tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47034919485046876182024-03-07T13:03:19.205-05:00Life on Misneach RidgeKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.comBlogger874125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-74004054066725403252018-04-12T09:00:00.000-04:002018-04-12T09:00:05.369-04:00Welcome Home<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's taken me far too long to get back into the swing of blogging. I have an idea, but instead of sitting down to write it, I procrastinate. I'm pretty good at that. I've decided no more though! Blogging was a passion of mine for so long and I look forward to once again making the time to sit down and write, and share the things that I love with you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Yesterday I shared the back story to us arriving in Cape Breton and finding our dream home. The bones of this house are fantastic. We don't see ourselves having to make any huge changes to the layout inside. Most of the house will stay as it is, with just some cosmetic upgrades. Structurally, we need a new foundation poured under the house, so last week we ripped the small bathroom off the back of the house, as well as the mudroom which we plan to make bigger. We've already started demolition in a number of rooms, but today I want to share some photos of the house as it was when we purchased it. </span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Mudroom</span></u></b><br />
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</span></u></b> <span style="font-family: "georgia";">The Mudroom is currently the main entrance into the home. You enter on the side of the house near the driveway and two car garage and from this room you enter into the kitchen. It's a decent size with ample storage, but not quite what we need. A couple of the windows are broken from stray golf balls and of course it was full of stuff from the previous two owners. The plan is to enlarge this room, give it more functional storage for our family of five and more than likely put in new stairs to the basement that will be poured in thecoming weeks (if the weather cooperates). I'm feeling pretty excited about what this room will become!</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Kitchen</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">The kitchen is a decent size for what we need, the biggest problem we found when trying to plan a new layout was the five doorways on three walls and two long windows on other walls. It really breaks up the space and makes it impossible to have an entire wall of cupboards. We are discussing some options to close off at least one door and will be losing those two long awkward windows for one big window over our new sink. Again, there is a lot of potential here and I'm extra excited as this will be our first full kitchen renovation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">You can enter the living room from the kitchen... and the dining room (which you also enter from the kitchen). It's a cozy place with a wood burning stove, and yes, it did come with the Moose and Deer head. We're probably relocating both to Brett's three bay workshop since they are far too large for this small space. Lighting definitely needs to be addressed in this space (as it does in every other room), and we also plan on turning one of the windows into French doors that will eventually exit onto a deck. I can't wait to make this a really cozy and functional family space!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">The dining room is a great size, and one room I was very excited about. It has a beautiful view to the lake, an original built-in (the white one to the left in the picture) and it's a great size. After discussing our kitchen renovation, this will be the primary dining spot. Weekend breakfasts and family dinner's will be eaten here, around a new table Brett will construct. we're both looking forward to building more furniture for this place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><u>The Guest Room</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Having a guest room in this house, and on the main floor is a huge bonus! It's the door directly off the dining room that you can see in the photo above. It's a decent size but we may play with the layout a bit to make it more visitor friendly. Again, it has a nice view out the front of the property and our visitors will have their own powder room downstairs as well. I look forward to painting and cozying this space up for our friends and family!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So that is our ground floor (with the exception of the pantry, laundry room and bathroom that we had ripped off. I wish I had remembered to take photos of those spaces before demolition began, but they seemed so unimportant. Looking back now we have some big plans to close off the door into the laundry room in the kitchen and enter that space from the pantry. The laundry room will also double as our downstairs powder room. We need to figure out our layout plans, but I'm anxious to get to the point of putting everything back together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia;">Next post I'll be sharing the upstairs - the three kids bedrooms, our main family bathroom and our master. </span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-28874932305360961232018-04-11T09:00:00.000-04:002018-04-11T09:16:49.314-04:00"The Best Journey Takes You Home"<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have followed our family for any time, you know of our nomadic ways. In the ten years that Brett and I have been together, we have lived in six homes together. Needless to say, we learned a long time ago that home is not a place, but rather a feeling. Home is made up by the people we share a space with and the moments and memories that we create.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Two years ago, Brett's company (who had sent us to the west coast in the spring of 2012) let him go and we were faced with a big decision. We had a home we were happy in, in a beautiful part of the country, surrounded by great friends. If Brett chose to seek out a new position in his field we could have quite happily stayed the course. Instead, after much conversation and consideration, we decided to venture down the road less travelled. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia";">For years we had shared the dream of buying some acreage where we could raise our family, and be self sufficient. The only problem is that when you are happy and comfortable, it's not always easy to give that up to chase the unknown. Once our new reality sunk in, we viewed it as more of an opportunity than a bump in the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(an evening walk along the beach in Oregon - our favourite stop on the west coast)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">We did some research and found that if we sold our home we should be able to purchase our dream, mortgage free on the opposite coast of Canada. That decision sent us on the greatest adventure of our lives. We spent about six months seeing as much as we could across North America. We visited family and old friends and met so many incredible people along the way. Though everyday of that trip was not easy, it is a time I hold dear. It was those memories that got me through some of the toughest days as we settled into our new community on Cape Breton Island. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(the kids at West Mabou Beach on Cape Breton Island)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">We arrived in the village of Whycocomagh in September of 2016 after coming across a viral land for work offer online. We were one of three chosen families to take on the offer. We settled into a little three bedroom rental and went about creating a new routine. Some days brought me to tears and there were moments that we questioned our decision to leave British Columbia. What kept us going at the end of the day was always that shared dream. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Only a month or two after we arrived, I began looking at real estate listings online. One day I came across a beautiful property overlooking a lake, with more land than we had thought about, a farmhouse and two garages. At the time the price point of the property made it nothing more than a dream, so we kept looking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Near the end of our first winter out east, there was a lot of action in the Toronto real estate market and it seemed like the right time to sell our income property that we had owned there for the past eight years. Once the house was repaired and listed on the market, we finally went to look at the dream property. The views and the land were even better than we had imagined, and we both saw so much potential in the house and garages. It was the type of property we had only dreamed of finding when we headed east. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">We spent the new few months waiting for our house to sell. Just when we had started to consider taking it off the market and putting new tenants in, an offer finally came in that we were able to negotiate on. This opened a window that would allow us to finally purchase the home that we had always wanted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">The home and land became ours on November 10th, 2017. Even before everything was signed, Brett and I had started to discuss the perfect name for our new property. We started a list, but nothing we were coming up seemed to be the perfect fit. Finally in early December Brett found the perfect name, Misneach Ridge. Misneach is a Gaelic term which means courage, bravery, determination or hopefulness. What made this name stick out to me was when we read that the word was often used in the saying "Fortune favours the brave". We both felt that this was an accurate description of how our relationship has always gone. From when Brett and I first met, right up to our choice to sell our life on the west coast to head east, we have always taken chances and it has always paid off for us in ways that we never imagined. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">We have found our forever, and now comes the fun part of transforming it into a comfortable home for our family of five. I can't wait to share all of the details and the journey with all of you.</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-48027019425077895332016-02-15T09:00:00.000-05:002016-02-15T09:00:01.460-05:00Change is Hard<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Life around here has been a little hectic as of late. For those of you who follow along on Instagram, you are well aware that our little family is in the midst of some pretty big life changes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since having children, our priorities have shifted and we have a completely different view on life than we did five years ago. Though we still love making our house a home and building and creating things, our focus is more on time together with a family - especially while these kiddos are so young.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My obvious lack of posts around here points to the fact that I have been feeling less than inspired to write and share what's going on at home. However, I've been feeling inspired by these changes we are making in our life and hope to begin documenting them. These new views and big changes don't really fit into life a la "First Time Fancy" though, so I am working on creating a new home for them. In the coming weeks I plan on putting together a new blog, switching over my I</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">nstagram name and really just start to share more insight into where our lives our headed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is First Time Fancy gone forever? Hopefully not. So much of our lives are shared here, including our growth from two to four, which is such a big part of how we arrived at this new beginning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For now, I hope you can be patient while we bring life to our new online space! I'll make sure to share more soon.</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-15353599130079783562016-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:002016-01-18T09:00:27.222-05:00New Year and New Focus<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Happy 2016! I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays. We had my brother here visiting over Christmas and it was so nice to spend time with him and have him finally meet Nolan. Now that January has hit and we're into a new year, we are once again focusing on what we want to do around here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Last week I shared a quote on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/First-Time-Fancy-111552415610944/">my Facebook page</a>, which highlights what has been on my mind for the last while. <i>"We have traded our freedom for overfilled closets, and our passion for unnecessary maintenance. We have sacrificed life in pursuit of clutter".</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This rings so true for me. I find when there is too much "stuff" around the house, or too much "mess", I feel stressed, aggravated and distracted. Instead of playing with and enjoying my children and B, I'm trying to organize things to either get them out the door or find them new homes. NO MORE! I want my children to remember fun and playing and adventures - not time spent dealing with meaningless objects. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This past week our life has taken an unexpected turn (more to come on this), so B and I are taking some time to focus on what is most important to us. For the last year or more, we have done our best to make our focus our family and friends. To us, people, relationships and experiences are far more important than "things", "stuff" and "possessions". With that being said, 2016 has kicked off with us turning a focus to reducing the amount of stuff we have around the house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have started this journey to live with less, and hope to share our progress with you along the way. It won't be something that happens quickly and most definitely not over night, but I hope that along the way we can find more time, happiness and money as we let go of the things that are cluttering up our space, as well as our time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">In the last week, we have cleared out close to 40o items from our home and made almost $200 selling things we no longer need (mostly baby clothes or items). It's been so therapeutic to start removing things that take up space and time and I can feel the difference it is making in my life emotionally. At the end of the month I plan to report in with a total breakdown of how many items we have released and, as a bonus, how much money we have made selling some of these items.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">Has anyone else attempted to live a more minimalistic lifestyle? What are some of your tips to help you declutter and release items that may have an emotional hold on you? </span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-50433081142249663642015-11-24T06:00:00.000-05:002015-11-24T06:00:05.108-05:00Storing Those Holiday Memories<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I think of Christmas, what I love most are the traditions. Those feelings of routine and familiarity that come with the season. It is the best part of Christmas, but also the hardest part about living on the opposite side of the country from my family and all of my childhood friends. Though we have done our best to start are own traditions on the west coast, there was one tradition that I was able to bring out here with us, creating and mailing Christmas cards.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ever since I was a child, I always loved jumping on the pile of mail that my Dad brought in when he got home from work and ripping open the Christmas cards that came in from all over the country. As B and I started our life together, I stuck to mailing out cards every Christmas and when Halle joined our family in 2011, I decided to start sending photo cards. I always loved receiving photo cards of our friends with families, and thought it would be fun to do as well. I've had a number of people who live far away, tell me how much they enjoy seeing our card every year and seeing how much Halle has grown. I was happy that our friends and family enjoyed them, but I wanted to make sure that I had a special spot to safely keep them, so that we could look back on them (and other holiday photos - like Santa & Easter bunny photos), whenever we wanted</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The solution I opted for was easy and inexpensive - perfect for a family on a budget, like we are. I used a basic white 3 ring binder, and created a handwritten cover on black construction paper to slide into the front pocket. Inside of the binder, I use clear pocket pages to store the cards and photos. I've attached them to black construction paper using photo safe adhesive corners and labeled each memory with the year and where the photo was taken. