Little pain big gain

No it's not a new kitchen design, Todd has started sanding the floors in the living room and dining room. He removed the island which sat where you can see the dark brown area which was what the floors were once before. He moved the loveseat into the kitchen and even hooked the TV up so we can still relax. Isn't it amazing how you can manage in just one room if you had to? Sure looks cozy doesn't it and I must confess, I loved watching tv while making dinner and my ultimate dream kitchen has a sofa in it so this is pretty close to perfect for me.

He moved our two large comfy chairs upstairs from the front porch and then moved our sofa out there along with the island and I loved the change of a sofa out there too!  That is where the island and my pots and pans are for now until we are done. I must be nuts or just really needing a change I guess but one thing for sure is I'm glad that we are not clutter bugs or this entire process would have been so difficult. 

  

We are trying to get things done because we are looking for a new addition to our family soon!

Getting some air

I realize that the pace that we complete our reno's is nothing short of uninspiring to others and I apologize to you for that but the ultimate goal in my life is balance (and extra rest when I need it).

That said, we decided to do a fun thing yesterday when the temperatures soared to an almost record breaking high. You see, our 134 year old windows have icky aluminum storms that were thoroughly siliconed on to prevent any air movement and the windows themselves were painted shut many years before we bought our home and maybe even many many years before that.

Well today Todd removed the storms, broke that paint seal and let the fresh breezes in!

They are  gorgeous two over two double hung sash windows that let beautiful east morning light fill the room. Now that the trim is white I don't think I can bring myself to cover them with curtains.
I like the idea of roman's or simple bamboo blinds.

before cleaning things were blurry

The glass is original and has many frozen pond like waves and bubbles in it and when the sun

shines through them they are unlike any other new window I've ever seen.

after, sparkling and crystal clear

Now when it's stifling outside in the summer time we can open these up to let the night breezes cool the house down.
The outside needs some work to but we'll get to that when the weather is consistently warmer and Todd is going to make some wood storms for them.

Did you know that if you properly storm your windows with a wood storm and the windows are in good shape that they have a favourable R factor. The old growth pine is so dense and when painted and maintained will last indefinitely. Since we have insulated almost all the house we have made many great energy improvements and savings and so keeping these windows is great to let a little fresh air still in. I believe a lot of people are getting sick  from renovation products that off gas in their super sealed homes and they don't even know what is causing them to feel unwell. 

On another note, Todd came down yesterday morning to find me sitting on the floor in our primed white room enjoying my green tea and the morning sunlight pouring in and sweetly offered to haul the loveseat in there for me to sit on and it was so nice. Before the reno we sat in this seriously drafty room with ugly peeling, painted over wallpaper for so long and now it feels like a breath of fresh air even before it is done.

I spent the day today caulking the ceiling and can I shout

OMG. Is it possible to fall in love with a ceiling. 

Todd is finishing the last two coffers as I type and because I ran out of steam and hit a nice soak in the tub to ease my aching neck muscles after whipping up a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce for dinner. 

I can't wait to show you!

Have a great week!

Happy Weekend!

The sun is pouring in and it is to hit 15 degrees today!

The past two weeks have been nothing short of a heart attack's worth of stress at work

with a kitchen promotion and 5 families wanting to get their 15% discount before the deadline.

I am so grateful for the success and am happy to report that I did it!

In the past without the help of natural thyroid hormone and hydrocortisone I would have not kept up or have been able to cope with the demands.

 www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Right now our living room is almost all white primer and
if I could  keep it white, it would feel as ethereal as this
heavenly living room.
Isn't it perfect!

Country Home magazine

My weekend feels well earned and I intend to make the most of it.

I hope yours is a super one too!

Are clear glass pendants a good choice?

Hello!

I purchased these clear glass pendants for our laundry room a couple of years ago and then lost the bill. We decided they weren't the right choice and so I have had them all this time. I have always loved the look of glass pendants and how they don't take up visual space in a smaller room but that they still make a statement. 

I have suggested replacing our existing pendants with them in the kitchen over our island a number of times but Todd for some reason doesn't agree. 

I have posted them on Kijiji to sell them but when I placed them on our console to take a picture, I really liked how they looked and am now torn. 

The dilemma is, I have no idea how the light is off clear glass pendants. 

Is it cold and bare bulb feeling as I would suspect?

 Perhaps an old fashioned filament bulb will not throw that kind of light.

 I'm not sure and would like to find out. 

Do you have or have you been a kitchen with clear glass pendants and is the light 

unfavourable? We have dimmers so I can turn it down but still wonder about how it would feel when turned up to be bright enough to work under if you need to.

I really do love them and compared to prices of other clear glass pendants they were reasonable.

I would love to hear what you think!