Little Black Dress

Okay, confession time....  H and I are rookie gardeners.  We have just wrapped up summer #2 in our house (we bought in June last year), and we are still winging it.

Some things that have not been helping us are:

1. We bought the house as an estate sale, the previous owners being on older couple who hired their garden work out to pros! yeah no pressure!
2. The children of the previous owners scalped our garden removing we estimate 10-15 mature plants/shrubs (yeah, nice huh!)
3. We are on a corner lot with mucho exposure to the street (aka nowhere to hide)
4. The most we have had to work with in the past was a planter or two
5. We've been stuck doing our basement reno

With the basement reno coming to close, we realized that the first impressions of our house count a lot when trying to find a renter.  We figure that our house's exterior is a symbol of us, and a sign of how we treat our house and our things.  And that if we want a tenant who will take care of our/their space, then we need to show them we care.  There are a lot of outdoor makeover items on our to do list (like painting the house, new walkways, adding a new patio area with a trellis/awning...), but they are mostly too expensive or would take too much time/energy for us burnt out DIY-ers.  But, there was one 'quick and cheap fix we did decide to tackle......

Our flower beds.

Yup, that's right we whipped those suckers into shape.  From a distance they were not looking too bad....

Probably, helped by our new roof  and getting rid of the big cedars woopwoop!  But up close was another story....  neglect at weeding and general garden maintenance was showing.  It just looked sloppy and kinda uncared for.  Not the best impression to potential tenants as they walked up to our house.

So, we hunkered down and did a big weeding blitz. Which helped a lot, but was still not very polished or welcoming.

Yeah.... I wasn't kidding!  So, I got my thinking cap on... and I pondered our quick fix options.... and then I had a light bulb moment - bark mulch, but not just any bark mulch, ideally black bark mulch!

So I researched our options - from our local transfer station, Home depot, Rona, etc.... and the black stuff was expensive... and we needed a lot so there went the "cheap"check box....

But, I still pined for my black bark mulch.... I scouted it out everywhere we went gazing fondly at the bags every time we were at the home improvement stores... yup, you could say I lusted for it.  But, my frugal finger just couldn't pull the trigger.

That is until I spotted bags at Walmart for $2 per bag (vs $6+ per bag at the other stores), and they even had black- booyah!  So, I loaded up our Matrix with as many as I could fit, and dragged those suckers home to a sceptical husband.

A few trips later and he's sceptical no more... 'cuz now our flower beds look like this!

Crisp and clean, just the way I like it!  So far we bought 18 bags if bark mulch (we cleaned the Greater Vancouver stores out of their remaining stock!), so at $2 each, we spent under $40 with tax, and we were able to do about 1/2 of the flower beds on our whole property.

Guess who's going to be stalking the Walmart garden center next spring for her next fix?!

Alberta Roadtrip Recap: Part 2- The Main Event

So, I mentioned in my original post about our summer road trip that we were going to be celebrating.    The celebration was because some very close friends of ours were getting hitched.  I've known the bride for years.... like since Girl Guides kinda years!



that's me on the left and the bride on the right

So, when they told us that they were doing a destination wedding, we were like heck yeah!  The location  of the ceremony up on a hill at the groom's family's ranch just outside the National park.  With this as the view from the ranch house

I mean hello! The prairies and the Rockies, with a gorg bride and groom, and the sun shining, it doesn't get much better!

 

Before and after the ceremony we had time to kick back and enjoy the ranch - that's H with the Best Man sitting on the front porch, ain't he the cutest!!

 

The main house of the ranch Hawk's Nest hasn't changed much since it was built in 1923, and looks just like you think a traditional ranch house should look woody and manly.

After the ceremony we all headed back to town and boarded a boat to take a cruise around Waterton Lake.  And boy was it the perfect weather for a boat ride.

  The bride and groom made sure we all got the party started.

 

 

It was a great time to hang out with the bride and the rest of the girls (and the boys too!).  The captains' hats were from the stagette, and were a huge hit!

The final leg of the wedding was the reception at the former school in Waterton, a very appropriate venue as the bride is a teacher!

 

Now I dropped the ball when it comes to pictures of the reception as our friends asked me to be one of the MC's for the evening (yeah, so sweet!), and I forgot to give H strict photo documenting instructions in my absence, whoops... lesson learned!

But,  I did manage to snap some pictures ahead of time of some of the sweet details before things got underway.



I loved the wood votive holders made by the groom's family with wood from the ranch (and may have snuck a few home with me)...

 

And their favours of pickled beans, such a perfect choice for this couple as they are "famous" for their homemade pickles (my non-pickle eating husband devours them they are so good!) - we even broke the rules and snuck home with 2 jars ;)

 

I managed not to trip and fall or let loose with any too embarrassing stories, the drinks flowed and the dancing went late,  a good time was had by all.  We are so happy to have been able to share in their big day, so thanks guys!



