Christmas 2011

It was merry. Very.

Kittens

Our family has grown.

This is Ahsoka:

He's a boy, but Neil insists he's a girl.  Does a pronoun really matter to a cat anyway?

This is Sky:

She's beautiful.

Summer Wreath

This project started out as a spring wreath, but since I only just finished it, I'm now calling it my summer wreath.

The wreath foundation is made from burlap upholstery webbing, wrapped around a foam wreath form.

There are tutorials all over the blogosphere for how to make fabric flowers.  Suffice it to say that a lot of twisting and rolling were involved.  I used some fabric glue to hold them together, since it is easier on my fingertips than the glue gun. 

I put the flowers on by sticking sewing pins from the dollar store through the centre of them and into the wreath form.

I was looking for something to put on the other side, since it looked a little unbalanced and I was tired of making flowers.  I remembered that I had kept the black metal house numbers that we took off of our house when we painted it two years ago - I put up some bigger, bolder ones on the house.  I dug out the old numbers and painted them with some craft paint.  Then I stuck them on by putting pins through the screw holes.

I'm quite pleased with the finished product.  And - a nifty feature - since the flowers and numbers are simply pinned on, I can reinvent the wreath for other seasons as well.  At the rate I move, I had better start making some fall flowers now!

Peggy's Cove

Peggy's Cove is said to be one of the most-photographed locations in Canada and it is pretty much a tourist must-do for anyone visiting Nova Scotia.  Which means that, as a Nova Scotian, I kind of forget that it exists most of the time.  Last weekend we were looking for something to do to do - we'd been in a bit of a fog with colds, trips, and lots of rainy weather and we really needed a break.

When Owen got out of the car at Peggy's Cove, he announced that it was the best place ever and that he was never going to leave.  So I guess we made a good choice.

The Peggy's Cove lighthouse is a Nova Scotia icon, no doubt about it.  But the real star is the landscape and the sea.   It is almost otherworldly.

The kids loved climbing around on the rocks.  We stayed far from the water - the waves are treacherous.  But it is not a place for the faint-hearted parent, regardless.

After all the rock-climing action, we retreated to the village for ice cream.  And not your run-of-the-mill ice cream either. 

Dee Dee's Ice Cream is a company that makes ice cream right in Peggy's Cove.  Let me tell you, it was delicious.  (I had a scoop of the European Dark Chocolate and a scoop of the Mexican Chocolate. There's never enough chocolate, right?

I totally want to go back - both with the kids and maybe by myself so I can take pictures (and eat ice cream) without having to monitor whether anyone is about to fall off a cliff.

This way to lake...

We are lucky.  We live in the city, but there is a park across the street.

We get to look at the trees.

And the dandilions.  Which I think are pretty.

And at the end of the path is the best part - the lake!

Where I can sit and admire my new Keen sandals from Value Village. 

And boys can get very dirty.

And wet.

Very wet.

Sometimes very very wet.

We are very lucky.

DIY Starfighters?

Our latest crafty endeavor is unlikely to make it onto Pinterest and I doubt anyone will be clamouring for me to open an Esty store, but it can't be beat for local popularity.

Somehow I managed to grow up in the 70's and 80's without ever watching Star Wars.  Ever. 

Then I had boys.  Boys who, as it turns out, love all thing Star Wars related.

So, we made these beauties.

This one is Owen's.  It is modeled after Anakin Skywalker's starfighter (isn't it obvious?).

The similarities are striking, don't you think?

This is Padawan Neil, with his starfighter, modeled on Asoka Tano's.

The details of how we made them are horrendously complicated, but may have involved me cutting some cardboard into star-fighter-like shape and then setting us all loose with craft paint.

Good times!

Flip Flops!

It has been raining for most the past three weeks and my main outdoor footwear has been my black rubber boots.  As fond as I am of those boots, I'm very ready for some nice weather.  And some colour.  And some sun on my toes (and my glaringly white legs).  The weather is still pretty grey and my toes are still undercover, but thanks to a one-day-sale at Old Navy, I'm the proud owner of 5 pairs of $1 flip flops. Colour! Yes!

A Frenchy's Adventure


This past weekend my mom, my sister and I had an overnight trip for some shopping and some girl time. And not just any shopping.  Frenchy's shopping.  The best treasure-hunting kind of shopping - big bins of used clothes just waiting to be rooted through. 

We took off on Friday morning, hitting the Guy's Frenchys in Colbrook first.  Here is Mom and Carolyn with their bags of loot:

The Colbrook Guy's is HUGE, so after that we needed something to recharge our energy.  We stopped for lunch at the Union Street Cafe in Berwick.  Yum.

Then we hit the Wilmot and Digby Guy's - we only stopped when they closed up at 9pm.  I love that my mom and sister have the same love (and stamina) for Frenchy's that I do.

We stayed overnight in Digby and spent some time showing each other our purchases (because the only thing that comes close to the fun of finding something great at Frenchy's is showing someone else the great thing!)

I got lots of great stuff, and I do mean lots.  I haven't taken any photos since I'm still in the process of running things through the laundry but some highlights were: 2 pairs of Banana Republic dress pants (one with the $108 price tag still on), Banana Republic short spring trench coat, BCBG Max Azria blouse, Talbots blazer, 2 Boden dresses, variety of Anne Taylor and J.Crew tops.  It was a good haul and a great time.