'Tis the season...or it's beginning to look a lot like Advent

Thanksgiving has come and gone (post to come) but it is beginning to look a lot like...Advent.

Happy and Merry!

HalfWayPoint

Well kids, when I rest my head tomorrow night I will have completed exactly half of this med study.
Today I went in for my blood work (since obviously tomorrow is Thanksgiving day).

This morning I sat down in a chair waiting to be weighed and directly to my left was this:

Even though I've done this a few times now, the sight of all those tubes just makes me quiver.  Today there were over 30 of them.  Speaking of 30, I have now lost 33 pounds.

A few minutes later after they'd taken all my vitals and measurements (I was quite happy with the results as well, I have lost 8 inches off my waist) it was time to lay down...as in for several hours.  I always have to go to the potty one last time before the nurse hooks me up.

...and then I just lay there

...and watch the clock as the nurse draws every 30 minutes

Today was a good day for morning television.  Colin Firth was on Regis 

and Kelly, and I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say he's nothing to sneeze at.  

The nurses passing by sure had some whistles to throw out!

After the first draw the nurse brings be a bottle of this disgusting sugary drink to slurp up, in 5 minutes or less.  It sort of tastes like Orange Fanta...and considering the fact that I haven't had a soda drink in over a year this stuff is REALLY sugary, and SUPER icky. Thank goodness this isn't available to the public, as it states clearly on the side for RX uses only. ICK!

After I fish this bottle o' nasty, then out comes another draw...and then comes more waiting. 

And alas... a wild sigh of relief though when the tray of tubes starts to go down.

Bathroom-from the beginning.

I was looking at a few photos from the bathroom process, and while looking at them I decided it wasn't so pathetic that it took that long to get that project finished...here's why...

Here is what we started with.  Bathroom similar to BM:Silver Sage, but not quite. Floor in white and black basket weave tile, shower white subway.  Thankfully done well!  Hurray. A fabulous canvas for the project...

September 2009 we decided to start this project, or well...I started it and then realized this was a little bit bigger than changing some fixtures and a bucket of paint. So the counter top went in, and with that also installed was a new sink and faucet.  This is what I consider "stage 1"....then we waited.

Then a few months later, when the electrician could come...that is AFTER they initially came to scope out where the light fixtures would go...then the mirror guys came and measured for the mirror...THEN the electric guys came back to actually install the new ports for the fixtures....this was a cumbersome project.  Coordinating the glass/electrician was a major pain.

And then things were like this for a while while the mirror was being made. This was weird...to be between the point of installed and not installed was an inconvenience.

And then one fabulous day, the mirror showed up.  Gracious, it was WAY bigger than I realized. Space has a way of fooling the eye, doesn't it.

It was at this point that the guy on the left said, "Oh rats, it doesn't fit." Okay so he didn't say rats, but his comment did help break the sadness of the mirror not fitting.

So they pulled the mirror down and all this business was all over the wall. Ewww, and P.S. it smells.

So back to their little workshop they went to make a new mirror and we were left with this set up for like a month!  Grrrrrrrrr........

Then after about 2 months of waiting...and waiting...the mirror came back, it fit the second time, and then the electrician was able to be scheduled to come back (this also took a long time to get him back over) and the lights started going up.  This also seemed to be like some kind of sci-fi surgery.  The light fixtures are brilliant, I absolutely love them.  But considering that they too (after placing the order) took their sweet time arriving I was mighty thrilled to see them out of the box and up on the wall. At this point I was a little worried because they were sort of "go-go gadget".

After the lights went in (April) then we waited for the next part, which is where my post began.

Now that the bathroom is FINISHED...I don't really know what to do with myself...Oh wait, let me check my list again!

Sunroom-After

This is one of the rooms that we absolutely started with/at ZERO.  As in zero furniture and no idea what to do with an indoor sunroom space.  As it would happen, this is my favorite room in the house.  I love sitting in here, being able to see students as they arrive through the walls of windows and naturally, Handsome absolutely loves to take his afternoon nap in this room. His custom cat bed (made by my father) is pictured in the photo below.

You can see the before photos and the progress photos as a reference point.

Let there light.  This is the only room in the house I have no desire to cover in curtains or roman shades. I absolutely love these walls of windows and all the light that comes in.  This is why we decided to use such a dark paint color. Regardless of the time of day, the light in the room casts a very nice contrast on the walls to create excellent ambiance.  

As far as I am concerned, this room will never be finished.  Considering we started with no furniture everything that has been added was most likely a temporary piece, or was purchased with the intention of reupholstery as the room continues to come together.  These white chairs and the purple ottoman are now high on the list of "FIX ITS". The table was purchased for this room. 