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I love pulling this binder out every time there is a new photo to add, and Halle enjoys looking back at herself as a baby too. I hope that Nolan will enjoy it just as much. I'll be honest, it's fun to see how B and I have both changed since we first became parents as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This years Christmas cards are my absolute favourite. We used photos from our family session (which I shared a peak at last month), and designed them on <a href="https://www.tinyprints.com/shop/picture-christmas-cards.htm">Tiny Prints</a>. It was hard to pick my favourite design because everything was so gorgeous and they have a ton of fun options (like laser cut cards - so awesome!), but in the end I went with this beautiful traditional looking card as it matched the best with the colours in our photos. B and I also really loved the gold Christmas tree envelope liners! They are so fun, and add just that little bit of extra cheer to the mail!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As always I included one photo of all of us together and then highlighted an individual photo of each of our babies! Yes, Halle is almost four and a half... but she will NEVER stop being my baby!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I enjoy coming up with new ways to address the cards each year, as well. I mean, everybody loves receiving 'snail mail' in this highly electronic world, but it's so much better when that mail arrives in your mailbox looking beautiful - am I right? Not visible in these photos - some cute glittery red hearts that appear in different locations on each envelope. Halle keeps telling me how beautiful the hearts are and how much she loves them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So there you have it, our simple solution to storing our holiday cards and memories... along with a look at our most recent Christmas cards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Do you send Christmas cards every year? Does anyone else love sending photo cards to friends and family, and do you keep them to look back on? I'd love to hear what you do, and most specifically - how do you display cards that you receive. I still haven't found my favourite way to display all of the cards that arrive in our mailbox!</span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-54319676712255532712015-10-14T09:00:00.000-04:002015-10-14T09:00:00.698-04:00Family Photo's & Outfits<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's that time of year again, and everyone is thinking about family photo's (if they haven't had them done already). I love updating our family photos every fall (you can find a look at our past one's here: <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2011/10/two-steps-ahead.html">2011</a>, <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2012/10/family-time.html">2012</a>, <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/12/have-yourself-merry-little-christmas.html">2014</a>) and it's one tradition I plan to continue, for as long as possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year we had Shana of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Art-and-Soul-Photography-118865288162212/">Art and Soul Photography</a> take our photos. We lucked out with an absolutely beautiful sunny day for our first photos as a family of four.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am really happy with outfits I picked out for everyone. I wanted us to coordinate without being too matchy-matchy, and I didn't want to go out and spend a ton on new clothes either. I decided to go with cream and gold for us girls and brown and red for the boys with dark jeans.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I started by choosing my dress (It's a lace H&M dress from about 4 years ago, that I had altered a couple of years ago). Then I went through Halle's closet and found the gold sequin shirt (it's a Joe Fresh shirt that I bought second hand) and the adorable skirt she got as a gift. Brett already had every piece of his outfit in his closet, so then I just had to pay a visit to my favourite second hand kids store to find Nolan's outfit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once again, I am so thrilled with our photos (as I have been every year), and I'm glad we found Shana! She also did Nolan's newborn photos for us, and we can't wait to see her again for his 6 month and 1 year photos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you get family photos done yearly? Have you had any done this year? I would love to hear how you pick outfits for your family photos!</span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-18310106129606396822015-10-05T09:00:00.000-04:002015-10-08T13:40:57.609-04:00A Copycat Sofa Table<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One thing that we have always been slow to add to our home is furniture. We try to be careful when bringing in pieces and we are always very conscience of our budget. We don't really splurge on pieces, and if we know what we want, B would rather build it for us. The best part about building our own furniture is that we can always get the end result that we desire, taking away or adding details as we please, and it saves us a ton of money. Of course, when I decided that I wanted a sofa table for our family room it was time for us to flex our DIY muscles once again.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before we began to build, I started looking at Pinterest and different big box stores for inspiration. We could've built something simple and straight forward, but I knew that I wanted something different (read not all wood), and provided us with storage space. When I found the <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/bleached-pine-rolling-console-h566/">Bleached Pine Rolling Console</a> from West Elm, I knew that I had found our next project. It took quite a few weeks of sourcing materials and discussing plans before we started. The finally decided on the following supplies to help us build our table:</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- 3 - 12" x 5' pine boards</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- 2 - 10' pieces of conduit (1/2" EMT)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- 50' of Galvanized Wire Fencing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- 3/4" Fencing Staples</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- 4 - 4 x 1 1/4 Vintage Black Cast Iron Swivel Casters (2 with brakes) (not pictured as they were still being shipped to us)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our plan was to build a similar looking table to West Elm's but with a smaller foot print and aged looking wood. After taking measurements, we decided the table would be 12" deep, 5' long and 2' tall (with the casters on). This would ensure the table would be only slightly shorter than the length of our couch, come up nicely to the back of it, and be deep enough to hold books and photos, without being too deep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With our plans in place, our first step was the most fun! After B sanded the wood down (so we wouldn't have sharp edges) we got to beat up and "age" those pine boards. Our weapons of destruction?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Basically anything from B's shop that we could use to scrape, dent, gouge or cut the wood with. We threw a bag of screws at them, wacked them with chain, a hammer, a file... whatever we had, we used it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once we thought that they good and beat up, it was time for our first coat of stain. We started with Varathane's Ultimate Wood Stain in Golden Pecan (which we used for the <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2015/08/love-your-wood.html">Love Your Wood Challenge</a> last month). B applied it lightly and wiped it off quickly since we didn't want it to be too orange. Next, we put on some of the Varathane Ultimate Wood Stain in Weathered Grey (also used in the Love Your Wood Project). Again, it was applied lightly just to bring some aging to the wood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once both stains dried, we beat up the wood a little more. More gauges, cuts and scrapes, but we also upped our game and B brought out his blow torch so we could burn it as well. Our last step in aging the boards was adding dark brown stain to random sections of the boards (which we</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> used on </span><a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2013/11/table-for-12.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">our dining table that B built</a>). <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This toned down the grey and really helped to complete the aged look of our boards.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">You'd never guess that we started with plain pine boards, would you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With our wood ready, it was time to start preparing the other parts of our table. Using Rust-Oleum's Painters Touch 2x The Coverage spray paint in Dark Walnut, we sprayed the galvanized fencing and fencing staples.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In order to start assembling our table, B created 8 spacers from scrap wood that were 12" tall to match the spacing on the galvanized fencing. We had four spacers between each shelf, screwed into the corners to hold the shelves sturdy. Then, using a hammer B nailed the fencing to the shelves using the fencing staples. This step took the longest, as he put a fencing staple at every other cross section of the fencing to keep it sturdy. We had a few staples split the wood, but it really just added to the aged/beat up look of our barn board (and they were on the bottom or back side of the table, which was good). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next, B needed to bend the conduit pipe. Using a manual conduit bender that he picked up from Home Depot, he made 90 degree bends in the piping. This part proved to be the most difficult to mimic from the inspiration table. B mentioned to me quite a few times that with the conduit bender he wouldn't be able to get the pipe to wrap right around the wood, but rather we would end up with it winged out, more like handles on a bar cart. I was totally okay with this change in design and actually liked it more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To attach the conduit to the table he drilled 1/4" holes halfway through the piping in order to hide the screw heads and then drilled a 1/16" pilot hole through the other side of the pipe and into the wood. He then used 2 1/2" screws to attach the piping to the wood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The final step was adding the heavy duty cast iron casters that we ordered from <a href="http://casterconnection.com/casters/vintage-casters.html">Caster Connection</a>. He screwed the castors to some 6" x 3/4" x 4'-4" aged scrap wood that he had, and then screwed that wood to the bottom shelf... and we now have this table!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the perfect spot for my vintage owl trivets, as well as our new Acrylic Photo Blocks from <a href="https://www.tinyprints.com/personalized-photo-gifts-center.htm">Tiny Prints</a>. I love them because they are such a beautiful and different way to display some of our favourite photos and memories! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though I would like to build a blanket ladder for this room, at the moment the bottom shelf is the perfect spot to keep a couple of my favourite throws from <a href="http://www.michaelpenneystyle.com/">Penney & Company</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm so in love with this table and thrilled that we decided to challenge ourselves to work with more than just wood to create a new piece for our home. Yes, B did the constructing but we collaborated on how to age our boards and what products to use for the look we wanted - we do make a pretty good team, if I do say so myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have you been working on anything new that challenges you to think outside the box? Or maybe you've just acquired a really great piece of furniture that has made you look at your home in a new way!? We'd love to hear about it! </span></div>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-83289958630902685972015-09-08T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-08T09:00:06.500-04:00Around the Island - Coombs & Nanaimo<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Welcome back! I hope you all had a safe, happy and fun final long weekend of summer! We went on another camping adventure out towards Kamloops with friends and had a great time and today our darling girl has her first day of preschool - I am so excited for her. Before I get to this past weekends camping trip, I wanted to share some more photos from our Island adventure last month - this time with photos from our stops in Coombs and camping in Nanaimo. Once we left Stamp River, we headed to <a href="http://www.oldcountrymarket.com/">Coombs Country Market</a> for lunch, ice cream and groceries (for our stay in Nanaimo). We enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio at Cuckoo and then enjoyed huge Ice Cream cones after grabbing our groceries (a must stop for ice cream when on the island for sure). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{My loves colouring on the patio at Cuckoo}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once we wrapped up there, we were off to our next campsite at Living Forest in Nanaimo. This stop allowed B to work during the week while the kids and I could play and have fun in the area. We had some other friends camping at the same site so we were able to spend time with them as well which was fantastic. I also took an afternoon to spend some time with the kids in Downtown Nanaimo - somewhere I knew we would have fun after our "Staycation" there last summer...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{the view from our campsite}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Down at the beach at the camp ground}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Family Dinner at the campsite}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Watching the float planes in the Nanaimo Harbour}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{At the park, reading a new book & flying her kite when B got off work}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{An evening dip in the Nanaimo River}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a nice camping trip in Nanaimo, but after 4 nights we were off again to our next destination - our friends' family lake house on Sproat Lake. We spent the final weekend of our little family summer vacation surrounded by friends at the lake house, swimming, eating, drinking and just enjoying great company. It was a fantastic way to break in our Boler and we learned a lot about what needs to be fixed over the winter! We have big plans to update our little trailer and make it more comfortable and functional. Should be some fun to share on here!<br /><br />What did everyone get up to this past long weekend?</span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-25315045270740191422015-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-04T09:00:10.290-04:00Around the Island - Ucluelet & Stamp River<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As sad as we were to be leaving Tofino (and as beautiful as the drive in and out of Tofino is, I wasn't looking forward to it with an almost 3 month old in the backseat), I was looking forward to checking out Ucluelet. It wasn't a definite thing to do until we packed up our campsite at Crystal Cove that morning. B suggested we just go since we weren't sure the next time we would be back on that side of the island. So off we went and after lunch we found a beach to explore and spent a long time on Big Beach enjoying the views, fresh air, waves and lots of climbing opportunities for our little monkey...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Our first unobstructed view of the ocean on our approach to Big Beach}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{My favourite adventurers, climbing the rocks before the tide came all the way in}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Some attempted kite flying... which didn't really pan out}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Rock throwing.... of course}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{There was a wedding just about to start at this resort behind us, so we left the beach before the bride arrived. Halle loved seeing the girls in pretty dresses and the guys in their suits}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{When we got back to our car we were greeted by this deer that actually got quite close and had no fear of us}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When we were finished in Ucluelet, we packed up and headed to our next campsite in Port Alberni at Stamp River Park. It took us longer than we hoped to arrive so we stopped in Port Alberni for dinner and then only had enough time to set up camp and play some card games with Halle that evening. In the morning we barely had enough time to eat and pack up and then decided to take a hike along the river once we left our site. It was such a beautiful park and I highly recommend camping here if you are planning a trip to the area!