Energetic morning!

            TGIF to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many of you are off today, sadly, some of you are not, my apologies to those working!!!!!! What a productive morning I am having so far! Ever since our little one blessed us with his presence, me and my husband found a new sense of appreciation for early mornings! Baby goes to bad early and wakes up early. I was never a morning person but now, I have no choice but to embrace the sun coming up! And, I would not change it for the world!

            Let me tell you what my husband and I got done so far, currently it is 8:55 a.m. It all began at 7 a.m.

                                 1:  mommy: Fed baby
                                 2:  daddy:  changed baby
                                 3: daddy: bathed baby because he peed all over himself during diaper change
                                 4: mommy: prepared cappuccinos
                                 5: daddy: placed baby in go pod, where he can play safely
                                 6: daddy: ate a doughnut, mommy put toast in the toaster
                                 7: daddy and mommy put up mirror in the living room
                                                              CHECK IT OUT!!!!!

                                
          That person, you see taking the picture, sporting the hello kitty pyjamas, that's me! That's how I roll every morning!!!lol!!!!
                                 8: cappuccinos got cold and toast got dry 
                                 9: daddy and mommy danced with the baby in the kitchen to ''I Will Wait'' by Mumford & Sons (my new favourite song), about 5 times!
                                 10: daddy put baby to sleep , mommy wrote her post!

            All this done in 2 hours!!!!! Do you know what I would of gotten done had I not had the little one around? Nothing, I'd be sleeping!!!!!!!!!! lol!

                                                        thanks for reading, xoxo

PET PEEVE

              Good morning to all!!!!! Today feels like a Friday because my husband is off tomorrow! Long weekend, I love you!  I dedicate today's post to him!

              A pet peeve is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to them, to a greater degree than others may find it, Wikipedia.

             Well folks, here is one of mine. Quite often, when I paint, my husband comes around and stares at my painting. He stands next to me and literally places his finger up against his lip as if he is contemplating. He then tells me what HE thinks I should do with my painting, what direction to go. Our conversation sounds something like this:

                                        Bobby: " You know what I think you should do? "
                                        Cristal: " Leave me alone. "
                                        Bobby: "Listen to me, just listen, trust me!"
                                        Cristal: " leave me alone!!!!!"
                                        Bobby: "OK, I think you should add some white paint......... etc, etc, etc....
                                        Cristal: " No, it's going to look stupid, leave me"

          Well,  for some unknown reason, I end up listening to him.  In the end, I end up disliking my work. I get mad, and start all over. It has happened a few times, and I never learn my lesson. Well, this weekend, when he came around to critique, I simply handed him a canvas and told him to make his own painting. I turned my pet peeve into something quite enjoyable. Painting with him was fun! Here is a look at his piece (he did not want me to post this because he claims it is not finished). Oh Well!!!!!!

 

            Now, I plan to be a supportive wife and display this piece in the living room when he is around. When he is not around, I plan on simply turning the canvas around, and displaying my collage.    
                                                         Still working on this one...
                                         

 

He will never know what lies behind his masterpiece!!!!!LOL!!!!

 

Thanks for reading, xoxo

           

    Good morning to all! I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday, sadly, I was wrong. Well last night, I decided to embark on a new project, gold leafing. Gold leafing, according to Wikipedia, is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leafing made me realize that I am no Martha Stuart! lol! Gold leafing, much harder than what it seems!

    I have been wanting to gold leaf an item for a while, so when I purchased a little table from reno for 9$, I knew it was going to be the perfect gold leafing project. I went to Omer  Deserres to purchase all the necessary items for gold leafing the legs of the table. Turns out, the materials are far more expensive than the actual table.

    Before embarking on this project, I thought to myself, why not practise on something else first. So, I purchased a floating shelf. I had a vision of gold leafing the shelf and adding some white furniture tacks. Lovely!
 
   My gold leafing journey began last night. I was extremely excited. I laid out all the material on the kitchen table. Luckily, my husband was around. He pointed out many things. First, he pointed out that I was working on a glass table when I should of been working on the counter. I must of been tired not to think of this! Second, he asked me if I knew what I was doing. Of course, I answered yes! He then asked me if I watched tutorials on Youtube. I answered YES! I lied of course! lol! He then asked me, again, if I knew what I was doing. I raised my voice and answered YES! As he was asking me all this, he was on google, researching on how to's! Well, truth be told, I didn't know what I was doing. The leaves were tearing, the shelf was looking horrible, and I was getting frustrated. To top it off, my husband came around asking me how much I paid for all the material. He then pointed out that the 10$ shelf  has ended up costing 30$!!!!! lol!!!! But, in the end, he help me out. It was as if he had already done this before!  It still looks horrible, however, I am certain that when it goes up, no one will notice the horrible gold leafing job that I did. They will notice the candles and frames that I will carefully place on it! Here are some pics...

