Storage boxes

It's been fun settling into our new home.  Of course part of settling in is getting organized.  I've come to realize that I'm not the greatest in this aspect of my life but that it's necessary for my mental wellness, not to mention that it saves time and frustration.  And since cardboard boxes are in abundance at our place, I thought, why not put these to good use rather than out on the curb for recycling?

These boxes will go in my kids rooms.  I cut out a handle on one side of each box for easy access.

Then I got my kids to help me paint the outside of each box white.  I had a big bucket of Kilz primer in the garage so that's what we used.  You could use any paint though, and any color.  We gave the boxes 2 coats.  We could have painted the insides too but that was just too much hassle on this given day!

Since I don't have many large pieces of fabric, I decided to cover only the fronts of the boxes with fabric.

I glued right on the edge where the sides meet and folded the fabric over the edge. 

Then I trimmed the fabric edge with sewing scissors and glue gunned it down.

I tried to make the corners nice n' neat.

I cut out the handle like so and glued it over the edge.

Ta-dahhh!  A set of boxes for J...

...and a set of boxes for M and C.



Before...

 ...and after.

Before...

...and after.  These bedrooms still need work but it's a start!



I love the way these storage boxes turned out, although maybe next time I would paint the insides white for a more finished look.  I went on to figure out a system for our library items, which often lie around or get mixed in with our other books and dvds.  No more!

I fiddled around with these boxes more, as I wanted a narrower box that would fit exactly into the shelf.  With a meter stick, my exacto knife and some packing tape, I cut these to size.  It feels so good to have bits and pieces of my house organized.

Random Acts of Kindness

We came home from a wonderful weekend on Salt Spring Island to this:

Our neighbors to the back of us are super nice.  We met them last week when they surprised us with a big container full of fresh picked raspberries from their backyard.  Having kids who are grown up, they took a shine to our kids which gave me immediate warmth towards them.  Anyways, last night was another sweet pack of berries sitting on our fence waiting for us.  An act of kindness that made my day.  Encouragement to do the same for others.

Sunday Awesomeness

We decided to go on an adventure yesterday to explore our new surroundings.  We drove south on a windy road surrounded by big trees and bushes, past road side stands with fresh eggs, flowers and meat, into the little village of Metchosin, BC.  We found a lovely little farmer's market put on by the locals complete with preserves, clothing, crocheted items, soap, fresh bread, produce, chickens (yes, chickens - $10 each!) and more.  It was very homespun and welcoming.  I loved it and can't believe it's only 10 minutes away from my house!

We picked up some snacks - sweet cherry tomatoes, raspberries, carrots and lemon glazed buns.  Yum.

I picked up this little tin of sea salt.  This guy and his wife collect ocean water in their boat, boil it down and harvest the salt.  I was fascinated at the story of how the salt comes to be.  I thought this particular flavor would rock over popcorn.

From the market we drove south and west, winding every which way, mesmerized by the beauty of the rainforest and the ocean.  Houses hidden among trees and facing the ocean.  Artist places.  More fresh flowers and eggs.  All 3 kids fell asleep and it was a most peaceful drive.  We ended up at the entrance of China Beach, which is a beautiful 15-20 minute hike down to the beach itself.

 Before we saw the water, we heard it.  Loud crashing waves.  And all of a sudden the rainforest opened up to this.

Beautiful, silky soft sand.  We couldn't help but take off our socks and shoes.

                                   

The kids played with shells, seaweed and rocks, and explored.  G and I sat and took it all in.  The afternoon was a gift.

On the way home we found this little fish n'chips truck on the side of the road.  We didn't have much cash but scrounged up what we had and the cook said, "that's fine!  I'll make you a meal for 5 people for that amount!"

MmmmmmmMmmMmmmMmmmmm....

We ate on a big log looking at this.

It was a magical day from start to finish.

My New Diggs

We have been on a huuuge adventure.  I can't believe we are in beautiful Victoria, BC after many months of planning and stress.  I am loving this adventure and we are slowly working through the endless stacks of boxes!  I thought I'd share our new house with you.  It is not unpacked yet by any stretch! 



Come on in...

As you come in the front door there's a closet and a mirror on the right hand side.  The living room is to the left, bedrooms upstairs, kitchen straight ahead.

The living room is our favorite room so far.  We've divided it in half.  This half is the cozy TV/sitting place.

Huge windows in this house.



The back half of the living room (closest to entryway) is MINE!!!! Muwahahaha!!!!!!  This will be home to my crafting as well as 3 Urban Monkeys work area/office.  I'm hoping to put a work table here then put tons of shelving above.

 In this area I'm hoping to eventually get a huge corner table and go vertical with the storage.  I'm ecstatic to have my arts & crafts upstairs and more accessible.  And I'm excited to see this area take shape little by little.

Here's the dining room sans table. (Notice the barred up patio door where J had his unfortunate mishap).

The table is set up now.

Kitchen!  I love the brick!  The island is ours that used to be in our Edmonton laundry room.

Oodles of cupboard space.  On the other side of the fridge is a huge pantry.  I have wonderful plans for those cupboards!  I am a white kitchen kinda gal!



Looking out the kichen window.  We haven't eaten supper inside at all since we got here.  We loOOve this space!

The kids learned how to sand and polish soapstone this week.  These guys are sitting on the deck after yesterday's first oiling!

I love crocheting on the deck!

Back to business.  The backyard is beautifully shady.  There's another huge tree to the right with a rope swing on it.



Down a few steps from the kitchen is the den.  This will be our music/book/playroom.



Off the den are sliding doors going to a nice secluded patio space.  The steps you see in the pic go up to the patio with table and chairs.  There's a barbeque pit in the righthand corner.

Now I'm going to take you upstairs to the bedrooms.  So we go up the stairs from the den to the living room floor and up another set of stairs to the bedrooms.  This is C and M's room.



Upstairs bathroom.



Here's J's room.



Here's the master bedroom. 

The view from the master bedroom windows!

Looking down from the master bedroom deck...

Come with me around the corner of the deck...

Wow eh??  It turns into this massive outdoor space on top of our garage!



Now we're on the same level as the den again.  This room will be our home office space.

Den level bathroom and laundry area.



Going down the stairs to the bottom level of the house...

This is a spare bedroom.



There is also a huge concrete storage room and a large room that houses our heat pump and hot water tank.  Nuttin' special so I didn't take pictures of these areas.  Hope you enjoyed!