2025 started off very slowly after 2024 ended like a lion. It was great to be able to reset and work on personal projects, even if I ended up making 3 weeks of income in just the final 10 days!

The first project I took on, redoing the dining room, was really an impulsive thing. I was just fed up with the dining room set that came with the house. It was the last major bit of the original furniture that I didn’t like (the sofas are still just fine!) and I was just over the smelly water-damaged china cabinet and broken chairs. I posted the set on MarketPlace with a very honest description of all the issues and was surprised to not only have a ton of interest but to sell it within 24 hours! A gentleman asked to come see it and he bought it on the spot! I encountered a great flete (moving) service last summer, so we called them up and they were available and nearby, so the transaction was painless. I was shocked. I then spent the next day shopping for a new dining room set and not being happy with any of the new offerings but also not sure I wanted to have anything made for me. I wanted something warm, with purple, maybe a bit of a tropical vibe (like caning or rattan), and a glass top to protect a wooden table. Oh, and it had to fit my usual spur-of-the-moment-I-did-not-budget-for-this budget.

Something like this, that was posted the day after I sold my set and delivered within a few hours. Some things are meant to be!

I found that china cabinet the same day. It wasn’t what I had in mind, but it would fit in that corner, freeing up a lot of space in the room for another I idea I had, the colour was similar to the table and chairs, and the price was right. This too came very quickly and I am very pleased with it.

The girls approve of the new set. Close up of the sweet pattern on the chair fabric, which has a stain-resistant treatment on it. What are the odds I’d find chairs with purple seats to match the curtains?!

The last two bits to finish off the dining room came later in the month. A bargain version (pine) of my dream dresser for this space — this was new and such a deal I had to jump on it. The drawers have metal rails. The colour isn’t as dark as the rest of the room, but it still pulls a bit of the red of the cedar.

The gentleman who sold me the china cabinet pulled off a miracle and found me a wardrobe suitable to use as a broom and vacuum cupboard! I’ve been looking for one for years, but the hanging area is never tall enough for a broom. This is something the house really needs, a central space to store cleaning and home maintenance tools, and it doesn’t look like a utility cupboard. It’s in good shape, does not smell musty (a question I got), and has great patina. I’m slowly realising my goal of mostly filling the house with high quality used furniture rather than cheap new disposable pieces.

This cupboard will be for the vacuum cleaner. I’m going to make a hole in the back to pass a power cord so I can mount my Dyson charger in it.

The other side has plenty of room for mops, brooms, squeegees, dusters, and more. I’ll mount hooks once I know what I need.

The middle section is already full of cleaning products and tools, offering one drawer and plenty of shelf space.

Simultaneously to the dining room, I set to work mostly finishing up the kitchen after seeing my dream second island on Marketplace. Well, kind of. It was white and too narrow and not tall enough, but it was the design of drawers and shelves behind a door that I wanted. I decided to see if I could break my carpenter curse and contacted the company to see if they could make me one to my specifications and colours. Yep, and the price was right, so I ordered it. The next day, after much thought and number crunching, I sent them these two rough sketches to get their thoughts on a second piece. Drawing over a photo on the iPad is the design tool I did not know I needed! They suggested combining my designs and gave me another great quote, so I ordered it as well! This photo has a HUGE hint for another major improvement to the kitchen thanks to my amazing clients, but you’ll have to wait for the kitchen tour to hear about that!

A couple of weeks after I got the quote, they messaged to ask if they could come take their own measurements for that second, built-in piece. They arrived with the first piece done, and I hadn’t even paid a deposit, much less knew they were working on it! It was such a healing moment after the nightmare of two years before. I was beyond thrilled with the result and pulled off another MarketPlace miracle that very day… finding the perfect almost matching piece of granite for the top and having it delivered quickly. Yep, the kitchen curse was broken.

I spent hours of my impromptu weeks off working on my bag that I mentioned in the December post.

To say that I’m happy with this bag is an understatement. It’s gorgeous, and I’m so proud of the work I did putting it together.

I found a new ramen place in January and despite telling them no eggs and no mushrooms, I got eggs and mushrooms. Jammy duck eggs had been such a hit in September that I decided I had the perfect opportunity to try chicken eggs again as I knew I love this method of preparation and would not have an ick factor. The egg was marinated in soy sauce, so it did not smell badly at all. I took one bite and… nope, nope, nope. It tasted rotten. So my egg intolerance thing really isn’t just in my head. 🙁 At least I know that for sure now.

January was mostly freezing cold, as evidenced by the fact that I wore real jeans during most of it.

Finally, January 2025 was extra special because it’s the month I finally got my Yucatán driver’s license!