Things I am Loving Right Now...

I think I need to pick up some of these knobs for an upcoming project I am dreaming about!

I have been loving this dish towel since I saw it months ago.  It's the perfect style for our classic, modern very dark kitchen.

This towel ring NEEDS to find a place in our house.  It's the perfect scale and size for our yet to be started basement washrooom though!

I have come to terms with the fact that due to forces beyond our control, we are unable to even start the landscaping or fence project in our backyard.  They will happen next year, which is great since I can save even more money for the yard of my dreams!  In the meantime, I am dreaming of this firepit:

We desperately need a new dining set.  Our table top is worn, the chairs are strating to creak.  Our set was cheap, purchased as a single gal out on her own for the first time.  It has served us well over the past few years, but I am ready for an upgrade.  I would love something simple and chic like this:

I have been stalking these two pieces online lately, waiting for their prices to drop a bit, I think I just might HAVE to give in though this week.

The perfectly antique frame.  To paint white and start a gorgeous arrangement on my stairwell walls!

Painted out in white, this would work perfectly in any room of the house!

Loving this cherry blossom bedding!   Unfortunately, I have no place for it!

I am pretty sure I am going to go grey and white in the guest bedroom when we get around to it. 

 Here is a great inspiration shot:

Sources:

aqua knob, tea towel, grey bedding - Anthropologie

towel ring, cherry blossom bedding - Urban Outfitters

frame & mirror - online ads (I'm not linking so they don't get stolen from me...)

firepit - Walmart

Dining Set - Ashley Furniture

Introducing Finley Dawn!

This sweet little girl has been keeping me from projects lately!

So far, she is a perfect little leash walker who is eager to get to know the cats, despite their feelings towards her, and she is such a love bug.

Unfortunately, she is used to being with others and the cats not having taken to her is driving her insance... apparently it's a little boring and quiet around here for her!  HAHA!

But we anticipate the three of them being best of buddies soon enough so she will have some playmates!

Our one worry, she still has not taken to her kennel.  Like, AT ALL!  Sure, she will go inside and accept treats and praise for doing so.  But as soon as you shut the door, all hell breaks loose.

I will admit that this has not gone over well in our house and admittedly, we've broken the rules about just ignoring it and "it will stop..." as people like to say.

As unfortunately,it DOES NOT STOP!!!  Nope, this little lady barked non-stop for over 6 hours last night!!

We had resorted to ear plugs and apologizing to our neighbours in our heads.  Unfortunately, when one of us needs to get up at 5am to be at work on the weekends, what ends up happening is that she learns to sleep on the floor by the bed.

There haven't been any accidents, except for one time that was my fault.  She needed to go but I thought it was more important to go first myself, then took too long and as I reached down to let her out, had a back spasm and collapsed on the floor.  Poor thing couldn't wait any longer and had to go!

You could tell she meant well, so we aren't worried in general.  However on days when I work, we were hoping to kennel her for the first little while.

We're going to have to do a lot of training between now and Tuesday if we expect that to happen.  Wish us luck!

In lieu of projects though, here's my favorite photo so far:

She is such a daddy's girl and he in unbelievably proud to be hers!

Weekend's Antique Find

I hit up the Antique Mall this weekend and while there were a ton of things I was interested in, I only picked up one little thing:

This chippy little bird was damaged and marked down to $5.00.

I initially picked him up thinking that he would look striking in white, but I am actually loving him in his natural greyish color.

He looks a little warped in these photos, but he's actually perfectly shaped!

We haven't decided on a permanent home for him yet, but so far, he's looking perfect everywhere we put him.  Like he was made for us!

Prepping for Puppy

We've spent a little times this week getting the house puppy proofed and purchasing some essentials for her arrival on Friday.  I have to say though, I was incredibly surprised at how hard it was to find a dog bed that met all of my criteria:

• Fit in with our color/decor scheme and not scream "dog bed"
• be large enough to accomodate her at least as a puppy
• be comfy enough to warrant being called a dog bed and not dog blanket
• be reasonably priced

After an unfortunate incident with a bed I picked up at Costco ( did you know their beds are filling with a cedar chip combo???) that ended up with me returning the ridiculously LARGE, great priced bed, I drove around everywhere trying to find something that met all the items on my list.  I didn't think it was going to happen and actually worried I wouldn't find something appropriate in time.

