Hello! I am back...did you miss me?

I am back from our 12 day road trip down to Southern California!

 We had many adventures exploring the California Coast which I shall share once I get ALL our photos uploaded and sorted. After coming home from a long drive home, to piles of mail, I was excited to see a stack of magazines waiting for me {we had a postal strike and a few were LONG overdue} 

But another great magazine that was waiting for me to read was the latest issue of House of Fifty! YES! I love this ezine by the FABULOUS Janell Beals. This one is even better than the first! I have glanced at it quickly and all I can saw is WOW!

Enjoy reading, since there is nothing exciting to read on my blog - such a slacker I am.

XO Barbara

Enjoying Some Sun

For this past week our family has been enjoying some sun down south! Our summer in Vancouver has been so disappointing, cool, cloudy and rainy. We decided to escape to sunny California where we have been enjoying the sun!

source

Bear with me as I most likely won't be posting again until Sunday when another stupendously talented Canadian comes to visit! There are so many amazing Canadians, my list is long!

**edited Sunday, August 31. Finally got some free wi-fi and my So Canadian eh? post isn't quite ready. My family is waiting for me to grab breakfast so we can head on the road back home!
What a long drive home!

Hugs to all.

XO Barbara 

Friday Musings

I can't believe how quickly summer is moving along. Unfortunately our summer weather is not cooperating. Here on the west coast, or should I say "wet" coast, our weather has been less than ideal. With cooler temperatures and more rain than what is "normal", it feels more like November than July.

Feeling sorry for me yet?

The only bonus is that I am at home and have been working on several projects, a few of which I gave you sneak peeks of. Come back next week for the fully monty. 

Here is one project I finished with an invisible zipper.   

I know, are you in awe? 

But as daunting as the whole invisible zipper thing sounds, it is easy! Next week, I will be so kind and share how to sew a pillow with an invisible zipper. Then you too can be the envy of all who come and admire your pillows.

Since the kids have been at home my Macbook has been occupied by my son, he has been having fun creating stop animation movies with his Lego, and is currently waiting impatiently for me to get off, hence the sad and sporadic post. Ok, who am I kidding, my posts are always sporadic.  

So this post will be short and sweet. 

BUT I have the most amazing stupendous designer visiting this Sunday!!!!! 

HE {yes, my first he}is a brilliant and witty designer who is on HGTV and works alongside another famous Canadian designer.

Come back Sunday to see who!

XO Barbara

Summer Fun : Camping

We enjoyed some family fun camping with neighbours this past weekend, not without some glitches along the way. Each girl took a friend and one friend accidentally had her mom's passport, which she discovered when we were about 5 cars from the border crossing. After that was resolved, I was driving along the I-5 when all of a sudden a bike flew off the bike rack. Thank God, it didn't result in an accident! The next day we all had a good laugh:)

Once our camp was set up, the fun began!

Hikes along the beach..

Gathering firewood...

Gorgeous views....

Amazing sunsets.....

Exploring the rocky shore.....

Friends.....

We had a wonderful time. 

Now onto folding 10 loads of laundry......

XO Barbara

Summer : Hanging out at the Beach

Today I am taking part in Gallery No. Eight's blog crawl.

The blog crawl is all about summer.

With warmer weather FINALLY here in Vancouver I finally feeling enthusiastic about summer.

Growing up on the west coast, my summers were filled with visits to the beach, trips on ferries crossing the straight, beach combing for the perfect shell, building sand castles, feeling the squishy sand between my toes and feeling the sun on my body as I tanned.

Goosespit Beach, Comox, BC

 As a child I loved heading to the beach with my parents, as a teenager my friends and I would spend our summers hanging out at the beach, walking the promenade and cruising up and down the front street in our parent's cars. 

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White Rock, BC

During college {during which I discovered my love for marine ecology} I worked for Environment Canada and my job was a research assistant to two marine biologists where I spent a summer mucking about the shorelines of Vancouver and Victoria. 

source

White Rock, BC

After my husband and I married, took a 5 week long trip to Europe, we came home and rented a beach cottage {which was really chilly in the winter} but I loved being so close to the ocean. Listening to the sea gulls cry, the waves lap on the shoreline and children squealing in the hot summer. When I was pregnant with our first and on forced bed rest, living in the beach cottage saved my sanity. I could enjoy summer and the beach sitting on our deck where I soaked up the sun, the salty air and enjoyed the ocean breeze on my face.

Ambleside Beach, West Vancouver, BC

After we had all three of our kids and our moving across provinces and countries began, the one thing I missed the most was the ocean. Every time we landed in Vancouver I would squeal,

"Can you smell it? It's the ocean!"

Horseshoe Bay, BC

Howe Sound, BC

Now that we are back on the west coast, hopefully for a while, it is the ocean that beckons me on that  first warm summer day.

Cannon Beach, OR

 Nothing speaks summer better than a seaside visit....

Want to read who is else is participating in the blog crawl?
Yesterday you can read Haus Design's take on summer and tomorrow it will be
A Delightful Design!


XO Barbara

-images are mine (ok, my husband took them} unless otherwise noted

Friday Musings

With the school year winding down {only 3 more days!}, our family is getting excited for summer! Actually, summer here on the "wet" coast feels more like fall. The sun makes a rare appearance every few days and the air is chilly. Coldest spring on record. They say, the lovely weather forecasters, that we are going to have a dry warm summer, hmm...wonder when that is going to happen?

But I managed to pick these from the garden:

{I am also having fun practicing with our SLR, with the power of You Tube, I finally am out of auto mode!}

On Tuesday night, when I came home from the IDS West Preview evening, I found a package waiting for me!
A package in the mail, with Canada Post on strike?
 Lucky for me, this company used a courier service.

