Saying Goodbye

This weekend we lost our beloved dog Norman. The grief in the house is palpable. I know some may be confused as to why we would mourn a pet so much but he was far more than just a pet. He was our little man.

 Norman filled our home with love and laughter and snuggles. Oh so many snuggles. When Daniel and I adopted him from the Seattle Pug Rescue five years ago I couldn't have imagined how much he would become the center of our house. With him gone it feels so empty here.

Everything reminds me of him from the pillows he loved to smash down until they were just right, to the yard we made sure to find just for him when we bought this house.

I was looking forward to Oliver and him growing up together. Being playmates and nap mates and for Oliver to see the joy of caring for someone other than himself just as we did.

I'll end with this PSA before I dissolve even more heavily in to tears. Xylitol, a common sugar substitute in things like sugar free gum and candy is EXTREMELY toxic to pets. Even one stick of gum can cause death if eaten by a dog.  For a pug who loved to eat, the cake I made and unthinkingly left on the table was too much to pass up. So please, if you have dogs, just keep the sugar free cakes and candies out of your house. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through this.

We buried Norman outside Oliver's window so we can say goodnight. Oliver probably won't remember him but we definitely won't forget.

Penned In

A few days back I shared my horrible shame list of unfinished projects. Well folks, I'm here today to tell you I've crossed one off of the list. And added four more. Let's focus on the successes though right?

I got my inspiration from this baby gate that Kim @ The Newly Woodwards made and tweaked it to what I had on hand.

TaDa!

It serves two purposes. One, it keeps Norman contained when we have the front door open (which is a necessity as it heats up) and two, keeps us from being bombarded by solicitors. Since Daniel works in the front room (it has the best view) he is unable to "pretend" he is not home when people came by. Now they don't even make it to the front porch.

Boy do my stairs need painting! Ignore that bit and check out the cutest guard dog in the world.

He means business! Unless you have tasty bits, then come on in.

There you have it, one task checked off of my ever growing list. Any bets on whether or not I finish another task before I find something new to add?

Cheers!

Bedroom Progress

We started this weekend with all sorts of plans to finish up a few projects we have been working on around here but in grand Keller fashion we decided to go to Ikea instead and start a new project that wasn't even on our radar. I know, crazy. Of course, since we decided this Saturday night I'm still putting the finishing touches on things so I thought I'd show you something we did ages ago.

Remember when we were rushing to get things done for our house inspection way back? Well part of that was giving it a paint job. That's right, I've been sitting on a Before and After for months. Bear with me folks.

Here's the bedroom right after we cleaned everything out back in July.

You can see our finished corner that we bumped out in the kitchen processes giving us a nice square room instead of a silly L-shaped one.

 My mustard dresser really clashed with those lavender walls.

Obviously we needed to paint to make it look less half done so we tried something new. Since time was of the essence we decided we would just go to the store, pick paint, and then come home and paint. No swatches, no thinking, just go with our gut instinct.

Here's how it turned out.

We ended up going with Behr's Slate Green. Which is surprisingly not very green.

I also finally splurged and got a full length mirror. Can you believe I've gone a year and half without one? I've been so happy to be able to see my see my shoes and shirt at the same time (silly I know, but it is the little things)

I'm not sure if the light is staying. It actually doesn't clash as much as I thought it would but I am still on the fence (Daniel loves it so it may take an act of God to change it).

Daniel's side of the bed.

My side of the bed. As you can see I get the dog. I've got ideas for how to hide the dog bed though. I'll keep you updated if I ever get around to it.

 You can see we have the trim up but I need to put one more coat of paint on it. I also need to paint those doors.

There you have it, a long over due reveal. Has anyone else just picked random colors and gone with it? So far it is working out for us.

Add to the List of Jobs I'll Never Have

Full time painter. Sure it is fun for a little while but I figure when we are done with the kitchen I will have painted the cabinets 8 times. 8 times Ferris, 8 times... Luckily Daniel is the best and has been trying his best to help between work duties. Gotta love having a husband who works from home. He is also the meticulous one and is very happy to sand down paint drips and remove dog hair. In fact, dog hair in the paint has been our biggest problem yet. **sigh**

Today marks the third and hopefully final coat for the backs of the doors and cabinet boxes.



