DIY Master Bedroom Coving Project

Where has this week gone?!  

Nick and I finished this little project last weekend, and I've been meaning to share it with you!

We are pretty much knee deep in DIY...

This was our master bedroom to start off with...

As I showed you before the hot pink and lime green wall combo is gone now!  

Thank God.

But it was still looking unfinished....  

Nevermind the fact that I cut in by hand all around the ceiling, we decided to put up coving.

Even though I have to do a bit of repainting now, I'm really glad we put this up.

I won't do a tutorial because I'm sure there are better ones out there.

What I can tell you though is it wasn't that hard, it was much easier than the last time we did it.  

Took about a day to do, and if you're thinking about it I would highly recommend getting a piece that is the same shape along the ceiling as the wall.  Not too fancy.  

Last time ours was a bit fancier and it made the whole process a lot harder.

Everything is starting to come together, slowly but surely.

And good news, Ikea started to sell the bedroom furniture we want online!  

So soon we won't be living out of suitcases!  I'm SO excited about that.

After much debating... (seriously we pretty much started World War Wardrobe in our house...)

This is our current Ikea Master bedroom wishlist...

All the furniture is from the Ikea Hemnes range, which I had in white in college and I loved it!

Actually my dad preferred my Ikea furniture to the fancy stuff in my childhood bedroom, so when I moved over here he took apart my old bed and replaced it with my Ikea one - apparently he wanted a better place to take naps.  I don't think my mom was too happy about that one!

Hope you have a fabulous Friday!

Parties in the USA

So I have gotten some complaints about my blog struggling while I am DIYing.  The thing is, I'm working my butt off but I don't have much to show for it.  Lots of wall paper stripping, meeting old English tradesmen I can't understand, filling the millions of holes in the walls and painting.  You just be patient, little monsters.  The before and after shots are on their way!!

Meanwhile, as I have a lot of thinking time while spending the day alone, in between jamming to the latest tween hits on Heat Radio and praying that Katy Perry's Teenage Dream comes on next... I've been pondering a house warming party.  I don't know who I would invite, and that blows.  I want to show off my mad decorating skillz.  I need to make friends stat.  Anyone fancy a trip to England?

Here are some pics of awesome people I wish could party with me in our new house.  But at least I got to party with them in the USA while I was home...

Friends since birth. 

Richard was my locker partner and fellow camp lifeguard in highschool.

Now he's friends with my sister, Dani.  

She is always stealing my friends.

I am excellent at throwing parties.  

I even bought cotton candy vodka for this one.

I know, I know, you're jealous.

My mom and dad.  They party hard too.

My mom is the best hostess ever and I'd like to think I got her skills.  

Once my sister and I got in BIG trouble in high school

 for having people over without telling her ahead of time.  

When we explained that we didn't know why she was so upset she screamed...

"IF I KNEW YOU WERE HAVING PEOPLE OVER I WOULD'VE MADE HORS D'OUVRES!"

We've made sure to tell her ever since.

My baby sister and all her "tween" friends.  

She's actually in college now.  Big gurl.

Me, mom, Dani, and Lizzie.

Lizzie and her bff Tom.  

Prom Queen with her King.  

I love him because he wears bow ties and is only 18.

Dani and her boy toy Ryan.

Dani and I are Paris Hilton fans, stop judging us.

You're still judging.  Stop.  

Anyways, that's where she learned to soft smile like that.  

Man I love a good party!  

Oh annnnnnnnnnnnnd how about Alivia throws us all a party with lots of veggie food?!

Because you have just won my Give-Away!

Wooooooooo Hooooo!

Email me for your prize!

New House Stats

1.5 - Weeks since we exchanged keys to our new house
7 - Days I have spent stripping wallpaper
3 - More days I predict I will be stripping wall paper. 
2 - Number of wall paper steamers I have broken.  Who knew you had to refill them before they turn off?
0 - Major fights with Nick.
6 - Number of major fights I would have had with Nick had I been DIYing with him for a week straight this time last year.
79 - Pages I have read of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which I credit with helping me fight less.
3 - contractors we have met with.
13 - days we have both been sick (just a nasty cold - no worries)
2 - weeks till move in.
0 - Rooms that are complete.
2 - Rooms that have flooring.
4 - awesome new neighbors we've met.  
5 - times we went to B&Q (DIY store)
19 - paint samples I have bought.
2 - colors of paint that we picked that are not in stock at our local B&Q.
109,284 - times I complained about not having a car.
1 - Pinky toe of Nick's that is still broken.
0 - Number of times Nick has complained about not having a car while walking on broken toe.
1 - New guest bed that has been purchased.
17 - days till our first guest arrives.  


Yikes!  That my friends is stressing me out.  And my blog is becoming so full of words and no pictures and I hate that.  I hope I will have some before and after shots to show you soon, but right now we're still plowing away through the before phase.  Wish us luck!

ps.  I'm pretty sure I stole the number post concept from Emz.  

So Does This Mean We're Grown Ups?

We bought a house!

I'm pretty sure we used monopoly money or something.

I'm not entirely sure of the details since I was in America when it all went down...

But YES apparently we are homeowners?!?

And when I say "we" I mean it only in the sense that Nick is a homeowner

 and I just happen to be married to him so I am a homeowner by default.

They wouldn't put my unemployed, no credit history in Britain,

 American self on the mortgage...

and I think that's alright by me - for now.

I'm still playing house - thank you.

So you wanna see the place?

Come on in!

Living Room.

Kitchen

Kitchen again.  Notice the lack of appliances?

Yes.. we're working on that.

My apologies in advance for the lack of gettin' busy cooking posts

- for the next month at least.

The garden, which we found out yesterday is NOT Doodle-proof.

Hello awkward way to meet your new neighbors....

Tiny bathroom.

Guest Bedroom - Come visit!

Master Bedroom.  Goodbye hot pink walls...

Nursery.  No we're not having babies.  

Quit asking.  It will be a man room.

Or what I like to call 

"The command and control center."

Nick has a lot of computer equipment.

Well that my friends is our new house!

It doesn't look like that anymore though.

We've torn up the carpets, 

pulled up the floor,

stripped the wall paper and broken up tiles.

Tomorrow we're going to look at kitchens.

Lot's of before and after pictures will be on their way!