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Hey all!   I know it has been a while since we had any REAL Tootsie posts.   Thank you all so very much for being so patient with me…I have so much on my plate these days, that it seems there are not enough hours to accomplish all that I have to do anymore. 

A lot of you have been asking for photos of where we live since the move to the country.   I have not been able to share until now for a mirad of reasons…but am happy to say today is the day!

Today I am going to share a few sneek peek photos of the exterior what that the Cowboy, the kids and I call home.   I am super excited to share the big project that is happening right now, but I think you need to see a few other things first…AND I want to wait and show you that project when it is at least close to finished.

As most of you know, about a year ago, we decided to move out to the country.   The original plan to do this was to move to the beautiful place that I grew up, but that was not in the stars for us, so we went on the hunt to find a place that we all could love.  We did get very lucky, and we found this place. 


This is not the full photo of what it looked like when we bought it.   Sadly, I don’t have one anymore…because when my computer crashed a few months back, I lost everything I had on it and nothing could be saved.   SO...this is it.

I know you are all looking at this photo and wondering WHY we would fall in love with a PINK house?   Well…we said the same thing…

This is a photo of the whole thing almost finished…I had to go up and paint the chimney…haha…if not for this photo, I would have missed it completely!  HAHA!     I also would like to you ignore the pulled curtains in the window…those were like that to remind me to wash the inside windows…and have since been returned to their normal state.


A little paint went a LONG way for us.  We are all very happy with the finished look. 

We live about 20 minutes outside of the little town we were living in before..and we have lots of space to spend time.  We have even got enough space for one VERY silly horse.  

His name is Cruise and he’s a character all right.   The kids absolutley love him and they spend a lot of time with him.

He lives in the fenced area just behind and off to the side of our formal yard.

The former owners neglected the treed area on this property for a long time, and we are working on cleaning all the dead fall out of the trees, to make room for more horses…and then we will fence off our entire property so that we can use and enjoy it all! 

Until the clean up in the trees is finished, our spoiled beast will have to stay in the area that is fenced. 

As we clean up the dead fall, we are salvaging any usable wood to be used as firewood.   We have already sent several big loads home with the old man that used to be our neighbor in town.   He’s always happy to come out to visit us, and to have us in to see him. 

Our acreage is home to all kinds of wonderful creatures.  Cruise spends time with this little fella…and his freinds…dozens of them.  haha

Some of these little guys are quite tame…they hop right up to us every now and then.   It is a lot of fun to watch them play in the yard…they are cute!

We listen to these guys calling and LOVE to watch them sneak across the yard.   I wish I could have gotten a good photo of the 5 babies that were following them…

I did manage to get a picture of THESE guys though…

Mommy Moose and one of her twins…We are told she has twins almost every year.


The other twin…

A young Bull Moose… and his little rack of horns…(most likely one of the babies that Mommy Moose had the year before)   The one in the trees behind him made this monster baby look tiny. 

There was a HUGE Bull Moose in the yard with this guy, the mother and the twins.   He just would not allow me to take his photo…and I was not about to force the issue.   haha.   They were all standing just a few feet from my truck that morning.   I didn’t notice them right away as I was walking out to get in…and when I did…I turned right around and went inside.  haha.  
It was quite a sight to see!

We love this place.   We love the silence, the privacy and the space…There is never a day that passes that we don’t marvel in how beautiful it is out in the country.
 
If you drive down this driveway and take the turn to the right…

…You will see the large pond that is right across the road from our front yard.   We get to listen to the frogs and ducks and geese…it is so wonderful. 

That hedge…well guess what we discovered this spring???

It Blooms a beautiful pink….and then…

We had more Cherries than we knew what to do with!

Where is Tootsie’s greenhouse? 

Well there isn’t one YET. 

I KNOW RIGHT?!!!   What the heck!?! 

That is a post I will share separate from this…there will be one…have no fear…it’s just still in the planning stage. 

I am going to leave you with one final photo…which is kind of a foreshadowing of what the next few posts will look like…There’s a project in the works…and I am just dying to share it with you!

