Such Things

Cozy Place

Beneath my bed,

a place to laugh and wrestle,

a place to read,

a place to cozy up together,

day and night.

On rainy weeks, I tend to focus on inside projects.  We bought a loft bed for Megan from Ikea and after being inspired by this photo in the catalogue, I created the same kind of cozy space under her bed, using pillows and the star lights.  Kids love to have special places to hide, to be alone and to play.  We have all kinds of fun under there!  

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Our Family Beliefs

In September the class and I brainstorm "class beliefs" which replace the old concept of class rules.

Our values and beliefs have so much influence on our outlook and actions.

We came up with a list of beliefs for our own family too.

These are our family beliefs,

featured on our new gallery wall as an aesthetic reminder of what we want to value the most.

What are your family beliefs?

Evenings in the Loft

Where have my evenings gone?  Taking bike rides to the river, playing a family game of tennis (good for a lot of laughs), playing at the park after dinner, and staying up late to play in the yard after slowly eating a chocolate ice cream cone.

One of my plans for the summer is to spend a little more time here in the evenings and on those rainy summer days (so far thankfully, this part of the plan has not been needed).  Since I've been blogging, I have sadly neglected my scrapbooking, so I hope to get caught up.  When we renovated our house, we had this little space left over that used to be the space to come up the staircase.  We moved the staircase to the livingroom, and the architect suggested that we angle out the floor and create a little loft area, a creative space that I'd always dreamed of having.  In fact when I was a kid, I remember dreaming of having a "studio", open and artsy with huge canvases spread around (even though I don't have a lot of interest in painting).  Isn't it all about the ambiance?

This is a view of it coming up the stairs.  Our old livingroom had an African theme with all the artifacts we collected while teaching in Uganda.  Now they are scattered about our loft, leaving happy reminders.

This is the bookcase where I store all of my craft supplies, including albums, paper, kid's craft stuff, ribbon, photos and paint.

This is my desk,

and Mark's shelf.  I had to highlight his area, because he often points out the size of his desk compared to the size of my scrapbooking table.  He sort of squeezes his legs into the small space between the two legs of the desk and then has a plant brushing his back.  One time I asked him enthusiastically, "How do you feel in your new desk?" and he answered, "depressed."  Good thing he has the computer desk downstairs as well and it is quite large.:)

We also added a skylight just above my table, which lets in lots of afternoon light.

I'm so happy with my loft area, now it's down to some scrapbooking!

Ensuite Heaven

Hanging a framed photograph, taken by my husband Mark, was the finishing touch of my favourite room of our house.  Our ensuite. 

See, we didn't have an ensuite at all before our house renovation.  With three small children and only one small bathroom, this is a dream come true.  Bathrooms these days are known for their relaxing and spa-like qualities, and that's how I wanted ours to be. 

White, refreshing and clean, with wainscotting, a large soaker tub and separate shower. 

We managed to squeeze it all into a 9x6ft space.  

It was very fun to decorate.  All white linens, soaps, lufas and lots of accents from Ikea.

It's a place where I come to de-stress, to sit back in the tub, watching the sky or the candlelight.

It's my little bit of heaven.

Art on the Wall

I haven't been at the computer for a short while, I just had laser eye surgery.  I was in intense pain for one day (I got the no-touch, PRK type), but I am very happy now, being able to see without glasses or contacts for the first time since I was in grade three!  Just before Christmas, my eyes started to get very red each time I wore contact lenses and I have a rather strong prescription, so I decided to take the plunge and get the eye surgery.  I'm so glad I did!

 It's also been great to start getting some art up on the wall.  The walls have been quite bare since the renovation. 

These are some of my own prints. It was exciting to see them enlarged!  The frames are Ribba from Ikea.

For our bedroom, I decided to decorate with mostly nature shots, to create a peaceful, oasis-like feel, so we can relax after a busy day.  Art for sweet dreams and now I can see them with my new and improved vision!

Welcome Christmas!

   This year it all started with

this.

And here's Lucy and Edmond in the snowy forest under the lamp post. 

That magical lamp post.

I am secretly happy (well, perhaps not so secret now,) that Thanksgiving is in October for Canadians, because I can launch right into Christmas mid-November. I was reading an article by my principal in the school newsletter about how Christmas can be a stressful time.  True enough, but usually, Christmas puts me into a most joyous, spirited and elf-like mood!  Although, I might have been a bit stressed at Christmas last year, because I noticed on this year's calender I had written a number of "Christmas goals" to myself.  I always chuckle a bit at myself when I do that, when I see my own writing from a year ago.  Any ways, I have been following my own instructions and this year things have been running very smoothly.  It's quite amazing.

Okay, maybe that's a bit ambitious!

My neighbour and I were chatting and agreed that we have "stages" of decorating for Christmas.  Mark put the outdoor lights up last weekend and I have slowly started some of the indoor decorating.  The Christmas portraits are taken, candles are being lit, Christmas anthems are playing in the background and the wreath is hung.