We've got cabinet doors in just about every room of the house at the moment. I sure to envy people with large garages or basements.

Since I've got nothing else to show, how's this for a giggle?



Pug love!
Cheers!

Last Minute Updates

Our claw foot tub is one of my favorite features of the house. It is long enough I can actually soak myself in it and deep enough to cover me completely. The only thing it is missing is a shower. I could live without one but Daniel really wants to be able to shower off after a run so when we first moved we looked in to getting a shower adapter. Boy was I unprepared for that cost. We decided to go the piecemeal route and have been adding parts as we go.

 I decided to finally bite the bullet and get the kit only to find it was more than I remembered. Ugh. I hate when that happens. As he was tallying things up I noticed that between the shower head and a new handle for the hand shower it was over $200. Not happening. I fumed a bit and decided I'd do some more research and buy a shower head and hand held somewhere else. Sometimes it is good to listen to your gut.

 A quick ebay search for hand held porcelain shower heads and $25 later I got to switch from broken and cracked

to shiny and new.

Ahh the joys of the internet. Kitty found it fascinating too.

Can you believe she is only 6 months old? We think she's got some Maine Coon in her. After all she is fascinated by water (apparently that is a common trait).

I wish I could show you our fancy new shower kit but the plumbing guy neglected to tell me I needed to get something to attach it to the wall and it will take two weeks to get here. **sigh** But until then I am no longer in danger of hand lacerations while bathing. Bonus!

Anyone else manage to score a great deal online after being told they'd have to give their first born for a plumbing piece? Have a kitty who is fascinated by water? It is the strangest thing. I swear she would climb in the tub if she wasn't afraid she'd get wet.
Cheers!

Rainy Days

I'm busily working on projects but my helpers seem to be taking the day off.

It's a good thing they are so cute.
Cheers!

Not a Minute too Late

Who knew finding an 16x 20 frame with an 11x14 mat would be so difficult (ok, I didn't really look very many places but my go-to's let me down). With less than a day to spare I finally got my calendar on my wall (I know, anti-climactic right?). It was totally worth the wait though.

Isn't it just pretty enough to eat frame? And each month I get a new work of art. 

Norman wasn't too impressed though.

This calendar maker comes out with a different set of pictures each year and I have always loved them. They can be a little pricey, but if you are willing to gamble I've found that most calendars tend to go on sale a few weeks after the new year. I got mine half off.  They have some super cute posters too (their small prints are on sale for 2.50 right now!)

Linnea Design

I was inspired by this pin (go figure right?) but wasn't sure I wanted another gallery wall. 

I toyed with putting it in the guest bed but then I couldn't enjoy the art. Next month's is super cute and for $14.50 I love that I now have a rotating art collection. Now I just have to refurbish that desk... 

Anyone else have a cheap source of art? I really want more original pieces in my house but with the price tags they carry it will have to be prints for now. 

30 Day Photography Challenge (20-24)

Back again with this week's photos (here are week 1, 2, and 3). I've moved away from taking deliberate pictures each day and have started just thinking about the things that I want to capture more clearly. I can really see how I am thinking more purposefully about photography and less just trying to take pictures. So, without further ado

Day 20: Bokeh

Day 21: Faceless self portrait

Day 22: Hands

Day 23: Sun flare

Day 24: Animal

As you can see I was having trouble picking just one this week, so I let myself have two. But really, how could you say no to that face??? Can't wait to see what else everyone has this week.

Cheers!

Kitty Ghost Hunter

Since neither Michelle @ Ten June nor I got our next 30 day photo challenge done I thought I'd post this little fun tidbit.  This weekend I found this little tutorial on 320* Sycamore for making these cool cheese cloth ghosts.

So I gathered my supplies and got going. I used paint cans to make the form and height and added a bowl and a ball of foil for the heads. 

Then I draped them in the cheese cloth and sprayed with my spray starch.

Two coats and a day later I had these neat ghosts

I arranged them by the fire place and went downstairs to get some felt for the eyes. When I came back upstairs I was greeted with this amusing sight

She ain't afraid of no ghosts. And while my cute ghosts were ruined I can sleep safely at night knowing I have a kitty ghost hunter to keep me safe. It's a good thing we love our pets right?

Linking up to:

The Shabby Nest and