February 21, 2011

Couch Preservation:







"Hanging" Out at Home:

1rst the painting from Camilo Lucarini...



...perfect.


2nd the mirror I bought inspired by the decor in Aunt Debbie's shore house...



...a little small but looks nice. We had some issues with the fact that neither the floor, nor the ceiling is straight, so no matter how straight we hung the mirror, it was never quite right.


3rd the kitchen accents...







...making use of my black white and cream appliances by using accents in the same color. Also, did you know that a pig is on the Lucarini crest? (I found that out AFTER having a penchant for pigs.)

February 5, 2011: Beautiful Day

Wishing I had a usable sunroom. This works too!

2011 Status Update

So... going into the year I had a meeting with my financial advisor, who felt that given the projects that I wanted done by end of 2013...

-roof
-attic conversion to bedrooms
-siding
-porch
-front door to porch

...that I should look into getting them done sooner than later. Based on reasonable expectations of my future income it seemed plausible. Until it suddenly wasn't. So the thing is, these things STILL need to get done by 2013. While it is very clear it will not be happening this year, it is also very clear to me that I need to remember that nothing is a given, and I need to really save as much as possible to get ready to have this done. Yes I would LOVE kitchen cabinets, or the stairwell to be fixed up, or the bathrooms to be done asap (these will get done this year), or a myriad of other tasks. But the fact is... if I want to have a kid, I need a room for him/her. So this year there is not going to be the kinds of transformations we saw last year. This year is more about functionality. My 2010 New Years Resolution was to become more handy. My 2011 is to become a better hostess. So just a heads up that the general theme of this year will be working more to make my house a more livable home by increasing storage, functionality, and organization.

Anywho. more pics to come soon, finally got some hanging done!!! (I've had some decorations that have been waiting forever to make it to the wall).

Other things to look forward to:
- finishing the bathrooms
- making a walkway to the front of the house
- better tending the garden
- creating an outdoor "hang out" area with table and chairs, and putting in a dog run
- organizing and cleaning out the porch to make it a usable area at least in the warmer days
- window treatments that are not paper blinds

Rewind: Jan 2010, Happy Birthday Mr. Ehlers

So after two successful runs hosting dinner for friends/siblings/aka people I knew would be way understanding of any mishaps in the service, we went for a birthday dinner with Brendan's parents (and younger brother).

The whole dining table in the other half of living room worked very well:






Dessert was eaten on the couch, and again I think everyone left happy:


***Note the table "runner" is actually a collection of placemats lined up. We got so used to the lovely Christmas runner Nanie gave us that we didn't want to leave it bare again. HOWEVER, we have since gotten a red normal runner... pics to come.***

Great Success!

Rewind: Dec 2010, Christmas Hosting (Not Hosting on Christmas)

So this was our first time cooking a vegetarian meal. It was our second time hosting a couple over for dinner (first was Pat and Susan) and since that time they brought appetizers and we did the entree... and we forgot to make sides... I wanted to get this one right.


1) Clean Organized(ish) Kitchen:




2) Appetizers:



3) Inform the Dog to behave:




4) Delicious Entree (WITH SIDES):




5) Satisfied Customers:

Rewind: Dec 2010, Christmastime & the Presents it Brought Our House

1) Snow:






2) Christmas Tree Candle Holder:






3) Cookie Jar:

Rewind: Dec 2010, It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

A zoomed in version of this was used for our first "family" Christmas card:




First Christmas-time Guests: Nanie, Aunt Debbie, and Danny.

By the tree...


On the Couch...



They brought with them some additional decorational goodies and so we fine tuned the Christmasing:

Rewind: Dec 2010, Installed the Sink & Toilet

So we went to get the sink and toilet installed, but the toilet had gotten cracked at some point... so we got a different toilet. Then we got the toilet installed and went to put the door on the bathroom, but turns out the sink was installed too close and the door wouldn't close. So we had the plumber come back and move the sink, but now I need to get the moulding fixed (It was put on based on the original position of the sink.) Either way it's coming along!




(Before)

Rewind: Dec 2010, Christmas Exploded in my House

What I had wrapped:




What I had left to go:

Rewind: Nov 2010, We Got A Fence!!!

I am not sure who was more excited, Brendan and I or puppy (OK fine, it was Abbie).




Playing fetch for the first time in the newly enclosed yard.