Debacle?

We had a great day planned for yesterday. We would go to the flower market, pick up some screws to fix the deck boards Weatherboy ripped up to repair a pipe, clean the house and have friends over in the afternoon.

At least, that was the plan. We came home with supplies and were making trips in from the car when I accidentally locked us out of the house. So there we were, standing outside with a pile of groceries and all the pets happily inside wondering why we didn't come in. Whoops!

After an aborted attempt to climb from the neighbor's third floor window to our open third floor window, we decided to break the glass on the back door. Glass is cheap to replace, our neighbor pointed out, and Weatherboy is handy so this should be a 1 hour project.


Wrong. While attempting to remove the remaining glass we discover that our door is so ancient and so painted that any attempt to remove the trim to replace the glass will result in complete destruction of the door. So all of a sudden we are installing a new door.

Luckily, Weatherboy's friends are up to the challenge!

A mere 6 1/2 hours later - a new door! And it's only 2 inches narrower and 5 inches shorter than the former door and hole! Hooray for lots of insulation and finish work to do!
So there is still a lot of work left, but I think the result is rather pretty. This project was on the list, it has just leapfrogged a few others. And once Weatherboy is finished with the insulation and plaster, I get to come in with my paintbrush. Our house trim is a dark brown and since it is the back door and doesn't have to match any of the neighbors' I am planning on painting it "Potting Shed Green" a lovely Martha Stewart approved shade of green.

I'm glad we didn't call the locksmith.

Finito!

Well, this room is mostly finished. Finished enough. Apparently, the flying orbs like it so it will do for now. Headboard is not to my satisfaction (or weatherguy's either) but it will stay but for the weekend at least so we can host a big shindig and maybe even a guest.

Also, sewing machines are evil. I believe they conspire against me to make sure that I am the only one in my family who cannot sew. (Oh wait, can baby sis sew? She can paint, which is much more complicated.)

Please note the gorgeous flower arrangement which is... my wedding bouquet. Finally found a home for it!

Life in Progress

It seems as if everything in my life is in progress right now. I am surrounded by things half-finished. I've taken a break from the efforts to take a few pictures...

In progress #1 - Painting the guest room. This room was a bright spring green with a blue ceiling with a lovely mural of a hot air balloon. Perfect for a little boy. Not so perfect for my guest/craft room. Several coats of Kilz and Behr later I have an almost finished room. Just need to do that pesky trim.
In progress #2 - Den. My grandmother very generously bought us a new couch for our den/man land. Now I need to put the feet on it, hang drapes, clean and actually decorate the room. All by March 8th! WOOT!
In progress #3 - Baby blanket. It's a joint project with a friend. Let's hope the squares can be blocked into the same size.

In progress #4 - Cabled jacket. Sigh. So pretty. Sooooooo slow. Maybe I will be able to wear this next winter.

In progress #5 - Bird in Hands mittens. Because it is still freaking cold here. I left Florida why?

What I did on my Christmas vacation

Moving into a new home takes so much longer than I ever expected. I was full of ideas and thought I had it all figured out. I had swatches and paint chips and big dreams. Then unpacking while working and getting ready for the holidays hit. And the house came to a standstill.

But, my mother arrived on Christmas day with some huge gifts... first she was there to spend Christmas with us, and then she made me drapes! I had bought some of this gorgeous but rather loud fabric to use as an accent but she picked up 5 more yards and went to work. She convinced me that this large wall in a very plain tan could handle the loud print and she was right. It may be overwhelming in this picture, but the room is large and has a lot of plain items - plain green couch, plain tan walls, plain brown and eggplant accents, and these take all of the colors and just pop. Thanks again, Mom.

So, motivated by the gorgeous curtains being sewn up in the guest room, I painted the dining room yesterday. Luckily the wainscoting is already two colors of beige that go very well with the russet color that I am so in love with right now. She's planning on making some more drapes but I kind of like these brown ones from an old apartment and I may make some patterned roman shades to go behind them. Thoughts?

Of course having the room all done and pretty just reminds me how pitifully small our dining room table is, but a new set will have to wait for a while. Eventually I'll have a set with better scale.

One room down!

8 to go!

Our living room is mostly complete. Complete enough that I will settle down and enjoy it. Mom is coming for Christmas and we will make some brightly colored drapes to add some more color and life to the room.

Not too shabby for a snowy day stuck inside. I cannot even begin to express how much I love this fireplace.


Now to the next item on the huge list. Enlarge photos for those frames and get the dining room painted.

We get our house today!

Foyer & Front door
Originally uploaded by kbelle.

DH picks up the keys at 1! I am pee in my pants excited. This last month of waiting after closing has been horrible. It's quite frustrating to be so excited to be a first time homeowner and have to wait to even see it again.

We will paint this weekend and move in on the 8th! Hooray!

Fireplace
Originally uploaded by kbelle.