I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was warm and relaxed. Spent with family and friends in appreciation of our many blessings. Including my big girl who helped set the table.
Little sis worked hard on the centerpiece.
And it was perfect.
Two very exited little girls got just what they asked Santa for.
A Blythe doll for big sis. Oh glory be! She is the neatest doll. And since I had a feeling she would be getting her from Santa, I just had to order her a couple of outfits. I am in love with her adorable pleated dress, striped tights, and the best part, tiny Uggs! We will definately have a proper photo shoot later.
Little sis got Biscuit the dog. She LOVES him. He is voice activated and does all kinds of things. He barks, whines, sits, lays down, reacts to being pet, wags his tail.... and is her new pet. While I was cooking Christmas dinner I turned around to find him tied up to the kitchen island. "Mom will you watch him please?" I hear little sis say as she runs off to play.
A wonderful day, and a wonderful evening dinner with friends. I'll bet you're wondering if I ever straightened that candlestick. Yes I did.
Here's where Rosie spent most of her time.
In the evening she's by the fire. And in the morning...
Yep, by the fire. Often with her head up just like this. She's silly.
And now for the attic update! It's almost done! In case you don't know we've been renovating the attic into a bedroom for our girls. When we bought this old house it had already been converted into a bedroom, back in the 60's I think. It was not in good shape at all. So we decided to rip out all of the old drywall, and start over. Oh ya, "we" means my husband for any of you new people. He vacuumed out the whole attic, it was gross. Re-wired all of the electrical....stuff. Put in insulation, new windows, new lights, and drywall. We just recently painted the walls, the girls picked their own colors. Light green for little sis, and DARK brown for big sis. But I demanded that we keep the ceiling white, since the ceiling is so low up there. I have to say the colors turned out great. So on Sunday we all went to the big city to go to Home Depot. We were hoping to find a decent deal on carpet for their room. Oh my, it was too expensive. Not in the budget at all at the moment. So I decided to paint the plywood floors a bright shiny white, and let them choose nice throw rugs. As soon as the floors were dry we brought up their rugs, and some toys of course!
Here's the view from little sis's side. I can't wait until we get some nice white trim up there. The ceiling up here is so low, my husband can't stand up straight in the middle. But I can! At 5'4" I've got lots of room! I think the low ceiling adds to the cozy feeling up here. I would have loved this room as a little girl. I can just picture sitting near the window on a rainy day reading a good book. Which I'm sure my girls will do many times over the years.
My sweet husband installed reading lights with a switch nearby, right where their little beds will go. Our girls love to read in bed at night.
The view from big sis's side. Her side is bigger, but little sis liked the storage on her side.
Lots of cabinets that the original renovator made. They need a nice new coat of white paint.
I am making each girl a special quilt and curtains for their new rooms. Big sis chose Amy Butler fabrics to go with her brown. And little sis chose 1930's reproductions. Which I'm really exited about since our little house was built in the 30's.
Next is to paint their beds white, and work on the stairs. The stairs are a nightmare. They have the original dark gold paint on them, and old glue residue from carpet. I can deal with the gold paint easily enough, but the glue-y stuff is not fun. Once I figure out how to get that off they will be painted white, along with the hand rail. Wish me luck!
Oh dear...x
Good luck! I love to see the finished part, but I'm glad you're doing the work! LOL It's looking great.
Posted by: MichelleB | December 31, 2008 at 11:28 AM
oh, your post brings back fond memories...whenever i spent the night with my grandma and grandpa, i slept in the attic/upstairs...the walls were sloped just like yours and you had to be short to walk up there...do you remember carpet scraps? little squares of carpet you could bring home to see how the color looked? my grandpa collected those - hundreds and hundreds of them in all different colors and types - shag, plush, low...and the sloped walls were covered with those carpet scraps...like wallpaper made out of carpeting - all patchworky...i slept in a brass bed...there was an old dressing table with a puffy top bench and a comb/brush/mirror set that sat on top of the table...i used to sit at that table for hours pretending i was a damsel in distress...i had a princess phone up there that i could use whenever i wanted...and there was a fake "wood burning stove" that grandpa put a red light bulb in so i could pretend it was a fire...☺...grandma and grandpa seemed to know that a young girl needed her privacy in a special place made up just for her...aaaah, thanks for taking me back...your girls are lucky...you're such a neat mom...♥
Posted by: t | December 31, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Absolutely charming! I love attic rooms. The white trim and beds be wonderful! I love white!
How nice that the girls picked such great colors and fabric choices for the quilts! Can't wait to see the beauties you come up with!
I so enjoy visiting your blog...and you'll be surprised when I finish my current quilt that you helped inspire!
God bless..
HOPE
Posted by: HOPE | December 31, 2008 at 11:49 AM
your remodel looks lovely...and i love the dark brown. my daughter, 6, recently chose brown for her room color. i have hesitated because i was certain that we would be painting it purple...but now that i have seen yours i have hope that it can work. WOuld you mind sharing what color you used?
