Some really fabulous interiors!

These days it is a bit hard to think of decorating and DIYs after all that we have been through with Hurricane Sandy.  

The first floor of my house is being ripped out down to the beams in order to remove all the sewage and salt water that came into the house.  We have to replace floors, walls, furniture, boiler, electric panel, hot water heater, etc… It is incomprehensible to think of how much it is going to take to revitalize our home, our community and all the damaged areas.

I am also getting a real lesson on how homeowner's insurance works or better yet not work for you when you are in need. If you don't have about $9,000 dollars in your back pocket to shell out to get your quintessentials like boiler, electric, water, bare necessaties to live,  you will be out in the cold for a long time!  Homeowner's insurance can take up to 60-90 days!  Oh, if you have homeowner's insurance and flood, FEMA does not give you anything!!  Have heard the expression "up the creek without a paddle"? Well, that is many of us!

So, I am trying my best to see if there is a bright side to all of this… However, I can't speak for anyone else.  Eventhough, it is going to be a long and arduous process, I am becoming a little excited about having to redo my living space. 

Here are some beautifully deocrated rooms I've gathered to inspire me in this endeavor.

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Source: housebeautiful.com via Sheer on Pinterest

Source: housebeautiful.com via Sheer on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Sheer on Pinterest

I hope you follow along with me as I try to restore my home one step at a time!

Thank you for stopping by!

Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

This past few weeks seems so surreal, everyone in our community has been displaced and all had some sort of damage to their properties like loss of power, heat, loss of personal belongings, etc. from Hurricane Sandy.  Eventhough everyone lost something, there were degrees of losses.  Many homes were completely crushed by the ocean or destroyed by fire.  Mostly everyones's basement was flooded and lost all contents in it.   My whole house was damaged from wind and water,  my basement was flooded and water went 2ft up to my first floor.  All my materials for my etsy business was lost, my husband the contractor lost all his tools and his truck.  I am still trying to wrap my head around all our losses!

This was my livingroom before Sandy's wrath!  Eventhough I used to complain it was too boring, it wasn't terrible.

This is the damage done to my livingroom from Sandy… Now this is terrible!

I want to try to salvage my kithen cabinets… Keeping my fingers crossed!

All our furniture and belongings are out and ready for the garbage dump!

Everyone's pocessions in the garbage!

I tell myself, the floors needed to be changed anyway, I didn't like my sofas and I needed to brighten up my first floor!  I guess a disasterous hurricane is what it takes for me to make a change…Ha!  Once we get back in the house, there will be alot of DIYs going on, I hope you follow me as I try to restore my home after Hurricane Sandy.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Birthday to my son Christopher!

Today my son is 28 years old… Where does the time go?  It seems like yesterday I was rushing to the hospital to give birth to him.  Well, twenty-eight years have passed and he grew up to be one heck of a guy!

Happy Birthday to a great son!

How do we begin to restore after Sandy?

The trail of devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy has left myself and so many people bewildered and shocked.  Every single family in our community and communities along the coast has lost so much.  Cars floated away or submerged in water,  basements were flooded with water up to the ceilings.  Water even had entered the main floors in homes, destroying  furniture, appliances, cabinets and so much more.

We loved to take walks on the beach to see the breathtaking ocean on one side and the beautiful beach front homes on the other side.  Now all along the beach the homes are completely destroyed by the ocean's wrath.  It is heartbreaking to see people's home mangled beyond recognition, crushed as if a giant stomped on them.  After Super Storm Sandy, I look at the ocean with trepidation and uneasiness.   It is such a feeling of uneasiness to know that this body of water is so powerful and can wipe out an area with such brut force. 

As I walked along the beach, this is what I see now...

There once was a big beautiful house in the above picture of rubble, at the entrance stood pillars with the horse heads guarding the house. 

The destruction is incomprehensible, to restore our community will be a daunting task.  However, one day I do see ourselves walking along the beach and seeing beautifully rebuilt homes better than ever.

Sandy also wreaked havoc on my home,  I will show you the damage it caused soon.

Thank you for stopping by!

Better late than never!

I was supposed to write a post on an event "Spooktacular" that took place at my friend's Joe Mure's house the day before Hurricane Sandy… The day after the event is when Sandy came and turned our world upside down  and inside out, I was a "little" busy dealing with that, not to mention I had no access to a computer.  That is why I'm so late with this post.

Anyway, the Spooktacular event was a fundraiser for a little girl named Valentina in our community and all others suffering with Rett Syndrome.  Rett Syndrome is an illness that mainly effects girls and is recognized at infancy.  Some of the symptoms of this terrible illness are loss of speech and motor control, compulsive hand movements, labored breathing, severe digestive problems, seizures throughout the day, Parkinsonian tremor and the list goes on.  

This is the second year that Joe Mure,  the parent's of Valentina and other wonderful caring neighbors and friends are hosting this event "Spooktacular"  to raise money for research to aid in finding a cure.

Joe decorated for "Spooktacular" all along is yard...

Neighbor across Joe also participated by decorating with festive halloween decorations!

Scooby Doo Van 

 The original Batmobile from "The Dark Knight" was there to help raise money.  What an amazing car!

Batman and Batgirl made his grand entrance in a NYC fire engine…

My son was one of the lucky ones to go inside the car.  He was in his glory!

Families really got into it… Fabulous costumes!

It was a great turn out!

Anyone who would like to know more about Rett Syndrome or donate to help finding a cure,

please visit Rett Syndrome Research Trust.

Thank you for stopping by!