Spare Room - The Beginning

Being the last room to be renovated in our house means that we notice how shabby it really does look in there. This is what it looked like when I finished spring cleaning

So here is the plan:
* Remove the 50 year old floral carpet. Oh what a shame, I do love that carpet, with its 50 years worth of dust and germs in it.
* Strip all the masonite from the walls
* Remove the window, and replace it with a double hung double window (same as the one in the master bedroom)
* Replace a few weatherboards that are looking a bit shabby on the outside
* Put noggins in the wall joists
* Build a small robe behind the door
* Lower the ceiling from 12 foot to 9 foot.
* Insulate the walls
* Upgrade the electrics. This room seriously only has one single plug power-point in it. The bedside lamps and phone are just for show! The husband, being a sparky, will put in more power-points, downlights and a ceiling fan.
* New plaster
* New paint
* New carpet
* New curtains

Hopefully this room will be relatively straight forward, and cause minimal disruptions to our lives, given we don't use this room. Fingers crossed
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Blog This: Challenge 50 (with Prizes)

Images from here (Pretty sure the husband is using some of these lines on me to avoid moving house...I'm onto him!)

Over at Blog This We are upto our 50th Challenge! This is a bit of a milestone, so we're hoping to make it our biggest yet. If you have never entered a challenge before, then get started!

All you have to do is make a list of 50 things. Whatever things you like, from '50 things you want to do in your life', to '50 things you wish you had said at a certain time!'

Head on over and enter. But be quick, entries close on Wednesday at 8pm(AEST)


PS - there are prizes too! Being a moderator means I got a sneak peak into the prizes, and trust me, you want to win this one!!!

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Perfect Sofa Tables

On our house hunt, I have come across a common theme in new houses: open plan living.

Ok, so this is not a new concept to the vast majority of people, but to us, it is something we haven't had to consider. And suddenly we have more options.

Options of sofa tables. And from one of my new favourite stores, I found these two beautiful tables.

Perfect Pieces Katie

Perfect Pieces Victoria

*le sigh* One day my lovelies, one day.
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Laundry (otherwise known as 'the room that is never finished')

Before we tiled our kitchen and bathroom, we had to pull our laundry apart. Which wasn't that devastating, as it was never finished from when I painted it in August, and most certainly never finished when we renovated our bathroom in 2006! It has become the 'room' that we never get around to finishing.

Out came the washing machine. Out came the million odd socks that were under the washing machine. And out came the odds and ends we had stored in there. For such a small cupboard we sure did pack the junk in there!

The laundry in April 2010

Once the tiles were down and we had finished painting, the door went back on its hinges, only for us to realise that the floor has now risen a good 18mm, and it is now too long for the space. Doh! So out to the shed it went, and it had a haircut. I knew that plainer would come in handy eventually.

Next step is to put the arcitrave back on, and install a shelf for detergents to sit on. Out comes everything. AGAIN!

Our poor walls after the skirting boards were removed. The decision was made to replace the skirting boards, and to cover the damaged walls.

Finished, and all moved back in.

See the shelf we have a (fake) plant and jar (stain remover) sitting on? It was one of the incorrect kitchen doors! I was originally going to use a timber shelf kit, and cut it down to fit our odd space and paint it like the shelf we originally had, however when looking in the shed we found this door, and we knew it would be easy to wipe down, and it could be cut to the size we required with very little work! Best of all, all we had to buy was a pack of screws and two L brackets, saving us $35 for the shelf kit we were going to buy.

Now to paint the architrave (and remove the washing machine for hopefully the last time!)
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Point & Shoot

On Sunday, I did something I never want to do again. I can only hope that I never have to buy someone I love a sympathy card.

Late last week my best friend gave birth to two baby boys and a baby girl at 30 weeks gestation. Sadly, the smallest boy wasn't able to meet us on this side of the world. Such a bittersweet day, to be told that your best friend has given birth, and had one baby ripped from her. For weeks we had been praying for a miricle, and that 'Baby L' would be born a healthy baby, and that the tests were wrong, but it just wasn't meant to be.

My heart broke a little on Sunday, I have no idea how my dear friend is staying so positive. I can only pray that this is the hardest thing she has to encounter in her life, and everything is smooth sailing from here on in.




On a happier note, the two surviving babies are doing remarkably well, and are the most remarkable little creatures. Pin It

Spring Cleaning: First Aid

Once upon a time, I studied nursing at university. It wasn't the career for me, so I finished up after my second year. But not before I stocked up my first aid kit!

