Spiders have taken over just in time

I have been accused by my gentile daughters that my Halloween stuff is too cute , not creepy enough , so I stepped it up a notch , I went with the interior as opposed to the outside because it is really cold and has been unusually windy , and Mason is having friends over on Friday to join us for trick or treating.

I really went for it with the webs , I know I will be swearing this decision is a few days I assure you .

And this , this tiling , the bain of my existence , who's idea was this , oh me , right! these tiles are being difficult , I even considered hiring an installer , but no I can do this , I am the girl who does stuff . I have had to install certain tiles over and over because they seem good but due to the natural unevenness the tend to pop , I have just rolled with it , back butter , I know that is always the way , lots of good adhesive and we seem to be swinging now . The tile saw I had gave up after 2 inches of cutting , I don't mind renting a great and powerful saw but it has been cold cold , and water and cold make for a miserable me . All my uncut pieces are down , now I have to commit to the cut pieces , I wait for warmer weather , its below zero right now , which is 30 something I think, yeah cold. Come on sun warm it up out there.

15 minutes of fame

If you have been following along with my blog and the fact that I have been waiting to be featured in a House Proud segment on the Steven and Chris show

http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/fullvideo.html?id=905618210&playlist=791b66dd77bf681a88cc0090ae76651b58a444e0

This is the video link to today's Steven and Chris show , my segment is on in the last 15 minutes of the show , you can fast forward to that area of the video if you like.

Well it was a lot of fun to see how they put together the footage from the other day , they did a great job , and I was surprised that I didn't seem to look like a bumbling idiot like I thought I had , the opening was I have to say was awful and I wish I had given it a few more goes , ok , there you have it then .

Cold weather nesting

I have given into the fact that it is getting colder , today and yesterday it has been raining and cloudy , I felt it was time to put together a cold weather look . I went with a deep chocolate brown sheet set. I searched all over for a pretty duvet cover , couldn't find one I liked , I am not a big fan or all solids I find that very flat , so I made due with what I already have for now , I will have to keep my eye out for just the right patterned duvet cover , until then I will use the medium blue velvet coverlet and white duvet cover at the foot of the bed. I pulled out the mocha shams I have , and bought two new medium brown pillows to replace all my white and blue shabby chic style ones I love but need a break from.

What do you do for the cold months , how does your nest change. I don't want to hear how it is warm all year round for you , it will only make me sad.

Oh while shopping for bedding I saw the most beautiful brown Christmas tree with lots of teal it was a stunner. I will go back and get a photo to show you all , it should not be missed.

Tile removal more

I was over watching some wonderful videos at The Lettered Cottage where I was inspired to fill the baskets on my candle holders with some sea shells , seaside is not a summer scheme at least not to me , the beach never closes.

I successfully removed all the tiles , what a messy job , I was feeling tough and sweaty and removed( mt thicj) =my thick rubbered gloves to clean up only to slice into my hand with a broken piece of tile ouch , that sure did bleed , lesson#1 wear gloves at all times during tile removal.

I decided my tools need a daddy , made the work much easier.

Happy to rip out tile and happier to have scored High School Musical tickets while the girls were at school won't they be thrilled.


I am thinking , posting and rushing do not go well together.

Have you ever broken glass?

I smashed and smashed away with my largest hammer today , I thought these tiles would break right in half but they did not , I wondered how I would get them started, well my husband reminded me that around the air vent was the perfect spot to start , and it was. It was very exciting to get one of these tiles out , there's no going back now, it shatters some , I willneed to get me some gloves and a mask before I move on , soon this checker board will be history.

I apologize

There must have been a mix up , the segment didn't air today , I will have to see when it will really happen then , maybe they taped it today on the show , I am not quite sure. ???? the mail I got was wrong.
Sorry , but its a good show anyway.
Chris

Slate entry

So I laid out some tiles to see how they would look, I have a limestone surround edging the existing area , I can either take it out , which I think I will do , however I was thinking of another option of doing a simple inset of the same stone a thin banding perhaps ? Just thoughts.

I actually decided to take out my hammer and chip out one tile , I hit it really hard and nothing , I suppose I can wait for the weekend to make that mess, huh!

