Happy New Year! A Tribute, Kitchen Update and Aislinn's Room

Happy 2015!  I know I'm late to the party!  One of my goals this year (notice I didn't say resolution...) is to update my blog more often.

I'd like to pay tribute to my dear friend, Christine McKenna who lost her valiant battle with cancer on December 6th.  She always had a smile, a postivite outlook and word to say and a from-the-gut-laugh.  I miss her - our conversations and visits.  Fuck you cancer. Here's her beautiful, smiling face.

I miss her. :-(

Kitchen progress - I had a buddy who does contracting work in for 3 days - he got the hardware on the cabinets, installed the pot drawers, toe kicks, fillers, cove moulding and trim on top of cabinets.  That would've taken me 2 weeks - I'm sure of it.  Well worth the money.  I've finished installing the ceramic backsplash and plan on grouting this weekend with my awesome Mom's help.  Photos will come when it's done.

The last big house news - for now - Miss  Peanut's room was done before Christmas.  Huge difference!  I'll let the pictures tell the story.

1st day of demo

And when it's done... more pics to come later when art is up and furniture is painted.  Miss girl LOVES her room!

So there it is for now.  I'll be updating with whatever thoughts, muses, house updates, etc.

Just letting you know what is happening at Casa Colleen y Aislinn y gatos.

xo

Changing Up Momma's Bedroom

Can't believe I started this blog just over 3 years ago! Time has wings I'm tellin ' ya.

I'm without my girl this weekend and upcoming week. While I'll miss her like crazy, it is a good op for me to do stuff around the house.

A few weeks ago, I'd gone to McHaffie's flea market with Aislinn and Rhonda. I purchased a beautiful vintage, white vanity and chair. It's been sitting in my foyer since the Thursday following. Rhonda was kind enough to pick it up for me in her truck.

Reason being is my old vanity was still in my room and I needed an extra pair of hands to help me schlep it upstairs. My awesome mum came over to help me.

We rearranged the room according to good feng shui practice and removed the door to my sun porch to open up the room.

I will be selling my wood bedroom set as I had it while married and need to change up the energy with different furniture now that I'm no longer married.

I have another dresser and night stand that need some tlc and painting.

Obvs, the wallpaper needs to go as well as popcorn ceiling. Light fixture needs to changed out and floor painted. Baby steps.

So, without further ado, here are pics of the rearranged room and new vanity.

Summer Update

Howdy y'all!

I have been thinking about this blog.  I don't post as often as I'd like - some have told me I should do it daily but I see very few blogs that update daily.  I'm good with doing it as I can.  I will try to post more frequently.

So, the kitchen was going along boomingly until I threw my back out and lost motivation. Boo.  Good news on that front though - I'm going to do what I do every day and project manage the damn thing till it's done. Yay?

I want to build the equity in my house and perhaps get into investing in real estate. It can be done and I know I'd be good at it.  Just waiting to learn what I need to learn from the 'rents after the seminar they will be going to in October from the illustrious Scott MacGillivray.  Stoked!

Over this past weekend, my dad, Garth, came over with his chainsaw and took down 3 trees for me.  Before you rant at me - I don't like taking trees down but these were not the healthiest and in really bad spots.  The two in the front being gone make a HUGE difference! The front yard looks so much bigger now and there's the added bonus of being able to see oncoming cars while backing out of my driveway.  See below.

The upper photo is before any work was done.  Huge difference!

Moving along....

This summer I took Aislinn out west.  We flew out to Comox and spend 2 fantastic days with Irene, Blaine and the boys.  We toured the area, had a hot dog and marshmellow roast on Goose Spit beach, went to Goats on Roof, Cathedral Grove and UVI Marine Centre. I fell in love with the Island and am determined to move out there in 9 - 10 years.  No mosquitos, no snow, ocean is minutes away and the motorcycle season is a lot longer!  Win, win, win and win!  Got a great vibe out there too! 

We then toodled down island to Mechosin to visit a couple of days with Nat, Greg and their two kids.  First day went to Tyler Beach to find beach glass, next day went whale watching! Awesome!  Saw 5 Orcas about 50 feet from our boat.  Orca Spirits is the whale watching group to go with folks!So wonderful to spend time with them and meet Jasmine in person. 

We ferried over to Van where Paula and Miila picked us up.  Then the fantastic road trip through the Rockies over the next 3 days.  We picked fruit, visited vineyards and a cidery (?), drove through Glacier National Park, etc.  Fantastic!  We spent a week with Paula and loved it too.  Our final 2 days of this memorable trip were spent with Nat, Glen and miss Neko.  Great 2 days and then flew home.  Had such a wonderful time - going back in 2 years! 

I must give kudos to Dale for helping us out with flights and all of my friends for having us over.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart - the trip couldn't have happened without you.

Here are a few photos of our trip.

 

There you have it - until next time!

Kitchen Progress Update

Howdy y'all,

Thought I'd update you on the kitchen progress - although this will be a pic-free post as I want to do a 'Big Reveal' once it's complete - more drama and impact doncha know.

So, 2 weeks ago I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday building the boxes for my cabinets.  My oh-so-awesome parents helped me install them over Saturday and Sunday.  Mom and I installed some doors and I finished up the rest.  One set of doors still to go up as I had some custom pot drawers built.  They'll go up this week.

So. Frigging. Exciting.

Haven't had cabinets in a longggggggggggggggggggggg time....

Hinges need to be tweaked to adjust the doors and drawers but won't take long.  And of course the handles and knobs need to be installed.

My quartz countertops came Friday last week and hoo boy are they sexy!

