Our latest member..

Those who know me well, (or have been down south with me,) would know how much I love palm trees.  Why?  Because the simple sight of palms would instantly relax me, as they carry the connotation that I must be someplace tropical and therefore on vacation.  And who doesn't like vacations? :)

So where was I going with this? Ah, yes, Kel and I were in a store one day and saw these mini palms called "Sago Palm".  Now, I've been on the lookout to adopt some greenery for the house.  The only problem is, I don't exactly have a green thumb.  In fact, it's more like a black thumb. (I've killed a number of plants in the past.. not really knowing why..)  So we decided to do some research before going ahead with the purchase.  What we found out was that it's not really a palm but a "Cycad", a group of plants that lived back in the prehistoric times.  It's a hardy plant that has no temperature or humidity preference, and extremely low maintenance, perfect as a beginner plant!  Heck, it survived and outlived the dinosaurs, so hopefully it'll survive me, as well. :)  Now, I just have to remember to leave it alone, and not over water him...

On a side note for anyone else who's thinking of adopting one of these cuties, they are poisonous to humans and animals if ingested, and unfortunately almost never properly noted at the store.  So you may want to think twice if you have pets or kids in the house.

What's that bubbling in my oven?

We went to the farmer's market up in Waterloo on Canada's Day.... and I ended up bringing home a lot of berries!  So what better to do with them, than make a pie? :)  With guidance from Moj over at Something Lemon, I proceeded to make my very own pie crust.  It was quite the adventure I tell you, not as hard as it looks, but definitely quite an experience!  Next time, I've got to learn to seal off the edges properly... midway the pie was bubbling over!

And here we have it, my first blueberry pie!

Yumm.. so much juicier when it's homemade!

Happy Canada Day!

One of the perks of working from home?  Saving time on commute equates time to make breakfast!  Make no mistake, there's another slice of melted havarti cheese hiding under the egg. :)

Our First Barbecque

Kel and I were browsing at barbecques whenever we were at hardware stores since its barbecque season and its the featured product everywhere.  It wasn't priority, but definitely a nice to have with the great weather we've been getting.  Then one weekend afternoon, I get a call from Elaine and TA DA!  She and Ken came by and dropped off a barbecque  as our housewarming gift!  Awesome!  Thanks guys!  Kel's put it together a few weeks ago, and tonight, we had our first barbecque!  Burgers topped with sautéed mushrooms, onions, melted harvarti cheese, and crispy bacon!  Mmmm Mmmm Good!

One step closer to a complete dining room!

We've been on the lookout for dining chairs for quite some time now and we got really close two months ago.  We saw a style we liked at a warehouse, but the unfortunately, they weren't stocking any more and there were only three left.  What on earth were we to do with only three chairs?  So the search continued...  until today that is!  We went by a one day sale and finally found these that looked similar to what we had in mind.  We weren't able to take them home with the car we were driving, but didn't want to risk losing them from some human error (even though we paid for them and they were on hold, I mean, remember the battle with Sears?!)  So, we immediately went back with a van, did an inspection, and brought them home!

Here's a close up of the chairs we got.  We like the shape of the back, with the detailing of the nail studs  on the seat.

Looking back on what we started with when we first bought the house, we really came a long way.  Check out how the dining room looked before:

And as promised, our dining room now with our new chairs:

 

What an awesome way to mark our one year at the house.  Next up for this room: a chandelier, and Kel's project to make a two seater bench for the dining table!

Summery Sundays...

... makes me want to have pancakes!  And what's better than blueberry pancakes? RASPBERRY!!

Actually, my original intention was to make blueberry pancakes because they are my absolute favourite, but when I was at the store, I saw these perfect organic raspberries.  Now, how often do you see organic raspberries that actually look perfect?! Like, never!  So of course, I got to thinking.. how come no one ever makes raspberry pancakes?  And here it is.. I made one blueberry pancake, one raspberry pancake... and one blueberry-raspberry pancake!!  Of course, the raspberry ones don't look as nice since they don't hold together as well under heat. BUT, they are absolutely divine!  I'm normally not a raspberry person, but the tartness it gives the pancakes (along with dosing it with pure maple syrup of course) is A-MA-ZING!!

Warmer Weather = Outdoor Activities aka Yardwork

One of the pressing matters we had at hand last month was the rapid rate our lawn was growing.  We didn't have a lawn mower yet at the time, and even if we were to get one, we'd still need a place to house it.  (For those who haven't realized, our house doesn't have a garage.)  So our priority became shopping for a mower that was on sale, as well as the shed.  For those who've shopped at lawn mower sales before in spring, you'd know exactly what we ran into. Back orders.  What I don't understand to this day, is how there could be so much demand for lawn mowers every year.  Same goes for air conditioners and fans in the spring, and snow blowers and shovels every winter.  They're always sold out!  I would think that our electronic/gas powered devices work for many years. (At least I know my dad still owns his gas mower from the late 80s, fans too, by the way!) So are people just replacing them because they're old?!  Anyhow, we didn't end up getting the mower for another 3 weeks from when we bought it, but then that buys Kel time to put up the shed.

He, along with Erica's help, dug the majority of the six inches in our backyard for the base of the shed.  Ken helped Kel get the crushed rocks and offload them to form the base and alas, Kel's finally got his shed up this week!  Below, you can see his 8x8 shed nestled in among our trees.  (Did I mention how much I love our trees? :)  It's got windows and a skylight in the roof, too!  And there's Kel's tools and his new mower in their now home. 

I should probably mention that we didn't wait another month to mow our front lawn and backyard.  We borrowed Ken's mower in the meantime and took care of it first. :)