New Items on Etsy

Hi All,

Wanted to let all my readers know that I have just listed some new cool vintage pieces on my Etsy Store.

Beautiful Vintage Butterfly Brooch

Awesome Jagermeister Shot Glass

Head on over and check out all the other things I have for sale for the holidays. Caroline Bock Original Art & Vintage Finds

House Renovation Update: Lots to Say

Okay, so it has been a while (almost 3 months) since I posted about the house. I got busy and kinda forgot to post, I've had it on my to do list for at least a month and a half. I have many excited items to share, so here it goes.

In September, we completed the gas heating and hot water conversion. This took our contractor, Atlas Glen-Mor, 2 days to complete. On the first day, they took out the oil tank and old heating system, that meant we did not have water hot water for 2 days and did not have water at all for only couple of hours. On the second day, they finished up installing the new gas heating system and hot water heater. I have to say the guys who installed our heating were excellent, I could not ask for more. I would recommend Atlas Glen-Mor to anyone in the Boston area who is looking to convert to gas heating. 

National Grid on the other hand was not that easy to work with. After the heating inspection was complete we were told to call National Grid to have our gas meter/gas turned on. This was a Wednesday, they told me that they would not be able to come out and turn on my gas until Monday. That would have meant a whole 5 days with no hot water. I preceded to tell them that I have 2 little kids in the house, how was I suppose to manage that long without hot water, they told me that there was nothing that they could do. Needless to say I found this unacceptable, after a few well placed calls to government officials, they came and turned on our gas that day. So, I guess there was something that they could do.

In October, we had our meeting with the Zoning Board of Appeals in our town. Our architect, Edrick vanBueuzekom of EvB Designs, was well prepared and the hearing was a breeze. One of our neighbors even came and showed her support. The design was approved!!! 

Now our contractor is gathering bids from subcontractors and we can not wait to start the next stage of this project. 

I am busy de-cluttering our house and getting ready for the holidays. 

Walter's Vacation to the White Mountains

Walter decided that he needed some rest and relaxation. So, why not take a vacation. He decided to tag along with the Bock family on their White Mountain vacation.

The Bock family was even nice enough to give him a free ride.

First up was a day at Storyland, where he got taken on a hair raising ride on the antique cars.

When he got back to the condo he was so wiped.

He decided to take in a view from the upstairs loft. 

He was not paying attention and fell off the balcony.

Luckly, he is a muppet so, no worse for wear.

The next day brought a trip to Santa's Village. Walter wanted to see if Santa's reindeer could fly and also shopped around for a rental igloo. (A little to cold for his taste.)

That afternoon he decided to relax on the deck overlooking the White Mountains.

Up to the top of Loon Mountain on the gondola, during the last day of his vacation.

They went on a hike and Walter got so exhausted he had to rest on a rock half way through.

Walter had a great time on his vacation to the White Mountains, now he is wondering where the Bock family will take him next.

(Thank you all for reading this, I've been wanting to do this with Walter ever since my brother bought him for my daughter a few Christmases ago.)

National Grid Gas Line

Another step forward toward our construction process, last week National Grid came and connected the gas line from the street to our house. During the planning process of the renovation we decided that we would change over from oil heat to gas, but first we needed a gas line.

We put in our application for the line in June and paid the $500 to National Grid. Last week they came and installed the line. Anyone who is thinking of doing this I recommend that you put in your application in the spring that way you have plenty of time before they stop digging in the mid fall, at least in Massachusetts.

I have to say that the workers that did the digging were excellent. They dug a hole in the street and another one near our house. Next they drilled under ground and connected the line. When they were finished you almost didn't know that they had done anything, it was so neat. Later that night, someone else came by and paved over the hole in the street, very efficient.

Other than having to wait from June to August the whole process was relatively easy.

Large T-Shirt into Kids Smock

It's been a long time since I posted any craft projects. My Mother-in-Law was up helping me with the kids and she wanted to share her quick and easy project of how to turn a large t-shirt into a kids smock. This project took no longer than 5 minutes and all you need is a large t-shirt (old or new) and a pair of scissors.

1. Start with a large Mens T-Shirt, old or new.

2. Cut a slit up the sleeve.

3. Try on to make sure the slit is long enough.

4. Tie the two pieces of the sleeve into a knot to shorten.

5. Cut a slit to open the bottom hem.

6. Rip the bottom hem off the shirt.

7. Use the bottom hem as a belt for the smock. 

TaDa! You have a cute and simple kids smock.

Goodbye Tree

This week we kicked of the house renovation with our first big project. Taking down the Magnolia tree in the front yard. As much as it was sad to see the tree go, it had to go to bring a gas line into the house. Without the tree there it will be much easier for the contractor to add the second floor as well. 

We hired a local tree expert to take down the tree, due to its size and proximity to the power lines. We knew it would be too dangerous to take down ourselves. We used Frank's Tree Work, owned and operated by Frank McIver, who does excellent work. I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for someone to trim or remove a tree in the North Shore of Boston.

This was really something to get to see. Even the neighborhood kids came out and watched.

 What a difference. Looking forward to sharing each step along the way.

Renovation Plans Reveal

We are finally ready to reveal the new plans for our house renovation. These plans are pretty much the final design, there might be a few tweaks left but the over all design is in place.

Existing House Floor Plan

New 1st Floor Plan (big changes, like moving the stairs)

New 2nd Floor Plan

 Existing Exterior Side

New Exterior Side (getting rid of 2 chimneys)

 Existing Exterior Side

New Exterior Side

 Exisiting Front and Rear

 New Front View

New Rear View

Next step is to meet with our contractor and then its on to the town. Wish us luck.

19 Amazing Homemade Kitchen Islands

Hi All  - I was asked again by Hometalk.com to curate a board. This time it was to feature DIY kitchen islands, including my own. Here is what I cam up with...

Click on the image to explore all these amazing kitchen islands. And if you have not yet seen my creation here is a link.

Dresser into Kitchen Island

This post contains affiliate links, I do receive a small commission, this does not affect my opinions.

Back with Big News

Dear Readers,

Over the last two months I have been neglecting this blog, partly because of going into hibernation with the massive amount of snow that the Boston area has received. Just getting the kids dressed and out the door to school/run errands/etc... has been a job in its self. But, there is another reason that I have been busy and here it is. We have started the process of designing our second floor addition!

We have hired our architect and now have our first round of plans to add a second floor to our house. This has been something that myself and my husband have been looking forward to for a long time and we are very excited to see it start to come to fruition.

I am hoping to bring all of you along for the journey ahead of us, We hope to start the building process a year from now. I am also hoping to share with you what it is like to take on such a massive project. 

More updates soon, so stay tuned.

Caroline

In the Middle of Multiple Projects: Here are the Befores

I have seemed to start about 4 projects over the past week, we have also gotten about 4 feet of snow over the last week. This probably has some correlation. Unfortunately, I have not finished any of these projects to post. So, instead of going quiet till I finish these projects I thought I would share my before shots.


Living Room Window Makeover

Dining Room Window Makeover

Ikea Coffee Table into Ottoman

Kitchen Cafe Curtains

It is really time to get rid of the temporary paper shades that I intended to only last a month or two and have been there now for almost 6 years.