New Home

When we moved back to Texas, my precious Husband wanted a newly built home. I really Love older houses but he didn't want another renovation project.  We purchased a Showcase home, meaning it was already built by the builder. We were able to make a few cosmetic changes to it before we purchased it but basically it was move in ready-cough, cough...that isn't how I saw it;)

I will post all of our projects in the following weeks. The first of many is below.

Before we left Florida, I purchased a Wine refrigerator from my Florida BFF.  I had the perfect spot for it in our new house, but I thought it would be better if it was built into cabinets.

The niche in our Breakfast nook

Cabinets 

Doesn't the Wine Refrig look Great

Beautiful and it looks like it was always
part of the house

Cupcakes, Cupcakes and More Cupcakes

I had a moment of insanity which led me to make 300+ mini-cupcakes for my son's rehearsal dinner.  My sweet daughter-in-law to be had requested we bring dessert for the dinner.  She really didn't want a cake since we would have plenty of that at the Wedding. I happened to think, "Cupcakes would be great." I should have promptly went and ordered them from a local bakery.  But being the overachiever that I am,  I really wanted them to have something Special and chose to make them mini-cupcakes to  complement their Fajita menu.

 I searched all my favorite blogs and narrowed it down to making Dulce de Leche, Margarita and Cinnamon cupcakes. I purchased all my ingredients and decided to try the Babycakes Cupcake Maker.

Cupcake Batter in Babycakes Cupcake Maker

This nifty little machine makes Excellent cupcakes. They cook in minutes and each one has the same shape to them, thus making them easier to decorate. I got them all cooked on one night and decorated the next day.  They looked Gorgeous and tasted even Better...if I do say so myself;)

Dulce De Leche

Cinnamon Churro in Front
Margarita in Back

Done! no not yet....how in the heck was I going to transport them to the rehearsal dinner? did I mention this was the middle of June in Texas?? ha!ha! I searched the internet for options and actually found some that would have worked but, actually Thanks to Facebook, found friends who lent me their cupcake and jello shot carriers...Problem solved.

The Cupcakes Displayed at the Rehearsal Dinner

After a Big Renovation

The Front-after we Painted the faux brick exterior

Great Front Porch After Update

We added the Arch-Before it was a regular doorway

After the Travertine Patio and Pool resurfacing

Renovated Patio, Pool and Cabana

This work was completed in several different Projects.  We had the floors, texture, paint and arch done prior to moving in.  We chose to do the Patio in the next Reno because we knew we would practically live out there.  It included adding the travertine pavers, complete pool resurfacing, new pool tiles, new pool equipment, staining the cabana, lighting and landscaping. Next it was replacing the old windows and adding Hurricane Crank out Windows (which we called, Bullet proof windows). Whew! that was costly, so we did planned to do the front ones and side windows first. It isn't too obvious in the photos but made a huge difference to the front of the house, we didn't get the back windows in before we moved. And right before we put the house on the market, we had the exterior painted. The ugly faux pink brick didn't match the gorgeous pavers we put in and once done, we wished we had done it as one of the previous projects.

The sale was a heartbreaker for me.. I really Loved this house.  However, we were fortunate enough to sale it to a couple who Loved it as much as I did. They have already replaced the back sliders and a few interior renovations to meet the needs of their Family.  This makes me so very Happy.

Fort Lauderdale

My Husband's Company had us relocate to Fort Lauderdale, Florida a couple of years ago.  We had a Very  difficult time finding a house, even though there was a large amount of inventory.  After a two days and a whirlwind tour of the area, we chose a Great House (that is my opinion, not my Husbands).  It was built in 1961 and need some TLC..

And the Renovations Began...

Life Get's in the Way

I had an Great idea, I'd start a blog..But, I didn't factor in the items which were already on my plate and the amount of time each of them would take out of my schedule.  I had been following a few blogs through www.remodelaholic.com.  Actually, I was a bit obsessed with them.  So I logged in and started my own blog.
Then reality set in...I had to go to my real job, which meant I flew around the U.S. for 3 days.  Once back home, I was needed to assist my precious soon to be Daughter-In-Law with a few wedding details the week of the Big Event.  Much to our surprise, there was quite of bit of last minute details to be taken care of before the actual wedding. Then Rehearsal, Rehearsal Dinner (which I got a bit carried away and made the dessert for) and finally the actual Wedding. They were a exceptionally Beautiful Bride an Groom!! Then it was off to fly for a day around Texas.  The following Friday, my nephew got Married in San Diego and all the Colombian's came into town.  Sammy and Rosie had an intimate Wedding and a Big Reception afterwards. Since we were on California time, we were out way past my bedtime each night and it took me a couple of days to get back in gear.  Then it was time to go on the airplane again..3 more days...I am so worn out just telling you about it! Home again, I was ready to post on my blog:-) However, my old Dell Laptop had other plans.  Several days of attempting to trouble shoot the problem, realizing my Tech Support had expired, and then off to Geek Squad for a diagnosis left me more than a little upset.  Then my Husband came to rescue me, as always, and purchased a shiny new MacBook Pro for me.  I was literally Dancing inside the store. I am still attempting to learn all the bells and whistles but knew this couldn't be put off any longer.
Please check in again soon..I have alot of projects and ideas to show off.  And I plan to blog on a regular basis.  That is the plan..unless once again, Life get's in the way.

                                   My Son and Daughter-In-Law

Just Getting Started

Hello..Hola..I can not believe I am making my 1st blog post! I have been addicted to and followed  a few blogs for quite some time. I believe there are a lot of people who would enjoy following my blog and I promise to keep you entertained.  Please check back for new posts. Thanks! Gracias!