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{We had a beautiful site right on the river - if only we had more time to stick around and enjoy it}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{The Salmon resting after coming up the fish ladder in the River}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Watching some of the Salmon that were attempting to jump up river... before they made their way to the ladder instead}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We left here after and made our way to our next stop in Nanaimo. More photos to come after the long weekend! Anyone have any trips planned for the long weekend?</span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-38376376786349770102015-09-03T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-03T09:00:04.966-04:00Around the Island - Tofino<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This month will be my 30th birthday. Originally B and I discussed making this year a big European trip to mark my birthday, but with the arrival of Nolan in May, we won't be travelling without little one's again for quite some time. In lieu of a big adventure overseas, we opted for a big adventure, family style, right here on Vancouver Island.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Purchasing our Boler trailer back in May was a great decision, and we couldn't wait to get it out on the road for a big trip. Our adventure started mid-August in Tofino, a place on the top of my "to-visit" list for quite some time now. We stayed at <a href="http://www.crystalcove.ca/">Crystal Cove Beach Resort</a> and loved every second of being outside, playing and exploring. Our first full day, B went out on a fishing trip so Halle and I entertained ourselves at the park and exploring the beaches on site...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{We loved that she could ride her bike around the resort & right down to the beaches}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Looking back at the resort from the cove}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{The fog started to roll in just as we got to the beach - made for some beautiful pictures!}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Halle had so much fun jumping and digging in the sand and eventually getting soaked in the ocean. I captured so many photos of her giggling and running in the ocean!}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Later in the afternoon when B got back from his trip we cleaned up and headed into Tofino for something to eat. We picked <a href="http://www.sobo.ca/">SoBo</a>, a fabulous restaurant with fresh delicious meals and very kid friendly. Afterwards we popped into <a href="http://tofinobrewingco.com/">Tofino Brewing Co</a> for some beer to drink around our campfire and then to <a href="http://www.chocolatetofino.com/">Chocolate Tofino</a> for a delicious treat!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Drinks at SoBo while we waited on dinner - Tofino beer for B & Phillips Root Beer for me}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next morning we enjoyed breakfast on our campsite and then B and Halle went off to play and explore together while I laid down with a napping Nolan (my time to rest and read). When they returned we headed back into Tofino for lunch at <a href="http://www.wolfinthefog.com/">Wolf in the Fog</a> and a walk around town. We walked down to the docks and popped into a few stores and an Art Gallery - coming home with art work for us and a kite for Halle... which we tried out back on the beach. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Breakfast on site with my babes - the free Starbucks coffee got us out of bed every morning!}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Our little set up - we're still working on figuring it all out}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{My delicious Lamb Gyro at Wolf in the Fog}</i></span></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/21066411276/in/album-72157657675584091/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Tofino - August 2015"><img alt="Tofino - August 2015" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/633/21066411276_5d78ac52fc_k.jpg" width="266" /></a><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/21066375796/in/album-72157657675584091/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Tofino - August 2015"><img alt="Tofino - August 2015" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5792/21066375796_9db3991f2b_k.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Kite flying on the beach and a campfire - FINALLY}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had such a great time in Tofino and were a little sad to leave, even with all of the adventures that we had ahead of us. Tofino was great, with some cooler temperatures and the foggy conditions that keep the place damp enough for campfires while everywhere else is under a campfire ban! Come back tomorrow from some photos of our visits to Ucluelet and Stamp River in Port Alberni.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Has anyone else taken any exciting trips this summer? Anything planned for the fall or winter? </span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-1435762997519006932015-08-24T09:00:00.000-04:002015-08-24T09:00:00.049-04:002 Years!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two years ago on this day. I said "I do" and made a vow to be honest, loyal and love this man every day for as long as I live.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today, I love him even more than I did on that day... or even when I first fell in love with him eight years ago.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since we made our vows we have traveled to Scotland, <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2015/02/our-family-baby-moon.html">San Diego</a>, <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/08/this-is-life.html">around Vancouver Island</a>, Newport Rhode Island, and made a couple of trips back east to visit family and friends. We also purchased our Boler trailer so we can continue to travel and explore as a family.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We've added a little man to our family, and seeing B be a Dad to 2 makes my heart swell even more than I thought possible.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, since we've just returned yesterday from 10 days travelling around Vancouver Island in our Boler and have a lot to catch up on, we'll grill some steaks for dinner tonight and crack a bottle of wine to toast to two wonderful years of marriage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you for loving me the way you do B. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us!</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-3896317541481595502015-08-13T09:00:00.000-04:002015-09-02T14:40:42.122-04:00Summer Time Fun!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Life gets in the way a lot, doesn't it? It seems like things get crazier every year and this year is no exception, with the addition of our newest family member. I feel like we are constantly on the go, but it's been so nice squeezing in so much family time, and making use of our new to us <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2015/06/our-home-to-go.html">Boler travel trailer</a>. Of course, the best part is getting to do everything with both of these munchkins!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Canada Day}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We embarked on our first camping trip in the Boler the weekend after Canada Day. Halle loves having the trailer to sleep in, but especially enjoyed that trip since she had two of her friends along to play with. Nolan did great sleeping in the trailer and really made it easy for us to camp with a 6 week old...</span></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20384161476/in/album-72157654643502444/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Ross Lake July 2015"><img alt="Ross Lake July 2015" height="426" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/321/20384161476_96c7888445_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Swimming at Ross Lake}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Surrounded by beauty!}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Just me and my babes}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Heading Home}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Camping aside, we've also been lucky to enjoy some time on our friends sailboat, which is moored right downtown. We enjoyed one Friday afternoon BBQ on the dock, followed by a boat ride, then headed out again another Saturday afternoon for a BBQ on the boat while we secured a prime spot to watch the Celebration of Lights from the water. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Nolan's first boat ride... and he slept through it}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Halle taking in the view}</i></span></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20401638282/in/album-72157654643502444/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sailboating 2015"><img alt="Sailboating 2015" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/343/20401638282_c71e2e2fa8_k.jpg" width="266" /></a><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20401651092/in/album-72157654643502444/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sailboating 2015"><img alt="Sailboating 2015" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/448/20401651092_81c1527f5e_k.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Heading back in - Halle had a chance to steer for a bit}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our second trip out, Nolan was more alert. He enjoyed the rocking of the boat and staring up at the mast. He did really well and promptly fell asleep just before the fireworks began...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Halle was thrilled by the Red Bull stunt plane}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So far, it has definitely been a fun summer, full of family, friends and new adventures. There is still plenty more to come as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What kind of fun has everyone else been getting up to? Big trips? Small adventures? I'd love to hear more about your summers too!</span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-68057016763664724822015-08-11T09:00:00.000-04:002015-08-11T09:00:00.505-04:00Love Your Wood!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last month I was contacted by the good people over at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RustOleumCA?fref=ts">Rust-Oleum Canada</a>, asking me to take part in their Love Your Wood challenge. The idea was that they sent me (and 7 other DIY bloggers) a box containing a wood stain, a clear coat, five mystery items (which ended up being a hook, a drawer pull, decorative stones, wire and rope) and a $75 gift card to help buy any additional items we needed. Each blogger had to refinish a piece of furniture or build something using wood, stain and three of the mystery items. If you follow me on Instagram then you've seen a few of my sneak peeks over the last little while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For my wood I picked tongue and groove cedar and some pine boards and the 3 mystery items that I picked to work with were the rope, hook and drawer pull (we bought extra hooks and an extra pull). As we worked we also ended up purchasing 6 brackets and an extra Varathane stain, in weather grey, to work with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rust-Oleum had provided me with the One Coat Coverage Ultimate Wood Stain in golden pecan. The stain covered wonderfully in one coat, and it was the perfect colour to put over my lovely cedar! It really brought out the beauty of the wood!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello beautiful golden cedar! It was the colour of the stain that led me in the direction of this wood, as I knew that would pair nicely. Sure enough, we had a beautiful result after just one coat of stain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To be completely honest, I was a tad nervous about the clear coat they sent. It was metallic accent in silver and I wasn't too sure what to expect. I ended up being pleasantly surprised, seeing that the clear coat just added a really beautiful shimmer to both of the stains I worked with. I just went with the recommended minimum of two coats, and it was perfect. I'm sure if you added another coat or two, it would bring a much more metallic finish to the piece. I could see it working great on a pink dresser in a little girl's room - would give it a great shimmer!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moving on, with everything stained and protected, it was time to get into building. I was excited to get involved since B is usually the one doing all of the building. The best part, this wasn't just building something, we were also transforming a small corner of our home! The wall right by the front door to be exact...</span></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20454172382/in/album-72157654729567294/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Love Your Wood"><img alt="Love Your Wood" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/472/20454172382_57d3a74fa6_k.jpg" width="266" /></a><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20276205979/in/album-72157654729567294/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Love Your Wood"><img alt="Love Your Wood" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/541/20276205979_8a557c8780_k.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This too small table operated as a dumping ground for items when we walked in the door. When I started brainstorming for this challenge, a new functional front entrance space jumped out at me right away! It was time for ME to tackle it. We took everything away and I started by removing the baseboard (as you can tell, I was dressed appropriately for this part of the project).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then things had to be nailed. I love using our nail gun attached to the compressor - makes me feel tough and useful. Unfortunately, no photos of this nail gun toting Mama. B actually attached some large pieces of scrap wood to the studs in the wall to make sure that when I nailed my wood in place it would be securely anchored to the wall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The cedar was nailed in place first, followed by the side trim and then the top trim board. The top shelf first got nailed into our trim boards to make sure it would stay put, then I drilled pilot holes for the decorative brackets and finally screwed them in place. Our bench is secured in place using larger brackets, so again I drilled pilot holes and then secured them in place with screws. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our hooks went up in a very similar fashion, after being measured. I drilled pilot holes, then screwed them in place by hand. It took a lot longer, but I knew if I used the cordless screwdriver that I would strip the screws, so by hand it was. Once I was done B did go back over them with the screwdriver to make sure they were nice and tight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By this point in installation Nolan had, had enough so I let B take over for the installation of the rope and drawer pulls. The rope is attached to the corner of our pine trim and cedar using u-nails that he nailed into place. He then drilled a hole in the corner of the bench which he thread the rope through and nailed it into place as well. This was my favourite part of the project, I think the rope adds something to the bench, so it doesn't just look like it's floating off of the wall. The knobs I decided to use more decoratively (my initial idea was to have drawers under the bench, but that was too time consuming and complicated). B drilled holes only slightly larger than the back of the pulls and then pushed them into place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I honestly love how it turned out more than I even thought I would. It will be a much more functional space for us as we come in the front door to hang jackets and bags, and I may hunt out some trays for under the bench for our shoes to dry in the coming wet months (oh how I hope the rain will one day return). It's really perfect timing as Halle begins preschool next month too! I can already see her tiny pink backpack hanging here every day when she arrives home! It's a much more beautiful space overall, and I'm glad our top shelf can provide a safe spot for our artwork to sit (away from little hands), and we finally have a home to display that piece of driftwood B brought back from the island and carved up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now for some awesome before and after, side by side comparison shots!</span></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20454172382/in/album-72157654729567294/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Love Your Wood"><img alt="Love Your Wood" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/472/20454172382_57d3a74fa6_k.jpg" width="266" /></a><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20276154099/in/album-72157654729567294/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Love Your Wood"><img alt="Love Your Wood" height="400" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3736/20276154099_a87ffe70fd_k.