Madness at Monstrosity!

So, it has been a while since I last posted about...err....anything! 
Ummmm .....Sorry about that, I have been, erm, very busy and paired with poor internet connection it just got too hard.  You see I had taken over the role of 'breadwinner' since the King had temporarily fallen off his perch and had not found work since moving to our country town.....not the start we had hoped for.

I had never seen him so down.....didnt quite know what to do and had just resigned myself to needing to work about 1000 hours a week (nurses get such pooky wages!) and while driving the 25 mins to work along a beautiful river road in the early hours of the morning, the sight took my breath away, again.  This place never ceases to amaze me with its beauty...I asked Mother Universe if SHE could please make all this perfect and let the Kings job fall into place as we had dreamed.  That afternoon while suffering from a severe case of ManFlu and lying down in the bedroom, he got a phone call..... so a huge THANKYOU Mother Universe and we can now breathe a sigh of relief!

The house we sold in emotional circumstances has not really paid off.....however we have taken a deep breath and tried to remember exactly WHY we moved.  While we havent exactly profited and found we made crappy (albeit temporary) property moguls, we just realised that we have shed $300k of debt *HAPPY DANCE* and in the meantime picked up our new project...aka MONSTROSITY, said with love and affection for this silly old rambling house.

 I finally have some pics for you to peruse and perhaps guffaw at...but we loved the light and space in this house and *plan* (to plan lol) to strip her back to her mid century glory days inside....not sure exactly what those are just yet, thinking late 40's as she was built in 1939 according to her deeds, but has had a few add ons and all verandahs enclosed to make extra rooms and has windows all around.  This looks ok and has plenty of renovating potential from the INSIDE however from the outside she remains a big white monstrosity on a busy country corner.....so we are in the middle of negotiations (read arguments) about whether to add a deck/carport to give her some proportion and some much needed off street parking (especially since some A- grade poop head decided to walk over the bonnet on friday night when I left our car out).  

Starting first from the outside in, we have tidied up the patio out the back, removed the redback laced, lead painted picnic table, added a few chairs and an umbrella for Sunday morning brunch space, planted a lemon tree, kitchen herbs, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, violets & marigolds.  We have also planted fruit trees in the back to front yard (our front yard is our back yard...), had a fence built for privacy and a space for the kids & puppy to play.  Oh yes, did I mention the puppy?  She deserves a post all to herself, but thats another day ;)

Since moving here I have, pardon the pun, dusted off a lifelong passion for vintage homjewares and thrift stores and have had several impressive finds, including a wonderful red crackle 50's kitchen table, 2 x cedar wardrobes and a lovely 60's dresser for my daughters room.  We also bought 3 x 50's milk-bar type stalls to use in our 'bar' someday, for $2.50 each(yay!) and the cute 50's desk I am writing at as we speak was literally on the side of the road.  The cupboards were a 'love at first sight' kind of find, and I found an almost identical wardrobe in a very expensive local 'antique' store which shall remain nameless, for $980, so I feel pretty impressed with myself as we got ours for $20 at a garage sale, with no idea of their value. 
You might also like to look at the site I am LOVING right now: http://retrorenovation.com/ I particularly love their matra 'love the house you're in', it makes you look at your house with new eyes, and retro, just because, why not?  Its fun, quirky and kind to the budget and you can rest assured that your house will be no cookie cutter ;)
 

...and dont you think our front lawn is just SCREAMING out for some pink flamingo's? 

Thanks for popping by, please enjoy as we make fools of ourself during the renovation phase *grin*