Until Next Time…Happy Gardening


(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

www.tootsietime.com

today’s post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot…

When the 80’s Called and Demanded Their UGLY Back…

Hey guys!   How the heck are ya?   I have missed you all a lot, and finally have a few minutes to sit down and share a little bit of what I have been doing around here when I am not working on …well…work!

As you know, my Cowboy and the kids and I have recently purchased a beautiful acreage.   We moved in last November and are loving our new home…well Mostly.

This house was built in the 80’s.   It is a very nice size for us and has all kinds of wonderful things about it that made us want to live here.   However…there were a few things that right off the bat we knew we were going to change.   Today…I am sharing one of those things.

MY KITCHEN.

I adore the layout of this kitchen.   Having the stove on the island is a dream!   It makes this Tootsie who generally hates to cook or bake…almost enjoy that task!  There are plenty of cabinets and drawers for what we need…and on the other side of the dining area there is a built in china cabinet.
 
What’s not to love!



Ya…THAT’S not to love.

The oak Cabinets have turned VERY orange…and the finish is worn, dry and in bad shape.








We talked and talked about what to do with the finish on the cabinets.   The possibilities are endless when it comes to things like this.
 
I am NOT a fan of the chalk paint or the other fad paint products on the market right now.   So that would not be an option.

I wanted to go classic…and keep the integrity of the wood, so I got the sander out…and took off the old orange finish.

It took HOURS and HOURS and HOURS and PAGES and PAGES and PAGES of sand paper.   It was a nasty mess!

I sanded the doors of the cupboards outside when I could…the weather was great, and I enjoyed the fresh air.  :)



The cabinet frames and the island were done in place as I did not want to move them off the walls and floors…so I hooked my shop vac to the sander and went to town!

My oldest Daughter was in need of a project for her industrial arts class, and she decided that helping me would be a fun time.  So…I handed her some gloves and a sander and put her teenage self to work…teaching her how to do what she needed to do…and documenting all of her help.   (she did not want me to share the photos of her assisting me, so I am keeping it simple for her)



Once we finished all the sanding…we were ready to stain.



I didn’t really want to have a color that everyone else has…so I decided to mix up my own color and it turned out to be exactly what the Cowboy and I wanted!

Waiting for it to dry enough to do the finishing touches on felt like FOREVER.



Once the stain was dry, I applied a coat of protective finish to it all to ensure that it would last for years.   Once that was dry…it was time to put every thing back together.



Ta-Da!!!    The finish came out so great!



We love the way the light plays with the colors.   At different times of the day, it takes on a bit of a different shade…sometimes light grey, sometimes darker.   Either way it looks very nice.



Now…once I finished the main part of the kitchen, I turned around and decided that the built in china cabinet could NOT stay the original orange oak that it was…but we did not want it to feel like a big displaced heavy cabinet in the dining room…I had to co-ordinate…but be just a little different from the rest.

Here’s what I came up with.



I did the same finish on all of the doors and drawers…but painted out the frame with the same color as the walls.   I also used that cream color inside the microwave opening in the cooking area…so it all goes together nicely.



It was a huge undertaking…and a challenging one to say the least…but we are very excited at the way it all came out.  It went from Dated and Worn to a more up to date shade of pretty.



What do you think?

I know we are happy with the results…and pooped from all the work!   The clean up is almost as hard on us as the sanding!  lol

Thank you "Miss Georgie" for all your help!   I hope learning from your old Mom was fun!

That’s all I have for you today.

There is more to share from the adventures in this house…but time is of the essence and I will share again soon!

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

*)*)*)"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, only then well there truly be peace" ~ Albert Einstein

Todays post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot
                  
                        www.chicaboot.com

Old School Lockers

Hey, I’m  back!   I know, I know…it took me a few weeks… and I am really not sharing in order of event…but I am at least getting a thing or two up and posted! lol

 If I were to tell you all of what’s been going on here since November…you would be in shock…so saving a headache… let’s move on to the fun stuff!

