Store

of any sort – add or subtract as necessary.

• cash register
• shopping bags or baskets
• money
• phone
• open/closed sign (and easel?)
• masking tape or painter’s tape to make price tags & pen

 

 

 

Add to make it a flower shop:

• plastic flowers
• vases
• packages of seeds
• watering can
• florists’ smock
• flower/garden magazines
• ribbon
• newspaper to wrap flowers

Add to make it a jewelry store:

• lots of beautiful jewelry
• table top mirrors
• mirrors and beautiful plates to use for display

Add to make it a hardware store:

• nuts & bolts
• scale
• tools (hammers, measuring tapes, screw drivers, levels, etc)
• utility apron
• safety glasses
• paint brushes
• paint rollers
• small, empty paint cans
• paint samples

Add to make it a grocery store:

• play food
• small, empty food containers

 

Prop Boxes

The most fantastic thing to enter my life.

Rather than having an entire dramatic play area that goes on for miles and miles, I have built a little area with this unit:

I now have room for 9 prop boxes at any given time. I plan to rotate them as the children change. As you can see, the labels aren’t pretty yet. I will label them with photos of the children using the items with a word or two describing the contents.

I am hoping that the contents will be used interchangeably. The suit jacket from the wedding box can be used for the waiter in the restaurant, for example.

 

Restaurant

or

Coffee Shop

or

Bakery

or

Tea party

or

Picnic

 

 

 

 

 

 

• table cloth
• cloth napkins
• vase with flowers
• pretend food
• baking tools like rolling pin, whisk, large bowls, spatula, wooden spoons,
• aprons
• oven mitts
• small baking pans/muffin tins
• menus
• notebooks & pencils/pens
• tray

 

Motivation

A terrible thing happened last night. Not terrible as in anyone died, or was even seriously injured. Terrible as in 31/2 years worth of photos disappeared from my computer!! Can you imagine? Can you imagine that anyone would have 3 AND A HALF YEARS worth of pictures and NOT have them backed-up?? I KNOW!

So that was me. Cleaning up my computer last night. Deleting photos of my TV, photos of various people’s feet, photos of the dashboard of every vehicle my children have ever been in and I came across a seemingly useless file entitled “Canon”. Bah delete, what use could that file be? Apparently the be-all-and-end-all of all of my 12 000 photos. Yes. 12 000.

My computer is currently at the computer hospital being carefully dissected by the technicians there. Let’s hope that he’s able to backtrack what the heck happened and find my precious memories.

I am now motivated to post more photos here. Any photos I have here are mine forever. <3

Now, put your mouse down, distract your children and BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS!

 

Nearing the end of the kitchen reno!

We have been in a working kitchen for a few months now. We are just waiting for the backsplash and to frame the opening in the wall. Otherwise, we are done!! It’s fabulous and SO NICE to have the cupboards, drawers and counters back.

This is the main view of the kitchen when we were just waiting for the final visit from the electricians (the 2 hanging lights above the counter haven’t been installed in this photo).

I’m really happy with the choices we’ve made. The cupboards are a really nice colour and tone. I wasn’t sure about the counters when they went in but I’m really happy with them now. They are quartz. The company we had make them did a beautiful job.

The only problem we ran into with the counters was the next day when Avery said to me that she doesn’t like the counters. I asked why. She said because every time she walks through the kitchen she has to stop and look at the beautiful blue sparkles! Oh, the horror!

We had a few hiccups with the orders from Home Depot. Initially they sent us the wrong bottom cupboard under our beautiful glass-fronted cupboards. When they reordered the drawer and cupboard door, the drawer was the wrong size. They also forgot to send 1 pane of “rain” glass. On and on. Fast-forward about 6 or 8 weeks and we finally have the cupboards we ordered! YAY!!!

In this photo we have all of our glass but still not the proper bottom cupboard. It’s beautiful anyway. <3

 

After having lived with a weeny-teeny sink and then a gimungous laundry sink, we finally got our sink that was just right. I had no idea that there were so many decisions to be made about a SINK. We finally chose an undermount, stainless steel double (same size) sink with this plain-jane tap. Colour me happy.

 

Unimaginable!

Yesterday I was certain that the kitchen could only get better. This is not better.

Actually, it is only temporarily THIS chaotic. My hubby is working on cutting out the walls “nicely” so that he can repair them once the electrical is in. He’s also torn the floor apart so that the plumber is able to move some pipes.

It really IS going to get better from now, on.

I CAN’T WAIT FOR DRAWERS!!!

 

 

 

 

IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE!

I have been waiting for exactly 25 days since we ordered a new range. We tore out our old cooktop and wall oven at the beginning of October. I have been cooking with the toaster oven and microwave since then.

I didn’t crop this picture because I want you to be truly jealous of me. I know you want the broken tile backsplash and those de-trimmed and sanded drawers are to-die-for!

 

YES! It is has DOUBLE OVEN! The bottom one’s got a hidden bottom element and convection.

We have ordered our new cupboards. I am hoping that by Christmas my kitchen will be in control again.