Baroque.... Without Going Broke

In yesterday's edition of the Montreal Gazette, there is a large feature on baroque inspired fashion, ornate, glitzy, gold and just in time for the holiday season.  I thought it would be fun to have a really stunning piece to wear over the Christmas holiday, but I didn't want to buy something from the mall and bump into the obviously identical outfit at an event.  Nor did I want to spend a lot of money on something that is going to be "in" this season and "out" within a couple of months.

Inspired by the photos I visited a local thrift store at opening time this morning.  After about fifteen minutes I had found it!  A gold embroidered evening jacket.  With a few alterations it would be a perfect fit.  It screamed 1980's or 1990's with it's heavy shoulder pads and little "pouf" in the breast pocket.  All very fixable however, and at $5.99 worth a try.



Thrift Store Find

Metal and crystal buttons

Once I got it home I opened up the lining at the shoulder seams and did a shoulder pad-ectomy.  Next step was to remove the sewn in pocket "pouf".  I tried the jacket on again and pinned in the side seams about 1.25 inches down each side.

Opend shoulder seams to remove shoulder pad

With the shoulder pad removed, the fit is softer and more natural.

I thought I'd wear them with some slim fit black pants, put then tried pairing the jacket with a little black dress, black stockings and heels.

It's holiday-perfect; one-of-a-kind, touch of baroque without going broke!

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a resourceful day,

Sandra

Living Sugar Free - Dog and Man

In July I wrote about my decision to eliminate processed sugars and white flour from my meals. Sugar - Ending The Love Affair I was so unsure of my ability to avoid these ingredients that I felt very hesitant about sharing my plan on my blog.  Today marks exactly four months of sugar-free living.  I've noticed two side effects; the first is weight loss and the second is that an occasional dose of sugar leaves me feeling yucky, as though it is too sickly sweet now. 

Due in part to my own successful dietary change, I put our dog, Zack, on a reduced carb diet.  I wasn't aware of how um..."chunky" he had become until his last trip to the groomer.  His long fur had been concealing his slow-but-sure weight gain.  I gave away his dry kibble and began to feed him home-made dog food (cooked meatloaf consisting of  hamburger/eggs/rice).  Not surprisingly he loved the switch.  Today Zack weighed in at a 5.3% loss in body weight and I at 5.4%.

As with any significant lifestyle change, it helps to have a plan.  While I had done research and read other people's sugar-free lifestyle stories I didn't have a plan in place and made it up as I went along, experimenting with what I liked, what gave me enough energy and wasn't too much work.

It's helpful to assess what your family and friends reactions may be, if only to know where potential saboteurs may lie.  Fortunately my family has been amazing.  My husband is supportive of anything I undertake and the rest of my family has also been very understanding.  To celebrate my birthday this year my sister made chocolate fondue instead of chocolate cake ... that way most of the group enjoyed the chocolate while I loaded up on the plain fruit.  Now that is thoughtful. 

Here are some helpful links if you think that you or your pooch may benefit from living sugar-free.

http://homemadedogfood.com/

Dr. Lustig - Video - Is Sugar Poisonous?

Steve Nash on Living Sugar Free

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a sweet day,

Sandra

A Morning Frost

 

The beauty of a morning frost may not be appreciated on your car windshield, but it does make for some interesting effects on fallen leaves and shrubs.    

 

Maple leaf in frost
Sandra King-Allikas

Maple leaf in frost
Sandra King-Allikas



Maple leaf in frost
Sandra King-Allikas

I saw this seed pod with a few seeds still inside and covered in frost.  It reminded me of a miniature landscape with a two trees on rolling hills with storm clouds in the background.

Seed Pod Miniature Landscape
Sandra King-Allikas

Seed Pod Landscape
Sandra King-Allikas

Here is what the pod looked like before zooming in for a close-up.
Sandra King-Allikas

Thank you for stopping in at My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

May you find the beauty in today,

Sandra

The November Garden

Sometimes I think the garden is even more beautiful once autumn arrives and everything begins to decay.  These four photos were taken today in my back yard.


Autumn Hostas
Sandra King-Allikas

Miniature Maple Leaf
Sandra King-Allikas

 

 

 

Close up of the back of a leaf
Sandra King-Allikas

 

Back side of a leaf
Sandra King-Allikas

Thank you for stopping by My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a day full of beauty and discovery,

Sandra

A Minimalist's Kitchen Reno... I see the light

From The Renovation Rule Book
Rule 7: It's not true that the builder will never turn up. In fact, he'll turn up on day one, at precisely the time promised, whereupon he will disconnect your plumbing, remove a section of your roof, then disappear for six months.


