Moldy, Moldy, Moldy

We returned home from our Seattle trip to a mess!  One of the sinks in the master bathroom sprung a leak while we were gone.  The whole master bathroom and closet were flooded.  Part of the master bedroom and adjacent room were also flooded.  Our friends who were watching the house for us while we were away, spent an entire weekend cleaning up the water, removing carpet, and trying to dry everything out.  Thank goodness for them!

Since it had been sitting for a while, there was black mold on the cabinets, carpet, and baseboards.  We had to hire a professional clean-up crew to demolish the cabinets,  and walls, clean it, and dry it out. Once that was done, we had a mold inspection completed.

They also had to take all of our clothes, bedding, curtains, shoes, bags, etc. and have them cleaned.  You all know I have a lot of clothes so you can imagine the dry cleaning bill alone was thousands of dollars!

Since our bedroom and bathroom are torn up, we've been sleeping on the couch since our return home.  We're in the process of working with our insurance company and a general contractor to get it fixed.  We decided since everything is ripped up anyway, we're going to remodel and upgrade it as well as the guest bathroom.

Stay turned for the finished product (It's taking FOREVER)!

Deck The Halls - 2013

It's that time of year again where we get to bring the magic of the holidays into our home by decorating it for Christmas!  This year we got a few new items for 'The Gold Room' as I like to call our front room, which is decorated more formal in golds and jewel tones.  Making their debut this year are our stockings hung by the fireplace with care, new decorations atop the mantle, and Jolly old St. Nick himself guarding the entryway!

We also created a tablescape made with real garland for the dining table, and beside it we have a little nativity with a silver and gold manger.

Of course there are my returning favorites too, the snowman village, those crazy kissing reindeer hanging from the chandelier, and the ornament tree.

We had a very busy year, which means we had lots of new ornaments to hang from our favorite tree:

1. Trip to Anaheim for Metric/Paramore Concert
2. Business trips to Long Beach, California
3. for Dudley
4. Trip to Grand Canyon
5. From my Grandmother who passed away this year
6. Trip to Hawaii

The third tree in our house goes in my office.  The black tree accented with pink and silver makes me smile when I walk into my office each morning.  I just love being able to have a little bit of Christmas with me each day while I'm working!

We hope you are enjoying your Holiday season so far this year!

Click HERE for more photos.

Deck the Halls - 2012

Every year we buy ornaments from the places we travel and for special events.  Decorating the ornament tree is one of my favorite things about the Holidays. We get to take the ornaments out of their boxes and reminisce about all the great trips we've taken and memories we've made over the years.  This year we added a few new ornaments to our ever growing collection:

Trip to St. Louis


Trip to Yellowstone


Trip to Minsk, Belarus (which I still haven't blogged)


New Trailer

Dia De Los Muertos

Around the house we added a new tree to my studio, so I can enjoy the Christmas lights while I'm working. The tree is a tall, skinny, black tree decorated with pink, silver, crystal, and black ornaments and a pretty black star on top!

We added a few new things to 'The Gold Room' too (like a new fireplace we've been wanting forever).

and then there are my usual favorites...

snowman village

my snowman in the gold room

and the kissing reindeer hanging from the chandelier!

 Click HERE for a few more photos of our house decked for Christmas.

52 Photos - Week #43

Kevin actually spent some money on himself for a change - he bought a new toolbox for his truck and spent time in the garage this weekend getting it installed and organized.

and while Kevin was in the garage, I spent some time scrapbooking in my studio - learning how to use Cricut Craft Room with my Cricut machine :)

oh, and I'm now completely obsessed with washi tape!

We also carved our pumpkins for Halloween...





Enjoy your week!

Fun with Fisheye

Some photos of my studio using my new Lensbaby Fisheye optic!  I love how you can see the layout of the room a little better.

Inside My Studio

We started working on my studio last summer, and I haven't ever posted any 'after' pictures.  That's because I still don't consider the room to be finished.  I don't think I'll ever be finished, I'm just going to keep tweaking it, but it has evolved into a room that I absolutely love.  I went for a French Industrial theme with some zebra thrown in for good measure.  So without further ado, here's a look inside my studio...

(click on any photo to see it in flickr, where there is more detail (and more photos too))


My Little Corner

Colorblock

Black Beauty (Amour Amoire)

Track Lighting


Vanité

Oh la la, bonjour le maquillage!

Magazine Lover's Paradise

I hope you enjoyed the tour,

xx
Tonya