Electric Lighting!

We have been working on updating our place, in ways that we can afford, both time-wise and financially. One thing we did this weekend was paint our hallway and change the 2 light fixtures in it. I'll show you that soon - when we're not experiencing a wet and dreary day - but for now, i wanted to highlight the fun DIY project we did on the fly.
We wanted to get some cool switch plates but either couldn't afford them (um, $22 a piece, Anthro?) or they were just ugly a la Home Depot. So, we thought of decoupaging some fun paper onto the original plates. Then, J thought of a fun idea -why not re-use some of the fun prints from our annual Nikki McClure calandars. Cuz, who doesn't save such fantastic art, right? So, while he painted, i whipped this up. I used the lovely Hodge Podge both as the adhesive and also after, to give that night sheen and protection against messy fingers.
I chose prints that were both small, simple, as well as mainly black and white, so that they blended nicely with our walls and artwork. Not bad for free switch plates, right?

A Quickie Antique-y Trip

On our way to family Thanksgiving dinner recently, we took the opportunity of having a borrowed car - thanks again Mom and Dad - and went to my beloved Aberfoyle Antique Market. It truly never disappoints. We haven't been able to go yet this season (hmmmm...i wonder why!) and had just over an hour to speed-walk through the vendors.I always go with a list so that i don't forget all the things i'm looking for, and of course i don't just stay on the list, but i am very happy with our latest finds. We all walked away with something, cute 'butter' flower dishes for me, a rocking horse for Clem, and records for J. Oh, and some cool

Most exciting are the two new ceiling light fixtures we got to replace the old cheesy and broken ones. Makes me feel like our house is truly coming along. Though, the list of fix-it and reno work i do have is still rather lengthy.

From this: to this :
and from this broken fixture that broke during some especially brutal pile-driving for the new Go Train work (don't ask!):
to this lovely piece, circa before IKEA:

And the High Chair Goes to....

Here is a score i found this weekend in a great antique store neighbourhood in the city. Yes, a whole neighbourhood of antique stores! And, besides being the style i love (retro 50s kitchen!), it was a mere $45. In great condition. This really is my dream high chair, though i don't know if it'll be Gumball's. Originally, i wanted only chairs that could go right to the table (like the Stokke) because i prefer babe to eat with us, not behind us, but then i realized that eating times will vary anyway!Plus, look at the great modification to make this old chair more safe - it comes with two harnesses! One is a great sturdy one, and the other is under the table tray, to stop legs from sliding through (sorry, no phot0).

I imagine Gumball will be getting to try out various chairs anyway - ours, 2 grandparents' homes, and some others that we'll use at restaurants. Like, have you seen this great idea? Or is it a great idea, i don't know - but i hope to try it out!

Sorry for going a bit overboard with all the (!).

A Brighter Shade of Light

I have been working steadily on making changes and renos to my new pad, and one task that i did pretty early on, and possibly was just a bit too eager to do, was to update the light switch plate on the second floor. It's a switch plate for three lights, so instead of trying to find a new one, i decided to simply recover it this way.

Since i'm not into folk art, every time i either walked by or had to use the lights, my heart just sighed. Until i found a perfect solution, i knew i just had to wait it out.

Then, as we had found the greatest wallpaper to do as a feature strip in our dining room, the print jumped out at me for the plate.

The photo on the left is the BEFORE, the only good thing for me was the solid ceramic instead of flimsy plastic. And the photo on the right is the new plate. I simply traced the shape and size of the plate, and used good wallpaper adhesive to put it together. Nice and easy!