Monday 28 December 2015

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

The 90s may have been the worst decade for fashion. Much of it I hope never comes back around. However when re-watching Full House on Netflix in preparation for Fuller House in February (all eight seasons are available on Canadian Netflix) I realized some things are timeless: good style and John Stamos.

I called this post "Diamond in the Rough" to reference both the outfits in Full House that would still be wearable today and to reference Aladdin (you likely know 'Steve' was the voice of Disney's Aladdin). Little double entendre for you.

Aunt Becky was definitely the style winner of the series (although she had some real doozies too). DJ is runner up and she would have impressed me more if she didn't wear those hideous white shoes in the last seasons.

Let's begin, shall we?

Outfit #1: Season 4 Episode 1
Aunt Becky's silk slip dress. Bravo, Full House team. I personally think this is a beautiful dress and it looks pretty fab on Rebecca. It is my series favourite.


Outfit #2: Season 6 Episode23
Aunt Becky's first Disney World outfit. Special shout out to the shoes - they are just plain great. The cut of the shorts and a plain long sleeved tee? Also timeless. Well done. Joey's outfit? Not so much.


Outfit #3: Season 8 Episode 24
DJ's prom dress. This dress deserves some extra credit because DJ's junior prom dress was not a classic. This is similar in colour and fabric to outfit number one, but a completely different cut. Maybe I'm just really into metallics right now. Regardless, this kind of dress is what Spanx were made for, ladies. Embrace the Spanx. Stephanie's outfit would be ok but what is with these terrible shoes?!


If you haven't watched Full House since you were ten years old I highly recommend it. I was not disappointed. Now I'm really looking forward to Fuller House! I'm curious if you agree with me that these outfits aren't hideously ugly by today's standards. Twenty years from now we'll be looking back at Fuller House style. :)

Monday 14 December 2015

CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES

After I discovered Teeny Tiny Bakery on instagram I became a little obsessed with the idea of using royal icing. It's something that seems really difficult to try and I've always been intimidated by it. After watching a bunch of her instagram videos I decided I can do it. I really can. Mind over matter.

Hubby ventured out on a Saturday in December (yikes) to find meringue powder and finally found it at the Bulk Barn (they also have almond flour if you want to bake macarons someday). So I followed this recipe to the letter and was surprised there is no butter in royal icing! If you're not a big baker and aren't familiar with it, royal icing is a special icing that hardens on the cookie so you can stack cookies on top of each other. It requires either egg whites or meringue powder (much easier), water, and icing sugar. It has to be the correct consistency to spread on your cookie without being a gigantic mess. I found the proportions in this recipe were just right.

My mom has a shortbread cookie recipe I always use and I wanted to try something different so I made these sugar cookies. They required a whopping load of butter. I tried not to think about it. And as expected they were really delicious. Way more delicious than shortbread cookies. Although for this purpose I didn't like that they puffed up in the oven and lost a little bit of their shape.





A friend and I spent the afternoon decorating! These were my best ones and they turned out much better than I expected! It was both more and less difficult than I pictured. Straight lines were more difficult than I thought but getting the right consistency was easier than expected. I'm excited to try these again someday soon (Valentine's Day anyone?) with hopefully even better results. And if you like baking (or even art!) check out Teeny Tiny Bakery on instagram. It is literally amazing. But have hope you can do it too!! I mean, have realistic expectations...(ha!)...but you might be better than you think!

Friday 11 December 2015

FOR HIM: POST TWO

Christmas presents for him


For the guys in your life who like to travel. Some of these items are easy to select as gifts. For instance, an e-reader, shave kit, high quality noise canceling headphones, or passport wallet are pretty universal. A travel backpack is a little more difficult to choose for someone else unless you really know exactly what they're looking for. We love to travel with backpacks because they're easy to carry and not awkward if you have a bit of a walk between the train station and your hotel. We took a quick trip to Toronto a couple of weeks ago and only took a bookbag each (I didn't even take a purse) and it was the smartest thing because we were spending the day around town before arriving at our accommodations. The globe in the top right corner is from Things Engraved of all places and we gave this to hubby's brother last year for Christmas. It is solar powered and the globe within the sphere spins. He loved it and we were pretty excited about it because we really love looking at the world map.

