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

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: new home,DIY projects,painting chandelier,family,acceptance

Embracing change…(sort of)….and some house photos…

 

Hello my friends!

Hello month of September (dear August where did you go?)

Hello Impatience and the rest of all my nagging character flaws.

Oh it’s so good to be back.

Ok. Here’s the question of this post. Do you want to learn about yourself? Do you want to dive in, get a deeper look at your state of mind? Discover your true level of optimism? Learn all about your inner peace (or in my case, your level of neurosis?)

Here’s what you do.

You relocate three times in five months. You spend the summer in a tiny, two-bedroom condo with your hubby, two (big) college age sons and an anxious German Sheppard next to a busy, insanely loud street while you search for a home in a surprisingly tight real estate market. And then--- you finally move into your new home which happens to be walking distance to the ocean—yayyyy-hallelujah-thank you Lord-pass the champagne- and did I mention?

Gulp.

It’s a bona fide fixer upper.

Isn’t life funny?  But the real truth is, we decided to go for location which meant giving up a “few” things with the place.

Although I’ll be honest. It’s been a LONNGGGGG… time since I’ve lived in a fixer, …as in, when you actually wake up with someone else’s old carpet and their strange design choices and they don’t go away.

Let’s see, where do I begin?

Light dimmers in all the bathrooms (what?) …but none in the dining room. Ahem.

A mysterious unfinished wall in the living room which is half real rock and half sheet-rock with a protruding fire box…

A concrete wall that runs across the entire backyard that was never covered with vines or greenery in twenty-five years-making it the ugliest view in the world from the kitchen window?

I know, honestly I’m annoying myself now. After all, how many times can I walk around my house looking at oddities and think, “What is that?!

Although I am discovering that living in a fixer upper is a fascinating life lesson. It’s making me take a long, hard look at my ability to tolerate glaring imperfections even when they really-truly-bug me. It means acceptance of the NOW. It means a healthy dose of humbleness that comes with the realization that no matter what state of prettiness or ugliness our house may currently be in, it is not us.

We are not our stuff.

See? I know these things, but still, it’s hard.

Maybe I can blame it on the pinkish taupe-colored walls in the new house. OK. I admit this color was so much of a downer to me that on moving day, I was already slathering my walls with BM’s Simply White. So that even Mr. M shook his head as he carried stuff inside and said, “Really Les, really? Painting right now?”

I know, but I couldn’t stop myself.

Remember this scene from When Harry Met Sally?

 

I’m just saying, I might--just might be able to relate…a teeny weeny bit ..…

I don’t know. Maybe you’re living in a fixer right now and you’re secretly thinking. Oh Leslie, please. Get over yourself. This is part of the process, and I totally get it. I really do. I agree I have a lot to be grateful for…

We’ve got incredibly friendly (and funny too) neighbors. A sweet, tree-line neighborhood with a distinct beachy vibe. We’re surrounded by a constant source of happy activity with tanned, smiling people riding by on pastel colored bikes and my favorite? The cutest three year old twins who live two doors down and ride by daily on their tiny tricycles to the beach with their young, blonde Mama. Talk about a visual joy. And of course, there’s that waft of salty, ocean air that flows into our home from my open Dutch door.

(yes! I love my Dutch door)

(my entry from the future)

 

Ok ready for some real pictures?

I still have to upload my cell phone photos, but here’s a few photos taken before the previous owners moved out….

 

Here’s the original mystery wall.

Except today it’s got a light coat of white and holes in the drywall because various contractors were trying to figure out if the rock is behind the entire wall. IF you were closer you would see the wall isn’t flush. The sheetrock protrudes four inches over the rock like someone just decided to stop mid-job.

And we’re still trying to figure out what’s under this ugly tile “hearth” …the demo process will be SO much easier if it’s not concrete….

So as I was saying….the entry is a bit tight.

(can you hear me giggling through the computer?)

The house was built in 1969 and evidently clearance requirements were different.

Here’s another view. As you can see, the rails are not code and luckily I don’t have little ones that could fall through the gaping spaces (i.e add new stairs and railing to our things- to-do-list)

 

If you’re new to my blog, this was my entry in my old home.

Now you can see why I was a little taken aback. But hey, I love a good challenge.

Back to the new place:

The previous owners had furniture in the other side of the kitchen but the good news is that now that it’s gone and the walls are painted, the kitchen looks surprisingly bigger.

 

 

I have so many projects going on right now I can’t wait to share a few with you.

Since the dining room is so small I decided to go with color, maybe do something bold. Only I felt like I had two personalities when it came to picking the color.

In a beach cottage the softer gray-blue hues seem perfect….

But I’ve been wanting to do a room in BM’s Kendall Charcoal for awhile…it’s such a deliciously, dark color.

So which do you think I picked?

 

There’s so much you could do with either.

But here’s a clue.

Which color do you think would look most dramatic with my mirror?

(from my old office)

You guessed it. I’ve got more pictures coming.

And as always, I SO appreciate your visit. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.  Before I go here’s a few shares:

a house down the street. (love the picket fence)

 

 

12 Things Successful People Do Differently

 

My Summer Movie Crush 

 

10 ways to make an old home feel new

 

a design blog you should be following

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So tell me. Did you have a good summer?

xo

Leslie

 

 

Technorati Tags: life,transitions,optimism,the new home,DIY projects