Julian's 10th Birthday!!!!

This Monday was my sweet Julian's birthday!!!!! He turned 10.My sweet boy had the best birthday ever!!!! We celebrated at home and then we went to dinner at a place of his choice.He picked Rocky Roccos. After dinner we picked up ice-cream from Ben and Jerry's to have with his cake at home. Big sister Paloma came over with her fiancé Jake to have cake and ice cream.He had the biggest smile on his face all day !!!! He especially loved the "Happy Birthday" phone calls from all the family.

We are so blessed to have Julian in our family!!!! He is so bright but most important he has such a gentle loving soul!!!! Happy Birthday Julian!!!!!!

Laundry room

Last December our washing machine broke down(yeah,the perfect month for it).At first it was just leaking some water but by the end it became a river!!!!)We looked into repairing the machine but it turned out that it would cost half of what the new machine would cost.We purchased our original machine used so it didn't make sense to fix it.Luckily the week after christmas we found a front loader on sale!!!!!! I was so excited,our old machine was a front loader too but was not in the new see thru window style.We did not buy the stand that came with it because I had seen a photo online of what I wanted. I found a photo on Ana Whites website.It is a blog about building(furniture) items and she gives the dimensions on how to build http://ana-white.com/2011/01/sausha’s-washerdryer-pedestals used her design as a guide but made ours a little longer.Here are photos.I am in the process of painting a part of the wall that I started about 3 years ago and ran out paint (lol) and left unfinished. Also I want to buy some type of rug for the floor.So stay tuned for more updates.

Clearing

Today I finally finished packing all my xmas decorations and putting everything away.I am exhausted!!!! I really love xmas decorations but by the end I feel suffocated in a way. I feel like I need more space!!!! The house is a little messy because we worked on a project this weekend!!! The first one of the year. I am not done so the final reveal might take a while.So besides the xmas stuff ,I am cleaning up lumber,tools,etc.One of my "new year resolutions" that I write down every year is to organize better. That is my challenge ,I am always looking for ways to organize our "stuff". I have become better at it but we still have a way to go. I do believe in Feng Shui and space clearing so that is what I am doing today,wish me luck!!!!! Have a great day!!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!

We had a very mellow New Year's Eve,we were exhausted from working (doing hair) earlier in the day.We did get to eat some fabulous food in the evening!!!!! We bought thai food from our favorite Thai rester aunt!!! Yummy!!!!That was a good way to end 2011.Looking through my blog at the projects we did in 2011 has been fun!!! I mostly did a lot of furniture makeovers.Many paint projects, most important was finishing the exterior of our house that we started last year.I also painted the front porch(I had wanted to repaint it for years!!!!! We redid electrical in our main bathroom(it started when I wanted a new outlet installed for my electric fireplace heater). In the summer we made our garden more functional and beautiful by adding pea gravel.We also put up my wrought iron arbor in the back leading to the garden.Back inside I added an apothecary wall unit in the kitchen for organization.The biggest project that was in the planning for years was adding a driveway gate!!!! That to me was one of the biggest things that we did (we also redid the fence on one side of the house) beside painting the exterior.Our house is looking complete!!!! I am thankful for what we have been able to accomplish in 2011 but am looking forward to 2012!!!!!

Life is good!!!!!

I am excited!!!!! We have a brand new washing machine!!!!!! It is a front loader,and it is brand new!!!!! Our old front loader was Neptune/venus(we bought it used)and was leaking water all over the basement for the last month.Up to that point I loved it!!!! When we inquired about getting it repaired the cost didn't make sense.It was a used appliance and would have cost $200 for what they thought was the problem with no guarantee.I am so excited to have the newer front loader as I always liked the vintage looking window/door.Now I have a project for Trent(hubby),we need a platform to put the washer and dryer on.I have been on pinterest looking for inspiration!!!! Now I will need to spruce up our laundry room!!!!!Also last month our dishwasher broke!!!! I put in a large pan(big mistake)and it broke the attachment to the spinner.We asked at a few stores and they said I needed to find the part on line.Yesterday,we tried an appliance part store and they actually had our piece!!!!! The best part was that it cost only $5 for the replacement. I am so blessed to have two functioning appliances today!!! Life is good!!!!!Photos via pinterest

Christmas 2011!!!!

Happy Holidays!!!! We are having a great day so far!!!!! Just a quick post before I get ready for our guests. Here are photos of the boys that I took just this week. I can't believe how much they have grown this year. Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Vintage santa collection

I have been collecting Santa Clause figures for a while now. I especially like the vintage Santas.Some have glitter on them ,some are made out of wood ,some are replicas of originals and all of them are unique!!!!! This year I bought only one but plan on buying some at the after xmas sales!!!!! I have a few last minute items to get to be ready for the holiday!!!!! Before I brave the cold,I need my morning coffee to get me going!!!!!!Here are some Santas in different parts of the living room.