freshening up a little for spring...

While doing some cleaning for Spring, I have been changing up my 'tablescapes' a little.

It's so fun to do this every once in awhile.

This is a collection of little bottles on top of the martini bar.

I collected them from Goodwill. I paid 99 cents each.

I love a cheap thrill, what can I say?

Something a little fresh for the dining table.

Wish I could say they are real.

But Homesense has wonderful little pieces like this.

The little table by the front door.

I just 'shopped' the house for these things.

A pile of vintage books that belonged to my Grandmother.

A mini lamp my Mom purchased for my kitchen years ago.

An artichoke tealight from Anthro.

A white pitcher from Homesense with some flowers.

I find making the top of the piano look interesting my biggest challenge.

For now, just another arrangement of books.

Another artichoke tealight from Anthro.

Have I mentioned that I am on the bandwagon that loves Anthro?

I think the mirror needs to be painted white.

Another project for my to do list!

a new season of Sarah's House.....

Sarah Richardson.

LOVE her.

She was recently a guest at a home show in my city.

I had to go see her and see her I did.

She was a wonderfully dynamic speaker and every bit as fun

as she seems on tv, even without that sidekick Tommy.

 One of my favorite things about Spring is looking forward to a new season of Sarah's House.

These are some of the rooms in the new season.

Love the sophisticated touches of yellow in this bathroom.

Sarah's rooms are always so colourful.

But if you look closely, you will see that her backgrounds are mostly neutral.

She adds colour with fabrics, furniture and accessories.

Her 'jumping off point' for the bathroom was the yellow fabric used in the drapes.

This is a tablescape from the entry/mudroom.

Sarah is a master at creating the most charming vignettes.

This is one of the upstairs bedrooms.

I absolutely adore the colour palette.

The headboard fabric was the 'jumping off point' for the colors in this room

I love the chandelier.

To me, this room is the perfect blend of lovely and comfort.

I really need a chandy for my bedroom.

It's the next thing on my list.

entryway envy....

I am spring cleaning.

This means that as I clean, I am looking at everything with fresh eyes.

Asking myself, "How can this look better?" as I go thru each room.

I love the look of this entry.

I have always decorated with blue in my house.

But never on walls.

I would love to paint my entry this color.

Except that it has round corners that make it hard to find a place to end color on a wall.

Now I am thinking I am going to paint the bathroom this color.

Fresh. Almost a bird's egg blue.

I will share when I have this project completed.

My to-do list grows.

I am in lust....

with all of these fresh-looking lounge spaces.

I love the down-filled, french styled tufted sofa. The layers of creamy color. The hints of soft yellow and green. The whole look is so calm and welcoming.

The picture collage in this room just makes me swoon.It's eclectic, pretty and funky. I love the floral print in the middle. I have seen it to purchase online and I am tempted.

This room comes from Canadian House & Home and I believe it is the home of 2 men in Vancouver.

I love it for it's fun look and it's eclectic grouping over the sofa.

Something unexpected.

Another room from Canadian House & Home.

I believe it is described as a modern take on bohemian.

I love the turquiose rug that is the platform for this look.

All these rooms have creamy, neutral backgrounds

 that allow for the accessories and hints of color to sing and give character.

I am dying to paint my whole house a cream color.

Now to convince the other half.

It's been 5 years since this place was painted.

I think it's time for a little freshening.

Menu Plan Monday.....Mrs. Easy Peasy..

I am still working on a binder of 30 of my familly's favorite meals which I will share when I have completed. The purpose of having the recipes all in one binder is to make planning meals easier.

No flipping thru cookbooks for ideas. No last minute 'can't find it' search.

Everything in one place.

Favorite recipes in cookbooks will be photocopied for the binder.

Simple dimple.

Among my categories for the binder are the standards...chicken, fish, beef, soup, slowcooker, etc.

But I have also saved room for a section called "Easy Peasy".

Simple go to meals.

Our homemade fast food if you will.

Not every meal needs to be fancy schmancy from a cookbook.

Sometimes you need those 'throw together' meals.

Something that everyone likes.

Fast, hot & yummy.

Our meals for this week:

Monday- Beef burritos. Hunter had skating and Tyler had hockey, so we needed something that could be heated up at different times.

Tuesday-Pasta. This is a simple recipe that my mom used to make for us. Pasta, ground beef. Tomato Soup. Salt & Pepper.

Wednesday- Pork Tenderloin with Orange-Balsamic Glaze, roasted potatoes, green beans & carrots.

Thursday- panko-crusted fish with rice and salad.

Friday-Creamy Seafood Lasagna with leeks & Bell Peppers.

Saturday-Dad cooks.

I am linking back to an organizing junkie.com as she hosts Menu Plan Monday.

oh february, why do you seem so long?