OCTOBER 23rd @ 2:00pm on the CBC

OMG!

I just got an email saying that my House Proud Segment will air tomorrow ! at 2:00pm on the Steven and Chris Show on the CBC , so if you are in Canada , that is where to find it , and satellite else where , if I am correct.

Wish me luck , I think I am more nervous about seeing myself on television than I was about the filming , if that is possible.

New flooring

Slate floors , will they be the choice for my entry way ?? , well I do love them , I have purchased one box of Indian Slate , I am thinking of the brick pattern but I would like to do an insert of some kind , something of a detail , I am all about the details, which is why I do not go for a modern look too simple for me . The slate I have chosen is all deep grey no gold tones at all.

Do you have slate floors any where , what is your opinion? I have a slate surround around my fireplace and as a detail in my back splash , so it does refer back , as well I believe it is a good resale material .

I am off to the tile store to source some detail, trying something new , tiling a floor , what could be next.

Join the Party

I have joined the party over at Hooked On Houses , so should you .
What a wonderful resource to get your house fix too.

Sometimes I am little slow I think I get it now , I need to share here what I am hooked on , well that would be home decorating , and not pillow fluffing as some designers would refer to decorating as , but adding character to a home that was built without any, I love to add features , rip things apart , poke holes in walls ,you name it I will most likely try it . If trying the Reno's will get me the house I dream of then the work is worth the efforts, I love to transform furniture , paint pieces and re-upholster , tile and add mouldings. I take great pride in the fact that I have taught myself the home improvement skills I now have, and now it is like I am hooked at times I need my "FIX". I have a small pile of tiles waiting to be installed , I just need to tackle tile removal , never done that, maybe this time tomorrow I will have.
Since my computer is down I can not show you all of my fun projects but please browse around and see just what I can do , as well check out my other blog www.ckinteriors.blogspot.com which is a great place to see my skills ..
As well I am for hire , through the Internet or locally.

What was it like?

I suppose if I really had thought that a camera man and a producer would come to my house in one week of emailing my letter submitting myself for the House Proud segment I would have done so at another time like two weeks or so later . But I am glad that I did it none the less , I have always wanted to be published in one of my fave magazines , I have tried and I will still try to accomplish that , but TV scares the heck out of me , I am the girl that avoids tv cameras , not the girl who tries to get in the shot , never , but I put my feelings aside and for my decorating business CK Interiors I thought this exposure could be just what I need.

So to say the least I was shocked that 30 minutes after emailing the Steven and Chris Show while checking out my daily blogs I saw the response and to my complete shock they said they loved my house and my story, you know how I do this all myself , don't put my hubby to work for me , I love it and want women to try more things for themselves rather that waiting on a man ..yadda yadda! true though .

This process was to take place quickly , so I worked night and day , na mostly day , getting the little details the way that I wanted .I decluttered everything , stashed lots of stuff in closets the basement , nothing was out of place , the house never looked better ,fresh flowers and all , I locked the dogs up in my room to keep them out of the way and from messing furniture up with their muddy paws and black fur.

The showed up right on time on the day , I showed the two lovely friendly tv crew people around talked about all the work I had done to this house while trying not to let my nerves get the best of me.

We sat down and the producer asked me her questions for the interview , which went quite well to my surprise , forgot the words for a few things for some nice out takes. I am so worried now how I looked , I am dreading seeing it on tv , I would love to do it over , now that I know what to expect. I am in second guess mode , I could have said better things , I found a much nicer outfit in my closet that I should have worn , my hair looked better the next day , ahhh , I am sure this is natural.

After the initial interview I went around from room to room going into detail of the work I had done , speaking to each part while it was filmed , and if I said strange things we did it again. I am so excited and nervous to see how they edited down around 2 hours of video into a 5 minute or less segment, I am hoping they use mostly my audio and the house shots as opposed to my image, I just dread that. After all I concentrate on my house not on me and it shows.

