Looking forward to tackling more home DIY projects and playing in the garden when I return home in July, 2011!

Once again, I am amazed by the power a new coat of paint has to liven a space up, even if it is just a hallway! It is all about loving the space you are in!

not the prettiest hallway before...

looking better after...

ugly hallyway before

after! Still need the finishing touches like mirror, pictures etc...but you get the idea!

We have had them since early December 2010 after we adopted them from the Victoria, BC SPCA. My bunnies (Honey and Dumpling) were rescued by a man who found them by Shelbourne rd (not too far from the bunny capital of the world, the University of Victoria campus). He was kind enough to drop them off at the SPCA and in turn they found their way into my arms/basement

Here are a few pics to show you the space I created for them and some cute pictures of these adorable creatures:

The space for the bunnies "before"

The space for the bunny home "after"

How could I NOT take these girls home??

This kitchen will be getting a serious face lift over the next year and you will see what I plan to do with all the other antique and reasonably priced knobs I have purchased over the last month!

With this sort of “picking” on my mind I was very keen to check out: Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore (habitat restore victoria website) and General Salvage Antiques (map of GS). Both these stores provided me with lots of joy, but more importantly visiting these stores gave me a better sense of where Victoria residents and other big box stores in and around the island choose to recycle their unwanted and/or used hardware.

Here are a couple of my finds from General Salvage!

General Salvage is divided into two levels: top level is high end antique furniture which I can not afford right now, but enjoyed taking pictures of, the basement is all the less expensive knickknacks and practical home hardware. That is where I ended up purchasing knobs and light fixtures for under $35!

this is where the true picking began - outside, under the tent, in the wind and rain!

So with Mr. Speed really needing a better work space from home we decided to switch the rooms and send the bed down to the basement and move the office stuff up stairs. Here is where our guests will be sleeping now and I think it is quite cozy and quaint, almost makes me want to sleep down there tonight!

*Check out my first “basement office” post for pics of what the office looked like before!

Here is also a very old photo of the guest room upstairs shortly after we moved in:

It all started this time last year when I started getting quite serious about redesigning our lovely home and needed a place to keep record of the things I was doing, colours I was using and what things looked like “before” my handiwork and “after” my handiwork! So I started this fun blog as a means to document my “all things home” life – a new passion I discovered upon  finally living in my very own home, with the supportive and loving Mr.Speed – how exciting eh?

This blog also got started at the same time I was I embarking on year two of my teaching program at UVIC so the free time was way less plentiful at times over 2010 as school and teaching practicums took a higher priority in my life, with good reason because now I am a full-fledged BC certified k-12 (adult) teacher and very excited to be able to say that, with great confidence! Don’t worry, this blog is not going to turn into my new, obnoxious teacher blog – I will definitely be keeping those worlds as separate as possible and will definitely have a teaching blog in the near future! Look out world

So to celebrate this one year anniversary I thought I would share with you a few of the finds I found on my recent trip to Portland, OR over the holidays – it was an interesting family holiday, but more importantly a well deserved break of routine and healthy change of scenery for me. I really took advantage of vintage/recycled/sale shopping in the heartland of Oregon (no sales tax too!) and here are some of my finds:

An assortment of lovelies!

I am not sure how well you can see each of the items, but this was my display after one day of intense value shopping at: Hippo Hardware (Portland): hippo hardware

Rejuvenation Hardware (Portland): rejuvenation hardware

Goodwill mega store – Portland: goodwill

Was so excited to take a picture of all my finds and also show my grandfather, who was almost as equally excited for me! He paid me the greatest compliment ever – he said “you have your grandmother’s style”

Enjoy!

Turning old into new, with love!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqCNyk–GO8