First Glimpse...

Hello!! Its hard to believe I actually own a house now! Its very exciting!
We immediately started working on a few projects before moving in next weekend. One was tackling the kitchen. All in all, it isn't a bad kitchen. Its actually pretty large with many cabinets. It does have yellow walls and an ugly fruit border. That has to come down, pronto!




I headed to the local Home Depot and rented a wallpaper steamer to remove the border. They gave me this primitive-looking weapon. I eyed the guy and asked "what is THIS for?" He just rolled his eyes and said, "Thats for scoring the wallpaper. It makes it easier to take down." Really? Ive taken a LOT of wallpaper down in my lifetime and I have never seen something like this before. Have you???


I decided to try it and see if it worked. At first, I was unsure and used it very lightly. I just didnt want to waste my time spackling little holes all over the walls. You know what I mean? In the end, it made it so MUCH easier taking down the pesky border!


The next project I had was taking down the obnoxious breakfast bar. It just took up too much valuable space and we just simply don't like it. So, that meant DEMO TIME!

I couldn't find my cordless drill (go figure) and used Paul's instead. His drill was very weak and took forever to charge. So, I decided to take this bar apart by hand. Oh boy... took forever and my fingers screamed the whole time. The bar was bolted into the floor and it took a lot of effort to unscrew the bolts out. When taking off the sides from the "leg," I discovered that they actually cut into the floor to built this darn thing. What a disappointment!


When I finally torn it all out, you can see how much space we gained! I have many cute ideas of what to do with this cute little niche. That will come later. Anyway, as you can see, I need to spackle and fix a few holes in the wall. Im disappointed about the hole in the floor. I dont understand why they needed to cut into it. I plan on either matching the wood pieces of the parquet floor OR cutting a small piece of plywood to fit into the hole and covering it up with a rug. This will only be a temporary fix until I replace the entire floor in a few years.



While I was doing demo, the delivery guys arrived with my beautiful new fridge!! Its so nice being able to open the doors and actually have the lights turn on. Our current fridge in the apartment doesnt have a light inside, so I have to dig around in it and hope I come up with the right item. Ha!


Isn't it a beauty?

Rosie's Measurements

As you all know, Miss Rosie is not a small dog. Newfoundlands are in the extra-large category for dogs. Rosie is well on her way to being a HUGE dog. I found several pictures through the last few months where you can see her growth, using the blue beanbag in comparison.

This is where Rosie and Sam sleeps. Sam favors the beanbag, where it is warm and cozy. Rosie favors the kitchen floor where it is cooler.


(Please feel free to click on the pictures to get a bigger view.)

12/7/08
This is the first day we brought Rosie home.
I don't remember her being that small! She is about 1/4 the size of the beanbag.
Sam looks so big in this picture!

12/20/08

01/06/09
Starting to look the same size as Sam.

02/06/09
She is now about half the size of the beanbag.

03/15/09

4/18/09

04/26/09
This was taken today, and you can clearly see that Rosie is the same length as the beanbag, from nose to tail. She is only 8 months old and is still growing!

Poor Sam, he looks so tiny in his favorite beanbag. He is 45 pounds while Rosie is now over 80 pounds.

I wanted to take a picture of Rosie's paw, so you can see how large they are. I had nothing nearby to use to show the scale, except for a knitting needle that was on my desk. As you can see, her entire paw is just about the size of one whole knitting needle.

Apologies and an Update

Well, its been a while since I posted something on this blog. My apologies for being so lax in that area. I've been preoccupied with work and the house search. I have a feeling that my blogging will become a daily/weekly occurrence after I buy a house- Ill be sending in updates about painting, any renovations, etc that I will do.

Speaking of the house hunt, I think it is going to come to a close within the next week or so. Ive found a charming Bungalow that was built in the 1920s and fits our needs perfectly. It has 5 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. It is loaded with character and woodwork. The dining room and the foyer with french doors are just examples. It is a beautiful house and I am hoping to hear within the next few days if it will be mine.

A House

Today I will be putting in an offer on a house. Its a beautiful brick colonial that was built in the 1930s. It has a lot of character and charm. There are some circumstances associated with this house that may lead to my offer not being accepted, but I am going to try anyway. I should know by Friday, the 10th, if the house is mine or not. Keep your fingers crossed!

Here is the large, spacious living room with beautiful leaded windows, natural fireplace and expansive hardwood floors. It has a lot of light and is very relaxing. I can just see myself living there.

Time will tell...

