Thursday, April 28, 2011

Giveaway

I know that this giveaway post is a day late - oopsies! I'm sure that you will forgive me :) 
Things have been incredibly busy around here, and not about to slow down anytime soon. 
I'll be able to share more deets next week. 
Don't get your knickers in a twist... it's only small change. :)

Now... the giveaway!


To win these two adorable card sets (and a few other little goodies), 
all you have to do is comment with 
your name, e-mail address, and what your favourite thing to do to relax is. 
That's it. Tell all of your friends. Enter by Monday, May 2nd at 8:00 pm AST
The winner will be announced next Tuesday. 

I can't wait to hear how you like to spend down-time. I'm ready for a little of it, myself :) I love to have a nice hot (Lush) bath, pull on freshly-washed pajamas, and snuggle on the couch with a good book or magazine and a darling at my side.

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

Multitude Monday

It's time for Multitude Monday! I hope that you all had a lovely Easter weekend... I'm sad that it's drawing to an end. It was such a relaxing past few days, and it makes it hard to get back into the swing of things. At least it will make the (shorter) week fly by!


Today, I'm thankful for...

160 - Spending Easter with our families
161 - Celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord
162 - Oodles of yummy food that I didn't have to prepare
163 - Daniel being off for all four days of the long weekend
164 - Fantastic Mr. Fox
165 - Warmer weather - no coat all day yesterday for me!
166 - A little bit of crafting time
167 - Two baby showers to go to this week
168 - Playing Snigglets and getting the giggles
169 - A trip to the Farmers' Market

What are you thankful for today?

Thursday, April 21, 2011

A Little Restylin'

At Christmas time, I received a beautiful present from a relative that just wasn't my style. Isn't that an awkward feeling? It's lovely... just not my taste. Since it was sitting on a shelf in my bedroom since December, I decided that it was time for a little revamping and restyling. There isn't much that doesn't benefit from a nice fresh coat of cheery paint!

Before: a whole lotta country.


I bought a sample sized container of Behr's Asparagus back when we first moved in. I always admired the colour in one of my favourite restaurants, and I finally got around to asking for the name of the paint colour. It's the perfect shade of green - a little acidy, but not too in your face. I'd love to use it as a wall colour some day, but for now, it's "project paint". 

I painted three layers of Asparagus on the star, and voila! A whole new decoration! If I ever get around to it, I'll change the little bow to a white one, but for now, it's perfect as is.

After: a whole lot more me!


I hung it up outside of our entrance today. I love having something cute and cheerful hanging by the door, and the more inexpensive, the better. Since the star was a gift, and the paint will be used for lots of other projects, it was virtually free! Can't beat that! All I need are a few spring flowers, and I'll be set. I love outdoor projects!

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Snail It.


(Almost) every day, Sage and I take a fun little walk down to our mailbox. 
It's at the end of our road, so it gets a little mini dog walk in, too. 
I don't know about you, but I love getting mail. 
Anything - cards, flyers, pamphlets, coupons, postcards, magazines, packages, bills, you name it. 
If it fits in our box, I love it.

Over the long weekend, I'm going to make some cute cards, 
gather up pretty stationary and postcards, and get back in the snail-mailing groove. 
I've stopped sending mail for the past month or so, 
and I miss sending things - be it a card, postcard, or goodies - to my friends.
Everyone deserves something other than a bill in their mailbox!

If you would like to get some happy mail from me, drop me a line: littleohme(at)hotmail(dot)com. 
Don't be shy, I would love to send you a little something! 
Or, if your pet would like its own mail, Sage can send some mail, too :)

I hope that your week is flying by as quickly as mine is...
Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

New Reads


I splurged over the weekend and bought myself a new book. Not an educational book, not a design book, not a recipe book, but a just for fun, just because book. 

If you haven't heard of The Book of Awesome, check it out. It started out as a blog, and eventually grew until the author, Neil Pasricha, created a book. It's full of simple pleasures that make you smile in your everyday life. An example: when cashiers open up new checkout lanes at the grocery store. How much do you love a whole book full of those types of sweet things? 

I've been wanting it for a while, but since it was a "just for fun" book, it just wasn't in the budget for me to take one home. I'm so happy that I took the plunge and picked it up! It was one of the store's 40% off bestsellers, after all. I can't wait to start reading it this week. It's a great coffee table or bathroom (what?! YOU know what I'm talking about!) book.

What's made you smile or giggle lately?

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Multitude Monday

I love taking the time to create a Multitude Monday post. It's one of those types of posts that you aren't sure if you are going to be able to think of enough things to say, but once you start typing, it all comes pouring out.