I don't quite know what to do with all the surfaces and storage.  It's a little overwhelming... ;-)

Saturday Mom and I will be tackling the ceramic back splash.  Be still my beating heart.....

Okay, left to do:

• Grout said tile once done
• tweak doors
• Install handles and knobs
• Paint and install cove molding at ceiling
• Install crown on upper cabs
• Install trim on bottom of cabs
• Put on toe-kick
• Add various bits of trim
• Install exhaust fan
• Make mason jar pendant lights and install
• Drink copious amount of sangria or whatever alcohol to celebrate the finished farging kitchen

So that's it for now my little turtledoves.

Have a great night,
Colleen
xo

The Heavens Parted and The Angels Sang...

because the first DIY reno project in the house is DONE!!!!

Yes, you read correctly.  And it's not the kitchen - yet. Making huge strides with it and will be done in a few short weeks!

No, my fine friends, my walk-in closet is finished.  This evening it is still pristine and empty.  I'll be transferring my clothes and purses from Aislinn's closet over the next day or two.

Let me refresh your memory - I don't actually have a closet in my room.  Oh - it looks like I do cause there's a door...

It's being coy - there isn't a full size closet cause it goes UNDER the roof slope.  Awesome. So for the last 2 years and 9 months (who's counting?) I've been sharing my daughter's big ass double closet with her.  You can't say she's not gracious...

I digress.

Look at this - BAM!

 

 

The floors will be painted when the windows can be fully opened cause it's gonna stank........

So excited to have this done! 

Have a great and blessed Easter with your loved ones and keep your eyes peeled for the finished kitchen post coming to your puter soon.

xo

Kitchen Progress and New Design

Good snowy day!  Not.  

Seriously, is winter ever going to end?!

Last week I took Monday and Tuesday off so I could do a hard push over a long weekend without peanut's company to accomplish a lot on the renos. I needed to do this to feel a sense of accomplishment and honestly, needed the kick in the ass.

Mom (my hero!) and I got 2 coats of trim done in the closet and I did another coat of cutting with the colour.  One more coat on the trim then the rods can go up, shelves and storage unit.  The floors will wait until summer - I'm going to paint them and windows will need to be opened!

The most progress we made though was in the kitchen.  Did my heart and soul good - I tell ya!

We got the ceiling sanded at the joints of the planks, all the walls sanded, primed and first coat of colour on!  Booyah! We also primed the trim.  Behold the awesomeness...

Still trying to figure out how to adjust image layout in posts...

Anyhoo, the white spots weren't due to laziness - cabinets will be going there so no point painting it.

Next steps - 2nd coat of colour, add trim to where ceiling and walls meet, prime and paint ceiling and trim, paint baseboards and trim, install cabinets, temp countertop until quartz comes (yay!)m make Mason jar lights and install.

Sounds like a lot but shouldn't be too bad.  I just keep thinking about how much better I'll feel when it's done and how much SPACE I'll be gaining back.

Until next time.

Lord Tunderin' Jesus

Happy New Year gang!

Wow - didn't realize how much time had lapsed since my last entry.

Well, to sum up the balance of 2013 - had the lumpectomy, didn't have cancer (only good thing that came out of 2013 - huge and I'm thankful) and yadda, yadda.

Wasn't sorry to see 2013 go to be honest.  Sucked.  Big time.

But I'm in a very different place now and 2014 is and will be AWESOME!

I'm actually motivated to work on my house again which is a good thing cause lord knows it needs it!  I am impatient to see my visions for my home (sounds pretentious but really not) come to life.  If only I had the dineros to make it happen sooner...

Okay - so what has been done lately you ask..

I had to start on the closet upstairs so that Aislinn's room can be done at a moment's notice.  Why you ask?  Because as a SECRET birthday gift for my sweet girl - my parents are giving the gift of a room renovation.  Kind of a gift to me too indirectly.  Let me repeat, Aislinn does not know about this.

So, when the contractor lets my mom know he has time, we have to empty her room and demolish the existing closet - hence the urgency to complete the upstairs closet.

It would appear I didn't take a before photo - bad blogger.  It's a walk-in closet at the top of the stairs just outside my room - roughly 5' x 5'with slanted ceiling.  It has nasty carpet and a built in that housed mouse turds and old nasty sheets left behind by previous hoarder owner (it felt like they were anyways *shudder*).  All were removed and are resting at the Cardinal dump.  Yeehaw!

Then it sat...and sat... and sat some more.  But in the last month or so, we did some patching and sanding.  Yesterday I sanded some more, wiped down and cut in the primer.  Today Mom (she really is the best) help me roll the primer on. Ta dah!  And like that we were ready to paint!

You see what I'm working with....  This will be my closet as I don't have a closet in my room.  I picked up the paint for the walls, trim and floor today.  We'll tackle that soon.  The photos don't do the closet justice - you really had to see the funkiness that it was before.

Then I gave in and picked at the loose, flapping piece of wallpaper in my room.  Every effing room in this house - except the office - has at least 3 layers of the shit.  I can't stand it.  Anyhoo, it came off sooo easily - trust me, I take it for the gift it is - the rest of it is going to be a major pain in the wazoo.  I took off a wall - I stopped myself because I didn't have the stomach to continue for now.  Soon, my pretty...

Bask, my friends, bask in the fugliness of 80's country wallpaper. *gag* Jerry looks less than impressed and he's a cat. The top picture shows the vast improvement of the questionable white wallcovering over the blue poo.

I'm on a roll people - keep watching.

Until then, keep calm and drink wine on.