Thrifty Fixes

We all have one. Admit it.

An old Ikea shelf in our house. A little worse for wear from multiple moves, it's partner probably put out on the front lawn for pick-up. But somewhere, in the house you now live in, is the shelf.

Mine has somehow ended up in our family room. It had a siamese twin & a taller partner, but alas it is the only one that remains (and I'm pretty sure this one came from my sister).

I really, really love a pattern I've been noticing on some of the design blogs I read. Arranging your books by COLOUR! I love it. Did I say that already? Since I was feeling 'nesty' last night, that's what I did:


I couldn't help the middle shelf, unfortunately. It won't co-operate. I'll have to find all the books scattered in every room of my house & change it. I also added some fabric on the bottom, with the help of my trusty staple gun, to hide this mess:

Ahh, isn't that serene. (No judging on the book choices, I'm not a snob.)

Change of topic, Mike & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary last week with *shocker* a pint at the local Irish pub. Why do I find signs like these sooo appealing.

At one point in our marriage, very early on, we used to discuss opening a pub. Totally unrealistic considering neither of us has actually ever worked in one. But we both love the true Irish pubs, you know the ones. Two rooms with the bar in the middle on both sides, one room having couches & booths and t.v.s, the other tables for eating. Dog lying by the bar.

Of course we wanted to own one in Ireland. We've both been, Mike in '90 and me in '93. Can't wait to go with him, let's hope it's not another 20 years.

Oh, I just got a huge lump in my throat thinking about my kids in kindie. If I was to ever teach, it would be kindie kids. I love them, I do. Such a wonderful age, all vulnerable from being cozy with Mummy for 4 years, quirky because they don't know to be self-conscious yet, vulnerable, and sometimes stubborn. But such wonderful little beings, these ones.

My boys had an amazing kindergarten teacher in Ottawa in our small community school, Mrs. Briggs. I volunteered in all three boys classes when they were with her. It' where I learned her morning song, which I still sing to the boys when I wake them up much to their chagrin. (Mom, stooppppp). She was so great at picking up on every child's unique abilities. She was so calm. And when she asked them to sit down, she would ask them to sit on their bottoms. How classy. To top it off, she dressed fun. Fun, funky, and colourful!

Thinking back to that time in our lives where I was overwhelmed, exhausted, stretched thin, I loved every minute of it. We had such cute routines, the bookmobile, the park..so healthy and well rounded we were. So, so cozy.

How do you keep that feeling as the kids get older? I really don't know. Will I look back at this time in our lives in 10 years & think the same thing. I hope so.

For now, I need to remind myself to be in the moment and enjoy scenes like this:

Have I Ever Told You?

Have I ever confessed how much I love blogs? Or really, how much I love the internet. It is my newspaper, my reading material, my inspiration, my connection. I'm a little obssessed.

I love blogs like Apartment Therapy and Knock Knock. They are so inspiring in design and ideas.

I love Nie Nie, Cjane, Dooce of course. Mormons and ex-mormons. I'm not even religious. My 'favourites' folders are vast and diverse and I read what's happening depending on my mood.

There are the 'Mom' blogs too, although I sincerely think it's an insult to label them just that because they are so much more. Suburban Bliss, Drowning in Kids (because, hello, canadian) and of course now local Bread Crumbs in the Butter.

I kind of feel like my repertoire of blogs that I read are legendary. Like I've compiled such an amazing list of women to read about, draw from, and relate to that it can only be shared with certain people.

Eventually blog readers will come upon a lot of the same blogs I love on their own, but I`m going to make a concerted effort to add all my favs to the blogroll. I suppose after all these years of reading I should share.