Alberta Roadtrip Recap: Part 1- Getting there

So, we've been back from our mini break for a few days and it's about time I fill ya'll in on where we went to.

Our destination was Waterton National Park in southern Alberta.  But as H and I havn't had a holiday just the two of us since our wedding two years ago (eeek... yeah I know it's terrible!) we decided to stretch the trip out and see a bit more on the way.

So, we planned out our trip, and route looked something like this:

As our outbound route took us through the Coastal Range and Rocky Mountains, we had to take a few stops to take in the scenery.

Our first pit-stop was Revelstoke.  H and I both loved this quaint little mountain town, we even indulged in some time fantasizing about setting up a little B&B in one of the adorable Victorian and Mid century homes in the "downtown".

What we also saw which was just too cute was this house below.  The yellow signs in the windows say "Don't tell Tanner, it's a surprise"... it seems that they were doing their own version of a DIY home makeover, there was a whole group busily working at painting the house and re-landscaping the yard.

 Next up were the Rockies, and we couldn't not stop at a few places along the way.

 

The milky blue waters of Lake Louise- milky because of sediement created by the grinding of the glaciers against the mountains.

 

And the bright turquoise of Moraine Lake.

 

Yes, the above is a true reflection of the colour of the lake! It was truly stunning!

After the Rockies, the landscape totally changes as we hit the praries.  Which actually reminded H of Belgium, due to the flat landscape.

 

 Sigh, I'd forgotten how stunning the big blue skies and miles and miles of wheat fields can be.

H's one big request for the trip was a visit to Drumheller to go and check out the dinosaur museum.

 

That's H on the toe of the 'worlds largest dinosaur' ...

And with a real dinosaur leg.  The museaum was great, I'd been the there years ago, but even a second visit was facinating.  H was really taken by it all, and spent the rest of our trip turning over rocks looking for fossils. 

 

As we were already in Drumheller, I included a short stop at the local Hoodoos, although a bit dissapointing in size (hehe that sounded naughier than intended!), they are on the edge of the badlands and offered some stunning scenery.

 

 

After that we headed south down to Waterton, pulling into town just after a spectacular prarie sunset

 

 



Photo Evidence

A few of you have expressed disbelief that I really brought the bench/settee/whatever you wanna call it, into the fabric shop to help find "the fabric"...


I figure that a picture tells a thousand words....





So... since they are camera phone pictures, I figure that's at least 1500 words of proof!

Lighting the way

With all my sewing goodies trapped in the container somewhere across town, my Mom and I decided to entertain ourselves and embrace my temporary unemployment, by hitting up a few thrift shops...

Until H and I buy our own house I'm trying to limit the amount of additional furniture I buy... but sometimes I can't resist a good deal. At 3 meters long, our art deco buffet is a whole lotta furniture, but probably one of my favourite pieces of furniture. To break up all the wood I've been dreaming of finding a funky pair of lamps to add much needed mood lighting, and a little height.

So, imagine my delight in tracking down these bad boys at our local Salvation Army thrift shop or as it's known locally, the Sally Ann (the Canadian version of Goodwill).

Since we couldn't bring most of our electrical goods due to differences in voltage, I figured I could justify the purchase. So yeah, they are big, heavy, and brassy table lamps... well 2 tone actually... so why the love?

Yup, you read that right $7.99 a piece. With new lamps costing over $200 for a pair, I figured that for 16 bucks and some spray paint I could customize them to be something spectacular for our buffet at a fraction of the price. H liked them as they were (um... yeah, no comment!), but leaving them as is would be no fun, and they were pretty scuffed up, so today I moved along with my original plan.

After picking up some metal primer and spray paint (Krylon's Ocean Breeze), I assembled the rest of the tools I'd need- painters tape, white vinegar, a rag, newspapers, and Twizzlers... okay that last one is optional!

After wiping the lamp bases down with a 50:50 mixture of white vinegar and water, taping carefully around the base of the harp and end of the lamp cord, to get a clean line after painting and finally covering the harp with more tape and newspaper, I was ready to go.

After a few thin coats of primer and they already look miles better.

Kinda like the fab floor lamp at the boutique hotel we stayed at the night of our wedding, Hmmmm.

photo credit

So now the dilemma is.... ocean blue or gloss white.... ocean blue... gloss white....

Unwanted visitors

The other day H noticed evidence that we had some visitors... and I'm not talking about the kind one looks forward to.

I'm talking creepy crawly visitors... wood worms!


About a year ago we inherited a mahogany chest of drawers from H's grandparents... It's been around the block a bit (we are the 5th generation of his family that has taken care of this) but considering how old it is and the amount of times it has been moved, it has done remarkably well.

