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Tuesday, May 10, 2016

A Beautiful Mess

Well, for now it's more messy than beautiful, but I am sure it will get there. Last time our living room was ever this empty was probably 7 years when we first moved in. 

Oh wait, no, it was actually back in last November. We emptied the room in preparation for ceiling stucco removal, but my Dad passed away suddenly on the day when we were supposed to start the project so I had to cancel. As you could imagine, six months later, it was still extremely difficult for me to work up the courage to get back to the very same project. Every move we made was a constant reminder of the pains I felt back then. 

In a couple of days, I will bid this ugly popcorn ceiling farewell. Btw, the Edwardian lantern is now for sale so PM me if you are interested. 

Surprisingly, we managed to relocate everything from living room into our dining room. Does this picture below not remind you of a Nazi plunder? 


The living room is all masked by plastic sheets and masking paper. I can still get a glimpse of the mess inside, which makes me very nervous. What if the stucco removal company didn't completely cover up the floor and that the wet stucco stuck onto it? What if the worst is yet to come and the sanding dust got into the rest of the house? My OCD again is getting the best of me. 

Anyways, onto some happier thoughts. It was the first time after a long time that I visited a Value Village, and just as luck would have it, I came across this vintage 1950s? brass Stiffel lamp in perfect mint condition, for a whopping $8.99! I added a lampshade from HomeSense, so this is the $25 in all its glory! A brass Stiffel lamp this size would normally go for at least $400! 



I have to say, this cool and sunny spring weather is really agreeing with me. I brought back our landscaping contractor to add some finishing touches to our front porch, like this pillar to connect the retaining wall to our driveway. 

And added a retaining wall around the tree so that I can plant some beetle-repelling herbs inside. 

With luck, I should be able to check off not just one, but three items on my 2016 project list before we leave for our Baltic vacation. I will be back to post some pictures of our living room hopefully next week.