Perspective is Everything

'Perspective is everything.'

I am sure you have heard that saying or something to its effect before. *On any given day I would argue that that is limited truth - so much more needs to be considered such as mood, experiences, ability to interpret situational cues, ext. - but lucky for you today is not that day!

So let's go with 'Perspective is everything.'

Moe and I woke to a beautiful sunny day and the sounds of Finn chatting with his crib friends over the monitor. Adorable right!? After breakfast and coffee came playing and more playing. By noon we could still be found in our pyjamas on the floor covered in dog hair and having accomplished zilch. Zero.

Realizing this, I dive head first into a type of 'go go gadget'/'intense Betty' mode. *Essentially becoming my mother before leaving for vacation. Did anyone else's parents do that? I remember Mom used to get in a frenzied state and clean the entire house within the last ten minutes before we were supposed to be out the door. And because we were so anxious to go we would all help. Clever lady that mother of mine!

Anyhoo, the next thing I know Finn and I have muffin batter whipped up, a supper option out, the floors vacuumed, flowers watered, ourselves dressed and Moe fetching his leash for a walk. When we arrive back to our street Finn has fallen asleep so, still in my maniac state, I get straight to work picking up a winters worth of Moe dung. Blah - I know!

Committed to the task, it took me a while before I stopped and questioned my train of thought while working away. It went something along the lines of, 'My it is so nice to get things done around here... lalala... It will be so nice to have this done... lalala dog poo... One less thing to worry about!... I love being productive and picking up Moe poo!...'

Come on!! I mean really! Who gets excited about collecting animal fecal matter on a sunny day?

Apparently me! Welcome to my world...

Logical conclusion {aside from temporary insanity} - 'Perspective is everything.'

Let's hope I am the only one with a twisted approach to productivity today. Perhaps it is time to get serious about my to-do list...

Happy Friday!

Chalked Up to Tidy

I tripple love organization solutions! Love! Love! Love!

Bins, baskets, jars, crates, totes, bowls, boxes, canisters... I love them all! Honestly, I would collect storage solution options of all shapes and sizes if I had an appropriate storage solution option to keep them organized! Woo!! *I dare say that Robert would not be pleased with such an idea. Alas, a girl can dream!

The beauty of organization is that everything, and I mean everything, can have a spot of its own. And isn't that what we all want? A special place in the world! What makes our things any different? *Too dramatic perhaps? Panpsychism anyone? And I digress... a topic for another day perhaps.

We organize things to help make our lives easier. Do we not? It is much easier to run out the door at the last minute for a lunch date if your keys, money, sun/glasses, and shoes are all reliably within arms length of one another. Or, taking the kids to the beach is much more enjoyable if your gear is all together in one bin or basket. So, if every area of our house had its own tidy purpose life as a whole would be that much less stressful. I am making it a goal of mine to do just that this year!

*But be mindful that everyone is different. What works for me may not work for you. I may put my pool/beach gear in a basket in the laundry room which isn't a practical place for your home. Take the ideas of others and alter them to your lifestyle. And be willing to revisit things. If you organize your entry space one weekend and get it just so but find it quickly returns to its original state, don't give up. Try it again and make the changes needed so that it can upkeep itself.

On top of everything having its own place, which is certainly a mighty fine place to start, labelling can add yet another level of practical help for daily living. *And it can be super cute to boot!

I have done a simple DIY project to help make my pantry just that much more efficient when it all comes together. Lets take a look:

To start, you'll need:

• Any type of jar or canister 
• Damp cloth
• Old newspaper/drop cloth
• Chalkboard paint
• Stir stick
• Paint tray
• Sponge brush/roller

Begin by covering your work surface with the newspaper or drop cloth to prevent any mess. Wipe down your jar or canister with a damp cloth and let it dry completely before applying the paint.

You can find chalk board paint at your local hardware store. I went with the above, Rust-Oleum, brand and was more than satisfied. Follow the directions on the can for the best application results. Mine required three coats, each drying completely before the next, and letting the paint set for two days before writing on them. *Patience certainly is a virtue in this case.

I decided to apply the chalkboard paint to the top of the jars but you could tape off a section on the sides if you preferred. For this project I opted for the top because I plan to place them on a lower shelf in the pantry and imagine they'll be easier to locate that way. Not to mention, I wont have to move them all to find the one I am looking for.

Im excited to add these to my pantry space when it is complete! And expect they will be helpful tools in  keeping my kitchen organized in the future.

But honestly who knows where you may find them around the house next!

Happy organizing!

Pantry Pattern

The pantry project has been set in motion and brought to an abrupt halt all in one day. Imagine. Let's chalk it up to typical Friday circumstance.

