Master Bedroom, Master Bathroom, Kitchen and Dining room pictures



I thought it was time to post some more interior pictures of our fixer upper house, in this case of the master bedroom, which does have a seperate bathroom (unlike most houses in Germany). The master bathroom is the only newer part of the whole house, new white tiles, rather new white tub, sink, toilet etc. The master bathroom is to the right in this picture, you can spot the dryer vent, as this rather large bathroom will house the washer and dryer.

 

bathroom with wood paneling, bathroom to the right, and access door to the oilheated oven in the living room on the opposite side of the wall.




after wood paneling had been removed, new windows already installed





if you look towards the other side of the room, your back facing the bathroom door/bedroom window, in this picture you can still see the warm water pipes running along the bottom of the room; all the plumbing, heating and electrical systems had to be removed and be replaced.

 

still with paneling and copper water pipes



shower (was built handicapped accessible)





bathroom is large and handicapped accessible

 













this is the layout of the first floor, upper left is dining room, then kitchen upper right (there is a door in between dining room and kitchen, which is not on this plan), then hallway and staircase further down,
then even lower a kind of foyer to the left of the plan, that foyer leads to the right into the master bedroom.
Bottom left of this plan is the living room and bottom right is the master bathroom, these two rooms are housed in the later addition to the house (probably from the 1960's) which has a roof top terrace on the second floor.
On the very bottom of the plan you can see and odd shaped small balcony.




Here just a few pictures of the dining room:

 with its wood burning stove and remnants of previous layers of wallpaper.

Well, this is the kitchen, very 80's German style, not much to it, but everything is working

 view from dining room through arch into kitchen

 

We are still very excited about moving and very thankful for all the work my parents have been doing on the house. We wouldn't be able to do this big step without their help and commitment. I know this is going to be a huge adventure for all of us involved and it will not happen without tears and feelings of loss on many sides. The girls are coping considerably well so far. Natalie suggested to turn our house into some sort of "little America", a place where they can speak English as much and as often as they want to, watch English movies , do all the stuff they are used to, eat American food (luckily we found Kraft Mac and Cheese in the local supermarket last summer!), celebrate American holidays and just create a new home away from home. :)



Getting cold feet

Now that the year 2011 is actually here, the prospect of moving is getting more and more real and I would be lying if I said I was all excited and bubbly about it. Even though I have this overall feeling of "everything will be fine"and "we are so lucky, to pull something like this off" I do have moments where the sheer amount of obstacles and logistics, the possible tears and resistance, the heartbreak and heavy hearts makes me anxious, teary eyed and wonder, how I can stay focused and upbeat.
Whenever I feel that worried feeling creeping up and paralizing me, I try to focus on what is happening now, at the moment. I can only speculate so much about what will be and how things will be. Making life right now happy and each moment worthwile is the best I can do right now. Of course we try to savor the time we have left here, too. Soaking up the sunshine, still exploring new things. Making memories. Celebrating the little things that matter, recognizing and appreciating when things are going smooth and when my heart and soul are content and at peace with the world around me. I don't just want to rush from one week to the other, going crazy over packing, selling the house, planning and planning some more. Even though I never make new years resolutions, I might try to limit the time for all that move-related organizing and preparing to daytime hours, 8am-2pm, which is the time anyway I usually spend in my office. That's what I call my little corner of my bedroom, with all my arts & crafts, sitting at my favorite piece of furniture - my salvation army find of an old ethan allan desk, which HAS to come with us overseas.  In the morning is when I am most creative, coming up with new silhouette designs, making pendants, sketching. But also checking emails, taking orders, updating my website, cutting silhouettes, researching etc. And then there are those days when I work at Yoga in Common in the boutique that sells my pendants and silhouettes. I call it my happy place and just being there is like therapy! Maybe there is something about Feng Shui or vibes or kharma or I don't know, but of all the places I have been to in Myrtle Beach (including the beach, restaurants, sights, other peoples homes etc.) this Yoga studio has the most positive effect on whatever mood I am in. It might be that all the sweet people that go in and out there just leave a little bit of peace and happyness there for others to soak up :)
But even with that said, I do still feel - like anyone who is selfemployed - that I have yet to find that balance of work and leasure time. Artistic work, paperwork tasks (for the lack of a better word, ha, well, you know, bills, bookkeeping, filing, sorting etc.), prep work for moving and the WHOLE rest of my life, which is everything from grocery shopping to spending quality time with my husband and my lovely daughters (I always call them that, with a British Accent, ha, ha) are intertwined and mingled. The next few weeks I will try to do better in accomplishing all my work-related tasks in the morning so all the other things can have my undivided attention later on. Maybe that is another thing I learned from being around people that do yoga: be present! Well, maybe nothing new: one of my favorite quotes has always been "Carpe Diem".
 May this year be full of memorable moments, may the new beginnings be easier with a deep sense of gratitude for how good life has been so far and may we and everyone around us be striving for a more aware state of mind :)