                                                    More pics to come when I put it up!

   So, to conclude, I do not think that I will be gold leafing anything else, anytime soon, and I think I should call my blog :" My DIY's gone wrong!"  What do you think?

                                                           thanks for reading, xoxo

DIY BLACKBOARD

    Good evening to all!!!!!! Super excited tonight, New Girl is playing. As I mentioned in one of my  previous posts, if you do not follow it, I suggest you do! You will die of laughter!!!! I promise, lol!
  
     For today, I would love to share with you a super easy, super simple, super cheap DIY. It will take you about three minutes of your time. Here is the finished product

                                                       DIY FRAMED BLACKBOARD

                                                                          Materials:

So here are the steps:

 

STEP 1: shop around the house for a picture frame (i shopped at my parents house and found this lovely piece)

 

STEP 2: Stick your adhesive blackboard (purchased from the 1$ store) on a cardboard

 

 

 

STEP 3: place blackboard in frame

 

STEP 4: write a sweet message

 

STEP 5: find a lovely spot in your home to display your blackboard

 

and there you go!!!!!!!! Done in three minutes! Promise!

 

thanks for reading, xoxo

Never Ending Projects!

      Good Monday to all!!!!!!!! Every Monday that comes along is just another reminder that I will be going back to work soon!!!!!!!! OHHHHH the horror!!!!!!!!!! lol!!!!!! Hope you all had a great weekend! My weekend was not the best of weekends, unfortunately. Hubby was sick all weekend and today as well, therefore not much got done, apart from disenfecting every inch of the house!

     I did manage to open up some projects and not finish them, I am really good at doing that!!! lol! Here is a peek at my never ending projects!

     I decided to glam out my lounger a little. As much as I loved it just the way it was, it needed some glam. So I purchased some furniture tacks from Reno and hammered away! Not really difficult to do, but time consuming. Needless to say, I did not finish. But here is a look at what I got done so far.


                                                                        BEFORE:

 

                                                                         AFTER:

   Right before heading to the cash at Reno, I noticed a table for 9$. I picked that up as well because I had something in mind for it. Here is a pic of the table.

   I plan on adding white tacks all around, gold leafing the legs and upholstering it with this mangolian wool type fabric. In the end, I hope it can be used a small seating stool.

   My favorite of all projects was this one right here!!!!!! I decided to make my own zebra hide! The tutorial on the internet seemed SO EASY!!!!! What was I thinking??? It looks horrible and I feel like throwing it in the garbage BUT I won't! My plan is to paint it all black and add some gold leaf in it, somehow, sometime!!!!! For now, check out this monstrosity:

   I did get something done, however. I managed to finish up a painting and put up some paintings. So far, this is what it looks like:

  I should really just start with one project at a time and not a thousand!lol! But, I will never learn...

                                                      Thanks for reading, xoxo

For the love of paint!

      TGIF to all GNS IS MY HAPPINESS readers!!!!!!!! Fridays just make me feel really good! Don't they make you feel good as well??? A friend of mine once asked me if TGIF feels the same as it used to before the baby came along. My answer to that???? TGIF is even better, it means daddy is home for the weekend!!!!!! Too bad daddy came home with fever :(

     This week has been a long one for me. I worked on many projects, and I would love to share one of them with you. I can't really call it a project, however, more of a hobby. One of my favorite hobbies that is, painting. I love painting. It makes me feel really good and I feel more productive when I do so. It all started when furniture shopping with my husband about two, three years ago. I walked into Maison Corbeil and noticed the artwork on the walls. I stared at them for a while and thought to myself : "I can do this". And, that is what i did. I picked up some canvases, brushes and paint and did what came to mind. Everytime I finished a piece, I felt a sense of satisfaction! Creating your own artwork is alot less expensive then buying it! But, above all, the feeling you get putting up your own artwork on your wall is priceless!

