a girly bbq

The bathroom ceiling remains unfixed but that doesn't mean I haven't been having some fun times round these here parts.

I hosted a gaggle of girly friends over on the island. There were so many of us we went over to my friend David's spot since he has a lovely lawn and space for everyone to spread out.

Everyone brought incredibly yummy dishes and Diana even made her own sausage - which I have to admit I have daydreams about how good they were!

And someone else made ribs! It was so nice that my friends and the fine fellow's friends and even Perry all got along.

In fact several of them got along better than even I could have imagined! The island really is a magical place!

one step forward and two steps back

Progress is being made in the spare bedroom - yay! But then this happened in the bathroom.

Yes, that's right, the ceiling is falling down.

And thar she blows!

Unfortunately, now the spare bedroom is full of everything that was in the bathroom! And guests are coming on Saturday!! Hopefully the ceiling will be fixed by then.

new ideas in progress

Here's a small peek at what's happening in the spare room - the curtains have arrived and I actually lined the one for the door!

There are still shelves to be hung, wood to be painted and mirrors to be re-situated, but I think it's already so much better!

new ideas

I've been a bit mia lately. I'm actually working a bit right now to fund birthday plane tickets for both my siblings. Very excited that they'll both be visiting in August - yay! Not only are they coming but so is my girlfriend from NYC with her hubby and my two most favorite kids - Tomio & Julia! So it's a good thing I've got some new ideas about how to spruce up the spare room!

I really haven't done anything in here since I quickly set it up for my first roommate about two years ago. So yes, that ugly rice paper blind is still there.

But not for long! Thanks to Emily from Secrets of a Stylist, I'm getting curtains for this room! No, I didn't win them, but when I saw them I thought they would be just the thing I didn't know I was looking for.

As I was thinking about how lovely these beauties will make things, it occurred to me that there might be a better way to organize the space. Now that I've rearranged the furniture, I know I'm right! I'm pretty sure I can get an extra mattress in there now, which will be crucial for the kids to have their own beds, particularly since Tomio has grown taller than me! Once the curtains arrive, and I've primped and spruced, I'll show it all off.

Happy 4th of July!!

Hope all my friends and family in the USofA are enjoying their day off today! Marcel thought you might enjoy this:

Happy Canada Day!!

Yay for long summer weekends!

I'm continuing my challenge to make a different green salad & quinoa salad every weekend and using up a fennel by making this:

I'm going to make a romaine salad w/ blueberries, figs & coconut - cause that's what's in the fridge. Then I'm going to pack it all up on the bike and head over to the island for this:

A wonderful weekend of celebrations to all!!