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20276205979/in/album-72157654729567294/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Love Your Wood"><img alt="Love Your Wood" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/541/20276205979_8a557c8780_k.jpg" width="266" /></a><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/20274794268/in/album-72157654729567294/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Love Your Wood"><img alt="Love Your Wood" height="400" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/303/20274794268_4d2700bd97_k.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now for the fun part! There were 7 other talented bloggers taking part so you need to check out what everyone else came up with (I'm excited to see what was made as well). Then - VOTE! As much as I want you to vote for me (please, please, please vote for me!) you need to pick your favourite of the 8 projects. There's $2,500 on the line, and if I win, I'd like to renovate one of our bathrooms - preferably the master bath! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Voting starts today and ends on August 31st at 11:59PM (EST). You can place a vote once per day over on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HelpingYouFinish">Helping You Finish Facebook page</a> - so make sure to visit daily to support your favourite project! Thanks so much for checking out my project! HAPPY VOTING and may the best blogger win!!</span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-42869165335002978652015-08-10T09:00:00.000-04:002015-08-10T09:00:04.394-04:00Nolan's Custom Closet<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are creeping up on Nolan turning 3 months, and still his nursery is not complete. We mostly just need to hang his bookshelves, remove some bins and bring his chair in. Hopefully I can share a complete nursery reveal soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share the custom storage I had B build for his closet.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last March we had tackled Halle's closet, using a lot of what we had to make the space more functional and tidy (you can read about her closet transformation <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/03/a-little-closet-update.html">here</a>). A year on, we were so happy with how her closet worked, I knew I wanted something similar for Nolan's closet. What we started out with was quite simple, which didn't provide a variety of storage options for us...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yup, we had a lot of work to do to get things looking pretty. So, B set to work building some custom shelving for the centre of his closet. He used scrap wood that we had laying around, and what he constructed is absolutely perfect!</span></div>
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The shelves provide lots of room to keep blankets, towels, extra crib sheets & mattress protectors as well as some baskets for his socks and hats (this boy has LOTS of hats!). Putting the shelves in also allowed us to add four rods for hanging. While this configuration doesn't exactly give us <i>more</i> hanging space, it definitely helps me to keep things more organized!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His baby book and first year calendar have also found a home in his closet. I'm pretty happy that I've been doing a decent job staying on top of both of them. The baskets I love, and picked up at HomeSense for around $10 each. I know once they have served their purpose in his room, they will be easy to use as storage somewhere else around here!</span></div>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/19590273659/in/album-72157650966563078/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nolan's Closet - June 2015"><img alt="Nolan's Closet - June 2015" height="425" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/325/19590273659_343004a918_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The hanging rods are actually 1/2" galvanized pipe that we spray painted matte black. The match the pipe that we installed for his curtains. You can read more about his nursery <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2015/03/making-room-for-4.html">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It feels good have two of our many closets redone and organized. All of the rest of the closets in this house are also made up of wire shelving, which does not really do the best job at maximizing storage and organization. The next two most important closets? Our master bedroom and hallway linen closet! Maybe this winter will be our chance to work on those problem areas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you have any closets that could use and organizational overhaul? Any of you working on major reorganizational projects this summer? </span></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-76082188173419972692015-07-23T08:00:00.000-04:002015-07-23T08:00:09.119-04:00This is 4!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Every year on this day, I marvel at how quickly time has gone. Today, my sweet, kind, loving and funny little girl turns 4! FOUR!! </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/6052562965" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Bittersweet Photography by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Bittersweet Photography" height="425" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6089/6052562965_4703a90b13_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2011 - As a newborn - 7 days old! Photo by <a href="http://www.nicolekathlyn.com/">Nicole Kathlyn Photography</a></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/7770747804" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="BPN_8254b by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="BPN_8254b" height="424" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8433/7770747804_07a895d098_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2012 - One year old - photo by <a href="http://www.nicolekathlyn.com/">Nicole Kathlyn Photography</a></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/19277118265" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Halle at 2 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Halle at 2" height="640" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/420/19277118265_4af898e9b7_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2013 - 2 years old</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/19251071476" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Halle at 3 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Halle at 3" height="640" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/329/19251071476_c39aa195b6_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2014 - 3 years old</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18656576883" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Halle at 4 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Halle at 4" height="456" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/417/18656576883_8c9986073c_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2015 - almost 4 years old! Taken at Nolan's newborn shoot by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-and-Soul-Photography/118865288162212?fref=ts">Art and Soul Photography</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time has gone by in the blink of an eye. I look at my girl now, and there is no trace of baby left in her face! How did this happen? How has she grown up so quickly? Our sweet girl who has a great big imagination and even bigger heart. She has a wonderful sense of adventure, and she definitely has some wanderlust in there, thanks to her parents. Her smile lights up my days and I can't get enough of her giggles and cuddles. How did I get so lucky to get this girl?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She has taken so well to being a big sister and her little brother loves her so much already. How could he not? He is showered with kisses, cuddles, songs, stories and games of peek-a-boo. I know she's having a hard time sharing her Mommy during the day, and I must admit I do long for an afternoon to spend with just her. So today, as usual, her day will start with pancakes and then we will spend the day doing something she would like to do! Today, I will celebrate this wonderful little girl who first made me a Mommy. I love you so much sweet Halle!</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-58911415883017284112015-06-30T08:00:00.000-04:002015-06-30T08:00:07.532-04:00Amping Up Our Garden Game<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, it seems that since Nolan arrived I've jumped back on the blogging bandwagon. I'm not sure how often I'll actually be blogging, but I hope to share a lot more of what we're up to this year. We really have accomplished a lot, I've just slacked on sharing it.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of my favourite projects that B has tackled (being totally honest), are the updates he's made to our front yard. We obviously loved the curb appeal of this home from the moment we first saw it, we just thought it had the potential to be so much more...</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/9212187685" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front - without number by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front - without number" height="426" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2812/9212187685_59ae4dd4f8_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was the year! Two years after buying and moving into our home, we decided that we needed to step up our garden game! B ripped out the four rhododendron bushes by the front porch, removed the red lava rock and expanded our garden space. We wanted it to be pretty, but still functional, so we have a nice mix of pretty flowers, and edible plants as well.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/19093656152" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="640" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/481/19093656152_a4559b8eb2_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The "Welcome" sign, I made last year. The wood is a piece of pine we bought at ReStore for $3. I stained it using leftover stain from our dining table, then hand painted the letters. We sealed the sign with a spray poly just to ensure it wouldn't suffer too much from the elements (even though it's under an overhang).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The wood planters we bought at a local farm store last year and B put in some decorative grass he bought at our Farmer's Market, along with some marigolds. Our hanging baskets we bought on Mother's Day at a sale that was being held by the local Cub Scouts. We just couldn't pass them up.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/19099370415" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3753/19099370415_74cf007dd4_b.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18913113659" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/388/18913113659_987eda8d12_b.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love our wildflowers that B planted right at the front of the garden. They are all so tiny and pretty and add so much colour!</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18476828344" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="640" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/392/18476828344_93ac3ccf94_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This rose bush was only planted the other week. B's Dad bought it for us from our farmer's market. It probably won't stay in this garden forever, as we are learning what works where and how everything goes. I just couldn't resist this colour though! It's so vibrant.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18911887098" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="426" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/452/18911887098_67bcbcf558_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'd say that our corner garden and picket fence have added the most to our curb appeal this summer. If you follow along in Instagram you may remember the photo of my Mom helping B to build the fence a few days before Nolan was born. He hand cut all of the pickets using scrap wood we had and painted everything before putting it together. The black caps are solar lights and came as a pack of four from RONA... so we have a spare if we ever need it. This garden is definitely more full...</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18478800523" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/313/18478800523_169400643c_b.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18476978834" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/345/18476978834_1543d4c031_b.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We have tons of marigolds (lots more in the yard) as B saved all of the heads from last years flowers for seeds. B used a bunch to edge this garden and they add some nice colour.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18913310239" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="640" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/315/18913310239_9fe2ea3a17_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This lupin is the center of our little corner garden and it's so beautiful. The colour and flowers are so unique and are apparently edible. We'll need to do a bit more research on harvesting and cooking before we do anything. From what I understand, we will want to soak them for a while before we eat them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18913241709" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="640" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3874/18913241709_d7a5d8f6b3_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18911797558" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Garden - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Garden - June 21 2015" height="426" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/333/18911797558_9082fd274a_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's definitely coming along nicely out there! A big improvement from our once barren front lawn. Now if only we could get a little bit of rain out here to keep our grass looking green... yup, serious lack of rain on the so-called "wet coast". We have water restrictions in place already and fire bans in place too - not so good for camping season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And just for some extra eye candy - my handsome hubby and sweet boy kicking back on the porch swing that B built for us last year...</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/19099214465" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nolan & Daddy - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Nolan & Daddy - June 21 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3795/19099214465_783d678faf_b.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/19099195685" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nolan - June 21 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Nolan - June 21 2015" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/358/19099195685_4b61476b92_b.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Has anyone else been working on their gardens this season? Trying new plants or layouts? What are some of your favourite flowers or edible plants?</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-56460030330489703332015-06-22T08:00:00.000-04:002015-06-22T15:58:10.305-04:00More Baby Moments & A Winner!!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>This post was created in partnership with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CanonCanada?fref=nf">Canon Canada</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you all caught <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2015/06/capture-your-baby-moments.html">last Wednesday's post</a>... because if you missed it, you not only missed out on some cute pictures of Nolan and great tips for capturing your wee one's at home, but you missed a really great giveaway! I'll get to the winner of the <a href="http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/products/method/gp/pid/40809">Canon Selphy CP910</a> photo printer shortly, but I wanted to share some more tips and photos first!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I mentioned last week, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CanonCanada?fref=nf">Canon Canada</a> has a wonderful app called <a href="http://yourbabymoments.ca/">Baby Moments</a>, that is full of all kinds of wonderful, easy to follow tips and tutorials to help you capture better photos of your little ones. Last week I talked a bit about the importance of lighting to capture great photos, and this week I have a couple different tutorials I attempted to capture that I want to share.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The #BabyMoments app has a section that is broken down into tips for great photos to capture based on your baby's age. In the 0-3 section, one of the tutorials is for attempting a fun scene of your baby, staged from above. I decided to try it out for myself, making a fun fishing scene for Nolan. I set the scene in our dining room, where we have the largest windows, and took the pictures mid afternoon when the sun wasn't too bright or harsh. I then laid out my scene using a blue bed sheet, a sun made from yellow felt and rick rack, cotton ball clouds and a halved basket for the boat (B's Mom helped me out with this part). Then, B helped by wrapping some rope around the top of the basket and we added a little life saver from Halle's bath toys. The most important prop (other than Nolan) was a tiny fishing rod B had, and a toy fish from Halle's bath toys.