That was, until I took the advice of a girlfriend and hit up HomeSense!  They had the perfect bed for us:

JACKPOT! 

It was only $24.99, super plush and soft, big enough to accomodate her for at least a little while (and then become something else...) and it works wonderfully with the rest of the colors in our house!

It even matches perfectly with Greyson's flower bed!

We know that eventually, she'll need something a little larger, but we're sure one of the cats will probably take to it if she out grows it!

Any tips for great places to find reasonably priced animal supplies??  Local would be best!

Adding an Addition...

We're adding a new addition!! 

Unfortunately, it's not to our home (although we COULD use the storage space!) 

Nor am I pregnant....

We are however adding a new member to our family!

Cory and I have been searching for the last few months for the perfect little puppy to add to our brood.  Today, I came home to a little surprise.... Cory had the day off and came across this sweetheart online:

She was exactly what we had been looking for in terms of appearance, so he took it upon himself to give the breeder a call and see about setting up an appointment for us to drive out there tonight to meet the 3 females they had remaining to see if her personality was suited for our family.

I have to say I was a little surprised and taken aback, as despite the fact we had "Seriously" been looking for so long, we had just been waiting and waiting until we found the perfect dog for us.

Well, we found her!!  This little cutie, was the spunkiest one of the bunch, and also the most personable!  She was no stranger to giving me a ton of kisses and being a little cuddly - her sisters however, were much more interested in doing some wrestling or playing in the trees.  Her personality and easy affection for me was what helped seal the deal, and we put a deposit on her!!!

The rest of the week for Cory and I will be spent preparing the house, and the rest of the family for their new sister!  The boys haven't really dealt with dogs, or other animals first hand... and their few interactions with a puppy through the screen door have been a little iffy....  But we are ready to take on the challenge, and it couldn't come at a better time!  I happen to have a long weekend due to a scheduled appointment on Monday that requires me to be home all day, which will give puppy the opportunity to socialize with new people!

Fingers crossed that these two will learn to love our newest addition as much as they love each other!

I know I had planned to show off some projects from the weekend, but this new addition will probably take a little time to get adjusted in our household, and us to her, so I'll try and post when I get the chance!

Unexpected Absenteeism

Hmm... What happened?

It's already Friday and not one post this week from me? Oops!

Somehow this week got away from me. I was super busy, and life was full.

I am exhausted from the whirlwind of activity this week and am desperately looking forward to some well needed rest!

Also, I hope to have some home-related projects for next week! Fingers crossed... Cory is off this weekend so I am hoping to have him help me tackle the huge to-do list amassing in our garage!

One board for the weekend (in addition to sleeping late, eating well and napping?):
- hoping to hit up some thrift stores to see what I can score
- possibly a picnic in the rivervalley with the hubs to take some pretty pictures
- attempt #2 at refinishing the end tables for our living room
-attempt #2 at refinishing the vintage lamp
- a craft project
- a girls night out for drinks on a patio and finally seeing Sex and the City 2

How about you? What do you have in store?

Easy Update: Hanging Basket

A few weeks ago, I showed you how I turned my porch from this:

To this:

It took very little money but looked soooo much better (except for the fact that we are still waiting on the stair risers from the builder...)

Since then, we've mixed things up a little bit (and the hydrangea died...).  Somehow, it was still missing something.... so I rummaged in the garage a bit in my "Front Porch" bin until I found what I was missing!

Last year I had purchased a few hanging basket brackets and had yet to hang them, so the second Cory was home, I asked him to help me hang it.  Yes, I could have hung it myself but I wanted a second set of eyes to gauge the right height once a basket was hanging from it!

Literally 10 seconds later, I had this:

It was exactly what I was looking for!

I let Cory choose the bracket we used and have to say I was pleasantly surprised at his pick - it was the most decorative and scrolly of the bunch!  It's also my fave!

I potted a combination of pink azaleas, purple pansies and some dusty miller in here.  I can't wait for them to fully bloom!

Oh, and I should also point out that this pot was dark green last year.  It didn't work with my color scheme, so I changed it in under 5 minutes!