A Few of My Favorite Room Re-Dos

in our old house

there are plethora of 'to do' projects

on an ever expanding list

so when we complete a room

it is tremendously exciting

for us, at least

sometimes

when i look at

The Lengthy To Do List

i feel as though we aren't accomplishing much

so it's refreshing and encouraging

to look back through the year

to see what we have been able to redo in our home

here are my top projects for 2010

1. the kichen

perhaps the biggest reno

2. the schoolroom redo

3.  upstairs bath mini makeover

4. the downstairs bath redo

astounding what a lick or two of paint and a new shower curtain can do

and
of course
my most recent project

5. Upstairs Downstairs Hallway



whew
i'm tired just looking at it all


it's hard to believe what you can accomplish
in just one year


here's to the next 365 days
and countless 'honey do' list

participating in

Duff House Hallway Reveal

the hubs has been very busy this holiday break

peeling wallpaper

priming walls

choosing materials

(with a little help from the missus)

and

painting

and

painting

and

well...you get the idea

some projects always take longer than you expect

but the result is worth it

(easy for me to say)

here's the best before shot i can do

prepare yourself for some serious kuckyness

ugly wallpaper

dated ucky ceiling light

horrible

dirty

icky

carpet

and yet

more

terrible wallpaper

dark, dust-catching shutters

peeling faux wood finish woodwork

it had been so long since we pulled up the carpet

that i'd forgotten how disgusting it really was

but with a little elbow grease

and a whole lot of 

we started to get there

and yes

that's the outside extension ladder

which was the only way to reach the ceiling above the stairwell

and here it is

you can see we've left the stairs and railing undone

not sure yet whether we'll paint the railing

or leave it

eventually

we're planning to carpet the stairs and the entire upstairs

i know everyone loves hardwoods

and so do i

but when you live in an old cold house

with very creaky stairs

it's luxury to have a little warmth and cushion

underfoot

remember this?

now it looks like this

and looking back from the other direction

just to refresh your memory

now we can see daylight

it all feels so clean and open

still need to install the upstairs light fixture

i've got a dusty crystal chandy in the attic

but this has been our biggest project to date

so we're very happy to have it finished

next to be painted is big's room

then little miss's room...sy and toot's room....master bedroom...

it will happen

eventually

Christmastime

how does it manage to pass so quickly

christmas break

we've crammed jammed it with as much

memory making

as we can

and though i'm totally ready

to tear down the holly and lights

i am trying to savor the last few days of holiday

that are left

hubs saved his vacation time

and had 3 whole glorious weeks off

the first of which he spent painting the hallway

(which you will see in a later post)

one day was spent in

mother-daughter fun

on ice

i think

an analogy could be made

that ice skating is a little like

starting a relationship with jesus

exciting to begin

scary first steps

clutching solid things for support

gaining confidence

learning to sail along

and then 

a whole lot of

falling on your bum

which fortunately

didn't happen this time

that same week

the hubs and i 

'celebrated'

turning 39

oops

wrong photo...

here we are

pretending to be happy about it

dunno why little miss looks so glum though

i will say

one nice thing about birthdays

is being given flowers by my hubs and kids

another day

we took the kidlets to see

voyage of the dawn treader

in 3D

then out for burgers and shakes

where they sat with cheesy smiles

pretending to like eachother

while waiting for mum to just take the picture already

still working on little miss and the fake smiles

then

of course

came christmas eve

along with the requisite new jammies

which followed a breathing treatment for one over-excited little boy

thank goodness for nebulizers

on christmas morning

we had 4 extremely excited children

anxously waiting to be allowed downstairs

for some reason

they wanted to start tearing into these

apparently

there were a few things under the tree for them

even a few things for the bigger kids

and

for the first time in years

we had snow on christmas morning

(which you totally can't see in this photo but trust me it's there)

every year

i both participate in and watch the fun

hoping that these cherished times will create lasting memories

for all of us

these were of few of my favorite moments

what were some of yours this season?