The in-laws and the relatives love their baccarat cigars or just about any kind of cigars and the only time they can smoke it is outside my house.   But they have a really bad habit – after smoking they like to throw their cigar butts at the front of my house near the steps – where they hang around smoking it.  So when I saw these cigar butt stand in a yard sale – i had to get it – to put outside my house and another for them to put at home – it was definitely the best father’s day present for the in-law’s.   I really don’t mind the smell of the cigar – in fact i like it better than the cigarettes – but the butts they definitely annoy me to see them all over the front steps.   And how do one tell their in-laws not to litter the place right?  so it was pretty obvious when i put that cigar butt stand out – haha!  now if they still do litter – I can scream at someone – not the in-laws but the spouse – hahah!

We were at a friend’s cottage home – a few Sundays ago – you see summer cottages are cheap here and friends from United States spends their summer here.  A place by the ocean is nice and cheap and who wouldn’t want to spend time in the sun and sea all summer right – plus the standard of living is low here as compared to the city in United States.  But this cottage needs some fixing and a distributor water filter is a must for this cottages – because they mostly use well water.

The cottage is well – furnished but mannnn!! the water condition in my humble opinion is not the best.  All they need is a good water filter in their home and they will be all set.  I don’t know if they have a water filter distributor here – but if they can find one – they can even be in business for it.  I bet the other cottages around Nova Scotia and PEI can use some.  Only the town has town water that are filtered here – but not in the country i think.  Good thing they had bottled water to drink when we were there.

We have a loft just on top of our garage that we had turned into for the kids – to hang out and to play their drums.  For the longest time – we didn’t do much except throw a bit of cushion and a futon around – but the kids wanted to turn them into like a game room – and a place to entertain their own friends.  When I saw this decor in a restaurant we had gone to – I took this idea – and used paper lantern  and filled the loft with them.  Now to get the lights inside some of them – and we will be all set – so that the girls can have their little corner as well.   Yes ! asian influence and the girls loved them – they now think that i’m a genius – hahah!

This summer we were expecting full bloom at our home but instead this full bloom were at my neighbor’s house – darn!  How do they do that I don’t know !  afterall, we do have the same piece of land no?  Even their grass seems to do better than ours – we are so envious.   Love the flowers, so we asked them what the secret was – guess – lots of tender loving care – so they said.

Very beautiful not?

]]> http://www.trenduk.org/2010/08/full-bloom-summer-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.trenduk.org/2010/08/kiddies-corner/ http://www.trenduk.org/2010/08/kiddies-corner/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:04:43 +0000 Trendy Chick http://www.trenduk.org/?p=1250

The spouse insisted on getting this while shopping at Kent  – because our friends and extended families from Ontario who are coming down for a vacation before the summer ends have children.  So to accommodate them when they come by – we bought this set – so that they can have fun in their own corner while we sip our wine cooler.  I think it was a great idea – what about you?

If you know me or my blog by now – you know i love plants and flowers and I love the blooming ones or the unique looking plants – like the ones below this post.  So we hop around town and look at greenhouses during the weekend and I would just admire them and have some idea what i should buy or plant for the following year during spring.

Some people have such awesome luck – their garden just bloom – where else mine – i need professional help – I just don’t have the green thumb.  I do read a lot about gardening but I just don’t have the patience – so I rather let the pro take care of my garden.  This year – we hired someone to mow the law and keep the shrub in order.  What about you?  do you have as much trouble?  I would love to grow some orchids but I know I would just kill them.

Landscaping contractors are hard to hire around here – the ones that I’ve found so far are those who are doing it freelance and that’s not really what i want.  Why?  because there is no guarantee on the work and if anything should happen when they are working around my house – i don’t have disability insurance or any kind of insurance for them.  And if they are freelance – like the guy who fixed my shingles two years ago – there is no guarantee about their work either.

But if you hire someone who are professionals with credentials not just recommended by the neighbor – you know that you won’t be liable – because his company would take care of any injury insurance.  You never know what may happen during work – and since I don’t have them on payroll – i can’t even get worker’s compensation if they get into an accident.  So the moral of this story is – if you are getting work done around the house – make sure you hire a professional with a contract and receipt.

Summer is a fun time to do yard sale rounds around the neighborhood and in another town – we make it a trip outta town just in the name of finding some goodies at those yard sale.   Last weekend – we did our usual stuff and went for another yard sale and found these Anne-Geddes wooden framed pictures.  You and I know – original Anne Geddes prints can cost as much as $55 – but these were like $5 a piece in a yard sale along Barrington way.  We didn’t need pictures like that – but they come in handy for baby showers and so we bought them.  They were also in very good condition too – you will never know it was from a yard sale.  Have you been to some good yard sale and found some gems?  If you haven’t been to one – you should start – because you never know what you can find.

When you have kids between the age of 7 right up to their teens – you can expect them to want to invite their friends over for sleepovers.  So when we had to buy a new bed for one of the kids – we were debating whether we should get them the  adjustable beds or the bunk beds – or should we just stick with a twin bed for each of them and then have them all sleep on the floor when they have friends over?

Winter can get very cold and we don’t heat up the basement that much in the winter – so for the kids to sleep on the floor – now that may not be a welcome idea for other moms.  I mean – i wouldn’t want my kids to sleep on someone’s floor right?   So we decided on some bunk beds instead for all of them in their room after much discussion – but not my oldest daughter – she wanted a queen size bed because she said she only want one of her best friend/s over at any one time and they can share the bed together.  At 15 yrs old – you cannot really argue with her very much – so there we decided the boys get the bunk beds with pull outs even at the bottom and the 15 yrs old – she gets the adjustable bed that she picked for easy reading and working on her computer. Kids!

It’s less than a month before the kids need to go back to school and like any parent/s who has a few kids – it’s never too early to start getting ready.  Last week – we went by Walmart to get all their school supplies – so that was done – and now to order labels to label all their stuff.  This year we chose Mabel Labels because they are a Canadian based company – but they are not cheap either – especially if you  have a few kids.  Each of them one a set for their own – so the earlier we get it – the quicker – they are off my list of to-dos.  Mabel Labels offer free standard shipping and since this is the first time I am ordering from them – I will let you all know how the labels do.  The combo set for going back to school is like $44 and comes with 50 Tag Mates, 40 Skinny Minis, 16 Shoe Labels, 2 Teeny Tags. The Sticky Labels are dishwasher and microwave safe and dryer safe as well.  The labels are waterproof and UV resistant.  Many of the reviews I’ve read – were very good – so don’t forget to check back on a review on Mabel Labels.