Altered Curtains

Let's talk about curtains.

I've had these two panels of curtains for years, they're full length, brown and gauzy and I like them a lot.  I found them for super cheap and I've used them in our bedroom for years until I finally replaced them with something even nicer which meant these curtains got moved to Catie's room.  Despite being gauzy they actually keep out a surprising amount of light when paired with our cheap blinds and they worked just great until it came time to move around the bed to make room for Eden's crib.

Let's take a brief pause while I tell you another story.  

I grew up in a really small town which meant we drove to the slightly larger town a lot and even when it wasn't even remotely in our path my Mom couldn't help but drive by this one house over and over.  This house had a large living room window with some nice sheer curtains but they then pushed their couch directly against the curtains, squashing them against the window making this horrible bulge.  This drove Mom crazy and we drove by every time hoping that this time they will have fixed the curtains.  This went on for years until finally, one day they got blinds and Mom had some peace.

Back to Catie's curtains... remember how I told you they were full length?  Making room for the crib meant Catie's bed needed to be pushed against the window so the curtains that were once fine now looked like this.

While you couldn't see a horrible bulge from the outside you could imagine how I felt every time I saw these curtains squashed behind the bed and my Mother's voice rang in my ears.  And if they had actually stayed this way I would probably have left them but the bed in this position gave Catie amazing freedom to sit and look out her window so she'd pull back the panel until it all pooled on her bed.  She often sat on the curtain and every morning when I go get her she'd have to pull herself out from the other side of the fabric.  Also, one last story... it's been super hot here so we put Catie to bed in just a t-shirt and diaper but the quality of diapers we buy is clearly lacking because in the morning her diaper was laying on the floor and she'd peed the bed, and the curtains, since they sit on the bed.  Changing sheets is one thing but seriously, I have to wash the curtains too?

Looking out the window also required her to pull aside the slats in the blinds, let me show you what that's done (and this is after I spent some time bending the slats back in place, they look pretty good in this photo).

Leaving the blinds up wasn't really an option because it was too light in the room without them.  So I couldn't just take down the curtain because she's ruining the blinds and I couldn't just shorten the curtains because without the blinds it's too light in there.  Clearly something needed to be done.

I chopped off a bunch of length, re-hemmed the curtains and added some blackout fabric to the back of the panels. Now I've pulled the blinds all the way up, tucked the string out of the way and replaced her now much heavier curtains (which make her room incredibly dark).  Problem solved.

What Catie Wore Wendesday #76

I know I've skipped these posts a lot lately but I find sitting at the computer really uncomfortable for my feet.  Good news though is that I only have 4 weeks until this bun is finished cooking and then we can add a second lady to these posts.

Because I've skipped a couple posts I have lots of fun photos this week.

This is her favourite place to sit, on the overhanging counter.  I probably should have put an end to it but I haven't.

This summer she's discovered her favourite dessert, an ice cream cone.  Not just ice cream, but in a cone.

Grandma came to visit and brought Catie all sorts of treasures.  She knew immediately what to do with them and put on every necklace and ring.  Her favourite treasure though were the shoes.  She loves them and wears them often.  As soon as she put them on she proclaimed herself Cinderella and told us she was on her way to a ball.

We had a week of seriously hot weather so we spent as much time doing water related activities as possible. Our favourite is this wading pool where we've spent hours trying to stay cool.

The other treasure Grandma brought was this Cinderella computer and while she's really too young for it she loves the thing anyway.  She walks around and asks, "Where's my puter?"

Playing with Uncle Rob, who's glasses she later found.  She thought she was super cool.

Enjoying the Popsicle Grandma bought her, though she thought it was really cold and ended up incredible sticky.

I put Catie down for a nap wearing the pink shirt and found her after the nap wearing the polka dot red shirt as well, only she missed a sleeve.  She's trying to put those pants on too.

I had a dream the other night that I went back to school so Catie went to live with my parents for a year.  I missed her so terribly that when I woke up it made me a much better Mother for the day.  We had planned on staying home and doing nothing but instead we impulsively packed up, grabbed some doughnuts for breakfast and went to a Stampede breakfast where we skipped the pancakes and rode ponies.  There was a petting zoo with pigs, chicks, goats and bunnies that she loved.  (You'd think I'd never taken a photo before, yes, that's my finger in the bottom corner).

They also had this saddle that kids could climb up on to take photos, I love her smile these days.
We got her a balloon, called it a morning and she was thrilled.  I'm still grateful for the dream.

Birthday Giveaway Winner

So I gave you an extra day to enter, hope everyone's okay with that.  I just picked random winner and it was lucky Cheryl!  I've sent her an email and will send off her fun package on Monday.

Thanks for playing along.

It's My Birthday (Giveaway)

So technically it was yesterday but really, who has time to blog on their birthday on a Sunday.  I had things to do so this just has to be a day late.  What a difference a year makes, last year on my birthday I was depressed and angry all day.  We were living in my in-laws basement, my husband was unemployed and I turned 30 years old.  It made for a crappy day.

This year though I just wanted to be happy and celebrate and enjoy the day, which I did and I thought I'd enjoy the day with you too.  I've collected a few of my favourite cosmetic products and I'm going to mail them off to one of you lucky ladies.

Let's start with the eyeshadow.  I love these L'Oreal HIP shadows, I own 5 of them but this Wicked duo is my favourite.  HIP stands for High Intensity Pigments and they really mean it, the colour payoff is awesome, long lasting and not chalky at all.  The bronzy colour goes with just about everything and I hit pan on it far earlier than the purple, despite my equal love for it.

I just discovered this Essence brand of make-up and I'm super impressed.  Shoppers Drug Mart just started carrying it here in Canada and I can't believe how cheap it is.  I picked up this pot of gel eye liner in Midnight in Paris for $3.00. It goes on nice and dramatic, is almost a whipped consistency and doesn't budge.  My friend Michelle just reviewed the same product comparing it to a MAC product so if you're interested check it out here.

Last is the Revlon Colourburst Lipbutter in Peach Parfait.  I have three of these lip glosses, they look like a lipstick but feel like a gloss and are pretty long lasting.  Peach Parfait is my favourite colour that I own though, it's a colour you wear every day with everything.

Here are my own products in the same colours, opened up so you can see a little better though my eyeliner is a charcoal grey instead of the black pictured above.

And I did a swatch of them for you too.

So, who wants some free make-up?

Let's have a giveaway.  If you are interested in these products leave a comment telling me about your favourite birthday gift, or maybe your favourite make-up product or you can just tell me you want the product.  Really, any comment will do, just leave a comment.

I'll leave the giveaway open until Friday and then I'll package up the make-up with an edible treat and mail it off.

Good luck!