Thursday, April 28, 2016

Eating Vegan in London, Ontario (Our Road Trip)


You know darn well that any time we are travelling anywhere at all, I am googling for vegan food at our destination. Until this past weekend, it had been two decades since I'd been to London, Ontario. I got my master's degree in journalism at Western University over 20 years ago. Holy cow!

I always liked London. We walked pretty much everywhere and it was lovely to walk along the Thames River (usually to get vegetarian wraps at Sammy's Souvlaki). London is actually where my husband and I first became vegetarians. With our own apartment came the responsibility of preparing our own food. We decided then and there that we would never prepare something that had once had a face. It's different when somebody else prepares meat for you. The first time I pulled the little bag of weird stuff (giblets?) from a whole chicken I knew that eating animals wasn't for me. Fortunately my husband agreed, and we have been vegetarians ever since.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Corn on the Cob Dishes, A Glasbake Loaf Pan & Vintage Bliss Tuesdays Linky Party #80

corn on the cob dishes #summer

I did a quick bit of thrifting at the Salvation Army Thrift Store yesterday after picking up groceries. Well, it was supposed to be quick, but this one couple in line at the thrift store had about a thousand items and then they also encouraged their friend to cut the line. Not cool.

I was waiting in line to pay for these must-have dishes, haha. With summer approaching, we all need side plates for corn on the cob, no? (My husband gave me a dirty look when I showed him these.) Sure we have nowhere to store them, but I also spotted a nice buffet and hutch at the thrift store. It wasn't quite as tall as I'd like and I thought $150 was a bit pricey, but one day I will find a nice sideboard to paint and distress and then we will have more storage space.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Pottery Barn Inspired Burlap Lamp Shade & Owl Bookends #12MonthsofDiy


I think this is my favourite #12monthsofdiy project yet. Y'all know I love a thrifty find! Combine that thrifty find with a diy project and we have a whole lot of fun on our hands. I enjoyed going to Value Village to find a few treasures to overhaul. The bonus fun is that there are 11 other bloggers participating in #12monthsofdiy, so we get to see loads o' thrifty diys today. Read on for the other incredible projects.

It's not news to any of us I'm sure that we North Americans can be incredibly wasteful. In fact, we throw away more than 81 pounds of clothing and textiles per person, per year. With Earth Day coming up this Friday, it's a good time to think about how we can reduce this waste. As a parent, I have often wondered why we all buy the same books and plastic toys when we could just as easily pass them on or buy them at a thrift store. Buying secondhand items is an easy and fun way to do our part to help the earth. And it saves us money too. Not a bad deal at all. Why not make your next diy project an upcycle of a thrifted find?

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Pre-DIY Thrifty Finds & Vintage Bliss Tuesdays Linky Party #79


As I said in last week's Vintage Bliss Tuesdays post, I found a few treasures at Value Village recently to overhaul for my April #12monthsofdiy project. I thought I'd share a "before" shot of my thrifted goodies today in the hopes you'll head on back here tomorrow to see how I have made them over.

My husband and I really like the lamp and it was actually fine just the way we found it. But we decided to give it an extra-special, Pottery Barn-style makeover. Can you guess what we did to it? And then there's the somewhat unattractive wooden bookends and heavy bronze-look owl. No worries, we turned them into something quite lovely (if I do say so myself).

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Books To Inspire A Family of Makers


I love looking at the beautifully crafted work of "makers" on Instagram - embroidered hoop art, handmade hats, witty t-shirts, pottery mugs, lovingly hand-sewn baby clothes - there are so many talented women crafting gorgeous, unique items for others and often caring for families at the same time.

I don't have any particular talent in this regard. I like to bake, take pictures and write, but when it comes to crafting I am purely a hobbyist. That doesn't mean I won't keep at it though, just for fun. And I'd also like to inspire my children to harness their creativity into satisfying projects - there's nothing like the feeling of finishing something wonderful that you've made by hand. This month, I picked out some books to inspire us from DK's Made By Hands Boutique.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Little Thrifted Finds & Vintage Bliss Tuesdays Linky Party #78


Yesterday I went to Value Village in search of special finds for my next #12monthsofdiy post. (For my previous three posts I put old toys in snow globes, reupholstered a chair with a fun bird fabric and painted an old table in a lovely teal shade. Uh yeah, the table I took these photos on actually!)

I couldn't resist buying a couple of very small items to share for today's Vintage Bliss Tuesdays post. I always seem to fall for small vases, especially when they are green, like this small vase above. I really like when the mouth of a vase is sort of small so it keeps the flowers together nicely. This vase was $1.99 so it was in the budget too.

Monday, April 11, 2016

5 Inexpensive Ideas To Create a Pretty Spring Table (With O.co)


Although winter stuck around much longer than I would have liked (there was even snow on the porch this morning!), I was determined to add spring touches to the house when the calendar hit April. I may not be able to open my windows to let in a fresh spring breeze, but I can make sure my family sits down to eat at a beautiful spring table. With help from the folks at O.co (also known as Overstock.com), I created a pretty, cheerful table that clearly says, "Spring has sprung."

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Can Too Many Things Spark Joy? & Vintage Bliss Tuesdays Linky Party #77


As we attempt to purge our clutter-filled homes of all things ugly, unloved and excess, Marie Kondo advises us to keep only those items that spark joy. My question to you is, what if far too many items spark joy? When it comes to thrifted and inherited dishes and vases, the current state of our dining room clearly demonstrates that you can have too much of a good thing.

Monday, April 4, 2016

How Much Do You Love Your Teeth? - Here Are 10 Ways To Show Them You Care

How Much Do You Love Your Teeth? Here are 10 easy ways to show them you care!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you love your teeth? While you might not think about it on a daily basis (or even at all) your teeth are pretty darn important to you, aren't they? We, busy humans, tend to take these hardworking little friends for granted, but we sure notice them when they are unwell or, horror of horrors, need to be pulled out!

Fortunately for me and my teeth and gums, I cannot even think of going to sleep at night without flossing and brushing. I seem to have lots of space between my teeth to trap food, and if I try to skip flossing for one (tired, fed up) night, I inevitably lie awake feeling all the nasty little food bits with my tongue. I will neglect to wash my face before I skip brushing my teeth. Even after a New Year's Eve party that brings me home at 3 a.m., those teeth get brushed.