A Holiday DIY

Happy Wednesday! I originally planned this post for yesterday, but it turned out to be more of a catch-up kind of day around the house - so here it is!


The other week before we left for Massachusetts I realized a few things...


1. This is Halle's first Christmas, and we only have two stockings (that are not even that nice)


2. Stockings can be EXPENSIVE... especially if you want matching ones. It's also not always easy to find nice ones that you like and match your Christmas decor.


3. I had a TON of extra fabric not being used for anything that could surely make some pretty stockings... that MATCH!


So, when we were packing up, I grabbed a bunch of fabric to bring with us, in hopes that B's Mom and I could put our heads together to make some pretty stockings. The night before Thanksgiving, while the men folk and Halle were taking in the Bruins game - we got to work. Here's what we did...


1. I drew the shape I wanted onto a large piece of heavy paper that B's Mom gave me. It wasn't perfect the first time, so I kept going back, erasing and re-drawing until I got the exact shape and size that I wanted.

2. Once we had it right, I cut it out and traced it onto our fabric. I made sure to trace it a bit wider to allow for the seams of the stocking.


3. Before cutting out the stocking shapes, we folded the fabric four times. The fabric I picked was thin, so we needed to double up the fabric for each side of the stocking. Thankfully I had a ton of fabric so we knew that we would be able to get four stockings no problem (me, B, Halle and then guests OR a future baby... Halle will want a sibling one day, right?).

4. Once we had the pieces cut out, B's Mom sewed the tops of two of the stocking shapes together, then sewed our seams flat so we would get a clean edge at the top of the stocking.

5. With our tops sewed clean, B's Mom then took the two doubled up stocking sides and sewed them together. I gave them a quick iron and then we flipped them right-side out - boy did they look great!....


But we weren't done yet! I'd also brought two different styles of blue fabric with me - paisley printed napkins that I'd grabbed on clearance at HomeSense before Halle was born, and some plain blue denim that I'd bought in Spring of 2010 for one of my final school projects. They match well, and would give us great coordinating stockings.


6. Lucky for me, the fold lines in the napkins gave us the perfect width for our stocking cuffs. So I cut the napkin a little wider than we needed and then ironed it flat.

7. Then it was time for B's Mom and I to really put our heads together to decide how to get the cuff on right. We could've sewed it on BEFORE we sewed the stocking together, but we were flying by the seats of our pants, so we needed to come up with a plan. B's Mom sewed my cut napkin into a loop - lining up the edging of the napkin, and then tried pinning it onto the stocking to see how it would look.

8. It worked out PERFECTLY, so B's Mom folded over the cut edge inside of the stocking to get us a finished edge inside as well, then sewed it up nicely. Our first finished stocking looked fantastic.


It took a few more days, and B's Mom was nice enough to finish up this project for us while we were out visiting a friend on Sunday afternoon, so by the time we left to head home the next morning, we had four beautiful stockings to bring home. I cannot wait to hang them by our fireplace... once we get it all cleaned up and our new mantle on there from my father.

Have you ever made your own Christmas stockings, or started any other Christmas crafts/DIY's to deck your halls this holidays season?

Makin' A List

Happy Monday! We had a great time visiting back in Massachusetts, but this morning we're on the road back home... and I'm ready to get into the Christmas spirit!


Have you started your shopping yet? B and I got a lot of shopping done while we were away, and I thought I'd put together some fun little shopping guides for my readers who are still looking for some good ideas. I could've gone in a number of directions, but ultimately decided to go the traditional route of "For Him", "For Her" and "For the Kids". Here are my picks...