Speaking of our love of maps... On a trip to Boston a couple of years ago we went to the Mary Baker Eddy Museum of Christian Science because we heard there is a world map exhibit. It was really neat and very worth the trip if you're ever in Boston! It was less than $10 each and consists of a 15-20 minute presentation. You stand on a walkway in the center of a sphere shaped room. It's like you're standing in the middle of a big, stained glass globe. The acoustics inside the globe room were insane!! If you stand at one side of the walkway and whisper...a person at the other end hears you like you're talking into their ear. It was really, truly amazing.

That was a bit of a detour (no pun intended in a travel post) - hehe. Hopefully you're almost done Christmas shopping and this might help you finish up.

Tuesday 8 December 2015

FOR HIM: POST ONE



Christmas presents for him

The way I see it the year is divided in two: the 6 months we're moving away from Christmas and the 6 months we're moving toward Christmas!! Guess which I prefer. ;)

Last year I posted my favourite children's books for gift inspiration - posts here and here and here. I thought I'd focus on gifts for "him" this year since I've had lots of practice buying gifts for boys. (I have a brother and two brothers in law.)

First off - here are some gifts for guys who like the outdoors! In our house "nice" underwear is a hit - I usually buy Lululemon but I've heard great things about the Saxx brand. Hubby keeps talking about this Yeti brand fancy beer coozie and Oakley ski goggles. A Bose mini soundlink? Pure gold. And all camping related - pots and pans, sporks, and The US Army Survival Guide (a fun book for outdoorsy guys to browse even if they're not readers).

Trust me, people. You can't go wrong with any of this stuff (and they're all in different price ranges)! If you're trying to think of last minute gifts for hard to shop for guys I hope this helps!

Wednesday 2 December 2015

OATMEAL SOUFFLE

I was visiting my friend F two years ago and her mom made us a very fancy breakfast of oatmeal souffles. It felt so sophisticated and civilized (and was so nice of her)! This weekend I was feeling a little ambitious and thought I would try to make it myself.

I've always heard souffles are fairly difficult so I was pretty excited it was easier than I thought. Of course the thing is... they "fall" once they start to cool. When they first come out of the oven they're a beautiful towering creation and a few minutes later they start to sink. But boy are they cute before they fall! So I think if you were serving them at a dinner party (or in this case a brunch) the key would be to have everyone seated and ready to admire their souffle immediately out of the oven.

When the timer dinged I warned hubby we had to rush to get photos before the souffles fell. We were a well oiled machine. I grabbed them from the oven, put them on the plates he was holding, ran them to our butcherblock, and had the camera ready to go with the lens cap already off.


I used this recipe (how many times can I say pinterest has literally never failed me,) and I quartered it to make two servings. This involved a fair amount of math (as hubby said, "There's some pretty serious fractions going on over here,") but it turned out just fine. My ramekins are really like a two person serving so I made one gigantic portion for the two of us to share. The only alteration I made to the recipe was I used only milk since I didn't have any cream on hand (and I feel terribly guilty consuming cream). I did use a dash of rum and liked the flavour but it would be equally good without it. Warning: measure out the ingredients and have them organized and ready to go because you have to work quite fast. My stand up mixer is such a superstar and really helps at times like this.

This would be perfect for Christmas morning breakfast if you're feeling up for a little challenge! Hope you like it!

Sunday 29 November 2015

THE WORLD TODAY

It's been a few weeks since I blogged in part because so much has been happening in the world it's leaving me a little emotionally drained and uncertain of what to say but fairly certain I should say something.

Let's show each other more love, shall we? To humankind near and far. To people regardless of their religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, gender, hairstyle, shoe size... Let's all consciously make the effort to help others, serve others, give to others. Let's think less of our own comfort and safety and more of the comfort and safety of others.

