool in my books. I like to stay put. Okay, that almost makes it look like I do hate the winter.

3. Do you put makeup/actual clothes on when you know you're going to be home all day with just family?

This is a very good question because I don't wear makeup if I'm just at home EVER. Even when I'm entertaining family at home I just put on mascara. They know the truth of how I look no use hiding it. Ha ha. I hope they love me just the way I am.

4. How old were you when you had your first alcoholic beverage?

I was a curious kid so I used to take sips from the cups that my aunts and uncles left unattended at family gatherings. I must have been eight. But my first real beverage was probably when I was 16 at home with my parents.

5. How many ill calls in a 12 month period do you think are acceptable?

Where I work we get roughly 13 sick days...I think. If you are away longer than 5 days at a time they require a note from your doctor. I think if you're sick you should stay home. No point in getting everyone else sick too so if you need to do it then do it.

I had to be away for a whole week when my oldest son was three and got intussusception (As wikipedia put it, it's a medical condition in which a part of the intestine has been sucked up into another section of intestine, the same way that the parts of a collapsible telescope slide into one another. They told us it's caused by a polyp in the intestine causing the part of the intestine where the polyp is present to stop working. It only happens in children as their intestines are very delicate and the tissue is softer than that of an adult intestine.) He had been sick for three days throwing up and would cry out in pain in his abdomen. I took him to the hospital twice and to the children's hospital once and they all sent us home saying that he just had a common flu.

Finally on the fourth day, when he seemed to get worst, out of desperation I took him to the children's hospital again and just as they were about to send us home a doctor came in and asked me to explain just what the symptoms were that he was having. By pure luck there was another boy the same age as my son with the same condition and the doctor noticed similarities between the two. He had them both get ultrasounds and sure enough it was the intussusception. My son had to go for an emergency procedure that basically filled his intestines with liquid to stretch them out. If they hadn't caught it he would have gotten gangrene and may have needed surgery to cut out the part of his intestine that was damaged. So lucky for us he didn't have gangrene and the next day he was 100% better. They gave him antibiotics and admitted him into the hospital overnight and he was okay.

My point is that I needed to take an extra day with my son after he had the procedure done so I think that my boss was not impressed with it and maybe doubted what I told him (as this condition is not very common) so he asked me to provide a doctor's note.

So long story short. I think if your company tells you that you're allowed 13 and you need them all that it's acceptable. If you are so ill that you require more then you will have to take a sick leave and that's when you get a percentage of your regular pay.

Wow. I just went on and on for that last one. Ha ha.

Have a great weekend.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

When everything else fails order online

So, a few months ago I bought an antique chair from Kijiji. Yes, the one that I've mentioned like four times on this blog. You must be wondering why I keep talking about it and not doing anything with it? Right?! Well, I was really excited because I've been talking about learning how to upholster furniture. My mom-in-law and I both share a love for antiques and we have been discussing taking a course together to learn how to refinish and upholster antiques but so far we haven't made any plans.

Well Summer ended and soon so did the fall. Winter came along and I just wasn't able to get my hands dirty with that old antique chair. The woodwork needs to be stripped and refinished and I can't really do it in our garage as it's freezing in there. Plus my hubby tells me that if I use an oil based paint (which is what he recommends as he used to work in paints at Rona...so he's the expert) it won't dry well enough because of the cold. I'm not sure how it works but I can believe him as we painted our front door with an oil based paint and it took two days to dry. In the summer.

Anyways...In the meantime...as I patiently wait for the summer to come, I've been trying to prepare for the project of a lifetime. I went on eBay to try to order some tools but all I get are about a billion results like this...

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/MAC-Upholstery-Panel-Tool-10-Long-Red-handle-NEW-/320836319994?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item4ab355bafa#ht_959wt_1396

So I gave up with trying to find anything on eBay and started calling around our city to see if I could find a place that sells upholstery tools.

I did this search on my iPhone..."upholstery tools" it came back with custom furniture and restoration locations. Ugh! I figured that if maybe I called one of these locations that I would have some luck and they would sell tools or better yet tell me where to go and get some.

I ran this conversation in my head to prepare to call and ask a possibly silly question:

Phone rings.

Imaginary Upholstery guy: Hello!

Imaginary Me: Hi, I'm just calling to ask if you guys sell upholstery tools.

Imaginary Upholstery guy: No, we don't but I can tell you where I get my tools. I get them at _________________.

Imaginary Me: Oh, really! That's great. Thanks.

So feeling confident and hopeful I made the call and it went like this:

Phone rings.

Upholstery guy: Uh...hello?

Me: Hi, I'm just calling to ask if you guys sell upholstery tools?!

Upholstery guy: Uh...(heavy breathing)...um...ya, we do.

Me: (Surprised but filled with joy and relief. Look at hubby and give thumbs up.) Wow, really? What time do you guys close?

Upholstery guy: Uh...ummm...eight.

Me: Okay, thanks. I'll be there in about an hour.

So me, the hubs and the kids all drive to this place across the city from us and we park in the back. I go in the store and it's dark and only a tiny little-itty-bitty lamp is on somewhere. It stinks and it's kind of creepy in there.

