House Ideas I'm Loving

January always makes me want to look at pictures on Pinterest and get some new ideas for my house.

I'm not sure why this hits me every January, but by spring I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to accomplish in my house.

Here are some of my favourite things I've pinned lately: (remember to pin from the original source!)

                                                                                 Source: heavenlypins.com via Melody on Pinterest

I love the colours they've used in this sunroom. The orange and the pale blue go so well together. They've used four smaller carpets instead of one larger one. I think those side tables they have there are the LACK side tables from Ikea. Genius!

                                                                           Source: dc.curbed.com via Melody on Pinterest

I think this pin is really crazy. This is a lot like what my house looks like. If we were planning on staying here, I would definitely change it to the "after". It's gorgeous!

Source: houzz.com via Melody on Pinterest

I'm considering doing something like this in our eating area. You could make the bench a little longer and have some secret storage under there for appliances and kitchen things you don't use too often. Genius!

Source: hgtv.com via Melody on Pinterest

This is more of a wish list for my next house. I definitely dream of a whole area of the kitchen designated to making coffee and tea. Kind of like in my sister's house. I'm also drooling a little bit over that tile. It makes it look so beautiful!

Which one of those pictures are your favourite?

What pictures have been inspiring you lately? Send us a link! We'd love to see it :) 

Update on my "wheat-free, sugar-free" month. Yes, I have cheated. I had some garlic bread for supper last night. Since it was at a birthday party, I don't think that's too bad, right??

{DIY} Bulletin Board...For Cheap!

 

I have always loved the look of a nicely framed bulletin board. Every time I saw one in a store, I would pick it up...contemplate buying it...turn it over to look at the price...and put it right back on the shelf. I seriously could not justify spending $30+ for a bulletin board. 

Then I found this little $3 beauty in the thrift store: 

  (I had already taken the picture out of the frame)

First I thought I would use it for a chalkboard. Then because I made this chalkboard out of our old bathroom mirror, I changed my mind to a bulletin board. The only problem was to find a big enough piece of cork material for the frame. 

I searched around in a couple of stores (too expensive and not big enough) and then my dear husband said they had tons of extra lying around in the warehouse from old flooring jobs. 

After spray painting the frame antique white, I rolled out the cork and measured it to the frame. I used heavy duty tape and a staple gun so it would lie flat on the back of the frame. 

Not too shabby for $3! 

Now it's the perfect spot to pin up Scripture, words of encouragement and any other reminders that we might need.

Happy weekend! 

Another New Beginning

I love the New Year. I always get a feeling like a fresh start is here. Unfortunately, this year I feel a little draggy (is that a word?) and just unmotivated. I'm assuming it's because of what I've been eating lately. Wheat, sugar, processed foods, chocolate, candy, chips, pretty much anything I can get my hands on.

In the spirit of getting my year off to a good start, I decided not to have sugar or wheat for the month of January. Sounds pretty scary and hard, but it's actually not too bad. I gave myself until yesterday to start since I had another party to go to on the 1st.

Even though it's not for the whole year, I think it's a pretty good idea. Get myself into shape for the rest of the year!

                                                                         Source: positive-notes.tumblr.com via Shannon on Pinterest

It will mean taking more time to think about what I'm consuming for my meals and snacks. It will mean not eating out for an entire month (I can do that, right??) And it will mean being more creative so that I don't get stuck in the meal "rut".

If you're thinking about trying this out with me, I have a few tips for better success:

1) Start on a weekend if you know you're going to be busy. There's nothing worse than having a headache on the busiest day of your week!

2) Drink lots of water and eat lots of fruits and veggies to combat and headaches you might get.

3) Don't skip meals. If you think it's easier to skip a meal then find something healthy, make sure you have healthy snacks already prepared in your fridge or cupboard.

4) Get rid of all the junk food in the house. If it isn't in the cupboards, you won't eat it!

5) Try to get your family in on it too. It will be easier for you if you don't have to cook 2 different meals every night.

I'll be posting a few healthy recipes and giving a few more nutritional tips in the next few weeks. If you want to join me, comment below! It's always better to do something crappy with someone you like :)

New Year's Eve and a Winter Mantle

Happy 2013! Did you have a good New Year's Eve? We celebrated ringing in the new year with a small shin-dig (people still say that, right?) at Melody's place. Tons of food, friends, games, children running around in their pajama's and catching the New York Times Square ball drop with 58 seconds to spare.

This little monkey stayed up waaaaaaay past his bedtime and rang in the new year with us. I don't know how he did it because I was starting to fade around 9:30pm...

Now it's back to reality, but a different reality for me. I am on my first day of maternity leave and I get to clean and organize my house! It's actually exciting because normally I have to turn a blind eye away from the chaos and focus on my work. Then for some reason it is still there when I return (what happened to little cleaning fairies?). No more though; it's time to get this house back in order before this new baby arrives. (6 weeks!!)

The Christmas decorations are piled on the kitchen table and ready to be organized in their bins. The tree is out of our house and waiting to be picked up. I always love decorating for Christmas but then I equally love packing everything up and having space in my house again. A fresh start. 

I was able to change up the fireplace mantle into something less Christmassy and more wintery.  Because that's what I like to do. 

What are your plans to take down your Christmas decorations? Did it already happen before 2013 hit?