Just what this fabricaholic needs, a fabric fix. You'll have to come back and see what I make with these gorgeous fabrics.

Also a big thank-you to two wonderful Canadian bloggers who featured me on their blogs today!

Thanks to Kerry from First Time Fancy.

I guess she wasn't scared away by my Roman blind tutorial.

And another big thanks to Lisa from Weird and Wicked, for featuring my blog along with some other amazing superstar Canadian blogs, which, I am so honoured to be featured on the same page as them!

Tomorrow I am heading to South Surrey, two local bloggers have organized a fantastic market, Ivory Vintage Market featuring some amazing vendors!

Hoping I can find something unique for our house.

Fri AM Update: Our hot water tank decided to spring a huge leak. What we thought was a faulty valve a week ago was actually a huge crack in the bottom, didn't notice until last night when I asked, "Why does it sound like a waterfall running in the house?" Yup, water gushing out. Lucky for us the crack was at the bottom and there is an overflow pipe that leads to the outside. No water damage!

So my projects scheduled for today are on hold. Our lovely handyman is here replacing the tank.

Dishes have piled up. Hair needs to be shampooed and laundry washed. That about sums up my Friday afternoon.

What are you up to this weekend?

XO Barbara

Golly Gee, I Won!

I am thinking a lottery ticket purchase is in order!

 I won two giveaways in the past two weeks. I won a colour/interior consult from my wonderful blogging friend, Anne-Marie at 10 Rooms.

Finally, someone to help me decide how to make my living/dining room sparkle! I am my worse enemy when it comes to deciding on colours, etc!

Sad, unedited photo, aren't all before photos supposed to look blah?

THEN....

On Sunday I read that I won a cache of LePage products at Rambling Renovators!
Let the glueing begin!

And..


I am finished Roman blind #2!

With a little help of course...that is what happens when you lay nice clean fabric down on floor!

I am working on the tutorial and hopefully will have it up Friday!

Finally...
My daughters have one more day of school.
Yes! Two less lunches to make
{I am making quite "boring" lunches according to the youngest one.}

My son finishes the 29th and then he is off to high school in the fall. I will have all 3 children in high school for one year. I just hope the weather will warm up for us to enjoy summer. So far, not so good.

How is your week thus far?

XO Barbara

Dreaming...

Dreaming about area rugs. 

Would love one of these in my home.

Swoon.....

{source: Madeline Weinrib}

But I have one of these, 

who thinks that an area rug is so much better to lay on after running through the ravine and forest than his dog bed made just for him.

But a girl can only dream......

XO Barbara

Happy Mother's Day

Wanting to wish all the amazing women I have met a 

Happy Mother's Day.

 And to my sister who is expecting #3, may you have a wonderful day {while you hang out with me at the spa!} 

And to my own mother, who made one of the greatest sacrifices in her life, she {with my father} escaped a communist regime in order to give her children freedom. She left the only country she ever knew, left behind all her family, landed in the middle of a frigid northern Canadian winter, not knowing a stitch of English and with only 2 suitcases in her possession.

 Thanks mom! 

You have taught me all I know. My mom is my DIY heroine. She made things beautiful from cast-offs and from what little we had. She worked hard, sewed up a storm and painted away to create a home that we could call our castle.

{I need a more recent photo of my mom and I.

 This was taken 2 years ago when I still had braces and a broken arm!}

Love you,

Barbara

Happy Easter

I am going to be MIA for a few days. I am chaperoning a high school track trip to Oregon.

Yes,
 I will be stuck on a school bus with 25 teenagers and 2 crazy track coaches.

Good thing we are going shopping, maybe I can convince them to drop me off at West Elm?

I will be enjoying my time with my two teenage daughters, despite the fact that they pretend they don't know me, until they need money. 

So...

There will be no "So Canadian, eh?" feature this weekend. Come back next week as I have lined up more fabulous Canadians to feature! 

Have a wonderful Easter holiday.

XO Barbara

{my weekend}

My sweet sister managed to get us some really cheap tickets to the BC Home and Garden show that took place this past weekend at the Vancouver Convention Center. We were privileged to have received tickets from these two talented ladies, Pam and Elke from Botanus, who sit on our community garden board with my sister. It is the same garden where I met Jodi of Simply Inspired Home! 

The BC Home and Garden show was a bit disappointing. I had hoped for more designers, home furnishings, etc. It really catered to the man of the home with lots of trades selling their roofing supplies, paving stones, greenhouses, hot tubs, flooring, builders, with a few small eco friendly sellers mixed in.

As we were wandering around I heard some familiar voices and as we headed toward the main stage, we came upon Colin and Justin, the Scottish dynamic design duo that are currently living in Canada. They are the hosts and designers behind the design show on HGTV Canada "Colin and Justin's Home Heist" where they makeover homes desperate for a new look with flair and a budget that the average person can handle.

They were hilarious, talking about their spray tan fiasco, how they met Debbie Travis, making fun of Canadian underground basements, our love of big freezers and hideous appliances! They showed amazing before and after photos of a few projects they tackled on their show and gave tips on how to re-do a space without spending a fortune.

After walking around a bit more, enjoying the garden booths I decided to drag my sister to meet Colin and Justin. We were lucky as we were the last 2 people that got to meet them! They were just as funny in person.

{my cute pregnant sister}

{The debonair duo}

With the exception of my painting projects going wrong, I had an exciting and busy weekend.

How about you?

XO Barbara