A Little Weekend Getaway

Hello friends! This past weekend our family got to enjoy a little getaway. We headed north to Niagara Falls, Canada to enjoy some waterfall views and take in some of the maple leaf country.

What a fun excursion it was! And I can't believe how much has changed since we were there years ago! So... I'm going to tell you all about it, listing some pretty cool things to do if you're traveling with tweens!

For starters, Canada is packed with botanical gardens. No matter where you stand, you will always be in perfect view of gorgeous trees, shrubs, and roses. We really enjoyed the scenic drive to the Botanical Gardens & Butterfly Conservatory . Home to over 2,000 butterflies, this magical haven was packed with more than colorful wings and flowers. Grab a quick bite to eat at the little cafe and enjoy some beautiful native plants.

Although there's no pictures from Clifton Hill, we were too busy having fun going into haunted houses and playing games at the arcade. This is the perfect spot if you have teens! Plan on being there more than a few hours. It's the main location for the Skywheel, Speedway, golfing, museums, and restaurants.

The Whirlpool Adventure Course is another great stop for families! Not a good spot if you're afraid of heights. We'll stop there.

The Niagara Falls Lock Bridge was a pretty cool sight! You can buy a lock at the Embassy Suites hotel. Make a wish or tell a secret.... lock it up and throw the key in the falls!

And if you're too tired from all the walking, you can always use The Falls Incline Railway as a shortcut to get to the falls. It's a great place for dining with waterfall views at the Table Rock Centre pictured below.

And of course we had to stop and pay tribute to the lovely garden memorial and statue dedicated to Nikola Tesla.

Although there's plenty of places to eat, I got admit our favorite was The Spyce Lounge . The food was amazing and the atmosphere was fun and modern.

Random things that I thought were awesome....

Your credit card never leaves your side. For example, at restaurants, each waiter/waitress carries their own payment terminal. They ring you up right there! This completely removes the risk of credit card info being stolen. It's great and I wish it was something that can be adopted here in America.

Did you know that they charge extra for plastic bags? I think that's great too! Talk about going green.

My girls really didn't enjoy the toilet paper dispensers. At some locations, toilet paper actually came out like tissue box paper. Yup, if you're thinking Kleenex, you're right. Again, I'm assuming, an attempt to eliminate excessive wasting....(which as a mom, I found a helpful thing).

So... the next time you have a free 48 to 72 hours and a bit of spending cash, make sure you head north and view those beautiful Niagara Falls.

Crystal Knob Rack

So... what can you do with a piece of wood measuring 45 inches by 3 1/2? Well, if it's 1 inch thick, you can use it to make the cutest wall rack. But instead of using hooks, use drawer knobs! Here's how the idea got started. I needed a place to photograph kids aprons. Now, most of you know that my girls have been modeling them, but they can't model toddler aprons, right? All I could picture was a gorgeous crystal knob rack used to display those mini aprons I love to make. And after searching in stores and online, I realized they are not very easy to find. Soo...... "oooohhh hubby.... can you drill a few holes in this piece of oak wood I found in the barn?" Of course he did it in a heart beat & he even sanded it down too! The holes were positioned like this: I did the two outer ones first, then measured to the center in between those. And again, the middle of the center and outer one. Got it? I took some regular creamy white wall paint I had left

The Ogden Cami ~ A Review

Hello friends! I hope you all had a wonderful February and a great start to March! Spring is right around the corner and I'm counting down to daylight savings on March 10th! Hooray for longer sunshine! Lately, I've been longing to go back to stitching up clothes. And... I ended up finding the cutest pattern to get me back in the groove at Hawthorne Threads . The Ogden Cami by True Bias Patterns is perfect and quite simple! I started off by making a test run with some red, light-weight fabric, figuring if this comes out good, I'll have 2 tops! And guess what? It came out awesome! Making a practice piece was a great idea. It's always recommended and there are so many reasons why. In the instructional booklet, I wrote myself little notes. ~ cut the fabric 1/4" larger at the sides so I can use a serger. This will allow me to have finished ends and still a good seam allowance. ~ cut the straps 1/2" larger, so the

January.... you're almost done!

Hello friends! I feel like it's been forever since my last post. I suppose some might even say I've been spending nearly all my time on the forefront of creative madness along with trying to continue healing. Holy smokes! Chemo and radiation will change a person forever. I'm continuing my healing journey, and staying hopeful that I'll remain in the 'clear' for a long time. It's odd, the way you feel, when everything you've gotten accustomed to: the running around, working day to day, rushing here and rushing there.... how quickly it changes when it's no longer a necessity. Yes, I am extremely thankful that my spouse supports and pushes for my healing time, omitting nurse life as it was, but like I told my girlfriend the other day, "how many craft projects can a girl possibly do?" ..... Well let me just tell you..... A LOT! Today's post will revisit some Instagram pics, (in case you don't follow along) with some of my most recent

The Mint Needle

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