Wednesday ramblings....

What's on my mind this week?

1.  I finally have a full-time job!  I am still recovering from the fact that I no longer have the full teacher-summer off, but I am happy to know my working schedule from one day to the next.  Wait, hold that thought!  I can still substitute while I have this job, so maybe I don't know so much.  Another pro... though I am working all summer, it will mainly be with kids and outside, having fun and learning lots.

2.  My favourite things right now include TOMS footwear and Pura Vida bracelets.  I don't know if I am in an exceptionally charitable mood, but both these organizations sell awesome things and are awesome charities at the same time.

For those not familiar with TOMS, for every pair of shoes purchased, they donate a pair to a child in need.  Here are the pair that will be packing up and moving to my house in the very near future:

Pura Vida bracelets were originally started in Costa Rica, with a local bracelet maker named Jorge and two US college graduates.  Read the story here.  Not only do they help support local Costa Ricans, you can buy bracelets that represent, and donate to, almost any charitable organization imaginable.  My sister and I purchased the Multiple Sclerosis bracelet, as it is a cause that is near and dear to our hearts.

3.  The grass on my front lawn right now is pretty much a foot long.  I don't do lawn mowing, and Jonathan has been busy with work and his bear hunting endeavours... so that equals a jungle in front of the house.  London will soon get lost!  

4.  I fantasize about living on a farm.  

No million dollar mansion, city high-rise or beach house for me... I want a farm house, on a lake maybe, with 2 or 3 dogs frolicking in the open fields.  Chickens waking me up in the morning, and fresh apple pie for dessert. That is how I will know I made it.

5.  Anyone remember this infectious song?

Well, I loved Hanson with all my heart and soul when I was an 11 year old girl... and I still do!!  If anyone could get me tickets to their sold out show at the Halifax Casino in August, I would love you forever.

That is all.

Tara

Cabin Fever

May 24th weekend is a very important weekend in Newfoundland.  As Buddy Wassisname sings "It's the 24th of May and we like to get away" so get away we usually do.

This year we decided to join our friends Mark and Kirsten at their cabin.  They just got engaged so we had that to celebrate, along with ME GETTING A NEW JOB.  You are now looking at the Humber Community Youth Network's new North Shore Youth Field Worker.  I will also be subbing when I can... and teaching piano, so I guess I unofficially have three jobs now.

Anyway, I digress.

We had a blast at the cabin reminiscing about times past, eating every sugary, fatty food we could find, playing apples to apples and freezing around a May Newfoundland fire.

Jonathan volunteered me for mushroom & onion duty... so here I am cooking while...

everyone else enjoys the sunshine. 

It is rare to enjoy supper (aka dinner) in the sunshine.  Here we all are with stuffed faces.

I refused to put my hood down after horror stories of june bugs getting stuck in hair, until I was positive I was safe.

The Love birds enjoying the fire.  Lots of wedding planning ahead!

wiener octopus (or spider, or crab)

Victoria day is the official start of the summer season (and also a chance to score some good deals online).   It was great to spend it with awesome friends- both old and new.  I can't believe that tomorrow I am starting a new job- but at least I had a "last hor-rah" before I become majorly busy.

Cheers to long weekends

Tara

Wednesday Ramblings

This is what is on my mind this week:

1.  If Alexander Skarsgard plays Christian Grey in the 2013 film version of 50 Shades of Grey I just might die a little, and have to go see it multiple times. 

2.  I don't know if it's wrong, but I love Howard Stern- and his voice reminds me of our Honeymoon, as we listened to his radio show for hours as we cruised the country.

3.  I made rocky road bars a couple days ago (marshmellows/chocolate/peanut butter) and decided, to make them extra awesome, I would double the peanut butter- then they all fell apart.  I guess you can have too much of a good thing.

4.  As discussed with some fellow watchers, I no longer know who to hate more; Joffrey Baratheon or Theon Greyjoy in HBO's Game of Thrones.

5.  I am looking forward to May 2-4 weekend, the first smell of freshly cut grass for the season, and Antoine's arrival in June.

6.  My closet:

is my favourite room in the house right now.

7.  On my adventures this week I have seen a beaver, osprey and 5 million frogs.  My sister and I also found several bottles from the 1970s... can someone explain what "Keep Cool" was?

That's it.... that's just about the entire make-up of my life right now.  Exciting stuff.

Thoughts?

Tara

Mother's Day

Some families make their mother breakfast in bed on Mother's Day.  Some families dine at fine restaurants.

We hike.

Though it was a blustery day here on the West Coast, the four of us (Mom, Dad, Anna and I) headed down the South Shore of the Bay of Islands to Blomidon Provincial Park for a picnic and a hike up the mountain to the look-out.  The park isn't open for the season yet, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  I guess there weren't too many other families wanting to picnic on the windy shore in 5 degree weather.

