creativelykate

3 of his favourite people in the whole world!   Almost 10 decades later and this man is still living his life to the fullest!  My grandfather William Russell Brown was born on February 18th, 1918.  Last week he celebrated his 98th birthday surrounded only by his immediate family - those were his wishes...and of course we chose to honour his request.  We have made him promise though, that if he lives to be 100, he'll have no choice but to celebrate with a grand party.  The countdown is on!   In this life, I have met few people quite like my grandfather and I honestly feel that in this world there are few like him - I know many of you would agree.  I consider it a blessing that he has been in my life as long as he has.  He is not only my grandfather...he has taken on several roles throughout my life - a father, a teacher, a friend, a true hero in my mind.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his accomplishments.  I...

Family Day 2016 We spent Family Day weekend in Wyevale, Ontario.  It's a very small community (has a population of around 1000 people), located north west of Barrie, between Elmvale and Midland.  Jordan's grandparents have lived there for as long as I have known him and we love going up there to visit them.  It's the perfect little getaway because it's so close to home...and let's be honest, driving anywhere with 3 little kids and a dog can be quite the adventure.  Jord and I were very lucky this particular trip - all 3 kids fell asleep!  We actually enjoyed about 45 minutes of adult conversation and guess what talked about...having another baby - ha!  Let's just say Jord was very happy when we arrived.  When we pulled into the driveway we got out to say hi to everyone (Jord's parents came for the weekend as well), and gave the kids a few more minutes to rest.  The problem with leaving first thing in the morning and arriving before lunch, mea...

When it came time to buying a new home my husband and I were faced with many decisions...the big one being - where were we going to move?  For months we considered our options and in the end we decided to stay in the same community...a place my husband has called home for nearly 30 years and a community I have grown to love over the past decade.  After nearly one year of searching for homes...we found one that was close to perfect.  It had a beautiful property and was situated on a quiet court.  It was ideal for raising a family...the downfall - it looked like it had been decorated in the 90s and left that way for the past 25 years.  It didn't matter though.  We fell in love with the home and knew that over the years we could make it our own.  It would be a work in progress...and so the journey began - almost right away!    Our first Christmas in the house we renovated the family room, next on the list was the nursery.  I ...

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I thought it would be fun and fitting to share some great ideas and provide some inspiration...first off, let's get one thing clear - I love Valentine's Day but not in the traditional sense of the holiday.  Forget the flowers, the chocolate, the date night - ha! (I don't remember the last time Jordan and I celebrated Valentine's Day in a restaurant enjoying a romantic meal).  Times have definitely changed, but for the better!  I love to be creative on Valentine's Day...I stay away from the chocolate and sweets, and try to give my kids and hubby gifts they can truly appreciate!    Before I get into my plans for this year, I thought I would share some visions from the past.  Before kids...back in the early days of our relationship.  Who knows - maybe they'll inspire one of you to get creative!  Not to mention save a dime or two.  These surprises cost me next to nothing!   I did t...