Pink to white in the kitchen

Hello everyone!

I have been living

with the previous owner's

pink back splash a little too long...

now I LOVE pink...but the

black splash was

really

getting

to

me!!

Noise pollution...it

was stressing me out.

I

spend ALOT

of time in this kitchen

and

it is a very dark room.

I know by this photo you see sun streaming in

but this is very rare and it is just a small area

that sees any day light.

I told my husband

that was it

I had enough ...I was going to paint it white!

I still had half a gallon

of paint

left from

Sam's room...

The colour

was just what

I

wanted...cotton fluff...perfect!

Every time I looked at this

diamond pink back splash

it reminded me of a circus...

not

the look

I want

in a

kitchen..

After...


It makes the kitchen so much
brighter
and expansive!
I
LOVE
it!

The best part
is it
feels
cleaner
to me...



Just a quick fix
made
a
world
of
difference
and now it
does not seem
so
dark !


What do you think?

Now if only I could get the walls painted....

Thanks for visiting
Pamela xo

Romance on the Sleeping Porch

Happy weekend everyone!

I thought the perfect

place to

celebrate

Valentine's Day

would be on

my

sleeping porch!

This area of

my home

just

seems to

scream

Romance!!

I love the view to this room

from my

bedroom...

The weather is getting milder..
today is
raining
but
the sleeping porch
is covered
so
nothing
can get wet!

What's for dinner you ask?

How about

some

bon bons

right

from

France!

Romance on the Sleeping Porch!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway

the rules are on my

last two posts!!

Pamela xo

Broccoli with cashews...sharing recipes friday!

Hello everyone!

Today I am adding a new

feature to my blog!

Besides decorating I love

love

to

cook!

Really!

I always joke that it is

what made my husband fall in

love with me! Ha ha...I cooked for

him on our second date. That was it....he was

smitten. When I get annoyed with him I think

to myself ...if only I never learned to cook....

Actually he thought my mom cooked the meal

on our second date so the third date

I cooked in front of him!

Friends always ask me for recipes so I thought

I would start sharing them...

Today I am

going to share

my favourite

way of

having ...broccoli!

Steam broccoli for 7 minutes

or until crisp...

Chop 1/3 cup of cashews...

You will also need:
1/3 cup of butter
1tbsp of brown sugar
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves of garlic- chopped

Melt 1/3 cup of butter in sauce pan
Add garlic and saute till thickened


Mix in 1tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp of white vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper
Bring this to a boil.



Mix in cashews
and pour over
steamed
broccoli...

Serve immediately!


Broccoli with cashews...delicious!


And to those of you first time visiting
Please enter my giveaway!


Rules are:
Leave a comment
Become a follower (if you are already you get entered twice)
Put my giveaway photo on your sidebar
Blog about my giveaway for an extra chance to win
Lastly for 5 chances
to
win
Tell me why you are a romantic
at
Heart!!

I have to say I can't believe all the romantics out there!! It is wonderful

I am loving all the comments why!!! I wish I could send this giveaway

to everyone!!

Pamela xo

Future projects

Hello everyone!

This winter I have been planning

some painting projects

for when the weather warms up.

Even though I live in a mild climate

inside the home can be a little chilly.

Our old home does not have the best heating.

For the winter we have closed off the one area of

the home which includes the dining room.

Sometimes I think it is warmer outside than in here!

But when it does warm up

these are my plans...

A couple of pieces in the dining room

I am going to paint...

The first piece i want to change is this

china cabinet. I am trying to decide whether to

go Swedish grey or french blue...

This is my dresser that could not

fit up the old staircase

so

it is now a

credenza!

The other piece is my island.

This used to be in our kitchen at

our last home.

The mirror above goes to

the dresser.

I have a thing for

re purposing furniture.

The island right now is pine

and I am leaning towards

a white colour...

Any other creative thoughts out there?

I am always open

to new

ideas!!

Hopefully spring is around the corner

and i can start painting!

Thanks for visiting!

