Today Maillardville Manor was Featured at Ikea Hacker

Anyone who has been here to visit me knows the two words I type the most are Homesense and Ikea. I actually never noticed how 90% of the house came from homesense or Ikea, to tell you the truth I'm a little embarrassed, both are within a 5 min drive from my house. But, I can't undo the past and there you have it, I only shop at two stores. But today that paid off as I submitted two of my ikea projects to Ikea Hacker and they made it in. It was so exciting to see a project featured on another site. I submitted my upside down billy bookcase with trim and our computer room, as the whole room is basically ikea. They posted both of them.
If you haven't been over to visit Ikea Hacker (although you probably have), it's a great concept, it focus's on people who have taken everyday ikea products and altered them to suit their needs. One person turned a bookcase into a bed frame!
Here are the links Check them out if you have a spare moment!
Upside down Billy Bookcase
Computer Room with Ikea Cabinets

Food Poster

One of my favorite pieces of art in our house is a poster from 1914. It's our FOOD poster. You've probably seen shots of it from our Kitchen Post but I think it deserves it's own post.

This poster was released during World War 1, sometime around 1914. It was created and distributed by the U.S Food Administration. It was believed that "Food would win the war, the country that conserved their resources the best would become the victor." Families were asked to substitute corn and other cereals for wheat as much as possible. Consume less meat and preserve sugars and fats by "employing careful utilization".
There was even a book written, for housewives "Foods that will win the war: and How to Cook Them".  When I bought the poster I just thought they were good rules to cook by, I had no idea of the political background this poster had.
But at the end of the day I still think that this poster has good Food Rules and keeping it in my kitchen, in clear view inspires me to make better choices.
1- Buy it with Thought.
2- Cook it with Care. 
3-Use less Wheat and Meat.
4-Buy Local Foods.
5- Serve just Enough.
6-Use whats Left.
DON'T WASTE IT!

Townhome Grounds

When we bought our home in late 2007 we had been searching for many many months. It seemed that we couldn't find the right layout or the layout was great but the surrounding areas were ugly. So when we stumbled across "The Manor" we were smitten. I could just imagine walking Max around the grounds on sunny summer days, or crisp fall afternoons. Once we moved in the novelty didn't wear off. We love our complex grounds.

There are raised grass beds to lay a towel out on and get some sun. There are gorgeous magnolia trees lining the pathways. We have a very beautiful paperback maple tree just off our balcony, bright pink azalea's in the front, and fragrant lilac trees greeting you when you walk up the stairs. What makes our complex extra interesting is that almost all of our grounds are built on top of our parking garage. It's an amazing use of space and a beautiful fix to what would have been a concrete jungle.
Here are the views from our bedroom window.

Here is the view walking up to the front door.