Merry Christmas 2019!

Merry Christmas Friends! 

I didn't want 2019 to slip away with out at lest one Christmas post! With all the boiler/pipe fitting/radiator work going on this year, I had to quickly come to terms that not all the usual decorating was going to get done quickly. So it has been a slow arrival of Christmas at this house!

I am still not sure if I am really ready for Christmas this year! (At lest I got all the handmade gifts done!)

My one crafty decoration this year was this wreath for the dining room window! I love the little bottle brush trees! (from Hobby Lobby, in the decorative picks aisle) I also bought a pick with the plastic red ornaments which I took apart and glued on  The Shiny Brites are so pretty on a wreath, but I was worried about storing them. So every year I have removed them from the wreath before packing it all up. This year I needed an easy look! 

Kinda hard to photograph! But so sparkly in person!

 For the last several years we have added this sleigh full of elves to the top of the refridgerator. Sometimes their seats are a little precarious and they like to come see what is in the fridge with us!

And a little Christmas Shiny Brites for the kitchen shelves! My sister found the milk glass candy dish for me. The minute I saw it, I thought it needed to be filled with Shiny Brites!

I was so excited to find this little bottle brush tree matched one of my vintage cards!

 These bells looked so vintage to me, I just had to get them from JoAnn Fabrics. I didn't really know what to do with them, so they ended up on my dressing table mirror! I love how the bring out the touches of red in my vintage cards.

This is my other Christmas crafty project! Another quilted stocking, which might not get finished before Christmas. Lol! I loved the stocking hanging on the dining room radiator, so decided I needed one to match my bedroom!

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas!

Happy Anniversary and Have-Done-List 2019

 Can you believe it has been 7 years since I bought this little house! My goodness, what a journey. I remember the excited mix of terror that day I signed the paperwork. I was a bit frazzled already with the whole buying experience! But oh the excitement! It was a three year dream come true! And I am so grateful all of the things this house has taught me.

I snapped this very autumnal picture this morning as I was driving off to work. I was excited it was a new angle!

We had a cold rain come through on Sunday and a good portion of the leaves are now on the ground. There is snow forecasted for tonight, so it looks like it is now raking season!

This is the first picture I ever took of the house. The official "Before" photo. She looks rather sad. Even though we haven't really changed a lot on the exterior, one can always see the "happy and loved" feel of a house! 

This year is has been all about getting the hydronic heat and radiators installed. So not much in the way of other projects. I did re-paint the bathroom and back hall (HERE). Otherwise most the project time was taken up with radiators or paint projects for the brothers.

We got a good start on installing the radiators the other weekend! My bedroom and Mom's bedroom radiators are installed. The main supply and return lines are also installed. I think we are about halfway there!

Except for the absence of fifty layers of paint, you can't tell it hasn't been here a hundred years!

Radiator Love & Ductwork

With fall coming on fast, this past month I knew I had to get my radiators ready to install! All summer I have been slowly working away on them. The definitely needed a little love!

 This one was by far in the worst shape! (This one is also one of the smallest ones and goes in parent's bedroom.) It took a full day of scraping and brushing with wire brushes to remove all the flaky paint.

Oh those details!!

 I did a bunch of research on what to paint radiators and how to clean up these beauties. From what I gathered (and shifted!), wire brushing followed by a good rinse and a through towel dry was the preferred method. I tried using a wire brush attached to a drill was unable to control it to my satisfaction. So I used a variety wire brushes by hand and called it good. 

I then sprayed them with oil based primer for metal. Only two of the eight radiators to be installed were scraped down and primed. All the others had paint in quite good condition.

 After research I decided to go with my favorite Sherwin Williams trim paint, Pro Classic Alkyd Interior Enamel. There was quite a bit of feed back online about oil based paints/automotive/metal paints off gasses once the radiators warmed up. And since I knew we were going to be installing and using the radiators right away, I didn't want to have off gassing issues. 

Plus, most the radiators were already painted with interior paint and it seemed to be hold up fine!

And here they are with a fresh coat of trim paint! Thank goodness for brothers with spray guns! Or I might have been at it all year!

 The Alkyd Enamel goes on really nice with a spray gun and one coat did the trick. Now they are ready to install! 