Sometimes it's really, really difficult to find joy in the little things... and this post makes the day feel a whole lot better. Most of the time we're all stuck on the things that we wish we could change or improve, or our weaknesses and bad habits. It's great when we can focus on the things that are going right. I hope that you can find something to brighten your day with.

This week, I'm thankful for:

150 - my parents both turning another year older
151 - getting to the point on my life where my brothers and I don't fight and bicker
152 - Proverbs 18:10
153 - Fab5 free texting :)
154 - starting a boot camp class next week
155 - my mother-in-law getting home safe and sound
156 - the Bookmobile! You know you live in the boonies when the library comes to you!
157 - going exploring in the woods over the weekend
158 - a new book
159 - free photo editing websites

What are you thankful for today?

Mama and Papa

It's been birthday party central around here!

Mom had a birthday yesterday, and today is Dad's birthday. We threw Dad a surprise party on Saturday, since he turned the big 5-0. We got him so good! Him and I took a little trip, and by the time we got back, everyone had arrived. They all hid their cars next door, so he didn't suspect a thing. It's pretty hard to pull the wool over Dad's eyes, but I'm so glad that we surprised him... it was a lot of fun.

We had a birthday dessert celebration for Mom yesterday with just us - Mom, Dad, David, Shamus, Dan, and I... and my aunt showed up to celebrate with us, too. I made a cheesecake concoction that you must try! I made this filling on this base - delish if you're a chocolate fan... and if you aren't a chocolate fan, you aren't my friend :) Seriously though, it will be a hit in your household!

We're headed to Mom and Dad's after supper tonight to celebrate Dad's b-day with our family. We gave our gifts over the weekend, so tonight will just be hang-out-time. I'm so glad that we live close and can celebrate all of these important occasions!

These photos are my most recent ones of Mom and Dad on that I have on our computer. We took silly photos last fall at my cousin's wedding in front of a big ol' brick building - it's fun to share giggles and be our silly selves!



I'm so thankful for having Mom and Dad in my life... I just wish I got the chance to show it more often. Part of growing up, I guess.

Happy birthday!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Polyvore Loves

It's Polyvore Loves time!

Who doesn't love a pretty Easter outfit? It all stems from childhood - the cute little dress, mary janes, white tights, little hat... Darling. Every grown-up little girl still loves a great spring dress :) Floral print? Even better!

I paired this chic Top Shop dress with pretty pastel accessories. There's rose-coloured glasses to make your Easter seem even better :) A couple of colourful bangles and a neutral clutch - you are just about out the door. Slip into your big girl mary janes (gotta add a heel and bow!) and you are good to go! Oooh la la...

Also, take a look at my little Polyvore graphic on the sidebar. It pulls all of the recent colours from the outfits that I've made. Isn't the current combination adorable? Spring stuff rocks!

(You would think that I wear pretty floral lady-like clothes all the time. Not so... but I wish it were true. Today I did manage to pull out a spring sweater: white with narrow coral stripes, to go with my jeans and flats. Not quite a cute little Easter dress, though. :) Thought I should let you know!)

Happy Friday!


Thursday, April 14, 2011

Etsy Treasury


I took some time to create an fun Etsy treasury tonight: Granny Chic. 

I'd love to have each one of these precious pieces! The soft pastel colours and simple styles are so adorable. The treasury is also a nice mixture of handmade and vintage items. That dainty rocking chair necklace?! Be still, my heart. It would be perfect with a little spring dress. The cotton doily coasters would make a lovely housewarming present, as would one of the pillows. It's so hard to resist these items!

Check it out! You just may need to do some shopping...

Thrifted Thursday


I got a terrific deal for this week's Thrifted Thursday! 

I've been on the hunt for little tiny vases - I've searched on Etsy, and in boutiques and markets. I wanted something that would look cute with one single wildflower in it. With spring and summer on the way, I wanted a little vase to hold any outdoor goodness in: twigs, flowers, anything that I could find to put in a teensy vessel. Something simple, pottery, free-form or organic shaped. You would think I was looking for gold with how difficult a vase is to find! 

I stopped in at a local thrift store - and what did I discover? Not one, but two of the exact type of vases that I was looking for were tucked away on a shelf! They're handmade, tiny, simple shapes and colours - perfect! Guess how much each of these were? Twenty-five cents each! I snatched them up and headed for the counter...

Score!



Have you found any awesome thrift finds lately?

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Lushie


I'm so glad to get to share a Lush review with you!

Before I start, let me just say that I am not affiliated with Lush. I wish I was. Can you imagine getting free goodies? Anyway, this is just my humble opinion and experience. 
Thought you should know. :)

I get Lush e-mails, and in the last one, they were advertising a tiny tin of Ultrabalm for $2. I have really wanted to try this product, but I keep putting it on. When I saw the special, I was tempted to do some online shopping, but instead, I waited...

