Library Tour and Project

Good afternoon my dears.

Welcome to our library. Its one of my favorite places to curl up with a cup of Earl Grey tea, a magazine, a book, or a family photo album. Its also one of the first two rooms you see when you come in the entryway, so its also a great place to chat with neighbors and visitors who stop by unannounced. Please have a seat, I'll go put the kettle on, what kind of tea would you like?

Our library is where I keep all my magazine subscriptions, and as you can see I have many issues. I stopped subscribing a few years ago, in favor of browsing with my chai tea latte in Barnes & Noble, but I couldn't part with these. I rotate them seasonally, so that all the current seasons issues are on display and ready for me to page through. My favorites being Victoria, Southern Lady, Romantic Homes, and Tea Time (not pictured). I also have a few vintage Christmas magazines that were my Granny Veronika's that always remind me of her. Do you have magazine subscriptions? If so, how do you organize your collection?

On the bookshelf, is this souvenir my Nana Mabel gave to me. She retired from Rolls-Royce at University of Warwick in 1999. My Mum attended her retirement party where they gifted her a flight experience at a local air field. My Nana always had wings, she always traveled, and one of her favorite travels was to China. She walked the Great Wall of China at nearly 70. On that journey she bought souvenirs for all of us. This was mine, a hand painted from the inside globe which came with a wooden stand and this darling fabric covered box. It sits in our library, and whenever I open it up I'm reminded to step outside the box and spread my wings.

Now I'd like to share a recent project we recently finished, the painting of our mantel.

- Before -

- During -
We used a drop cloth, 2 sponge brushes, and some color matched, semi gloss paint.

- After- 

- Video -

Here's a tour of our library, including a peek at our built in bookshelves, books, mementos, and project.

Have you done any home improvement projects recently?

-Kiki Nakita-

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Master Bathroom Reveal and Weekend Recap




Blue flower watercolor by unknown

Last week went by very fast, don't you agree? This weekend was rather busy as well. Here's a little re-cap so I can remember all that we got to do.

Friday

 

My hubby brought home some lilies.

 

Earlier in the day he sent me a message asking me out for a dinner date. We went for dinner at Red Lobster and he devoured the endless shrimp while I feasted on their daily fish special, tilapia with pineapple salsa, with lobster pizza to share. Thoughtful treat.

 

Saturday

 

We started the morning sharing the Mommas Pancake breakfast (with cheese grits and an extra side of bacon) at Cracker Barrel. We left with a coffee to-go and headed to IKEA.

If only it were as glamorous as hot chocolate at Angelina's in Paris. It's all about state of mind, right?

Painted by Carol Gillott

We were looking for kitchen cabinets for our kitchen remodel and decided on the lindigo gray. We asked for white inset cabinets, so if we ever decide to replace them with white doors we could do that rather inexpensively.

 

 

While there we also found a bench in the bathroom section. It prompted us to get more accessories so we could finish up the bathroom. Afterwards, we relaxed outdoors and ate a burrito at Qdoba for dinner.

Sunday

 

We made some finishing touches. Would you like a tour?

As you take a step through what used to be a closet door into our master bathroom you're greeted with a serene seascape picture, our bench seat which holds our scale, freshly folded towels, a basket holding our toiletry rolls, and canisters with our essentials (cotton wool balls, band aids, ear buds). The flowers my hubby brought home I displayed in a glass lantern with seashells on the bottom, that we gathered during our time at Topsail Beach earlier this year.
 

The shower is vastly different to how we found it. It originally had a rusted glass door that was beyond just cleaning it. So hubby took it out and filled in the holes with a fiberglass putty and we scrubbed it down with bleach and some Mr. Magic erasers (yes, they worked) and put on a new rainfall showerhead, which is luxuriating as we have one in our other shower. We finished it with a white curtain, liner and seashell shower hooks.

 

The lavatory also got replaced with a more eco friendly option. I chose it purely because the sides are not open dust collectors. It's SO much easier to clean and my vacuum fits on both sides easily. Also, I hope to put pictures from our time in Topsail Beach in the frames, someday soon. 



 

The vanity area just has one cabinet, unlike our previous home. Our home was built in 1983, and I'm guessing it wasn't as common back then? I do my makeup downstairs, so all we have in this vanity are a few toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash.

Rather laid back and casual like our towel hooks, the mirror reminds me of weathered wood and the chrome light fixture has a contemporary vibe.  

 

 

 

The towels are from Nina Campbell's line, very soft white with a blue edging. Talking about edging, we replaced the flooring and added a more up to date baseboard. We're hoping to plank the ceiling overtime and add something besides the hamper in front of the window, because in "real life" it's back and forth to the laundry room.

