Happy Birthday Elle

On December 17 we celebrated Christmas with the kids. That also happened to be Elle's 3rd birthday. Before the Christmas gifts we had cake & ice cream and she opened her birthday gifts.

Her favorite color is purple and she loves My Little Pony. That made for an easy choice to decorate her cake.

Blowing out the candles

Sunset

Christmas at the Beach

We went to the beach one evening before we went North for the holidays. Saw an awesome sunset and checked the Christmas decorations.

Blooms

We had to replace one of our hibiscus plants this year. 

The new one is blooming  nicely.

Big Yellow Blooms

We also have one with red blooms

And finally to get in the holiday spirit we planted a poinsettia in the front

.

Lunch with Friends

Christmas decorations are starting to pop up everywhere. We met Frank & Nancy for lunch at Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda and snapped a few pics.

Frank & Nancy Becker

The Alsman's

And now we know where Santa goes when he retired

Our Oasis

With the inside done it was time to clean up outside. 

Here are a few pics taken after we finished. 

 The little porch is not new, but the roof over it is. 

Everything else on the left side is the new addition.  

This is the back and that door is the one that goes into the new bedroom.

The contractor reused the siding the he took off when he

added the new sections so it all matches.

Our Oasis

And That's That

The new addition is complete!! 

One of the major reasons for the addition was so we could get a King sized bed. Mattress shopping is a tough one. This one is too soft, that one too hard. Finally we found one just right - or so we hoped. Before we started our shopping trip I had an idea of what I wanted for a headboard and I was surprised when I saw it in the showroom. 

And then we had to get dressers - Found them at Target! Some assembly required. Glad we have nothing but time. 

Lastly we had to buy sheets and a comforter. I do have to admit after sleeping in the bed that first night the shopping was worth it. But then I never have a a problem shopping :)

So now that the work is all done it is time to head to the beach.

One Room Done

 Painted, floor laid, blinds installed and new furniture put together and in place.   

The first room is done!!

We brought this furniture all the way from IL, in a box, assembly required  of course. 

It was "end of season" sale. There is no such thing in sunny FL and we knew we would not get such a good deal here. I was just glad all the pieces were there and nothing damaged.

Even let Don take a much needed break.

Making Progress

Don has finished the floor and it looks great. Pretty obvious that he knows his trade well.

 

With the floor done it was time to work on the window. That meant trips to Lowe's. We have been there so many times I think they know us by name. One day as we were walking in the girl behind the counter said "I see you are back".  I had a hard time deciding what I wanted, but settled on Levolor cellular shades. I think they are going to work well.

We also had to fill a hole in the bathroom. There was a window that was removed since it is now an inside wall. Lowe's to the rescue. We found a cabinet that fit.

  BEFORE

AFTER

I just had to buy these for the ceiling fans because they were just too cute.

Houdini Abby

In IL Abby loves to sit on the deck and watch the grass grow so we decided to put a gate on our little porch in FL.

Abby likes the porch and ...

She likes getting off the porch :) 

So Plan B

Sorry Abby

It all starts Here

OK, so I am going to give this blogging thing a try. I am following in some pretty big footsteps (thanks Tori) so we will see how it goes.

We are now in FL and busy finishing work on our new addition. Or I should say Don is busy. I did help with the painting, but the reast of the work is all Don. Don says "I am a carpenter, not a painter", but here he is with paintbrush in hand.

After  the painting was finished he started laying out the hardwood floor.

Abby did not like the noise from the staple gun. I would post pics of her, but she was hiding in the cabinet at the time. Little did she know that the hammering is yet to come.