I suppose I should explain myself

First, thanks to those of you that have noticed I was glum.
I understand this house magic isn't going to happen overnight, it's just that I've been keen to a least start a little bit, and wasn't able to. I've always been impatient.
I "internet know" a few people whose gorgeous homes were featured in magazines or television (in much the same way as my wedding was, they were approached after seeing pictures the homeowner themselves had, and not staged for the shoot).

I'm not going to dwell on the subject here, because I don't really want to bring it up later. Just know that I am a bit frustrated and impatient. The frustration stems from being held back. I want freedom to play, and rearrange at whim, starting with what I have and adding as I go..... but we aren't there yet.

In somewhat related news we agreed on a bedroom fixture, A classic Bauhaus style hanging 10" globe, much like the one below. Did you know that this was originally designed by Marianne Brandt? Haha, I spent half a semester studying her work in college... I guess it's a small tribute to Ange and Patti.



Also, I spent last night clearing out the dining room of boxes, I set some fresh cut flowers on the dining room table and despite there being two black plastic chairs it looks okay. That's one room completely unpacked. It's dying for proper chairs, hopefully that will happen soon.


Lastly I have been thinking about ending the blog. If that happens soon, you've been warned.

blog envy.

Here are some more pretty house pictures, so you can all be just as jealous as I am.
And for the record I hoped the wouldn't all left align, but i am not going to change that now. Sorry.

One Year

Yesterday Dave and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. He loved the pictures I had printed for him, thanks everybody for your input!
I bought a new dress, and got to use a cute vintage clutch my sister bought me for christmas, and Dave took me out to one of Guelph's finest restaurants, The Other Brother's. It was amazing!!
We both started with Salad three ways pear & grapes with asiago dressing and candied walnuts, roma tomatoes, warm goat cheese and roasted portabello mushroom (I didn't eat the mushroom) with balsamic and caesar with capers and an asiago toast (and prosciutto crisps on Dave's).
Dave had Slow Roasted Alberta Beef with a twice baked potato (instead of lobster mashed-I'm deathly allergic to shellfish), Caramelised onions and Bordelaise Sauce. I had Pesto Angel Hair Pasta with asparagus, tomato and goat cheese with a roasted tomato sauce.
For dessert we shared Homemade Fruit Sorbet in a Brandy Snap Cup (1 scoop each of Raspberry, Peach and Pear) and Dark Chocolate Torte with mixed berry compote. YUM.

Chloe and Pepper

lawn dilemma

We have horrendous tall scraggly dandelions among a cul-de-sac of well manicured lawns. Internet research recommends we leave the grass tall and leave the mulch in place to inhibit further growth. BUT, we also have terrible mosquitos here. There is no standing water so they are most likely living in the grass.
That means we have to cut it short and remove all mulch (which could be dark damp breeding grounds).
I did more internet research and have found a new improved mechanical way of removing the dandelions, the DLT 100. I actually was linked there from a subsidiary site to the government of Canada webpage. Apparently some mane in Montana has invented this drill bit/attachment that rips up the dandelion. It does not remove the root, but with the plant gone only the strongest roots will force a second set of leaves to get the sunlight it needs to survive. When you kill plant number 2 the root will wither away and die.
It's 30.00$ USD, plus shipping, so Dave and I are going to scour the hardware stores for something similar to try first. We'll have to buy some seed to repair the spots (and a fast growing seed will also thwart any plans the dandelion root has to grow).

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind dandelions, it's just that ours are over a foot high, and cover half of the lawn. I read all about the healing properties of the plant when research said the most natural way to combat the problem was to eat them (all 3 parts of the flower are edible, and one of the oldest known medicines). But since I let my dogs piss all over the lawn I'll leave the eating to someone else... perhaps my Mastercraft 18V cordless drill.

it's not working out.

at all.
So, every time I feel closer I leave the room and come back and it's not there yet.
The kitchen paint is a semi-gloss (as most kitchen paints are). The gloss seems to be reflecting the light and ruining all the colour subtleties I had. Bastards.

I wish my camera was within reach so I could show you all what an awful colour this is turning out to be. Don't get me wrong, my current colour (tint version number 4) is much better than Sunday's original colour...... but it's so far from my taste.
I cannot afford to change the rest of my horrid kitchen so the colour really has to work for me.

And it's not.




Not at all.

So, I have given up. Quit. Finito good buddy.
At some point in the coming weeks I will start over. And with a new colour because apparently robin's egg is not going to happen for me. Sigh. In the meantime you can all ponder my kitchen, the way it was BEFORE Sunday, and come up with ideas for me. I will also post pictures of kitchen I love, so you get an idea of my taste.


My Kitchen (but imagine the walls baby boy bedroom blue- semi-gloss that looks GLOSSY under the lights instead of yellow and beige)....







The Kitchen's I'd LOVE to have

First post from the house!

Yesterday my parents came for Mother's day, we had strawberries and cream... with pecan tarts since there was no angelfood cake or shortcakes at Zehrs. (The picture is from a couple weeks ago, when my parents visited my brother in Montreal)


We talked about the new dog (Pepper, we get him Sunday!), and the neighbours, and I learned what the mysterious plants are sprouting all over the place. Our lawn is covered in patches of forget-me-knots and wild strawberry. The strawberry is all over the walking space of the lawn and I'm not sure moving it is worthwhile. The berries it yields won't be too big. Oh and I should admit to the horrendous amount of Dandelion covering the front yard.



I also painted the first coat in the kitchen, which I sadly HATE. It really isn't working for me and I'm not sure which direction to go. I wanted a muted aqua, like a robin's egg blue... somewhere in that range. I picked Behr Aqua Chintz. It's looking very blue, clashing with the almond cabinets, almond appliances and the ridiculous beige and stone coloured checkerboard ceramic floor tiled counters.
The paint chip held up matches, but with a different intensity. The chip has a greyness, and the walls are bright. Dave thinks I am insane, and picky and is leaving it up to me to make a decision on where to go next. I have lots of paint that I am tempted to mix in, some grey from the rest of the house, or white (flat for the ceiling, or semi-gloss outdoor trim & window paint). But do I risk mixing paint myself? How do I know which type to mix with the kitchen and bathroom paint?
He also thinks that the Home Depot manager won't be able to distinguish the colour variation as I see it. Blah. I have resolved to not paint a second coat until I make a better decision. (really a... any... some-kind-of decision). Blah.
I am off to poll the house painting divas on the home decorating section of the nest and get advice.




I have also finished two book this week. Bel Canto (Ann Patchet) and The Kite Runner (Kahled Hosseini). Both were great. Bel Canto is the story of a terrorist group taking a party of international business people, diplomats and an Opera singer hostage during a party at the [unnamed South American country's] Vice President's house. The unlikely group forms an unlikely community amongst themselves apart from the world. It was enchanting to say the least.
The Kite Runner I finished this morning, and it made me cry. Really cry. More than any other book I've ever read. It's tragic and sad, and incredibly powerful. I'd recommend it if it didn't make me cry as much as it had. It's set in Afghanistan and is the story of two best friends, of different castes, and spans the 60s to the present in the USA where one of the friend's settles after fleeing the Russian occupation.

Okay, that's an awful lot to read. All that is really let to report for the week is that the F key on my laptop is sticking and I seem to need to press it very hard. I never noticed how often the letter F was necessary until Saturday. Perhaps there is a flax seed under my keys again (though I doubt it, it's been ages since I've had a flax bagel)... but Ashlee once teased me for being a hippy when I halted an MSN messenger conversation to get a flax seed from under the iBook keys when it was still new. I learned that day not to eat over the computer.

Here it is!