What Ana Does

Basement painting rolls on ...  If you recall from the masterplan , there is the other half of the basement that needs paint and attention. So this weekend, that continued.  Here's the view from the bottom of the stairs to the right all painted and starting to be set up. The over-sized SoHo image (I worked around the corner from that building) and table are the snack, craft, area. You can catch a glimpse of the fridge area that will get a built-in cabinet next to it for a little kitchenette vibe.   Then you've got the other direction from the bottom of the stairs. The billiards area, that still needs to be painted. And dusted off, obviously. The mural stays and a hanging light needs to be found. (There's a reStore trip in my future ...)  And the LAST project of the basement will be this doozy ....  The stairs overhaul will be a BIG project on its own, but after some shopping around, I have a pretty good idea of what it will look like. I'll create a whole po...

Is it the best bathroom on the block? I can't imagine a better one! Once I realized we were going to HAVE TO spend money on this bathroom and I'd have professional help to do it I thought I'M GOING TO MAKE THIS BATHROOM 100% BETTER. I'm not going to play it "boring."  In my overall plan, I envisioned a bold wallpaper above some shiplap/beadboard wall treatment. I wanted anyone who uses this bathroom to come out and be wowed. Blown away by this after-thought of a bathroom tucked away in the back of the basement.  I found a bunch of great options, but was completely sold when I found this Marvel comic book paper on Lowe's . So, I ordered it, despite being a bit of a splurge. My budget was good, thanks to reusing the same toilet, vanity and mirror from the current bathroom.  The other thing I changed was the light fixture -- from basic to this laquered red gooseneck from Lamps.com. I also ordered the same fixture in black, to replace the ugly sconces around t...

I'm calling it! The media area of the basement, that was once a total mess and, before that, a billiard area, is DONE! Officially ready to host movie nights, teens hangs, cousin snuggles and more. And we love it.  This was the original plan. You can read the entire plan in this pos t.  And just for fun, this is what it looked like once the walls were rebuilt and prepped for paint... (hi Pepper!)  And here it is from the seller's photos (with a very wide angle lens) that shows this area in use a billiards room... As mentioned in the planning, we are not pool players and so we very precariously moved the HEAVY pool table to the other side of the basement so this one and only large area of the basement could be designed as a movie-watching spot -- since that's what we do as a family.  The Marvel theme came from picking the Marvel wallpaper for the bathroom (post on that coming next). And the gray, white and red color scheme followed.  Lots more to do, since this ...

 This really hit home for me when I saw it.  Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. and Yes.  Come to my kitchen so I can feed you because I love you.

Over Christmas break, my Mom and I did a night-time tour of Henry Mercer 's castle in nearby Doylestown. They had it all decorated for the holidays with Christmas trees. And the lights were low and atmospheric. It was a cool little guided tour through this maze of rooms full of tile he made in his tile workshop nearby.  The Castle At Night A Decorated Ceiling One of Henry's studies - I love reading all the book titles A nook Priceless pottery from all over the world It was a quick and unique way to see this interesting museum.  https://www.mercermuseum.org/ 

Give me a day off and the kids at school, and things get a little crazy at my house.  For the last month, we've been living with the doors off the cabinets on the wall above the sink in the kitchen -- to see if we liked the open-ness. Which we DID. Loved it, in fact.  So we knew pulling down the cabinets and installing simple shelves would be a good idea ... as I predicted when we FIRST saw the house and how dark the kitchen was. I said "I can pull down those cabinets, it will open things up."  Want to see it?  Ok, first, we need to see what we started with:  Let's ignore the sink and messy counter and address those cabinets! And that soffit! And the color? And the random shelf on the end? It's all bad. I bought the shelf brackets MONTHS ago and don't remember how much I spent. Maybe $50. Then spent $60 on pine shelving and water-based poly to go on top. And here's the PROGRESS shot ...  We got lucky because the wall and ceiling weren't in bad shape. (...

It's time for the annual book review and tally. Lots of good books enjoyed in 2021, especially during our big move. I certainly benefited from the break from reality each night during the most stressful of times. Here's the list, with my favorites up at the top! Lore by Alexandra Bracken (took a bit to get into this one, but so exciting and engrossing once I got it) Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo (finished the series, so amazing) Shipped by Angie Hockman Second First Impression by Sally Thorne Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren People you Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle (unfinished) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (unfinished ... but will pick it up in '22) Bombshell: A Hell's Belles Novel by Sarah MacLean (my favorite romance writer!) The Wisteria Society o...