Can we please just try to be better humans and show more love?

I recently read Matthew 11:12 which really inspired me.

And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now 
the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing..

We can all choose to wake up every day and forcefully advance the Kingdom of Heaven!

There isn't much else to say. I don't usually share thoughts like this on the blog but I've been so frustrated with the world lately.

To leave you with a picture, I framed my grandfather's library card this week and put it on the shelf with all my prized possessions, most of which are grandparent related. :)

Friday 6 November 2015

AUTUMN SOUP

I made the most delicious soup a few weeks ago. As always it was a Pinterest recipe and it is my new favourite. I liked it so much I made a triple batch of it again this week to freeze.

Soups are one of my favourite things to make for a lot of reasons. They freeze so well, I really like the ease of one dish meals, they're warm and comforting, and they're usually a healthy meal (as long as it's not a creamed soup).

My mom asked me what was in this recipe and really...it has everything. Carrots, celery, parsnips, kale, squash (I used buttercup instead of butternut), plus roasted garlic (I don't think I'll ever go back to mincing garlic for a soup because yum - roasted garlic) and tomato paste (crushed tomatoes - never again). It also takes shredded chicken and gnocchi and parmesan at the end.

This is the recipe and I followed it exactly (except I substituted buttercup squash instead of butternut). If you like soup, enjoy. I predict we will be eating a lot of it this year.




Saturday 31 October 2015

HALLOWEEN 2015

You're probably not surprised to hear I love Halloween. Even though I'm a "grown up" with no kids I absolutely love picking out a family costume and dressing up to pass out candy. I grew up in the country and no one came trick or treating to our house. On November first I would always wake up and ask my parents how many kids stopped at our house and I was always so disappointed. Now that we live in a neighbourhood in the city we get between sixty five and ninety trick or treaters and it is just so exciting.

Last year's Inspector Gadget costume was fairly difficult to make so I wanted something simple this year. My boys are good sports when it comes to Halloween. They don't put up too much of a fight when I dress them up. I had to be a little creative to incorporate Leroy into the theme this year.

The moment we've all been waiting for... Halloween costumes 2015... Dirty Dancing!!


This is Leroy. He's a watermelon.

This is me and Leroy. "I carried a watermelon."





Have fun tonight! Leroy wants everyone to stay safe. :)

Tuesday 27 October 2015

COSTUMES: FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF

You know it. You love it. I get it. It's a classic.

When I made this collage all I could imagine was the scene with Ferris dancing in the parade to Twist and Shout. Maybe it's just us but we quote this movie fairly regularly. Mostly, "Bueller.....Bueller....."

This might take some extra effort (unless you happen to already own a fringe suede/leather jacket, or a men's leather sweater vest). Otherwise they're fairly easy costumes. His: white tshirt, gray dress pants (preferrably with front crease), white shoes, Ray Ban Wayfarers. Hers: blue sweater, beige or grey skirt (she actually wore floppy dress shorts in the movie but um...yeah), and tall boots.

Well, friends, this was my last Halloween idea - other than our own costumes of course. And you don't get to see that until Halloween! Stay tuned.

Monday 19 October 2015

COSTUMES: SCOOBY DOO

Hopefully you didn't notice the premature posting from a couple of nights ago. When I make these polyvore collages sometimes things go a little wonky and they're posted immediately. So if you already saw this post, here it is again - with text!

Scooby Doo was definitely a favourite childhood show. My brother and I watched a lot of it. We had a Christmas special on VHS that holds a special place in my heart. :) Dressing up as Fred and Daphne would be so cute. And if you have a doggie like us they would obviously be Scooby or Scrappy Doo. I love when the doggies are involved.

I included some real boots for Daphne because don't you remember wearing your snowsuit under your Halloween costume?! That was the worst. The end of October is always freezing (like today!) and Mom always ruined my costume by making me wear fifteen layers of clothes to stay warm. The year I was around eleven or twelve I was the chubbiest vampire ever.

