Playhouse

Oscar's (early) 2nd Birthday gift is now in place in a little magical corner of our garden. With Oscar showing great interest in playing house the past few months with blankets and forts we thought that it would be a perfect gift for his birthday - something that was just his. My Mom and I searched websites for a few months, we saw some building plans - and although they looked super cute and building it from scratch would be lovely - the price of wood would have likely made it a non-economical choice for us, and secondly - we just didn't have the time to start building one from scratch. My Mom and I and finally found this one online at Costco.ca. for $399.99 with free delivery.

I liked the features that the body is wood, and it blends in nicely with our backyard decor. We wanted something that was imaginative for him, but would fit in nicely with our garden. I don't think that once you have kids, you have to throw your love of design out the window. This one I felt was perfect, as it is tucked into a little corner of the garden - under the trees which makes it really like a house in the woods.  Check out Oscar having a ball in the house. These photos are from when we led him outdoors to see his house for the first time.

If you're interested in playhouses and why we liked this one click on read more to see some of the features we like. Tons of photos, so I try to do the "read more" when something is pretty "photo heavy".

Read more »

Morning Snack

This image in House & Home grabbed me. Usually I like color but the structure of this setup is appealing...Kim Price Landscape Design

Ohhh, A Leaf Hog. :)

Ok, let me put aside the pretty fabrics, the Christmas Decor, the cute baby, and tell you about my newest gadget.


If you've been reading our blog for awhile you may have picked up that I love gadgets. Steamers, Vacuums, and now, I heart my leaf blower. Prior to owning a house, I'm not totally sure I'd ever say I would say that. Owning a house kind of does something to you.

Since we've planted a lot in our backyard, getting the leaves out from behind the branchy plants was awful, and I was breaking the poor plants branches. And I got it in my head that I needed a leaf blower. After seeing a neighbour look so happy with his (cue the angel music shining down on him as he was playing with his leaf blower) I decided, I too, should have one. I told Aubrey that we could use it at the cottage, so it had longevity. (Sales pitch!) We settled on the Black & Decker model - The Leaf Hog. (love the name, and it even has a mean looking animal on the side to make you feel even more powerful)

Not only is it a Blower - it's a vacuum. AS IF. So blow them all into a pile, and vacuum them up into the bag they give you. And, as you vacuum up the leaves, it mulches it as it goes into the bag. The box says that what you can normally get into 1 brown leaf bag - you can get up to 18 traditional bags of leaves into (because it mulches it). So, was it worth it? For $100 yes. Love it. Is it a necessity? No.  I freely admit this is a toy, but a fun one.

Read more about the Black & Decker - LeafHog 12 Amp High Performance 240 mph Blower/Vacuum here.