We removed the set of french doors to this room because of how far the stuck out into the room. Additionally, 3 sets of french doors in the living room seemed a bit much.  Since removing this set of doors, it has doubled the size of the sunroom and also has helped to make the two rooms feel more connected. As a contrast to the BM: Decorator's White, BM: Soot looks lovely. The ceiling also received a new coat of paint, BM: Mt. Rainier Gray which turned out to be an exact match to the tile grout on the sunroom floor. 

Lights-Camera-Action

I love a good light fixtures and it seems like the main component of this house is light.  In some parts of the house there is a little to much light and in other parts of the house you can't bring in enough.  The downstairs hallway and stairwell both fall under this category.  Along with my quest for additional lighting, naturally I'm on a quest for pretty lighting.

Here are the two bad boys that got the boot!

1. This little fella used to be in the stairwell.  

2. This bad boy used to be at the bottom of the stairwell that feeds into the downstairs hallway.

The newly installed stairwell light fixture

via: Worlds Away

An up close of the new hallway fixture. 

The new landing/hallway fixture.

via: Worlds Away

Track lighting added fall 2009, there was an identical old fixture in the mounting mid hallway.

An up close of the new landing/hallway fixture

Bathroom-After

This must be the longest cosmetic renovation in history.  This project began in October of 2009 and is just now finished.  You can read about this process at the half way point and at this point.

This room was a brand new room when we moved in.  Our master bedroom, bath, and dressing room used to the the "ballroom", you know back in the day when folks thought it was cool to have a ballroom. This space was divided into three different spaces.  The bathroom before was a shade of mint green.  The floor and shower tile are exactly what I would have selected had I done it myself. The vanity is a beautiful piece of cabinetry.  During this cosmetic process we made the following changes:
paint on walls, Benjamin Moore Decorator's White, carrera marble counter top, sink, faucet, mirror, light fixtures (note, LOVE the dimmer) and roman shade. That sounds simple enough right? I thought it would take a month, or perhaps 6 weeks.  With my wondering mind and laundry list of projects this little ditty draped its self over and entire calendar year.

Not clean, but it is done!

Sherwin Williams paint used on vanity

Yay!

Perhaps my favorite addition to the room!
If you have the option, ALWAYS add a dimmer!

Living Room-After

This room has been the biggest undertaking, in that I have been working on this room since the moment we moved in (New Year's Eve 2007).  The only thing we had in this room was Handsome custom made cat bed and our purple couch, that has since then left us. This wasn't the only room that didn't have furniture, we're still working on this problem in the sunroom which sits adjacent to the living room.  The piano was the first obvious addition which is on the opposite end from the fire place. 

I've been trying to figure out what color to paint this room for practically 2 years, the first time I said it out loud was back in April when I started selecting paint colors.  Later during the spring of 2k10, we made the plunge and purchased 4 new sconces. Woof, trying to purchase 4 of something is serious.  1-2 seems enjoyable....4 is an unnecessary design stress!  So, with the new addition of the scones pressed the addition of a different paint color.  You can view the before photos here. 

during the painting process

the room feel much bigger already

I used to think the ceiling was really white...
that was before the addition of the new paint on the walls.
Benjamin Moore: Decorator's White

Some folks don't like the "starkness" of white,
I embrace this clean, crisp color for all that it goes with
and the pristine that makes it fashionable through the seasons.

I've had these cubes for many years. About 18
months ago I taped them all up, and shot them with a
coat of glossy white spray paint. I also added wheels
to the bottom.  This makes for an easy transition for an
extra seat or table as it is needed. Until then, it houses
a bar tray with photos of the hubbs and I at graduation. 

In approximately 7 days,
we'll put our Christmas tree here.

This room has 4 windows, 2 of which are nearly
floor to ceiling and 7 doors. This wall is the biggest
piece of flat space in the room.

Butler's Pantry-After

I love this room, BUT it is ridiculously difficult to photograph. Again, like the other rooms I've been working on, there is a before and now I am somewhat close to an after.  This room is a heavily used room in our house.  It sits between the kitchen and the dining room and for the large portion of the year is used as a workspace.  For the remaining portion of the year (when we have parties) it serves as a bar.  Last Friday, 11-12-10 was the debut of this room avec bar setting.  This week, it was turned back into that of a workspace. 

paint: Benjamin Moore Stormy Monday
desk: West Elm Parsons Desk
chairs: Worlds Away
curtains: Pottery Barn
hide rug: Tandy Leather

Add caption

a few props for consideration

a newly framed drawing of my mother circa 1967

the original gold plaster trim that halos the room

framed recitals posters of the hubbs and I

obera lamp: Worlds Away

the original chandelier with plaster mounting

a focal point of the room and what was
necessary keep and to work around

we love the built in, handy for when the "bar is open"