Magazine CopyCat Party

Thanks to Debbie for hosting this great party!!  I think it is a fun idea and will turn out to be very inspirational for all of us DIYers!!

"Style at Home" has given me alot of inspiration!

It is one of my favorite magazines

Our living room had one very blank wall!!   It just lacked some structure and detail.  I was sitting on the couch directly looking at the "blank,boring wall.... .when this picture just hit me like a ton of bricks!!

"We could do this, I thought to myself!!

The wall is just about the same size as the wall I am staring at!

Have always wanted a fireplace,, and the little windows would bring

more light into the living room....hmmm wonder what Darrell would say?"

Well after measuring and seeing how similar the floor plan in the magazine was to our living room, we got to work!  The little windows were ordered, we started looking for a fireplace and I began to dream about having a mantel to decorate at Christmas time!!  Sorry, I don't have a very good "before" picture, but just imagine a flat wall of "nothingness".......

Here is our copycat result!!

Looking in from the dining room.

Oh..the TV is now a flatscreen that is receased and hides behind the mirror!

Most times the mirror is off the wall,,,but it gives me a good option

when I don't want to see the TV.

Cupboard to hold photo albums and games..

This little jelly cupboard is one of my favorite pieces. 

This book shelf is on the opposite wall of the fireplace, behind the couch.

You can visit this previous post that shows a small fix up on the bookcase...

A little chair hung on the wall makes a great shelf..

There you have it...thanks for stoppin by my living room.

Put your feet up and come back anytime!

White pitchers are one of my all time favorites!

Posting to Debbie's Magazine Copycat Party

Transformation Thursday

Inspiration Friday

View along the Way

Wordless Wednesday

Summertime fun playing with bubbles...

Mother nature has been doing her thing!  Bees buzzin and pollinating the flowers...this one sure liked the blossoms on my Miss Canada lilac.  Enjoy the country today :)

Have a great week everyone!

Linking to 

Wordless Wednesday

Show off your shot

M&M's Photo Friday

Photo Story Friday

Getting ready for a copycat post!!

Well, it has been another rainy, cold week end here in Alberta.....is summer going to come, before it is over!!??   I have been busy at the BnB though, and got the laundry room all cleaned up....oh, that was yesterday,  I now have a new batch of linens from the BnB to do today!!  Laundry. Have to say it is not my favorite!

I am getting ready to post to Debbie's CopyCat Party on July 1st.  Check out her blog to see what it is all about, should be fun!    So, I won't reveal all of my copycat project, but it involves the living room.  Since I was busy taking numerous "get it right" kind of pictures I thought I could post a few from my living room.

So, come on in to the living room..

This little corner got a makeover when we redid the kitchen

Now, I have some nice display shelves.

I sometimes forget to take the "before" pictures !!  So here, I was almost done with putting items on the shelves when I remembered.  These shelves are just form IKEA, nothing special.  Darrell put a crown moulding on the top to dress them up, easy little dress up trick.  We've had these bookcases for a number of years and once I got them home, I didn't really like that awkward middled part!!  We obviously have a pathetic CD collection, cause we can't fill it up!  It just kinda sat there with nothing in it.   So, it needed some help!

Until we had an "idea"....

Why not cover it up!!  Like it wasn't even there in the first place!

Thanks Darrell!!

The little chair on the wall was one that Darrell found at the dump a long time ago!  When we re did the kitchen the little corner that it sat in was taken out.  I didn't want to part with it, so thought why not put it on the wall!  It serves as a little shelf and stacks nicely in line with some chairs we took out of the house that we flipped.

Shelves to display my love for white jugs, blue glass, books...

A little picture of Darrell. This was the first picture I saw of him, it was in my

brother's yearbook from Hillcrest Christian College, and I thought, "Hmmmm,,,what a handsome guy!"

So, thats what I have been up to on this rainy week end.  Hope you all have a great week and thanks for stopping by the country!  I am trying to break 100 followers, so if you haven't signed up to follow along, please do.  :)

Motivate Me Monday

The DIY Show Off

Tuesday Confessional Party

WOW us Wednesday

Transformation Thursday

Flaunt it Friday

Kitchen Party!

Well I have had this post started for awhile now, but with Sarah having the perfect Kitchen Party over at her place, Modern Country Style, I thought today would be the perfect day to get this posted to you.  I am also posting to Debbie's Newbie Party.  I am getting close to 100 followers and Debbie hosts a party for new bloggers to meet one another.  Pop on over and give her a visit.  She is also going to be hosting another exciting party on July 1st.  ...  aren't you curious now!  Check it out!

