A Bad Case of the Hiccups

In the past few days, while there has been progress made, it has felt that each two steps forward are followed by three steps back.

Have you ever sat down to enjoy a meal (one you can't wait to dig into) only to have a side dish of hiccups served with it?  Go ahead and take a bite, and a completely unexpected, uncontrollable muscle spasm causes one to spit up and nearly choke at the same time. Under the circumstances even the most delicious of foods can be almost unenjoyable.

So many wonderful things have been accomplished, and yet I just feel like whining. Please forgive me. I would really like to get the house CLEAN and FURNISHED, but there are all of these small issues that keep cropping up and bringing clouds of dust with them.

The bathroom upstairs....the one I have had many pictures of here these past few weeks, is just about finished. I cleaned it last week, and hung the shower curtain.

On that note, I will close for today. I am going to go drink some water while standing on my head or something.

Yes, I Know I Haven't Posted Anything in Two Weeks (and other reasons why it is a really good thing I don't blog for a living)....

Ordinarily, I keep my promises. However, in the case where each Monday I have promised to post some photos of progress at my project house.....well, that totally hasn't happened. Although, if you look at the "before" picture above, you will see that a lot of other things have happened with some predictability and skill.

In the past two weeks the painters have finished on the inside and the whole house is so much lighter and brighter. In the downstairs bathroom where the original 1950 tile was in such good shape (seen here before)....

the new color on the walls helps to clean things up and seems to add an Easter egg freshness to the room.

Upstairs we have been busy moving in furniture and other finishing touches....

so that it is easy for a potential buyer to be able to picture the rooms in use, and themselves living in them!

In just two more days, the curtains will be hung and all of the major furniture pieces should be in place. I will take pictures....but I am NOT going to post them. HA!

Yes, I will. And with any luck it will be on Monday.

The Picture of Progress

Yes, I know. I didn't keep my promise to post progress photos each Monday....But, it is Monday again, and I am back! Painting has started, and no matter how long I have been doing this, I am always amazed at what a huge difference paint can make.

Here is the alcove in the master bedroom before:

Now with the new color, things have mellowed out and the room to feels more like a place to sleep and relax:

Next Thursday the new carpeting will be installed. I can't wait!!

If you remember from earlier posts, the addition on the front of the house that was an enclosed porch of sorts, has been removed, exposing the true facade and character of our little cape cod. Here is the front room, the living room, when we first had gone to see the house:

We now have cleaned up the cracked tiles that were on the hearth (a new piece of stone will be replacing them), and a new mantel is in place adding some lovely architectural detail to the room. Can you see how much more natural light is in the room now?

The kitchen is a cozy little room, but it was my goal to make the most of the space and have it live as large as possible. The doorway to the dining room was small and cramped...

I felt like I was removed from the rest of the house when I was in the kitchen, and the small doorway heightened that feeling. To improve the layout of the kitchen, we moved the doorway, and when we did so, lifted the header and widened the opening.

Now there is much more light and much less claustrophobia.

Lastly, the first coat of the new paint color has gone up in the upstairs bath. You have seen the "before" before....

The "after", or should I say the "during", is on its way to being a beautiful spa-like blue.

See you next Monday. Truly.

Flowers of Freedom

It has been so cold. It has been so icy. It has been so WHITE everywhere for the LONGEST time.  When I got up yesterday morning, I felt compelled to go get a little slice of spring and bring it home with me. I am having a few ladies over this evening (can't wait!) --seems we were all reading the same book, so why not discuss it over a glass of wine?? All the more reason to go to the flower market.

The book that we will be discussing, Martha Beck's Steering By Starlight, talks about thinking of the things you do during the course of your day, and rating them by how they make you feel, "shackles on" or "shackles OFF." Well, I don't think that it is any surprise that working with flowers is a complete SHACKLES OFF activity for me, that further leads to SHACKLES OFF feelings each time I walk past them in the house thereafter.

Doesn't it just make you want to stick your nose in it and breathe deeply?

Ahhhhh.....

I had so much fun assembling the arrangements, and putting them all through the house.  I tucked some in my little wall pocket vase next to my kitchen sink...

on the kitchen table...

and I was sure to put some beside my bed....a real way to pamper oneself!

And, of course, in the dining room where I will be hosting tonight's get-together.

Almost makes me not mind having to go out and shovel some more snow off the drive before everyone arrives... Almost.

Dust, Dirt, and Determination

It has been six weeks today since we went to settlement for our little house.  In those six weeks we have celebrated Christmas, welcomed a new year, sent reluctant children back to school, replaced a roof, gutted two bathrooms & one kitchen, and enjoyed 24 snow storms.

As if 24 weren't enough (well, maybe I am exaggerating a little), we are due to get more tomorrow, although I understand the majority of this storm is supposed to be ice.

Nonetheless, we must forge ahead!

While the outside world remains a frosty white, the inside of the house is a decidedly gritty grayish brown. Encouragingly, though, if you can look past all the dust and dirt, you will see PROGRESS.

Here are a few pictures of the upstairs bathroom. Before.....

During.....

and with a new tile floor, and the shell of a vanity. 

I am very excited for painting to start in the next week (weather permitting) and for the kitchen cabinets to arrive. Every little change is great to see, and it will add up to a wonderful result. Don't forget to check back next Monday for the next set of progress photos!