Thursday, June 28, 2012

Ikea Obsession

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I know this week I have been harping on about Ikea and my dressing room but what I don't think you realise is that for the last week it has consumed us. .. every evening we put more stuff together and today should be it. Tonight we will be installing clothes and finishing it.


Please don't laugh but I actually feel a certain amount of pride at being able to finish this .... no really, its not easy but hell does it all look good. Have a look at all the little itty bitty screws and dowells you get when you open the box. Have a look at the instructions which almost take a university degree to actually understand .... 

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I promise when its actually light to take proper pictures to give you some idea on the overall image but for now just a few more sneak peeks.



I will say I just couldn't wait to start putting my heels away. They finally have a beautiful new home where I can admire them whenever I want! What could be better than that ... now really???

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

My Ikea Dressing Room - Coming Together

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Let me start by saying that putting together an Ikea dressing room is not an easy task. Although not difficult it takes you a while to get your head around the "Ikea Way". The thing is, just when you think you have it sussed out something changes which throws you back into that blind "I'll never figure this out" panic! 

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Its so bad that at the moment Ikea have this advert on the TV with a guy dancing around happy and excited because Ikea have a sale .... Every time hubby sees this ad he shakes his head and mumbles.... "as if he has anything to be excited about!"

However saying that, if not for Ikea we would not have been able to afford a beautifully kitted out dressing room like we are going to have. 

So, is it worth it? ... Yes. 

Would I do it again? ... Yes

Is it painful and stressful and just a little bit torturous? .... Hell Yes!

Hopefully tomorrow I should have some pictures of the finished units .... but for now, a sneak peak of the job - so far!

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A Break

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We have decided that for us its extremely important to not make everything about the house. Regular breaks and infusions of fun are a necessity not only to keep us sane but to keep us from killing each other. Obviously I'm not a huge fan of the football however I did enjoy watching all the people, listening to the roar of the crowds and watching hubby's face change from ecstatic to devastated in a matter of minutes. All in all a good night out .... now back to the house and the war zone that currently is the dressing room!

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Destruction Begins

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So I mentioned that all was not as simple as originally thought when it came to our dressing room. As my husband so kindly put it "I can't measure for shit!" Lovely right? The truth of the matter is I can measure I just didn't really think it through and it all came to ahead as we finished the first unit.

Picture this - first unit finished .... we are standing around congratulating ourselves and then we slide the unit in place .... Du du dudaaaaaa .... only to find the dreaded cornice gets in the way.

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Bugger. This is the moment you realise that a small simple job isn't so small and simple. So what's a girl with no dressing room to do???? You demolish your brand new dressing room chipping paint and damaging ceilings so you can make it fit!

Oh the joy of a new house!

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Ikea - Heaven or Hell

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I have been MIA for the last 3 days for very good reason. On Thursday we ventured into the dark and scary domain of Ikea. Ikea is one of those places you dread to go for a number of reasons.

1) You ALWAYS spend more money than you want
2) You have to battle through mazes of corridors filled with crowds
3) You buy more than you can carry and then struggled to get out of the place with a trolley full of items

I also love Ikea just because of how great the stuff is and just how reasonably priced things are.

Love and Hate ... I just can't decide which I feel stronger ....

The good news is dressing room is purchased and we are in the process of putting it all together.



The bad news is that we have more problems on the horizon but I will leave those for another day!


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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

An Update

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Today is a little bit of a picture fest ..... see hubby has seen it now so the cat is out of the bag .... its certainly not done but its getting there. The bird prints are not going to rest on the wall but will be hung ... there is a pillow eagerly awaiting a case .... there is a couch and mirror and my over the top light fitting to find ... But its getting there!

What do you think?

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Excessive .... Perhaps

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So here is the thing. When we were in Paris we were lucky enough to visit Versailles. It was heaven but for me the biggest impact what the hall of mirrors. Sure the mirrors were impressive but what really did it for me was the chandeliers.

For me a chandelier is one of those luxurious dreamy light fixtures that just scream ... its all about me. Now people will say that putting not one but two chandeliers in a master bed / bath is excessive and to be honest I almost half agree with you. The other half say .... this is my private escape space. This is not for public consumption ... this is my retreat so hell yes I'm going to make it excessive and luxurious and just plain lovely!

Now I will take pics so I can show you where I want them but for now a small idea on the look I am going for!

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Another Sneak Peak....