The House Saga Continues...

As you all well know... I am on the hunt for an adorable house with a lot of character and charm. Its now been about 5 months. Nothing, nada, nilch, zippo...

I saw houses that were *almost* it, but they all had one thing that was a deal breaker. For instance, one had NO yard. Well, that defeats the purpose of looking for a house, doesn't it? Another house had a tiny bathroom with no room to spare for a future renovation. A third house had no central air... Im sorry, but when you have a soon-to-be 130 lb shaggy black dog, I highly doubt you (or the dog) will be able to survive the summers without any cool relief.

This week alone, I saw seven houses and have 5 more lined up to see tomorrow. It seems to be a neverending process of viewing properties, making calls about mortgage loans, making sure your pre-approval status is still valid, and so on.

Paul and I are trying our best to stay optimistic and be patient about this process. We still dream about a cute bungalow that we will call our own. I already have my craft room decorated in my head. I found this adorable cabinet/hutch the other day and fell in love with it. Wouldnt it just be perfect in my craft room with crisp white walls so the colorful patina will stand out. It will overflow with paper, paints, embellishments, and my other art supplies. Can you visualize it?

Evolving Taste...

Right now I am on the cusp of Spring, yet not ready to leave the deliciously grey days of Winter.


Here are a few of my favorite things. Its so inspiring to watch your own taste/style evolve over time.



I am hopelessly in love with the color grey. I want a room in my house painted in the silvery, mysterious shade of grey. It is a very neutral color and is easy to pair with a pop of color, such as blue, red, or pink. This French bathroom is just dreamy... The old, rusty clawfoot bathtub is just perfection.



Even though I love grey, I am ready to see splashes of color here and there. Daffodils are one of my absolute favorite flowers of all times. As a little girl, I loved them only because they bloomed faithfully on my birthday and I always thought it was so special that they only bloomed for me. Now, I love them because they're such a cheerful, tough flower that can live virtually anywhere.


I will fully admit that I have never been the girly, frilly type. But... Ive noticed that my style has been slowly evolving and I do appreciate the occasional jolt of feminine color. Over the last few years, Ive come to love Peonies. They're such an old fashioned flower and remind me of Grandma J. My particular favorite is the big, frilly pink Peony. They're so full, yet delicate. It would make a world of difference if I had a simple bouquet of frilly pink Peonies on my desk everyday.



I am very well known to be an organized person, almost to the point where I'm anal. While it is nice to be organized and clean, Ive come to appreciate organized chaos. I love these wire baskets that are organized according to color. I can fully envision these baskets in my future office and/or craft room. My style has evolved from strictly organized (where you cannot see the materials) to a open, visual system where you can see the textures and colors of the objects I own. The more things that I see, the more inspired I am to create beautiful things.


I will gladly admit that much of my taste has evolved since my trip to France. It was a truly eye-opening, life-changing journey. Much of what I saw in that country has a very simple, beautiful yet practical approach. For example, these bundles of lavender are simply wrapped with kraft paper and tied together with twine. So simple and beautiful, yet practical.




Speaking of simplicity... Ive come to really appreciate the old villas that we saw in France. The buildings are typically built from stone and they have stood for thousands of years. They have a beautiful, irresistable patina that lends to its character. While I probably will not find something like this in America, I can still apply the concept to my future garden. Can you see it? A small stone wall with a large old tree and a few pink, frilly peony bushes?


Isn't this paper Eiffel Tower just adorable? I thought it was a very appropriate picture to put on my blog considering today is Valentine's Day. This would be a cute centerpiece to create for a table. Instead of placing an engagement ring in the center, a small single flower or a piece of candy would be ideal for a party.

As you can see, Ive come to really appreciate softer colors, old objects with patina, and simple objects that can found just about everywhere. I should adopt this concept and apply it to my life on a daily basis in terms of my attitude and perception. If I can view the world a bit softer, with character and simplicity, there would be less stress... don't you think?

In Memory of Grandma J

The wonderful ladies in Michigan that Ive been in touch with are awesome hand-quilters! I sent them two very large antique quilt tops that I had in my collection. They finished the pieces and put them together into beautiful pieces of art. Along with the two quilt tops, I decided to take a risk and send them a very small top that Grandma J had started but didn't finish. It was too small to be a twin size quilt, so I asked them to turn it into a wall hanging.

It arrived today and is just absolutely gorgeous!





Guess how much they charged me for quilting this wall hanging?

Only $30. What a bargain for beautiful hand stitching!