the simple things

the house is finally ready for selling...and it sold!

Well, it's been a crazy few weeks, but I'm so excited the finish line is now insight. Last week we finally were ready to list our house and as luck would have it, it sold to the first person, in the first hour! 

Today I thought I'd share a few pics from our listing. Looking at the photos now makes me a little sad that we are leaving our little home which we've really grown to love. In a couple of months we will be moving out and I will for surely miss this place, there are so many amazing memories here. We've lived here for almost 8 years, our girls were born here and we've witnessed a lot of firsts here - first steps, first laughs, first teeth, first everything. I will truly miss seeing things in our house that remind me of those moments, but I'm so grateful to have many pictures to look back on.

Now back to the house photos and first up is the exterior of our humble little abode. I really wish our lawn was greener and our trees had leaves, but that's what it looks like after a long Canadian winter. 

The view from inside the front door.

Stepping into the kitchen, one of my most favourite rooms in our house.

The living room.

The main bath.

Our girls {very} pink room.

Our room.

The playroom.

The family room downstairs.

My craft room which I will miss terribly.

Now into the backyard.

And there it is, minus photos of the guest room, laundry room and my husband's bathroom. I will truly miss our home, but at the same time I'm looking forward to renovating our new house and can't wait for all the new experiences our new new home will bring.

Have a really wonderful week everyone!

what's new in the dining room

Hello blogger friends! Sorry to be MIA but the moving preparations are starting to pile up. However, in preparing our current home for sale I've been making some much needed decor changes that I thought I would share with you. All the changes I'm making are to things that we can move with us so all the time and effort is not wasted. 

Remember awhile back I chatted about recovering my dining room chairs...yet again. Well, I did it and just love how they turned out! I used vintage grain sacks this time and couldn't be more pleased with how it all came together.

Recovering these chairs has almost become an annual ritual for me. It's such an easy and inexpensive way to change the look of my dining room.

I'm also making some big changes in the living room as well and once I pull that room together I'll share the pictures with you. 

We are hoping to have the house on the market sometime in May and the renovations in our new home set to start in June. Fingers crossed everything goes as planned and we'll move sometime in August. The new house definitely won't be done by then, but I'm hoping the messy stuff like the demo'ing and some of the rebuilding will be complete, after all the girls start kindergarten in September so we'll need to be somewhat settled by then.

Have an amazing day everyone!!

some big news...

We're moving! Back in November we got word that my husband was being transferred to a new office in a new province and the opportunity was just too good to pass on. However, this move won't be easy. We've lived in Calgary for quite a long time now, our girls were born here, our house is now just getting to a point that we love and we've made some really good friends we'll miss dearly.

What will make this move even more challenging, is our new home needs a top to bottom renovation...oh, and did I mention I have never even seen the house!! My husband flew out to look at a home we thought we were going to buy and long story short, that house didn't work out, but by chance he happened upon this house and well...he bought it after seeing it for only 5 or 10 minutes. Crazy I know, but we needed a house.

The house was built around 1920, is not located on acreage, and isn't at all what we were looking for, but with all the negatives, there are some really great things about it. The home is really close to my Mom, Dad and Grandma, a wonderful school is just a short walk away and there is great renovation potential.

I'm just now getting excited by all the possible renovations we could do, especially since I feel I've really developed my home decor style to something I love and am thrilled to start creating a home from scratch.

So what's this mean for my blog. Well, for awhile my posts may be a little sporadic. The craziness of getting our current home ready for sale, packing, moving to a new city, renovating our new home, getting the girls settled in a new neighbourhood and starting a new school will all be a little overwhelming at times.

However, on the fun side of things we will be totally transforming this house so if you're interested in home renovation projects we are going to have a lot of fun posts for you! I'll try to keep my photo challenges going, but to be honest it will be hard, so if I'm not able to post a challenge I hope you will still pick up your camera that week and challenge yourself to take a photo of anything and everything!

We aren't set to move until June, but as soon as I have reno project pictures in the works I'll be sure to share. From what my husband has told me, the house hasn't seen a single renovation in at least 40 years. There is wallpaper to remove, a kitchen and baths to replace, floors to be refinished, a basement to demolish, and the list goes on from there, but transforming a home from the early 1920's is sure to be fun!

Well, I'm off to build my room-by-room inspiration boards for the new house! Wish us luck! :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

photo friday challenge {play}

Hello camera-clickin'-cats! This week's photo friday challenge is PLAY! One of my most favourite photos that really reminds me of this theme was a photo I took of my little munchkin back in the fall. Her sweet little face screams play!

Have fun with it and I can't wait to see what you come up with!

a mini session for a friend

When a good friend asked if I'd take some pictures of her little munchkin I said "Of course!!!". How could I not take super cute photos of this most adorable little girl!

She was so patient about everything. She changed outfits, we did some pics indoors and some out, some with mom, some without, and through it all she was happy, content and so much fun!

I have to admit I was a little nervous taking photos for a friend. I really want the photos to be great and everything that she was looking for, but most of all, a really wanted it to be a fun and memorable experience for everyone.

Have a really great day everyone!