{1} Pendleton Merino Wool Blanket - $108.00 USD Kaufmann Mercantile  {2} Ribbon Necklace - $25.00 maneggi  {3} Fork & Spoon Wood Recipe Book - $26.00 Night Owl Paper Goods  {4} Hand in Hand Cashmere Scarf - $195.00 Kate Spade  {5} Madero Hoodie - $88.00 Anthropologie  {6} Large Little Vintage Hearts Book - $220.00 sarah & bendrix



[1] Leather Head Handmade Football - $115.00 USD Kaufmann Mercantile  [2] Menswear Tray (Shaving Kit) - $6.36 West Elm  [3] No. 1 Decanter - $39.50 Indigo Books & Music  [4] Reebok New England Patriots Vintage Applique Hooded Sweatshirt - $74.99 NFLShop.com  [5] Solid Suede Palm Convertible Glove - $9.99 Urban Outfitters  [6] Personalized Man Cave Beverage ID Tag - $7.00 TNTees

(1) Wooden Xylophone Toy - $48.00 Smiling Tree Toys  (2) Giraffe Pillow - $25.00 Little Korboose  (3) DUKTIG Toolbelt with soft toys - $7.99 IKEA  (4) Reindeer Rattle - $12.00 Indigo Books & Music Inc.  (5) The Original Slinky, Collector's Edition - $7.50 Lee Valley Tools  (6) Secret Garden, Embroidered Penguin Classic - $16.00 Anthropologie  (7) Plush Deer Girl - $65.00 PrettyPlush

Fancy Friday Love

Happy Black Friday!! Despite being stateside, visiting with family, I managed to squeeze in some quality blog reading! (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for helping with Halle!) Here are my favourites from this week...


Did you see this gorgeous basement renovation reveal, over on hello lovely inc? Click on over to see more lovely!

I adore this girls bedroom that was featured on The Lettered Cottage on Monday. It was designed by Cortney and Bob Novogratz in less than a week. My favourite part? The beds! What little girl wouldn't find this room fun?

Brittany shared a yummy recipe for Apple Cinnamon Stuffed French Toast on Monday! Sounds so good, but unfortunately B doesn't enjoy "fruity" breakfasts as much as I do. So give it a try for me, will ya?

How cute are these balloon dog book ends? Found via Nursery Notations...

Yesterday, Meg shared this beautiful bathroom from a house they flipped last year! You need to see this fabulous transformation!

One adorable Winnie-the-Pooh themed Baby Shower over on On To Baby yesterday! So many adorable and perfect details. See and read more here...

This weekend we'll be squeezing in some visits with family and friends, and I'm pretty excited to start preparing for Christmas... which also involves getting the house cleaned and a little more organized. It's been hard to stay on top of everything with our little munchkin around, and a major reno underway! What do you have planned for this final weekend of November?

Happy Thanksgiving - Round 2!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends! Today we are south of the border celebrating this fantastic holiday surrounded by all of B's family. Halle's first Thanksgiving (we don't make a big huge deal of Canadian Thanksgiving back at home). I'm looking forward to taking in the Macy's Parade, watching football, eating turkey.... and MAYBE, if I'm lucky, having my usual post-turkey nap on the couch.

{via design dump}

I hope that all of those celebrating today are surrounded by the one's they love the most, and are showing their gratitude for all of the fantastic things we are blessed with! 

Four Months of Halle

So it's happened - my little girl is four months old already. There may still be some nights where we get less sleep, but there are also now a good number where she will sleep 7 or 8 hours! So it's all worth it... especially for all the smiles and giggles we get now, and each new milestone we reach. Here she is...

What's she up to these days?...

- Someone is in L-O-V-E with her feet. Just the other week she started stuffing her toes in her mouth... while Daddy was changing her diaper. Needless to say, diaper changes are becoming more challenging by the day!

- Just this past Monday she started blowing raspberries! She's been loving having us do it for quite some time now, and on Monday morning, I was changing her diaper (seems to be prime time for her to show us her new skills) and she just started blowing raspberries at me.

- She's on oatmeal cereal now, and has been since the day after her 3 month birthday. She's definitely starting to fill out and is a girl who knows what she likes. It's all about Heinz! She does not like Gerber cereal one bit.

- Her playmat is the place to be. She loves reaching and grabbing for everything and turns herself in circles constantly. It's one of the few places I can set her down during the day in order to accomplish things...

I think what's blowing my mind even more than her being four months old is that I almost have five months of maternity leave behind me! Time sure is flying...

