two things with sexy legs

Even though I still have so much to blog about Peter's parent's visit (I'm overwhelmed by the amount of pictures to go through!), I wanted to quickly post this "before" picture of a couple of pieces of furniture I picked up off of kijiji last week. The seller had bought an amazing house right in downtown Ottawa that was furnished. 

With pieces he didn't want. 

With pieces that he clearly didn't realize -or care- the value of. Or maybe he just wanted them gone quickly. Either way...

Lucky me.

I have big plans for these two.

The first, while not an antique (it has a magnetic clasp and some fancy hardware inside), has a super nice shape... and check out those sexy legs! Can a piece of furniture be sexy, you ask? Clearly, the answer is yes.

Sorry the top is so dusty, I'd already begun sanding before remembering to run get my camera. 

(Also, see that pile of rock? We built a deck last week.) 

(And by "we built a deck", I mean that Peter and his dad slaved for 12-14 hours a day building a deck.)

(It's a life-changing deck.)

(More on that later.)

And now... what you all really came to see...

Could this dresser be any more awesome?? And it was only $40! 

(I know that some people visiting here might live in an area where antiques like this sell for $10-$15, so might shrug at my excitement over this $40 dresser (*ahem* sorry mom... this CHEST OF DRAWERS), but I assure you that -for here- this is an amazing deal. I read some US-based blogs that seem to be based in a parallel universe where it rains antiques and everywhere you look people are practically giving away timeless treasures covered in charming rust and patina and age worn paint. THIS IS NOT THAT PLACE. )

signs of age and use

unique detail

and just look at those curves

Every time I see those curves (THOSE CURVES!), I'm torn between sighing contentedly that she's mine-all-mine and giving a big ol' construction worker wolf howl.

It wasn't until after taking these pictures that I noticed that the hardware doesn't match. When I started this post, I thought I'd just pop over to Lee Valley's site and find a couple options to post here... Uh, have you ever checked out the hardware section of Lee Valley?  I hadn't. It's a bit overwhelming! If any of you painting/decorating/refinishing mavens have ideas, I'd love to hear them. 

At first I was thinking of doing something similar to what's on there, like some of these on the left hand side,

But maybe I should fill the holes and go for some drop pulls (the ones in the middle above), like on this dresser by Holly from Life in the Fun Lane (her before and after)

Cute, right?

This will be my first attempt at refinishing furniture and I get all giddy even thinking about it. From the great price, to the labour put into it, to the time spent choosing the little details, this dresser is going to have a lot of me in it.

I can't wait to finish and post the end results.

(Hopefully it won't take all summer.)


If you've ever attempted anything similar and have any tips or advice, or if you've written a post about something similar, I'd love to know.

This post is linking up to these great parties.

    

P.S. Now I want my own button. I have button envy.

dilema

I have a dilema. In the last two days I have decided that I COMPLETELY DESPISE the layout/function/design/lack-of-design in our house. Despise. Hate even. Despise in a can't-stop-thinking-and-scheming-long-enough-to-fall-asleep-so-lays-in-bed-for-hours kind of way. I could hardly sleep last night because I COULD NOT get my mind to stop thinking of all the ways I would change things, how I would do it... what it would cost...

One of my biggest issues right now is organization. A place for everything and everything in its place, right? That saying used to make me roll my eyes, but now... now with three kids, homeschooling, a getting-busier-every-week photography business, I need for things to have a place AND TO BE IN THAT PLACE.

Cause when things don't have a place, they invariably get left/thrown some place that IS NOT their place and then all THAT STUFF just looks like JUNK. And when I feel like I'm surrounded by junk, I have little motivation to keep things tidy BECAUSE WHERE DO I EVEN START?

I've come to the conclusion that this family and open shelving DO NOT go well together. We have open shelves in our kitchen, all open book shelves in our living room, the boys playroom used to be a kitchen (there was a basement suite) so there's a fair amount of counter space... The problem? Every square inch of available surface space seems to be covered in Lego.

I kid you not. I could spend half the taking every last thing off our book shelves, putting everything back in its place, returning stray objects -at the very least- to the room in which they belong, cleaning, dusting, organizing, then re-loading my now sparkly clean shelves... only to turn around AND FIND LEGO.

And if it's not Lego, it's Playmobil or GI Joes, or Nerf darts or wooden fruit and kitchen utensils. Or... OR Andrew has pulled every last thing OFF the shelves.

I just can't win.

I need furniture pieces WITH DOORS. Doors and drawers and other things to hide things behind. Preferably these things will lock... and be treated with some sort of anti-Lego spray.

(sigh)

This need for closing/locking/hiding type furniture, however, leads us to the next problem...

I've spent some time scouring Kijiji, Used Ottawa and similar sites. I've feasted my eyes on some of the loveliness to be found on various design blogs. And I've come to a somewhat surprising (to me) conclusion...