The more I look at this collage the more I like it. It is definitely on my list for next year. Stay tuned later this week for another costume idea!

Friday 16 October 2015

COSTUMES: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

Usually I keep my Halloween costume ideas to myself and don't post until trick or treaters are arriving at the door. This year I thought I'd be a little more forthcoming with my ideas and hopefully provide you with some inspiration!

I would love to use this idea for costumes - The Grand Budapest Hotel. We won't be doing it this year because we would have to buy too many things but if you have a beige dress and peach sweater on hand you should totally do it. This was one of our favourite Oscar nominated movies last year and I keep meaning to watch Moonrise Kingdom which had the same director.

To be Agatha you have to do a fancy braid on top of your head including a piece of wheat or grain, and the brown lipstick is to draw a "birthmark" the shape of Mexico on your cheek! Zero's costume is fairly simple. You'll probably have to buy a purple blazer but the pill box hat would be easy enough to make. And the liquid eyeliner is to draw in a thin moustache. I thought Zero was the most adorable character.

There you go!

Monday 12 October 2015

BEING THANKFUL 2015

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and in the spirit of being thankful I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the subject.

The last year has been a fairly difficult one in a few ways - living a long distance marriage again and losing two loved ones. Lucky for me working in Medicine I am constantly surrounded by people who "have it worse" and it keeps life in perspective. Absolutely no matter what you are going through things could always be worse and I have that reminder almost daily.


Over the last six months I have started to catch myself when I find myself complaining and instead I thank God.

"I'm so tired" instead becomes "I am so thankful I have a job to go to every day."

"I miss Hubby and Leroy" instead becomes "I am so thankful I have two people in my life to miss."

"We waste so much money on gas driving back and forth" instead becomes "Thank you, God, that we have a car and the money to pay for gas."

I have the tendency to be a little bit on the pessimistic side of things - although I consider it being a realist - and this has really been helping me. If you're like me and sometimes forget to count your blessings, I hope you take this as encouragement to do so.


Top photo taken in Bern, Switzerland. Bottom photo taken in Lucerne, Switzerland - atop Mt Pilatus. Summer 2014.

Monday 14 September 2015

CURB APPEAL - POST SIX

Do you remember my series of curb appeal posts last summer/fall? If not, let me remind you what our house looked like before.


Recap: brown paint, crumbling concrete steps (that we attempted to paint but then the paint crumbled off as well), old rusty house number, unruly spiria plants, and red bricks lining the flower beds.

Now for the excitement. This is as good as it's going to get, people. Photo credit below to Jordan and Judith Photo/Film. 

 
Recap: green paint, new wooden front steps, new adorable house number, window boxes, hostias (that unfortunately did not really grow this summer), and new stones lining the flower beds.

So there you have it! We spent the better part of last fall and this summer painting that baby - mostly waiting for good, dry painting days!! In the end we had to hire someone to paint the back side because it's a walk out basement and we didn't have the equipment to do it ourselves. The rest of the job wasn't all that bad.
It's never going to happen but the last of my to do list would be: stain the front steps and cut down the pine trees (to the left of this photo).

Looking forward to the Trick or Treaters that will be stopping by in a month and a half. :) It's such a good neighbourhood for that!! We love our sweet little first home.

Thursday 10 September 2015

THINGS THAT LAST FOR SEVEN YEARS

All photo credit in this post to Jordan and Judith Photo/Film

Hubby and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary last month and every time we reach a new year I always think about what I've learned about marriage since we wed in 2008. I was nineteen when we got married which is just shocking to me now but thankfully I would do it again a hundred times over. Even more thankfully God must have really guided that decision because holy - nineteen!! I don't like anything that I liked when I was nineteen!

I certainly am no marriage expert - heaven knows I lose my temper far too often and to be honest I don't think anyone ever accused me of being low maintenance (oops!) - but I do feel like we have learned a lot together over seven years of marriage (three of those being long distance).