That also meant we were ready for the next step. In order to install the hydronic pipes we had to first take out all the old duct work. A job we were not looking forward to!

Since we were worried about allergen getting everywhere we covered everything in plastic sheeting. Looks a bit spooky!

We then carefully detached sections of the duct work sealing the ends with plastic before taking them outside. It was quite a pile!

So much more room now! 

After all the ducts were out, we vacuumed and mopped the floors. And I am happy to say, I did not have any allergy attacks during or after the project! So I guess we did something right! (Of course, I wore a respirator and goggles while taking the ducts down and as soon as we were done cleaning up I took a shower.)

 Now we are finally ready to start installing the hydronics! This weekend we are hoping to at lest get part of it in. Winter is not that far off!

I am really excited about the little thin radiator that goes under the bathroom floor! In-floor heating 1920s style!

My Downstairs Bedroom

As you know, a year and a half ago I switched bedrooms with my sister Mandy. I was a bit sad to leave my upstairs nest, but for the six months previous I had been camping out in Mandy's room anyway (Because of allergies and the heat didn't doesn't really work upstairs, I wasn't sleeping very well upstairs).

It didn't take us very long to shift furniture, paint walls and swap light fixtures. But I didn't really give much thought to furniture arrangement and making the room mine. Finally this summer I knew how I wanted to re-arrange things. And I love it! 

 Kerri is in her usual spot!

She loves propping her paws up on the footboard!

 This bedroom doesn't have quite as much cozy character as upstairs, but I love That there is at lest one piece of slanty ceiling! That is actually the bottom of the stairs going up.

I wasn't sure at first if I would bring my coat rack down, but I was really sad not too! I decided I would just find a place. And am so glad I did! It is so handy for my knitting bags, purses and sweaters.

I love how much light I get all throughout the day. Much sunnier then upstairs!

And a panoramic view!

Summer Porch, Hydrangeas and Wallpaper!

Hello Friends! 

I am not sure where July goes, every year it seems to be shorter and shorter! It all starts off with a nice long weekend for a project ( Like wallpapering! Keep reading!) and whizzes right by ending with a couple of family birthdays. Whew! Here are a couple of highlights from the month.

 In our family, holidays are not only the perfect time to see family, they are the perfect time to round up a group of relatives for a project! (If you remember, last year my brother-in-law came to help demo the Brick House basement.) This year, Mandy and I went up to visit sister Becky and helped her paper her living room!

 When we were young we helped our Mom wallpaper a couple of walls and hang boarders. But we have never tried doing an entire room! It was fun! But like most projects comes with challanges.... Thankfully Becky picked a smallish repeat and a busy enough pattern that most mistakes were easily blended!

I am terrible at taking after pictures (or if I do, I then forget to take before pictures!) and with two little boys after pictures are filled with toys and motion seconds after everything is back in place. But you can see how lovely the wallpaper is and the elegant touch it adds to the room! Very fitting for the age of the Farmhouse. The pattern also reminds us of our Grandma's 1970's avocado green wallpaper, similar pattern just a different color!

As promised! Here are pictures of the little wicker and wood table! Looking right at home!

 We gave the porch another quick cleaning as our Aunt came for a visit and we knew porch sitting and talking was high on the list of things to do!

 This yellow rocker was a new addition last year. I love it! It actually is a folding and rocking chair and folds flat for storage. So facinating! I love the pale yellow color and am planning on matching the paint and spiffing it up.

The pillow is actually a class sample I made, but when it has done it's job it will come back to the porch! Fits in perfectly, doesn't it?

 I can never resist taking a few pictures of the cottage in summer. Perfection! We are so grateful for this house every day!

 It has become a tradition to plant geraniums in the front beds. We talk about planting something else, but I always come back to geraniums. They never let you down! (They always remind me of the first summer I owned the house. The inside was an ugly construction mess, so one Saturday I planted flowers and painted the steps for a bit of beauty! That post is here.)

I am loving the softer coral color this year.

I am so excited some of my other hydrangeas are blooming this year too! Most of them are tucked away behind the boxwoods and no one but myself can enjoy them. But it is exciting to watch them grow and there is always next year!

I also moved my room around in July! It was so fun and a great time to give everything a good dusting! I am really loving the new arrangement. Somehow it really feels like me. But I am going to save that for another post! For now here is a sneak peak!