We have decided to try a stencil on the walls to add colour to the space. Robert is skeptical about the idea and argued for wallpaper instead. So let it be known that if the stencil is a flop I am fully to blame. Don't get the wrong idea with this because I am a fan of wallpaper but admittedly am too cheap to put it in the pantry. *I'll have to contrive a plan of approach so that Robert thinks wall paper was his idea when it comes time to do a bathroom. 

We are hoping the stencil will be a perfect solution and are excited to give it a try; well I am at least. The stencil is from a company out of the US called Cutting Edge Stencils. Which brings us to the hiccup in the timeline because it will arrive only in an indeterminate number of days. 

On the positive side, this will give us more time to prepare and organize the pantry contents, so not all is lost.

I'm very excited about our choice of geometric pattern. We went with a Tuscan Trellis Allover stencil. 

http://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/tuscan-trellis-allover-stencil.html

The walls in the pantry are currently white, so that will be the base colour for the pattern in order to be budget conscious. And as far as the second colour, for no particular reason, I am leaning towards a pale eggshell blue. There are pops of blue throughout my house, but up until now shades of green have dominated the wall space.

What colour screams 'Come in! Fancy a potato, can of soup? Maybe a serving tray?' You know? Any thoughts on this? Suggestions would be greatly welcome. 

Happy weekending! Cheers.

Pantry Project Set in Motion

Allow me to introduce you to the disaster that is my pantry.

From the outside it looks harmless but that most certainly is not the case...

Ahhh....I know I know! I am a fraud! This is my shameful equivalent to Monica's locked closet on Friends.

To be fair, the pantry is one of those spaces in the house that I just haven't prioritized. It is just a glorified closet after all. NOT! Even as I make these excuses to you and try justifying the shamefulness that is this mess I know deep down they just are not true. 

I love love love (mentally sounding at random like an Ace Ventura Pet Detective voice...) things to be well organized while still appealing to the eye. I mean, who doesn't really? Don't answer that. Let's pretend that everyone agrees with me on this subject. Which then means we can all agree that even a glorified closet can be a space one wants to spend time in. 

My pantry however, is clearly missing the mark on all of the above. Does anyone else find themselves wanting to run in fear of being sucked in never to be recovered? Because those are my exact thoughts every morning while trying to scrounge up a coffee filter. I spy with my little eye...

Which brings us to the plan of attack for remedying this awful 'Situation': 

• Source storage bins and containers of various shapes and sizes
• Sort, categories, relocate and purge
• Create a clear labelling system
• Add colour and texture

*Just to be clear, cutting back on dishes is not an option (Robert or anyone of like mind)

So, that gets us pointed in the right direction. Before we start emptying out the loot and have it bombard   every nook and cranny of the rest of my house, we have a  few smaller projects to work on in order to make this project a success.

Does anyone else have a space like this in their house that needs a once, or twice, over? I hope I am not the only one.

See you soon!

Ready, Set, Blog

And so the blogging adventure begins...

I'm Allison. Robert, Finley and Moe are around here someplace too. Up to no good I am sure.
*They prove me right every time...

When it comes to blogging, we are newbies. But up for the challenge, we most certainly are.

Our goal is simple: to share the going-ons of our lives with anyone willing or crazy enough to check in. I'm not going to tell you a fib, we are your basic run of the mill people. Nothing extreme about us. So why the blog you might ask? Legitimate question, with an answer just as simple as the goal: though we may be basic, we are still interesting.

The day to day happenings with an infant boy, busy dog, overly intense woman and easy going to a fault man...why that is a recipe for a disaster and/or an interesting story or two. Toss in family, opinions, my regular brain scheming, projects from simple organization to full renovation, travel, and who knows what else along the way and we are in for a treat.

There are several selfish reasons going on behind the scenes here as well; we are not in this without personal gain. As I mention in the About Us tab, Robert has started a new chapter and is now working West. We thoroughly enjoy our time together when he is home, but for the weeks he is away he will be able to check in and keep tabs on the inevitable shenanigans we are bound to be up to.

Not to show my true colours too early on in this process...but I very much wanted an iMac in life. Therefore, I repeatedly alluded to Robert that it was pertinent in the success of my dream of becoming a successful blogger. So after months of said argument, we bit the bullet and bought a brand spanking new computer. Is she ever a dream! The Cadillac of computers I would argue. Though, said argument made by me is bias and obviously flawed due to the fact that I have owned one measly computer in my lifespan and can't recall any ride in a Cadillac. None the less, you're picking up what I am laying down.

Isn't she a 'beaut'!?

Finally, and a smidgen less self absorbed, we also need a bit of motivation to keep us productive during the common-laws time home. *Which I must admit has yet to be implemented this time around. Not one of us, excluding Moe of course, got out of our pyjamas yesterday before supper time. It's a tough life.

Which leads us to what I like to think is a natural segue to this weeks household project. Drumroll please..... The Epic Disaster that is our Pantry! Stay tuned.