I'm Back!

     Hi! So sorry for the impromptu blogging hiatus (are you impressed with my fancy words, I am ;)  Last week and the week before were our kids' spring break and although it wasn't very springy ( it snowed more days than there was sunshine I think :) we took advantage of all the sunshine we could soak up by getting outside and going to a couple parks and we also enjoyed both the sunshine and the snow by heading up to the ski hill for a few days. We also did a lot of house hunting so we were busy busy!
   Onto the pictures! I wanted to share some snapshots of life around here so this post is kind of a big photo dump. Starting with one of the sunny ski days :)

My Favorite Homesteading/Farming/Gardening Books

Update! I forgot one! Another new favorite is called All the Dirt: Reflections on Organic Farming

In the last year or so I've been slowly building up our library of reference books about farming and homesteading and I've learned so so much. I am really looking forward to putting some of the skills and knowledge I've gleaned to good use :) As you may have noticed, I love to read so there are quite a few different styles of books on my shelves.

A Question and a Heads up

      I've been thinking a lot about this here Lil blog and part of me is so excited and happy to see so many wonderful people interested in it!  Another part of me is sitting here wondering what y'all come back to see?
     A few weeks ago, when we went to my grandmas funeral, we got to see a lot of my relatives (hi family!)and I was really surprised and elated to hear that they check my blog out and enjoy it. I mean, that is fantastic! Especially since that was a major reason for me starting my blog four years (four years?!?!) ago. I like adding snippets of our life and bits about the kids and I know that that is probably a lot of the reason my family checks in. But I also know that there are friends who stop by for a gander, some I know and some I don't know, pretty often as well. (I know I was shocked, amazed and thrilled to have so many people stop by for a peek from my link up with Young House Love's Thrift Shop challenge) and that was super exciting to me knowing there are people interested in Lil ol' me and my life in the great white north ;).
     I know I have so many different interests and projects that I want to do and share with you! If I had it my way and didn't have to sleep I could blog all night about every thing I want to share, but I also feel a bit sporadic as well. I guess this post is a bit of a question and a bit of a heads up, as things might change again around here if we find our new "forever" home. This last few months we've been renting a place and my kids are in school so I've been able to do some projects around the house that I haven't been able to focus on in the past. I've always had an interest in home decor and design ( just ask my mom about how often I asked to move the living room furniture around when I was growing up! Or how often I changed the decor in my own room!) But, I don't want to mislead you if that's your main reason for checking out this blog. My biggest passion and focus for the last few years has been learning skills and information on homesteading/farming, so I know, when the stars align and we get our property, that will probably be a lot of what I'll be focusing on here on the blog as well as the house stuff and the family stuff ( hence the homestead life page at the top of the blog!). So, there you go that is the "heads up" portion of this post.
     Now for the question part :) I need your thoughts and opinions so I can figure out what bunch of things to focus on blogging about, for your enjoyment and for mine :) Please feel free to add your input, opinions, questions, etc in the comments section below. What is your favorite things to read about/see on this blog? What would you like to see more of? Less of?
    Thank you so much in advance and I'll be back tomorrow to share my favorite farming/homesteading/gardening books. Have a great day!

A Frame Wall Update

A couple months ago, just before Christmas in fact, I shared with you my little house update which was essentially making a gallery wall of frames seen here,

But that update included quite a few Christmassy photos and decorations so I wanted to change it up a bit for the other 11 months of the year :) So here we go, a frame wall update...

Ooooh aaaaah  :)  

                      

Those three keys I found at a local store and I was trying to figure out what to do with them for the longest time and then I just decided to hang them up as a symbol of the three keys to our heart (their names are Nyla, Cadence and Gabriel ;)

See that frame with the map at the bottom? It was a picture of a Christmas street scene that I changed out for a neat map I found on eBay (for $3!) It's a map of the "Dominion" of Canada (we are Canadians if you didn't know) and it shows the railways, the steamer routes and the telegraph cables ;) I thought it was pretty neat.

These two little pictures are pretty special to us as they were both done by artists in our family. The one on the left was done by our nephew and the one on the right is a water colour done by my husbands step-mom. They're pretty special to us so of course I had to include them on our wall. :)

Here's a trio of fun, a little canvas painted by my sister(and there are two more near the bottom of the collage), a favorite picture of my three little imps, and a print by Vicki Wade that I really enjoy. You can check out her etsy shop here.

The other two changes are that little barn star near the middle and the picture on the far bottom right corner which is a photo of myself and my sister( who lives with us) when we were babies. it used to have an old Christmas picture of myself and my siblings.

So there we go, a few little tweaks and adjustments and this wall is even more fun and personalized (and less Christmassy!).
Have a great week!

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid or perked by anyone mentioned in this post, all opinions are my own. 

Master Bedroom Update

Do you remember this room? *Shudder* Yikes! That awful paint job? That apres move in look? Well, I've been working hard to change that "look" and today I'm gonna share what I've done.
                                                                        Before

A walk in the sunshine

It was so nice out today! So sunny and springy we had to go for a walk! Pat and I (and Stella!) went down to our local beach and enjoyed the sunshine, but it sure wasn't warm yet :) There was a brisk wind blowing and it was sure cold!