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Despite having the perfect scene set, we were lacking a baby who wanted to stay asleep. I attempted to nurse him and settle him to sleep more than once, but it's much harder when they are past the one week mark. I was so close to capturing the perfect shot of him, but he startled himself in his sleep, causing him to kick the basket and wake up fully. My added tips here, try when Baby is very little and sleepy and maybe include a white noise machine into the mix. Regardless of Nolan's inability to stay sleeping, I wanted to share the two best photos I captured, using my <a href="http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/products/method/gp/pid/24222">Canon Rebel SL1</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18635042379" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0031 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0031" height="378" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/386/18635042379_eda6d05259_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{He's starting to wake up here, trying to get his hands in his mouth so he can soothe himself back to sleep}</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18794932576" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0042 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0042" height="391" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5528/18794932576_f4212d382e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{This one would have been perfect, like a celebration shot of his catch... if only he wasn't kicking the basket!}</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next tutorial I attempted was a sense of scale. I needed to start with a nice soft spot to lay our little guy, in a room that receives a lot of natural light. I decided on our downstairs guest bedroom in the afternoon, which is extra perfect as it is a nice bright white bedroom. I set the scene with Nolan in my favourite newborn outfit (and it was the last time he wore it), and some white bedding along with a faux sheepskin rug, with our DIY headboard as a backdrop. I was lucky that he stayed asleep long enough for me to snap some good shots of his tiny self...</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18778851738" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sense of Scale - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Sense of Scale - June 2015" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/560/18778851738_b32b2ab7bb_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18780287489" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sense of Scale - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Sense of Scale - June 2015" height="426" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/342/18780287489_0e55d3cc5e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18343917414" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sense of Scale - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Sense of Scale - June 2015" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3831/18343917414_10c85cb8f8_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though this last photo has nothing to do with sense of scale, who can resist an adorable baby yawn (and that outfit!? Seriously!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18778790098" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sense of Scale - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Sense of Scale - June 2015" height="640" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/293/18778790098_f7526cfdcd_b.jpg" width="475" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, before I get to our winner I need to say I was thrilled to take part in this with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CanonCanada?fref=nf">Canon Canada</a>. Not only has Canon always been my camera of choice, but I think it's so important to capture all the stages of our little one's growing up. Sharing these tutorials with you really pushed me to capture some different and sweet photos of our little man. I know I will definitely continue to use the tips from the #BabyMoments app to capture special moments of Nolan as he grows, and of his sister as well!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The winner of our giveaway was selected using random.org... and the lucky number was 12! That makes <b>Linds </b> our giveaway winner!! Lindsey, please shoot me an email so I can make sure your prize is sent to you! Thank you to everyone who stopped by and entered, and congrats to our winner!!</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-36456716623419016482015-06-19T08:00:00.000-04:002015-06-19T08:00:01.016-04:00Our "Home To Go"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, May was a very exciting month in our household... and not just because of Nolan's arrival! The weekend after our little dude arrived, B and Halle went out for a drive to take a look at a trailer. They came home several hours later with a cute 17', 1979 Boler travel trailer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18870006181" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler exterior - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler exterior - June 2015" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5581/18870006181_c8d2ec842a_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">According to B, he knew they'd be bringing it home when they showed up to look at it and Halle exclaimed "Oh Daddy, it's beautiful!". Sure enough, it now resides at our home, eagerly awaiting all of the summer fun that we have planned for it. We figured something like this would make it much easier to get out camping this summer with our little guy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18691618058" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3721/18691618058_702d8f2953_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">{<i>You can see some of the original orange paint peeking out</i>}</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since we hope to be able to travel far and wide with our little family in the coming years, B had been on the hunt for a trailer that would work for us. We needed something comfortable, roomy enough for the 4 of us, and the dogs, and it had to be lightweight so that we could pull it with B's vehicle. This cute little Boler checked all of the boxes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18879317845" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3948/18879317845_434db5b6c4_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18853056246" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5346/18853056246_cd8a40bc8e_b.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18691597450" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5321/18691597450_6055a0603b_b.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">{<i>Left: the back of the trailer, Right: The front</i>}</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The best part, is this little trailer is nice and clean, so we can use it this summer and fall without making any big changes to it. However, we do have plans to spruce it up down the road. I've been busy on Pinterest looking for ideas and inspiration of what our little trailer will look like one day. You can find all of it here on my specific <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/firsttimefancy/boler-life/">Boler board</a>. For now, let's take a look at what our little home on wheels looks like...</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18691766278" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="640" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5562/18691766278_43f5a6058a_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18874173772" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5601/18874173772_eecc41f75e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Upon entering the trailer, you'll find our little dinette to the right. It all folds down into a double size bed, which will become a spot for B and I to snooze. There is a ton of storage around that area, and it seems that the previous owner got some new foam and upholstery fabric for the seating fairly recently. It's really comfortable and in awesome condition!</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18691637758" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5541/18691637758_83ea6c4534_b.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18691743850" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3869/18691743850_e7505c9fc8_b.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beside the dinette is a small washroom with a toilet and shower. There is a small hot water tank in the trailer, so when we're camping somewhere without showers (like <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/08/this-is-life.html">our island camping trip</a> last summer), we'll all still be able to wash up easily. Plus, using the toilet at night will be much easier. Next to the washroom in more storage and a small fridge. Under the fridge you can also see the small vent for our heater. Perfect for cool nights and fall or spring camping trips!</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18693279219" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3808/18693279219_bf6e12dded_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Along the back is more seating that folds out into a double bed. The cupboard above can fold out to make it a bunk, but it wouldn't hold much more than our almost 4 year old girl. We'll probably make some big changes to that area in the future!</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18693295139" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5482/18693295139_0589f6e5dc_b.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18691676338" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boler - June 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Boler - June 2015" height="400" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5602/18691676338_218d8cdb30_b.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We also have a great little kitchen with lots of storage, a stove and oven and little sink. Perfect for rainy days or cooking when there is a fire ban. I have a feeling that the latter is something we will experience quite a bit of during this hot dry summer they are predicting for us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So that's your first look at our little home on wheels! I can't wait to share all of the trips we will take in this thing, as well as the inevitable transformation of the interior! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyone have any camping trips planned for this summer? Any glampers out there, or planned transformations of vintage trailers - I'll take all of the inspiration I can get at this point!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">**Don't forget to visit <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2015/06/capture-your-baby-moments.html">my post from Wednesday</a> that I put together in partnership with Canon Canada. We're giving away a Selphy photo printer and you'll want to enter!!**</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-40420642242331712662015-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:002015-06-22T00:39:58.709-04:00Capture Your Baby Moments<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>This post was created in partnership with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CanonCanada?fref=nf">Canon Canada</a></i></span></div>
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you are a parent, you know how quickly time passes with our little one's. I mean, Nolan is already almost 4 weeks old. How has he been here that long? Before I know it he'll be smiling, crawling, walking.... going off to college! With how quickly time flies, I find it so important to capture as many of these priceless baby moments as possible... and I already know I haven't been as good about it as I was with Halle (the curse of being the second born, right?). So, I have partnered up with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CanonCanada?fref=nf">Canon Canada</a> to share some tips and tricks from their <a href="http://yourbabymoments.ca/">Baby Moments page</a> to help you capture better photos of your wee ones!</span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This page has some really great video tutorials that are super easy to follow. I have always found lighting to be the most important factor when taking photos in your home. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For these photos of our sweet boy, I put him into our favourite neutral organic sleeper and after nursing him to sleep, I laid him down on the faux sheepskin rug for some texture (and his comfort). Though the window in his room is not big, it lets in some great light. I just made sure not to take his photos when the sun was shining directly in the window, to avoid strange shadows and harsh light. I'm really happy with how they turned out.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18794947756" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0009 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0009" height="425" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5616/18794947756_6b31e3ebf9_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18635082559" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0008 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0008" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5456/18635082559_fd0f71fc8e_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18198579334" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0018 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0018" height="640" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5447/18198579334_14e3825ae6_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With Nolan being just out of that sleepy newborn stage, but still wanting to be held all of the time, I was lucky to be able to snap just a few photos of this guy on my new <a href="http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/products/method/gp/pid/24222">Canon Rebel SL1</a>, before he woke up again. This camera is great for capturing all of those #BabyMoments, whether at home or on the go. It's the lightest and smallest SLR on the market - making it easy to take anywhere, including that already too full diaper bag!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18634996429" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0021 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0021" height="640" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5479/18634996429_aeb4bb03aa_b.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18823834661" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_0005 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0005" height="426" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5556/18823834661_9a9e495205_b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, as great as it is that we are all going to be able to step up our photography of our little one's - it's also important to remember to get your pictures printed so you can display them around your home! Well, Canon Canada wants to help make sure that happens. We're giving away a <a href="http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/products/method/gp/pid/40809">Canon Selphy CP910</a> photo printer to one of my lucky readers (sorry US readers, this one is restricted to Canadians only)! Make sure to leave a comment below with some of those special #BabyMoments you want to, or have captured and printed!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Make sure to come back on Monday to find out who the lucky winner is... and to see some more special #BabyMoments that I've captured of Nolan! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED**</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-11440917440763973962015-06-05T08:00:00.000-04:002015-06-15T17:21:35.741-04:00Nolan's Birth Story<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I imagine most people who read this blog, also follow me on Instagram. If that's the case, then you probably know that our little man made a quick arrival on May 21st, right here in our home. Nope, it was not because he arrived quickly, but because I planned for a home birth with him. I did a lot of research prior to making my decision and knew it was right for me and my family. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment below. Today, I wanted to share Nolan's birth story (as I documented it for him), along with how I felt about this birth and what helped with my recovery this time.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18472883821" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="40 w + 1 day by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="40 w + 1 day" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/382/18472883821_ddab574032_c.jpg" width="344" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{40 weeks + 1 day... 3 days away from meeting our little man}</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My Dear Nolan,</span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> You are finally here and you have filled us all with so much love and joy, it's almost unbelievable. While it is still fresh in my mind, I want to share with you the story of your birth.