an update from the land of chaos (i.e. the new home)

 

Hello friends. Today I thought I’d give you an update from the new home, even though my photos are pretty unexciting. It’s slowly dawning on me that if I wait until a room is completely finished I’ll never post again.

So here it goes. Acceptance. This is my house right now, and it’s not pretty.

(and gulp, I miss my Fall decorating…)

last year’s Fall mantel

Thank goodness my parents came for a visit and stayed for five whole, glorious days and helped me get back on track. My Mom said, “Leslie you’ve got to focus on one room at a time.” And I know what she means, it’s pretty chaotic around here, with me starting projects in just about every room.

Are you good at moving? Because I’m giving myself a big fat “F” for unpacking. I prefer to move on to the painting and decorating instead of opening up more boxes of stuff.

But after they left I felt so revitalized again… because my parents—who are both 73 years old are ball of kinetic energy.

When my Mom is at home she’s at the gym every morning before most people are outta bed. Seriously. So together we got some things done.

My Dad, …well he can do just about any home project. But it’s his attitude I admire. He’s got amazing stamina for his age, and we have to literally make him stop once he starts something.

He showed me how to use an electric saw and we both did this to my little backyard:

The previous owner let the Ficus trees grow into a jungle.

Some of them were still in their pots. For a gardener like me, that kind of neglect makes me sad. But my Dad took one look and just started cutting and sweeping and all of a sudden, the jungle seemed do-able.

And now I have my very own saw.

He also hung my Ikea curtains for me in the dining room. This is the one room in the house that’s making definite progress.

And here’s my Dad taking the cabinet doors off before he installs the bead board.

If you remember, we removed the old, broken microwave off the wall and had an ugly spot left.

Because our plan is to remodel this kitchen I didn’t want to invest in a hood.

So bead board it is for now.

I’m painting it later today. It’s not my favorite paint job, because those grooves make it tough but I’ve got a good brush.

Before my parents came I fixed up Patrick’s room for them.

New bedding and pillows. Fresh flowers. We even moved a TV in the room.

I also prepared our upstairs bathroom for their visit.

This was the bathroom tub and tile before re-glazing. Pretty disgusting right?

After it was re-glazed, I gave this bathroom a coat of BM’s Brilliant White and bought a cream colored rug. Nothing like shiny white tile and fresh paint to update an old bathroom.

after re-glazing

I chose re-glazing instead of replacing the tile and tub because of budget. I would’ve loved to renovate this entire bathroom but there’s so many other projects first. As soon as I find a new curtain, I’ll share some pictures.

The one thing I love about this house is that all three bathrooms have Toto toilets. They also have the same granite on all the counters which is not a favorite of mine, but oh well.

 

Do you know the talented Debra from Common Ground?

She recently relocated too and had to paint her chandelier because it clashed in her new surroundings. Funny how that works. I’m seeing the same thing with items I’ve brought from my old home. Suddenly they look out of place here.

Right now I’m still feeling my way around here, trying to figure out what stays and what goes.

This is the chandelier that came with our house and while it’s nice, it doesn’t work in the room.  But until I find the right replacement, I’m stuck with it so I’m trying Debra’s idea.

This was an impulse buy.

I saw these jars while standing at the paint counter at Home Depot and thought I’d try to paint my chandelier last night.

After one coat; Hmmm…I’m not loving it….but I’ll finish tomorrow and let you know.

I’m also painting the beadboard too and hope to have a kitchen update soon.

As far as the visit, I was thrilled at how relaxed my parents were the entire week. We had so much fun just hanging out together.

patrick, papa and michael

Each grandson spent time with them, we ate delicious food at some cool restaurants and went to the Huntington Beach Pier at night to find out about the fishing.

Here’s my Mom taking a break from talking to everyone she met on the Pier.

She’s a tiny thing, only 4’11 but she’s a spitfire.

 

Later we watched some beach volleyball that was being televised

 

 

while Michael fished with Papa.

 

During their visit, my mom and I had coffee and chatted each morning before everyone  else got up and

I think those early, peaceful mornings might have been my favorite part of their visit.

 

Before I go I have to share this cute message.

When I was driving through Newport Beach I grabbed my cell phone and snapped a picture of this giant chalk art on the side of a building. Isn’t it great?

I had to smile when I saw it.

Tell me.

What’s making you smile these days?

 

xoxo

Leslie

 

I’m sharing this post with these friends:

http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2014/09/wow-us-wednesdays-188.html?

http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com/2014/09/cottage-style-party-autumn-mantle.html

 

 

 

 

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