It's "Favorites Friday" | Around the New House

The new house has been a lot of work and we're slowly starting to wrap up all of the renovations we have started. We took possession on July 11th and demolished the whole first floor living space, except for our walk-in closet and the main floor bathroom. All the rest… gone. We built in a wall, hung some new drywall, had electrical rerouted, new lights put in, the kitchen totally redone, all new floors, new doors and built a new closet in the spare bedroom. Not to forget new windows have been started and trim is what's waiting for us next. Oh and I hired my mother-in-law to paint everything (thank goodness, I hate painting!).

It's been fun and exhausting, but well worth the outcome. And, while I'm not quite ready to give you the full tour of the house - which I'm dying to reveal, I am going to give you a sneak peak with five of my favorite things so far. We still have a few things left to do in the main space before we can slow down and start other projects at our own pace. Unlike the cape cod, I want the main living area to be completely renovations free - this way we will always have a place to run and relax. There's a whole list of must-dos ahead of us, including a totally renovated basement! But, that will come in time, something we don't need to worry about this year. In the meantime, while I think about redoing all of the floors in the foyer this weekend, here's a sneak peak at a few of my favorite things for this Favorites Friday:

The Countertops

The Light Fixtures

The Glass Cabinets

The Farm Sink

The Hardware

I can't wait to finish up and start unpacking the rest of the boxes. Our house feels so "cold" without all of the furniture on the main floor and no decorations to be seen whatsoever. I am thinking this weekend will be spent redoing one of my antique dressers, laying some floors in the foyer and finally starting to move things. I anticipate that the hubby has this weekend aside to do trim… We will have to wait and see what happens and if I can talk him into letting me do more. He's venturing off to a golf tournament tomorrow and may just come home to a whole new foyer! :o) I will keep you posted and in the meantime, have a great weekend!

Me and My Pinterest... The Nursery

Just when I thought things would slow down... we got a puppy! I will be posting pics within the week! In the meantime, I thought I'd do one of my favorite posts, what's up on my Pinterest. The other day I posted on my personal Facebook, to get a puppy or not get a puppy... The response was actually not that surprising, many people said have a baby! The hubby and I have been married for two years and together for ten, so we are very used to people asking when the baby will be arriving. And, while there are no plans in the making (heck, we've got our whole lives ahead of us), I do have a Pinterest board dedicated to "when I have kids". So, until the day comes when we actually choose the baby rather than a puppy, here are a few nurserys that are to die for:

Blue Skies Baby Bedding.

Pinterest.

Charm Home - Chase's Nursery.

Project Nursery.

Interior Design for the Bedroom.

Pinterest.

Houzz.

Okay enough of the baby talk. While I do have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to when I have kids, it's still not time for anyone to get too excited. We are not onto the baby talk yet and don't plan to be for a while. And for those of you have been following my Pinterest for a while now, know that I have had that board the whole time... which I'm sure has been close to a year already. So, it's all in preparation for the day when we are ready. Until then, we will stick to our new puppy Hank, who I can't wait to show you and I'll try and be back tomorrow for a Favorites Friday, but just in case I get caught up in life, have a great weekend out there!

Life in Grace… The Perfect Kitchen!

A kitchen that feels like home. Have you ever remodeled a home and then found something you thought would have been better? Ahh… that's what happens when you stumble upon so many ideas. Well, I have finally found the kitchen that feels like home. If we were ever to build a home in the country, this would be the kitchen.

Life in Grace - The Kitchen, Her Highness

Life in Grace - The Kitchen, Her Highness

From Life in Grace…. The mix of colors and countertops makes it feel as if it's been there for ages. I am absolutely obsessed with every little detail, the built in hutch, the dining bar with wood countertops and the oversize island. I'm pretty sure I'm in heaven. I'm not quite sure how I stumbled upon Edie's blog, but I just couldn't stop exploring once I had. And, I ended up seeing two more of her kitchens, not so much a favorite like the firsts, but definitely still worth sharing! The character she puts into them makes them feel like home every time.

Life in Grace - Painted Kitchen Cabinets: Retro Turquoise Style

And...

Life in Grace - Lake Cottage Kitchen: Before and Afters

I was curious. So, I kept exploring. Honestly, I could sit at home and blog surf all day, while dreaming of the perfect home. Waking up in the morning, going for a fun, opening up the email and blogs, then writing and crafting for the afternoon, of course while baking and getting ready for supper. A girl can dream can't she! :D

Anyways, I've been side tracked by my dare to dream life… back to Life in Grace. Here are a couple of more rooms I absolutely adore.

Life in Grace - The Sultry Master

Life in Grace - The Girls' Room

Now, I must get back to renos, work, school and the real life.

Yes! I'm Back...

After a summer off from blogging… I'm back. I hated leaving you guys behind for a few months, but it was something I had to do. And now, looking back, I'm glad I did - the past few months have been nothing but chaos! It started out with the sale of our home and ended with a totally gutted new house. It's been long, fun, stressful and just plain tiring. And… I'm glad I'm back. I've got many things to gear up for, including a product launch before Christmas. That's right, I'm putting it in words so it happens, this girl is finally going to get her Etsy Shoppe up and running.

But, before I dive into that, here's a recap of what happened over the summer and the posts you will enjoy soon!

• We sold our house. It was a long process, and a horrible one, but it finally happened. (I still need to share the cape cod renos with you!)
• We bought a bank repossession. That means we also gutted the whole first floor, including kitchen and made it all new… can't wait to share!
• Dallas passed away. Yes the cute dog you saw opening her Christmas present extra early passed away on my birthday. One of the worst days of my life, it was just another of the many things that would go wrong this summer. Not to mention I cried for days… but she is now someplace special watching over us.
• We spent endless days and nights working our butts off. And, lots of decisions were made, floors, windows and even a brand new kitchen.
• We threw a Surprise 60th and Retirement for my mom - as well as surprised our niece with a yard full of balloons and a "honk for the new teen" sign for her 13th birthday!
• I have put my University Course to the side and now must cram an entire course into two months… my fault but I had no way of fitting in to my schedule.
• I've decided to cut out processed food from my diet… that means I've been trying my hardest to eat natural foods only and to skip out on the white refined sugar junk. It actually isn't that hard. But it also means that I will be trying a lot of interesting recipes in the near future. And, once and a while, I will need a cheat treat.
• And, we ended the summer with an extra long weekend away. Finally some rest, relaxation and alone time.

It's been quite the summer and I can't wait to share in on the full details of every event. For now, I'm just glad to be back at the business and working towards another dream. We will still have some renovations in our future - we have a whole other floor. :o) But, we are likely taking the winter off, which means… I'm here to focus on the other things I really enjoy.