A question was asked , did they stage my house for the shoot ? NO they took it the way I had it , I think that is for magazine shoots and snooty shows , this is about home owners that are house proud of the their homes ,the way they have executed them. They do not have to be perfect . I simply showed them the areas that I wanted to and that were" ready" as I saw it , Mason's rooms was out as was my bedroom and bathroom , Mason's room because she didn't want to clean it ,my bedroom because it is not done, I still have a lot of trim work to do and my bathroom is nothing to write home about , have I even ever even showed it here?

So if you think you want to be a part of this House Proud on Steven and Chris and live in Canada than send an email check out the website under casting call, link to your blog , show them photos of what you have done before and afters are great. STEVEN AND CHRIS

They are always looking for more houses , can you commit two hours during the day during the week? the camera issue is not as bad as I thought . Who's game ?

One more thing , no Steven and Chris did not come to my house , I did not meet them although that would be very nice .

I do not have the exact air date , it could be the 29th or 30th or even after , I can't say for sure , as soon as I know , you will know .

My poor girl

I am on high alert , not to be dramatic , but I got a call from school that Sophie had been stung by a bee , normal happens all the time , in fact I usually get stung once a summer , this summer I did not.
I do feel a bit of panic hearing this as this is her first bee sting, they are painful , due to the fact that my older brother is highly anaphylatic to bees and most if not all stinging creatures . I felt I should take her home to observe her myself, make sure nothing alarming happens , so far totally normal reaction swelling red rashing around the site , this was the least I could do for her and to alleviate the stress for the school to not have to watch or rather act if further treatment arises , that is what mommies are for after all.

Style at Home Show in TO

This is the ever loved Sarah Richardson , I am sorry for the poor picture quality , I don't know why my camera doesn't like to take clear photos of her, Tommy was there too , taking photos of the huge crowds standing and waiting to see her speak . She gave an hour long design lesson .
She also told us that there will soon be a Sarah's Cottage , if you don't get Sarah's House 1 or 2 , than request it on HGTV and Fineliving , tell them you want to see it in the U.S. , the cottage is Sarah's cottage on HER , what do you think it is called , "design island"?
They somehow underestimated how many seats they needed so there was standing room already 45 minutes before Sarah was to speak , see this guy taking up a seat , he is sleeping , another woman was doing a cross word puzzle , the nerve.

Flik & Co. booth , wonderful display.

This was the Home and Country stage isn't it gorgeous ,just my style.
Love that wallpaper.
I found this perfect cupboard, I have been looking for one to use as a linen closet , one that could hold my vacuum , this one fit the bill , I would paint it though , turns out the dealer lives about 1 minute drive from my house , I have always said I should check that place out , I guess I was right , he has gorgeous pieces.

I will continue to bring you some posts as much as I can , I don't like this laptop, but I will muster though.

Chris.

I may be gone for a while

My computer is down , and is going to the shop so I may be out of commission for a while , I want to post some things from the Style at Home show today but I am using my husbands laptop so we will see how that goes, wish me luck I will try .

Chris

You can watch Steven and Chris on Youtube. http://ca.youtube.com/stevenandchriscbc
everyone should watch .

The Steven and Chris Show

STEVEN & CHRIS

I have been keeping a little secret , the reason that I have been working feverishly getting my house ready is for it's big debut , I submitted my home for the Steven and Chris show segment called House Proud , it airs nationally on the CBC , it is a wonderful daily talk show , I know all my Canadian friends know who these guys are , but if you reside in the US you may know them from Designer Guys as they were the original hosts and it aired on HGTV. I have been following them forever , forever ever... you can watch them as well online . Check the link .
I have to thank Linda for without you I wouldn't have even really considered doing so , not that I wouldn't love the opportunity to share my passion , but the thought of being filmed and put on television makes me a lot queasy , but some how I managed , Alex and Arthur were so kind to me , and it was a lot of fun , really not nearly as scary as I thought it would be .

The house looked the best it ever has , it feels so pretty today in here I will enjoy its cleanliness and the fact that it is so finished .
Click on the Steven and Chris link and check out their site , they have lots of great living advice including decorating , in the video portion you will find the House Proud videos among many others, they are a lot of fun to watch .

Thanks Steven and Chris for coming and letting me share my home with you and you audience what an honour. Thanks Alex and Arthur , you made it easy and fun .

I will keep you all posted as to when it is airing .

