I'M AN AUNTIE AGAIN ...

on april 28th my middle sister had her second baby and i am happy to welcome another niece into the world ... she is a healthy 8 pounds and 21 inches long ... the newest little one is one beautifully named madison taylor (little m) and she joins her equally beautiful older sister hannah elizabeth (little h) ... hugs and kisses to all

cheers ~n

BLACK AND WHITE

it is frustrating when you fall in love with a tile that would be absolutely perfect for your space and then you receive the quote for just the supplies and almost fall of your chair ... they want $1300 to tile a 5X7 bathroom and a 11X5 laundry room and if we choose to get them to install it we would have to pay $2000!?!?!? what the what that is waaaay too expensive for this little house ...

so this weekend we headed out to the 3 hardware store chains determined to find tile for the basement bathroom and laundry room (even though we had already been before and were a little disappointed) ... rona this weekend had 15% off your entire purchase so we started there and that was as far as we had to go ... i am happy to report that it truly was a one stop shop this time ... we settled on bright white tile for the middle and a funky black argyle diamond tile to border the rooms ... just enough to add some interesting detail and the price was a lot cheaper than the quote we had from before ... can't wait to install this sometime this month

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

SPRING CLEANING ...

happy spring to all ...

... this weekend as the sun shone brightly and the temperatures rose we cracked open the windows in the house to let the fresh air in and spent time outside racking up the remnants of fall and winter and of course time planning, planning, planning for the finishing of our backyard ... things like measuring for our lower deck, figuring out the stone patio for the fire pit area, the new fence, railing for the upper deck and stairs, and the lighting options for the covered deck ...

... of course with project 109 there is always a ton of projects to complete and they seem to be happening simultaneously and we are happy to say that as of this year the multitude of projects is dwindling and we are actually checking off a lot of big things on our list

cheers ~ from a cheery n

KICKING MY BLOGGING BUTT

long time no writing ... let me explain

working between 2 schools this year has been tonnes of fun because i get to teach the littlest ones all day long ... but oh my oh my ... i have been so super busy this last month and a bit because each school has its own projects, events, open houses, parent teacher conferences, staff meetings and when you work at 2 schools it is automatically doubled ... even j mentioned that he hasn't had an evening wife much this last little while

... i will be returning soon with more posts once i get a second to breath, catch up on some sleep and feel rested

cheers ~n

SPRING IS HERE ...

so today was my littlest sis' b-day and is there a better way to spend the day than not being at work and having lattes and pedicures ... didn't think so ... happy birthday little j

cheers ~n

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

n loves today so much because it is j's birthday ... this is my eleventh time i have celebrated this boy's birthday and boy oh boy this boy is so special to me ... j is my bestest friend who i still can't get enough time with ... i love that we can go out for dinner and after almost eleven years of being together we still talk and talk and talk just like when we were first dating ... he is amazing, wonderful and according to all who meet him "the nicest guy in the world" or "simply the coolest" ... i am so thankful to have such an awesome boy in my life ...

last year for the big 3-0 j and n took a trip across the pond to spend a fantastic week in london ... although we were at home this year ... today was a fabulous birthday ... waffles and crepes for breakfast, some mid-morning shopping at h & m to buy j a leather coat and n a few fun spring coats, coffee break at a sweet little cafe for espresso and mocaccinos, banana republic for j so he could get some new jeans and cuff links to make his suit all fancy, hanging up pictures in the house (because all the dust is gone), going to a favorite pub for good wine, beer and eats with n, j and his brother, getting the most delicious homemade cheesecake to go and finishing the night off with a movie ... yup it was a fabulous day for the most fantastic boy in the world ...

this is what j wanted for his birthday ...

some of n's london photos framed to

complete our city landscape wall ...

these are j's final picks ...

love you lots j

xoxo ~n

WHAT MAKES N HAPPY ...

... the basement is getting painted! ... the basement is getting painted! ... let me say it again ... the basement is getting painted!

cheers ~n

THEY'RE IN!!!

without further adieu our beautiful custom ordered lights for the living room and gym ...

... they are now in our house and waiting patiently in their boxes for their chance to brighten our basement ...

... update on the reno home front we have gotten the basement completed primed, a second glance over to fix some mudding spots by the professionals and then a light sand tomorrow and we are ready to paint!!! we heart progress ... also our fabulous happy helper (j's dad) has scored us a super sweet deal on carpet for the basement and it is ready to be picked up this week and hopefully installed next week ...

... next week for n is spring break ... last year j and n were falling in love with london but this year we are going to be falling in love with our house ... we want to get the main floor completely decked out with baseboards, window casings and have the closets sanded and repainted (all because of a recent light addition to them) and then the main floor is finished ... feel free to check back at the beginning of april to see if we were actually able to stick to our plan

cheers ~n

AS PROMISED ... ALL ABOUT THIS ...

on the weekend n did this ...

while j and his happy helpers did this

to the roof ...

on friday afternoon n came home to this ...

the view now looks like this ...

and this ...

from the inside the future bathroom

looks like this ...

love that this is part of the inside now ...

and this is the view from the master floor ...

when j and n walk outside it now

looks like this ...

cheers ~n