How it started vs How it's going

I just came across these photos from our last day in Newfoundland, funny enough it was while looking for a photo of something else I had just started way back when (2015) but is something I am considering giving up now.. more on that in another blogpost!

 I thought you might like to see some throwbacks and talk about some fun facts from back in the day! 

We left Newfoundland in the fall of 2015, Elliott was our only child at that point and he was about a year, 3 months old. 

I believe our transfer conversations started with the RCMP in January of 2015, I think I can remember Nick getting his tonsils removed and being in a motel in Grand Falls -Windsor when Nick was on the phone with some staffing people and things sort of started to roll.

I was hesitant, I'm still hesitant... 

I did not want to move, still hold this as a point of resentment. 

I had the dream job as a P04 (postal clerk) at the tiniest post office two seconds away from our house, I had waited 5 years in Newfoundland for this job to become available and it was a miracle it opened up at all! Postal Workers wait 40 years for a position like this to arrive. 

Well, if you want to hear my. resentment story that's a tale for another time, let's get back to the photos!

We had the tiniest little house in NL. 

We were shocked at the housing prices when we moved to the Rock, fresh out of RCMP Depot, on a probation Mountie Pay, I was on a leave of absence from Canada Post.

We drove into town at 2 am, during Come Home week (the town was swamped with people!), with no where to live, no idea what we were doing - just livin' on love!

Again, the housing prices had just taken a leap. 

I had a mortgage on a house in Nova Scotia. (we were renting it out) 

and Nick was a brand new Mountie, in Community college/University before that and basically only having McDonalds as a work reference. 

We could not get a big mortgage, the houses were priced high!

We looked at a few places, there was a Mountie leaving - his house was available. 

But so many of the houses needed work and with no family, no friends yet, nothing - we needed a place that was A-OK or we were going to have to learn DIY real quick. 

That's when we stumbled upon this place.

It was tiny!!

2 bedroom, 1.5 bath and I feel like 1300 sq. feet? 

But it had been renovated, it was fresh and clean - it was just in our price range. 

I think we ended up paying something like $141,000??

I think it was listed for $145,000.

I'll have to ask Nick because maybe I'm crazy but that sounds right, give or take a smidge.

And this is where we made home for 5 years. 

Elliotts 1st bedroom.



Our primary bedroom







Our goodbye photos.

Our basement rec room/guest room/blog room/DIY room/ everything extra!



Basement 



Laundry. 

Our very last ride on Marine Atlantic. 

Oh I took that ferry back and fourth 100 times over 5 years, even got stuck at sea on a bumpy ride home after Christmas one year and I was alone! Nick was already back in NL for work. 

We moved home into our dream house!

This home wasn't the one we thought we would be getting, the homes we were looking at were brand new builds but they had been flooded right before we were going to move back to NS. 

I had been eyeing this home and brought it up to Nick, it was above our budget that we wanted to spend but it had so many little upgrades and a garage etc. It felt worth it to make the leap - plus I am stubborn and made sure we kept offering only what we could afford. I got us an extra $5000 savings in the long run! Doesn't seem like much but every little bit helps!

It is so crazy looking at these photos now!

We had no idea what our lives had in store for us.

Elliotts new room!

I recently came across my pro/con list for moving from this house (this spring we really considered moving due to the hot market and the School bus issue we were having), the pros for living here had over 86 items and the cons for living here had 3 points. 

3 points! isn't that crazy!

I really do feel like we've found our dream house/location and I think it was meant to be. 

I mean, what if those other houses didn't flood????!

What if the people who lived here before we did weren't already moved out and didn't accept my lower offer?? I think them being moved out already helped our offer get accepted plus we could move right in!! yayyyy meant to be or what??!?!

Crazy how much has changed but only 5-6 short years have passed!

What will the future hold for our little dream house?

And if you would like to hear more about our story, you should totally motivate me to write that book I've been putting off! hahaha 

Mountie Life - Our Experience

XOXO - chat soon!

WhitePoint Beach Resort 2021

We traded in our annual PEI vacation for WhitePoint Beach Resort the last 2 years and we have no regrets! We LOVE PEI and will most definitely be returning at some point but for this time in our lives WhitePoint has been such a great pairing.

Last year we decided to make the switch based on the Covid situation and we had such a ball we decided to do it again this year and make it 4 nights stay vs last years 3! (we had tried to extend our trip to 4 nights last year too but they were all booked up)

The first great thing about WP is how close it is to home but the far away feel. 

Elliott is great in the car but can sometimes feel car sick (nothing gravol can't handle but still not fun for him) the girls can be hit or miss depending on how tired they are (and won't fall asleep!) etc. 

A tiny 1.5 hours to our destination is perfection!

We like to stay in Cavendish when we go to PEI, because it has everything!! SO fun!!

but with the kids ranging from 1.5-7 it can be tougher to find something that we all like doing all day. 

Ex: Elliott will go to the amusement parks in Cavendish from dawn to dusk but that same plan won't fly with Nilah.

Another thing we love about WP: the Beach is fun for all ages, all day long! (if you're us! hahaha WE LOVE THE BEACH)

Our first day at WhitePoint, we were in a giant heat wave, like, 40+ degrees!!

We arrived to our destination right around the 3pm check in time and immediately hit the waves.

We left everything at the cabin, dropped our phones, pulled on our swim suits and I can honestly say that first day is some of my most favourite memories from my entire time of being a mom.

The smiles on the kids faces are something I don't ever want to forget.

Sandy everywhere, frizzy haired, sunscreen smelling, smiles exposed from ear to ear and laughter barreling down the length of the beach.

We all went in the ocean, the water was clear blue and the waves were the perfect size.

Nick and I took turns being in the ocean with the older 2 and Nilah frolicked in the sand, building hills and digging holes for hours upon hours.

I remember it was shortly after 3 when we hit the sand and at 5pm I started looking at my Fitbit. 

We didn't take our phones to the beach, a good choice but man, I hope I can remember those smiles and laughs. I have a horrible memory, its dull and weak and I truly feel like I have something wrong with me because its so hazy.

 My sisters have the exact same thing so I don't know if that makes me lucky because we are all in this together and its 'normal' for our family or if that makes it worse because it means I will forever be forgetting all this magical moments and there's no real reason why other than bad genes. 

I remember looking at my watch then but we didn't go home to our cabin until well after 6pm.

We all slept well that night; and every night! 

I couldn't keep my eyes open past 10:30 every night of vacation, which is so strange for us!

Nick and I are night owls and when at home rarely climb in bed before midnight.

The next day was a similar experience, we ordered breakfast to our room, I did yoga by the ocean with Whitepoints yoga instructor. 

 

We went to the big cabin where they hosted a paint class for the kids to paint with sponges. 

Then we hit the beach!

Between all the fun we would feed the bunnies.

We saw many more bunnies this year than last!

They were always outside our cabin and we were in the cabin next door last year so they must have had a bunny spike in 2021!

Nilah LOVED the cabin phone, she would not stop "talking" on it.

We had to keep it unplugged most of the stay. 

We went to supper in Elliot's Dining Hall (that's what its called, Elliot's :)) 3 times total, although the first night they lost our reservation and well, it was quite the upset, mostly me: I am a drama queen. 

It was just shocking because they had our other 2 reservations (we heard they lost a couple of reservations this night) and it was smack dab in the middle of supper time after a day on the ocean and we had got all dressed up for our big first supper out.  

We tried to sit at the bar but we weren't allowed to sit together because of our family size, and they suggested we sit on the sofas in the lounge but there's no way the kids could eat on a sofa (there were a lot of younger workers at WhitePoint this year. I think that's great!! but I don't know that any of them had kids as they were very young kids themselves and I laughed to myself, no way would a 2 year old eating on a couch be a good idea LOL).

 We were hungry and exhausted, it was Canada Day so everything was closed or booked at capacity. 

We decided to leave and take a drive, we tried a place = booked.

Then we ended up at Seaside Seafoods, a little take out spot just a few minutes passed WhitePoint.

Fantastic Food!!! SUPER busy and by the time we got home we were well into the 9 o'clock and a little sour.

I'm telling you all this because its what happened and we were sad about it but I made a choice not to talk about it on insta stories.

Partially because I was barely on my phone while on vacay lol

and also because it was no ones fault, it was just a bummer, a mistake and it was ok!

It felt sucky in the moment, it would have been easy to make an insta post about but in the scheme it was nothing.

Well lo and behold the next night at our booked supper at Elliot's restaurant we found out after we ate that our entire meal was going to be comped!

This was our first big meal and we went all out, I had wine, Nick had a beer (this is 'all out' for us LOL), we were going to get dessert. 

The waitress came over around dessert time and let us know the GM recognized us and he felt so bad about the night before he was comping the meal and sends his apologies.

We were able to chat with him afterwards and he said he was looking for us the night before and was going to order in a pizza or something but we hustled out so fast he missed us. 

This gesture meant SO MUCH!

We had been bummed out but decided not to let it ruin the vibe (I had also had a moment with an exploding kettle in our cabin, so we were kind of bad vibin' the day before. LOL a story for another time!)

In this moment I was so glad we had kept the experience to ourselves, glad we decided the good vibes were the theme and we carried on the rest of the vacay having the BEST time!

(I know I told you now but.. its a part of the story.. loll)

The next day the rain started and it was colder, no ocean on these last two days but we did book the indoor pool! The outdoor pool was too chilly so we skipped that all together but we booked the indoor pool

for at least, 3-4 sessions and the kids had a BALL.

We blew HUGE bubbles in the outdoor area, hosted by WP of course and the kids went crazy for it!! 

We stayed almost the entire hour and every one of the kids was living their best lives!

Elliott popping all the bubbles, Noelle chasing them, Nilah blowing them (the ocean wind technically blew them so it was easy haha).

We wandered down to the ocean every day, rain or shine.

We played in the sand and strolled near the crashing waves.

The final day came and we had to check out by 11am, we went for one last swim in the pool from 9:30-10:30. We packed as fast as we could and we were all so sad to leave. 

The kids were pretty much devastated to leave, Noelle said she wasn't going and Elliott asked how much it would cost to stay there every night of the year. 

Thinking of it now, only a few days later.. I have to say this was our best vacation yet.

I don't know if its because the kids are getting a bit older and they can play independently while having thoughts on what they would like to do next and they can pretty much 'go' as long as we can! 

Nap time is only an issue with Nilah these days and she's pretty flexible with it. 

Plus the pure joy they emit is contagious, the running, skipping and hopping to and from every event. 

Something as simple as the ocean and some bunnies makes them giddy; at night Nick and I watched old DVD's that WhitePoint keeps in the rec space and sipped wine while listening to the crackle of the fireplace and waves crashing off the rocks outside our door. 

Already counting down to next summer!

Run for Women

I am so thrilled to announce that I am participating in the 2021 Run for Women!

This is a virtual event which takes place between July 4th-11th, from 18 cities all across Canada!

I would love if YOU would join my team:

RUN THE WORLD 

and partake from wherever you prefer in your choice of 5 or 10k walk/run. 

Team RUN THE WORLD will be raising money for Stella's Circle which is located in St. John's NL and provides support to adults facing struggles with mental health challenges, addictions, trauma, poverty, homelessness, criminal justice involvement, low literacy, and long periods of unemployment.

Until June 1st registration costs are $45 (with $35 of that going directly to charity).

Included in that fee is your virtual run, a technical T-shirt, official Run for Women bracelet, and a SWAG BAG full of over 30 products and coupons - valued over $100!

Restrictions permitting I would LOVE to host an in person walk/run for anyone local and we will go over all those details closer to the July dates. 

Until then, you can register HERE: 

https://www.runforwomen.ca CLICK HERE 

Be sure to join team RUN THE WORLD

and if you have any problems, send me a message or email 

HollysHousewifelife@outlook.com

I am so excited to share my training for this, fundraising and look forward to doing so together! 

This Post is brought to you in sponsorship with Shoppers Drug Mart and Run For Women

TRASH MONDAY: SMALL DRESSER TRASH TO TREASURE

Welcome back Spring and welcome back Trash Mondays!!

Monday is the day our neighbourhood puts out their garbage for waste collection and its the day I take a drive around for an hour/two and see what goodies I can pull out of peoples trash piles to save from the landfill.

It's incredibly addictive and thrilling.

It's shopping without the price tag!

Even if you save one item every other week, you could potentially be saving 10-25 items a year from the landfill, depending on how many months you do Trash Monday.. I usually start around March and go through October/November (December-February in Nova Scotia are too cold for me!).

In all honesty I have never NOT found something!

I usually find loads of things and have to tell myself "no".

This past Monday, the first #TM of the year, I found... DRUM ROLL PLZ......

AN AMAZING LITTLE CATCH ALL DRESSER!

I'm calling it a 'catch all' because its very petite an can be used in any room for so many different uses!

Now, I had been out trash diving for a while when I came across this and if I'm being honest.. I had a little help. 



Here's the thing about Trash Mondays: Many hands make light work.

Whenever you're out looking for good trash - tell people you're doing it!

Seriously, some of my most amazing finds come from people texting me saying 

"Hey, I saw a great.... on XYZ street..."

My mom, my sister, my cousin, we're all trash pickers and it was actually my sister who spotted this dresser and let me know about it. 

On this particular night I had already found a mint condition kids basketball net, some hockey sticks for road hockey, a baby gate for my moms dog, spotted loads and loads of items that I just had no need for, like toys, tv stands etc. 

But as soon as she texted me I swung back around and picked this gem up!

So, wanna see what I did to it?!?!?

First off I sanded it, just lightly, nothing crazy. 

Then I washed it with water and a smidge of TSP. 

You can buy TSP on Amazon here: affiliate link

 

TSP is a wash to prep for painting, it degreases and works so amazingly to prepare your item.

I have been using the TSP equivalent from Fusion Mineral Paint: 

Fusion Mineral TSP CLICK HERE

It's an organic water based alternative and I really like it. I've use plenty of both kinds of TSP linked in this post.

Once the sanding and washing was done, I got down to painting and I used the Fusion Mineral paint in shade: 

LAMP WHITE CLICK HERE FOR LINK

It did turn out a little cooler toned than I had expected so I can see me changing the colour in the future but for now I LOVE this makeover. 

I picked up some knobs from Winners for the drawer pulls and I decided to put the dresser in our upstairs hallway for now.

The whole 6 pack of knobs only cost me $14.99!!!

I had the paint and brushes and TSP on hand.. 

So, in total this makeover only cost $14.99 plus tax 



Eventually I will use it as an entry way catch all console but for the time being we really needed something in the hallway to house all my cards, and shipping materials for my Scentsy and Etsy business.

Ahh, I love it so much!

What do you think?? 

Come along with me next Trash Monday and maybe try it out yourself on your local trash day?!

Beauty, Baby & the Brand

I’ve had 34 years of life on this planet. 

Approximately 10 years of loving everything beauty. I was late to the makeup game! Well into my 20’s before I found that love. I truly believe ‘an old dog can learn new tricks’ find things that light your soul on fire no matter your age/season of life. 

6.5 years into blogging and 6.8 years in motherhood.. and then motherhood again and again. 

I’m still over here just trying to figure it all out, and still asking who am I?! 

Turning our lives into a business via blogging/social media/product and content creation was never the plan. 

An ever changing landscape of its own accord with my ever changing family, writing, directing & starring in the Housewife Life show. 

Did not see that coming!

Figuring out which direction we want that business to go has sometimes felt like a whirlwind. The last 12-18 months maybe more than ever! 

I’ve felt that internal torment.. with every contract I close I’m proud of my business and myself for managing this entrepreneur lifestyle but contracts are steep, it takes me away from the family and I miss my kids so dang much. 

Thankful for having access to flexibility in schedule - to scale back from work when I need to/the family needs me to is a privilege I don’t take for granted! 

But too much time away can break your spirit in other ways. 

I started the blog to feel connected to people, to fill a creative streak, to share things and learn from others - I wanted to build a community you could reach even if you weren’t physically nearby. This was mainly due to the RCMP life and living away from our home province but how fitting for this last year eh?? 

Some days I’ve felt like throwing in the towel, other days I want to sink deeper in, put the kids in daycare, take it to the big leagues. 

I know this story is not unique to me, a part of me wonders has anyone struck the perfect balance? 

How many working parents are clocking out & racing home to see those sweet baby faces for just a few minutes before bed - babies that are growing up too quick. 

And how many SAH parents are desperate for just one adult conversation to break up the rotation of diaper changes and snack hand outs  - babies that sometimes feel like they’ve been babies forever. 

I’ve dipped my toe in both waters for all these years and I still have no clue which direction the current will take me. 

What I do know is that I would like to get back to basics. 

- I’d like to write more. 

It’s funny how ‘blogging’ has changed face over the years. 

So many of us still consider ourselves bloggers but do we ever put pen to paper? Or have we gone social. 

Micro blogging if you will, shorter captions on social sites seems to trump the website essay these days. 

Businesses built from blogging but expanded in so many directions, no two paths the same. 

I am a video girl. I love video and I would do more and more, I would film tutorials daily if only someone would do all my editing. Haha 

But there is something raw and vulnerable about writing. 

I write a lot of posts that never get published or they stay cuddled in the safety of my private journals. I would love to write a book someday. 

I would love to do so many things, I’ve got more ideas than follow through that’s for sure! 

Today, March 2nd 2021 I’m a full time SAH mom with a couple of part time hustles and I’m working on streamlining that. 

The goal is to simplify my business but as I stated above I’m still figuring myself out! So if you see me pivot, pivot again.. and again and again.. well that’s how she be! 

Today I really just wanted to touch base in written form and see how you all are doing on this crazy ride?? 

And I really wanted to show off these gorgeous photos from 

https://amyhollowayphotography.com/

If you’re a brand, business owner, blogger, or anything in between I can’t sing enough wonderful praises on Amy! 

Hanging out (I say hanging out because it really is a pleasure and does not feel like work!) with someone who “gets” all of this and can see exactly who you are with all the complicated bits and chaos but turns those crazy BTS into beautiful works of art and a time frozen memory.. well it could bring me to tears. 

So thankful for each and every one of you who have followed along with our life, for each and every person brought into our world through ‘the blog’. 

Muah! Xo