December mood

December tomorrow. Been another busy week, I can`t relax until tomorrow afternoon. Gotta go to work tomorrow. Have managed to get some decorating done in the late evenings though.

It is time for stars, logfire and hearts..... There is snow outside-
which is always very relaxing.

 

Hope you will enjoy some decorating this weekend!

PS: Until I have the time to watermark my pictures- please respect they are my pictures.... Thanks.

Cottage dreams

We meant to go for a weekend trip this weekend to visit friends at their cottage. Weather changed our minds and we postponed the trip until we see some snow... Today it is pouring down constantly like a non- ending shower of rain. Makes me so tired!

We would like a cottage of our own but it won`t happen in years- if ever ( At least if grumpyhouse continues to be so expensive!).
We`d like a modern, new, up to date cottage- one old house to care for is more than enough.

I find this one beautiful-  it is modern, full of light and with a roofed terrace. That comes very handy since we have rain 250 days a year. Full article here!

By Landsbyarkitektene- Bibbi

I will have to do some christmas planning this weekend, christmas is like the peak season for all serious interior/ design bloggers. I am not sure I`ll manage to keep up with them. It is such a busy season for everything. Christmas party`s, shopping and lots of other christmas events.

I find that christmas is both beautiful and awful- I will get back to you with a dedicated post on that!

Now I`m about to drink a huge coffee with milk followed by tons of chocolate!
Talk soon!

Ground rule 2

When you live in an old house anything can happen, ANYTHING. Even when you are prepared.
You have talked to the people with knowledge, you pay them to help you and still- the one thing you think you are so prepared for happens. Grumpyhouse strikes again.

It might happen like this: you find rats in your basement, then you contact the pest control people, they help you put out poison etc, in the meantime you close all possible rat entrances in your basement. You don`t see or hear rats for a year, you are relaxed.

Then- one night- just before you go to sleep you hear those characteristic sounds of rat teeth gnawing on wood- from the LOFT!! What? You get out of bed, up the stairs to the loft and there it is- a rat- in the loft. Where did it come from?

Chills. Yuk. Just another great day in grumpyhouse. I am going to my happy place now. I want a cat.

Beautiful sight!

Remember we found NO isolation behind the cladding? Read here if you don`t remember :)

Now look!! 

Isolated, windproofed and cladded wall.
I love it!

My fantastic Mr Grumpy have done real good!!
We are not finished yet, still one wall to go, but it is the easiest one according to Mr Fantast...
sorry- Mr Grumpy that is :)
We can not know for sure of course (this is a grumpy house) but we will probably be done by christmas.

That is the prize we have our eyes on-
Christmas with our feet up and a little cafe avec...... 

And after that -
the sabbatical year of 2013!

No- absolutely no renovation planned!(Ok- there are some finishing touches to do but that will be like a walk in the park..)

I am certain that grumpyhouse holds a surprise or two up its sleave for us- but at least that will be all.
2012 have been a year of planned renovation plus grumpyhouse surprises and we are barely keeping up.
We are drained- both financially and energetically. Grumpy and Mr Grumpys relationship is strong but I can not say it is a romantic one these days. I have advised Mr Grumpy to step it up in 2013. Fingers crossed! As for know we both are in a " Keep calm and carry on" mode.

Tonight though we have the evening off. No renovation or house cleaning.
We both look forward to it.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

House make up

Living in old houses means challenges when it comes to getting that perfect look (if that is what you are looking for). I am now quite skilled in covering up holes in the floor, cracks on the walls and how bad I am at sewing straight seams.... (I have "fixed" a lot of curtains with safety pins....)

Here are pictures of some "make up"I have done on the floor. Of course I should have had a picture of that huge crack we have in the living room but we covered it up with trowel when we painted this summer. I was so happy to see it go away but I am sure it will turn up again soon-  grumpyhouse does not stand still... I do not mind the holes really, it is bad feng- shui I know, but I have befriended myself with the fact that I have to live with them for some time. In the future I see a new fantastic floor but that`s like years away!

Besides, holes in the floor are good to have when you want to brag a little in that refurbishing chitchat next time you go to a party :)

(Pictures show jungle camouflage make up and a rather dull make up with mousy- grey rug. Both work pretty good-  can you spot the hole?)

Dull rug make up



Jungle make up

PS:
If I had the money I would just get workmen to renovate the whole house to modern standard- but I don`t have that kind of money. So me and Mr Grumpy are stuck with this huge DIY project. Besides I think that the soul of grumpyhouse might disappear in such a huge renovation.... No cracks- no grumpyhouse.

Weekend

Been a busy busy week. Grumpyhouse has been filled with guests, Grumpy has been the almost perfect hostess and mr Grumpy is out nursing grumpyhouse with isolation and windproofing. The rain is pooring down, wind blows hard around the corners, it is dark and we are all tired. Really looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Hopefully I will find som inspiring pictures or other cool stuff on the web, I might bake a bread or read a book. Anyways- we all need some tranquility.

Reboost your batteries this weekend- ok?
Talk soon!

Cushion madness

Some ladies have a thing for handbags, others for shoes. I like handbags and shoes and I don`t think I have enough- but my biggest weakness is cushions...
I have struggled with myself the last couple of years and instead of buying four new ones each month it`s more like four cushions each year. Sadly that means the ones I do buy are way more expensive than before. I even clear them away when I have visitors (did I just say that out loud..??). It is a horrible truth I know- shame on me :(

These are my current favorites:

From Van Asch:

And from Darling Clementine:










Some from WestElm:

Love this pattern from MarleneM:











Although some of the cushions from VanAsch are to shabby chic for me I do love the one with the dragonfly....

Cutting down on cushions have taught me to have patience when I decorate. Before I just bought the things I liked when I saw them. Now I wait and I wait until the discount is 50% off, then I wait some more and when it`s 60% or 70% off I buy it!

This is good because some items I am convinced I just got to have, but with time (waiting for a discount) I lose interest which is healthy for the shopping gene and surely less expensive!
Now I only buy things that I can not stop thinking about for a very very long time.
Living in an old house is extremely expensive and you have to cut back on everything to manage all the expenses. Learning how to decorate and live in a simpler and less expensive manner is good for me. After all I am privileged - few people in the world have "cutting down on cushion buying" as their biggest challenge in life, right?

So please, if you can- rest your head on a nice cushion today!
Enjoy your weekend!


PS: Ooops I just bought that dragonfly cushion... but it is only the fourth one this year :) Still- I think it will be wise to hide it from Mr Grumpy for a couple of weeks....
"This?? Bought it ages ago! Haven`t you noticed?"

PPS: This is how it really looks in my couch (after all- this is a home.)