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Thursday started out very much like any other day we had, had recently. I woke up and felt a little sad and discouraged that my body seemed to be making little to no progress on delivering you to us (I actually read <a href="http://www.today.com/parents/mayim-bialik-why-women-shouldnt-fear-home-birth-1C7398354">this article</a> the day before and teared up a little, afraid I may be induced and miss this whole home birth experience)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I shared this feeling with both your Daddy and Grandma, but tried my best to stay positive. Grandma and I took Halle to the park, came home for lunch and then I was meant to get on a phone call, but it never happened. Instead, I took a nap (I was feeling more exhausted than usual), then ran a few errands to pick up some things for dinner. When I got home, I took the rest of the afternoon to cuddle on the couch with your sister and watch some of her favourite shows. I texted with a few friends about how sore and crampy I was feeling that day, but it was pretty on and off so I didn't expect it to mean too much.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We all ate a quick dinner after Daddy got home from work and then headed to his softball game. We loved cheering him on and I spoke with just about everyone on the team about how anxious I was for you to arrive. By the time we left the ball field for home, it was nearing 8:30, and I was feeling very crampy and getting quite a few intense Braxton Hicks. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We arrived home just before 9, and while Daddy gave Halle a bedtime snack, I let the dogs out and used the washroom. I felt like the cramps weren't easing up at all, so I told Daddy to inflate the birthing tub again (it had a slow leak) just incase, and then sent a message to my Doula Kim to let her know what was happening. After giving her a heads up, I took one sip of the tea Grandma had made me and my water broke right on the kitchen floor. Your sister exclaimed, "Dada, Mama pee'd on the kitchen floor!". Grandma and I laughed and explained to her what had happened, letting her know that you were going to be born. She was so excited, she started to dance around and thank me. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> This was all happening around 9:10 and Daddy started to fill the birthing tub and get Halle ready to go to a friends for the night, while I updated Kim and Grandma started timing my contractions. We noticed right away that they were coming every three minutes and lasting about a minute each, growing in intensity with each one. Daddy paged the midwife on call, who said I was in active labour, so she would finish up a few things and be right over. We continued timing my contractions, which just continued to come closer together and get stronger. Within 20 minutes Daddy called the midwife back and told her they were now two minutes apart and very strong, so she said she would be right up. I climbed into the birth tub, and the midwife and Kim arrived just before 10 - at which point, I already felt the urge to push. Erin (the midwife) told me to do my best to breathe through my contractions while we waited on the second midwife to arrive.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> When Erin was done setting up she checked your heartbeat and noticed it had dropped, so she started to get me to move around to different positions to see if we could get it to recover. I continued to push as we tried to get your heartbeat back up, but it wasn't working. The only position that worked was me standing, and I did not have the strength or energy to do that. The midwives didn't like how things were going, so they had Daddy call 911 for back up, while one of the midwives called the hospital to let them know we would be coming in. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Of course my top priority at this point was to deliver you safely (and quickly), so I continued pushing, hoping I could deliver you before we had to transfer to the hospital. I heard the paramedics arrive (apparently there were two ambulances that responded), and heard them discussing with your Dad the best way to get me down the stairs and into the ambulance. Then I heard Erin tell someone to get me a housecoat and tell me we had to go... so I pushed... and pushed, even without contractions, and at 10:48pm you entered the world, screaming and crying and letting everyone know that you were just fine.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18283280028" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="May 22 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="May 22 2015" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/431/18283280028_0656be5e34_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Nolan's first photo, in bed after everyone left in the early hours of the morning}</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In that moment, we were all so happy. The midwives checked you out and were pleased with all of your vitals and with how I was doing, so they sent the paramedics on their way (who had been discussing with your father, his fine craftsmanship of our dining room table and light fixture) and then called the hospital to tell them we were safe and would not be transferring after all.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I spent a long time cuddling you on the couch, talking quietly with Daddy, Grandma and Kim (check out<a href="http://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/7-benefits-undisturbed-first-hour-after-birth/"> this article</a> on the benefits of an undisturbed first hour - worth including in your birth plan, no matter where you are delivering), while the midwives worked quietly to care for us and then gave us lots of quiet time. After you were weighed and measured, I cleaned up in the shower, while Daddy and Grandma got some cuddle time with you.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Your Daddy and I were so thrilled to be safe and comfortable at home with you. I loved being able to climb into our own bed, have something to eat and keep you nearby, in this house that we will raise you in.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18466799232" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="May 22 2015 by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="May 22 2015" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/408/18466799232_6b4f0145ef_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{The morning after he was born}</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We didn't have to endure a long or uncomfortable hospital stay (though the hospital you would've been born in, is very nice!!), we got to eat all of our own food at home (like chocolate chip pancakes the morning after you were born) and there were no uncomfortable car rides to the hospital and back (getting there before I delivered you may have been a bit dicey).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Halle went to stay with good friends for the night, but she was able to come home to us bright and early the next day, anxious to meet you. Right away she told me how cute you were and she hasn't been able to stop talking about you, holding you, kissing you, helping with everything and always being the best at calming you down. It's made us so happy to see her fill the role of big sister so wonderfully.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/18284917429" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nolan & Halle by Kerry Hale, on Flickr"><img alt="Nolan & Halle" height="400" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/453/18284917429_3c84723dc5_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I wrote more to him, in the journal that I keep for him, but that is all that I wrote in regards to his birth. </span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I found for the few days after Nolan was born, I just sat back and reflected on his birth with a smile on my face. Despite his heart rate dropping, I was so pleased with how his birth went. Thrilled that his date and time of arrival were a complete surprise (I was induced with Halle, so I was not as lucky) and that it was quick and I needed no drugs - only my body, some positive affirmations that I repeated to myself and my wonderful group of support people. He was not born in the tub as I had hoped, but he was born at home, safely and into my arms, surrounded by people that I knew and trusted (plus 4 paramedics in the background).</span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I did a lot to prepare for his birth, though of course I can't say exactly what contributed to my quick labour. I drank Red Raspberry Leaf tea, attended prenatal yoga for a number of months, and did a lot of reading and research on natural child birth and home birth. My reading and research helped so much to prepare me mentally for everything, and if nothing else, I highly recommend doing at least the last part. I never researched with Halle, and I wish I had educated myself more.</span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> As for recovery, having a birth I was happy with helped and so did being at home. Of course, not everyone will have these in their back pockets. One thing I want to really stress is physical care. Rest, hydrate, have healthy food and snacks ready (both for the hospital and at home - I had a bunch of <a href="http://weelicious.com/2010/03/01/oatmeal-on-the-go-bars/">these</a> baked up and frozen for an easy to grab breakfast or snack and I love them) and if you can - make <a href="http://mylittleme.com/homemade-postpartum-pads-for-soothing-and-healing/">these pads</a>! I had the same kind of tearing this time around, as I did with Halle, but I found I healed much more quickly using these wonderful, frozen healing pads. I also had some extra witch hazel that I added to my peri bottle. Within a couple of days climbing in and out of bed and walking came much easier. </span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We're struggling a bit more this time around with nursing. I think my supply is low, so we're spending a lot of time trying to boost it back up, so that he can gain some weight. Other than that, life seems to be moving along nicely for us and we are thrilled to finally be a family of 4!</span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Have you ever had or are you considering a home birth? I'd love to hear from other's about their birth stories, whether at home or in the hospital. Each of us has such a unique story for how we came into this world.</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-92011893222953285322015-03-27T09:00:00.000-04:002015-03-27T09:00:03.504-04:00Making Room for #4<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I swore that with baby number 2 I would stay on top of things... be ahead of the game! Be totally prepared for his arrival. HA! I should have known better, right? Between maintaining our home, being a Mom (which includes taking Halle to different activities, outings, preschool, etc) and maintaining our social life, let's just say I'm a little further behind than I planned to be at almost 33 weeks pregnant!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My due date with this little guy is sneaking up on us quite quickly and I am anxious to have his room mostly (if not completely) finished by the time that he arrives! B has been an absolute trooper, helping me make this whole thing come together. Without him, absolutely nothing would be done! There is still a lot to do, but between the two of us, I know that we'll get there (eventually).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unlike Halle's nursery in our first home, the space that is the nursery lacked any sort of character. It was just a bland grey box, that we were using as a "guest room" (we dumped a queen size bed in there and pretty much called it a day). Here's how the room looked the day we did our final walk through (in April of 2013).</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/8715460792/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_1440 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1440" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7455/8715460792_d03650d836_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I never got a picture of the opposite side of the room on that day, but the closet also had no trim around it, much like that little window shoved into the corner. I knew that I wanted this space to feel more cozy and have more character, so we started to discuss adding trim to the walls. We had a few ideas of what we might do, then I saw <a href="http://thislittleestate.blogspot.ca/2015/02/how-to-add-board-and-batten-to-any.html">this post</a> from Bethany over at <a href="http://thislittleestate.blogspot.ca/">This Little Estate</a> and thought that her idea sounded perfect! As soon as B saw what they did he was right on board as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this photo of B getting to work a few weeks ago. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16641863529/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_20150305_201152 (1) by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_20150305_201152 (1)" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7602/16641863529_d845f5f660_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wish I had documented his process a lot better, but that photo is about as good as it gets. He essentially did the same thing as Bethany and her husband did. He ripped some MDF boards into strips, and used his nail gun to attach them to the wall. He also trimmed out the window and closet doors (as well as the bedroom door of course, to ensure it matched with the rest of the room). Then he had to fill in the nail holes, and caulk around some of the edges, sand it all down and give it too good coats of white trim paint.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By the 15th, we had the nursery looking like this (wall colour not very accurately captured below)...</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16620678697/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nursery - March 15, 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Nursery - March 15, 2015" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7596/16620678697_93eaf68536_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By the end of that evening I wanted to have the curtains up. We had purchased some pipe from Home Depot and spray painted it black. Once it was dry, B attached it to the wall using large butterfly clips that fit in behind the drywall. We secured one side to the wall that the window is on, and the other straight to the opposite wall.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16939811021/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baby Nursery - March 15, 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby Nursery - March 15, 2015" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8689/16939811021_daabd80122_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16318375224/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baby Nursery - March 15, 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby Nursery - March 15, 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8721/16318375224_d789aa44bd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last weekend B did the last few coats of paint on the trim, and I vacuumed and shampooed the carpets. On Sunday the crib was assembled and the one piece of artwork I was certain I wanted in here (a photo I took on Vancouver Island last summer) was hung. We picked up his dresser (which I found on Craigslist) on Saturday, but we have had to keep it at a friends place since. I'm hoping we'll pick it up sometime this weekend. For now, his nursery is slowly starting to resemble a space for a baby...</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16939430472/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baby's Nursery - March 26, 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby's Nursery - March 26, 2015" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7633/16939430472_fff94a4033_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16939428632/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baby's Nursery - March 26, 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby's Nursery - March 26, 2015" height="426" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7630/16939428632_9b611beb9b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I plan to get his way too long curtains hemmed this weekend and once his dresser comes home, I can finally start to wash and put away his tiny clothes and cloth diapers that I have been amassing. It also means his closet will finally be cleaned out. That's the next big project. It needs to be disassembled, painted and a new storage system installed. We plan to do something similar to what we did in <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/03/a-little-closet-update.html">Halle's closet</a>. It will be a whole lot better than it's current state, that's for sure...</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16320690743/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Baby's Nursery - March 26, 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Baby's Nursery - March 26, 2015" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8731/16320690743_869e8e48ef_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So there you have it! Not long now till our little man joins us, and progress is slow going in his room... but we are getting there! I can't wait to share the finished space! Hopefully I will be able to well before his arrival.</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-45610240994742081412015-02-27T09:00:00.000-05:002015-02-27T09:00:01.834-05:00Our Family "Baby-moon"<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I can get at least one post up a month this year, I think that would be fantastic! So here I am, last chance at blogging in February and I've got a little something to share.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last year, B's sister picked up and made the move across the country, making a new home for herself and her boyfriend in San Diego. We talked a lot about visiting, so in December we booked a February trip to see them. We knew it would be the perfect time to escape the grey and rain of Vancouver and have one last vacation as a family of three before our little babe arrives.</span><br />