Our playroom is being transformed into a Winter Wonderland as well.

 

Their own little tree to decorate again and again (makes me think of Charlie Brown),

 the favoured rock salt bin with a bit of sugar mixed in too, has been taken down from the closet (these are both ideas from preschools),

And lots of play with this manger-like cradle that Mark made with the girls one November weekend using chopped up wood from the beach house yard.  Sometimes there's Mary and Joseph or an angel or two joining in.

"[They] wrapped him in swaddling clothes and lay him in a manger." Luke 2:7

And here's another story...

I hope you all have a great weekend full of thanksgiving and good cheer!

Home

As we settle into fall and winter, I find myself thinking about "home" more than ever.  Starting to "cozy in", decorating for Christmas, baking, making warm winter casseroles and stews.  But what really makes a home a home?

The idea of "home" can encompass something as large as a country or as small as a room.  There are so many different components of a home.  Retailers like Ikea, speak of home: "home is the most important place in the world," "Love your home."  I actually appreciate these quotes, but is it meant for us to think of relationships, or of furniture, drapes and rugs?

I do think of a home in terms of space, decor and cleanliness, but there is another level of home, which Nel Noddings addresses in her book, Starting At Home (in my sidebar).  Home is a place of caring:   "In every ideal home is someone who does the work of attentive love; he or she responds to needs with a dependable 'I am here.'"

Sometimes I chat with my girlfriends about creating a home.  They want it to be warm and welcoming, clean and orderly.  To me, home is so much more than a house.  There's a spirit of the home too.  It can be felt inside the house and it's a sense or feeling that each of us carries around with us as part of our identity. 

As Christians, we invite Christ to be the center of our home, for His spirit to be present in our home, and in our relationships.  I think of the story of the prodigal son and the kind of home he had.  That story changes my heart each time I read it.

"So he returned home to his father.  And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming.  Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.  His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both Heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.  But his father said to the servants, 'Quick!  Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him.  Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.  And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen.  We must celebrate with a feast because this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life.  He was lost, but now he is found."  Luke 15:20-24

 Home is a foundation.  And home really is important.  Perhaps the most important.  Welcoming, security, warmth, support, contentment, understanding, expression, openess, order, belonging, freedom, creativity and unconditional acceptance. 

Brick by brick it's being built. 

Home. 

  

Since I took this photo, the "harvest" decor, has been transformed to winter decor.  See what a trip to Ikea does to me?

Kitchen Lighting

Hello.  If you've just dropped in recently, I'm doing a week of "kitchen poetry", hosted by Toni of Simple Sparrow.  I'm going to take this opportunity to do some "reno" talk.  

Lighting in the kitchen is very important.  When we redid our kitchen, the designer recommended putting 4" potlights in the kitchen. The potlights created dim shafts of light and with the dark tones we had chosen for our kitchen, I was finding it very dark during the day, especially on rainy days. One day when I was having coffee at a friend's house, I noticed that she had much larger, brighter potlights in her kitchen which made her kitchen very cheery. Mark and I talked and decided to install 6" potlights and we added two more potlights as well, all for a very cheap cost.  We put in dimmable florescent bulbs, so that I can dim and undim the lights all day long if I choose!  I can't tell you how happy I am that we did that, because  it's so bright inside now, and the weather outside doesn't bother me nearly as much. 

Super, duper bright.

Election Over Kitchen

Today I realized that on workdays, the kitchen is a rather quiet and sparingly used room of the house.  Breakfast, snacks and lunches are eaten at school and daycare, a quick bowl of cereal and the kitchen remains empty until dinner when a leftover dinner is served.  Tonight with the kids quickly in bed, Mark and I were anxious to watch the end results of the election.  I wasn't at all surprised by the results.  This is an exciting time.  More than just an election, this is a day in history for all American people.  
Lots of life in the kitchen tomorrow!  It's my day at home!

Fall Texture and Colour

One day after school, we stopped by Safeway to select a number of gourds and baby pumpkins.  The kids were delighted with the shapes, textures and colours. 

They came home and excitedly unpacked the gourds, felt them, arranged them,

 

and then announced that they wanted to draw them. We all got out our sketchpads and even Mark walked in from work and sat down to join us.

I was in awe of how it all naturally unfolded.

It just so happens that Mark brought me home a fall bouquet that day.  What a great guy, eh?

This sight brought me great joy today.  

I took this photo with the automatic setting,

And this one with manual 400 ISO. 

With the fall sunlight shining in,

And cozy evenings next to the fireplace.

I've been playing around with my camera, lighting and some fall decorating.  When we had a designer, she suggested changing simple decorations in the house with the changing of the seasons.  These decorations are from Superstore and Ikea, very affordable.  

Here is one more of the "m"s who hasn't yet been introduced.  Moe B.  Short for "Mo betta cat".

She likes the 5.99 Ikea pillows too!

Enjoy your weekend and to our Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones!