Give More At The Grocery Store

Ever since I decided to Give More this year, I have been thinking about how I need to include Brook in this. She's only 2, but I think that she's old enough to understand the basic concept of giving things to people that need them as long as I can illustrate it in a simple way.

I was trying to think of some way I can start having her participate in giving. Sure we're always teaching her to share her toys and to give hugs and kisses, but I wanted to find something her and I could do together that would be a great life lesson.

I struggle with being generous and giving with my finances . . . call me a scrooge, but I'm being honest. It's hard for me to donate money without grumbling. I think if I had practiced it more as a child and a teen, it would be more natural for me now instead of like pulling teeth. I hope to change that in myself this year, and also to raise Brook in a way that she will be a naturally giving, generous person.

So we've incorporated a little giving into our weekly grocery shop.

Every week when I take Brook grocery shopping, we pick out 2 or 3 items to donate to the food bank. I usually choose a bulk box of pasta, or a bag of rice, sometimes canned vegetables. Brook chooses something "Fun" that is a rare treat around here like chocolate covered granola bars, fruit gummies, or flavored instant oatmeal.

I've found it works two-fold because if she sees a brightly colored, cartoon festooned box and starts up the "Mommy I want that!" chorus, I can talk to her about choosing that item as something to give to the boys and girls who don't have enough food to eat. She is thrilled to hug the box as we wheel around the store, and equally as thrilled to toss it into the donation bin at the end of the grocery tills. We talk about giving the food to some boy or girl whose Mommy doesn't have any yummy food to give them, so we can help by giving them this yummy treat. That way she feels like she "gets" some of those sugary items without actually taking them home and eating them, which makes me happy too.

I know donating sugary snacks and treats may not be the most healthful choices to be donating. I do. Which is why MY choices are always healthy, and she gets to choose 1 junky/kid food to give. My logic is that those foods tend to be status foods around the lunch table at school and on the playground. I remember when I was a kid being so jealous of the kids at school who had things like Gushers and Dunkaroos,

and on the rare occasion my mom would put them in my lunch how proud I was, and what a big production was made of pulling them out of my lunch box and enjoying them noisily in front of all the kids who only had homemade cookies as their treat.


Anyway . . .

I can still remember who the "poor" kids at my school were. And I mostly remember that because of the fact that they brought their lunches in a plastic grocery bag, and they usually had a sandwich and an apple while everyone else was eating granola bars, cookies, and cracker sandwiches filled with fake cheese. Their lunches were different than everyone else and in the lion's den that elementary school tends to be, those little differences were all it took for someone to be labelled "poor" or" uncool".

I know everyone needs good nutrition, but if I can give some little girl a pack of Dora gummies to take to school for the first time ever, so she can be proud to show off the contents of her lunch box, then that's what I'm going to do. And I'll throw in some green beans and pasta for mom :)

I Paint-a The Walls

 

When we moved in about 6 weeks ago, most of the house was painted this bright yellow including the living room.

It's a very nice yellow. It is. (Can you hear me trying to convince myself here?)

But it's definitely not for us.

Imagine having a bright yellow kitchen, a bright yellow living room, and a bright yellow hallway. Oh and add in a bright yellow stairwell too, just for kicks. And then in the middle of all that yellow add in a cranberry red dining room. 

I am SO not a bright colors type of girl. I love beachy, cottagey spaces that feel soft and light . . . this yellow is not doing any of that for me.

I lived with paint swatches and chips plastered around the room like this for the last two weeks.

And I finally picked a color! I painted the living room this weekend, with a very adorable two year old "helper" who followed me around trying to pick up the brush and running her fingers along the "Shiny" walls, all while chanting "You paint -a the walls mommy?" She loves to add "a" to every verb . . .  "I eat -a my food!" "You brush -a your teeth, mommy?" "I love-a you!" We call her our little Italian baby, haha.

And I love it! Except we can still see so much yellow from the living room that I am still irritated by it. I cannot wait for the day that I can look around and not see any bright yellow on any walls. Soon. Very soon. Next weekend I hope to tackle another yellow room, which would only leave 3 more yellow spaces to paint.

Mustard yellow paint, your days in this house are numbered!

What's In My Bag

I'm an avid Youtube watcher, and I always love the What's In My Bag, What's In My Fridge, or What's In My Closet type of videos. Call me snoopy, but I love to see the more private but mundane parts of other people's lives.

So here's my version of What's In My Bag

1. My wallet. It's Jessica Simpson brand and used to have her signature in silver metal on the front. It fell off and I like it better this way anyway :) I bought it at Winners and I love it because it has tons of room for cards and receipts

2. My phone. Plain jane, no frills aside from a slide out keyboard but I love it. I have an Ipod touch so I have yet to fall into the camp of Iphone owners, I just carry both around with me. When either of these devices bites the dust though, I'll probably be getting one but hopefully it won't be for a long time.

3. Chequebook.

4. Revlon Superlusterous lip gloss. Best. Gloss. Ever. I have about 4 of them in the color Nude Lustre, I just feel compelled to buy one every time I go to Walmart as I wear this stuff constantly. This one is the color Cherries In The Snow, and I so wish I had stocked up on it. It was a limited edition color and I love it so much, a beautiful cherry red that goes on sheer.

5. 3 pens. I'm shocked there weren't more as I am a serial list maker and writer.

6. A random quarter

7. Burts Bees cuticle cream. Good stuff, but I much prefer the Lemony Flutter from Lush

8. Old school Polly Pockets from when I was a kid. Lifesavers for entertaining Brook during church or while running errands

9. A smashed-to-smithereens Nutrigrain bar, which is also intended to be a Brook distraction

10. Hair elastics because I can't stand having my hair down

11. An earring. No idea where the other one is

12. Bobby pin for hair emergencies


My bag was a gift, I love it! It's big and slouchy and holds notebooks, paint swatches, diapers and anything else I decide to haul with me. Being a germaphobe, I also like that it's wipeable because the bottoms of purses gross me out big time. Ick!

I also use this little Guess purse when I just want to carry my wallet and phone. I got it at a thrift store for $6 - can't beat that!

Bits and Pieces

I spent most of the weekend sick as a dog with the flu. Not fun. I still feel like I have been punched in the stomach but otherwise am back on my feet.

I missed my dad's retirement dinner that I planned because of being sick as a dog. I totally cried over it too. The first opportunity for a night out that involved getting dressed up and going to a restaurant in a LOOOOONG time, and I was home wearing pyjamas instead of the outfit I had laid out on my bed, and puking into a bucket while my husband was enjoying a baby free evening eating steak and prawns. I would give just about anything to have a nice night out some time... I freely admit I was pretty bitter to miss it.

My living room is spotted with paint chips and swatches. I am forcing myself to just pick a color already and get started on this house, because all the mustard yellow is driving me nuts! Photos to come!

I sold my first handmade piece this week! David and I have been building chalkboard, shelves, and other wooden decorative items to start raising money for our kitchen renovation. I sold a chalkboard and got an order for a second one on our first day! So encouraging!

My deoderant shattered on the floor two days ago. I haven't made it to the store to buy more, so I've been using a spare one of David's. I HATE smelling like a man all day and have probably been overcompensating with liberal squirts of perfume, but did I go to the store today? Nope. MUST remember tomorrow.

Weekly Menu January 9-15

Monday - Cheesy Baked Spaghetti, snap peas and baby carrots sauteed with garlic butter

Tuesday - Herb and parmesan crusted halibut, quinoa, caesar salad

Wednesday - Ginger pork with oyster sauce from So Tasty, So Yummy

Thursday - Breakfast for supper; scrambled eggs, toast, and orange julius style smoothies

Friday - Baked salmon, potato wedges, and salad

Weekends are a free for all around here, meaning we eat leftovers or easy things like sandwiches or canned soup.

