CHANGE IS IN THE AIR

this weekend j and n spent the better part of it fall cleaning and organizing ... just like spring cleaning but instead of warmer weather to look forward to it was done with a big huge sigh because the snow is about to fly soon

well a few good things came out of the deep clean ... the most obvious being a cleaner, less cluttered, more organized house. BUT best of all was the change that happened in j's office as a result of rearranging our furniture in the house ...

... the reason behind moving all the furniture was because j and n were trying to solve an absolutely utterly impossible problem (more about that in a future post)

so without further adieu ...

the before ...

happily ever after ...

p.s. all the books that are stacked so lovely in the bookshelf are part of n's birthday present ...

a sweet deal from my local chapters store ... 41 books from premier classics publishing at 50% off for the whole collection ... my instant classic library

cheers ~n

IN A LONDON FOG

well as n types this the weather has started to improve but just this past week the uninvited white stuff began falling from the sky and made a very unwelcome home on the ground. living in canada and especially in alberta one never knows if this menace is just the first snowfall that's supposed to brighten and lengthen your commute to work and challenge your patience or sadly if it is the harsh reality that old man winter has made its home and is here to stay for a very, very long time. n however is happy to say that it is the first of the two and as she speaks n can see green blades of grass starting to peek through the white

big sigh of relief ... however short lived this hope of a true fall may be ... the white stuff is on its way and here to stay for quite some time and that makes this girl dream of a few nice things

like this

and this

and some more of this

oh yeah and this

and of course this

and finally this

cheers ~n

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE ... TAKE #1

n loves the fall because the leaves change color, pumpkin spice lattes are being made, the air gets crisper and that means layering clothes and wearing jackets (anyone who knows me knows that i love jackets). fall is also n's birthday and in both j and n's opinion it is the best time for a birthday

well n turned 29 this september and she wasn't sure what j's surprise was this year for her birthday even though for the whole year he'd been saying that he'd been waiting a whole year to give n her present. apparently j had this idea the day after n's birthday last year

well n was surprised with a hot air balloon ride over the city and she had to wait a month for the flight. so exciting and definitely one of the things on her life's list of things to do or accomplish

how sweet and thoughtful and so perfectly wonderful :)

so this morning we got the phone call at 6:40 am that we would be taking off from the ground for a bit at 8 am. we got ready and hurried ourselves to the meeting spot, were given our instructions and watched as they inflated the balloon in the field.

while they were inflating the balloon a few other couples were talking and asked us "so how many times have you tried to take your flight?" puzzled we replied "oh this is our first time" and much to our surprise they proceeded to tell us that for 4 of them this was their 8th attempt in 2 years and another couple this was their 15th attempt in 3 years! we looked at each other and both whispered to each other "i never really thought we wouldn't go today"

so not even 30 seconds after this conversation the guy in charge states "i regret to inform you that air traffic control just phoned and a low cloud cover is rolling in and planes flying in the area won't be able to see us so the flight is cancelled

well here is proof of our first attempt at a hot air balloon ride, we at least got to see it being inflated and then deflated and then we got to help put the balloon back and pack up the trailer

n hopes there aren't too many more times like this although it was super cool to see the balloon getting ready and j and n got a bottle of champagne ... so happy birthday and we can't wait to try again someday

so without further adieu some pics of our almost flight:

and so it began, i guess barely started and then went right back to packing up

so close

cheers ~n

N'S OBSESSIONS ... TAKE 1

okay well n wants to step away from the reno stuff for just a teeny tiny second and indulge in what are currently her favorite things and things she just can't get enough of ... enjoy

p.s. these are in no particular order just random things n thought of at the time

1. n's pointy toed flat shoes from aldo ... for work for wherever they are just so pretty and comfortable

2. project runway ... with a super long hiatus n is so glad to have back designers doing what they do best and how she missed heidi and tim

3. gossip girl ... yes the soap opera about unrealistic rich teenagers - n can't get enough of the drama, the scheming and the city ... oh how n loves new york

4. fall ... the trees on n's street are back to their dreamy state full of yellow and gold and driving down the narrow passageway with a slight breeze causing a few leaves to drift and fall delicately to the ground is enough to feel like n is in a completely different place

5. zoe ... n is back at work and is super happy to be working with the littlest kidlets again but it also means leaving zoe at home all day ... it is so nice after a fabulous day of work to come home to the most excited puppy and puppy kisses

yes i know the picture is from christmas but look at all the cuteness :)

6. harry potter series ... n is so close to finishing the last book of the series after a few weeks of pouring over the pages ... she wants to find out how it ends but is a little sad when it's over because she will truly miss hogwart's, harry, hermione and ron ... side note j started the books and is also obsessed and is quickly catching up

7. the office ... just finished season 5 on dvd and laughed so hard ... how is it that this new season seems to be getting more and more funny

8. riding n's bike home from work ... in an attempt to save some money and help j out by not having him chauffeur n around in our only vehicle, n has been riding her bike home and n is converted ... there is nothing better than arriving home via a workout and the 30 minute ride is a great way to unwind and relax from the day

this is not n's bike or at all where n lives but it looks so cute up against the brick house

cheers ~n

IN OUR HOUSE IT TAKES 2 ...

... 2 weekends that is

well no one said it would be quick or easy to renovate a house and we have seen the proof of that. n posted on the september long weekend the beautiful progress made on the covered deck however it wasn't finished on schedule ... like so many of our projects ... things like work, commitments and adult responsibilities got in the way ... boo being a grown up

well it is 2 weeks later and the roof is being shingled as n types this and n is happy to say that after this weekend the back deck project is almost completed (just the soffits, siding and staining to go) and we all deserve a medal because it was in the midst of visiting with family, j taking time out to cook an absolutely delicious dinner for our large crew and running to the hardware store numerous times. j and n are very happy at this moment ... okay moments over ... now we turn our attention to another task

cheers ~n

NOW THIS IS HOW YOU SPEND A LONG WEEKEND!

well it was labor day weekend here across canada (and other places too) and i'm sure that for a lot of people their time was spent relaxing in the yard or doing some sight seeing one last time before the kidlets are back in full swing with school and before we sink into our fall work routines longing for our next long weekend in october where we can eat loads of mash potatoes, turkey and pumpkin pie ... oh yeah and also to be thankful

well n and j's long weekend was neither relaxing or peaceful but that is so okay ... the weekend was filled with the sweet sounds of hammers, power saws and footsteps on ladders. j's dad came up this weekend to help us build the roof covering our back deck (well j, his dad and sister helped cut and build ... n was the official photographer and delicious meal maker for the weekend) and the progress made is a beautiful thing ...

enjoy all their hard work:

j and the happy helpers getting ready to raise the deck (this was done during the summer)

we can almost walk outside ...

yeah progress is a good thing!

time travel a few weeks and

amazing things happen

n is very happy cuz the deck stain almost matches the flooring and the 2 spaces flow and that is a good thing

i spy with my little eye some tools ready to do some work ... now where are the happy helpers to use them? ... oh yeah it's important to stop for a coffee break

a little visitor who decided he'd rather not help :)

and so it begins dun dun dun ...

that's all for this long weekend - happy helpers come back soon

j and n miss you already

cheers ~n