Are you ever done?

No seriously. For decor-addicts….that is the question on deck. Are you ever done? Is there ever a corner of your house you are not squinting at and thinking….. I can do better or do you catch yourself wondering if that new rug you bought for the kitchen wouldn’t look better over there…
Enter one of my favourite rooms to blog about, sweat over and redecorate again and again and again.The master bedroom. We have blown out walls, built closets, bought new and used furniture. I’ve painted and rehab’d pieces and have changed the drapes I think 4 times now. That being said, I think I’m done. No really. I think I may have finished.
Now, don’t get all excited and send me flowers just yet. I still have some linens to pick out for the bed and of course some accessories but you know, I think I AM DONE. Don’t tell my husband. I like him to live on the edge!!!!
So how did I get there finally? Believe it or not it was a stencil that pushed me over the cliff. I ordered an all over trellis stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils about 3 weeks ago. The shipping was quick and the product was great. I watched a few videos online at their site for tips and gathered my supplies. They say this is a ‘Beginner’ stencil and that’s pretty fair and accurate. It is easy to match the pattern and it goes up quickly. I used the trim paint to make sure it matched in the room.

Two words to the wise though….level + measure. A lot.
…and VOILA!

The other side of the room is jealous but I have some lovely accessorizing to do there etc. So he won’t be mad long



This room has had aqua, teal and now chocolate accents. It has been tie-dyed, floral, silky and strange. In the end it has turned out very neutral and I think very grown up. The colour story in this room is left to the wall colour (Cricket by Behr) and it does a nice job of keeping the room sophisticated. Like I said some linens and some art & accessories but ladies and germs….. I’m done.

So….from one crazy project to another!

I am closing in on the living room becoming the awesome Gamer’s Paradise I want it to be. I finally got my new rug from Overstock.com and it it great. Almost dog hair resistant. Almost.

The IKEA Poang chairs are awesome for gaming and I enjoy watching the guys pull them all over the house. NOT!
Started a new project tonight, but still playing with the details….more to come courtesy of Cutting Edge Stencils. I know, I know….I am never happy with the master bedroom

Had an early 43rd birthday night out with my girls this weekend. A nice snuggly Saturday with the menthings… ordering Chinese food instead of cooking and lazing around all day Sunday while starting the new painting project.
My ladies (partners in crime).

Next up….finish stencilling and start decorating for Christmas. OY VEY!

A little too late and some dollars short...

I know I am the last human decorating blogger out there to acquire some chevron in their life.....so as usual I will be bringing up the rear again. Ordered this little baby today from O.com. I got the 5.6 x 7.6 to settle in front of the slipcovered couch. The rubber backing means it wont become a sled with the boys riding it across the room. I ordered it in the Light Blue as my livingroom is Woodlawn Blue by Benjamin Moore.

I had scored some awesome deals at IKEA with my gift card that I won on the IKEA "Pin It to Win" contest. I bought some gaming chairs for the boys, decided against the slip cover in houdstooth and went with a canvas coloured one. I still have the "gold records on the wall"....but am picking away slowly at the gaming/office/livingroom.

Slowly.

Kinda like how much I have blogged in the last month. OY.

Some of the other tidbits added to the room are all from IKEA. Yes, I went over the $100 gift card :)

Stockholm cushions

Poang armchairs

Lack tables

I am now stuck on an overhead light in the room to replace the weirdo chandelier. Just keep Pinning, Just keep Pinning.....LOL

Release the hounds....

....tooth.

See, I am unhappy with the general Gramma vibe going on in the front livingroom where my menthings have claimed said area for all things gaming and PC. I want this room to be fun with a big 'F'.

So I see some funk coming to a loveseat or sofa near me soon...

The green machine in the foreground needs a sweater.

I am thinking something along these lines.....on sale at Sears for $150. Cheaper than new furniture and washable. Have I mentioned I have sons? That they have lots of friends? That boys are sticky in general?

What say the Divas of Design on this one?

The end of summer.......

Enjoy the photo of Quinn at Fire camp.

This is always a hard time of year for me. I am not in the "oooooh, let's decorate our fall mantle" camp. I am in the "why can't we have one more month between July and August" camp. I spent the weekend camping with my boys at a local quarry. Spring-fed waters at about 80 degrees, beach bumming, jumping off the cliffsides, campfires and smores, dancing in the evening hours, snuggling in the tent....I want more of that.

First day of school today. It comes so fast. One going into Grade 6 who reminded me that he had to have this kind of that and the right whatsits. The other one going into his Junior year at highschool, whom I had to remind to shave this a.m.

Whoosh.......that's the sound of summer. At least I have some beautiful memories and pictures to last me through till next year :)

I call it Dharmaritaville!