Went Out For Milk, Came Home With An Owl

I was looking through my pinterest boards, going over all my inspiration for Brook's room when I saw this photo the other day.

At first all I could look at was the flying angel cat, hung mid-pounce over the bed. It's absolutely adorable but I don't think I could sleep under that without waiting for the cat to land on my face, ha ha.


Ok now if you can look past that flying feline. . . .

You see an adorable owl pillow perched on the bed. I love it! I remember seeing them on Pottery Barn's website a while ago so I went back to check it out.

Not only are they super cute, and really big, but they actually aren't even TOOO terribly priced. Imagine me saying that while cringing and shrugging my shoulders, because that's how I said it. I can never bring myself to pay Pottery Barn's prices, especially since it seems like most retailers don't even design things anymore they just rip off Pottery Barn at a fraction of the price.


Sure enough, I found an adorable ( I'll admit not as cute, but for the price I paid I can forgive the fact that my owl is like the Pottery Barn owl's ugly cousin.) knockoff tonight.

I bet all you American readers will never guess where I got it, and all my Canadian readers are already saying they know where I found it! The most awesome Canadian store ever, that is quickly becoming our version of Target. Superstore, baby!

Yeeep. I got my owl at the grocery store. If you haven't been to Superstore/ Extra Foods you are missing out. It's a grocery store that also contains the Joe Fresh line (which just launched in the US, by the way!) and the President's Choice line of home decor, furniture, and just general home goods like workout equipment. I love them for their super cheap prices, and I love them even more for the fact that they are one of those retailers who love to knock off tons of Pottery Barn stuff.

When I found the owl, it was mixed in with a bin full of tweed yorkie puppies wearing red scarves leftover from Christmas. It was the only one left, and I couldn't find a price anywhere.

Another thing I love about Superstore is their awesome customer service - people in my town love to grouch about their long lines and crappy service but I actually find them to be excellent 99% of the time! Tonight was no exception - it wouldn't ring up at the till and the stock boy could not find a price on the shelf either. So I got it for .44 cents!

A price that great sure takes the sting out of the fact that my owl is only the ugly cousin knock off of the real deal. And really, it's not ugly at all . . . I think it's pretty darn cute!

To Do List

The list of things to do around here seems endless. It always does when we first move into a new house (this is our third in 7 years) because I usually want to change just about everything. Thank goodness I have a husband who is not only handy but who also understands design and doesn't roll his eyes TOO much when I replace every single light fixture, plug cover, paint color, and window covering in the entire place.

It seems overwhelming when I gaze around and begin adding up how much everything will cost. I sometimes feel panicky about what to tackle first when it seems that absolutely everything needs doing, and one project won't even make a dent in the amount of work it will take to make this house ours.

I'm breaking it down into what I think we will be able to accomplish this year. Most of these are simply based on budget and what we can reasonably afford. Our kitchen needs a complete gut, as do both of our bathrooms but we know none of that will be happening any time soon. I HATE our exterior but new siding and trim is definitely going to be a way down the road project ( I do have a plan to spiff up the outside of the house on the cheap though!) . . . and on and on until the list of upgrades are narrowed down into what's left that CAN be done.

I am so excited to dig in and get started on this place. Our last two homes were temporary spaces, that we knew we would not be in for more than a few years and so a lot of my decisions were budget based, rather than what I really wanted. This time we plan to do it right, choosing the finishes and fixtures that we truly love even if it means waiting longer to do projects so we can save up the money to splurge. It's going to be beautiful someday.

Ok, enough blathering. On with the list!


2012 To Do

-Build Brook a bed, a toy storage unit, and decorate her room
-Paint the entryway and living room the perfect greige
-Finish the living room photo wall
-Paint the front door
-Paint the dining room
-New window treatments in the living room and dining room
-Start landscaping and put in a garden outside
-Build new bedroom side tables and a headboard
-New bedding for us


I hope next year I will be able to say I have crossed all of those things and more off my list!