A few months back, a friend and I were having a casual conversation about organizing and making more space in our homes.   She was talking about how her garage is LOADED with everything except vehicles.   It had become a warehouse for her business ventures and she just needed to get rid of stuff so that she could make her space a little more functional. 

At one point she mentioned that she needed to get rid of a set of old lockers that once were used in her son’s bedroom but now were just sitting there…taking up valuable space in her garage…and no one wanted them anymore.

WHAT???   (head snapping around)

NO ONE WANTED A SET OF OLD LOCKERS????   (total shock on my face)

WHAT???? 

GET RID OF THEM???  (totally interested over here!!!!)

WHAT????

I know that you guys know that that is exactly what I was thinking! 

I told her that I would be there whenever she wanted to rid herself of this item…I would LOVE to have them!  

(and then I paced back and forth for days waiting to hear from her again…to say she was ready!)   (you know that I damned near wore out the floor waiting!!!   lol)

The day finally came (about three days later…but felt like WEEKS) and I was so excited!   I got that Cowboy into the truck, plugged in the radar detector (because there might have to be some speeding going on)  …and away we went! 

We had a nice little visit…and then loaded up the GOLD!   It was time to hi-tale it home at the speed of light…and get to playin’!   My wonderful new project piece went straight into the greenhouse for me to peruse…and perhaps to play with.

And then the next day, something happened...I didn't have time...and...Over the next couple of months, a LOT of things happened…and we were very busy, so my super exciting project piece had to wait. 

It was only after we moved to the acreage, that I had a day that I decided to just spend ‘playin’…and I pulled these out of the shed, and into my office to contemplate!


AREN’T THEY FABULOUS?????

I AM IN LOVE!

There is NO doubt, that this set was once in the possession of a teenage boy!   I  know those stickers…lol   Unfortunately, they must go!

The inside needs a tiny bit of work too…nothing a little elbow grease and maybe some shelf liner can’t fix…
I got to work…and the result was exactly what I wanted it to be!

I primed it out…and dry brushed it with several colors of paint to achieve the oxidized look I wanted.  (my photo does not do it justice!)  (I am RUSTY at this!)

I have another old locker in my garage that I thought would be the same dimensions…only a full length…that it would pair nicely with...but sadly…it is an army locker…and these are high school lockers…so they are not the same.   Oh Well…I still use them all!  lol

This treasure is waiting for the Cowboy to put a platform with wheels under it so that I can move it around at will…but for right now…I have placed it in my office/studio…and she holds bolts and bolts and bolts of lace…and other fancies for my business!
 
You sure can tell how rusty I am at taking photos and posting my stories…I am sure it will come back to me one of these days.  lol

I will share my studio/office and some of the others in our new home as soon as I get a chance to do so!   Right now my office is in full disaster mode…as there is a new line being created just in time for another big show coming up in April!
 
That’s all for today…I hope to see you all again in short order!  What have you been up to?   I hope to have time to get around and see ASAP!

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating and Creating!

*)*)*)…Invest ONLY in people who Invest in YOU. 

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

Todays post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot

www.chicaboot.com

Remember Toots?

Oh Man!   It has been a LONG time since I sat down and wrote a post for Tootsie Time!   I have missed it…and all of you too!  

So?   How ya all been keeping?   Did you have a great Christmas and New Year?

When last I posted, I was getting ready to go to Hollywood with my little company…and before that…I shared my barn wood door.   Like I have said again and again…life around here has been one busy event after another…and I can’t wait to fill you all in!

So…lets see…where do I start…  …  …

Okay…I think I will start with an explanation as to why I have been so very lax in my posting.  

As most of you who read Tootsie Time know, I started a little company a while back called Chic-a-Boot.   It has taken off much faster than I had initially anticipated, and I was consumed for months with building my brand, and designing and producing all of the inventory for that.    I am happy to say, that once I learned how to use all of the sergers (5) and the overlock machines…and even the basic machines…I was well on my way to producing thousands of pairs of my product, and shipping them all over Canada and the US! 

