Back to the laundry room

yep, another laundry room teaser.....

We were trying to pick paint colours for the new laundry/mud room and I wanted grey. Thank goodness for sample pots. The middle colour was my original choice Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. But after I painted the sample, A came upstairs and said "Why did you pick brown?". Yeah, very beigey in that room. So I tried Chelsea Gray (right), nope. Almost black, not what i had in mind. So back to the store I went out on a limb and just got Coventry Gray (up on Left). It is in the middle of those other colours on the paint chips, much lighter than Chelsea Gray and definitely grey-er than my beloved Revere Pewter. It looks great. You'll just have to take my word for it for now. Once the shelves are finished and the doors are on the cabinets I might be ready to let you see.....

What's your vote?

I am invited to my hubby's work Christmas party this weekend (a tad early I know). And I am a little stressed about what I will wear. Here are a few things you should know... everyone at the party will be a doctor or spouse of a doctor except for us and A's three coworkers. It is a catered event. The kids are coming too so I have to be able to move around with them. I have gained some weight since the last time I dressed up like this so I don't feel great in any of my pants/skirts. So, I want to look appropriate and be comfortable. What do you think about these choices? I still have a few days so if they are all bad I still have a chance....

I will get a cami for under this one so it will be more modest

I ripped these tights when I was trying them on so I will be out getting some new ones

Sorry about the funny exposure on this one, it's late, kids are in bed, it's dark in here

Laundry room is progressing

We have been working hard on the house and working hard at work. No more than 3 days off together a month right now is a bit crazy. I am not even sure it is worth the $$ we are saving on daycare. I miss daycare days.

A has been working hard on the laundry room and I see real progress. Our laundry shoot is working again after being out of service for almost a year due to the major changes we have been making downstairs. The plumbing is in, the framing is done, the windows are new, the electrical is done, the laundry room is insulated, drywalled and painted, shelves and mudroom bench in progress. The hitch right now (besides finding time to work) is an area of dryrot in the main room downstairs. It is a lot and it is bad and it has to be replaced. One the laundry room is done I think many hours will be devoted to the wall repair before we move forward in that room. Oh well it has to be done!

Here is a real before of the now laundry room from before we bought the house

Here is the during from last week

Now the washer and dryer are in their final resting place hopefully never to move or be disconnected again for a very long time.

Stay tuned for updates on the paint colour for this room!

Song Lyric Sunday

I was blessed to be able to be in church this week for communion, this song came to mind.

Trust by the Smalltown Poets

so he sat behind his natural defenses
and there he wrestled with the song
he heard his name in every line,
his life in every measure
faced with feelings he could not explain


there was hunger in his hollow hesitation
there was posturing for peace
but even where the spirit willed
the flesh was still maintaining
ground to give only for a sign
and the call went out again


take this bread, drink this cup
know this price has pardoned you
from all that's hardened you
but it's going to take some trust


he lost a heartbeat when he heard the testimony
another soul forsaking pride
and quickened by the spirit
he's so sure that he could hear it
Jesus his Savior calling him to come


come every soul by sin oppressed
there's mercy with the Lord
and He will surely give you rest
by trusting in His word

that's better

Black. It's so much better than that burgundy/pinky gross colour it was before!

Yep, finally we painted the front door.

Something else I have had on my list since before we moved in (last year) but was not on DH's list. I feel so much better.

Except for the part where we only did one coat so we put the roller, brush and tray in the freezer with the Black Marine Enamel 'til we get a chance to touch it up. And in the mean time everything in my freezer tastes like Black Marine Enamel... I can feel my brain cells dying.... But it's cute right?

let there be light

Changes. Yep, there have been some changes around this house. But of course if you are reading this blog there is no way you would know since I have been MIA. But really I am sorry. I never said consistency was my strong suit.

Fall has come to our house and with it school, soccer and almost full time hours for me at work. Actually last week I worked 44 hours over one weekend. Phew. Makes me tired just thinking of it. Ok. Enough apologizing. On to the developments around here.

I made a cool arrangement at LTO (Ladies Time Out). It is mostly boxwood in oasis so it will live a long time. I got the cute pumpkin pick at Michael's, R picked it out.

I think it is fun and festive. We made it before Thanksgiving (which was 15 people at our house) and it is still in great shape. There are other cute pumpkin-y decs around the living room but I need to take more pics before I show you that. So for now, this will have to do.

The next development is........

My sconces! I planned these since before we had the house, but alas the wiring needed to be run and it wasn't someone's top priority. So I circumvented the boss (DH) and asked the electrician directly how much it would be to add on the wiring of my 2 sconces to the mess he was doing in the basement. The answer? Basically negligible. It was less than a hundred bucks, and the sconces themselves, less than 30 each. A steal I say!

It adds much needed light and character to the living room. And I love them!

Counter Organization and the Shopper Syndrome

My Dad lives in a nursing home. There is a tendency for some of his neighbours to collect things as they travel about. You know like visitors' purses they have set down for a moment, or the neighbours' shoes or teeth, you get the idea. My Mom calls them 'shoppers'. Sweet but very confused little old people walking around looking for something exciting to pick up. Well, as with many scenarios involving confused adults, small children act in similar ways. That is the reason anything important at our house must be put up high to keep it from walking away with the help of a mini-shopper.

The reason I mention this you ask? I am hoping it helps explain the colossal mess next to the fridge in our kitchen.

It's kinda embarrassing. But really we need to keep all these random things away from the shoppers. Otherwise you never know where things might end up. Like the slippers might be under the stove, only to be found when some rewiring necessitated the whole stove being slid out. You know, that kind of thing.

So here it is. This is my attempt to organize the mess beside the fridge. Starting with the paperwork.

The papers are my biggest issue. I don't want to loose anything important and I am visual. I need to see it or I forget it exists. But I cannot live with a disaster as that offends my visual sensibilities as well. The clip boards solve this.

One for every kid and me. A has a magnetic clip (or four) on the fridge as he handles a lot of the paperwork stuff. The boards were a dollar each and were from the big dollar store at the mall. I covered them with scrapbook paper and A hung them on cup hooks. It was pretty cheap and easy but it took forever as each step was held up by a lot of procrastination. I like them so much I might buy 2 more and make it 3 rows of 2.

The drawer unit is from IKEA, painted with black craft paint and decorated with thickers (foam stickers). And the organizer is from Home Sense also a very good deal. All the keys, cell phones and paid bills and of course the chargers and cords live here.

And that is it. The whole system.

It has lots of place to shove junk so it works well for now. Keeping those shoppers out of trouble. And looking darn cute at the same time.

added this to the Beautiful Life linky party at The Inspired Room