Hudson hard at work...

This was too cute not to share - Hudson helping Daddy and Poppy work on the house yesterday... complete with sound effects!

I feel like a Duck!!!

Ever heard the expression "Be like a Duck, float calmly on the surface but paddle furiously underneath the water"??? That's how I feel this week.

We are having a meeting with our kitchen extraordinaire builder Alan sometime this weekend or early next week and he informed me that I need to have my oven, cooktop, dishwasher, rangehood etc etc etc all chosen before we can do anything - OMG why did I not think of this???

So I have been researching like a crazy person the best oven that will give me the most bang for our buck around the $2700 range (this must include oven, cooktop and rangehood).  I know that I want a stand alone oven like this:

sourced from For the Beach via Verandah House

I really like the sound of an ILVE and can't seem to find a bad reveiw on them - but they are pricey!

ILVE JC906

I would have to find a floor stock model to get in on that budget.  I also have found very good prices for a Baumatic like this one:

Bargain Price here...

 ... but have read bad reveiws for this model.  Finally I spoke to the salesman at Harvey Norman who raved about this SMEG package Harvey Norman SMEG Package but this is considerably still well above my budget - even after I haggled my butt off!

Arghhhhhhh so confused - the only other option is to purchase the cheapest 90cm stand alone I can find have the kitchen built arount this and upgrade it at a later stage - but I hate the thought of spending money only to have to spend more later... At the moment with the overall cash flow fast depleting and still no kitchen or bathroom installed I guess beggers can't be choosers!!!

What a busy weekend!!!

Here's how our weekend looked (in pictures)....

Friday afternoon Dad and J cut some block work away in preparation to re-install the door into the laundry

Saturday morning Dad installed the steel stumps (he made - so clever!)

Hudson helped Poppy...

... while I painted the remaining battens - then they got rained on and ruined :-(

When the rained cleared I started painting our new Chamfer Board wall

this is the wall going up (framed)

Hudson - always working....

... finished product (minus paint)

Whilst I was busy Dad started installing the new gate (he also made)...

SUNDAY: got up early to do some more painting...

then headed to the Temple...

Pretty Girls...

Hudson and his "Ya"

then headed home to prepare the roast and wait for everyone to arrive to put up the Christmas Tree - yes we know it's not Dec 1 yet but Nanna could not wait any longer (neither could Hudson)

Everyone was very "Merry"

Jeff also managed to finish off the Fringe Battens and 99% of the side battens...

Phew - need a weekend to get over our weekend!!!

Getting ready to join the masses...

Up extra early to head to Aldi this morning to pick up a couple of these cute Cape Cod Chairs for Hudson's House.  They are $80 each which is a HUGE bargain - these usually retail for $200-$400+ and i have been coveting them for months!!! Wish me luck...

Bathroom Love...

Ever since I laid eyes on Kate Spade's guest bathroom I have been lusting after the green zebra wallpaper, I think this bathroom is perfection! The Black and White curtain compliments that wallpaper so well and the subway tiles and claw foot tub makes the whole look timeless! If only I could find a place to use this wallpaper in my own home...

Beautiful Inspirational pics from Verandah House Interiors...

Find more here: http://pinterest.com/verandahhouse/ but grab a coffee first, you may be a while...

Bargain of the Day/Week/Year...

Just when I was about to write EBAY off all together for being too expensive of late, I managed to pull of Bargain of the Day/Week/Year... I won these last week for .99 cents - YES .99 cents, for all three!!! I couldn't believe my luck as I have been chasing something similar for months... They remind me of the beautiful pics I drooled over that my sister took recently on her trip to Russia.  I think I will put these pretties in the bathroom or walk in wardrobe - not 100% sure yet but would love to use all 3 in the same space to accentuate their fabulousness!
J was not as impressed as I was, he is a sparky so he gets the fun job of re-wiring them and installing them, but he will love them when they are up - he always does...