Renovations End Of 2015

If you've been following the blog you know that we closed on our house July 2015. As of December 2015 we have two guest bedrooms and the living room and dining room done as far as walls prepped and painted, popcorn effect scraped from ceilings and floors leveled and tiled. All curtains and decor will be done later due to the dust that gets stirred when we reno a new room. This guest bedroom is pretty much finished except for curtains and a few more furniture pieces and wall decor. 

Once we have it the way we want it, I plan on doing a mural on the wall and hanging our spoonbill picture up from our Indiana house. Same picture but I'm going a different route with the mural this time. Rather than a heavy marsh effect, it will be brighter and more light and airy. This will be done in the bedroom in the first photo above.

With cooler temperatures we shifted our interior renovations to outdoor projects. This pergola is our goal.

We chose our pavers before the close of 2015 and marked off the area for the pergola. Right when we started tearing into the boardwalk unearthing a major hidden cost rearing it's ugly head.

 We discovered that the seawall needed to be inspected and possibly replaced by someone other than us. We've had two estimates so far and quickly learned that this will blow our budget for our outdoor costs. 

In the meantime, we said goodbye to 2015 celebrating with wonderful new friends here in Florida. We said hello to 2016 by pruning away at an unruly schefflera plant and other invasive branches and vines that were hiding the front of the house. We also made a purchase that has drastically changed our lives here in the sunshine state.

We've been making do with a super tiny fridge since August. You can see the dorm fridge in the lower right corner. Even though we haven't started renovating the kitchen, we know we want simple appliances with soft edges. After much searching we found this great deal at a local outlet. The fridge is a fraction of the cost of the fancy ones we have always purchased in the past. I like white after having the polished silver and other versions of the chrome look. And guess what, this very inexpensive, easy to move fridge keeps our food every bit as cold as the super expensive ones. Imagine that.

I'm still cooking on the porcelain top range that was installed when the house was originally built in the early 80's. I prefer gas but if I had my druthers between a glass top and a porcelain, I'd go porcelain for sure. The heat definitely radiates and cooks more evenly than the glass top. Unlike the glass top, the porcelain can maintain a simmer temperature. Hopefully we will find a way to make a gas stove work when we get to that phase of our renovations.

Mi Miguel is just thrilled to have home cooked meals once again. We've both missed eating the good stuff that you just can't seem to find in the restaurants. 

We've spent the last six months wondering if moving to Florida was the right thing. Actually, I've spent the last six months soul searching and wondering if this is the right thing for us, for me. Mi Miguel however, sums it all up with this photo of him visiting his grandparent's farm in Indiana as a child. He hated it as a child and after a two year trial run as an adult, he still hates it. He doesn't do cold weather, ever.

This is Mi Miguel as a child living in Florida. He grew up in Florida. He attended all years of school in Florida. He loves hot weather. He loves Florida, always. 

This is me in Indiana. I can be happy anywhere. Once you realize that happiness comes from within you can make the best of just about anyplace you choose to live.