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one room challenge, with crickets...

hello!  today is (was) my birthday.  i love my birthday.  i'm an aries, so i tend to be a little self-centered anyway (ok, add to that i'm an only child...), so to really have a day where it should be all about you, sign me up please!!  anyway, i'm also a fan of growth and rebirth and renewal and trying new things and living life!  so when i realized today, besides being my birthday, was the first day of the 6 week one room challenge, i thought, i need to do this!!!  i've loved stalking this challenge and the blog, callingithome.com, for quite some time, so what the heck?!  might as well join in!!! annnnndddddd...  it just so happens that i have one room that needs to be beautified!!

so the crickets reign in my room because it's empty right now and in reality, the windows are open because i'm dying up in here with the toxic fumes from the floor stain and polyurethane.  the crickets may actually be dead from the toxins permeating their little bodies.

ok, i know the suspense is killing you!!!  here's the room i'm making over as a guest designer:

to give you a little background, this space is my office.  or at least it was until i discovered some extensive water damage and what appeared to be an alien life form growing out of my base trim.  no shit.  after i had completed all my upstairs renovations, i proceeded to go through the pile of stuff i had redistributed to this level, and was attempting to pick up a magazine that was under a bookshelf along the window wall.  the magazine wasn't moving anywhere, so i gave it a bit of a tug, finally managing to pull it free.  attached to the magazine was this growth of a thing that left me in shocked horror.  honestly, i still really can't believe i didn't pass out.  i did calmly take it to my trash can, disposed of it, and texted my contractor, freaking out, begging, pleading, crying to please come save me from whatever life limiting specimen this thing was.  overly dramatic you say?!  i beg to differ.  i thought the world was coming to an end.  of course, i did have photos of the evil growth, but can't find them now :(

what you see above is major progress!!  i had to rip up the concrete slab that was just outside the windows and replace the drainage system, which wasn't deep enough to prevent water from slowly seeping up through the subfloor.  the hardwoods and trim and half the wall leading to the closet on the right had to be removed and have been replaced.  my guys did a great job of piecing the new hardwoods back in and getting the dark stain right!  the thing on the right wall is not a collector's piece of abstract art.  it is my cable modem taped to the wall because i'm inept at anything computer and didn't want to worry about having to reconnect anything.  pathetic, yes.  whatevs.

here's some in progress pics of replacing the hardwoods and the hardwood zamboni.  it has been way too long that my downstairs has been a disaster zone and i'm so excited to be moving forward!!!  add to that, the challenge of making it look super fab and blogging about it!!  let's go!  here's the link to follow along.  

So, every thursday, i will post an update on the room and how things are going!!  and in the end, the big reveal!!!

beijos,

beth