I like antiques.

I like big, thick, wooden furniture that has personality and character and a story to tell. I love the idea of hunting for amazing pieces that have history. The thought of Ikea and its clean, simple, modern lines leaves me feeling cold and sad.

I love antiques.

So what's a girl to do? We do definitely need some new (to us) pieces of furniture. But where do I start? Keep checking Kijiji obsessively? Antique stores? Are there any good flea markets in/around Ottawa?? Also, I'd love to hear about your favourite design blogs. I think I'm well on my way to kinda/sorta figuring out "my style" but I could always use more inspiration.

I'm a sellout

Those of you who were readers this time last year will remember how excited Peter and I were to finally pay off our line of credit. We paid off $13,000 (thousand!!) in less than five months. That was no small feat and it definitely didn't come without major sacrifice.

The crazy thing was that we didn't really have anything to show for that debt. It's not like we'd been on vacations or had a house full of clothes and toys and electronics. It was debt that had slowly grown over the course of a few moves and times when I wasn't working, unexpected costs associated with buying our first house, etc. We're not big spenders. We never had been. Thirteen thousand dollars worth of debt notwithstanding, we're really very careful with our money. 

We're practical.

We haven't taken a family vacation in the last eight years (so none since even before we had kids), we buy used or second hand when possible, we never just "go shopping". When we get money for Christmas or birthdays, we have to fight against the urge to just put it in the bank. When we get our tax return or other lump sums of money, we always do the sensible thing.

The problem is that "the sensible thing" is never much fun...

This years tax return will once again be spent wisely (savings, extra van payments, our portion of my dad's funeral marker), used sensibly (some needed home renos), or put towards otherwise worthy causes (donated to charity, a new World Vision sponsor child -our fourth!!). But... BUT... Peter will once again be getting some retro pay for something-or-other, and he has decreed it fun -or blow- money. NOT A PENNY OF WHICH IS TO BE SPENT SENSIBLY!

So last weekend we bought two wine kits that we've started*, the first of which should be ready in about three weeks. 

We also decided to buy the boys brand new bikes**. 

Anther idea we had was to start a list of fun family things we can do this summer in the Ottawa area that we'll set money aside for. Things we wouldn't normally do, or wouldn't do as often. BECAUSE WE'RE SENSIBLE WITH OUR MONEY. Things like bowling (which the boys LOVE), Upper Canada Village, the Diefenbunker, maybe Park Omega again (last year's trip is here and here), taking the boys to Toy Story 3 in 3D, possibly renting paddle boats on Lansdowne Lake. We'll put all the ideas in a jar, then pick one whenever we have a free day together, knowing we have the money to do anything (and everything) in the jar. I'm super excited about this idea and can't wait to have a ton of fun with the boys this summer. Not everything in the jar will have a price tag, but there will be some activities that we just wouldn't normally be able to justify. So, Ottawa peeps, fire your best ideas at me!

More to the point of this post, however, is that some of that blow money has been ear-marked for a purchase that was previously considered absolutely UN-necessary, ILL-advised, and pretty much the antithesis of frugality and sensible money management... a Nintendo Wii (had to throw the "Nintendo" in there just incase you've been living under a rock and didn't know what a plain "Wii" was *rolls eyes at self*).

Liam has, for the last year, been bearing the full brunt of the unfairness of the fact that WE DO NOT OWN A GAME SYSTEM. Even though ALL OF HIS FRIENDS OWN A GAME SYSTEM. And, in his mind, every (other) living being on the planet MUST OWN A GAME SYSTEM. His insistence that we, too, must own a game system was enough to make me swear one would never enter our home. That sense of entitlement is one of the very reasons that we hope to move our family to Africa in the next few years... to shock it out of them! And yet last night I found myself frantically calling all the Best Buys and Future Shops in a 50km radius in a desperate attempt to track down a store that has them in stock so I can buy one in time for Easter.

Let me assure you that it was not Liam's heavy pout that finally broke us down. Rather, Peter and Liam (and Simon to a lesser degree) have started playing a couple of computer games together -only on the weekends- and they really enjoy it. I will keep claiming that I don't know how to play for as long as possible, which not only gets me out of ever having to play, but also ensure that it's a special father-son activity. Truth be told, Peter's been drooling over a Wii since they came out and is secretly giddy that I've finally relented on my strict no-game-system attitude (no, my iMac doesn't count thankyouverymuch), cause, you know... it's for the kids.