I, along with my very supportive Cowboy, even managed to attend the Big Valley Jamboree this last summer, as well as a red carpet event for the American Music Awards in Hollywood California.  Chic-a-Boot has been an adventure I have thoroughly enjoyed…and am happy to have met all of the amazing merchants and customers along the way.  I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.
This summer, I did intend to share my usual greenhouse and garden photos on Fertilizer Fridays and any day that I had time in between, but sadly I did not get to do any of that, due to a very unfortunate family event. 

My beautiful Omie,  (my grandmother, in her 80’s) – with whom I have always been very close, had a serious health event and ended up in hospital near death for weeks.   We were spending a lot of time on the road to visit her, and taking turns spending the night at the hospital with her, as she was in dire condition.   At one point, it was thought that she would pass within just a few hours, and we were all very afraid to leave her side.  

I am happy to say that God is good…and that our family was granted a miracle.   After weeks and weeks of her health failing and getting worse and worse…Omie was released from hospital, to go home!   She needs to have dialysis three times a week for the rest of her life, but she is alive… and doing quite well!   She and my Opie, are living on their own still and are entertaining us all with their silliness every day.   Our family is so grateful to all the staff at the hospitals who helped to save her life and to God for letting us have her for just as long as we can!


This brings me to August.   That is when I created and posted about the barn wood door.   You can see that post HERE.   I do love my barn wood…it seems to just warm a space with it’s casual look just right!  

I know you all remember me mentioning that I was having some serious issues with my hands and arms over the past few years.   I had been going for cortisone shots in my hands so that I was able to use them.   WELL…in late October of last year, I was finally sent for surgery to try to correct my carpal tunnel issues.   I am so very happy to say that the surgery was not as bad as I was thinking it was going to be…and I recovered from it quite fast…and it’s a good thing I did…because…


WE MOVED OUT TO THE COUNTRY!
(just one week after my surgery!)

Yup!   Tootsie is a country kid now! 

I have always loved being out in the country.   I loved the farm where I grew up, and still do.   I had always wanted to move there, and live and watch my kids enjoy that beautiful place.   It is filled with so many special memories for me…and it has such a special place in my heart.   But, that was not in the cards.   The location of it was too far away from where we live…and the kids schools…etc.  

Why not just change schools?   Well…that would have been an option, if not for my son.   He was given an amazing opportunity this year at school.   He is the only grade 11 student ever to be offered to attend College at the same time as he does his high schooling!   Because he has such great marks and a good attitude, the high school asked if he would like to do the dual credit program with the college that is in a nearby town!   He will have his first year journeyman welding ticket by the end of this year, and just need to apprentice!   Next year he wants to try to do the auto mechanics courses.   He wants to be a mechanic when he’s done school…but the welding classes were offered to him this year, and he can always use a fall back skill!  

Because of the need to stay close to the schools the kids are already attending…my Cowboy and I decided to buy an acerage about 20 minutes away from town.   We moved on October 31st…. ONE week after my surgery!    Yup…we did …and yup…I helped!   (would you expect any less of me?)  lol


The photo above is the view from my office in our new home.

Three weeks after we moved…we went to Hollywood for my Company event…and then it was time for Christmas…and then New Years…and now…here we are!

I would have been posting a few weeks ago…but my computer decided to reset itself back to factory…(yes…just my luck right?  I lost EVERYTHING!)…but… I finally got it back to normal…and am ready to start posting again!




So…that is what has been up for me lately…confused yet?  lol   I know…it’s been a busy few months!   Oh…and did I mention that I am getting married to that Cowboy?   Yup…the bugger popped the question on the same day that we made the offer on this house!   We are planning to have an intimate little wedding, with family and a few close friends in the near future. 

WELL…that’s all for me today… I don’t want to put everything in one post…so you need to stay tuned…the next post is going to include some photos of things I have been doing, cuz I have been up to some painting! 

So?   What have you been up to?   Come on…spill it…I want to hear it all!!!  


Until Next Time…Happy Reading!

*)*)*)…You're not in life to make friends. You are in life to be a friend.
 
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com
 
 

Todays post has been proudly sponsored by Chic-a-Boot

www.chicaboot.com