It Must Get Worse...

... before it gets better. That's definitely the point we are at in our bathroom renovation. As I mentioned yesterday, B and my father have been working away on our bathroom, and it's been pretty crazy around here. Just to refresh your memory, here is where we were after our demolition day two Sunday's ago...

Next steps, involved B pulling up some of the sub floor to see what was going on down there. What he found was a mess of plumbing and all the old junk and garbage from the last renovators... as well as a bunch of notches taken out of the floor joists. Not so good, and something that definitely needs to be addressed...

While we knew this had to be taken care of, on Sunday we were blessed with really nice weather for late November, so my Dad came over to help B with a very exciting project. Installing the new window. Here's how it all happened...

The old window came out to prepare for the new one. Then, after measuring and marking, the bottom part of the old window was boarded up and the new window was framed out. Once it was framed, they were able to use that to cut the new hole...

Just before 8pm the new window was in. A long day of work but totally worth it...

It will provide us with so much more natural light in this little space, and it's high enough that there are not any privacy concerns. We also love that we were able to find it at ReStore for only $45! It will for sure make this a huge transformation. The room won't look anything like this old space...

Halle's getting a new bathroom for Christmas!

Are we the only crazies undertaking a huge renovation (again), right before the holiday season?

Happy Birthday Monkey

As I mentioned last Thursday, over the weekend we celebrated our godson's first birthday. I had so much fun helping to plan the event. Here are some details of the Sock Monkey themed soiree (FYI - there was no natural light in the party room, hence the shadows in the photos from my flash)...

{birthday banner found and printed from here}

{Cake made by my talented cousin! Chocolate and banana and so delicious!}

It was a great day, and everything turned out wonderfully! The little guy got the first birthday he deserved and was so spoiled by all of the people who love him the most! I must say, my cousin and I got rather excited during the party and already started talking Halle's first birthday.... which is still 8 months away.

What gets me, is that Saturday was the one year anniversary of us getting the great news that Halle was coming! Now she's almost 4 months old...

{wearing one of my dresses from when I was a baby}

How was your weekend? B and my father also made some progress in the bathroom, so I will be back tomorrow with more bathroom renovation updates for you!

Fancy Friday Love

Friday, Friday - again! Can't believe how quickly November is flying by! I'm still working on catching up on blog reading, so you'll find some oldies, but goodies on this Fancy Friday post... so here we go!


I want to try out this DIY tassel garland, from The Sweetest Occassion - probably for the holiday's this year. What do you think?

I fell in love with these pillow covers when I spotted them on Miss Mustard Seed last Friday. What a beautiful and elegant way to add a touch of the festive season to your home. You can buy them over at Dear Lillie... 

Did you see the TP that Beatrice made? Love it! Thankfully she's putting together a how-to... I'd love to make one for Halle one day!

A sweet bedroom, found via desire to inspire. I'm loving the way the curtains are hung using ribbon. I like this idea for our kitchen, since it needs some new and inexpensive window treatments...

From House of Turquoise yesterday - can you believe this space is party of a kitchen!? Isn't that sectional in the window just stunning!? Wish I was curled up right there with my laptop and a cup of tea while Halle played nicely (and quietly) nearby...

I truly enjoyed reading about how the half bath came to be, over at for the love of a house. I particularly enjoyed how the vanity came to be - it was fate! And the reveal of the half bath... isn't it stunning?

So, as yesterdays post would indicate, we have a birthday celebration upon us this weekend... as well as a ton of work on the bathroom (as you can imagine). Halle is growing so fast, that kitchen sink just isn't cutting it anymore. So off we go! So much to do!

What are your plans for this weekend?

A First Birthday Celebration

I know I haven't given any updates on the living room or bathroom - but the bathroom work B is doing right now isn't really blog worthy (there should be some after this weekend!), and the living room is at a bit of a stand still at the moment. Today, I have some inspiration for you to check out, for a party I've been helping to plan.