So there you have it. We're getting a Wii. Four words I swore I'd never write/say. (sigh)

Don't be silly enough to think that we're just going to hand it over though. No siree. Even though we'd already made the decision to buy a Wii, we told Liam that we would get one once he learned how to ride a two-wheeler. Not in a negative-consequence-for-if-you-don't-let-go-of-your-training-wheels kind of way, but as a reward/encouragement/motivator for learned to ride on two wheels. This might seem shocking to some of you who don't parent by way of rewards, but you have to understand that Liam only got a bike near the end of last summer and, up until now, has been very, VERY nervous about even riding up and down our driveway. He lacked confidence, feared falling (ie, failing... what can I say? he's MY SON), and had zero motivation to learn to ride. Even WITH training wheels.

So about a week and a half ago, we sat him down and explained that we knew that riding his bike made him nervous and that he wasn't very excited about practicing. We also explained that, with summer coming, all of his friends would be wanting to ride bikes and we knew he wouldn't want to be left behind. We told him that we knew he'd love it once he figured out how to ride a two-wheeler. We told him we knew he'd do great if he'd just commit to practicing every day. And we told him that, once he'd mastered riding on two wheels, we'd celebrate his effort and determination... by buying a Wii.

Folks, 10 days out and he can speed up, ride, right himself, slow down, and stop. He needs to practice starting and turning, but a few more days and he'll be golden. Ergo my frantic calls to track down an available Wii.

Our plan is to have a scavenger hunt in place of/in addition to an easter egg hunt with the Wii as the treasure.

Liam doesn't know that we were going to buy the Wii regardless. 

I guess he'll find out when he reads this post! *hi grown up Liam*

*Okay, that's a bit sensible since we'll be paying less than $5/bottle for the exact same wine that would cost $28/bottle at the wine store, but this is not something we would have been able to fit into the budget and, hey, it's wine! wine + summer = sangria 'round these parts! yummo!)

**Okay, we initially had decided to get the boys brand new bikes, but then I googled "ottawa used bikes" and found myself dragging the boys down to Bike Dump and spending $30 for a bike for each of the boys... but cmon! Thirty bucks! For two bikes! (*hangs head* I'm such a tightwad) 

P.S. A post without pictures! *shock*

thankyouthankyouthankyou

Those of you who have been absent from the computer for a couple of days may not have been aware that I was trying to win a contest for a FREE Flip digital video camcorder. Because the contest was based on votes, I have been begging/pleading/harassing everyone possible to click over to Classy Mommy and vote for me.

JUST ONE CLICK! IT ONLY TAKE SECONDS!

My friends, family, Twitter peeps, blog readers/followers, TBWers, and Facebook friends... you not only PUT UP WITH ME, but you put on quite the show of support. You emailed, called, linked up, re-tweeted, and voted from as many computers as you could get your hands on.

AND I WON!

It was a close one. Too close to call until the very end. A real nail-biter, it was. *grin*

So a big thank you to everyone who took the time to vote or to pass on my begging/pleading/harassing to their family/friends/followers in order to help me win my Flip. I'm SUUUUUPER excited to get it and to start boring entertaining you with gratuitous footage of my adorable kids at nauseum every once in a while.

Again, I realize that this is not a life altering device. It's just a camcorder. However, being a lover of photographing, blogging and generally recording my children's childhood, this little non-life altering device is something that I've had in my peripheral vision for a few weeks now, since reading about it somewhere online (another blog, maybe? ETA: Found it! It was Dani over at Postcards from the Mothership who posted a review of one last month. Hi, Dani, if you're reading this. *waves*). But because we're currently living on Peter's income alone so that I can stay home with our three boys, things like camcorders are just not an option in order for our budget to work.

Speaking of budget, Peter and I sat down the other night and re-did ours. My maternity benefits will be ending this month (and will be sorely missed!), so we knew we needed a clearer idea of where we stand and how we will function with the loss of that "income". We also wanted to be proactive in doing some pre-Christmas damage control in order to determin approximately how much we could reasonably afford to spend this year. I suggest you all do the same. It's really a good idea.

(As it turns out, looks like all our family and friends will be getting is a DVD compilation of video footage of our adorable kids.)

(Just kidding.)

Thanks again, everyone!!

I'm shameless

So there's this contest.

It's not for anything life altering, just the chance to win a Flip Video Camera. Some of you might be rolling your eyes, but it's something that I would dearly love to have, but there's no way we can buy one. We are living off of one income, so there is a vast chasm between "wants" and "needs".

Vast. Chasm.

If you already received my pathetic email, are friends with me on facebook, follow me on Twitter, or read my plea over at thebabywearer, then this will be getting old. If not, basically it's a contest (if you can call it that) for a free Flip. All you have to do to win is have the most votes. SO IT'S A POPULARITY CONTEST, really. I didn't find out about it til last night and the contest ends tomorrow (Nov 3rd), so am now frantically trying to beat the leader who currently has 140 votes more than me. But I can do it! I'm competitive!

