Ch-ch-ch-changes

It all started when Dad suggested I insulate the small crawl space inside my attic, which was leaking in cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer (as in, so bad that I would put a scarf across the floorboard of the closest door to prevent the extra temperatures invading my room). I called my friend/neighbor/house-flipper/reality tv star, Dave Wilson, and asked him to recommend someone who could help me out. You know, the guy you call for all the 'round-the-house fix-me-ups. Two days later, Juan Munoz, came over my house to inspect my crawl space. He said, "you know, I could just insulate this, or I could insulate it, put some floorboard down, add a door and you can turn it into an extra storage space."

After a week or so, the little random crawl space (with an opening window leaking in the outside air) in the closet had turned into a insulated storage area with hidden door that only small children and my mother could walk into without ducking.

As the guys were working upstairs, I mentioned to Juan that I wanted to redo my guest bathroom at some point. "What were you thinking of doing?" he asked. I told him after seeing so many hotel bathrooms over the years, I really liked the clear glass bowl sinks. Also, I'd like to keep my black-and-white-and-yellow theme, so maybe a black pedestal? Oh, and I'd probably want to redo the tile since the sink area tile was different than the shower & commode.

The next day, Juan brought me three tile samples and a picture of a black pedestal from Home Depot. "What do you think?" I think... IT'S PERFECT! And, I know I don't technically need to do it now, but if not now... then when? Soon, two more guys appeared and transformed my standard-model-bathroom into my customized chic-but-warm loo!

Finally, Juan and I were talking about different areas in the house I could eventually redo (add ceiling lights in the guest room, update the tile in the kitchen floor, knock out a wall in the master bath and extend the whole bathroom...), but those were all things that could wait. I really did want more light in my living room. I have a ceiling fan but no light and I'm tired of straining my eyes to see my computer or TV screen. So, we talked about adding a light directly onto my fan so we wouldn't have to buy a whole new ceiling fan.

Then we talked about one more thing.

What if we added shelves to either side of the fireplace so we could get rid of the lovely-but-a-bit-large-for-what-I-need entertainment center? Of course, if we added shelves, we could also add an mantel above the fireplace where the TV could sit. That would mean, however, that would would have to run the cable outside and around (since it is on the opposite wall to where the fireplace is), plus we'd have to add an electric outlet....

Ok, we talked about a few more things.

In the end, however, I was ready for a change. I've lived in this home for almost 3 years and have doing a few cosmetic updates, but nothing this substantial. I simply LOVE the way it looks and can't believe how much more space I have now! I know

I've got a lot to be thankful for this year, especially having the means to make these changes and having my parents here to see them.

I'm also thankful for the turkey now cooking... more T-day pics to come!