Still Raining

Poor Alberta has suffered some awful weather recently....it rained all last summer in record amounts, then snowed record amounts all winter; it was freezing all winter, and now June 16, 2011, we have yet to experience any weather warmer than 20 degrees C. We've had maybe a week of sunshine, and we've had rain otherwise.

It sucks- thankfully I've been able to get away on some pretty rad vacations, but COME ON! I had to cut riding season short last year....the mosquitoes, as a result of the torrential rain fall were the size of cats and they HATED me and my horse. This spring, I've been out once, and we had to go out when it was really windy to keep the evil mosquitoes (as a result of this spring's rainfalls) away. I wanted to get out this Saturday, but alas, rain in the forecast, so we will play it by ear. The sort of good news about being unemployed for the time-being, is that I can go out whenever it clears up.

My Happy Family- first and only venture out so far this year:(

House is coming along- shingles are on, we are well on our way to finalizing custom garage doors...I order the lighting on Monday...but now that my contract is officially over, the final pay cheque in the bank, I'm too anxious about zero income to be very excited anymore....oy.

Dear Joa:

Get on with it....


Dear Shitty Weather:
Stop sucking and bring Sun back.

Brighten up the Day

The weather today is the pits. I don't know many people in the community and everyone else is away so I'm experiencing a bummer day. I mentioned a wardrobe switch up previously....I found this beautiful coat...I want it, who makes it? Also- I'm toying with the idea of using the same colour in my laundry room...which is otherwise black and white 50's style.

I also want this dress- if we get to Monaco next year, I would even have some reason to wear it!
WHO MAKES IT!!!???!!!

Um also, I hope to be her when I'm old and grey...

The Bees Knees

I'm a big fan of backyard business. My parents always fed birds, had a house for the purple martins, etc. Out at our farm, my dad always leaves grain on the ground for the deer, and down south in Mesa my mom has hummingbird feeders all over the place. Personally, I love bees, I think they are cute, and I often find myself compelled to "pet" them?!
The more flowers in a back yard the better, to attract the bees (and butterflies, birds and others of course).

A bee in my back yard!

And now we don't get much for pretty hummingbirds in Alberta, but the feeders! There are beautiful ones, almost like art...if not to see hummingbirds, perhaps just to enjoy the light reflecting in something like this...

Oh and finally, I bought myself a little friend...

It's the Travelocity gnome! YEY!

La Maison

Ah with every step comes more excitement...last week we actually wandered around the main floor (didn't bring my camera boo).

I'm still stressing over lighting...I have 2 pendants over the island that I am NOT giving up on, but I feel like the other 2 pieces I have for the living room and the dining room don't quite "go".

THE pendant

This is the current Living Room piece...the Dining Room consists of a 1-tier piece

My thing is that the pendants are sort of industrial and eclectic. The other pieces are a little more elegant maybe? Can't quite put my finger on it- plus I originally liked the 3-tier chandelier as opposed to the 2-tier, but was told the room wasn't big enough for it, so what's the friggin' point?
In the meantime, I found THIS lovely piece by the same designer (murray feis).

This is from the "Sullivan" collection!...but should maybe be called "Too Expensive for Joa"

Lighting is important to me...I know I can always change the pieces, but this is a new house! To me, more than anything else, lighting can make all the difference! (BTW, no, I do not want the oil rubbed bronze that is so popular now...I don't want popular, I want shiny and bright and clean).

While I dwell over this- tomorrow is the electrical walk through which may or may not help my lighting budget, and will have time to take more pics...but for now- here is the house (I was told shingles are going up today).

Those white doors will be painted (maybe grey), after construction.

The back will have a full length-of-the-house deck! On the left is the dining room, living room where the fire place is and the master on the right there. The front is a window to the den/office.

And finally- here is a picture of me playing in the falling petals of the apple tree in the back yard. *Like*