Two years later, this is the mess I was left with (plus a pile of stuff down the bottom of the cupboard)

It just wouldn't do. Bandaids were in with tablets, and you could bet your last dollar that the item you are looking for is at the bottom of the container. So one week Woolies had a sale on their containers, and I found two that would be suitable.

The new containers work well. Tablets are in the small container (though I do need to get another container, as this one only just fits everything), and all the bandaids and dressings are in the bigger container.

Another spring cleaning task competed!

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Jobs to finish: Front Door

It has now been a year since we renovated our hallway, and, well, nothing much has happened.

Our front door still looks like this

The frame is still not painted. The door still hasn't had its top coat. The windows still have its green (slightly speckled) glass. And I still haven't convince the husband we need a hall table.

That is about the change. I have set the challenge of having the glass replaced with clear glass before August, and the door frame painted before September. Totally do-able, I just need to organise to take a day off from work to have the glazier come, which isn't as easy as it sounds.

The hall table? Well it can wait for a few months until the husband has returned and got his 'build it mojo' back.

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Odd Socks?

From Snickerdoodle Creations

This sock owl mobile, designed by Craft Schmaft, offers a nice alternative to store bought mobiles. 

Consisting of four carefully handcrafted owls, this mobile will be sure to stimulate the imagination of your baby. These owls have been created in shades of pink and white with contrasting fabric used for their wings.

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Spring Cleaning: The Spare (Junk) Room

Ok, so it is actually still winter here, but I am looking for tasks that I can do inside the house that don't require going outside or major demolition of our house.

Hence I am getting in early with some spring cleaning. Starting with our spare room.

Our spare room is a bit of a disgrace. Over time it has become a dumping ground for clothes that don't fit, ironing, and basically anything that doesn't have a home. It still houses my sister-in-laws portable cot from when they came to stay months ago. She didn't have room for it in their shed (they are building a new house and everything is in storage currently), so it stayed here. And got forgotten about. I only noticed it the other day when I went to get the spare doona, as it was quite chilly that night!

Before

After

The pile of clothes for the Salvo's.

So there you go, one clean spare room, ready for renovating, but more about that later!

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The Graduate

I am claiming this as my Point and Shoot for this weekend, as technically it was my weekend, even though it was a Thursday night, somewhere around 7.30pm!

The husband in his "mini skirt" (the husband is quite tall, so whilst everyone else's gowns was mid-calf length, his was above the knee). I am extremely proud of him, especially as he did consider pulling out after the first month. Now to find the perfect place to hang his certificate in our house.

Oh, and whilst we are at it, I went shopping and picked up this little number. I quite like it, I can wear it to work, and out of a night. And it is a size 12! Ok, so it is stretchy, but it was either a 12 or a 16, and I was returning the 16 as it was too large.

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Early Mark

I am taking an early mark this week, I am off to Melbourne to watch my husband graduate from his something-or-other-degree-about-trains (Yes, I tuned out more than once when he explained it to me, only tuning in at the points where nights away and career promotion were discussed...bad wife!)

Thanks to Mr Brumby, we are staying at the Savoy in Melbourne for the night. I have always thought about staying here, as it is extreamly close to the train station and the shops, but never got around to it.

Should be a goo night away. I got extra lucky, as I have taken today and tomorrow off working, forgetting that it was a long weekend! Thanks Queenie!

And on that note, have a fantastic weekend.

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To keep warm, must think warm

Villa Hunter

I love these singlets for little girls, even more when I realised they were from a semi-local seller, I was sold. Now if only they could prove the theory that if you think warm, you will be warm.

Damn you chilly Victorian weather! 9 degrees should never be a MAXIMUM temperature!
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Not on Rex Manning Day!

A recent conversation on Twitter brought up fond memories of a movie I haven't thought about in a long time: Empire Records

Ok, so the fasion is questionable, the music is grunge, but the lines are classic.


So in the immortal words of The Doors, 'The time to hesitate is through.' 
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Birthday Wish List

It's that time of year again, where I start to hint at what I would like for my birthday.

And this year, I am drawing blanks. I can think of some super expensive things I want, but we agreed to stick to a budget this year for our birthdays. So Burberry is out :(

The only thing I can think of, that I really do want, is a new iron, like Tefal Autoclean one.

How sad is that! My 26th birthday will be the year I asked for an iron!!!
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Mixing it up

For a little while I have wanted a Bamix stick. I have a cheapie one, but it never really did what I wanted to. So when it died it wasn't tears I was shedding.

Bamix here I come.

I figure it is an investment. My grandma has had the same one since before I was born, so heres hoping this one lives up the hype!
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