We think the most important thing is to keep God at the center. If both people focus on their relationship with God and being more Godly themselves you will be a better partner. And we believe that being focused on God (and spreading His love) is what is most important in life.

Though one can be overpowered , two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12

Don't get me wrong - marriage can be really hard. We have had difficult days and difficult months/years, to be honest. Thankfully we always get back to good days eventually but at times that takes a lot of work. Once we were at a wedding and a groomsman said, "Most people say marriage is easy." At that point we had been married for a few years and maybe only just began to live together. The two of us looked at each other incredulously as if to say, "We must be doing this all wrong." HA! Hubby and I still laugh about that.


So to take a totally different direction (I'll quit while I'm ahead sounding very sage and wise and hope you skimmed over the temper and high maintenance part - hehe), this anniversary has got me thinking... what are things that last for seven years? I know you've been wondering the same thing. :)

1. A high quality vacuum - we spent almost all of our wedding money on an Electrolux Oxygen vacuum. We bought the Oxygen 3 at the time - the link is for the Oxygen 12. Worth every penny.
2. Santa's Solution Tree Stand - we have this baby which was created and fabricated near my hometown. It's called Santa's Solution and we swear by it. It holds more water than any other tree stand by far and your tree will not fall over. It is literally THE BEST. Made in Canada. (Just like me!)
3. Books - some of my best friends are books! Books will stand the test of time, I tell you. They are beastly to move though. (My apologies to all of our friends who have ever helped us pack!)
4. Hubby's free tshirts - I actually typed this last week and then tonight got hubby to cut back to max ten free tshirts. After we counted them I realized he had less than I had thought...I would have been better off to ask him to keep five... :)
5. Childhood stuffed animals - Dumbo and Theodore (mine and his) are still sitting beside each other on our dresser. Besties. Dumbo is far better looking.

And of course to complete the list, things that do not last seven years!

1. Sheets/towels - I followed someone's advice when we first got married and I only used some of our towels so those ones are pretty much worn out and now we can move onto the stack of unused wedding towels. My mom bought us really nice sheets and we used them exclusively for three or four years. I threw them out about a month ago - just shy of seven years.
2. A futon - the bane of my existence. We watch TV while sitting on the futon in the basement literally every night. I mean, it doesn't owe us anything but let's just say one of the supports has been held together with butter knives and duct tape for many, many years now. It will not be making the next move with us.
3. Drinkware/coffee carafe - we broke all of those suckers in the first year or two of marriage. Glass cups? One by one we slowly whittled them away. Coffee carafe? Lasted less than a year.
4. Unity candle - this momento from our wedding survived three moves. The fourth time we moved (ugh) was one month after the third move (ugh). Strangest life decision yet. Sorry unity candle. I hope this doesn't mean we're not unified anymore.
5. A coffee table - it would have held up for seven years (and it's just from Zellers or Wal Mart!) but unfortunately I was talking to my best friend on the phone and spilled nail polish remover on it. Better days, better days.

Wednesday 9 September 2015

SUMMER MEALS POST THREE: TACO SALAD

This taco salad is something my aunt has made forever and we have adapted it as a regular meal in the last couple of years. It's so fast to make, feels relatively healthy (if you go light on the chips and dressing), and really inexpensive. The best thing is it only takes a few ingredients and we basically have all of them on hand all the time anyway.

This post is for my friend K who sent out a request on facebook today for some new meals to add to her meal rotation. :) We all end up cooking the same thing all the time, don't we?

I fry up some ground beef with taco seasoning and then put it in the freezer to cool down while I prepare the veggies. I like meat in my salad to be room temp so it doesn't wilt the lettuce. So then I cut up romaine lettuce, a bell pepper, a tomato, and shred some cheddar cheese. At the end I throw in the ground beef and some tostitos chips, then drizzle with catalina dressing. It's soooo good. This is seriously my favourite at home supper right now.

Friday 14 August 2015

SUMMER MEALS POST TWO: STUFFED PEPPERS AND MUSSELS

Two posts in one week. Totally on a roll. See you again in 8 months. Kidding, kidding.

