Thursday, January 7, 2010

My Favorite HandMade Journal

I made as many hand-made-from-scratch journals as I could for Christmas gifts for the women in my life. As it turns out, I could only get eight done. And my absolute favorite went to The Sister I Always Wanted my sister-in-law Genevieve.


I used a gorgeous purple suede halter top {that I bought in college but never wore} as the cover. Isn't it pretty?

I hope you see this, Lori, I owe so much to your advice. Thank you!

An Efficiency No Longer?

We have begun repairing my Mother-in-Law's house. The main house (of which our efficiency is a part) is about 800 square feet, according to my brother-in-law. And he should know; he has one of those laser-measurer-thingies. So our family will move into the main house, and my Mother-in-Law will move into this mother-in-law-suite.

The list is long, and it is taking awhile. But I think this will be worth it. Every few days, Lyliana and I take a trip into the main house to visit "Lyliana's Room." She is super-psyched about having her own room. Last night, she grabbed her Thomas the Train blanket and said, "I want Lyliana's Room." I grinned in anticipation of my three year old sleeping in her own room. WooHoo!

So here's the basic list:
  • replace broken windows and door

  • repair broken wood floor (it's a little piece, but a danger to our toes)
  • repair damage under kitchen sink
  • remove some of the kitchen cabinets to make it more roomy

  • add a couple of ceiling fans
  • resurface the pink tub and blue tile in the bathroom

    • repair the plumbing in the bathroom, clean, and re-grout
    • replace the broken and missing fence panels in the back yard (our four-legged-baby will appreciate this)
    • patch various holes in walls and ceilings and repair old water damage
    • replace broken blinds and remove some wallpaper and paint
    • replace kitchen floor (When we removed the old cabinets, we found that the floor under them was not tiled. So we had to remove the old tiles and redo it. Of course, I didn't really mind because the old tiles were very dark brown, and I'm more of a beige or gray kinda girl.)

    Whew! That sounds like a lot. Thank goodness for talented friends and loving family!

    And Lyli isn't the only one who's excited. I will finally have counter space! I will be able to bake and cook and roll out my pie crusts and pizza dough. And a bedroom that is separate from the living space... *sigh* that is going to be great! And a back yard! Lyli loves to be outside, and I want to have a garden super-seriously bad! This spring is going to ROCK!