I thought today, since I am behind on all my DIY projects (so much long-awaited sunshine to enjoy), I would do a quickie post about 5 things in my life right now.
1. New Shoes and Boots
One of my favourite things about spring is that winter boots go on sale. I am super picky about footwear as I have giant feet and messed up arches so I have given up on cheap shoes and now invest in good, comfortable footwear. These are really hard to track down in cute everyday styles at decent prices!
I got great warm, waterproof black boots from Hush Puppies a couple years ago and I have been on the hunt for some brown ones since last winter. I lucked out a couple weeks ago finding these ones on sale at Rockport (I think they were $90, marked down from $260??). They are lined with warm material and are super comfy. There are still some cool days left this spring so I haven't had to wait for the fall to enjoy them.
I have also been on the hunt for dressy flats to wear to work. It is impossible to find comfortable, supportive flats that I can try on in store and that are not black (I have black Aravons by New Balance and I loooove them). Somehow I ended up at the Bay yesterday and found these amazingly comfortable loafers from Naturalizer and I snatched them up on sale for $57! They aren't really the ballet flat style I need, but they will work well for many of my work outfits. If anyone comes across nude ballet flats with arch support that aren't $200, please call me.
2. New Mug
While I was at The Bay, I saw an adorable I <3 Canada mug from their HBC Collection. I have a soft spot in my heart for those colourful stripes and I would LOVE their signature blanket, but it is sooo expensive and I already have a few amazing blankets that I love so I can't ever justify that. I think this new mug goes well with my Canadian Tire mug! Perhaps I will start a Canadian mug collection?
PS- I don't even USE mugs at home that much. Maybe I should bring my new mug to the office.
3. The Den!
I have not been neglecting my den built-ins and I did SO much work on them last weekend, but then I ran out of some materials and haven't had the time to go to Home Depot again (it is quite a hike from downtown). I will just leave you with this sneak peek, which is 100% not completed as it needs paint, caulk, and lord knows what else. It also probably needs less dirty shoes. I love those shoes and should really buy a new pair...
But I digress! You can see in the photo I have filled in the gap on the left side of the billy bookcase, I have applied veneer to the side of the besta bookcase to cover the gaps and joints (but it got wrinkled at the bottom when I installed the quarter round...grumblegrumble) and I have completed all the trim work in this area. I started caulking, but ran out so I need to buy more, finish that up and then paint. I also need some more trim for the other side and for the top of the units. It is coming along!!
4. Updating the Kitchen
Operation Find Track Lighting for the kitchen has been a complete bust as I realized a little too late that all the the options I posted were from homedepot.com and not the Canadian site. I was going to buy the Lithonia ones, but sadly can't find them anywhere in Canada. I don't really like any other big box store options, so I am going to start looking at lighting stores, which means more effort than online-shopping :).
BUT! Cam and I made some decisions on hardware for the kitchen, which is exciting (and available in Canada).
When we were last at Home Depot we picked up some different options and I think we are going to go with long pulls for the doors and square knobs for the drawers. Right now they all have these tiny knobs which are impossible to grasp with wet hands and finger marks get all over the surrounding cabinet. I need something I can GRIP.
I didn't buy a sample of the square knobs, and my link above is from the American site because I can't find them on the Canadian one, but we saw them in store and they got Cam's vote after he vetoed the cup pull sample we brought home. I need 13 of the long ones and 14 of the small ones so I was just happy they are reasonably priced!
So I signed up for my annual SportingLife 10K months ago and now suddenly it is like 3 weeks away?? How did that happen?? Weight training seems to be taking most of my exercise focus lately (and I am loooooving it so far- really feel like I am getting stronger!), so I am not sure what my goal is for this race. I don't know if I can beat last year's time of 55 minutes because I haven't been working on speed work at all! However I do enjoy a good race so I think my focus will be to just have fun. I am not concerned at all with the distance as I have been keeping up my Sunday Long Run for awhile now and last weekend I did 12km in the beautiful sunshine!!
Spring just seems extra awesome this year after that horrible winter, doesn't it?
Hey - ever thought about inserts for your shoes? I buy mine from my sports phyisotherapist and now most shoes I wear are comfortable. MOST of the time though I'm in high end Asics (cross trainers)- even at work - and for bank "runs" (walks) at work, and in summer my Acsics - then Maphsto sandals. They are excellent shoes. If I'm wear any type of flat - shoe or boot - an insert with arch support really helps. Worth checking into...? Enjoy your hike and weekend! Sheila
ReplyDeleteI have thought of that, but most flats wouldnt have the room for an insert
DeleteCute boots and shoes! And a Canadian mug collection sounds fun. I have a small collection of city mugs from Starbucks that I started with our city while I was working there, and now if there is a cute one in a city we travel to I pick it up. But we haven't been doing much traveling, and the cabinet space is running low. I started using some of my more random mugs to hold supplies in the art room, and I brought one of them to work to hold pens.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're making good progress on the den! And I like your kitchen hardware choices. :)
That is such a bummer about the track lighting! Is there any way you could get someone in the US to ship them to you (I'd be willing, if that's not creepy and weird), or pick them up when you're in the US for another reason and either take them home with you or ship them to yourself?
Well I am in Vegas in a couple months...maybe I could figure something out??
DeleteThat is a good idea though. I dont want to deal with shipping fees and all that, but I will see if anyone I know is going to the states any time soon!
Fingers crossed you find a way to work it out!
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