Christmas Despite the Chaos

I was advised by many that I should avoid decorating this year, due to all of the remodeling chaos.  I couldn't resist.  There needs to be some normalcy during upheavals, so I went ahead with the Christmas decor.  We did not buy a real tree this year, which I miss.  Instead, I decided to decorate smaller table top trees around the house.  Here are some photos of my Christmas decor for 2012.  I share these not because I think I'm an incredible decorator or anything like that, I just love doing it and having people over, and with our remodel, we won't be having people over this year.  Here it goes . . .

Kitchen at Christmas.  Some of favorite resources for Christmas dishes are Orsen Gygi, Pier 1, and Home Goods.

This cabinet is from Dixboro General Store in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The pale blue cabinet is from The Finer Consigner.  

I didn't put a big tree in the family room this year, because our basement has become our garage storage and our new  Dream Arcade machine (my 40th Birthday gift) is sitting in the usual tree spot. 

Another view of the family room looking into the kitchen.  The striped chairs were my husband's grandparents that we recovered.  The triple wreath is Martha Stewart from Grandin Road, if I remember correcty.

I love my red hutch, especially at Christmas time.   It was purchased from Wood We Ever, striped curtains are Pottery Barn.

Dining Room

I love my reindeer Christmas Quilt.

I still need to remove the plastic from my two new lamps, found at Home Goods.

This is another of my favorite "heirlooms."  It was a pink velvet chair from my husband's grandparents that I recovered in this fun fabric.  

Living Room mantel with some of my Nutcracker collection.  I didn't take all of my boxes out this year because of the remodel.

This black piece was from Wood We Ever and the painting is of Wheeler Farm in Murray.

I love this shelf from Dixboro General Store.  

The large black hutch is also from Dixboro General Store and I've filled it with my collection of Lennox Christmas China, mostly purchased on sale at Macy's and Home Goods.

This view is looking into our library, our addition from 2 years ago.  Its fast become one of our favorite rooms in the house.

I didn't buy a real tree this year, so we used our artificial tree that usually sits in the family room.    The green, red and white ribbon is from TaiPan.

Here's a view of the mantel and my favorite red leather chairs.  

I tried to keep the library shelves simpler this year--I know, I know--simple is not really my way.

We've never had matching stockings, but collect them over time.    The mirror above the mantel is from Pottery Barn and the chandelier from Restoration Hardware.

I thought this rustic piece from Pottery Barn would be perfect for displaying Christmas mugs.  The small tree has all Santa and stocking ornaments.

Small tree in the living room.

The dining room tree has chickens and eggs for its theme.

Both the black shelf and pie-safe are from Dixboro General store.

Here's a view of my messing dining room table, that has become wrapping central this year.    We have both leaves in the table from Thanksgiving and I haven't put the red slipcovers on the chairs yet--it may have to wait until next year.

Another view of the kitchen nook.

My family room tree is covered in mini sweaters and hats, plus a few other items of clothing.  The sweaters are from Garnet Hill.

I've loved this red barn wood window for years.  An inexpensive Santa and spray from Michael's  add character to a high shelf.

I love this little piece from Wood We Ever and the tall red house is numbered drawers  used as an advent calendar.

I kept the entry way simple this year.

I love paintings and photos of barns.  Lang calendars are my favorite.

A kitchen detail:  The plate rack holds $1.99 star plates from TaiPan.  The cookie jar was from Orsen Gygi.

Well, that's a little tour of my Christmas house this year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Remodeling from a Serial Remodeler

I am terrible at keeping up on my blog, but since its the holidays, and we're, once again, in the midst of a BIG remodel, I thought I'd post some pictures and explain what this next project entails.  Later, I'll document my lamentations and trials of remodeling, but I'm trying to keep positive with the holidays here.  I'll begin with photos of what my neighbors have lovingly dubbed "Hurricane Nicole."

Our house before the newest remodel

Hurricane Nicole hits.  I had forgotten how destructive remodeling and additions can be.

The 3rd car stall, when complete, will have a storage area at the back and an addition above it for the master bedroom closet.

This is the storage area at the back of the garage.  To save some cash, we decided not to demolish the stone and stucco on the interior.  

