I am Strong, I am Woman.

Although we have contractors at our old

house doing some renos, we've been helping

out to keep our costs reasonable. Personally,

I love renovating so it was nice to do this.

On the weekend, I ripped up the old

laundry room floor. I've painted this room

and the contractors needed the floor

gone so they could install the trim. 

We'll be putting the same tile down that

we have in the front hall. Looking good.

Tony the Tiler.

Such a great guy. We truly 

lucked out in booking the best. 

Even though he was paid through

our building fund, we enjoyed him

so much and he added some great

ideas to our design, a tip was in order!

A thank you and a gift card to

take his lovely and patient wife

out for a lovely evening after a

job well done. He was thrilled!

Now we wait for the rest of the

trades to finish up. Can't wait.

If you've built or renovated, did you enjoy

the process or couldn't wait for the end?

Second and Third Levels

The Parlour.

Master Bedroom.

Upper Hallway.

Oops, the maid forgot to sweep!

Sewing/Craft Room.

Second view.

The Nursery.

The Bathroom.

Third Storey Hallway.

The Music Room.

Our "secret" revealed!

At the beginning of the year, I alluded to a gift we had received after Christmas that was a dream for us. Here's the post: 

http://cottagebriarrose.blogspot.ca/2012/01/post-christmas-gift.html

Today, we started the process of renovating our gift. And now the secret is out!

Yes, I will admit, the Victorian we were gifted is not a real house but in fact, a full scale dollhouse. It's going to take a while to get to our real dream but for now, this one is just as exciting, as we pull off the old wallpaper, rip up the "grass", tear down the trees & put in new floors, doors & railings. It's been fun searching for websites to help us do the job well & to find the materials we need. We are currently waiting for a big order to come from Eastern Canada that will have lots of wallpaper, flooring & some furniture & accessories. Tons of hard work to do before that big packages arrives. So far, the wallpaper is proving to be a challenge to come off easily but the "grass" ripped up right away & all the furniture has been stored away until the house is ready for it's return. 

Hope you enjoy our new journey!

And now, the reveal of the before:

The upper level from the outside. 

Lower level. Don't you love the little pup waiting 

in the doorway for his family to come home?

View from the back. 

More pictures to follow as we dismantle 

& then put this house back together. 

Changing Plans

We just arrived home from our "new home" out on an island. 

As my husband declared to our family & I'm saying to my colleagues, we're here "on an extended visit" until we "go home again"!

Now the big work starts, trying to figure out how to change our plans to move there, instead of out to the country. It's a huge move, one that would involve a lot of planning around our current professions & one that would mean leaving some precious family & friends behind. We still might build in the country if that will net us more than selling our current house & then selling our land here to buy land there & build a new house there. Need to chat with a realtor to see which is the most efficient both in time & in dollars.

The chance to live out the next part of our lives in paradise is too tempting to not act on our gut feelings. 

A change in lifestyle would be in order. 

Actually, not a complete change, just a "getting back to the real us in a natural way".

Right now, we live a life that is orchestrated to adapt to all around us, to fit in, to measure up, to be "normal". 

Reality is, we're unique & really need to stop being who we are not & go back to being who we are!

And if that means moving to an island, wouldn't you? 

A couple of pictures to make my point!

Our sunset each night!

Wine to complement our daily activities!

Fairies & buddhas every where you look!

Sea shells by the sea shore!

Daily view from the hot tub!

Our yoga & meditation space each day!

We're pretty sensible people & realize that being on vacation is vastly different than becoming an islander. However, we've spent enough time on this coastal oasis to know how we would work our lives to be there & we know there will be stresses. We truly "live" there while we are there - we stay in a cottage, secluded in the woods, cook our own meals, do our laundry, stay connected to our work & shop as the locals do. 

We feel like islanders already! We know the lay of the land, how the system out there works & what is different. Having lived on the west coast already, we know the ups & downs of the rain & are not concerned at all. Seriously, I'll take 2 weeks of downpours over 2 weeks of -40 thanks!!

So very happy that the commitment we've made to live here will be a true commitment. 

Now we just have to figure out how to do it!