Decorating with Food - and a special " DOG " story

Until I actually get another piece of furniture painted - you're stuck with food - and houses


I usually decorate with foods around this time of year - ( isn't nature accommodating like that? ) there's just so many beautiful colors - and even just a bowl of apples can be beautiful - or a glass jar filled with tiny crab apples.................
OH NO - I think I accidently deleted the photo LOL - seriously - I may just be losing my mind ( slightly - I still have some of it left - but there seems to be pieces of it missing )
I just went to upload the photo and it's nowhere to be found - and the apples are now in the garbage which John took out this morning - or I would have removed them from the garbage for this post LOL

Ok - let me go see if I still have the photos of my cranberries..................be right back

La la la - lallala - la la ( that's background music while you waited )

I HAVE THEM !!!
These are from the market - I asked if I could have the little bushels and the women said NO..........
That she needed them to show various sizes for sale.
NO?
She said NO?
Well that didn't go over too well at all -

Suzan says - Well I'm only buying the cranberries for the bushels
Vendor says - Mais je besoin ...................( but I need............ )
John says - Why do you do this wherever we go?
Suzan says - How much did they cost you - I'll buy the bushels
Vendor says - peut-etre 2 dollars chaques ( each )
Suzan says - D'accord - je prends

The vendor wraps up the bushels in a bag and hands it to me
Suzan says - Well now I need the cranberries too please
The vendor looks confused -
Suzan says - JE BESOIN LES CANNEBERGES AUSSI !!!

John says - It's becoming very embarrassing being out with you lately
John says - You're at a market that sells produce - not what the produce comes in
John says - What's happening to you?  ( as he walks away from me )

Sheesh - what you have to go through...................
Cranberries next to green basil - perfect !!!
Is that the cutest little bushel?

These " flowers " resemble little cabbages - cabbage is " CHOU " in French - not to be confused with
Chou-Fleur ( shoo fleur, don't bother me ) because Chou-Fleur is Cauliflower ................except in this case
because this definitely looks like a Fleur de Chou LOL
Did any of that make sense to even one of you I wonder???

I even found Garlic Flowers !!!

Last week, when I was throwing out flowers that had died - I discovered these had dried beautifully
( which I'd bought a bushel of these too )

Does anyone know what they are?
They dried so perfectly - without doing a thing !!!

so they've become part of the fall kitchen decor now

should this next photo be a painting?

THEN I decided I wanted to have a photo of the cranberries spilling out of the bucket...............
Well well well..................

I tipped it over ( ever so gently ) and cranberries went flying and bouncing all over the kitchen - to which Soda promptly stuck one in her mouth and went running down the hallway - with me chasing her in full pursuit -
Give that to Mommy Soda - c'mon give that to me - with her growling and snapping at me - she was not going to give this little red treausure up.
So I ran to the computer and frantically googled Cranberries/Dogs just as John opens the back door

John says - What the hell is going on here ( as he looks at cranberries all over the kitchen floor )
Suzan screams from the office - I was trying to get a photograph - and they fell everywhere - and Soda has one in her mouth and now I have to see if this can be fatal for dogs .............
John says - I'm going back out...............I can't take this anymore
Suzan says - CAN YOU PLEASE GET THE CRANBERRY OUT OF SODA'S MOUTH???????????
Suzan says - Oh - it's ok - it won't hurt her after all..................

I got my photo - which is a pretty shi crappy one  ( which is saying a lot because practically every photo I take is crap ) AND I almost killed my dog to get it.................

Anyway - that's how I decorate with food LMHO

Suzan says - I could have killed Soda with this
John says - And to think I've always thought your blog would be the death of me - I always assumed Soda was safe.................

NOW FOR A VERY IMPORTANT LINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tina - from WHAT WE KEEP is doing a post on behalf of Will and Grace - 2 beautiful dogs that were horribly mistreated - and will be having a flash sale on Friday to raise funds for their care.
It's a subject that's very near and dear to my heart - Soda was/is a rescued little dog - when she was found she was covered in scars from beatings - she weighs all of 12 pounds - she had been put in a little box and left outside a building for 3 days covered in her own filth............she found heaven here with us - but so many don't.
I'm taking advantage adding this to my post - because I know how much most of you worship animals - forgive me, but when I hear stories like this I'm moved more than I can say - please please please visit her.

For those of you that don't know Tina - she's the one that sent me this dish towel ( you can read about it Here )
Tina does the most beautiful embroidery work - and is the sweetheart to end all sweethearts!!!

Again you can find her post for the fundraiser HERE you'll fall in love with her ( promise )

I'm off tonight to a special event - a very exciting special event - I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!!!


Have a great day all!
Much love and gratitude to all of you - for being so loyal and visiting even when I don't have the time to visit back - I plan on doing as much " catch up " with all of you on the weekend and at some point in the ( not so far future ) there are a few giveaways lined up to show my thanks:)
Even John's been on board the last week or so - when we get back at night exhausted - he always says -
So - what do the bloggers have to say today - your comments are the perfect ending to very stressful days.
You're all -  (Tina Turner says it best)
Simply the best
( better then all the rest )

Sharing with!!!
French Country Cottage                                 Uncommon Design                           CraftOManiac
Coastal Charm                                               Not Just a Housewife                       Homework
The Winthrop Chronicles                                Stone Gable                                    I Gotta Create
Shabby Creek Cottage                                  Savvy Southern Style                       The Shabby Nest      
I Should be Mopping the Floor
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

I WANNA live there Wednesday # 58

Good morning everyone !