Edited to Add: When we received the cupboard from H's family last year it already had many woodworm holes, something that is quite common in old furniture (it is over 150 yrs old!). We gave it a quick look and then thought nothing of it- until H took a second look last week. As the lifecycle of woodworms is very long (from 1- several years), it takes a long time for any evidence of an infestation to become visible. We know that H's Grandpa treated it for woodworm many years ago, but it is difficulty to know if he just missed a few of them or if it is a new infestation.

Infestations are much more likely in areas of high humidity (ie damp places like attics, basements etc.), so treating it with anti-woodworm and having it in a nice heated house should dramatically cut dsown on our chances of a return infestation.

As two relative DIY rookies, we consulted our furniture care bible, we quickly found out how to check if the "infestation" was active or not.

1. Sawdust in the holes
2. The wood inside the hole is lighter that the surrounding wood

Check and double check.... gulp!!

According to The Book, the holes are the "flight holes" which are created when the fully grown woodworms (it's actually a type of beetle) burrows it's way to the surface of the wood.

With this double positive result for a recent infestation there was a high chance that they were still around With the thought of the reepy crawly beetles crawling through my fabric stash (which is currently stored in that cupoard) our house enough of a turn off, plus the damage these little beesties can do to the cupboard and the distinct possibility that they could move in on one of our other pieces of furniture), we decided that action was required.

A quick stop off at the DIY store later we were armed and ready.

First up we gave the cupboard a thorough cleaning with the vaccum- apparently the wordworms like dust and dirt, so clean wood is key to keeping them at bay.

Then H got started injecting the flight holes with the anti-woodworm product. You really want to push the fluid in as the woodworms create a whole network of tunnels in the wood before they are all grown up, so you want the fluid to spread throughout their little wormy road system.

As H was squeezing the product in, we could see it travelling through the tunnels, and sometimes it would even dribble out of another hole... sneeky little worms!

While H was busy attacking the holes, I went to work on the drawers.

The woodworms lay their eggs in the dirty cracks and crevises of untreated wood, so to get rid of any existing wormies, and to prevent anyone in the future from thinking our cupoard was a good place to start a family, I painted the anti-woodworm product on all of the unfinished wood, both the drawers and carcass of the cupboard, giving a double dose to the really problematic areas.

After 48 hours to dry/absorb, it's then time to polish up the wood, and we are back in business. Bye bye, wormies... hope not to see you around here any time soon :)

Time out in Brussels- Marolle

I don't post often about the places that we vist, but I thought that one of H's and my favourite weekend haunts, the Marolle, deserved a little bloggy love.


The Marolle is the antiques district of Brussels, which inclues a daily market 7am -2pm (Place du Jeu de Balle, which is walking distance from the Place Poelaert glass elevator- by Ave Lousie metro stop- for those of you who want to stop by). We love it because the market and shops are open on a Sunday - very unusual in Belgium where most things are closed Sundays leaving us stuck at home!

Glass elevator and view of the Marolle district, Brussels

H and I have spent many great days wandering around the area, and bought many a "treasure" there hidden amongst the random collections- often junk, but with a bit of patience, we've found some real winners :)

Being a market vendor "french" style... a glass of red wine to keep the cold at bay!

This past weekend was no exception. On Sunday, we grabbed the metro and wandered over to the Marolle market. And while wandering aroundthe market square, what should I spy... but a old box full of vintage wooden printers letters, which I have been wanting for ages. As I have been lusting after these for ages, I know the ebay price = about 1€/letter... Marolle price= 25€ for 45 letters and a small wooden box that locks! To top it off, we have almost a complete alphabet, all we are missing is an "R"! Yay, happy dance and a big smile!

The box needs a bit of a clean up, but after a little TLC will be a great addition to our house. I'm wondering If I can use the blocks for some stamping... I need to investigate this a bit further. This time around we also scooped up 6 silver plate julip cups, which I already have plans for. Plan #1. wedding decor that after will serve as #2. mini vases for our house. Oh, what was the price you ask... after a bit of negotiating they were 2€ a pop, so 12€ for all 6 matching cups, such a steal, sweeeet!

A Marolle antiques store located in an old department store- 4 stories full of treasures!

For anyone who's not a "market type" of person (or the weather means you want to stay indoors), there is more to the Marolle than just the market, there are also some great antiques (and regular shops) in the street nearby. Both the filled to the brim type of "A" shop, where you really have to hunt around, as well as the shops with a careful selected products. To be honest we haven't had as much luck in those shops (actually I don't think we've EVER bought anything in one of them- but that's probably because we are pretty cheap frugal). They are however, a great place to get ideas, as well as figure out the "real price" of things... as well as just being generally fun to poke around :)