Me: Hello?!!

.....

Me: Helloooooo!!!!

Sketchy looking guy comes up stairs directly in front of me. He kind of scares the heck out of me. His hands are in his pockets and he's got a criminal looking type of beard. Maybe he's got a knife in his pocket. Or a gun.

Sketchy Guy: Uhhh....Hi.

Me: Hi, I just called about the tools.

Sketchy Guy: Uh...ya...the guy that runs the shop isn't here.

Me: ...(Look confused)....

Sketchy Guy: Ya, uhh...I run the place downstairs. I sell knives.

Me: (Fear sinking in...step back a few steps ready to bolt towards freedom) So...?

Sketchy Guy: I talked to you on the phone but I don't know if he sells tools. Why don't you come back tomorrow?

Me: (In my head: Are you f***ing kidding me?) Oh, okay. I'll come back then. Thanks.

I nearly run out the door. While I sit in the safety of the passenger seat of our mini van I relay the conversation to my husband .

Hubs: I was watching through the window the entire time and he looked totally normal to me.

Ugh! Who the heck sells knives in a dark and disgusting basement. Really?

I'm ordering the tools on-line and never ever returning to that shop ever again.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Best Present EVER

Today my hubby and mom-in-law took me shopping for an early bday present. I had been looking into upgrading from my Canon EOS Rebel XT 8MP primitive camera to something much better.

I was sitting on the fence about which camera to get and I was stuck between the Canon 7D and the Canon 5D Mark II. In the end I chose the Mark II. I went to a whopping 21.1MP from 8MP. Little good it does me right now as I need to play around and figure out how to use it.

I took these two photos using my little photo studio with the Rebel and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lense. Not too shabby. I tried taking a photo of the Rebel but for the love of me, I can't figure out how to use the Mark II yet. Ahh, the life of a wanna be photographer. That's why the photo of the Rebel looks awful. LOL. I took that photo with my iPhone. Technicalities.

The Rebel has been good to me and has allowed me to take some great photos of my kiddos but it was time for a new camera after seven years with the Rebel. I'm not saying goodbye to it though as we've had some good times and I'm sure it still has a few years left on it.

Here are some of my favorite photos that I've taken with my trusty ole Rebel.

I can't wait to get better acquainted with my new camera and to share my new photos.

Sneak Peek

Yesterday I got a very pleasant surprise in the mail that had me jumping up and down like a kid at Christmas. It was a long Monday so the little things made me happy.

Can you guess what it was?

If you guessed Giveaway Prizes you were right!!! Yipee!

So since I have them and I opened the packages I wanted to give you a sneak peek as to what the lucky winner will be receiving very soon.

One for you one for me.

Here are some of the projects in the Quill it Easy book.

oooohhhh.....aaaahhhh......

Super cute!!!

And that's all I'm going to show. There are a lot more great examples of things to make.

Sorry that the quality of the photos is kind of crappy. I took them with my iPhone. I know, I wasn't thinking but I didn't really feel like retaking the photos. Lazy me.

If you haven't already done so and would totally like to enter to win go to the link below:

~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~

Monday, January 23, 2012

New Painting

So yesterday I completed a new painting. I'm really excited because this is the first painting I finish in a couple of years. I'm planning on using it in the master bedroom on the headboard wall. It's been the only room where we haven't really needed to do very much since we moved almost a year ago. Except for the headboard wall which is so bare and boring.

The only thing I need to do with the painting is to paint the sides of the canvas as I'm not planning on getting it framed. That's not exactly in my budget but I think it will look much better.

I'll post the end result when I post the bedroom "reveal" photos. Well, it's not really a reveal as our bedroom has pretty much looked the way it does for months now. The only finishing touches are the painting and a little something else I'm planning.

I don't have a photo of the new painting but here is an old painting that I actually kept and display in our house. This is actually the last thing I painted a couple of years ago. I think I will need to paint a second and similar painting to fill that wall next to it. This is the staircase to the basement.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Anything Goes At Eye Heart Mondays

Thank you to everyone who linked to last weeks linky party. You have made it as success and I am so grateful that you linked all your wonderful projects.

Now for this weeks features...

Making Memories posted this cute Valentines Day idea. It would be a lot of fun to do this with the kids and have them hand them out to their classmates.

I'm just loving the look of these Silhouette Photos posted by Handmade by Is. This would be a great idea for a little reading nook for for an office or pretty much anywhere really. They're great.

Now, who doesn't love Anthropologie? I've been eyeing that vase for goodness knows how long. And can you believe what she made the flowers out of? This Anthro vase knock-off was made by The Turquoise Piano.

Here is another super cute idea for Valentines Day. These fabric postcards were posted by Invited to the King's Table. They are absolutely gorgeous.

After seeing this post, which Crafty Cousins posted, I will definitely look twice at something on the rack that may not look like much. I love how she made so many different outfit combinations out of one dress.

If you were featured don't forget to grab a feature button, below, to let everyone know how awesome you are.

Let's get started with this weeks linky party. Woo hoo!!!