Organized Palooza

Hey-Oh!
You have reached the Gaudett/MacDonalds residence. We are currently away from our extra organized home enjoying a few days of family time at the cottage.
But have no fear, there is material to be read and ideas to be found after the past 10 Days of Organization Palooza! 
So come on in. Kick off your shoes. And take a tour of our revamped and totally functional home. And when you are done, make sure you leave a message after the beep!
Day 1: Refrigerator  Day 2: Main Living Area Day 3: Laundry Room Day 4: Spice Cabinet Day 5: Garage {Part 1} Day 6: Garage {Part 2} Day 7: Recipe Box Day 8: Spare Room Closet Day 9: Supplies Closet Day 10: Master Closet
BEEP! I linked up at A Bowl Full of Lemons Organize it! Party

Summer House Tour

Raise your hand if your home is well lived in!

I see those hands! Wow...that looks like most of you. And Im right there next to you in the crowd. Yeah thats me. The one in the filthy slippers. I forgot to switch them on my way out the door. C'est la vie!

This house of mine is not quite two years old and yet if the walls could speak I would be frightened of the tales. The combination of turbo dog, kids running and crawling a muck, and a bossy do-it-yourselfer results in a go-ahead, come-back type of situation. As soon as one project is done three more are added to the list. Then a jar of coffee gets dropped and cracks a tile. Tack that one on as well.

It quite literally will never end. Which is why I have decided to take this time and embrace the few spaces in my home that are on their way to decorating success. Do, however, keep in mind they all have a ways to go yet.

Main Entryway

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Pantry

Laundry Room

Main Floor Bath

Finley's Room

I hope you enjoyed the tour! And if you ever want to do it again, and again, it will be easily located at the Our Home tab. *Do check back for updates! I for one love walking through my house online. It is much cleaner than the real thing. A lot less dog hair!

And if you are a regular around these parts you may have noticed a few changes we have made. Check back this week when I share those successful DIY projects.

Looking forward to a chat real soon.


Im sharing this at
The Shabby Creek Cottage Link Party

Portrait Ready

After yesterdays post I was above and beyond thrilled to have shared a sneak peak of the sketches my brother Garry did of Finley! So I ran with that motivation and was able to get them framed and hung to share with you today.

But before I get too carried away with what I did you probably want to see the real work that was done. So here are the before and after shots:

Arn't they fantastic?!

Garry is my youngest brother. *I actually introduced he and his little family here. And the guy has always been artistic for as long as I can remember. He comes by it naturally - my mother is insanely talented in that department as well - but has dedicated countless hours to better his craft. And has it ever paid off! The detail and shading in his work have evolved significantly. And honestly every time I see something new from him it is even better than the last.

The best part of having such talented family members, besides showing off on their behalf, is selfishly calling in favours! I try not to push my luck too often but every now and then I can't help myself. But can you blame me? I would have an entire room of family portraits a.la. Garry if I could! Or is that creepy? Slightly. So perhaps a combo of his sketches and Mothers landscapes. Done and done.

Now my first task was to decide where to hang these beauties. I considered exchanging them for the maps in the dining room frames but my mother talked me out of it. She said family portraits where inappropriate in an eating space. Touché my friend! *Ill have to think up another solution for there yet. Not to mention there are four frames there and only three portraits. A pickle indeed.

I also didn't want to tuck them away in a room that they wouldn't get proper show-off time. 'No one puts baby in a corner...' Everyone know that! So I settled on the space between the front living room windows. It looked like a.so before:


As much as I love the gorgeous photos I had there, taken by our neighbour and talented photographer Janine, I decided it would be the perfect spot for Garry's work. *But have no fear! I plan to do a full wall of framed photos climbing the stairs and those prints will most definitely be included.


After selecting the spot the rest was gravy. They were put in the pre existing frames, plus one. Then after moving the hooks, and adding a third, they were hung and levelled.

I left the frames and mats alone for once - no paint in site. But do hear out my reasoning because I am only thinking ahead.

There is still a lot of work to be done along that wall. I plan to have common-law build me a window seat/bench that runs the length of the wall with storage beneath. Then there will be curtains added for texture. And I am mulling over the idea of built-in book shelves flanking the windows... few. And once that is all said and done, those lone frames will be just the ticket to completing that space. Then there will be lots of time to consider a splash of paint, texture, or who.knows.what to make the artwork pop.

But until that day comes, we will thoroughly enjoy the talent and gift my brother shared.

Chat soon.