Man have we been spending our summer in the great outdoors that is our backyard. We’ve been making improvements in and around the new swimdeck and enjoying the space so much I think my friends and family are ready to call out a search party. I refer to my backyard as Dharmaritaville. I am the “Woman to Blame”
….name that reference.
When we put in the new swimdeck, we had a strip of grass leading from the interlocking brick to grass to steps. Boys + friends + kids parties all summer meant a lot of grass in the pool. So, on my trip up north to the cottage, Greg and I *rescued* (ahem, liberated) some flat black Muskoka granite from the lake and brought it home to put down a path.

Butcher knife, a hot day of Greg sweating it out and I now have this lovely little dealio. Ahhhh….much less grass and dirt in the pool. I was in charge of beverages.

After a few weeks of growth, it’s lovely.

But that’s not NEAR as exciting as my first ever estate auction that Greg and I attended here on Saturday morning. I felt like a fish out of water, getting my own paddle, but I persevered. The sale was at an old converted school house turned into an antiques barn. Oh……you would have loved it. I poked over the offerings and even spied a few things I thought were for me. The one and only thing I truly wanted I spied immediately upon walking up to the sale. A 1920s white wicker sofa. Be still my heart. I have seen others like it in much worse condition for hundreds of dollars. On my limited budget, I was sure she would be winking at me from the back of someone else’s truck bed as she sped into the distance.
Never fear, dear reader! I pursued and won my first ever auction item! $80 was my final bid and she winked at ME as we strapped her into our pickup!!!
Meet Savannah:

She needs a little stretcher repair but she is gorgeous! Screaming out for a beautiful set of cushions but I was so excited to nap on her, I rallied and found some odds and sods and quickly passed out Saturday afternoon for a 2 hour nap.


She is even Liam-Approved!

I did make him get off her immediately after this picture was taken though. MINE!

Winner, Winner, Swedish Meatball Dinner!

Imagine my surprise when I opened my email today and saw this little alert:

Congratulations! You are a winner in IKEA Canada's 'Pin & Win' Pinterest contest. You have won a $100 IKEA gift card to spend on any of your favourite IKEA items!

I have been excitedly waiting on the new catalogue for 2013 and have even downloaded it from the IKEA Canada site (HERE) The Pin & Win contest was a fluke for me, I just followed IKEA on Pinterest for all the new eye-candy :) Of course, I started pinning straight away.

So now I have $100 to spend thanks be to IKEA. I am thinking the boys need some cool loungey chairs for the new games room/ computer den combo we created this summer out of our formal livingroom. I'm thinking these:

IKEA PS VÅGÖ = $29.99 each. Loving that you can just hose them down. I have boys, yo. For those of you who think I will stick to the $100 budget, I would like you to call my house and assure my husband that this will be the case. :) It will make him feel better when I ask for the keys to the pickup.

DO NOT tell him I am also on the hunt for nightstands. That will be our little secret...mmmmkay? Thinking of these, sprayed silver.

Soon my lovely round morsels, soooooooon.

Erotic Craigslist?

No, not what you're thinking. I didn't put up some smarmy "Couples Looking for...." ad.  HAHAHAHA

I did find a king sized bed (we are in the market these days....as in I am avidly stalking shopping for a new bed for us. Reasons to follow when I score! :)

Sorry, score might not be appropriate as the ad I found states : "King size Custom made bed, with Indian carved wood tantric tantra antique - erotic carvings $ 250. Mount to wall." I am unsure as to what or whom gets mounted to the wall. Just saying.

squinting.....you know you are :)

...we now return you to our regular programming.

I'm back. Suntanned,R & R'd, with a sore back from bad cottage mattresses, living off the nothing in my fridge until I can get to a store. Still down one kiddo (Liam gets in from his trip to Calgary this Thursday). Quinn had a great week at summer camp and even though Momma got a sore back she had a pretty good time watching Greg work his buns off at the cottage while she sipped cocktails :) ....now back to life, back to reality!

Our Cottage View

Our Cottage View, a photo by dharmainthefalls on Flickr.

In less than a week....I shall be in Chair No. 1 right where you see it :)

Happy Father's Day to my Lobster!

Sorry about the remarkable lack of anything here. I am finishing my 4th year term paper, working fulltime, being a Mom, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Auntie, Friend and being a partime chauffeur, nurse, entertainment coordinator and lifeguard. Posts soon, promise.....if I don't make it back within a month, avenge me!

My REAL Mother's Day PRESENT.

Yah, yah. I know my post is late, but you see I've been busy. No, I don't have a craft or a project to post. Nope on all counts of anything newly painted or re-arranged in the Mermaid Cave. You see I've been PRESENT lately. You know, in the moment, paying attention, watching my life happen around me as an active participant. I read a post online today that spoke to my heart about How to Miss A Childhood. That post reminded me of so many days when my kids and I spent hours together staring into puddles, swinging on swings, walking trails, going to T-Ball and finding slugs. The boys are 10 and almost 16 now and slugs rarely get the same reaction they did 5 years ago ;) I find being *present* these days requires a completely different level of attention. Knowing who is dating who, why someone is being "flamed" on Facebook, where it is OK to "party" and what kind of party we are talking about....how much to be seen and when. It is a real balance with teens as I don't have to tell some of you. Being present at this age means SEEING your child with an unflinching eye and being his homebase, no matter what.