Demo started back in January and the goal was to take out the chimney to give us a some more wall space.  I really wanted to have the stove and fridge wall as a feature wall as it is the first part of the kitchen you see when you come in from the entry.  Definately wanted to get rid of the microwave over the stove and have the microwave built into the island instead.

This bank of cupboards served as a breakfast bar and gave the feeling of a hallway where the stools were.  We thought with taking out the chimney and removing that little bit of wall it would open up the kitchen a lot.

Before

Making progress

Let's see...dreams for my feature wall would include:  slide in range, pot filler, decorative range hood with a shelf, and subway tiles.........

How did we do!  I love, love, love this wall now!  All up to date and modern country!

This side of the kitchen didn't change a whole lot, the layout of cupboards and where the dishwasher was stayed the same.  A new industrial sink and faucet are the special newcomers!  I never in a million years thought I would have granite countertops...Darrell pulled out all the stops on that one!   I guess one good thing about having a small kitchen.  Those countertops sure shine!!

Before:

After:

 Taking out the corner shelves by the window makes it feel more open and gives cleaner lines.  I think the pictures and the little shelf help fill the space.  Last minute Darrell used up leftover moulding and created two little corner shelves off the end of the cupboard.

I love the range hood area and can't wait to decorate it for different seasons

 We put the microwave in the island.

Love, love the island  :)

The office is just off the kitchen.

The office used to be the boys bedroom.

The dining room is off the other side of the kitchen.

We thought about taking out the walls between the kitchen 

and dining room,,,I am glad we didn't

There you have it!!  It is small, but has everything I need and a 

few extras that give it some wow factor!

Thanks for stopping by...as you can see there were too many things to just list my favorite thing in my kitchen.  I guess my all time favorite would have to be my hubby!!  He makes all our "big ideas" a reality and I love him!!!  I find him in the kitchen a little bit more too these days, he is happy with the results.  

I am linking this to :

DIY Showoff

Modern Country Style

Transformation Thursday

Flaunt it Friday

Things I'm Loving

Finger Prints on the Fridge

Saturday Nite Special

Newbie Party

Sizzle into Summer

The heavens declare the glory of God...

One of my favorite things about the prairies is the SKY!!  It is so big and expansive here.  You can see a storm coming from miles away, the clouds can be puffy like marshmellows, the blue as blue can be....
Our God is awesome in His creation and if we wouldn't praise Him for all His works the rocks and stones would cry out and do it for us!

I hope you will enjoy the ever changing skies I saw today...the first day of summer on the prairies was a good one!

June 22, 2011

Finally got the pictures to post...I gave up last night and called it a day.

There was thunder, but no rain to speak of last night..

 The daisies are starting to show their cheery blooms.

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary!

We enjoyed a bbq on the deck,

a walk in town and some ice cream...

Darrell had these beautiful flowers delivered to me at work!

Thanks Hon!

xoxo

Posting to Sky Watch Friday

Photo Collage and Purple Blossoms

It has been a cool, rainy week end, so I haven't really been out in the garden or anything.  So, for Mosaic Monday, I thought I would post some more of my lovely lilacs!  I was messing around with some editing in Picnik and this is what I came up with... enjoy!  and be sure to check out the other great mosaics at Mary's Dear Little Red House.

There are still 3 different variety lilac bushes in our yard that are just about ready to bloom...

I actually saw a cedar waxwing in the yard yesterday!  I got so excited, I probably scared him away.   I really hope he comes back though...

The peonies are soon ready to show their colors, and I think I will have lots of daisies too !

Here's hoping for some sunshine this week...we really haven't had any hot weather yet.

Wishing you all a great week and don't forget to stop and smell the flowers!  I have found some more photo linky parties to link to,be sure to check them out!

Mosaic Monday

M & M's photo Friday

Fabulous Friday

Show off your Shot

A great day for a picnic...

This past Sunday was our church picnic.  It turned out to be a great sunny day..and I had my camera ready for some summertime shots.

We have been blessed with rain, and with the rain comes puddles, and what do you think happens when you put kids and puddles together!!!   You know that someone is going to get wet!!

and did they ever!!

These two little girls were so cautious as they went to the edge to check things out...

Barefoot and carefree..the way summer should be!

The ice cream was a  hit...

 as was the bubble machine

One little boy took time to check out some of God's wonderful creation!

There was visiting to do...

and of course the food was a hit!!  (gotcha C!!)

It was a great day of spending time with my church family and being thankful for a day of summer...

Have a great day everyone! and thanks for stopping by the country.

Now I am off to see if the Vancouver Canucks can bring home the Stanley Cup!!

Photo Story Friday

Wordless Wednesday