On the 22nd, our godson will turn 1. It's hard to believe how quickly this year has gone, but it has, and I've been busy the last few weeks helping our friends plan little D's first birthday party. It's happening this Saturday, and they loved the idea of a Sock Monkey theme.


We've all been working on planning, shopping to make the day special for the little dude, and I can't wait to share photos and details next week. Until then, here is some of the inspiration I have been collecting over on pinterest...

{pinterest via}

{pinterest via kara's party ideas}

I LOVE finger print guest books! I think they are so fun, and have a little something like this planned for the big day. 

{pinterest via kara's party ideas}

{via}

D's Mommy and Daddy will be baking up some yummy Monkey bread for the event. I'm really excited about the treats table - there will be so many yummy goodies on it!

I had so much fun looking around and collecting inspiration on pinterest. It was such a helpful tool to pull everything together and give us an overall vision of what the day would look like (I think D's parents found it helpful too!) . Have you ever used pinterest to gather inspiration for an event you planned? How did it turn out?

Simplify This Holiday Season

Can you believe it's just over a month until Christmas? Doesn't it always just sneak up on us? It always feels like we're rushing to decorate, and then before you know it, it's all coming back down again. Why not simplify your holiday decorating this season? Martha Stewart and Home Depot have come together to help you do just that... and we got a little taste of it here at home.


Last week a bright orange box arrived on our door-step, filled with all kinds of goodies to make our home brighter and merrier this Christmas season...

Some pretty ornaments, a stocking and a wreath hanger! A big huge thank you goes out to the Home Depot. If you're looking to coordinate your holiday decor - make sure to check out the three lines that Martha Stewart has now, over at The Home Depot! 


Celebration: Is a beautiful line filled with whites, golds and bronzes. 


North Pole: Is right up my alley! Lots of pretty silver's and blues - our colour scheme for our main floor here at home!


and of course Traditional: Red, Green and Gold galore! This is what showed up at our home - and this year, B has a great idea on how to use these items in our home. I'm excited to share with you in the future.


Which Martha Stewart line would work best in your home? Have you dropped by the The Home Depot to check out the Christmas items yet? Which would work best in your home?

Awards!

Late day post today. Halle and I have been busy.... with lots of Mommy and Halle time! Sorry, I'm so late jumping on this - but over the past couple weeks I've been gifted some lovely awards by some fabulous bloggers (I've had a hard time keeping up with blog reading and writing, so I apologize if you passed on an award and I missed it). 

The Versatile blogger award was one that was passed on from Meg, Jen, Shannon and Beatrice! Thank you so much ladies. Here's 7 Things about me that you may not know (I had a hard time coming up with 7, so don't expect anything too exciting to be revealed haha)...


1. My educational background is actually in Communications. I went to school in Ottawa at Carleton for four years. I loved my program, my teachers and the friends I made there... and I really loved the city. I miss it, and always love going back to visit.


2. I was never sure if I wanted to be a Mom, and was never very maternal. Then, around this time last year we were blessed with the incredible news that I was pregnant! It's been a journey, tough at times, but worth it. Being a Mommy to Halle is the greatest, and I look forward to every new day with her.

3. I have two tattoos. A copyright on my back, with my birth year and "Libra" on my left hip. I'm positive there are more to come.


4. Before I decided to go back to school for interior decorating, I'd spent some time considering going to school for photography. I still love photography, and I'm learning more everyday on how to use my camera and improve the photos I take... I'm just not sure that I could do it for a living....


5. I despise clutter, and usually purge different rooms in our home numerous times a month. I try to live by the motto, live with what you love. I think paying more for quality, is best... and I definitely don't want Halle to grow up thinking that "things" and "stuff" are the most important things in life.


6. I am not a very good cook. even with me being at home with Halle all day, dinner often falls to B. Embarrassing, but thankfully he enjoys cooking... I don't, and I'm not very inspired, but I am working on it.


7. ... and, at least you got 6 outta me! I'm surprised I did that well! hahaha...


I'm pretty sure by now, most of the blogs I read have been gifted this award, so I'd like to pass it on to any of my blogging pals who may not have received this one yet. The stage is yours!