Hallowe'en Costume Repurposed

A few years ago our friends had an adorable costume made for our 1 year old. Being horror fans, they knew that we would absolutely put our daughter in a Freddy Kruger costume.

We of course had to complement that costume with other classic horror characters.
So, what do we with this awesome knitted onesie?

Dining Room: Drab to Dazzling

Our dining room was boring. It featured a light wood valence with 1980s fabric vertical blinds within; a flowered ceiling fan with a special angel watering... something.

A few changes and the room looks completely different! As with all of our renovations, I only want to enhance the original vibe of the house, rather than try and bring it into the current decade.

Retro TV Room: Credenza One

You guys...
It is freaking beautiful.

Sneak Peek: Mid Century Credenza

Remember when I posted about those free chairs?
I spy with my little eye, something that is awesome... right there... behind them!

Those cabinets/credenzas were rescued by my boss a year or so ago, and have been languishing by the back door since then. They are just too great to throw away, but alas, no one had time to spend on them... until me.

I Love Lamp: Pineapple Express

Thanks, Value Village!
I picked up these lamps months ago and then did nothing with them.

Sneak Peak: Matched Set

Hello.
My name is Pat and I am a chair-a-holic.

Yes, people. I've done it again. I brought home more chairs.
If you recall, I brought these diamonds in the rough home a couple of years ago.

Today, my boss, knowing my affliction for the prop, informed me of three such specimens behind our building. My boss is officially my favorite person today.

Thrifting: Lights, Lights, Lights!

This episode of thrifting at the Wheele House, is brought to you by Kijiji and the ReStore!
If you have never checked out a ReStore by Habitat for Humanity, I strongly recommend it.
I always check there first before I head to the Big Box stores for my home improvements.

Living Room: Paint and Planters

Though this was the very first room to receive paint, I haven't gotten around to completing it. And it still isn't done, but I thought I would share some of my progress.

Back when I was still in Ottawa, I pulled together a 5 minute colour concept, that I still liked (with a little tweaking) even after we got possession of the house.

Vintage Finds: Swizzle Surprise

My step grandmother was an avid collector of swizzle sticks.
Unfortunately, she has passed, but the collection then went to my step dad.
Can you believe it? He has brought them with him on this visit and bequeathed them to me!

Check out a few of this steller collection of vintage swizzles!!!
I love this. My personal faves... Don Ho and the gold Polynesian totem.

Bathroom Makeover: Part 1 Sliding Doors

Sometime during the last 52 years, someone decided to add a 3 panel sliding glass door assembly to this tub.

Junking: Retro Bar Stools

Another Kijiji find!!

Kind of unimpressive in the photo, but for $10 I decided to take a chance.
If you want some tips and tricks on how to find great stuff on Kijiji, see this blog post from the Interior DIYer.

Junking: Old Strathcona Antique Mall

Yesterday was my first junking day in Edmonton. Having said that, I gave myself a strict 'no buy' policy as we are still unpacking boxes in our new house. But I couldn't help but take some photos of some of my favorite stuff.

New House: 1966 Time Capsule

We absolutely loved our last home, which was a big brick Victorian farmhouse built in 1874. It was stunning, and it was where this blog was born.

Our new adventure begins with a move to the other side of the country and a new and vastly different type of home. We bought a 1966 time capsule. We love the vibe and many of the original features, but there are definitely many upgrades that need to be done.

Event: 3rd Annual Tin Barn Market Flea

I am usually a dollar short and day late when it comes to this event.

The first time, we were there the next morning and discovered that the yard sale was really just leftovers from this fantastic event the night before. The second year, I just wasn't on the mailing list. But this year... this year I was on it, and waiting with baited breath.

Curbside Shopping: Radio Teaser

THIS!!

I was leaving for work, and saw one of my neighbours put this beautiful little creature out on the curb.

What I love most about items like this, is it is just the right amount of 'busted' to let me put my own stamp on it, and not feel obligated to restore it. In fact, I doubt neither the radio nor the record player work still. Truly perfect.

Stay tuned to what ends up happening with this Addison Standard Broadcast cabinet,

Mission Chair: Sneak Peak

About a year and a half ago we found 4 chairs (find post here) destined for the dump. The owner happened to be curbside, and told us that the chairs had been saved from a hotel that was being demolished.

I am working on one of those chairs now - a mission style - year unknown.

The cushions had to be thrown away since plants were growing out of them.

Christmas Decor: The Tree

Like most people, December is a month for putting up decorations for us. This is our second year with our new artificial tree, and our second time attempting to decorate it. 

I started at the bottom by giving the ugly stand an inexpensive new look.
All I used is some burlap to wrap the stand, then used plastic bags to puff it out, and wrapped it with a simple bow.

Art Deco Hutch - Part 2

So last you heard, things rapidly went downhill from the last post, which you can find HERE.

In the description of this blog, I say "the sometimes disastrous, sometimes fantastic results of D.I.Y.".
This post definitely fits into the "disastrous" category!

the whole finish came off within minutes of putting it on... kind of pilling like an old sweater.
SOOO in for a penny, in for a pound. I began the arduous task of scraping of the sticky, goopy finish.
Gross.
And messy.

Retro Cabinet: Painterly Approach

I picked up this great little retro cabinet a long while back, and it has pretty much sat in our sun room all summer. All I really managed to do in the past year is give it a light sanding.

Being that it was just a cheap laminate finish, I didn't hesitate to paint it.

DIY Wedding 2010: The Big Day

The BIG DAY!!
It all came together on the big day.

You will see some amateur photos and a lot of photos from our photograper, Andrea Blair.
We were so happy with how our day turned out. Was there anything that we would have changed? Of course! But when you start nit-picking on the details, you forget what the day is really about: Love, Fun, Family, and Friends. We had the 'Fun' in spades.

This is the covered bridge at Sun Peaks Resort. We were married right in front of that heart-shaped rock.