I have some exterior house updates to share eventually - the house is looking waaay different than last summer. But for now we're going to stick with a second post about summer meals. Earlier this week I shared burrito bowls. I had leftover corn and black beans from that meal so decided to add them to rice and stuff them in green peppers cooked on the barbecue. We had mussels as our protein (we're big fans) which I cooked in a covered pot on the stove.

Here's what I did for the stuffed peppers.

I cooked half a cup of basmati rice in the rice cooker for two stuffed peppers. Then I hollowed out the peppers (I used green but you can use any kind of bell pepper). When the rice was done I mixed in some corn and black beans, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin... I can't remember if I used a couple of other spices. I think I might have added a little cinnamon and garlic powder? I mean really you can't go wrong no matter what you add. Then I added a couple of spoonfuls of salsa and some shredded cheese on top. Hubby put them right on the barbecue for 10 minutes or so. I toyed with the idea of making the stuffed peppers a meal by themselves and adding some sausage, but I decided I was in the mood for mussels.


Now for our secret mussel recipe - world famous. Just kidding, but I do have a little cousin who loves our mussels and requests them when she comes to visit. :)

We do the same thing every time - I add crushed garlic to a pot (5 or 6 cloves), chopped green onions, and sliced hot peppers (jalapenos etc). The hot peppers make the dish - trust me!! Use lots and lots of them - you can't go wrong. I pour in a quarter or a third of a bottle of white wine (I buy the cheapest wine at the liquor store for cooking). When I made them this week for the first time I bought non-alcoholic wine at the grocery store because I was feeling too lazy to make an extra trip to the liquor store. I didn't notice a big difference, to be honest.

Now, I'm not a chef so take this with a grain of salt (hehe), but I usually throw out the raw muscles that are open and won't close. I must have seen this on the Food Network at some point or something. I think it's basically the same as not eating the ones that aren't open once they're cooked. The idea is that the raw ones that don't close are already dead so you don't want to eat them. I don't know.

I cook them on high just until the shells all open. It doesn't take long. 10 minutes max! Just in time for your stuffed peppers to grill on the BBQ!


Enjoy, my friends!

Tuesday 11 August 2015

SUMMER MEALS POST ONE: BURRITO BOWLS

I'm a little embarrassed. It has been so long. It feels like when you awkwardly run into a friend on the street and they say, "How long have you lived here?!" And you say, "A year and a half....sorry I never...called..."

Ah well - I'm back.

Thought I'd start my August posts after a long hiatus with some meal inspiration. We barbecue all summer because I don't want to heat up the house by turning the stove on and our meals get so boring to me. You must get where I'm coming from. It's a variation of a grilled veggie, potatoes, and chicken breast with an occasional hamburger or kabob thrown in. Snooze fest.

I can't take the credit for some of these meals I'm going to share with you guys because I texted three people in my life who I feel make delicious meals. :) My friend S said she had been planning on making burrito bowls at some point and I thought that was a fantastic idea. To cook them I used my rice maker and one burner on the stove - minimal heating up of the house and not barbecue!! Hallelujah!

First off I started the basmati rice in the rice cooker (the longest step). Then I fried up some extra lean hamburger with some thinly sliced red onion (we're not the biggest onion fans in over here). When that was cooked I added a half package of taco seasoning. Next I added some black beans (you buy them with the other canned vegetables - I had never used them before) and corn - both rinsed and drained. To assemble, put rice in a bowl and then the hamburger/bean mixture over top. Then I added the cold ingredients - fresh tomato, sliced green onion, a couple of spoonfuls of salsa and sour cream, and grated cheese. Mix up and enjoy. This is a fairly healthy meal (as long as you watch your portions of meat and rice!), something out of the ordinary for us, and didn't make the house any hotter than necessary. Hope you like it! Stay tuned because I'm going to show you what else I've made with black beans and corn recently. Thanks for the idea, S!