This guy though...he is still all "Mama, look at me!!!!!" And I am Quinn. I am looking right at you. I never miss a smile or wave from on the field. I want him to have exactly the same feeling his big brother had. He is my hero, I am avidly watching. I love him. I want him to win and have fun and not fall down. I will know every detail of each game, where he stood in the chorus and how he almost tripped getting on stage for his big moment in the play en' Francais. For Mother's Day this year I got breakfast, gratis gardening, the new Conan the Barbarian movie and chicken nuggets for dinner. I smiled and hugged and told each of them how much I loved my gifts and their efforts to make my day. Cause truth be told....I am half way there, aren't I?

My New Motto!

 

Do you have bad art? I mean something you bought a long time ago because you liked the colours in it but you knew it didn’t fit your decor? Voila. Here we have some sort of strange wanna-be African drummer, cause you know I have an East African theme going in a big way in my house….lol. This lovely picture has been living in my basement for years.

What to do…..I need some art that TRULY reflects me and the vibe I am going for in my home. Coastal. With Margaritas. My inspiration being my outdoor cushions that have every colour I love.

What to do? Rip that thing apart with some needle-nosed pliers, remove staples, clean glass and find the Rustoleum Painter’s Touch in “Caribbean Blue”. I want to be buried in this colour. Thank goodness it’s spray paint!! LOL

I love this colour. Have I mentioned that yet?

Looking online for free printable….I found my new summer motto. One 11 x 17 sheet of paper later and I am in business.

Bring on the gazebo, the pool, the margaritas and candles.

Keep Calm and Party On!

Rockin’ Around the House

 

Our boys have been surfing the dungeon enjoying the semi-finished basement with their friends for seven years in our home. This has kept the noise to a dull roar when large hordes of boys are in my home and means I mostly only see the teenagers when the fridge light is on. But….the guys are 10 and almost 16 and I hate to admit it, but they are growing up. As in, they are going to be gone soonish. I actually enjoy them and want to see them more. So, Greg and I came up with the brilliant plan to rework the under-utilized living/dining room at the front of the house into a lounge for the dudes and their filthy, eatingmachine  lovely friends. Complete with computer station, PS3 and reading area.

You may remember (or not) this shot of the room when I first came across the $40 settee:

We moved the extra loveseat upstairs (to be slipcovered this weekend or it will never survive), put the PS3 and TV on my hope chest for height and surface area. Baskets were scattered around to hold controllers, games, comics etc. But I hit the wall, literally, when it came to a huge expanse of wall over the settee. What the heck did I have on hand that didn’t have flowers on it or a lady in a beach scene to make wall art?

TO PINTEREST! (Just imagine Batman saying that.)

Aha! Inspiration anyone?

Source: modernkiddo.com via Dharma on Pinterest

 

I have records. Really cool records. I can do that……Quick…Robin get me my finishing nails, some bulldog clips and my record collection.

Janis Joplin? Check.

The guys love this new setup and tonight I laughed when Greg noted… “Hey we are all sitting in a room together, and no one is eating!” I think this will be awesome. Lots more boy time. Yay!

 

A pallet’s tale…

 

As you may or may not be aware (you are if you follow me on Pinterest), I’ve been skulking around dumpsters in my neighbourhood lately. On the hunt. For these.

I’ve amassed quite a collection. This doesn’t show off what’s lurking in the garage. Greg figures when we are ready for a “hillbilly campfire”, we are good! But there is a method to this madness. As discussed in previous posts, Greg and I are spending the WAD of Gubment $$$ back in taxes this year on a wharf to sit alongside this monster…

So of course this leaves very little money, a huge requirement of inspiration and mucho perspiration on Greg’s part to come up with some cheap outdoor furniture for the GAH-zebo (say that slowly)

Here is my inspiration shot.

I also got as ton of ideas from Sunny at Life in Rehab over here!

I tried out a few configurations for a low coffee table, but the general weight of these pallets is deceiving. Suckas is heavy!!

I bought the necessary wood screws and castors. 2 stationary castors for the back and 2 swivel castors for the front. In doing so I can almost guarantee the boys won’t use this for a skateboard and none of my Magarita-Madness beotches best girlfriends will push it over when they fall down.
Please refer to the following pics as my attempts to outshine the Pioneer Woman’s ass shots of her rancher husband

Let’s get this going already!

To make the depth and strength of the pallet enough for the castors we had to add a little oooomph, as in beefing the corners with scrap wood. But here is the finished product. My thinking (OK, OK Greg’s thinking) is that the top section is good for drinks, candles etc. but I surmised the bottom section (as it is very big) would be nice for putting your feet up.

Staining to follow. I like it!

Good boy Greg! Kisses!!! Pudge, kiss Daddy for me.