Flash forward to this weekend. I got to take a trip to Lush and purchase my own balm! If you buy the small tin for $2, once it's all used up and you return the packaging, you can get $2 off of a full sized container. It's basically a free sample, since they think that you will love the product, and return for more.

In the car, on the long trip home, I decided to try Ultrabalm on my rough elbows. Let's face it, I'm ready for yucky winter skin to be done and over with. It felt a greasy at first, but it went on smoothly and I only needed a teensy bit. The next day, I could still feel it on my elbows! I think that if I used the product regularly, I could definitely clear up some dry skin patches. It's that good!

After checking on the website, I saw that Ultrabalm had an average of five stars! How crazy is that?! Everyone loves it, and no wonder. It's relatively unscented, and contains only three ingredients. That sounds like some serious skin therapy!

Overall decision? I'm going back for my full-sized container!

Give Ultrabalm a try... you won't be disappointed.

The Kitchenette: Recent Recipes


Do many of you use online recipes? I love them! I have a mean collection of recipe books, but I love finding recipes on the internet. It's great to be able to read reviews, look at photos, hear tips and tricks. I have a few favourite recipe database sites, as well as a few foodie blogs that I love to check out. It's so much fun!

I thought that I would share some of my favourite internet recipe finds that I have tried out.
I hope that you enjoy these links:

We tried this salad with baked salmon and steamed veggies - so tasty!

We made this pizza back in the fall, and if it didn't involve quite as many step, it would be a definite repeat. It's a great recipe if you have some extra time.

Ooh, these have the perfect texture - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. I added milk chocolate chips instead of a combination of types.

I just used the sauce recipe and improvised on the salad. I skipped the ginger in the sauce, and used less sesame oil. It turned out perfect!

Here are a few recipes that I'm itching to try:


Let me know if you give any of these recipes a shot. I would love to hear your results!

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Catch Up..

I'm back!

I don't know if you could tell or not, but I was away since Thursday. We got in last night around 1 AM, and boy, am I glad to be home. I spent the day playing catch up around our place: did a million loads of laundry, changed the sheets, washed all the bedding (quilt and all!), cleaned the bathroom, emptied the fridge, all of that fun stuff. It feels so nice to sit and relax now before I head to bed.

As much as I love being away, there is seriously no place like home. This was the third weekend out of four that I spent away from Daniel, after not being apart for more than a year... well, with me being the traveler. It felt so strange! I'm so happy that neither of us has to travel for work, I think that I would lose my mind. I get too lonely by myself... no matter who I'm surrounded by. I miss Sage, too :) He's such a good pup.

My friend/sister-in-law-ish Marla has been recuperating from a serious operation, and my mother-in-law was staying with them to help out with their little girl. I went up for the weekend to give her some relief. It's so strange getting used to other family's routines and schedules - I'm so used to doing my own thing. I had a good weekend, though, and Marla's on the mend.

I met Daniel on Sunday, and we spent the night at Heidi's. Daniel had an appointment yesterday, so we decided to make a little trip out of it. I got to hit up Lush (I'll share some product reviews this week!) and I also bought a new pair of jeans. A hole wore through on my favourite pair over the weekend, so it was time to cave and buy a new pair. Shopping for jeans is the equivalent of bathing suit shopping: it stinks. After trying on eight pairs, I finally settled on a pair, so I was happy.

I hope to be back with more exciting posts this week... I'm sorry that I don't even have a picture for you. Oh, well. I'll make up for it with a bunch of fun posts. See you soon!

Happy Tuesday!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Date Night

What's my favourite night of the week? Date night... hands down. 

Now that we're doing some "country living" it's a little bit harder to get out of the house, but it's still just as important to make the time. This living in the boonies thing can sometimes get you down. All you need is a little trip to civilization, and wham! Ready to go for another week :)

Tuesday night, we got all snazzed up for date night: put on nice clothes (a new thrifted dress!) and got a little dressed up. We hopped in the car...


... and did a little highway driving. It's nice to veg out in the car for a bit. We went out for a great supper at a yummy restaurant two towns away. Mmm, mmm, delish! I had pork tenderloin with blueberry chutney, veggies, and rice and Dan had world's best burger, apparently :)

We also got to see a friend that had a baby girl over the weekend - what a cutie! She's a teensy little thing, and oh so adorable. We also did a little birthday shopping for our nephew, who turned one a few weeks ago - oops! Better late than never :) He gets a super sweet outfit out of the deal, anyway.


(Yay for VWs!)


Hopefully this is the last picture of emergency mittens for the year. 
I'm ready for the snowflakes to disappear.

What's your favourite way to spend a date night?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

L'il Pup.