Tuesday 17 March 2015

BIRTHDAY CHEESECAKE

Hello all! It has been a long time. This winter has been a long one for everyone but it has been especially difficult for our family in more ways than one. Hence the absence lately.

We celebrated hubby's birthday in early March with my dad, brother, and mother in law. I had been wanting to make a cheesecake (something I rarely make) and after reading hubs the cheesecakes on my Pinterest board he decided on an Amaretto Cheesecake. (My cheesecake board is called "Let them eat (cheese)cake" if you want to click my Pinterest link on the left.) My aunt is famous for her cheesecakes and hubby absolutely loves them so I thought it would be a good birthday treat.


The recipe is from Spicy Southern Kitchen here and it was a hit. My brother in particular thought it was awesome and he's not even much of a dessert eater, usually! The only changes I made to the recipe were I omitted the amaretto from the cake itself because I was baking it post call and we weren't able to pick it up beforehand. We would totally recommend this recipe for your next cheesecake-worthy event.

Fingers crossed it won't be long before my next post but you never know!

Friday 13 February 2015

OUR BABY MAN

Leroy has about 8000 nicknames and one of them is baby man. Are you surprised? I didn't think so.

So far 2015 has been the year of working all the time so life has been a bit boring. Hence the lack of blog posts. The only thing I have to share at the moment are a few new photos of me and "baby man" - including Leroy wearing his new booties so snow doesn't get stuck in the pads of his feet. They are somewhat hilarious (and more expensive than the last pair of shoes I bought).





Monday 5 January 2015

HEATING A HOUSE

Happy 2015!

We had a lovely Christmas and New Years and now it's back to real life while I start 2015 with 19 straight days of work. Yippee! ;) I like to think of it as character building. Moving on.

I'm also starting off the new year with a riveting blog post (totally kidding). Segue. Are you cold? Because I am. (Especially today - pretty much all of Canada is at least 30 below right now with that blasted wind chill.) In our little old house - built in the 1950s or 1960s - we are constantly trying to come up with ways to make it warmer. Our house is heated by a forced air electric furnace and because hubby and I both grew up in homes with wood stoves, it just doesn't cut it for us. We fully insulated the attic a couple of years ago which has cut down on heating costs but doesn't change the fact that electric heat isn't cozy. During the day we're ok but to save money hubby turns the heat down at night and I freeze a little in bed. Correction. I freeze a lot. When I'm there (remember - 19 straight days).


We were thinking of buying a space heater until he found the Eco Heater on the Home Depot website last week. It's only $99 and after reading the reviews we figured why not try it? I like to think of it as a big, magical heat square. (Really. I'm not kidding. Totally accurate name.) I truly find this the strangest little contraption. It's a convection heater so there is a little (and I mean little - like size of a deck of cards) 400 watt heater on the back of this ceramic (?) tile. You mount the whole thing to the wall and it plugs into an outlet. This little heater warms the air trapped behind the magical heat square, the warm air gradually rises, pulling cold air in behind, which then is heated, etc.


Now - if you are looking for a way to warm your bedroom at night I have to tell you. We are impressed that this strange $99 contraption works because I seriously had my doubts. I might have even laughed. The accurately named "magical heat square" might have come to be because I was...making fun. The wall, the floor nearby, and even the bed is warmer than before. Full disclosure - I find if the bedroom door is open it isn't very effective. Even with the door closed it certainly doesn't make the room hot by any stretch of the imagination, but you can feel a noticeable difference between the hallway and entering the bedroom. From the online reviews, people who had no additional heat source in a room didn't like this product, but for those who are just looking for a little additional warmth, it's pretty good. No doubt about it - I am warmer in bed now with the door closed. The instructions say you can paint the square the colour of your wall, but we find it actually gets quite hot to the touch so I wouldn't try to paint it. And I would never leave it on when I'm not home.

That was the only addition to our house over the holidays so I thought I would share! We are slowly trying to update our spare bedroom so hopefully soon I will have some photos. Happy New Year!