IT'S NICE TO COME HOME TO THIS ...

in real life j gets props for being such an amazing, helpful husband ... in the blogger world not so much because he wants to be a silent invisible entity on this blog but today he can't get away with that ... while n is going through the year in busy teacher land j always steps up offers a helping hand wherever possible ... he cooks breakfast and dinners for n, if he has spare time he gets the groceries, he drives n to her workouts (because parking is scarce) and he always goes above and beyond and does the little extras ... case in point j loves to go golfing and this week he was going twice and j and n were so super busy that they wouldn't get to hang out for very long ...

so n came home to relaxing on the deck with these ...

homemade strawberry lemonade

and having the most delicious salad ready to mix ...

mmm spinach salad with pecans, dried cranberries and goat chevre cheese all with a homemade honey mustard white wine vinaigrette dressing

and dinner to reheat whenever n was ready to eat ... n's fav homemade pita pizzas ...

on the left grilled chicken with spinach, red bell peppers, grape tomatoes, mozzarella and goat chevre cheese and on the right tomato based with ham, red bell pepper, mushrooms, mozzarella and goat chevre cheese and of course secret spices all on a whole wheat pita ... don't they look yummy ... well they sure were :)

n has said it many times in real life and n will say it in blogger world ... she is taken care of by the bestest boy ever ... love you j xoxo

cheers ~n

WINDOW TREATMENTS AND BASEBOARDS = A VERY SPOILED HOUSE

this past weekend at project 109 our lil house got a wee bit fancier ... after 4 years of being bare the main floor received a much needed upgrade in style with the addition of window casings and baseboards ... the basement was feeling a bit left out and we wouldn't want it to feel that way so it also got some pampering ... window frames were finished, casing added around, the furnace room doors trimmed and the laying of tile began ... out little house is rounding the renovations corner and beautiful things are now happening ... here's peek at some of the makeover that occurred ... enjoy ... i know i am

the new window frames and casings

the furnace room doors

laundry/freezer room

basement bathroom

(yes more black and white)

kitchen with baseboards

(and the big empty space on the wall

is where the london pictures

are supposed to go

but n still hasn't got the frames yet)

the dining room area

cheers ~n

THE GRAND PLAN ...

the other day i had a bit of a panic attack as i was planning with one of my teaching partners ... there are less than 3 months left until school ends !!!! where did the time go?!?!?! ... and then it hit me ... i now have 5 months left to put a bunch of pieces together for the fall ... well time to spill all the details about n and j's grand plan ...

... this fall j and n are going to move across the pond for 4 months and n taking a leave of absence from teaching and is going to grad school ... she is going to be studying in london, england ... n is taking her master's in education and international development through the institute of education (in a very teeny tiny nut shell she will be studying educational systems used worldwide and education program planning for developing countries) ... that's right we are going to london baby ... part of this incredible opportunity also includes a study visit to paris for a week to work with the international institute of educational planning and UNESCO ... that is why j and n have been taking french lessons ...

we are so excited and can't believe that in less than 5 months we are going to be living in a flat somewhere in this city:

cheers ~n

BLOG SLACKER

so instead of spending time posting pictures of the bathroom ensuite dormer n decided to go out shopping and spend some money at a much loved store ... ah sephora ... what a beautiful place with so many lovely things in such pretty packaging ... how can a girl resist?

nothing better than a little bag filled with all kinds of awesomeness

behold all the bright and shiny things

sometimes it's nice to take a break from all the dust and dirt and do something girly

cheers ~n

p.s. the pictures will be coming very soon

IT'S NICE TO TAKE A BREAK ...

... a break from the yuckiest reno jobs ... we have officially booked a mudding and taping crew to come and get the basement to the painting stage ... the crew comes this thursday and they said that the job should be done in about a week or so ... which means no dusty disgusting never ending mudding and sanding for n ... she will get to skip her least favorite job and move ahead to the fun job of painting and making things beautiful and almost livable

we are still trying to get our trusty deal finder to score us a sweet price on carpet for the basement so n must wait before picking out the paint colors ... also an extra bonus ... the crew said they are pretty sure that they can finish the ceiling so we can just paint it instead of having to stipple the ceiling which is totally cool because the rest of the rooms in the house have painted ceilings and i always think that it's nice to match the rest of the house ... bathroom dormer is built and insulated ... still have to post the pics from the weekend ... it is pretty sweet with the vaulted ceiling and the soon to be gigantic master ensuite ... ah progress is a beautiful thing

cheers ~n

POSTCARDS OF CHRISTMAS

the gifts of entertainment

the gifts of golf

the gifts of cooking

the gifts of things n likes

the gifts of fitness

the gift of style

the gifts of warmth

cheers ~n

WAY TOO SPOILED

well i finished off the first part of my fabulous school year and the christmas vacation season is upon me ... time will be spent visiting with family and friends, consuming copious amounts of food and drink, watching movies, playing cards and games, gifting presents ...

twas the last day of school and i had such a great time with my two kindergarten classes ... we decorated christmas trees, gingerbread houses, watched the nutcracker movie, ate popcorn and had a great time of excitement and merriment ... it's no secret that i know i have the greatest job in the world and yesterday i couldn't believe how spoiled i was from my students ... i received about 40 presents!!! ... lots of chocolates, homemade baking, candles, lotions and bath stuff, gift cards to movies, coffee shops, and christmas ornaments ... i could go on but i will let the pictures do the talking

i had to bring home all the loot in big black garbage bags!

way too much

so spoiled

cheers ~from a relaxing and cheerful n