You don't have to sign up or register or give any information. Just click "vote" next to my name (Amy B....) which should be right at the top.

SO PLEASE CLICK HERE AND VOTE FOR ME!

If you have access to more than one computer, vote from each! Pleasepleaseplease. I would lovelovelove to win this video camera.

Peter interviewed for a job in Nigeria a few weeks ago, and we are expecting a response by this week. I would lovelovelove to have a camcorder (do people still use that word??) of some sort to "show" everyone what our life is like there... should we get the job. He was one of only three interviewees, so chance are actually pretty good.

The lady currently in the lead has 140 more votes than me, so I figured I'd shamelessly beg all of you for some votes... please?

doggone crazy?

We've been talking about getting a dog.

A dog.

Cause I don't have enough to do already.

Quit shaking your head at me, mom.

We have a few reasons for thinking this might not be too awful an idea:

• Liam LOVES dogs. Specifically dogs who play fetch and who will lay their heads on his lap and stare at him with big, adoring eyes while he pats head and scratches ear.s After spending a few hours at a dog-containing house, we hear about it FOR DAYS. "I wish we had a dooooooooog." "I miss _____________(insert name of dog - making sure to wail when you say it)!!!"
• We feel like a dog would be one more companion/friend/family member to help make each move an easier transition for our boys once we move overseas.
  
• A dog would force encourage us to be outside more and go for more walks.
• It would teach Liam a bit of responsibility (or are we kidding ourselves on this point??)
• It would be fun!

Here are the obstacles/cons/concerns (wait, does "con" = concern?? anyone know):

• The cost. The particular agency we're looking at charges $300, plus the cost of (mandatory) obedience classes.
• The cost of outfitting ourselves to have a dog (collar, leash, food bowls, brush, shampoo, toothbrush, toys, bed, crate/kennel, etc, etc, ETC), plus the monthly cost of food.
• The fact that when it's -30C, there's 6' (yes, SIX FEET!) of snow outside, and we haven't seen the sidewalks for MONTHS we might not be as committed to taking the dog for walks so that it doesn't destroy our house
• What happens if the dog turns out to not be a good match for our family? Will we stick it out or break Liam's heart (*see above) and get rid/surrender/re-home it?

Did I mention we're thinking of adopting a pit bull?

(sharp intake of breath on the part of my mom and mother-in-law)

There's a local organization called Bullies in Need that rescues pit bulls, pit bull mixes, and other dogs affected by Ontario's Bill 132. This bill is basically a ban on buying, selling, breeding or importing pit bulls (or any short-haired, muscular dogs that might resemble a pit bull) and some serious restrictions on what you can/can't do with them and where you can/can't go. There are also heavy fines and the threat of having you dog seized and destroyed.

Bullies in Need works primarily with animal shelters pulling beautiful and deserving dogs off of death row, looking for stable temperaments and animals showing no aggression towards humans, and finding them new loving homes, most of which have to be outside of Ontario because of the Bill. Their focus is dogs that are scheduled for euthanasia simple because they are pit bulls.

Luckily, we are outside of Ontario so we would be able to open our home to one.

Like this one,

Or this one,

Or this one,

Cute, eh?

So are we crazy??

how to host a star wars party in 5 excruciatingly painstakingly detailed steps: part 4 - THE CAKE

K, I know this post could use some, well, WORDS, but it's late and I'm lazy tired and I just want to get them published before blogger eats another of my posts.

CAUSE I REALLY NEED ONE MORE REASON TO WANT TO JUMP THE BLOGGER SHIP.

(deep breath)

I promise to be back with some wordy instructions later tomorrow. There are definitely some gaps in the pictures that I will deftly fill in with words. Promise.

***NOTE: I've since discovered that icing the rice krispie treats is A TOTAL PAIN and completely unnecessary. The fondant will stick just fine without the icing. Also, using icing to stick fondant to fondant is difficult and doesn't even work very well. A small paintbrush dipped in water is amazingly effective. The water makes the fondant stick to itself and you avoid all the messy icing showing behind your work. 

This post links back to Wordless Wednesdays at 5 Minutes For Mom.

Links to how we did it:

pre-party planning and ideas
the invitation how-to
pool noodle lightsabers
marshmallow fondant
the cake (in less than 100 pictures)

the big day

* * * * * * * * * *

Need some party supplies? Want to make your own pool noodle lightsabers? Check these links below and have it all delivered to your door. If you find any of these links are broken or sold out, let me know and I'll find some new sources. Wouldn't the minifigure ice cube trays be fun? They could be used for ice (obviously), chocolate, or even to make Lego man crayons!

Disclosure: I'm a member of the Amazon Affiliates programs. This means that if you purchase an item from a link from this blog to those shops, I will receive an affiliate commission. However, I only share products and services that I would personally use and that I hope will be a good fit for you.