Me and my girls

Me and my girls

Friday, May 25, 2012

Master Bathroom - Vision

Brett and I have spent a lot of time thinking about the layout of our bathroom.  Now that we are in gut phase we have been able to plan out the space and we are pretty sure we have come up with a good layout.  We will have a 9X12 room and in it will be a stand alone shower, free standing bathtub vanity and toilet.  Since we now have the plan, it was time for me to go shopping!

I have been coveting this gorgeous vanity from Restoration Hardware in charcoal.  LOVE!!  I went and ordered it yesterday.  I ordered it without the marble top as the top they have is more grey than I want.  I think we will probably go quartz with a little bit of grey in it but I want a more crisp look.




I opted to go for the matching mirrors as well.


The tub we picked is free standing and curvy.  It's nice and big and I cannot wait to have a bath in it.  This tub is from www.tubs.com


We ended up choosing a stand alone faucet for the tub as well.  We debated getting a wall fixture but I loved the look of the stand alone next to the tubs.  The Faucet is also from www.tubs.com


We got our shower fixture from www.romanbathcentre.com.  I love the rectangular shower head.  And it's shiny.  I like shiny :)


For accessories, I bought a caddy and stool for our dressing room from www.restorationhardware.com.  Both are from the Newbury line.


And last but not least, I choose two sconces from www.restorationhardware.com.  I chose something a bit more modern as our shower fixtures and bath faucet are on the modern side.  We will be mounting them facing up, not down as in the picture.



Now we just need to pick sink faucets and tiles.  I have so many tiles that I love, this will be the challenging part.



Saturday, May 19, 2012

The Demo Has Started

There's no going back now!  The demo of our new house officially started on Tuesday.  I didn't realize how much work we were doing on the house until I saw how many rooms were gutted.  Eeek!  So exciting! 

A few pics to show the progress:

The Family room had wood panelling on the walls which is now all gone.









The Kitchen will be a complete gut.  They are almost finished with that       room.  Apparently there were five layers of floor.  Good thing we didn't start that demo!


Our upstairs bathrooms are both gutted (forgot to take pics) along with our basement.  The gut work left to do includes our master bedroom closet and mudroom.  And we still have to get all the old wallpaper off the walls. 

I can't wait for the re-build process starts!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Mother's Day Giveaway and Coupon Code!

Mother's Day Giveaway!
Enter to win one of two $50 Gift Certificates to www.glowbaby.ca!!!

There are two ways to Enter.
1. Visit www.glowbaby.ca and let us know what you would buy with your Gift Certificate.

2. What do you like best about Mother's Day (Leave your comment below)?

Extra Entries (You can do this once each day):

3. Share this contest on your facebook page.  You can share this through our facebook page at www.facebook.com/glowbabypage


4. Tweet "Enter Glow Baby's Mother's Day Giveaway to win one of two $50 Gift Certificates to www.glowbaby.ca @lindsayGlowbaby http://ow.ly/aQzYA"

Contest closes Monday May 14th at 11:59pm. Winners will be announced Tuesday morning. 
 
 
Special Coupon Code: 
 
MDAY30 - Receive 30% off at www.glowbaby.ca.  Code is valid until May 14th at 11:59pm.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Ronald McDonald House - A "Home Away From Home"

I've always known that the Ronald McDonald House existed.  I can't remember the first time I'd heard the name.  I did not realize until yesterday what the Ronald McDonald House was all about. 

I was invited to an event to learn more about the house and what I can do to help.  I took it for granted that because Ronald McDonald was in the name, McDonald's was bankrolling the place.  I also never knew about what they actually do there because I have been fortunate enough to have not needed their services.  I knew they were a charity but beyond that I really had no idea.  McDonald's only donates a portion of the money they need to run the house and thus are always in need of donations be them monetary, time or supplies.

The Ronald McDonald House has been helping families through difficult times for 30 years now.  They have recently opened their new Ronald McDonald House which is stunning.  The house helps families whose children and receiving treatment at Sick Kids and Mount Sinai.  The house is literally a home for these families; families whose permanent homes are 70 kms away from Toronto and the treatment their children need.  These families, without the house, would be sleeping bedside in the hospital with their children, renting condos or would not able to come at all because they have no place to stay.

I was really touched by the stories of two families we heard at this event.  It is impossible to imagine how difficult life is once your child is diagnosed with a serious illness.  Not only is there the diagnosis; there are serious life changes, from having to quit a job to not being able to see your other children as your sick child's immune system is so decimated that any exposure to outside germs can be fatal.  I was heartbroken by these stories.  I am greatful that these families had the Ronald McDonald House to turn to. 

The house is amazing.  It is able to house 81 families in different units. Not only does each family have their own private space, there is a library, gym, reflections rooms, a business room, outdoor play space with BBQs and their own accredited private school.  There is a huge kitchen where families can store their own food and cook.  Not only does it have these things, there is also huge amounts of support for families from the staff at the centre and from the other families living there.

I came away from this event feeling very lucky that I have two healthy children and wondering how I could help.  The house has a wonderful program called "Home For Dinner" where corporate groups or other groups can come in one evening and cook a meal for all the families staying at the house.  Listening to the two families speak, it became clear that this program is invaluable for these families.  After a long hard day at the hospital, to be able to come home to an already cooked meal was so helpful. 

That is why I and some of my other mom friends are planning a "Home For Dinner" night for us moms to give back to other moms. 

If you are interested in learning more about this program and forming your own group to help, you can visit this link for additional information http://rmhtoronto.org/sites/default/files/RMH%20Toronto%20-%20%20Home%20for%20Dinner%20Flyer%20-%20February%202012.pdf .

All volunteer opportunities can be found at http://www.rmhtoronto.org/volunteer.

Monday, May 7, 2012

What I Did this Weekend

We got our new house on Friday!  It was very exciting to hold the keys in my hand and be able to have the full run of the house without someone else there (awkward).  On Saturday I hit the ground running and met with two door companies and one closet company.  I am meeting with more companies tomorrow so no decisions have been made there yet.

On Sunday, we were kid-free so we decided to do a bit of demo work on the house.  I put myself to work and ended up totally gutting the girls bedroom.  It went from this....

To this...

It took 3 hours to pull up the carpet and prep the floor (remove nail boards and staples) and gut the closet.  It was tiring work but oh so satisfying!  Not bad for 3 hours work.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Mastermind Toys Warehouse Sale

For those of you in the GTA, Mastermind has announced their annual toy sale.

This year, the sale will be held at the International Centre: May 23 – May 27th featuring thousands of your favourite toys and brands with savings up to 70%.


Ode to a Chair

I have never really liked Ethan Allen.  They are really not my style.  And then they introduced, THE CHAIR.  I am in love with this chair.  To be more accurate, I am in love with the pink fabric on the chair.

Ethan Allen's site is protected so I can't grab the photo, but here is the link to the chair. 

http://www.ethanallen.com/product?productId=6413705

I won't be able to convince Brett to let me put this chair in any room of the house except for my office.  So the questions are:

Do I really want to spend $899 for an office chair?
What are the chances of finding this fabric so I can revamp a much less expensive chair?