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The first couple of days of our trip B's sister had stuff going on so we made sure to visit the Zoo, hit Seaport Village, hang by the pool at the hotel and just explore little Italy and some of the Gaslamp District by foot. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed every second of it!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16629758476/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8667/16629758476_58f9d79d25_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">{planning our route at the Zoo}</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16469526679/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8586/16469526679_c7c7258972_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16448393937/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="360" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8637/16448393937_ceaf7ba7e8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16469515389/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="400" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8669/16469515389_362fc11c65_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16655673845/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="400" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8666/16655673845_53135c87de_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16654647122/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8665/16654647122_5000d0ac34_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Riding the carousel in Seaport Village}</i></span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Once the weekend rolled around B's sister and her boyfriend did a great job showing us around. We ate in Old Town, hung out in Coronado, hit Mission Beach & La Jolla Shores, ate Ice Cream at Ghirardelli downtown and visited the seals in La Jolla. It was busy, but still relaxed, and we loved our family time with them as well! H keeps telling us her highlight was playing in the waves with her Auntie.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468267740/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8670/16468267740_1fbf624ac7_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Hotel del Coronado}</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16654260681/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8607/16654260681_b87aeb45a9_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468079858/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8564/16468079858_6d3224064c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16629715586/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8587/16629715586_56c1c4174d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16654618962/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8666/16654618962_78afce76ac_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{We started every morning at Waterfront Park, right next to our hotel}</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468061098/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8611/16468061098_2cf37c38d5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Ice Cream at Ghirardelli}</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16035735093/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8588/16035735093_4c308b8cbc_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Watching the kites in Seaport Village - a nice relaxing afternoon}</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16629687106/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8628/16629687106_83a70eb660_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Visiting the Seals at The Children's Pool in La Jolla}</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468220900/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8675/16468220900_ccf42f339a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16654209851/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="400" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8625/16654209851_7567e07aff_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468029168/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="400" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8668/16468029168_db511e7066_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468204650/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8592/16468204650_27e0002ba2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>{Sunset in La Jolla - perfect ending to our fabulous trip!}</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468021638/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8642/16468021638_9348cc72d2_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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I'm so glad we had this little trip away. It was only 5 days, but a nice chance for us to recharge and enjoy some family time together. I know we all had a blast and already talk about how we can't wait to go for another visit... only next time we'll be a family of 4!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/16468215000/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="San Diego 2015 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="San Diego 2015" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8624/16468215000_ba347906e2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The countdown to baby is just flying by! His nursery is still mostly non existent (though we finally have a plan coming together), but I hope to share it once we really get started. In the meantime, I need to get our rec room cleaned up and snap some photos - we've made a serious transformation down there and I can't wait to share it with you! What has everyone else been up to? Anyone else able to escape the winter weather for somewhere warmer (especially those of you on the east coast!?)</span><br />
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-12128934807968295142015-01-07T06:00:00.000-05:002015-01-07T06:00:11.149-05:00Our 2015 To-Do List<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With 2014 behind us, and our list reviewed, it's time for us to set our household goals for this new year. For those who don't follow me on Instagram, we found out on Christmas Day that we are welcoming a baby boy come May and are so excited! This means a lot of our to-do list will be geared towards preparing for his arrival. Here's what we have on our list...<br />
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<b><u>The Front Entry:</u></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/8714362371/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_1392 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1392" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7386/8714362371_e0d03866f3_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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</u></b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Stairs:</b> Just after Christmas we both got tired of trying to maintain the carpet on the stairs. It was just dirty and dingy and hard to keep the dog fur off of it, as it seems to be where they enjoy hanging out. It made the house smell like dogs, and it was just time for it to go. B has ripped off the carpet and we are in the process of pulling staples so we can refinish them. We hope to get the risers painted white, the treads stained and some trim added to the wall side of the stairs. Hopefully this will be done sooner rather than later. </span><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paint: </b>Just after ripping up the carpet we started priming this hallway. I've found it too dark for too long down there with not much natural light, dark floors and grey walls. We plan to paint the walls the same colour as the rec room and can't wait to share this transformation.</span><br />
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</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Storage:</b> B and I have agreed we'd like to add a seating bench with storage, and some hooks on the wall for hanging jackets. This will go on the wall by the front door close to my office. We think it will be a much better place for Halle to sit while putting on her shoes so the dogs are constantly running past her. Hopefully we can find time to do this.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>The Rec Room:</u></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/8714361241/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_1394 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1394" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7308/8714361241_6f1122b9ed_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</u></b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Finish Painting:</b> We completed so much painting down there between the summer and early December. All of the walls were done and we also transformed one wall into a magnetic chalk wall for Halle that she loves drawing on! We left one nook unpainted since we originally planned to fill it with some built in bookshelves for storage. However, when we rearranged the rec room to our new desired layout we discovered that nook is the perfect play area for Halle. This means in the near future we will need to move her toys out and finish painting that area.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Artwork:</b> We have tons of artwork we need/want to hang down here - many pieces need some new frames so we're on the hunt for some affordable frames. Hopefully we can have these all hung before my parents come to stay with us for little man's arrival.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>The Guest Room:</u></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/10165179273/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Downstairs Guest Room - October 8 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Downstairs Guest Room - October 8" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3713/10165179273_8e6415d99b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</u></b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">All of It:</span> I don't even know where to start with the breakdown of what we need to do in here. We put this original guest room together in October of 2013 when we were welcoming some extra guests for Thanksgiving. We put it together quickly, using what we had and it was functional. However, now that we'll be moving the upstairs guest bed down here this room needs to be cleared out and we'll start all over decorating it and making it more welcoming and comfortable for the many guests that we expect with our new baby coming!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>The Master Bedroom:</u></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/14864701146/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Master Bedroom by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Master Bedroom" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3884/14864701146_bbc7d6946e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</u></b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Storage:</b> I'm moving this forward from last year, as I'd like to find a long low dresser for this room before baby arrives in May. It will give us more storage space in our room which will hopefully allow us to eliminate the two dressers that are in there now (one in our bedroom, one in our closet). We may use one of the current dressers in the baby's room, or we may get him a new one - we'll see what happens.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Lighting:</b> Maybe we'll finally address the light fixture in our room after living here for two years (Yup - it will be two years since we moved in come this May!). Fingers are crossed for this!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>The Nursery:</u></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/8715460792/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_1440 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1440" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7455/8715460792_d03650d836_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</u></b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All of It: </b>Much like the downstairs guest room, we have a whole room to work with - essentially starting from scratch. I've found some inspiration shots and B and I have begun our hunt to find pieces we love for a good price! I can't wait to start pulling his room together and sharing it with you! So much to do and I'm so excited about it!</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-78463122745270273332015-01-05T06:00:00.000-05:002015-01-05T06:00:01.646-05:00A Look Back at our 2014 To-Do List<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, another year has come and gone and it's a little crazy for me to think that 2015 has arrived. We have a lot to accomplish this coming year (especially before our new little one arrives in May), but before we get to that I need to take a look back at what we accomplished from our 2014 to-do list.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Exterior:</u> (1/2 Completed)</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/9212187685/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front - without number by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Front - without number" height="427" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2812/9212187685_59ae4dd4f8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(at the start of 2014)</span></div>
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</u></b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Details:</b> Our original plan was to build a railing between the two posts at the front of the house in front of the window. Instead, B ended up making us a lovely porch swing, which we love! Once it was built and put in place, we learned that there would not be enough room to put in a railing as well. As nice as it would look to have one, we prefer to have a nice place to sit, and watch Halle play in the front yard! So we'll consider this item checked off our list!</span><br style="color: #444444; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b><br />
</b></span><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Landscaping:</b> We has big plans to fix up the front garden and fill in our lawn and come up with some really great ideas for this area to spruce it up... LAST SPRING! Unfortunately, this item was never crossed off of our list as much as we would have liked it to. B did work on getting rid of some of the moss in our grass, to allow for the grass to grow in thicker, but maybe this year we'll finally get around to landscaping!</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">The Dining Room:</u> (4/5 Completed)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/10921234025/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Our DIY Dining Table by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Our DIY Dining Table" height="427" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2887/10921234025_07a29093d3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(At the start of 2014)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Seating: </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">When we started 2014, all we had were two end chairs (as seen in the above photo). We lucked out and in late January I found 4 pretty green x-back chairs and later in the summer we scored an 11 foot church pew off of Craigslist. We <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/11/mission-seating-complete.html">completely transformed the pew</a> into a beautiful piece for the opposite side of our dining table, and we have officially found all of the seating we need for our dining room! We're loving how it all came together, and are happy this was checked off of our list!</span><br />
