Don't Live Down To Expectations...

"Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable."- Wendy Wasserstein

Last week my sister graduated from university and I couldn't be more proud of her. She is bright, stubborn, compassionate, funny and she has grown into a lovely young lady who I am proud to call my baby sister.  Did I mention she is cute as a button, determined and that she is just the right amount of fear-less?  I look very much forward to seeing where all of these qualities take her in the future. She will do something special, I just know it.

For grad day I played with fondant for the first time. Way fun! I made cupcakes and tried to keep them as cute as possible because a cute lady deserves cute cupcakes. Unfortunately I have not become close friends with my Kenmore yet so the oven temperature was a guessing game. I ended up with slightly dry cuppie cakes...sigh..

Happy Tuesday and congratulations Sarah-Jo!
-m

How cute is she?

Best Way To Get Rid....

"Best way to get rid of kitchen odors, eat out!"- Phylis Diller

As excited I am about being a home owner, I can honestly barely contain myself,  I find myself sometimes mourning my 60's glam low-rise in the heart of the city. Yes, I complained about it...a lot. I lived there for four years and it was nothing short of entertaining. A couple of weeks ago I ran into Colin, my apartment neighbor and fellow islander who lives on the third floor. We discussed all of the ridiculous and funny things that have happened in that building over the past few years and established that as much as we both disliked the bull-*hit, the cheap rent, location and funny stories that came out of living there made it all worth while. I secretly miss my life-vest orange and lime green kitchen. I miss my walk to work and stumbling home in bare feet after a Martini Monday. I will always hold it a little bit near and dear since it is where I started my new life in Halifax and where I embarked on my career. Here are a few doozies Colin and I came up with...

-Superintendents son throwing burning charcoal in the dumpster and setting my apartment (which lives over the dumpster) on fire. Waking up to five fire-fighters at my door...

-My sister calling me at work to tell me that there was a half naked woman passed out in front of my door in the hall..

-Leaky bathroom that didn't get fixed for 11 months..

-Neighbors sending their children into the fire escape hall way (which back onto each master bedroom)  to "cry-it-out" each morning.

-Replacing the carpet in the hallways twice before fixing Colin's bathroom, which was crumbling down around him.

- Drug dealers living in the basement..classy joint.

-My moving in late because it was being "professionally cleaned" when really there was yogurt on the walls, pee in the toilet and an inch of grease on top of all the cupboards that required a strong arm and a paint scraper.

-Colin moving in late because the previous tenant had a paint fight with herself and tossed gallons of paint all over the kitchen and the walls...

Ridiculous? Yes. Kinda funny? Hell yes.
-m

I will leave you with memories of my apartment kitchen. I would share more pictures of my updates and progress in my little house but I am currently working on hanging art. Naked walls aren't very inviting my friends. I also have a whipper sniper and a leaf blower currently residing on top of my dining room table...you get the picture, hillbilly central.
-xo

Just Because Something Is Different..

"Just because something is different, doesn't mean anything had changed.."-Irene Peter

Renovating the blog, bare with me, it is just time for a face lift! Hope everyone had a wonderful sun-shiny long weekend filled with good friends, good wine, the outdoors and anything else that is important! xo
-m

Pour Yourself A Drink...

"Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together." Liz Taylor

Sending you all some lip-love inspiration! Kiss Kiss.
-m

Decorate Your Home...

"Decorate your home, it gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is.."
-Charles M. Shultz

Sorry for the long lost posts that have not arrived in more than a week. My life has been filled with boxes, big trucks, paint, topsoil, paint and a lack of internet. Now that my internet is back on, and I am slowly settling into new digs, I plan on getting back on track with this little labor of love.

Remember that post a couple back, you know the one about pink doors. Doors so pink that they would make any little girl who fancies herself a princess swoon. Well after much moral and decorating debate, I settled on a color called Tutti Fruity. Yes my friends, the name says it all. After hours spent with my dad in Home Depot, scraping old paint, replacing rotten stair treads and exactly four coats of pink paint, my house sort of became the talk of the street. I have to admit, I had regrets with the first coat, I questioned my sanity with the second and by the third I said screw it, it is just paint. Turns out I love it, as do most of my neighbors. I think my next door neighbor said it best when he stated that "It adds some much needed zap to the street". I will take it! Here are some pics, shutters and window boxes soon to come!
-m

Who says I need a truck, dad can convince me to do all kinds of things!

Told you there was lots of scraping!

Ta-Dahhh!

Cute right? Shutters and window boxes next, landscaping has much improved since this picture was taken!

Spend Some Time This Weekend...

"Spend some time this weekend on home improvement; improve your attitude towards your family."
-Bo Bennet

Unlike that quote, I already have a wonderful attitude toward my family. They are supportive, encouraging, loving and always a good time. Seriously, ask anyone, they are always the life of the party and often make other people's family seem just a little bit dull. My family is very important to me, and I don't know what I would do without them.

I took possession of my house six days ago...in six days I have managed, with my cleaning, painting and fixing crew to wash all the walls, paint all of the base boards, pick up some trees, squeeze a dresser into my car, paint two rooms and apply beautiful wall paper to an accent wall. I know I am missing a few things as well. Is that making anyone else tired?! Tomorrow will be day number three of paint-mania on Central Ave. It is looking amazing. I owe a massive shout out and thank you to my mom, aunt Liz, sister Sarah, Adam, Sean and Ang for all the work the last few days. I also owe a massive thanks to my dad, my grandparents, my uncles John and Peter and everyone already listed above for all the support in this massive endeavor.

I look forward to sharing all my projects over the next bit with all of you...yes before and afters are totally in the works! For now, here is a sneak peek! Enjoy!
-m

Poor lighting, but sneak at dining room...

Hot mess, yes. But look past the clutter to see aviator silver walls and a beauty of a staircase!

Big Doors...

"Big doors swing on little hinges.."- W. Clement Stone

With the closing of my house quickly approaching (four days, but I am not counting...), it is all I can seem to think about. I catch myself staring off in space wondering what it costs to re-finish hardwood floors in a middle aged home. I fall asleep worrying about water pressure, mortgages and heating costs. Everywhere I go I notice shutters, landscaping and paint colors...it is becoming a bit much. I have most of it figured out, but recently made a major change to my long term plan. I always wanted a red door. Classic, simple, elegant and the perfect pop on a white house with black trim (like my close to retirement home has!). I have loved red doors for as long as I can remember so that was my more than obvious choice. That is till my mother came over and threw teal, periwinkle blue and magenta into the mix. I am not a boring person, so why should my house be boring? Right now I am leaning toward bright pink. Fabulous right?! Sure, my neighbors may hate me, think I am the crazy girl with the pink door but who cares! I work hard and am a young lady buying a house on her own, who says it can't be a Barbie Dream House....

Bam!