Wish list

With Christmas right around the corner, I can't make it a day without somebody asking me for Christmas hints.  Well, I don't know what is wrong with me, but I just can not for the life of me think of anything!!  My taste is way too expensive.. Or maybe it is directly related to the term "Wish List".  Since I am now a "grown up" I tend to buy the little things that I want when I want them.  Now I fully understand what my Mom was going through, when as a little girl, I would ask her what she wanted for Christmas.  I used to think she was absolutely freaking out of her mind INSANE for responding with, "I don't need anything".
So here are a few things that I am WISHING for... *but do not expect to get by any means what so ever*  This is just for fun!!

IKEA cowskin footstool

AS IF I need another rug

AS IF I need another rug PART II

Leather silver Pouffe

Waterfall ruffle shower curtain.. Cujo would pee on this, for sure.

OK! I promise I will get to work on my "FOR REAL" wish list!  Anybody else have problems answering the question "What do you want for Christmas?"

I'm building my dream home!!

I am so excited to announce that I am finally building my dream home.  It has 7 rooms (including a foyer!!) is three stories high and has a wrap around porch!!  Now this house won't be built over night, so you will have to wait a while to see pictures.. The least I can do is share an artist rendering.

Cute right?

First, you need to know that my finished home will look nothing like this.  Mine will be a modern Victorian... not a "granny Victorian".  If I saw the pictured home in real life, I would want to "flip" it.  But that's why it is nice to build a home from scratch, rather than buy an existing home.  Brady and I know that all too well. 

EEEEEK!

I inherited this home from Brady's late Grandmother, Darlene.  OK, so maybe the house is only 1-10th the size of a real house.   That doesn't mean I can't be just as excited as if I were to ACTUALLY be building my dream home.  And let's face it, I would kill to have a really awesome modernized Victorian.  OK, back on track.. A while back I mentioned to my mother-in-law, Kari, that I was digging the new trend that was happening in the home blogosphere, building and finishing doll houses just as you would your dream home..

..and she happened to mention that her Mother, Darlene, was a doll house collector as well.  So exciting!  Darlene used to build and decorate dollhouses a long long time ago.  Unfortunately, she allowed her crazzzzy grandchildren (Brady and Mandy, ahem) to play with them and they did not survive long enough for me to check out her handy work.  *These dollhouses are not for children*..but I guess if ya really love your grand kids, which she obviously did, you will allow them to play with your "toys".  Later in life, Darlene ordered this dollhouse and planned to get back into her hobby.  Unfortunately, she never got around to finishing this project.  I just hope that the way I finish this house would make her proud and that she would approve of the houses fate at my hands!  Besides, it would have been way too much for Darlene and I to get together and geek out on this hobby.

The construction alone ought to get me through the winter and then some.  With about 10 hours of work, all I have accomplished is assembling the windows and about half the trim for the exterior.  With the directions clearly being for experienced doll house builders, this might be more of a project than I had originally imagined.  It truly is like building a real house.  You have to sand, paint and assemble each and every piece down to the last rafter in the attic.  You even have to shingle and side the house.  Brady can't quite figure out why I would want to shingle a doll house, piece by piece, yet I HATE putting siding on our house.  This would be a better project to get into once our REAL house is complete, but I just don't care.  Brady can put siding on our house while I side the doll house...let's see who finishes first. :)

Bought a new rug today..

I'll give you a hint.  It is one of these 3..

This leather rug has white diamond details and black fringe.  o.co

this leather rug varies from white, tan and grey.  o.co

this is an indoor/outdoor rug.  o.co

I hope I picked the right one.  I really wish I had all three, but that wasn't an option.  I think the leather and indoor/outdoor options will be good with the dogs and Brady.  Yep, sometimes Brady can be just as messy as the dogs.  Since I already had to throw out one rug this year, I was a little more conscious of the material decision and didn't even look at anything in another fabric.  The best part is that I only spent $10 because I had a gift card!  Woot!  Woot!

I love me some stripes!

Ever since I striped the inside of our coat closet, I have been dying to stripe something a little more noticable.  So the other night I striped my hallway!  Brady hated the idea at 1st but I think it is growing on him.  I on the other hand wish I would have thought of this sooner.  It makes my hallway look soooo much better.
Yes it looks fantastic, but you should know that it took me taping and re-taping three times to get it right!! I could never be a carpenter.

the "before"

the "progress"

Next up, new light fixture.  The cute little light that's hanging out there right now just isn't cool enough...  Perhaps I will use one of my sputnik lookin garage sale lights.   I just have to talk Brady into climbing up there to replace yet another light fixture.

more "junk" for the basement

Since our basement is yet to be finished, Brady calls my recent purchases "junk", because they don't yet have a home.  I am kind of turning into a hoarder.  I think I could end up on the Hoarding: Buried Alive if someone saw how crazy full our guest bedroom is.  BUT there are no dead animals or empty food containers.. so one might just label me a "collector". 

Our basement is going to be verrrry eclectic.  I have to figure out a way to work with that SUPER man cave-rustic-library lookin couch that Brady picked out a few years ago.  There will be a lot of brass mixed in with other metals.  The color scheme will be greys, metallics, whites, camel, with pops of yellow.  I really want a cow hide rug too.

Here is a little taste of what's to come.  Yep, I staged our unfinished basement with furniture..so what!  Is that not the coolest lamp you have evvvver seen?  It was $1 at a garage sale!!!!! I am so in love with it.

The beaded pillow is from Pier 1(no longer availible) and the chevron pillow is from Overstock (no longer availible)

WHERE HAVE I BEEN!!!!

WHOA..It's been over a month since I've blogged.  Sorry guys!
Here's a peak at what we've been up to..

We took off the nasty old PURPLE vinyl siding.. HoorAY!

To expose the FABULOUS original siding! Check out that color!! I saved a piece to make a picture frame out of..more on that when I get to it... dont' hold your breath.

Here is a flashback to the old siding.

believe it or not we are actually half way done with the siding! Pix to come as the job is finished. Yes it takes a while to side an entire house by yourself!