Spare Bedroom #1 - Update

The last time I blogged about this room was here and here . If you want to catch yourself up on its progress go check those posts out. It's been a while. :)

Since then, we have painted. The walls are ICI Deluxe paint in 'Paddlewheel Grey' and the ceiling is ICI's ceiling paint in 'The Plaza'.

We (Thomas) also finished installing the baseboards, crown moulding, and the window trim.

I still need to paint the trim. It is an annoying job, but someone has got to do it! :)

Thomas installed the closet organizer. Rubbermaid. Simple cheap and easy.

This closet defiantly helps getting ready in the morning for work. I highly recommend wallpapering your closets! I love mine. With the new doors and organizer I can actually see all my clothes. I'm hoping to come up with some jewelry organization for one of those cubbies. I also need to paint the closet doors. All in all I'm really happy with how it turned out. :)

For this room I have visions..

.. of a crafting room. A reading room. A dressing room. A guest room?

Its a tall order. And I'm not sure there is enough space for all of the above. But we will figure it out soon. :)

Bathroom Reno - Stained Vanity

We wanted to use up some dark walnut stain we had sitting around..

Before

After careful consideration we decided to update our bathroom vanity. If it did not turn out well we could paint over the stain. No harm done. We disassembled the doors and drawers for sanding. After 3 coats of stain and a trip to home depot for some new hardware we have..

After

Don't worry, we aren't done. Tiling the floor and shower is next and we are on the hunt for a new counter top. Stay tuned :)

Christmas Time

Thomas was able to put up the christmas lights before the snow fell..

We have recently returned from another sweet vacation in Vegas. It was so relaxing to just get away from the busy of everyday life. Here a few shots of the over the top Vegas style christmas decorations.

The day after we got home we got right to business and bought our first ever real tree. A recommendation from a co-worker lead us to Save On Foods for our $40.00 douglas fir. It was heavy, just ask Thomas.

We cleared this corner of our living room and setup our tree stand.

Our trees directions instructed us to remove 1" from the bottom of the tree. So thomas did. And I have started a little tradition with this piece of the tree that I might share a little later :)

Here she is in all of her wrapped up frozen glory.

Starting to defrost and fill out..

I got a great deal on some gorgeous ornaments from RH..

Although there is no topper yet.. I really like our tree. Its simple and gorgeous and ours. :)

Our first christmas in our first home is feeling wonderful. This tree makes the house smell amazing. With a generous amount of eggnog in the fridge and christmas music playing... Cozy is the best way to describe it. We have already had a little get together with some friends where I made a turkey for a big dinner. Want to see a picture of my golden bird? Okay!

We are feeling extremely blessed to have such a great group of friends and an amazing family. Looking forward to many more visits and festivities before the new year. :)

I see a white door and I want to paint it red...

Are you ready for this?

Its my most favoritest thing that we've done in the house to date.

Its awesome..

I'm not the greatest at capturing the before shots. So here is the door with a couple of samples on it. (apparently I need to calm down when I 'sample' a colour.. :) )

We decided on Benjamin Moores Affinity Color 'Dinner Party' in their exterior Aura paint. We love BM's Aura paint! Its incredible. I was able to cover this door in two coats. If you have ever painted with red before, you know thats pretty decent.

The old brass hardware just wasn't jiving with the doors pretty new colour. So a trip to Rona later..

Oh, I guess they had a sale on thermostats too.. ;)

Ugly old hinges..

Brand new and looking great!

A little before and "after" shot.. (even though we have a long way to go..)

Before our move in, May 2010

Taken tonight, October 4 2010 :)

I'm sure I speak for both Thomas and I when I say we are super proud of our little bungalow. And all that we have accomplished and done here. There is still a lot of work to be done. At this point, there is no slowing us down. We are renovating machines! :)

What do you think? Do you like our new red door? :)

Incase you were curious.. the total cost for this project including paint and new hardware was $125.00. Less than a new door and MUCH more fun! :)

Office Update and a exterior front door mess

Hello! I'm almost ready to head to bed but I just wanted to do a quick update on the fun that went on today.

Firstly. We chose a color for the office. Yes! We have decided the 'Monster Truck Room' will be our new office. Heres how its went so far..

 Bye bye trucks :)

 Trim be gone..

Removed the closet doors and the "organizer" that was inside..



 So there is what the room looks like as of tonight  :)

And as for the door.. am I decorating for Halloween? Nope! .. This is going to happen. We are going to have a red exterior door. :)



Summery Break

I took a little break from blogging for the last part of summer. We were busy and taking in every last bit of the warm weather. Personally, I do not think I've enjoyed a summer this much.. ever. Between time with family and friends, endless camping trips, and spending time in our new home it has been full of awesome. Heres just a small collection of memories..

 Our last camping trip of the summer.. Can't wait to do it again next year! :)

 Car Rally!

 Housewarming

 A highlight from our Vegas trip :)

 My Dad and I on a special day

Lake trips with friends to enjoy the sun and relaxation.

I also started a new job last month. I love it and already have a raise to celebrate :-)

We tackled a few small projects here and there around the house. Nothing major.

Thomas wanted to fill in the cement step that had the huge hole in it before snow fall. Handy Man extrodinaire had the step filled before I could finish cooking lunch. Take it easy villa... :-)

The goal here wasn't to be pretty. Its all about maintenance preventing little things from being big issues. Hopefully next year we can tackle the back porch situation a little more.. but for now.. this will do just fine!

This weekend we plan on finishing up the spare bedroom and starting on the Monster Truck room. I'm going to miss that wallpaper dearly. I think I'm still going to call it The Monster Truck room even when its not..

It feels good to be back! :)