 

 

Thanks for taking a peek.

 

We need to relax this week, as we have big plans for next week, so see you then!

Linked up to:
The Dedicated House #113  Dwellings #75 Imparting Grace #121 Have a Daily Cup #117 Coastal Charm #228

Finding Balance

I'm a natural doodler, list maker type with lot's of pieces of paper with every though that comes into my head, it would be funny if one day those thoughts float around as others try to piece it all together.  

 

A few days ago I drew up a chart with what I needed to focus on in my life. In no particular order:

 

Continuing our family ancestry. We have asked a lot of our family for photos, I've scanned in all my Nana's and Mum's albums and my husband's scanned all of his. We've been on ancestry since the beginning of the year and we both have family trees traced back to the 1700's. It's prompted many conversations with family, and I love the idea of raising our children with an annual Family History Evening so they can learn about their past ancestors.

 

 

My marriage is also important to me. I grew up with my Mum and sister since the age of eight, and spent summers since the age of fourteen visiting my dad with my sister. I came to live close by to my dad for college just before I turned nineteen. I think I turned out better than many children raised in two parent families. When I met my husband, I thought my family was nuts, but his family was just as nuts and there were just a lot more of them!

 

 

And when things don't always go to plan you can always say "I'm sorry".

 

 

My husband and I have been in our new home in the Carolina's for about four months now, and when we moved here we knew nobody. We're taking the time to cultivate new friendships in our neighborhood, at church and with people we work with. We're naturally introverted, so it takes time for us to open up. Another way to build with friendships is to invite them to participate in your traditions.

 

A lot of our traditions include travel. Sometimes we're questioned how we can afford to travel so much. Our first reason is we have no vices. Our second is that we live on percentages, and it's by no means perfect, but it's a balanced way for us to spend and save for our future. We divide it up into 40% household, 20% Roth IRA and savings, 10% Holidays and donations, 10% Vehicles, 10% Food and eating out and lastly 10% Guilt free spending money (5% each).

 

Savings also helps us to fix up our home. We bought a short sale, and although at one time it was loved on, it needed an update. We've been in the midst now for four months and I'm sure it will take at least another year. We looked at real estate to see if we'd want to move again in five to ten years, but our home is paid off and putting it towards a future garage guest suite with two additional bedrooms, a sunroom and a kitchen pop out will give us an extra thousand square feet and a reason to stay and raise our family here.

 

I also like to find balance to spend time working on what I love. I wish my life were a mixture of Susan Branch and Ina Garten. I look up to them for their homemaking wisdom. I also work as an interior designer preserving old properties and  on several personal projects like my project life binder, watercoloring and writing a memoir of sorts, maybe one day I'll be a mom, or have my own little shop, or teach more design classes or host tea parties for the elderly.

 

 

 

Last, but not least practicing happiness and health. With all my grandparents passed, and my dad passing away at only fifty-four I've realized life is short. I've come to terms with death, and even find peace in knowing that I will pass one day. If I'm blessed enough to live to a ripe old age, and to fulfill my wishes to have a large family, and to live by my motto...Live Gracefully. Laugh Joyfully. Love Gratefully, then I will be happy.

 

 

So, as I laugh along the way as I try find balance, I hope over time as we settle it will fall into place. Any if you are a master balancer, or always juggling, I'd love to hear what's important in you life.

Master Suite Phase I

Our first house project in our new home is the master suite.

Here's a little home video tour of the before...

My English accent sounds a lot stronger than I thought it would, with a few American twang words in there. Ha ha.

Firstly, we took everything out of the closet, and after inspecting where electrical and plumbing lines were, we created an opening between the closet and bathroom.

Here's a home video partway through the demolition I took of Cory taking the walls down. Buster P. Kitten, who also goes by Bubba did a wonderful job balancing on that small ledge, he is our resident mischief.

Eventually we had it down to the frame. Here are a few photos I took during the renovation, isn't it interesting to see how homes are constructed? We found 11 cents in our walls, which makes me wonder how much money gets dropped in, or lost by construction workers over time. I guesstimated 34 million dollars, between the 313 million people in America.

Sophie, our resident inspector.

 

Cory brought a T square ruler with us to score the drywall before putting it in the back of Bibi. I can't tell you how much I really like my car, even my husband who isn't a car guy taps her dashboard and admires all the trips, memories, dog car rides, moves, and projects she's helped us with.

Here's the end of phase I, the perspective view of the new wall from the bedroom. The last one is of the view from the shower. It is coming along nicely.

 

That my dears concludes phase I of the renovation, as we progress I'll post an update. We're hoping to get a lot done before Tuesday, before our floor arrives, or Wednesday when our new King sized bed arrives.