Today is the 2nd July, which means bub is due in 9 days. I am now off work and on the countdown. I'm a mix of excitement and nerves but very much looking forward to meeting my little boy. My 2 yr old Labrador is enjoying cuddles with him too at the moment.
The kitchen is now also functioning as a kitchen...just in time. I'm quite happy with the results but now must do the nesting thing to get the place cleaner. As you can see, the floor needs sanding and we have to knock out the old kitchen, which sits next to the new one.
Blinds or curtains have always been a long time coming for our household and I almost squeeled with excitement when D-Day arrived yesterday and our new block-out blinds were installed. We had 1 fitted in our bedroom, 2 in the baby's room and 1 in the study. The difference in sleep we got last night was amazing. Even the dog noticed the difference when she peered into our dark room this morning.
Our new Blockout Blinds from Kresta Blinds
The best thing about it however is the privacy. Before now, we have only
had windows with louvers and neighbours could see completely into our
house. It's nice to be able to change in my own bedroom for once, without having to worry about hiding in the cupboard so neighbours couldn't see me changing.
On the way to work this morning, I realised I couldn't really see my feet for my stomach. Not surprising really with just over 6 weeks to go.
The kitchen is also getting there. Here's an image for those of you who actually read my blog. As you can see, both sides now have carcasses and the splash back stud work is done. The electrician has also roughed in. The benchtop is being ordered this week and we will start to work on the drawers this coming weekend probably. The painting is just about done too. I'm very thankful I still have a working kitchen (as you can see in the background), while the new one is being built. The bench behind the splash back is probably being demolished very soon.
Hubby and I are now officially on a deadline to get the kitchen done, with bub due in around 12 weeks. Thankfully we are doing the kitchen in sections, so we will always have a working kitchen and it will be a good idea just in case we run out of funds or time.
We ordered the kitchen appliances over the Easter break and officially made a start to the renovations yesterday. We went to our friendly Swedish store, IKEA and bought some carcasses for the appliances, before coming home and ripping out the tiles from the dining area, where the new kitchen will be. Here's a before and after shot of the area. We still have a lot of nails to rip out and a large floorboards area to sand back, no thanks to the previous owners who must have decided is was a good idea to use an entire bucket of tile glue to stick down the tiles.
The Before Shot
No more tiles - note the playpen to keep the dog out (very useful!)
The lack of social functions this weekend actually meant we could buckle down and get the master bedroom more or less completed - hurrah! This also means that we can start shifting the rooms around and get the nursery completed. Here's a few images of the before and after of the master bedroom...
BEFORE
Note the lovely asbestos cupboard (together with carpet inside)
Heavy blue curtains and a side mirror section with shelves
Removing the last bit of the yellow mustard wallpaper
AFTER
An area for a TV / cot
The bed is in, with pendant lights next to it. Now to add blinds.
His and Hers walk in robe (that fits all my shoes!)
Well with bub due in July, the master bedroom renovations are well and truly underway. We got a bit done over the Christmas period and hope to be finished mid-late February. It's hard when you can only work on weekends and some of them are taken away by your darling husband's work wanting him to fly out of the country!
The aim is to finish the master bedroom, move our stuff from the 2nd bedroom into the master bedroom and then move things from the study to the 2nd bedroom, to turn the study into a nursery.
Here's the surface we started with, after we removed the lovely mustard yellow, printed wallpaper that was in the room.
We then added some bulkheads to hide fluro lighting and wiring for pendant lights, a cupboard area and space for a TV, if desired.
Once this was in place, we started the dredded job of plastering.
This was followed by painting and this image shows where we're at presently.
Next will be staining the wood and painting these cupboard doors. This photo was taken before painting the walls.
The blog post is admittedly a little bit random, as it's a little bit of this and a little bit of that from the week. For instance, I found these cows outside the Love Love Studio in Teneriffe this week after the Teneriffe Festival last weekend. They reminded me of the old cows that used to be around Brisbane at the time of the EKKA (Brisbane's Royal Show).
Hubby and I have been working solidly on the 2nd bedroom this week with
our goal to have the room complete by the 15th July (yes, this is
tomorrow). We installed the shelves tonight, with the bottom one also
acting as a bedside table. What do you think? Exhaustion from working
nights is starting to set in, so we'll be glad to have a short break
after this one.
After meeting our renovating goals for the day, we were able to make it
to a friend's cake testing. The bride and groom were undecided on the
flavour of their cake, so they invited round some critics - I think this
was a good idea and my stomach agreed. Here are the amazing cakes to
test. The actual wedding cake will be tiered and use a different icing.
My verdict - the caramel.
The decision - a chocolate layer, a marble layer and a caramel layer. Job well done! The cakes come care of the French Patisserie, in case you're wondering.
I thought I'd leave you with something fun for the weekend, so here's Cookie Monster's version of Carla Rae Jepsen's song 'Call me Maybe'.
I'm not sure if the DIY home renovating shows have brought back the look of wallpaper or everything old is becoming new again, either way this wallpaper in my house is going next weekend. It looks like someone has just put up bad Christmas wrap! This is the next room to be renovated in the house. We cleared out the room this weekend just gone and got rid of its skirtings and curtains.
On another note, I hope all the mums out there are doing well in sending their little ones off to school again this week. In aide of back to school, I found this groovy website via http://brisbanetimes.com.au called Kool Kitchen.
Well these new years resolutions seem to be going well so far - pity it's only day 5 :). We managed to finish the first bedroom renovation today, aside from a few electrical things, which we obviously can't do ourselves. Here's a few piccies of the finished product.
For the foodies out there, my husband and I tried out Eurovida for breakfast this week and were very impressed. This is their haloumi, ciabatta, poached egg, tomato and pesto combination - delish! I also loved their internal lighting.
Now for something fun. I found this link on a friend's facebook page and had to share. It's about English Pronounciation but try saying just one paragraph ten times, fast. It's quite a tongue twister.
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