September was not an easy month for us, and it's taken me quite a while to write this post.  

I lost my sweet Valley Bulldog, Po, a couple of weeks ago, to Wobbler's Syndrome.  She basically couldn't walk anymore...most of the time it looked like she was walking on ice, and when she fell down, she couldn't get back up.  She had no pain, but this was very hard to watch.  I'm still getting used to her not being here and miss her so much.  I've had many pets over the years but can't remember being this attached to a dog before.   

I think what's so hard about losing a dog is they really do exhibit some of God's characteristics...they are always faithful, are always happy to see you and love you unconditionally.

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our life whole." unknown

R.I.P. Po!

My Girl's Teen Room Continues

My goal was to finish this room by Christmas (and last I checked it was April) but braces and a few other dentist bills (like two root canals with no dental coverage) happened, and the room has just sort of been stuck.  You can see my previous posts on this room here and here.  

So this is where this room stands now...one side of the room is done, but I decided to change the dresser which was originally against the black wall and put the white chair here instead.  The collage then had to move a little further down the wall.  I also  purchased this gorgeous knitted pouf from HomeSense, and found this very cool striped bedding at Ikea.  Oh ya, and the gold end table is from Target (which sadly is no longer here in Canada), and I may have mentioned that in my previous post.

And here's Po on my daughter's bed while she was away for Spring break.  (For a whole week my daughter's bedroom was tidy!)  Actually, this pic of Po was featured on the Style at Home Instagram in March.  That was pretty darn exciting!!!  If you scroll down their account you'll see it!

That's it for updates. 

Have a great day!!!

Capturing January

Po was right by my side while I started the year purging... I've been here 5 years and I can't believe how much I have to purge.  Oh ya, and what is it about January that makes me move every piece of furniture in the house?  I've switched three rooms around (more on that in a later post).   We also registered my son for college this month, so that's a whole new thing for us.  How is that?  Can't believe he's at this stage in life.  We took a little trip to Mississauga, ON and checked out Metalworks Institute...Mississauga has  the coolest skyline. 

I managed to get the photos above and below while driving by...don't worry, I wasn't the one driving.

The pic above and below are from Chatham, ON.  The steeples above were beautiful! 

And on one of the coldest but sunniest days last month, I captured this beautiful sunlight in my daughter's room.  The disco ball reflecting light made it magical!

(All photos are mine, taken with my iPhone no filter).

Dog Days Of Summer

This is where I catch my Po, our Valley Bulldog, sleeping quite a bit lately.  Outside in the shade on our furniture. Does your dog do this?  Being part English Bulldog, she loves her naps.  She does have a dog bed that she sleeps on at night, but  I think I need to get her one of these so she's elevated.  

Believe it or not, this is her happy face, which is very similar to her sad face, now that I think about it.  Actually, she just has one look - handsome.

Here she is sleeping in my office on my old Ikea couch, which I'm going to have to get another slipcover for very soon.  I'm so happy with this couch.  It is well over 10 years old and is still in great condition.  Have you heard about Bemz?  They make slipcovers for old and new Ikea furniture.  What a great idea for a company!! 

Never wake a sleeping baby.

Here's a pic of Po up close just because.

Trip to the Country

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.

  We packed up our Valley Bulldog, Po, and the kids this weekend and went up north to our friend's country home for a visit with family and friends.  We were a couple hours north of Toronto near Georgian Bay.  

Every meal I sat at this table and looked at the amazing view above.  The furniture in this home is beautiful and most of it is from Restoration Hardware, including the chairs below.

Po enjoyed the view too!!

I just wanted to show you this old painted church bench that I love. In my recent post here, I talked about bringing new life to old wooden furniture by painting it.  When you enter the home there are two of these benches flanking the door.  Check out the ends of the bench.  

Beautiful detail!!

(Thank goodness they had matching rubber boots that I could prop it with!!)

After days of running in fields, this is what Po looks like now, and she's looked this way for the past 24hrs.  If she could talk she'd say "need sleep".

Po's Birthday and Halloween

Since my last post my Valley Bulldog, Po, turned two. She really was the cutest puppy in the world.  (FYI a Valley Bulldog is a cross between a Boxer and an English Bulldog - amazing mix).

Here's a pic of Po when we brought her home,

and here's the handsome girl now.

Here's a pic of my daughter's Halloween outfit.  She decided to make her own this year and be a present. We bought a bow at the dollar store and found matching wrapping paper at Home Sense.  This was the cheapest outfit ever - $6.

She also spent many hours carving out a pumpkin that was eating a much smaller pumpkin - very scarey stuff.