After three weeks of plywood windows in our kitchen (a dark and cold kitchen) , our new window has been installed.

Window Installation
The plywood is removed

 

After installing an additional header and preparing the opening
the window is lifted into place

 

The kitchen window was assembled as one solid 13' window

 

 

Exterior of kitchen window

 



I am delighted with the airy feeling the new window has created, it’s as beautiful as I imagined it would be. Well worth the cost and the wait.

 

Check back in a few weeks as we try to keep our kitchen renovation design simple and costs to a minimum. In an attempt not to get swept away with grandiose ideas, my self-reminder and kitchen mantra is, "Less is more, less is more, less is more...."

Thank you for visiting my Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you an enlightened day,

Sandra

A Minimalist's Kitchen Reno

From the Renovation Rule Book:

"Rule 4: The marital argument over whether to choose the ''Calypso Blue'' or the ''Ocean Breeze'' for the kitchen cupboards will rise in intensity according to the degree to which the two colours are indistinguishable."

Join me over the next little (hopefully) while as my husband and I give our kitchen a bit of an update while trying to keep costs to a minimum.

Neither of us had any intention of updating the kitchen, however our two kitchen windows were becoming increasingly problematic. We had the original 1963 "panorama" windows. This is a type of window that was surely designed for the tropics and not for Canadian homes. The window glass doesn't have any type of trim or frame; huge sheets of glass sit in tracks in a cedar frame and slide back and forth.

About a dozen years ago, we hired specialists to analyze our home's energy efficiency. Upon noticing our windows, the first guy called to his co-worker, "Hey, take a look at these windows, you've never seen anything like this before." After a few minutes of chuckling they suggested that unless we were prepared to replace the windows, we could put plastic over them in the winter to minimize our heat loss. And that is exactly what we've done ever since.

This fall we decided it was time to finally replace the two windows. As we pictured the windows we wanted, we decided to let our imagination roam and chose to remove the small piece of wall that separated the two windows and have one long series of windows spanning the full 13 feet.

Old windows and dividing wall removed

About three weeks ago the window installation crew arrived. They removed the two windows and frames. As they began to demolish the wall between the windows they found a three inch metal pipe running the full height of the wall. It was the air vent for the plumbing. There was nothing more they could do that day until we had the pipe removed and re-routed. The installers bought two sheets of plywood and nailed them over the huge gaping hole in our kitchen wall.

The unexpected air vent pipe

 

Interim window treatment is dark and drafty.

 

Two days later the pipe was dealt with and we were ready to go. Now the problem was getting the window people to return my calls and set another installation date. It's been nearly three weeks since the first installation attempt and of course three weeks of living in a very dark, not to mention drafty and cold kitchen. I didn't think there was a less efficient window treatment than our panorama windows, but apparently plywood is even less effective. We're hoping to see the installers here by the end of this week. I'll keep you posted.



Thanks for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a fun day,

Sandra

Painting a Series - Challenges & Victories

"A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament."
Oscar Wilde

A couple of months ago my painting seemed to veer off in a new direction. I found myself painting with a new softer edge and a gentler palette of colours. Quite unexpectedly circles or spheres began to emerge, crying out, as it were, to be included. This work seemed to emanate from my core and often times I found that I felt emotionally overwhelmed during the creative process.



Acrylic & Mixed-Media Painting 30" x 30"
Sandra King-Allikas 

Paintings began to accumulate. I thought that this would make an interesting series of work. Pressing on I wanted to understand and explore this new direction. Trying not to over-think the process so as to keep the ideas fresh, I determined to allow the work to evolve without placing limitations on the outcome.

However, having already formed the thought of creating a particular series of work that would have a certain cohesive quality, I had in fact already placed a boundary or requirement on the painting process.

This week my strong-willed inner artist rebelled and out poured two rather more intense paintings, as if to challenge me, "Who do you think you are dealing with here? I won't be limited by your desire to create a series or anything else."

Acrylic & Mixed-Media Painting 28"x22"
Sandra King-Allikas

Acrylic & Mixed-Media Painting 20"x20"
Sandra King-Allikas

 

Well, there you go; artists do have a reputation for being unconventional, independent and sometimes ornery. I guess my inner artist is no different.

While the challenge to create a series or unified thematic body of work may be thwarted, the good news is that my inner creativity is alive and kicking.

Thanks for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing each of you an amazing day,

Sandra