Pamela xo

I'm being featured to today at Savvy Southern Style

Hello Everyone! Today I am being featured at Kim's blog Savvy Southern Style!

For those of you just visiting for the first time I thought I'd share some highlights

of my home...

My home has two claw foot tubs. This is my own bathroom. It is a great

retreat for me...

The house is very old...around 100yrs old. Take note of the old french front door.

Yes it has a skeleton key to open and close it! Hope no one ever misplaces it...we

will be in big trouble then.

All the windows in the living room and bedroom are original to the home.

They open out and have no screens. Thank goodness there are not alot of bugs

in the summer...like back home in Ontario.

I love antique mirrors and have collected a few...






This is my romantic sleeping porch off the master bedroom... notice the window

how it opens out...










Please visit Kim today at Savvy Southern Style ! Thank you so much Kim for


featuring me on your gorgeous blog!


And thanks to all of you for visiting me...


Pamela xo

February in the Cowichan Valley

Hello everyone!

This morning I was watching the weather channel

(as I do every morning) and all they kept talking about

and showing photos of were Eastern Canada and Eastern

parts of the States.

Snow, snow and more snow!

I almost forgot what February was like back home.

Then I saw all the footage of snowplows, cars in ditches

and

great photos of dogs having fun in the snow!

Here on the South coast of Vancouver Island it is

absolutely beautiful!

Sorry but it is green , green and more green!

Today was so sunny and warm that I decided

to take some photos

to share with

all of

you and

hopefully help

with the

cabin fever!

If you are wondering why I took a photo of this pavement

it is

because

for me...

to see pavement

in

February is quite shocking to say the least!

I can so remember

walking my dog back home

in

April

having a fit because I

still

could

not

see

the

pavement!

I love all the

moss

on this persons

landscape..

The moss to me

adds

such an

enchanting look!

A peek through the trees

at

Maple Bay

Rose hips are a real favourite

of

mine.

I just had to photograph them.

I love them

as

an arrangement.

This is a favourite road

of

mine that

I

get

to drive

everyday!

This was the best part.

All the ducks and geese

swimming

and making lots of noise.

You could just

hear their

happiness

today!

May spring be just around the

corner

for all my

Eastern

friends!

Pamela xo

A day of baking...

Today seemed like the perfect day for baking muffins. My son was home sick so being
house bound always makes me want to rearrange and bake!

This French farm house style kitchen is very old. About 100yrs old. Lots of worn out
areas... beaten up fir floors that scream character. They also kill my feet! Have you ever
stood all day on real fir floors? This must be the hardest wood going...it's like standing on cement.

The walls have beautiful bead board all around the eating area. I am loving my french country
tablecloth. Lots of happy colours for the winter!

When the weather warms up I am going to paint these ladder back chairs. I am not
liking the pine look.

The walls have that old plaster look on them. Sometimes they look like a family of
cigarette smokers lived here. But I keep telling myself its character like a charming old
home in France.


I love my heavy french copper pot. I use it all the time. It makes me feel like
I'm cooking in the french country side.
I collect aprons too. This one is my favourite . Blue and yellow french country pattern.


So today I decided to try a new muffin recipe. Oatmeal, chocolate chip with pecans.
I put all the ingredients on the counter and measured everything out perfectly.
When all the batter was mixed I put it in the greased muffin tins.
Something didn't seem right with the batter...not wet enough.
Well anyway I scooped it all in and placed the muffins in the oven.

What was staring at me when I went to clean the counter???
An egg!!!
Have you ever done this before? Yikes! I opened the oven door and whipped those
muffins back in the bowl and mushed in the egg!!


Hoping over the next 20minutes that these muffins turn out.
Nothing worse than wasted ingredients...makes me crazy!

Well thank goodness they turned out perfectly and were absolutely delicious!!



The only problem now is I can't stop eating them!!!

And of course I had to take a photo of my toile hearts for Valentine's day!

But I have to confess they are up here all year long.

I love hearts being a romantic at heart!!

Thanks for visiting me!

Pamela xo