Sometimes to we go Gros Morne instead, but Blomidon Park and Lark Harbour, the town that neighbours  it, is dear to our souls because we lived there for a year when I was little.  I can hardly remember much about it now, but I do remember family walks in the park- and up the mountain to the look-out.

Here are some pictures from the adventure.  

Feeling a little chilly

KFC for supper, giving us something to work off

Half way up

We made it.  Mom looks out over the town of Lark Harbour

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day in their own little way.

Tara

Jonny

Let me tell you a little bit about my husband.

Jonny is a wildlife biologist.  He currently conducts research on Newfoundland "big game", which means moose caribou and black bear.  He loves hunting and fishing... and loves to educate people on the benefits of wild game (he has me totally convinced).  He shares my love for the outdoors (ok, he loves it a little bit more than me), antiques and spontaneous adventures.  He does not share my love of shopping malls (though he will accompany me on any shopping excursion), excessive movie watching and Josh Groban. 

Jonny is also an excellent interior decorator.  I'm not sure how much he will appreciate me shedding light on that, but he is.  I usually pick out the stuff, and he helps arrange it.  He does, however, have one room of the house all to himself.  I have complained about it extensively for as long as I can remember... but I have to admit it isn't too bad for a man cave.

I decided to be a nice wife.... and here is an Instagram tribute to Jonny's style (which he has)... that I secretly couldn't live without:

I catch Jonny out on the patio one day piecing together some driftwood (we constantly have a supply around the house), and an hour later our bathroom had a one-of-a-kind magazine rack, complete with lobster buoy.

This is an antique fishing reel from Maine.  It's about 100 years old.

Jonny worked as a fisheries biologist for a few summers during university.  One day he came home with a bag full of white coral.  He found the perfect holder for it... and now it lives happily in our house.

Jonny's reading selection is a little different than mine!

There you have it!  Though we have had many arguments over interior design... I am lucky to have someone who cares enough to argue in the first place :)

Tara

The ultimate bedroom redo

I was just browsing through some old pictures when I came across the disaster of a house we moved into three years ago.  Thankfully, the house looks a little different now than it did then.  Unfortunately, we are only renting, and if I owned it it would probably look completely unrecognizable, but we have offered up a lot of TLC to our humble abode.

When I first walked into the room that was to be our bedroom (we didn't see the house until we actually moved in) I literally cried for days.  

Something had to be done.  

First came the paint:

If you notice the shirt... it says BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY.  Apparently, I am NOT a big girl.

And then some furniture and decorations.  This is how it looked for a while.  We eventually got some pictures for the wall and so on.

Then, after awhile, I wanted to re-decorate... and bit by bit it became this:

  

Most of our furniture, including the headboard, end table, dresser and bookshelf is either gifted or thrifted.  A while ago we were going to purchase a bedroom set but I just can't bring myself to do it.  Maybe if Ikea was close enough I'd get something there... but I am just NOT a bedroom set person.

Almost everything in the room has a story.  The chest at the foot of the bed is from Japan, and was a present from my parents- the paper lanterns are from our wedding and the paper ikea lamp is from our apartment in university.  

I know that our bedroom does not suit everyone's taste... but here is a great example that any space can become beautiful.  Though I was devastated by this room when I moved in, it is the best bedroom I have had thus far.  With a little bit of vision, a little bit of money and a whole lot of colour you can fall in love with any room.  Whether you are renting, or you own your home... you should never settle for anything less than what you love. Don't worry about what's trendy, or having to buy fancy expensive things- keep your eyes open in all places for things that grab your attention.  I have found and decorated with things from the beach, my grandparent's cabin, yard sales and the local Salvation Army.   

Always remember:  A happy house means a happy heart :)

Cooking with Marya

This week has been a whirl-wind.  Never will I think my life is hectic on a regular basis again.  I have had to juggle work, a two year old, housework, birthday parties and barbecues, and it has taken it's toll on me.  Hats off to Marya's mom for having to do this every single day.

During the week's events, Marya and I scored some quality God-Mother/God-Daughter time one afternoon... and after reading the book "Pinkalicous" for the twentieth time, we decided to make some pink rice crispy squares.  We tied our aprons, found the food colouring and set to work.  Marya decided to add quite a bit of water to the mixture, so they weren't exactly edible in the end, but we had quite the time.

I have the measuring spoons and I'm all ready to cook

Maybe some water will make it better... or not

chef and sous chef hard at work

Stir those marshmallows

Pink sprinkles on pink crispies... what an exciting time! Here is the finished product!

The house is very quiet now as I write this.  Both London and I are ready for a nap!  There is sticky stuff on every nook, paper scraps in every cranny, and lots of things where they don't belong- but little girl giggles are so worth it!!