The Retaining Walls

Marcos and Papa did an excellent job on the retaining walls. Paola and I did most of the landscaping. We purchased supplies to replace the roof so I will post a new photo once that's complete.

The Upstairs Bathroom - Completed

The upstairs bathroom is finally complete after a lot of hard work. Marcos did an amazing job executing my vision and I couldn't be more impressed by him. I can't walk past the room without glancing in.
















We had a lot of trouble finding a mirror that would actually fit the space between the sconces which I insisted on. By pure luck, we came across this brushed nickel one at BB&B and it honestly won't budge an inch between the sconces and tile work beneath.














I have a picture to hang on this little piece of wall - will post again once it's in place.

















We decided on a roman shade rather than a curtain - I think it looks cleaner and it won't get scuzzy from inevitable moisture.
















I love baskets and rolled towels!


















Marcos built these shelves. They're pretty amazing, finding a basket that was the perfect (small enough) size... NOT so amazing. But I did it!
















The natural slate floor just might be my absolute favorite part of the room.

















We love our subway tile, soaking tub and recessed cubbyholes!

















The not-so-exciting view into our upstairs landing.


















& the towel hook on the door completes the tour!

The Guest Bed

So we bought this headboard for $8 at a restoration store, painted it white and it's now in our guest room/ office. When in doubt, paint it white (although, that was my plan within the first 5 seconds of spotting it)! I bought the crocheted pillow case for about $4 but I'm pretty sure I'm going to use it somewhere else, there's too much yellow/tan on this bed. Too much yellow or not, Marcos says every day how much he likes this room now more than the room we're sleeping in. "It looks better than our bed", he says.



Marcos just doesn't understand, I don't want to buy the bedding for our room until we're actually sleeping in the Master Bedroom (which of course, will be after we have floors installed). I already purchased the curtains for the master bedroom but between now and later, I'm sure I'll have found 10 bedding sets/pieces that I'd die without. I'm holding back for once. We're going to do a photo/frame collage above the headboard.

P.S.. did you notice the six panel door into the room? They're everywhere now, so pretty!

The Buffet

We still need to buy curtains and some accessories. We found this buffet at a restoration store in Mine Hill. I'm kind of obsessed. We haven't used the dining room much lately, but I still end up walking in the room every day and when I see it, I smile.








My apothecary jar is empty right now but It's beautiful just like that, anyway. The hint of red in front of it is aSlatkin & Co. candle - can I just say? - They are the best! Better than any other expensive candle brand out there! Bath & Body Works has periodic sales when they're 50% off! These candles last forever, smell INCREDIBLE, come in a simple glass jar with a simple pretty silver lid and don't leave behind an ashy black spots on your ceiling (they don't produce smoke)!




Fresh Lemon is one of the 5 amazing scents that I picked up at the most recent sale - to the left is a Slatkin & Co. candle sleeve. They are only $5 and they sort of "hide" the label (which I happen to like, actually - so I only bought one).









This is the candle placed in the sleeve. Sorry, I probably should have wiped the glass clean but I JUST had it lit, so the wax was still liquid. The silvery lid (not pictured) actually fits within the sleeve when covering the candle, so there's not a lid hanging around that you don't know what to do with. LOVE them. I now have enough Slatkin & Co. candles to place in each room.

Bathroom Progress...

Lookin' good. I'll write more when we find a mirror!! I was searching for one yesterday but came home tired and defeated.

Mother's Day

Lilac's and Mother's Day should go hand in hand.
































We decided to move the party outside because of how perfect the weather was. Conveniently, the sun protection "gazebo" matched my tablecloth!











We had peach stuffed pork loin, ravioli with a mushroom cream sauce and a goat cheese and candied walnut salad. SO good!











I personally feel that fruit tarts should be a part of EVERY gathering after eating this. It took me a while to make, but in the end it was amazing!

The Decorative Mantle

One day, before we got the house, Marcos surprised me with a decorative mantle that he came across. I think I smiled for days..

The mantle was expected to be placed in the living room below the TV. However, there was a vent and an electrical outlet that made us re-consider.










Of course, we painted it white and it made it's way into the dining room. We're going to tile the center with marble and hang my favorite piece of artwork above it, flanked by either sconces or small frame-less mirrors.. All will be decided once we find either the sconces or mirrors that we can't live without.

2nd Floor Bath; Under Construction (continued..)

blue skies, nothing but blue skies..

















Marcos is hanging a wall here. I think I may know how to do the second bathroom on my own.. just kidding!

















Papa helps Marcos build shelves next to the bathtub.

2nd Floor Bath; Under Construction

Hello new, energy efficient window!


















Somehow that purple trim is still haunting me..
(It was, after all, in BOTH bathrooms!)












Goodbye drafty, old window!














GUTTED; down to the framing.

The OLD 2nd Floor Bath

Before the renovation:

..gross..













Marcos hates this shower - apparently it's not fun moving the location of a drain for a shower to drain a bath tub.. who knew?


















The previous homeowners left us a waste basket; house warming gift?













I can't emphasize enough how bad this bathroom was - you should have heard the way this mirror(/lighting fixture?) hummed! Oh, it also flicked for about a minute and a half before coming on completely.

The Office/Guest Bedroom

For those of you who know how crazy I am about arranging bookshelves... you know the current state of this book shelf drives me crazy. (I like to group books by color, then size and some must be hidden all together, if they're ugly). This may shock some of you, but my "wrapping station" isn't even in order! All in due time, keep calm, breathe...













Leaning against the wall is an air mattress. No one has been staying over so, for now, it's not taking up any space.

The Kitchen

The kitchen on day 1:


































The kitchen as it is now:

Our new refrigerator is too large for the frig cut out in the current cabinetry. So, we placed an old kitchen table there for added counter space and a place to set the microwave.










Luna just follows me around waiting for a chance to be on camera! Look at that pose, very nonchalant.











We are using an old shelving unit to hold pantry items for now and next to that stands our new frig. Eventually we will renovate the kitchen and there will be cabinets along the farthest wall and right wall as well. The door to the deck and backyard is to the left of our favorite find-of-all-time; a mustard yellow china cabinet.

The Master Bedroom

The only room in the house to NOT have hardwood under the carpeting, was the master bedroom. Pictured below, this is still how it stands. Unfortunately, even the red paint is still on the walls. We have a decent set up in the smaller bedroom across the hall, so this is not our first priority right now.

The Medium Up-Stairs Bedroom

Before:

Hideous paper border

















Current:

The hideous paper border is GONE!
This is actually where we're sleeping until we get hardwood floors in the master bedroom.