HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

n loves today so much because it is j's birthday ... this is my eleventh time i have celebrated this boy's birthday and boy oh boy this boy is so special to me ... j is my bestest friend who i still can't get enough time with ... i love that we can go out for dinner and after almost eleven years of being together we still talk and talk and talk just like when we were first dating ... he is amazing, wonderful and according to all who meet him "the nicest guy in the world" or "simply the coolest" ... i am so thankful to have such an awesome boy in my life ...

last year for the big 3-0 j and n took a trip across the pond to spend a fantastic week in london ... although we were at home this year ... today was a fabulous birthday ... waffles and crepes for breakfast, some mid-morning shopping at h & m to buy j a leather coat and n a few fun spring coats, coffee break at a sweet little cafe for espresso and mocaccinos, banana republic for j so he could get some new jeans and cuff links to make his suit all fancy, hanging up pictures in the house (because all the dust is gone), going to a favorite pub for good wine, beer and eats with n, j and his brother, getting the most delicious homemade cheesecake to go and finishing the night off with a movie ... yup it was a fabulous day for the most fantastic boy in the world ...

this is what j wanted for his birthday ...

some of n's london photos framed to

complete our city landscape wall ...

these are j's final picks ...

love you lots j

xoxo ~n

WHAT MAKES N HAPPY ...

... the basement is getting painted! ... the basement is getting painted! ... let me say it again ... the basement is getting painted!

cheers ~n

THEY'RE IN!!!

without further adieu our beautiful custom ordered lights for the living room and gym ...

... they are now in our house and waiting patiently in their boxes for their chance to brighten our basement ...

... update on the reno home front we have gotten the basement completed primed, a second glance over to fix some mudding spots by the professionals and then a light sand tomorrow and we are ready to paint!!! we heart progress ... also our fabulous happy helper (j's dad) has scored us a super sweet deal on carpet for the basement and it is ready to be picked up this week and hopefully installed next week ...

... next week for n is spring break ... last year j and n were falling in love with london but this year we are going to be falling in love with our house ... we want to get the main floor completely decked out with baseboards, window casings and have the closets sanded and repainted (all because of a recent light addition to them) and then the main floor is finished ... feel free to check back at the beginning of april to see if we were actually able to stick to our plan

cheers ~n

AS PROMISED ... ALL ABOUT THIS ...

on the weekend n did this ...

while j and his happy helpers did this

to the roof ...

on friday afternoon n came home to this ...

the view now looks like this ...

and this ...

from the inside the future bathroom

looks like this ...

love that this is part of the inside now ...

and this is the view from the master floor ...

when j and n walk outside it now

looks like this ...

cheers ~n

BLOG SLACKER

so instead of spending time posting pictures of the bathroom ensuite dormer n decided to go out shopping and spend some money at a much loved store ... ah sephora ... what a beautiful place with so many lovely things in such pretty packaging ... how can a girl resist?

nothing better than a little bag filled with all kinds of awesomeness

behold all the bright and shiny things

sometimes it's nice to take a break from all the dust and dirt and do something girly

cheers ~n

p.s. the pictures will be coming very soon

IT'S NICE TO TAKE A BREAK ...

... a break from the yuckiest reno jobs ... we have officially booked a mudding and taping crew to come and get the basement to the painting stage ... the crew comes this thursday and they said that the job should be done in about a week or so ... which means no dusty disgusting never ending mudding and sanding for n ... she will get to skip her least favorite job and move ahead to the fun job of painting and making things beautiful and almost livable

we are still trying to get our trusty deal finder to score us a sweet price on carpet for the basement so n must wait before picking out the paint colors ... also an extra bonus ... the crew said they are pretty sure that they can finish the ceiling so we can just paint it instead of having to stipple the ceiling which is totally cool because the rest of the rooms in the house have painted ceilings and i always think that it's nice to match the rest of the house ... bathroom dormer is built and insulated ... still have to post the pics from the weekend ... it is pretty sweet with the vaulted ceiling and the soon to be gigantic master ensuite ... ah progress is a beautiful thing

cheers ~n

LIVING IN A DUST BOWL

so excited!!!! ... just wanted to say before i post the pictures of the totally dry walled basement i came home today to a gigantic hole in the roof ... which means the bathroom dormer is being put in ... we are so lucky to have j's faithful happy helpers up this weekend and we have the privilege of a guest carpenter who is one of the most fabulous and talented builders we know ... i have only been home for about an hour and a bit and there is major progress already ... definitely more to come on this project

to tide you over until i can get in to snap some pics here is the basement all sealed up with dry wall and ready for the next yucky stage of taping and mudding ... our dry waller was fantastic ... he came in the evenings and for most of it worked by himself and he had this done in a matter of 3 evenings!!!

now that we have cleaned up the dust (side note ... anyone who renovates knows that no matter how careful you are the dust gets everywhere and it takes forever to get out of all the nooks and corners) ... anyways we cleaned the entire house and here is what has happened

now when i look downstairs this is what i see :)

welcome to the basement ...

love the open stairwell

the landing in the basement

the bathroom and the lovely

now level shower ...

so glad that the green board

gets covered up :)

the laundry and freezer room

the wall above the washer and dryer ...

definitely want to hang some shelves and a rod above here

the cozy guest bedroom

the spacious closet ...

is it sad that the guest bedroom

has a bigger closet

than the one that we have right now

the area for the future gym

the cozy living room

our last little inch of space used ...

our under the stair storage

can't wait to get to the painting stage ...

cheers ~n