Our bedroom fireplace gets a "face-lift"...

We've always hated the look of the fireplace in our master bedroom! Ugly tile surrounding the face and on top of a hearth constructed of some of the world's ugliest brick. (Painted years ago!) When we decided that this was the year we would re-carpet upstairs, we made a list of things that "should" be done first. Refacing the fireplace was HIGH on that list! (Right up there with new paint in the bedroom!)

On Monday we bid the old "face" a fond adieu as the old tile was removed and slate tile with some decorative accents pieces were applied. We especially like the border tile that goes around the hearth! Grouting was done on Tuesday. Gave us time to enjoy the effect of painters' tape holding the top tiles in place!

On Wednesday another great guy from the company doing the work came and sealed the tile. This morning Larry was able to reinstall the mantle - an oak piece he built several years ago. We are thrilled with the difference! Now, we can't wait for the room to be painted and the new carpet to be installed.

A favorite painting...

Having a next door neighbor who works daily with artists is a really good thing. The painting that hangs over the bedroom fireplace was done by a local painter - it was a birthday gift for Larry some years ago. It is a copy of a photograph we took somewhere in Central California. When the walls finally get painted in the bedroom, the colors we've chosen came from the picture.

Spring comes into the house...

We were able to cut and bring in bouquets of three different flowers this weekend - the petite daffs on the balcony, calla lilies from the patio, and cymbidium orchid growing in pots in the front entryway. Around the community we see lots and lots of pink and white blooms on the Indian Hawthorne shrubs, our purple plum trees have been filled with pink blooms, and the agapanthus are starting to send up stems that will eventually have firework like flowers in white or purple. We had temps in the 80's over the weekend - jumped right past spring into summer. But, it's already cooling off again today, and spring is definitely in the air here.