    Here are some of my older pieces...

   
 My newer pieces are quite different. I call them: Injection of color. I cannot wait to put them up!

                                   I am not saying I am talented, but i am passionate about it!
                                          
                                           Enjoy the weekend!!!! Thanks for reading xoxo

Room shopping!

  Good morning readers! Hope everyone is having a fantastic day so far! I know I am! I watched Jerseylicious this morning, ohhhh the drama!!!!!! Anyways, today's post is all about one of my favorite pastimes!!!!! I call it Room Shopping! Room Shopping is fun, easy, and above all FREE!!!!! I encourage you all to try it!!!!!

  It all began when I was pregnant. I wasn't able to work, so I had to find a hobby. Being home day after day got a little boring (do not get me wrong, I loved being home). This is when I began Room Shopping. I would walk in a room, take the bedroom for example, pick up a pillow, a book or a lamp and simply place it in another room!!!!! It is that simple. In the end, I would appreciate the pillow, the book, or the lamp even more so than ever before!!!!!

 At first, my husband would come home and complain about it, but not long after, he accepted it!!!! He actually encourages it, and gets involved! My home is always changing, and I am loving it more and more!!!!!

 Here are just a few examples...

 

This chair has been everywhere, along with that pillow! From the dining room, to the bedrrom, to the living room and back in the dining room!!!!!

 

 

   That suitcase has been used as a side table in the living room, as a centerpiece on the dining room table and has now found shelter under the coffee table where I store the little one's toys!

                 My shabby chic table has seen many corners!!! It is now residing in the dining room.

           the bench: kitchen, living room, bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and living room (versatile piece)

                      So, I encourage you all to try this out! Let your creativity flow!!!!

                                                      Thanks for reading, xoxo

the BIG move!

            Good morning readers!!!!!! Hoping you all had a fantastic evening last night. I know i did. I watched New Girl. For those of you who do not watch it, I suggest you do. It is, by far, one of the funniest shows out there!!!!!! Trust me!
            Today, I would love to give you a glimpse of what happened around here on the weekend. Well, it all began Saturday morning when I asked my husband what he would like to get done this weekend. Naturally, I am thinking a thousand things like painting a wall, maybe putting up a molding, moving some furniture, etc. Naturally, he is thinking Playstation. And I was right, because a few minutes later, all I can hear is: "EA Sports, it's in the game", followed by the song "Broken Bones".  For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, that is what you hear before playing NHL 2013 on PS3! So, not much got done Saturday. But, my husband did not disappoint. We got something big done! Something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time now! We moved the dining room into the living room and the living room into the dining room!!!!! WHY??? Well, when we got the keys to the house, we were in the middle of renos, furniture shopping, wedding plans, etc. So many things getting done all at once. So, I made plenty of "house mistakes." I thought, let's put the dining room in the most spacious room, with the cathedral ceiling. The problem, we used the dining room about 6 times, 3 of which were poker games!!!!!! Impracticality at its best!!!!! Anyways, to make a long story short, something had to get done. And, it did! We moved the furniture from one room to another! So here are a few pics of before. Pls excuse the mess, i assure you my house is not messy...

                                          
                                                            And here are the afters...

                                                            

      So, on Monday,  as I sat in my new living room, all I can think of is how much I hated it!!!! What was I thinking!!!!! I once had a nice dining room and a functional living room. Everything is a disaster!!!!!! How am I going to tell my husband!!!!!
     I then call my friend to tell her this. She assures me that it will look better once the paintings and mirrors go up. So, I began setting up. And, she was right! Thank goodness!!!!!

                               
The paintings are not done and the vases are empty but I love it. So, for now, I am forced to sit on my couch and face that wall. I pretend like the other walls do not exist!!!!!!! Hopefully, more will get done this weekend!!!!!! For now, the living room is really growing on me!
  
                                    Thanks for reading, xoxo

 

On days like these...

 

 

          Good morning to all my readers!!!!!! Saturday we were bbq'ing and today we are shoveling!!!! For those of u who are not from here, here is a sneak peek of what is going on!!!!
                           
                 my apologies for my horrible picture taking!!!!!!! but u get the point!!!!!!

      On days like these, I am glad I get to stay indoors and spend some much needed time with GNS!!!! Today, all I can think of, is my honeymoon. Here are some pics that i would love to share with u all.
                                                                   

                                                 luv the chairs, ill take a few pls!!!!!!!!