Well it's official - the final papers come through tomorrow - but everything's been done - all the i's are dotted and the t's are finally crossed -  I have FORTY FIVE DAYS to pack up - find a home and get out of here!
Soooo - not a lot of time or luxury to look at houses for even a few weeks.

We went to see the house in Senneville yesterday - for those that missed it, you can see it HERE - it was beyond charming - with the perfect 2 story shed in the back yard that would be perfect for a workshop - but the house itself is just a leeeetle too tiny.
I'm torn with it - because I love it more than I can say - but after weighing things all night - we decided our second visit will be this one.................

Although it may look smaller than the one in Senneville - this one is quite deceptive - I'm going to show you all the photos now - with exactly what I have in mind to bring this more to my style ok?
Are you ready?
Get set,
GO !!!

Here's the foyer - very very charming - those panelled boxes you see are storage -  cushions placed on top of them would be so pretty I think ( they open up for extra storage - perfect for skis - if I skied lol )

NOW

and here's the other side of the door

NOW

I'd lend those of you without vision John't " imagination cap " but he doesn't have one at all - so you have to try hard to " imagine " what this little gem could be!!!
That ledge you see between the living room and the hallway is part of the heating system and would be removed down the road - for now I'd have to live with it - they're all over the house you'll soon see and will be a challenge................

The living room melts my heart away - I don't see it the way it looks at all - I only see what it could look like
Those 2 small windows on either side of the STONE fireplace are the original leaded glass - crank style

UPDATE:

2 rooms were opened up to create the next 2 photos - a den/stroke office - they would not be staying like that

The dining room is next - and this one fills me with the most excitement ( decorating wise )

They've wallpapered between the beams on the ceiling - which would be removed - again everything lightened up with paint - the floors dark - a beautiful crystal chandelier..............
I LOVE this room - the next photo shows where I see French Doors going out to the garden
The walls are panelled - ( a strip of panelling - a strip of wall paper - quite strange actually - but fixable )

The next photo is the kitchen - and a complete gut job - so now you see it 

but soon you won't 

UPDATE:

full transformation HERE
another wonderful thing about blogging is that everything is documented - I've never thought ( prior to blogging ) of taking before and after shots of things we've renovated in houses - unbelievable but true )

this room is off the kitchen - and it has to be completely redone ( torn down and rebuilt ) - I'd like to make it a proper mud room - larger than it is now - and use it to paint furniture in - since it's off the kitchen and out of the way completely.
As it is now it's not even insulated and as rough as you can get - BUT it has plumbing which is a huge plus.

This bathroom is hard to look at ( they both are but you'll see why this one is hardest on the eyes

I actually thought it was completely covered in Mac Tac - but these are PANELS !!!  Never saw anything like in my life before - this will have to be the first bathroom that's renovated because it's on the main floor and the one company will see lol

Ok - let's go upstairs, shall we?

Bedroom 1 ( there are 2 bedrooms which are mirror images of each other almost )
The carpets are horrible - but guess what's underneath them?
WIDE PLANK ORIGINAL FLOOR BOARDS - JUST BEGGING TO BE PAINTED!!!
Nooks and crannies?  Yeah - this house is full of them!!!

UPDATE

Full Transformation - HERE
Here's the mirror imaged one ( except for that little weird cut out in the wall )
Does anyone else love those little window seating nooks as much as I do?

Bedroom 3 - the cutest little window - and Alice in Wonderland cupboard door - but we could open up that dormer space completely and have a larger room if we wanted to

4th bedroom ( more like a closet - but hey - it has a window and a door and is really quite cute

UPDATE -

Full Transformation HERE

UPDATE

Full transformation HERE

And the upstairs bathroom - brace yourself

UPDATE

There's no basement - ( well there's a small section dug out as a work space but it's a dungeon - and again I'll be in another home without a usable basement ) so instead I'll show you what I would imagine we would be using a LOT
Come around to the back of the house.................

John sees this

But I see this

come - lets go all the way around

Kick off your shoes - and jump right in!!!

UPDATE

I know there's a lot of work to do - Debbie I know you probably won't see the potential in this lol ( Debbie's a childhood friend who has the same amount of vision as John does )
But if it's true that houses speak to us then trust me - this one did - in a language that perhaps a lot wouldn't understand - but I understood it perfectly
It said
BUY ME....................................please.

And this, everyone, this could very well be a dream house for me - this quirky little stucco house with it's 100 year old charm that speaks "Suzan" 
Did I mention it's 15 minutes away from Downtown Montreal?
Oh the dreams that are cramming my head right now

We've left a message for a second viewing - will keep you all posted!!!
Think of the blogging opportunities I'd have living here lol
Have to go - I'm so tired my eyes are on fire - I'm squinting typing this
Much love,

Sharing with !!!
Common Ground                                       The Charm of Home                   French Country Cottage
Uncommon Design                                    Not Just a Housewife                  Stone Gable
I Gotta Create                                           My Romantic Home