Here is my "dirty" little secret , this little spot usually looks like this , it is my catch all spot for paints and repair equipment as usually I have something on the go.
I went out and bought some flowers at the grocery store ,of course , they sell 24 roses for $18.00 everyday , they smell so lovely.

I am smelling them as I type, the fragrance is wafting towards me , ah delight , funny I can not stand fragrance ,like air freshener , fabric softner, hate it , scented candles anything smelly I almost never wear perfume , it makes me so sick , I get an instand massive headache, perhaps its the chemicals . However natural smells like the floral aroma I am enjoying right now only brings me pleasure . Ah the sweet smell of roses.

Pretty in Pink

Come on in and see what has been taking up all my spare time I am finished besides a tiny bit of touch up painting, oh I have got to change that register , it is an eye sore .
I repainted the cornice thingy over my daughter's bed because the knots were bleeding through .
I decided to keep the bed the soft green , did I tell you before this was a bed that I shared with my sister when I was very small, I always loved it , my brother broke it and it was written off by my father ,but turned out it only needed a little rebuilding and pine slates and voila it has been the perfect little girls bed .

I finished adding new baseboards and casings , it has really helped add some pretty white detail to this cheery room . Some day I will add pine floors and paint them white.
I never wanted to show you the old curtains that covered the closet , they were not my best work , I reworked the bedding to make for a prettier ensemble. The chandelier was a plain and ugly black one I bought 9 years ago and painted pink , the shade were plain white shades I covered with chenille and trim as well as these beaded flowers , I love the shades , they are one of my favourite things.

So there it is , I hope she likes it for a few more years to come I dread having to change it , it brings me joy .

What is on your list today

For me lately every day seems to have a sound track , not a fun hip hop beat , but a tick tick ticking.....
Today has gone a little like this
- I got the kids off to school
-home to work out
-shower
-get to the grocery store to buy lunch stuff
-go back home make lunch
-bring lunch to school , while there vote in the Federal election
-off for the most relaxing facial which includes quite a massage, this was a gift from a wonderful lady
-go purchase my first pair of SPANX , gosh I hope the deliver
now we are here at 12:00 a quick veggie lunch , and then I will get some painting in , tonight I will do a little sewing , pillows and hemming closet curtains as well as wash all the slipcovers in the house , that is a big job .
tick tick tick .....
So how is your day going so far???

Busy busy again

I love the reflection from this mirror , isn't it fun.
Here is my newly upgraded curtain rod, I had planned to pick up a matching one to the others on the main floor but of course as luck would have it , it is discontinued , well of course because it was beautiful and affordable, but as luck was actually on my side yesterday I found this lovely thick and sturdy black rod ,I love the squared finials and it was $25.00 less than the other .
Here is the skinny cheap falling apart rod I replaced , the scale was all wrong .
This was the room I spend my whole day in , while my family went off to visit out of town I stayed behind to finish the trim work and curtains for this closet in my youngest daughters room (will explain why later), I opted for no closet doors in here , the sliders they offered I hate , doors would be nice , but there is not enough room to fully open two doors and have a double bed so doors were out , I decided on curtains , which turns out is a perfect fit , Sophie swings them open to easily access her hanging clothes . All of the trim around the closet opening is what I installed yesterday as well as all new baseboards, click on the photo for a closer look, it was just sort of an open box , I thought adding a header and mouldings to dress it all up would be an added touch of character to a small room like this .
The antique white was too yellow for my liking so this formerly black mirror is now the perfect shade of pink.
The room is almost finished and I will show it off properly later.
Cheers for now.

New Thanksgiving

We enjoyed one of the nicest fall days yesterday to celebrate Thanks Giving with my side of the family , well the ones that could be there , it was a great idea my SIL Janice had to spend some time at a local farm , I had never been to this one , it was a wonderful idea , full of fresh air , play and fun , here are some beautiful pictures from our outing , I think fall is growing on me.
That pumpkin is made from that plastic construction mesh ,how brilliant !
Purple cauliflower , it was so huge , and gorgeous.

I love how I got all the girls climbing the tires.
More wonderful local produce.

My first corn maze. That's my husband there at the entrance .

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians.