Uptown Waterloo

DH and I went to Uptown Waterloo as we love this particular store - Whole Lotta Gelato. We get our weekly treat of delicious concoctions of gelato and I just love the smooth & delicious taste. DH got one scoop last week and I had two, of course, I offered to share but I didn't, heh heh! It was that delicious!











This week DH got two because he wanted the sweet vanilla bean and the oreo gelato. I had the sweet vanilla bean and the cappucino, *drools!*






Are we making you hungry? Good, you're supposed to enjoy those delicious pictures, heh heh! Now feast your eyes on the beautiful background we were able to take in when we enjoyed our gelato.





Many thanks to Whole Lotta Gelato for allowing us to take pictures of their establishment.

We went to Bark & Fitz, (where else!) to get more treats for Princessipia Mia, more catnip for Mosey & Ashy and check out new toys there as well. I just love Bark & Fitz because this store is so bright. They have drapes imprinted with dogs' silhouettes on it and it's just so cute! The aura is so relaxing.

Mosey and Ashy just loves their new toy - it's the laser cat toy and it's $10.00. Worth it, believe me! You point the laser toy to a wall and the picture at the wall is the shape of a mouse. The kids go crazy chasing the mouse silhouette!



You can see how much I love the furkids.. there's a lot of catnip on the carpet! If you see the pink plastic ice cubes, I use them for the cats. I buy them from the dollar store. They make excellent toys for the cats during the hot weather, the cats think it is a toy but it is to cool them down as well. I just wash them after they play and put it back in the freezer and take it out every couple of hours to let the cats play with them. I also put ice cubes in their water to keep them cool. This is a great idea for dogs as well.

DH and I relax for a bit at Starbucks as it was getting a bit hot for me. I needed a place to cool so I pointed to Starbucks as I knew it had A/C. I ordered White Mocha and DH had pop. We shared a dessert. Ohhhh the white mocha, *drools*





DH guzzled his as he was so thirsty!! It was that warm outside with the walking and so on.



Ohhhh taking the time to savour my mocha.. FIKA!!



I asked the gentleman for permission to take his picture and he obliged, was so pleased to be a subject for my photography.



I particularly liked this layout of frames in Starbucks.



Tactile smile to all and have a great day! Do take the time to enjoy a cup of coffee/tea or drink. FIKA!

Patty oxox

Homemade Tea Tree Oil shampoo

I love the Paul Mitchell's TTO (tea tree oil) shampoo but my wallet does not love the price tag at all!! Each time I visit SIL & BIL, I'd use their Paul Mitchell TTO and I'd stay in the shower practically massaging my scalp with the shampoo. I just love the tingly effect on the scalp and the mini-fingers all over my hair even after the shower.

I would constantly search for the "generic" version but the generic version just didn't have the "mini-fingers" effect that I craved. I'll be honest here, losing my sight so quickly, I start to crave sensation because the remaining senses are so heightened to the point where sensation is quite euphoric for me. Some will say, it's just shampoo!! For me, it's a sensation I enjoy ... tingling and smelling at the same time.

I was able to capture the exact sensation and scent- I found the generic and frugal solution to Paul Mitchell's TTO shampoo!

It's not only Tea Tree Oil, it's also Peppermint Oil as well! Tea Tree Oil adds the cooling effect whereas Peppermint Oil adds the tingling effect.

I use the "personal care" oils as it's cheaper for me, both bottles cost me $8.95 each. The pure and concentrated oils cost $29.99 each and I didn't have that kind of money.

I put 25+ drops of each oils in the shampoo bottle. You can use your favourite shampoo and conditioner. Just make sure you shake the bottle(s) well.

Enjoy your generic and homemade tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner!

Tactile smile,
Patty oxox

Prim as the way I love it!

As most of you know, I love to prim and do trash to treasures. If I'm not doing T2Ts, I'll be doing Prim. I think almost anything can be primmed up and DH teases me that he is afraid he'll wake up to find out I have primmed up our two cats! Heh heh!

I've done several creative ways to save money as prim can be costly if you want an authentic prim lamp or another prim shelf. I do try to cut corners being on a budget. I also try to use my creativity. If you saw from my other posts, I posted a T2T toilet roll lamp. I once saw a waxed toilet roll lamp, it required the toilet paper being dipped in warm wax. It was around 10 dollars and now I didn't have money for that but I had all the supplies and extras. Presto, I made the lamp and now my two sisters want them and it was the sister that gave me those supplies, heh heh!

This weekend and this week, I did several prims and T2Ts as well. I have to admit I am quite impressed with myself!

I had a gauzy looking peach mini lamp that I used in the kitchen during evenings when I need the extra light so I don't trip or slip. It's this particular lamp that stays in the kitchen because each time I turn the lamp on, the neck of the lamp just wobbles. This lamp has been dropped or toppled over too many times to the point where I tried to repair it but my hand can't fit through the small hole on the base.

I just had the brightest idea to do a T2T lamp makeover! I took a hammer and smashed the ceramic part of the lamp and no, the police did not come over! Heh heh! I saved the lamp plug part. I had been saving a huge pickle glass jar for the longest time because I wanted to do a T2T but wasn't sure how to apply the idea until this one came along!

I had to throw out the cap of the pickle jar because it smelled quite garlicky although I washed the pickle jar with vinegar, lemon and hot water. I used a salsa cover jar because it was black and what I wanted... a dark cover. (You can laugh, K. Heh heh!)

I glued prim fabric on the shade and it looks great. The plaid fabric is tan with mustard, burgundy and hunter green with a hint of navy blue.







A great suggestion for everyone to cut corners and to prim up your jars too. When you are burning your candles and are left with remaining wax. Don't throw out the remaining wax in the trash, cut them up and save them in a ziploc baggie until you have quite a bit to store in a mason jar. Call it chunkies or melties. I was able to save quite a bit of leftovers and store chunks in a mason jar. Part of a Christmas gift, I received a bath and body set. A wooden scoop was included in the bath salt kit so I used that in the prim mason jar. I just used ribbon to tie the wooden scoop to the mason jar to apply the melties idea together.



There is a particular brand of lights I love and it is called silicone lights. I always get my silicone lights from Prim Silicone Bulb Shoppe because Robin specialises in different colours, sizes and shapes. Robin also does scented bulbs.

I order my bulbs from Robin and I'm always satisfied with her bulbs. It's the texture and the colour.







DH and I had the poem "How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning framed and given out as wedding favours and there was a particular recycled paper I got for $4.00 because it was a big size and the colours were vibrant. This particular paper had so many interesting things between two sheets of paper and I wanted it behind the poem in the frame. The bright light picks it up so well. This makes excellent scrapping paper as well.



At Walmart, there's a section of odds and ends materials that I always raid each time I go to Walmart. You can find a lot of prim materials there because it's not a yard/metre but it's great to start off with as it's always less than 2 dollars. It's even good for small sewing craft ideas as well like this one. This only cost me 3 dollars and I have a lot of materials leftover.

This is a plastic bag holder and I have so much materials leftover that I plan to make more.





I'm going to show tidbits of our home.. enjoy!

















I had an old cheese grater that didn't grate well and rusted as well. I decided to grate an old candle tart that didn't scent well on it. I put some star ornies around it, raffia and a tag completed it. At night, I use a battery operated mini light and it looks cute in the kitchen.



This is a Martha Stewart basic drape that I have in the bedroom. I wasn't satisfied with the exact one in the kitchen. Just looked ho-hum. It needed some prim to it.



This is how I primmed up the drapes.. I love it!




Just wonder how Martha Stewart would react after one of her drapes being primmed up? ( Eh, K!)Ha ha!

Bark & Fitz

DH and I went to Bark & Fitz today and let me tell you this, I was in heaven! The beautiful store is just so bright and has a very welcoming aura as soon as you enter in from the door. The staff are just so helpful. You just can't help but go "Ohh! Ahh!" at the vast array of beautiful colours of toys & the amazing lines they have of toys.

Pink, blue, red, orange, yellow, purple and all the colours of the rainbow. They accomodate both our furkids - the feline and the canine. I was able to chat with the owner of the store and it was fantastic to learn that the reason he opened up Bark & Fitz franchise because of his BT/Boxer dog. I just thought it was so sweet. This franchise's ambiance is just so filled with positive energy as when you walk in, you see life-sized portraits of beautiful dogs.

As I paid for my things, the register had the cutest pictures of the dogs, just a great way for customers to see their products being ringed up and view the pictures at the same time.

Oh yes, the staff do pay a great detail of attention at the food, I was able to learn that the birthday cake is made of safe ingredients.

Bark & Fitz even has the Evil & Good Kitty Cuz!! I grabbed that for Mosey and Ashy because I always bought both Evil and Good Cuz for the dogs but this time around, there is a kitty one! The Kitty Cuz bounces in all directions!!! I got the package for $4.00 (2 cuz- good and evil)

DH took those beautiful pictures of Bark & Fitz with permission of the franchise owner.