I find it so ironic that the shortest month of the year also  feels like the longest month of the year. Yes, February, thrown in the middle of winter, seems to go on forever. When the calendar turns to March, you can actually think spring. But February just seems to perculote in it's cold glory. I find myself exceptionally lazy these days....no gumption or motivation to do much of anything. I just walked away from a half-emptied dishwasher because the notion struck me to go blog. My husband will not be so happy when he enters the kitchen and hits his shin on the open dishwasher door.Then he'll call my name in exasperation. I think he has grown used to my sometimes half-witted ways.

We have been sick here at my house for the better part of almost 3 weeks now. First Tyler with a tough cold and an incessant cough. Then me, with a cold that turned into a flu/feverish illness..... and now Hunter. She has a stubborn cold with head congestion and a cough. Yesterday, I took her to the doctor for the first time in more than 5 years. We ended our run of 13 years of no antibiotics with the diagnosis of a sinus infection and a head throbbing so much that bending over felt like an explosion of the skull. I caught her holding her head like it was going to fall off while trying to put on her boots.

Yesterday I was surfing the net for a two bite brownie recipe. Those little bites are so darn good. I keep telling myself that they cannot be that hard to recreate at home, but alas I have had 2 failures with 2 different recipes. The brownies were just too chewy and not tender like the ones you buy. So yesterday, my google search brought up a blog called 'Dinner with Julie'.  Not only did she have her own two bite brownie recipe, but they were also low fat. Bonus! I started reading her blog and I learned that she is a food writer, food stylist, journalist, and sometimes commentator for CBC in Calgary. Not only is her blog full of good looking dishes, but her writing is fun and entertaining to read. I immediately added her to my favorites list. I love blogs where the writing is honest and real.  So today, I am making Julie's "Ham & Lentil Soup". Just so happens that I have a ham bone with lots of meat on it in my freezer.......courtesy of my mother...she's real handy like that....tucking away little surprises in ziploc bags autographed with her handwriting into my freezer for me to find on a day when I don't know what to make for dinner. This ham soup is a winner....it's meets my requirements for a healthy dose of veg and lentils, but the ham makes it palatable for my boys. I can honestly tell my 9yr. old that it's "ham" soup without being the least bit coy. So tonight we will be tucking into ham & lentil soup with a bit of a french loaf. And I will happily eat away what's left of the month of February with my two bite brownies. Just 5 days left to go.....

(photo: courtesy of Dinner with Julie)

the one where I share one of my BFF's travels....

I just have to share this email that I got this morning! Although I love my life....just a teeny bit of me wants to be here and have this vacation.....just for one teeny little week!

Costa Rican Short Story ~ Pura Vida Baby!!
Well so much has happened in the few short weeks that I have been here that I could write a novel...but alas time only permits snippets of my adventures thus far. So, let’s start with a summary of the last few days...wowsy!
Sunday morning...with the sunrise comes the sounds of the wildlife, numerous types of birds, geckos and of course howler monkeys...and yes they howl!! There is no going back to sleep and in the last couple weeks Linda and I have gotten into a little routine that who ever is up first has to put on the coffee. Luckily for me, Linda is an incredible cook ~ she cooks for me and I am the chief dishwasher!! Oh yeah, Sunday...after fresh fruit we set off for and hour and a half hike around the area. After walking up Playa Brasilito we stopped and ate our wonderfully packed lunch, compliments of Linda of course!! That evening we went to a local Fiesta full of Costa Rican bull-riding cowboys and the prancing horses with lasso-riders...as Linda put it, “This a gong show!”
Monday...I think Linda is up first, and I wake up to the smell of fresh ground Costa Rican coffee and after a healthy bowl of oatmeal and fruit we are off to the gym. We have been very diligent going every other day to keep our muscles intact and it is only three minutes away from our casa at Villa Ferlito. The afternoon consisted of another stroll along the beach...perhaps there were five other people on the beach that day. There are sooo many beaches close to our place that I am losing track of them, more importantly, they are clean, they are sandy, they are secluded and they are Pura Vida! Dinner that evening was at a beautiful restaurant on the beach, the special that night was 'whole grilled red snapper!!' Amanda, it beats the Star Chef tenfold and that was excellent food!!
Tuesday...up at the crack of dawn and gone Deep Sea fishing, which was a first for me!! We spent all day on the ocean with turtles, dolphins, and manta rays, and I reeled my first fish in ever!! After a full day on the ocean we went to friends for grilled Tuna steaks and fine red wine, gosh, what else is possible!!
Today...Wednesday was much of the same...a little swim in the ocean...fitted with our scuba gear, another walk on the beach to an incredible restaurant to watch the sunset. Needless to say, it is going to be really hard to leave this place!!
Gotta get some sleep now because I am going diving tomorrow!!
Muchos besos y muchas sunrises from Costa Rica Baby!!
Love and hugs,
Susan