Hello, hello!

HOW IN THE WORLD is it the second week of August already? Goodness, I can’t even bear to think about the F word. Here in Door County, F — is a gorgeous season, but SHORT-LIVED, and then it just turns drizzly and horrible, and I start surfing Corfu real estate sites.

The struggle is real.

So is the struggle to finish this house. With that pesky economy we’re all “enjoying” Hubs has been working increasingly in the community, making OTHER PEOPLE’s homes look fabulous.

Lucky them. (I’m not bitter at all:)

Ours?

Zero progress; in fact, we’re probably going backward, because l like any home, stuff simply gets WORN DOWN and funky with eight people traipsing about. The cat is scratching up doorways, bacon grease needs to be washed and painted off the kitchen ceiling, my bathroom sits with a box of GORGEOUS House of Hackney wallpaper (Artemis blush!) that I can’t hang until the plumbing is done. I have THE sexiest unlacquered brass hardware for my tub. A tub that’s sitting in the garage with drywall stacked all over it. And a whole LIST of uglies that I AVOID with my camera when bringing you these house tours. Lest you think the house is perfect – it’s not. It’s no showpiece. It’s where we raise our family, run our business and express our creativity.

Such is life. And yes, that is gorilla tape holding up a curtain rod so I could air-dry my vintage nightgown collection. A whole ‘nother level of pitiful.

I’m aware.

Such is life.

But dang it. I’ve got this book in my mind that I want to write for you SO BADLY…. “Everyday Chateau”… and I gotta have a finished house for that. No one wants a book full of BEFORE and SORTA AFTERS. I’m ready to move on with life and not be in “project mode” anymore. I’d give anything to be able to hit it hard, 8-5 every day for 12 weeks, and JUST BE DONE. I want to travel, garden, oil paint, and become a Gramma someday, and raw drywall and outlets with no covers do not have a role there.

In the meantime, I will celebrate our Everyday Chateau with all its beauty and all its faults. I will remind myself that we took a nightmare and made it a dream.

But dang, If I could just get that bathroom done so I could hang my wallpaper:). While I wait, here’s a look at all the progress we HAVE made these last five years.