The kitchen reno begins......

What have we got ourselves in for??? The kitchen reno has begun but like all good renovations......all is not as easy as it seems.

With the kitchen taking up more of the area, we needed to find another space for our dining table and chairs. Do we move my craft room into the spare bedroom and return the dining room to its former 'glory'? I really like the fact that my craft room is so close to the hub of the home so another solution had to be found. This has led to the current study being turned into a dining room which means that we are now pulling down the wall between the study and the family room. After a trip to Ikea and many days rearranging furniture, sorting, organising, culling and cleaning, the study is looking like a dining room. We are actually really pleased with it. Cal is going to pull down the wall and box up the opening over the weekend. Can't wait!!!

One week down......

Le Tour de France has started for 2013 (and so have the late nights!!!) with OGE doing particularly well during the first week. Simon Gerrans won Stage 3 and the team followed up the very next night winning the TTT. Gerrans wore the yellow jersey for two nights before handing it over team mate Impey. Great to see an Australian team doing so well in this iconic event.

iPhoneography

I just love photography and everything about it. I love taking the photo, enhancing it and finally scrapbooking it. I love Photoshop and Lightroom. I love Snapseed and Picfx. I love our Canon DSLR, my little point and shot Canon and I love my iPhone.

While staying in Harrietville I went out for a walk to take a few shots of Autumn leaves with my iPhone. The shots were pretty ordinary and in no way did justice to the natural colours and the beautiful landscape. Not to worry. With the use of Snapseed and Picfx I was able to transform them into shots that more closely represent the true beauty of nature.

Glorious Harrietville

Stephen and I have been looking forward to our time in Harrietville since January when we had to leave after just one day because of the bushfire raging out of control just above the town. As you walk around the town you can see the scars of the fire in the nearby hills. On the night before we left in January we could clearly see the flames but in the light of day today you can see just how close it did come to the town. It must have been terrifying for the residents left behind.

Our very own "Block All Stars"

It's all mine......and the bank's!

Settlement Day

Lach took possession of his first home on 6th February. It is a lovely home in a beautiful quiet court in the Calder Rise area of Keilor. Like any 40 year old home it needed a bit of a face lift. Over the past 4 weeks we have painted throughout, replaced the carpet, updated the bathrooms, filled in the in ground pool, removed doors, replaced doors, removed rubbish, hung curtains, knocked down gates and fences and cleaned. It is looking fabulous! Cal took responsibility for all the building type work. Lach, Stephen and I have all contributed to the painting with Stephen taking the main role. Lach showed his strength by breaking up the concrete floor of the pool among other things. I have spent quite a bit of time cleaning and taking down, washing and putting up curtains. Once finished Lach is hoping to lease it. He has been talking with a couple of real estate agents and hopes to have it on the rental market very soon.

Anyone for a swim?

Hard at work

Pulling up the old carpet

The new carpet looks fabulous

New cement sheeting

Waterproofing completed - now for the tiles

A big weekend!

The myriad of light fitting throughout the house. VERY retro!

'Sarah 101' on my craft room

I am lucky enough to have a craft room - known as The Land of Potter (hence the name of my blog). For Christmas my wonderful mum and dad gave me a Silhouette Cameo which meant I had to rethink the layout of my room so that I could set it up. Well, one thing led to another and after a late night dash to Ikea and lots of hard work, I ended up completely redesigning my room. To say I am pleased with it, would be an understatement. It is SUPER and oh so pretty......I mean practical!!!