New Life New Blog

Well........here we are again.  I know it has been a long while since my last post and now everything has changed including the name of the blog.  Lots has happened since we finished our kitchen last April.  I will try and keep the details as short and sweet as I can but I have lots to share.


Shortly after we finished the renovation of our kitchen I ended up suffering from a health problem which required some time off of work to recover from.  During that time off, I did a lot of soul searching and self evaluation and together with my husband, decided that I should make the difficult decision to leave work, a job that I had been at for the last 10 years.  As difficult as it was to make this choice, I knew that staying home with our two and half year old daughter and to be there for my 4 year old as she started school, would be the best thing for our family.  After that was decided, we made another major life change and moved to a new city.  It was a great move for us financially and it gave us (especially me) the fresh start that we were looking for. 

We moved at the end of August and I think we are finally settled in enough that I can once again begin blogging, which, by the way I have been thinking about non stop.  I have already got many great posts in the works for you. This brings me to the new title of the blog which is the same great blog, it just has a new name.  The previous title was "Family Life in a Small Space", which totally made sense when we lived here...

Oh and by the way, only the window to the left of the chimney was mine, the other one on the right was my neighbour's. However, since we now live here the title doesn't really apply. 

Thus, "Family Life Happy Life" was born, which my 4 and half year old came up with.  So there you have it, the story of what happened to the blog for the last 6 months. Now, on to the fun stuff!

Since halloween is just a couple of days away, I wanted to make sure I got a chance to tell you about my halloween mantel.  This was the first time I tried this, I usually only decorate my mantel during Christmas but I decided that in this new house I would take a stab (ha...ha, no pun intended) at it.

I looked at some great inspiration shots online and then spent half a day looking for the box that had my halloween decorations in it.  Finally I found it and came up with a bit of a plan once I saw what I had.  Here are some details of how I put it all together.  First, I found these beautiful free printables online at Nest of Posies.

 
Basically, all I did here was print them in different sizes based on what frames I had on hand (well, in an unpacked box anyway). I think they look amazing and this is my favourite element of the display.

Then I decided I wanted to add these skulls that I bought at Michaels for 60% off.

They were an amazing deal because they are really quality items and I just love the amethyst eyes.  So, I just flipped over the lid of the jars that I display on the mantel regularly because I wanted some height and they were really all I could find without having to buy something.  It worked perfectly.

The vase beside the skull just holds some branches that I grabbed from the back yard and then filled the vase with some mini plastic gourds and pumpkins that I already had.

Next, I added another one of my favourite parts of this vignette, the pumpkin on books.  I really wanted to make sure that I had differing heights and layers going on, so I found a couple of thick hardcover books from my bookshelf and then added the pumpkin on top.

Last but not least, I needed something on the wall because I had a ton of blank wall space above the mantel.  My budget wouldn't allow for me to purchase anything big to hang there so I made a trip to the trusty dollar store where I found this...

It is just a stick on decal but it was exactly what I needed. I found the chains and the decals used on the front of the mantel there as well.

Are you ready for the big reveal?  Here it is...my Halloween Mantel.

I had so much fun doing this post.  I can't wait to share more with you.

Until next time...Lisa

Completed Kitchen Reno

Well, the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived!  My kitchen reno is finished, YAY!  It is perfect and I need to give a big shout out to my handyman Filippo for doing such an amazing, meticulous job.  Honestly, I couldn't have asked for more.  If any of you are looking for someone to do some work for you in the West of Toronto region of Ontario give me a shout and I will pass along his number.

There are soooo many parts of this kitchen that I absolutely love, but lets start with my number 1 favourite....my countertop.  You may recall my last post where I talked about changing my mind about my countertop and that I was keeping it a secret.  Well, the secret will now be revealed.

Aren't they gorgeous?!  They are called Silver Travertine and although they look like stone they are actually a new product from Formica called 180fx.  I love, love, love them!  This product is so durable and a fraction of the cost of the real thing...an excellent compromise on my part.

Another area of this kitchen that I am totally in love with speaks to both my heart and my caffeine addiction.  It is my new pantry/coffee centre.

Mmmm....I can smell the coffee brewing now!

There are lots of other great things in this kitchen, like the hardware which is incredible and the spice drawer which keeps things so neat and organized.  I love my new pot drawers and corner cabinets because they add so much storage, which I had been desperately in need of.  

Now, here are a few before and afters for you to enjoy!

Here you can see how we've managed to great rid of a lot of the countertop clutter because now we actually have places to store things.  You may also notice there is more landing space between the stove and the sink and that's because we decided to downsize the sink from a double bowl to a bowl and a half.  I feel like this was a great choice not only because it gives us more space but also because I scored an amazing deal on it! Gotta love that!

This is the view coming into the kitchen from the living room.  I love how sleek and clean it looks with the over the range microwave.  It is so nice to have it out of the way and now I can actually reach it!  In this before and after, you can see how the removal of the wall beside the stove opened up that space and allowed us to have those great pot drawers and spice drawer just to the left of the stove.

And last, but certainly not least, the view in the dining space.  Just look at the difference here, isn't it amazing!  The space has been totally opened up and it feels so much bigger and brighter.

Well, that's it.  The completed kitchen reno.  Now comes the fun part, the decorating and accessorizing.  I thinking peacock blues and apple greens...new chair covers...new dining light fixture...maybe some window treatments...........

Cheers,

Lisa