fenced in

We decided to take advantage of the mild temperatures over the past couple of weeks to have a new fence and gate installed. It's something we weren't going to do originally, but to be honest, we wanted to clean up our yard a bit more and gate off the driveway so the kids could play in the yard without fear of them running onto the road. Plus we had a fence we loved and really miss at our old house and so we decided to use the same style for this one. Here are a few before/during shots.

View into our neighbour's yard who share our driveway

View on the other side of the yard

No offense to our neighbours (they're great people!) but we just didn't dig the chain fence

We had to get rid of a few branches to fit the fence right to the chain link. 

So, as you can see from the photo below, the only snag is that our neighbour to the north didn't want to change his fence so we're stuck with what we've got back there. When we stain everything, we're hoping this just blends in with everything else somehow. We're also planning on planting some grasses similar to what is on the deck (pic a few above) so hopefully that will help hide it as well. 

Not sure what colour we'll stain it but our last fence was black if you can believe it and we just loved it. It made the green garden pop (ugh I hate that word but it seemed appropriate for some reason).

So now that it's done, the snow can come... it's going to come in time for Christmas right? :)

giving the gift of photos

Four generations: my grandmother, Leo, me and my mom

Some of my favourite gifts to give in the past have been photos. They're so easy and they mean so much to the giver and the recipient. I love taking photos from the past year to give to my Mom or Dad so they can keep that special moment with their grandkids with them for years to come on their mantel.

Grandpa and Mila in those delicate first couple weeks

Grandmaman and Mila in the hospital

My sister Kaite with Mila

This year, if I can get my butt in gear, I'm hoping to get some photo books made for the same purpose. I love the idea of having all of those special moments in a nice coffee table book. I was thinking of making an Instagram book, but I might just keep it classic - we'll see.

If you're thinking of getting a photo book too, Blurb is offering an amazing 25% discount off your total book order from now through December 12*. Just enter GIFTIDEA in the promo box when you check out. 

So how about you? Thinking of making a photo book to give this year?

*Fine Print: Offer valid through December 12, 2012 (11:59 p.m. local time). A 25% discount is applied toward your product total with a minimum order of 1 unit or more. Maximum discount is CAD $150 off product total. Valid for printed books only. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders. 

Note that December 10th is the last day to order to get your books by December 24!