Posted by: Leslie | December 31, 2008 at 01:41 PM
Beautiful, you made everything so lovely. Your Christmas table looks so sweet and the girls rooms are so cozy. I love attic rooms, they are one of the best in the house!!
Happy New Year and all the best to you and the family!!!
Sabine R. xx
Posted by: Sabine | December 31, 2008 at 03:24 PM
Forgot to with you A Happy New Year. Have a Blessed 2009.
Posted by: Carrie P. | December 31, 2008 at 03:29 PM
My first message did not get posted for some reason. I wish you A Happy New Year, not with. The girls set a beautiful table. Your Christmas looked lovely. I know the girls are excited about the attic. It is coming along.
Posted by: Carrie P. | December 31, 2008 at 03:32 PM
The girls will love their new spaces . . . I can't wait to see your quilts, curtains and furnishings all put in place. We're just starting our upstairs (not attic) renovations in a few weeks - lots of mess with all the tearing out and building back up, but so worth it in the end. Make sure to post photos when it's all put back together. Have a great 2009! - Marlene
Posted by: Sipiweske Quilts | January 01, 2009 at 10:36 AM
the girls are so going to love having their own rooms - well chosen colours too. Happy New Year Sarah
lisa x
Posted by: periwinkle | January 01, 2009 at 02:10 PM
I would have loved an attic room like that! Like a little playhouse.
I have to smile at how often the cat got in the pictures. I have a cat that seems to do that too.
Posted by: threeundertwo | January 01, 2009 at 10:33 PM
The girls' rooms are coming along beautifully. I can't wait to see the quilts. Good luck with the stairs.
I wish Rosie could have a play date with Sebastian. She's such a cutie pie.
Happy New Year!
xx
Posted by: Lori | January 02, 2009 at 04:39 AM
What did Rosie make of Biscuit? ;-)
It looks like it was a wonderful Christmas for you all.
The attic space looks amazing - I bet you are pleased!
Posted by: Rachael Rabbit | January 02, 2009 at 08:00 AM
Oh, it looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. There's nothing like getting just what you asked for, for Christmas. And the renovation! How FUN! Lucky girls -- it looks like their little haven will be just perfect. Happy New Year!
Posted by: Thimbleanna | January 02, 2009 at 08:03 AM
New spaces are always so much fun!! I refinished our basement staircase a few years ago and had the same problem with icky glue, use a small belt sander and finsh the tight spots with a demel type sander, it works well and fairly fast. Both can be rented too if you don't own them. I always love attic rooms, they remind me of tree houses. :)
Posted by: Jil | January 02, 2009 at 12:44 PM
I love the remodel & the girls upstairs room reminds me of a dollhouse! :) And yes, I had a fantastic dollhouse when I was little...still remember that little door bell buzzer. :) Happy New Year!
Posted by: sherry | January 02, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Happy New Year!
Those bedrooms are going to be perfect for the girls are they grow.
Posted by: ailsa | January 03, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Hia we were doing the floor of my craft room not too long ago. Using paint remover softened the lino and carpet glue enough to be scraped off my hand and then the residue was sanded off. In my 1st house. I went to the National Gallery in London and took motifs from medival paintings and put one and it's mirror image in each of the 12 triangles on each side and stripped the rest of the stairs. When I had finished I varnished the lot. Could you do something like that with characters from the children's fav books?
What cosy Christmas table scenes.
Posted by: Melanie | January 03, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Oh Sarah... I love the reno, I love the table, Lil Sis' centerpiece, Biscuit and Blythe... all of it! And I feel sneaky special since I knew about the Blythe. How fun - now you'll be sewing all kinds of clothes for her. I mean, you'd be doing it for Big Sis.
Biscuit is just too cute and the photos... it looks so real! I'm curious too what Rosie thinks.
Posted by: happy zombie | January 03, 2009 at 04:58 PM
Looks fabulous so far! Its so nice that they each have their own side, yet can easily keep each other company.
Posted by: Lisa W. | January 03, 2009 at 05:21 PM
Wow! You have been busy. Your Christmas dinner looked wonderful and the renovations are great. I'm sure your girls will love having such a nice space to call their own!
Posted by: Laurie | January 04, 2009 at 08:12 PM
I would of loved an attic bedroom like this growing up, in fact I would still love one now!! What a special space you have created for your girls.
Posted by: The Chocolate Cat | January 07, 2009 at 11:23 PM
Hi!
Just wanted to tell that I made a little doll quilt {which, btw, I'm giving away on my blog} from your gorgeous "Favouite Star" block. Thank you so much for the tutorial!! Despite being quite a beginner I managed to press the seams fairly well so that there aren't too much bulks ;o)
Happy new year & good luck with your renovation {I hope most of it is done by now...}
Cheers, Julia
Posted by: Julia | January 10, 2009 at 02:31 PM
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will come back sometime soon. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great job, have a nice morning!
Posted by: adult chat | May 28, 2011 at 01:35 AM
I have to say the colors converted out excellent. So on Saturday we all went to the big town to go to House Warehouse. We were looking for a reasonable cope on carpeting for their space.
Posted by: בניית בריכות שחייה | January 31, 2012 at 04:00 AM