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</span> <b style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">Lighting:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"> <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/02/back-in-action.html?showComment=1418042181300">The light fixture</a> actually came together a lot more quickly than we both expected. B put it together in a couple of weeks back in February as we prepared to host a dinner party for Brett's birthday. We always get compliments on it when people visit and the way it lights up the table always gives the perfect ambiance for dining. Check, check, check!!</span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Storage: </b>We had talked a lot about building something in where our IKEA bookcase stood. Unfortunately, with so many other projects going on, this fell to the back burner. We considered it low priority since there was already a bookcase there providing some storage for us. We did however, add a small table to one corner which gave us some room for a picture frame, some house plants and lots of my books and magazines. It was a small step, but for $3 it was exactly what we needed to add a little bit of storage in our dining room. At the end of the day, I consider this step a success!<br />
</span><b style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">Paint:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"> While we are getting tired of the grey in this space... and the WHOLE house, we never got around to painting the dining room as it will be a big commitment. Painting the dining room will also involve painting the family room, kitchen and upstairs hallway. For now, this has actually been moved off of our list.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Artwork:</b> When we rang in 2014, we had no artwork hanging in the dining room. We made some baby steps (not all are permanent) by hanging a mirror, our Boston OrkPoster and a large family photo. We have some plans to add some new art in this year, hopefully this year, but for now this one is complete.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15235188663/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Dining Room with Pew - Nov 22 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Dining Room with Pew - Nov 22 2014" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7563/15235188663_7f0de51410_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15667487800/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Dining Room with Pew - Nov 22 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Dining Room with Pew - Nov 22 2014" height="400" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8596/15667487800_b50f5ec899_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15669050407/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Dining Room with Pew - Nov 22 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Dining Room with Pew - Nov 22 2014" height="400" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8609/15669050407_0dc9be8094_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(at the end of 2014)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">The Master Bedroom: </u>(2/4 Completed)</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/9515422098/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Master Bedroom - August 2013 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Master Bedroom - August 2013" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3793/9515422098_bb0fc9a7f6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(at the start of 2014)</span> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Bedding:</b> We crossed this one off right at the start of 2014. We took advantage of the white sale at The Bay in early January. We got some lovely Gluckstein sheets for a great price and they ACTUALLY fit our bed. We love them and the steel blue colour we picked is perfect with the next item we crossed off.</span></div>
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</b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Georgia, Georgia, serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Paint:</b> This was another item I took care of early on. I started painting in February and didn't finish until March (that's real life with a 2.5 year old... who is now 3.5). I picked a dark blue called "Wrought Iron" by Martha Stewart and I'm glad I did this one when I did as the Martha Stewart line has since been discontinued at Home Depot. </span><br />
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</b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Georgia, Georgia, serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Storage:</b> I really wanted to replace our tall IKEA dresser last year. I knew something longer and lower would fill the far wall much better, but we never got around to it. Again, this ended up low on our list as we already had a dresser that was doing it's job.</span><br />
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</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Georgia, Georgia, serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Lighting: </b>This one makes me laugh since it's been on our list since we bought the house and we STILL have not found something we like for this room. In time we'll replace that light fixture!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/14864701146/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Master Bedroom by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Master Bedroom" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3884/14864701146_bbc7d6946e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(at the end of 2014)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Halle's Room: </u>(2/4 Completed)</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/11407451283/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Handpainted Plumes by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Handpainted Plumes" height="427" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2890/11407451283_ea97d6c7d8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(at the start of 2014)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Toy Storage:</b> We made some small progress on this front, but of course the amount of toys she had in there seemed to multiply - so I'm not sure how helpful our storage additions were. I picked up some small stacking boxes for a steal, and we also got some cute giraffe hooks for her wall on clearance at Target. We did make <a href="http://www.firsttimefancy.com/2014/03/a-little-closet-update.html">a nice change in her closet</a>, giving us plenty of more storage room in there and that was the biggest progress we made by far!</span></div>
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</b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Georgia, Georgia, serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Big Girl Bed:</b> We had planned to build Halle a big girl bed, but it never happened. Instead we got a good deal on a bed frame for her on Craigslist. It was perfect and we got her some plain white sheets from Target, and a pretty duvet cover that matches her room from IKEA. She loves her big girl bed... and it definitely makes her seem all grown up. It happened just in time too, as she is so excited to give her old crib to her baby!</span><br />
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</b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Georgia, Georgia, serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Curtains:</b> I was worried that the curtains were too short and wanted to add some fabric to the bottoms of the curtains. Now I'm starting to think that we should just drop the curtain rod a little bit and the problem should be solved. We'll take care of this one soon!</span><br />
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</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Georgia, Georgia, serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Lighting:</b> We still have replaced the fan on her ceiling, though we still have plans to do so. We just havent' found something we love. I'm just hoping that we can find one for her while we are making up the nursery... I'd like her to still feel special and do something for her as we are preparing for the baby.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/14762825018/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Halle's Big Girl Room by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Halle's Big Girl Room" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3843/14762825018_3064d6fb35_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/14887353202/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Halle's Room by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Halle's Room" height="400" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3869/14887353202_99d0cd96fd_z.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/14762823388/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Halle's Big Girl Room by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Halle's Big Girl Room" height="400" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/14762823388_f857ee3ca5_z.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(at the end of 2014)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">The Kitchen:</u> (1/2 Completed)</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/8715472382/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_1413 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1413" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7436/8715472382_8e306793b0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(though the cupboards were almost done at the start of 2014, this was the photo I shared from one of our first walk throughs of the house)</span></div>
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<b style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">Storage: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">We had hoped to get a seating bench into our window nook last year, but it just never happened. Over time the conversation of storage in here at evolved into talks of putting shelves into the other nook. It didn't happen last year, but we hope to do it this year and create a new home for my cake plates, stand mixer and growing collection of cookbooks.</span></div>
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</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Century Gothic', Arial, Georgia, Georgia, serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><b>Lighting: </b>We never expected this to happen, but during a trip across the border in the fall we came across and inexpensive light fixture and made it over with a little spray paint in one night. We love the look of it in the kitchen, and I'm so happy we did cross this off our list. </span><br />
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</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">The Backyard:</u> (1/1 Completed)</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/8714354661/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_1406 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1406" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7424/8714354661_0d3d152878_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">(at the start of 2014)</span></span></div>
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</u></b></span> <b style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">Gardens: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">We wanted to make some big changes out here, including garden beds for vegetables and expanding one of the gardens over by out covered patio. We managed to get some fabulous gardens that supplied us with tons of tasty fruits and veggies that we ate during the summer, but also froze to enjoy over the winter months. B was also successful at creating a run for the dogs along the side of the house which solved the problem of the dogs digging holes and destroying our grass.<br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Bonus - Sandbox and start of playhouse:</u> Though we didn't put on our list B was successful at building a sandbox for Halle and starting construction on a playhouse for her. Hopefully the playhouse will be completed for her to enjoy this summer!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">The Back Deck:</u> (0/1 Completed)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/8714349975/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_1416 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1416" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/8714349975_38f32980ec_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(at the start of 2014)</span></span></div>
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</span></span> <b style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">Seating:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">We had hoped to build some outdoor seating using pallets this past year, but it just never happened. Instead, B used those pallets to create a small herb garden for us, and also build some planter boxes that we had tomato plants in. We didn't increase our seating, but utilized the space on our big deck and the tomato plants also offered us some more privacy on the deck as the summer wore on!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 16.8999996185303px;">There were some bonus projects we completed this year, including a makeover to our downstairs rec room, and some work we've begun in our hallway. Both of these should come up on our 2015 to-do list, more as items to finish up! I can't wait to share what we've done in these two areas!<br /><br />Overall, I'm happy that we finished up what we did. 11/19 isn't too bad since we had a busy year getting outdoors, exploring, travelling and having visitors here as well! </span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703491948504687618.post-64780074143754654512014-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:002014-12-15T09:00:01.102-05:00Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By now, most of our family and friends should have received our Christmas cards, so I figured it was as good a time as any to share this year's family photos and send a little Christmas cheer to those of you who are still reading along with my mostly silent blog!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had our photos taken by B's cousin back in September when we were visiting family in Massachusetts. You can find her website <a href="http://www.photographybyamye.com/">here</a>. She had the perfect location suggestion and nothing makes it easier to get in front of the camera than knowing your photographer! If I have any readers in the Boston area, I highly recommend Amy! Seriously, just look at these smiling happy photos!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15667867838/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Family Photos 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Family Photos 2014" height="447" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7503/15667867838_b49fd94470_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15854744632/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Family Photos 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Family Photos 2014" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8593/15854744632_6c61f2c3c3_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15853360571/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Family Photos 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Family Photos 2014" height="427" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8649/15853360571_905136ee6d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What makes these photos even more special to me, is more than likely these will be our final photos as a family of three! We are expecting a little bundle come May and we are all so thrilled that our family is FINALLY growing. It took us longer to get here than we hoped, but it all seems to work out perfectly and Halle is anxious to be a big sister! She asks almost daily, "is the baby coming home today Mama?". </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15854592202/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Family Photos 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Family Photos 2014" height="427" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7532/15854592202_67995007dd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15667732428/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Family Photos 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Family Photos 2014" height="640" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7564/15667732428_f2ff35c000_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerryhale/15854643182/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Family Photos 2014 by kerryhale, on Flickr"><img alt="Family Photos 2014" height="640" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8584/15854643182_0b8e0d8ddd_z.jpg" width="427" /></a></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So that's our big news, and a look at our family for 2014. I can't believe Halle is getting so big... and that soon there will be another tiny one around here. Life is crazy and full, and I am so incredibly happy - for real. Of course, new baby also means relocating our upstairs guest bedroom downstairs - which means a whole new room makeover down there, as well as some nursery decorating in the future! I can't wait to get on top of all of it... and maybe I'll even blog about it along the way?</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15353091281831678784noreply@blogger.com5