Merry Christmas, everyone!

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We spent a peaceful long weekend at home, taking catnaps, cooking, eating sweets, and drinking eggnog next to the tree. It felt nice to take a break from the reno dust.

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This year, we set up the Christmas tree next to the doorway of Slav’s office. Renovating this office was the very first project we tackled in 2018. And I cannot be more grateful for the decision of opening it up to the living room. On paper, we lost a bedroom by reversing the closet, but the new floor plan is much more suitable for our lifestyle. Everyone including the dogs enjoy the current floor plan a lot better.

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We did not do gifts this year, but we did buy the pups a new bed. Charlie has been sleeping on it every night.

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2018 is the year we made our living space nice and comfortable. After the office renovation, we painted the entire first floor and added art, rugs, and my favorite decor – houseplants. Renovating an old house is a long battle and it is important to keep the space we live in clean and relaxing.

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The newest addition to the living space is a new IKEA lamp. It was a love at first sight. It brighten up the corner at night and I like the mood it gives the room. It might be the best IKEA purchase I’ve made.

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At the beginning of 2018, we had a few projects planned for the house. Besides the office renovation, we also planned to add insulation to our attic and build a new fence. I think it is fair to say that we completed both projects with flying colors.

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What we did not plan was the front yard landscaping, which took us several months to complete. We removed large area of the turf, built a dry creek and a retaining wall, and planted dozens of perennial flowers, shrubs, and evergreen trees. It is a big undertaking that completely transformed our front yard curb appeal. I am glad we tackled this project early so we can enjoy the mature plants longer.

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The last thing on our 2018 to-do list was the basement renovation. Having completed the demo, we are planning the rebuild. It is amazing how much our plan for this space had changed over the last 18 months. I guess that is because we have changed. Our interests grow, our personalities change, and our relationship still evolves. As we perceive the world and ourselves in it, there is always so, so much to think about.

We wish you are having a wonderful holiday season as we are. See you in 2019!