a bit of this & a bit of that: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

[freebies]

Some freebies to celebrate the New Year.

May 2013 be your best year yet!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

I love new beginnings! Each morning, each week, each month, each year… If you messed up somehow, you can start all over again and with better resolve to do better and to be better. Forgive yourself and others for misdeeds and thus give room for improvement.

One of my favorite things to do is to start a new day planner each year. This year I found the perfect one for me! So my style! Love it! J

I love to mark in the birthdays. The pages are clean, ready to be filled in with appointments or what happened that day.

This year’s wall calendar is Ireland themed. A gift from someone who knows Ireland is special to us.

Maybe if I’ll stare at this picture of Giant’s Causeway, I’ll magically get to finally visit the place. I lived so close to it, yet never had a chance to see this amazing piece of nature.

Look what a lovely thing is in my new day planner already! What a fun activity idea for kids. Print out the numbers of the new year and let children decorate them in some fun way.

If you want to see some ideas I’ve collected on Pinterest about New Year’s Eve, click here. I love the idea of interviewing your child each year and videotaping their answers.

Happiness to you all in the year 2013!

Friday, December 28, 2012

[new home thoughts]

Now that Christmas is over, my thoughts are turning towards our new home we purchased recently. No, I didn’t get the house with a lake view. I also didn’t get the brand new home I wanted (no renos!). But it’s ok. Because I know that we are supposed to live in the old house we purchased (built in 1978, how’s that for brand new! J). I fought against the strong feeling that we were supposed to buy this particular house. I honestly did not want to do any renovating. But eventually I gave in. I knew this was THE house we were meant to live in.

It will require lots of tender care and ton of sweat inducing work, but I do believe that after all that, it will be a wonderful home. We will have good neighbors: we know two families in the same quiet cul-de-sac. Sienna will have a good friend as they will be the only girls midst many, many boys.

I can also see in my mind what the house will look like when it’s all done. Here’s a list of things we’ll have to do:

Rip down some walls.

Replace flooring downstairs.

Replace the brand new kitchen with a kitchen we like.

Paint all the walls.

Replace railing.

Get rid of carpet upstairs, replace with laminate flooring.

Replace all windows upstairs.

Redo master bathroom which will include ripping down walk-in-closet and replacing it with floor-to-ceiling closet.

Replace all the light fixtures.

Get rid of 13 huge evergreen trees.

Paint the house.

Build a deck in the front.

Landscaping.

New fence.

Build the basement: two rooms, replace windows, build a bathroom…

Replace the gas fireplace.

New lawn.

I know I’m forgetting something but you get the idea, right? Not a small undertaking. Sigh. But it will be great when it's all done. That's what I keep telling myself anyways. What is nice is that we won't have to move in until the basic renos are done. Thank goodness!

I’ve been collecting decorating ideas on Pinterest. Here are some of the pictures that will inspire our new décor. More here.

I’m returning to my Scandinavian roots and going with white interiors again. The home will have white, gray, silver, black, light wood, brown wood, some muted purple and green.

I will miss the warmth of yellow walls in the winter but look forward to a more neutral color palette. The warmth will have to come from fake fur blankets, the fireplace, etc.

The house won't be a minimalist, modern black home but we will paint it gray and make it as modern looking as we can.

I will post before and after pictures as the renovating progresses.

Exciting! I will miss this home too. So many wonderful memories made here. ♥

I'd love one of these. But our cat is old and no more pets after him. I will miss having a cat but mild allergies will prevent having another pet. We will have to visit pet stores often...

I want a fire pit in the back yard.

I'd love this wall clock but only if it doesn't make ticking sounds. Can't stand ticking clocks.

Perhaps a small sauna...

This would be fun!

We already have a mailbox like this but will need one for the new home as well.

No wonderful views from our windows but it's ok. What matters is the love in the home. ♥

[all photos via my Pinterest board "Home"]

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

[garlands for kids]

My mom asked me to make some garlands for some special kids for Christmas. This is what I came up with.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (or Hanukkah or whatever you might have celebrated). Sienna was so excited about everything that it made our Christmas super fun. Children make it all memorable and enjoyable!

I'm not going anywhere near the stores no matter what kind of sales they have. But I did get a Kobo gift certificate and they have a great sale online this week. Please let me know of any books you have enjoyed lately. I would really, really appreciate it! I especially love historical novels but will read almost anything as long as the story is great and there's no garbage in it (bad language, detailed sex scenes, disturbing things, etc.).

Wishing you all wonderful things in 2013!