This guy rocks my socks. Sometimes he drives me crazy... like today, when he ran away and almost got hit on the road. Sometimes he makes me laugh... when he tries to get me to wrestle his toys away from him. Sometimes he amazes me... like when he runs full throttle across the field. But, most of all, he makes me happy.

His favourite food? Cantelope. Seriously. Every time we eat it, he's patiently waiting for his portion. We had some early in the week, and all three of us shared it. I picked up some groceries today, and when I was putting the produce in the fridge, Sage spotted the cantelope and raced over to sniff it. What a nut.

His favourite toy? His Kong. It's ancient - we really need to buy him a new one, but he loves it. It's chewed to pieces, but he still manages to gnaw on it.

His favourite place to sleep? You see it in the picture: our bed. He was looking so cute and snuggle-y today, I had to take a picture of him.I buy him handmade throws at second-hand stores, and wash it with the same detergent that we use, but nothing will persuade him. When we actually put a foot down and make him sleep on his own blanket, he acts like he's in trouble. He just doesn't get why he needs to sleep on the floor.

He's our pup... and he's super cute. Love you, Sage!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Happy birthday, doll.


Happy birthday, Kelsie!

I hope that your day is as wonderfully special and magical as you are :)

xo

Monday, April 4, 2011

Polyvore Loves

It's time for Polyvore Loves!

I don't know about you, but I love transitional outfits: from day to night, winter to spring, casual to dressy... you get my drift. Transitional pieces can make or break your closet: I consider them staples. I love when I can find things that will work in a gazillion ways.

This Polyvore outfit is perfectly transitional: lose the clutch for a sturdier piece, switch out the heels for flats or boots, and you've got yourself a pretty daytime outfit - perfect for shopping or strolling the streets. Or, add a ladylike cardigan or a denim jacket (or if you live around here, both!) and a pair of tights and the outfit is perfect for this time of year (can we talk about the fact that the winter to spring switch is the worst between seasons ever?!). Besides the fact that this outfit is practical and transitional, it's also the cutest combination ever! 

That dress! Those earrings! That clutch! That ring! Those shoes! Oh, my. It's darling. Fill my closet, please. I can never get enough of this style.


Multitude Monday

It's Multitude Monday! Can you believe that I haven't written one of these posts since December?! No Multitude Mondays in 2011?! Bad me. I am thankful, though... honest. I just have a hard time keeping track.

It's the beginning of April, and boy, do I love a fresh start. One quarter of this year is gone already, so it's time to make the rest of 2011 count - in a lot of ways. I'm giving weight loss slash getting active slash being healthy another shot. This Multitude Monday will reflect the all of things that I have going for me... instead of being caught up in all that I have going against me.

This week, I'm thankful for:

140 - access to fresh, healthy ingredients
141 - a great treadmill in our basement
142 - a quiet (!) safe neighbourhood where I can go for walks without being afraid
143 - a supportive husband
144 - a group of ladies who have teamed up with a similar goal to hold each other accountable
145 - a wealth of healthy recipes online and in my cookbooks
146 - lots of spare time to work on my goals
147 - a giftcard sitting in my wallet, waiting to be my first reward
148 - a super sweet digital scale that will help me keep track of my progress
149 - a young, healthy body that is still adaptable

What are you thankful for this week?

Friday, April 1, 2011

Weekend - Yee haw!

image via weheartit
 
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty pumped that it's the weekend! 
Daniel is off of work, and I decided to make a list of fun, 
inexpensive things to do over the next two days. 
These activities would be fun to do together or on our own. 
I thought that I'd share them with you, maybe one will jump out at you!

  • Go for a walk in the woods
  • Make a list of to-dos for this summer
  • Make a mini book of a recent trip
  • Take a plate of goodies to a friend
  • Pack up all of the winter coats and accessories
  • Brainstorm a spring and summer want/need clothing list
  • Plan a tea party... or hold one!
  • Watch old sitcoms like I Love Lucy and Green Acres
  • Clean the car, inside and out
  • Paint your toenails a bright spring colour

Let me know if any of these options work for you this weekend...

Happy Friday!

    Colourific: April Edition


    The start of a new month means a regular monthly post: Colourific! 
    I love the Colourific combination that I chose for April... grey and orange. 

    There's something about a nice, dark, deep, smokey-blue grey 
    and a classy rust orange that pair together beautifully. 
    I've seen a handful of weddings that have used this combination - divine! 
    It would make a sharp looking formal or casual outfit, as well. 
    Use it in home decor: lots and lots of white with some hits of grey and orange - mmm, mmm. 
    Why not try it in a scrapbook layout or craft project, too? Go for it. 
    You can't go wrong - it's a little bit classic, a little bit fun, and a whole lotta modern.

    What colours are you loving right now?
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