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Another little sneak peak for you, My linen is on the bed. Its a very exciting moment for me because as some of you may remember, I brought it almost 18 months ago and have been dying to look at it "in situ"

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Hopefully you love it as much as I do - I am nearly done with the room, there are a couple of bigger items like a mirror, light fixture and a chair that I haven not yet found but we are getting there. I cant wait to show you the whole thing - my bathroom is just lovely! Its warm and luxurious .... oh oh oh, I am dying to show you now, might have to take my good camera around to the house and start snapping!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Moving With The Times...

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About a year ago we had to sit my mum down ... oh yes hubby and I made time at the end of one day to sit down as a family and discuss ... wait for it .... her refusal to embrace new technology. You see it got so bad that she was scared of the remote control, she hated the idea of turning on the security system and she wont drive my car because she doesn't like all the buttons.

Obviously we were worried, not only because we spent hours every week as "built in IT support" but also because what happens when we move out .... does she just not turn on the TV for a week.

So we sat down and had the talk, mum if you don't start to embrace technology you are going to be left behind.... dead silence followed this statement and I could see her fighting with herself .... why should she have to embrace technology, she doesn't like it, its all too hard.

However to my great relief she actually thought about it and has spent the last 12 months moving with the times. She emails, she shops online, Internet banking is a breeze and the big one ... she has an iPhone and knows how to use it.

The photo above shows what happens when I explained how to change ring tones .... "we can do it ourselves?"

"Yup, its easy"

May I embrace technology with such .... bravery? when I get older. May I never get left behind.

And to prove just how much I have just received a text message from mum. Such a thoughtless gesture these days telling me she is late, or to thank me for something. A text message that she would never have even thought she was able to send a year ago .... well done mum!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Struggling With Practicality

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As you can tell from my title, at this very moment I am struggling to be practical. I want to be practical, I need to be practical but its turning out to be harder than I thought.

Let me explain, we need a new toaster, kettle and iron. These things did not follow us from the old house so we need them. I know practically its best to buy something basic and workable that doesnt need to be brightly coloured and shiny, they are going to be behind closed doors so not on display. I know this but do you think this stops me from looking at all the pretty options and thinking .... can I?

I want to be practical, I need to be practical but god its hard! What do you think, I mean really, its a bloody kettle not an arm chair or anything ... I really need to suck it up and be good with my money and focus on more important things .... like lighting!

Its a kettle .... I need to keep telling myself that.


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Monday, June 11, 2012

Drama's on the Western Front

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I don't know if you have heard but the West has been hit by a number of large storms over the last few days and although our house survived hale and hearty our side fence did not.

We are not the only ones dealing with this drama - boats have been beached, power lines down, roofs have been lifted and trees everywhere are screaming in protest at the rough treatment.

Some area's have no power and have been told it may take up to a week to get back!

I must say after 48 hours powerless I do enjoy my electricity. Life is so boring without power and my phone is dead .... I don't think I can survive without a phone!
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Thursday, June 7, 2012

Our House .... Is a very very very SMART house!

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So we have this lovely touch screen security system installed because I just can't figure out how to use a normal security system.

That's right, I struggle with the whole concept of using electronics. Ok I will admit alarm clocks, ovens, TV's with multiple remotes and security systems in particular set my hair on end .... I just cant seem to figure out how to work the damn things!

One thing that I can work is my IPhone and this little baby is almost as clever as that. I can switch the system on or off, it has really cute little security pictures where away shows a person walking away from the door .... well duhhh. It also has this messenger service so I can leave hubby cute little voice messages for when he comes home.

Slightly OTT - Maybe! Making life easier for me - Definitely!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

When it Rains it Pours

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In so many ways this title is relevant at the moment. It seems that when one thing goes wrong everything follows and this week for me I am nearly broken.

So many things have gone wrong or people have let us down and although usually I can just sigh and realise "things happen" today I just cant seem to make out the light at the end of the tunnel.

Let us hope that with sleep and a little bit of Scotch the light shines brighter tomorrow!

Monday, June 4, 2012

A Sneak Peak

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The last week has been exhausting ... emotionally and physically exhausting. I wont go into all the gritty details but I am so tired that my head hurts.

The upside of all of this is that the physical exhaustion is due to a hell of alot of progress on the house front. I have managed to get things moving on the house front and this brings me a quandary. Do I show you overall pictures so you can see it moving forward of give you sneak peeks and a final reveal when things are happening.

I have decided on the sneak peek approach and this is the first sneak peek of bedroom .... the colours and textures are all blending beautifully and I cant wait to finally move in!