Here is a front few.  The drive-way was cracked and needed to be redone.  The concrete inside the garage was also demolished after finding that the base underneath was about 1 1/2 feet of sand.   No wonder the inside had settled unevenly and created pools of water in the garage.  You can begin to see the upper addition taking shape.

This beautiful, huge beam was needed to add above the garage.  We are going to stain it, rather than cover it since its beautiful wood.

This is the back view of the addition.  The door is to the garage storage, above will be a small sitting room in our master bedroom that gives us access to our new walk-in closet.  Biggest plus, the mountain views from that upper window are incredible.

I'm sure when these beams went up, the neighbors were scratching their heads wondering what we were going to be building.  Our former RV will now become a covered parking for our boat.

Some details:  notice the 3 small windows at the top of the structure.  They add character and light to our new sitting room.

Here is a rear view of the boat parking and roof lines.

Here's a front view of the new addition.  Those tall poles will replicate the white pillars on the porch.  I love the arch and cupola on the boat parking.

We lost our bedroom in this addition.  We kicked our son out of his basement bedroom.  He was sleeping on a mattress on the family room floor until about a week ago, when we finished carpeting an upstairs bedroom for him.  Its been a bit chaotic around here, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run.

Demolition began right around Halloween, and I think we're several months away from completion.  Since taking these photos, I dropped and ruined my camera, so I haven't documented the concrete and roofing that are now finished.  We also have plumbing and electric started, so its coming along.  Here's to a peaceful holiday to anyone who may actually read this!

Phase 2

Wow, I am really a terrible blogger. So inconsistent . . . but today I googled myself (embarrassing to admit, but I've never done it and I wondered . . .) and this blog came up, along with a photo someone used for their own blog, in choosing a color for their home. Alas, my exterior home color, Copley Gray by Benjamin Moore was not chosen, but still . . . I haven't kept up on this blog, yet we are about to begin phase 2 of our home remodel. After scrapping the initial plans, and the initial builder, today I officially turned in my contract to the builder. From here, we'll wait for the county and the bank, etc. before we can begin. It seems like every time I get to this point, I have second thoughts about what I'm getting into. Do I really want to live through the mess and chaos again? Can I handle the lack of privacy, and this time, a lack of parking space and a bedroom? Am I sure I don't want to move to Holladay in a new house and neighborhood closer to Pete's work? Funny story, how I started thinking about moving to Holladay again. Pete and I were joking with one another about how we should defy burial conventions, and be buried in separate cemeteries. He said he'd have me buried in Holladay since I'd always wanted to move their during my life, which got me thinking, why wait until I'm buried? So . . . I found a house I liked, took a look, made Pete take a look, low-balled an offer that was denied, and find myself back to remodeling my existing house. (I know, I know . . . what would it be like to have such problems?) Am I perhaps, a bit too flakey for my own good? Yes, I'll admit it, AGAIN, this is a sickness for me. I am an idea person. I love thinking about the possibilities, and every once in awhile, I feel compelled to act on those possibilities. I will also reiterate that its a good thing this is not the case in my personal relationships, namely with my husband. If I was looking to change my personal relationship (i.e. marriage) as often as I contemplate moving, I'd be with someone new every 6 months, and that may be a long estimate! Anyhow, the next phase will include another addition, this time more substantial than the last, in that its mostly above ground. We will gain significant garage storage space for bikes, snow plow, lawn mowers, etc., as well as a larger mudroom and small food storage/pantry on the main floor. Most of the changes will occur on the second level. We will gain a new master bath and closet, 2 bedrooms and another small bath. We are changing the location of the entrance door to our bedroom and replacing the existing french doors to the back deck with new, hopefully better insulated french doors. A big portion of this remodel will include changing our furnace and air conditioning units to more environmentally friendly, efficient models. I'll try to keep the blog updated, but clearly I'm not good at that, so I won't make any promises. In other home news, I am loving gardening this year. I've added several roses and perennial flowers to my beds since last year. I've also planted a garden with green and yellow peppers, tomatoes, green onions, raspberries, strawberries, pumpkins, zucchini and yellow squash, and believe that's it. So far, I've got tomatoes starting and saw my first green pepper today, but I'm skeptical of the berries--the plants aren't looking so good. I'd love any suggestions from fellow gardeners on the best way to help the strawberries and raspberries along. I've been told strawberries should do well, so my confidence is waning!! Hope to post pictures next week!