                               Maybe one day, I'll get to relive this experience with my little one!!!!

       Anyways, I am dying to share this idea that I came up with the other day!!!!! Last week, I went window shopping and noticed something that I had to make mine in the store window display. So, I walked in and proceeded to look for the item that caught my eye! It was the perfect item to place my throws and pillows in. It kind of looked like this, except it wasn't a Longchamp, but very similar...


        Being the experienced shopper that I am, lol, I found the item in about 30 seconds flat!!!!!!! I picked it up, looked at the price and smiled, 14.99$. Affordable, YES! I then proceeded to go pay. As I was waiting in line, my phone rang. It was my husband. He asked me where I was. He also, very politely, asked me not to purchase an unnecessary item for the house!!!!!! HMMMMM!!!! What to do????? I felt like I needed it!!!!! I really did!!!!! Well, in the end, I put it back. I went home and thought.  What can I use to place my throws and pillows in? And a lightbulb went on!!!!

                                                               MY MK HANDBAG!!!!!
 I am sure, you all have a large purse, or beachbag that you can use instead of a wicker basket... And, once summer comes along, and you want to use it, just find a winter bag!!!!!!!  It is that simple!!!! I am now 14.99$ richer!!!!! That is the way I look at it!!!!!!! lol!!!!!

                                            thanks for reading!!!!!!xoxo!!!!

black walls!!!!!

                        Happy Monday to all!!!!!!!!!! I hope you all had an amazing weekend!!!! I know I did! Lots got done but so much more to do!!!! It never ends!!!!!! I am feeling the Monday blues today mainly because I have not had my coffee yet! NO MILK!!!!!GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! I have caught myself staring at nothing outside the window!!!!!! I need a coffee!!!!!!So, for today all I can think of are black walls. I have been dreaming of a black wall or two somewhere in my house!
Check out these beauties!!!!!
                                                   
                                               black in the bedroom, something to consider

                                                 
                                                      black in the dining room!!! luv it!

                                               
                                                black on black, that fireplace is to die for!

                                                            love everything in this room!

 

                               So, I am thinking of experimenting with this wall right here

           So many things to consider. Do I paint the doors, the baseboards and the trimmimgs? And which black hue to choose? Believe it or not, soooooo many to choose from!!!!! They all look the same to me but they probably aren't!!!!!!!!

           Anyways, short post today. This coffee withdrawal is making me very forgetful and I must go buy some milk!!!!!
                                                                        xoxo

DIY

        Do it yourself, a term used by various communities that focus on people creating things for themselves without the aid of paid professionals, wikipedia. 
        DIY projects, I simply luv them! You save money doing them and they give u a sense of satisfaction once u are done. Well, they should, but in my case, they led to money loss and frustration!!!!! Y???? It's simple, impatience!
        I used to get super excited before starting my projects. I would purchase the  necessary material, lay everything out and start... And this is where the problems would begin, I call them step skipping!  Measuring????? waste of time, im a human measuring tape! "me to mati" in greek, meaning, with the eye!!!! Wait for paint to dry???? Y should I???? So, here are some of my projects gone wrong!
                                           I wanted to make this for the little guy's room

mine turned out like this:

the pieces didnt fit so i had to figure something out!!!!!

 

my fav of all, was this diy

 

Well, i can't really show you my version because it is buried in a pile of snow in my backyard. Funny story actually!!! I was 8 months pregnant and driving around with my mom when I spotted the pallet on the side of the road. So, i asked my mom to put it n my car, It didn't fit in the trunk but somehow she managed to shove it in the back seat. Anyways, once home I asked my husband to take it out. He claimed it was impossible to take it out but somehow managed to remove it along with the back seat! I was forced to go to mazda to get it fixed. Pieces were not available. Ordered them. they said it would take up to 2 weeks. Water broke. Rushed to the hospital, with no back seat and no car seat installed!!!!! Anyways, in the end it all worked out, except for the project that is!!!!!

 

But not all my DIY's have gone sour! Something happened after I gave birth to my son. Call it a lack of time, or an increase amount of patience, I don't know! Somehow, my projects came to life!

here are a few samples:

 

moral of the post: take your time when DIY'ing!!!!!!

I'm off for today. I can hear my house calling me: clean me, clean me pls!!!!!!!!!

xoxo