Valentines Fondue Party!

Alex and I celebrated our romantic night alone a couple days before the big V-day so when the 14th arrived I decided to host a little chocolate fondue party for the kids. We invited Grandma and Grandpa along for the fun. Jalen and Ruby had a blast helping make all the heart decorations, and digging into the chocolate of course.

Jalen decided we needed to make tickets for everyone

Grandpa said "You know it was a good party when you end up with chocolate on your pants!"

Our Valentines Date....a "love" story

The grandparents did us a huge favour and took our lovely children for sleepover so my darling and I could spend the night alone, celebrating Valentines day a bit early I suppose. When they made the offer last week I immediately started stressing, "where should we make reservations?" "Should we go see a movie?" Spending time just the two of us is so completely RARE that I panicked with the opportunity. I left the reservation making till the last minute therefore didn't get the restaurant of choice, but alas, we got a reservation at a nice restaurant. We arrived at the restaurant with super early, parent kind of reservations, 5:30 p.m. to be exact. We are so accustomed to eating early because of the kids, it just seemed right. We settled in to our table and excitedly looked over the menu, so happy to just be alone.

Dining at restaurants with children is a nightmare most times, where we end up shoving the food in our mouths so fast we don't even enjoy it just to get out of there. We took the kids for suishi a couple of weeks ago and it was the most embarassing and stressful dinner of both of our lives. Chopsticks were being used for weapons, soy sauce was Ruby's "weapon" of choice as she loving dumped her "silly" sauce all over her rice until it resembled a silly sauce rice soup. We threatened bedtime as soon as we get home, we threatened no ice cream for dessert, we threatened "I'm going to take you out to the car if you don't stop!" All the while in this cozy, tables too close together restaurant, other patrons gawking at us like we were freaks...lol. We got home and Alex announced to the kids they "weren't allowed suishi again till they were 18", like they cared.

So here we are alone without kids at a nice restaurant, we ordered a seared tuna to start, served with this delicious wasabi drizzle we took each bite and looked into each others eyes like we were falling in love all over again!! I'm not sure if the love was for eachother or the tuna...either way, we were feeling the love. The conversation was easy and the silences I realized were easy too. The silence was enjoyable and comfortable, after so many years and having two children we didn't feel the need to clutter up silence with forced chit chat, and that to me is love. Our entrees arrived, chicken and lobster pasta for me, which i only gave a 3.5 out of 5. Alex ordered a bison steak which he only gave about the same. The food was not amazing but hell, better than wolfing down pizza at pizza hut with the kids.

We finished up dinner and it was only 6:45! What did we want to do to fill our time, I suggested we hit up Loblaw to grab some coffee for tomorrow morning so here we were on our date night at loblaw. We cruised Joe Fresh for kids clothes and I felt happy but there was a voice inside my head that nagged, "this is not romantic" "shouldn't we be at home under the sheets?" "Have we lost that lovin feelin?" I decided to stay in the moment. We didn't need to force any romance, we just needed to be enjoying eachother's company.

Now as many of you know, and some of you might not, I am nearly 18 weeks pregnant. So I generally start yawning at 7:30 p.m. Especially with a belly filled with pasta, i started thinking about crawling under the sheets but not for any other reason than sleep. We headed home and curled up on the couch together, watching first "housewives of Atlanta" and then one of our favourites "chopped" on the food network. We snuggled and I laughed so hard I literally cried my makeup all down my face. Not necessarily the kind of romance that would have been happening in our "pre-kid" days. However, it was comfortable and fun and to me, love is being able to be yourself and love is when you laugh so hard your mascara runs down your face and makes you look like a scary monster, and he still loves you just the same.

Quick Project...Framed Chalkboard

Upon my inspiration searches through magazines and online there is a lot of chalkboard talk. People are using chalkboard paint to turn their walls and doors into writable surfaces. I have even seen entire refrigerator turned into a chalkboard. Now, my project is nothing as drastic as painting my fridge but I like the idea of having a chalkboard to write inspiring words and quotes as I choose. I also think it fits the country/cottage theme of my decor nicely. So I headed to the dollarstore for this affordable and cute little project. The foam board and adhesive blackboard were both $1.00 each! Then I already had the frame here. It would be easy for you to purchase a frame at a second hand store as well. I eventually would like to do a larger framed chalkboard for my kitchen.

Cut foam board to fit the inside of the frame

I used this adhesive blackboard from the dollarstore for a quick fix but you could definitely use chalkboard paint which would probably last longer. If you choose my route, take the adhesive black board and slowly remove the back paper and smooth it over the foam board. Remember to smooth out bubbles as you go. Trim blackboard adhesive using your utility knife and fit it into your frame, if there is glass on the frame, remove it before you put your foam black board in it.

Write whatever message you want inside your chalkboard and display proudly!

Wonderful White

White vintage buttons

White makes me happy, I love white, would decorate my whole home in white if I didn't have two small children to inevitably stain and destroy it all. Here are some beautiful items I discovered on etsy.com that brought me joy to just look at! I love the freshness and the simplicity of the clean palette. Most of these items also are vintage and shabby chic which I also LOVE!
Beautiful antique dresserRuffled repurposed canvas tote, gotta love white ruffles!

Love Love this farmhouse stool

Pretty flower :)

This is a photograph print, simple and beautiful

Sweet vintage dress for a teeny tiny woman (not me) but i still think it's beautiful

Nothing like fresh tulips in a white ceramic pitcher

In the spirit of valentines day, carved from weathered wood, you can get a custom carving of you and your love's intials.




What makes you happy?!?

Love List...Alphabetically speaking

February is the month of Love, in fact since I read the book "The Power" by Rhonda Byrne (author of The Secret) I have been focusing on this little word with big meaning. Renowned author Rhonda Byrne believes that "Every single time you give love through your feelings, words, or actions, you add more love to the field around you. The more love you give...the more powerful your magnetic field..the more power to attract the things you love." So, I've been thinking a lot about the things that I love lately, trying to attract more of these things into my life. I've been trying to focus my thoughts and feelings on things that I love rather than listening to that negative chatter that often plays subconsciously in my head. So here's a list of just some of the things that I love. Once you get started you find its really fun!

Antiquing...Babies, brand new squishy babies...

Creative Projects on the go...Daisies in the garden...Ellen Degeneres...Fresh Flowers...Gourmet food...Having my hair played with...Inspiring Ideas...Jalen...Kisses from Ruby when you don't expect it...Lemon meringue pie...Market shopping on Saturday mornings...New magazines...Opening the windows on those first spring days...Party Planning...Quiet afternoons to nap...Reading a really great book...Salty and Sweet together...Taking a good photograph...Unexpected money...Visualizing the life of my dreams...Writing my blog...eXperiencing new cultures through food...Yellow...Bedazzled things

What's on your love list?

2010 rewind...

As I looked back through files of photos to put together this blog I was overcome with what just one year can mean. What just one year can accomplish....What joy...What beauty...In just one year what can one create and give to others. Imagine what we could achieve if in just one year we gave 100% of ourselves instead of that 50% that we often give as we schlep through each day. Imagine what we could create...Imagine if we focused on putting more love into this coming year. Imagine we put our energy into focusing on the things that really matter and focused on using our lives to inspire. Imagine what we could create if we focused more on all the things we really want rather than all the negative things we don't.

As I greet 2011 this evening with open arms, I am filled with gratitude for each big and tiny blessing that 2010 has given us.

In just one year...Imagine....