No Onions Please

This week after picking my son up from school (JK) he told me, "mom, I don't like onions in my lunch."

Huh?!?

I'm thinking he saw something that he thought was an onion - some random piece of something on his sandwich, etc.

So I reply by saying, "okay honey, why don't you unpack your lunch bag and show me what you mean."

So my son did just that and passed me a small blue Tupperware with, sure enough, a half of a yellow onion.

Wow! I must have been pretty spaced out when I packed his lunch the night before. Luckily it was not in lieu of his sandwich so he didn't starve.

Too funny. I guess he knows what an onion look like after all.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A DIY on Captain's Chairs

Two Captain's chairs - that looked just like the one shown below -  were two of the first pieces of furniture my husband and I bought when we started living together.

We got them at an antique market we used to frequent for $50 each (I think).  Although they were solid wood, they had been left outside a couple of times, were different colours (one dark walnut and one golden honey) and were starting to look a little worn and hodge podgy.

I recently drew my line in the sand (see post on to-do lists here) and decided I would paint them. Being frugal and tired of choosing paint colours and spending money on cans of paint that I only use a fraction of, I decided to dig in to the supplies that I already had - the tried and true shades of our home. I settled on Benjamin Moore's Lemon Grass CC-638. Below is how our chairs look now:

The pictures don't really show the colour that well as it is quite yellow with a tinch of green. After I had done them, they really stood out and looked "just painted" so I decided to take a bit of sand paper to them and rough them up a bit. That seems to have toned them down a bit and helped them to fit in. Still not sure on the colour.  We keep them in a three-season sun room so perhaps a bit bright for the winter but perfect for the summer, especially if I add a few accessories that pick up on the colour. (Trust me that the colour is a lot brighter in person.)

And although I do enjoy painting, by the second coat I get a bit tired and lazy so don't go looking under my chairs or you'll find that I skipped that part all together :)

On a side note, if you read the blog yesterday, you will know that I have a huge to-do list for this month. One of my tasks was painting the sandbox so that can now be marked off.

I know the picture doesn't look too flashy but if you would have seen a before shot (sorry, forgot to take one), complete with flaking off primer because I didn't get to painting it before last winter, than you would appreciate its makeover.  Now all I need is some rope handles to finish it off.

My Fall To-Do List

We all have a love/hate relationship with lists, but sometimes when the piles in the house are reproducing like fruit flies and the "little" projects that you would like to get to are never getting done a line must be drawn in the sand, a master list created and a covert mission launched.

In one month - minus six days - I am co-hosting my book club ladies in my home. And being one of the newest members, not many have been to my home before, hence probably requiring a full-home tour (i.e. can't perfect and tidy just one room, but the ENTIRE HOUSE needs to be view-friendly!).

Thus my sped up quest and mission to get a few things done around the house.

Really, not sure why I'm sharing this with you. Not thinking that you REALLY want to know or care what is on my list, but maybe some feeling of relief knowing that I am not the only one with a really long virtually unachievable list would be nice, or maybe some wisdom on various tasks thrown my way.


The Wish List

• clean out "that" drawer in my kitchen
• get control of the paper pile on my kitchen counter that never goes away, even when I try to make it disappear (thank you scholastic book orders!)
• paint the kids' sandbox
• paint touch ups around the house
• sew kids Luke Skywalker and Yoda costumes (did I mention I'm not that great of a sewer)

The Office:

• unpack/organize office (we got our wall-unit 14 months ago, it's about time)
• make pillows for the office chairs
• hang four silver pictures in office
• paint wall with magnet paint in office

Kids Room:

• build shelves in both son's closets
• clean out and get rid of little bits and pieces i.e. silly bandz, lego heads and my son's "collection" (scrap pieces of paper and garbage he insists on storing in his room !?!

Living Room:

• "arrange" book shelf to make it look pretty and not just like a place to throw stuff
• arrange fireplace mantle
• sew the piping that has popped out of my couch cushions

Christmas Prep:

• make Christmas bags to put presents in 
• embroider our names on our new (2 years old) Christmas stockings

Sun Room:

• summer/winter switch
• make shoe rack ... or do something to contain the mess that IS
• paint captain's chairs

Our Room:

• hang pictures
• clean off my dresser (it's very scary up there)
• find new main light
• clean out closets
• get rid of crap and those 20 books in my bedside table that I will never read

... oh and the countless other things that I will add to as I come across through my adventures.

So what is #1 on your list? Or is your home perfectly kept with no piles or to dos?

Giving Thanks for Fruits & Vegetables

My husband and I had our first Thanksgiving at home, just us with our kids, in eight years.  We both have very large families and Thanksgiving traditions but for a variety of reasons, things were not as norm this year and we got to be at home. It was a nice change and we thoroughly enjoyed cooking our very first turkey.  Or rather, my husband cooked the turkey and did a PHENOMENAL job. Thank you Jamie Oliver for helping us out yet again.

A recap in pictures:

Our Turkey, Jamie's recipe here

Pumpkin and Butter tarts ready for the oven ... mmmm

Leftover Asian-Inspired Turkey Salad
Jamie Oliver Recipe here

 At dinner time, we asked the kids what they were thankful for and my eldest responded with: " ... the fruits and vegetables that we eat and that the dinosaurs don't live here anymore."  

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

What Do You Cut Your Pizza With?

Undoubtedly, your family consumes pizza at least once a month, if not once a week like mine.

A couple of years ago, my younger sister was visiting during one of our weekly pizza rituals. While I was getting some things ready for dinner, my sister asked me where my scissors were. Thinking nothing of her question, I told her and then carried on with what I was doing.  It was only once we were seated at the table and my sister began to cut our pizza with my kitchen scissors that I let out a bit of a shriek ... or more like a "what the heck are you doing?" (insert some big sister tone and dismay).

Thinking I knew everything, I handed her the pizza cutter and chalked it up to her being a bit crazy and still in college. Later that year on Christmas morning, my husband and I received this handy gadget:

Pizza Scissors
Source

These, for those of you who do not know, are pizza scissors.  Turns out, my sister isn't crazy and there is such a thing. They are not plain old kitchen scissors mind you, but nonetheless they do exist and are now a Friday night staple in our home. They are super handy and just as easy as a pizza cutter. And with the larger spatula-like piece, they make lifting the pieces a lot easier.

Have all of you heard of these? Great Christmas idea for any parent, cook, college student ... or person really. Who doesn't like/eat pizza?

Anyways, this post is dedicated to my "crazy" younger sister who teaches me lots of great stuff and makes really yummy food in the kitchen. xo

To The Theatre!

My husband and I are about to embark on a theatrical experience like nothing we have seen before.

Not the classic style and tradition of The Nutcracker ballet ...

Not the energy and excitement of Radio City's Rockettes ...

and no, not the epic long Lord of the Rings .

Nope, the genre of live entertainment I am referring to needs its very own category, complete with energy levels through the roof, multiple bathroom breaks, volume adjustments and toddler hysteria. We are headed for  (drum roll please):

The Backyardigans  

Live at the Sony Centre in Toronto

Oh yeah baby! My boys and I are headed down for their first live show. Pretty exciting. Fingers crossed for my two year old. When we saw that they were coming to Toronto and factored in the slight Backyardigans craze that hums in our house thanks to Netflix's constant viewing, we took the leap and decided to go.

Anyone else been to a live show with their kids? Suggestions or advice?

Wish me luck.