Massive miscellanous update - Property/Business edition

I finally reached my max capacity for working 7 days a week.  We were just getting ready to make an offer to someone to work every Saturday and Sunday in the boutique when she offered to lease the boutique instead.  This means it will be open full time.  This means it will expand, offer more and better stuff, and hopefully reach its full potential (which I didn't have time or energy for).  This means I get my weekends, and my life again.  This means we will still have some income from the boutique, probably more than when I was running it just on the weekends.  And it even means that we are offering an opportunity to someone who really wants it, is extrememly grateful, loves the property, AND has a zillion years more experience in running a boutique than I do (which would be just about anyone, haha).  But seriously, she does have a ton of experience and that experience has been completely autonomous on her part, which sounds perfect and win-win to us.  Thanks Kristy!!

We also think we're very close to a restaurant solution.  We are talking with a very experienced restauranteur in the area to take on breakfast/brunch and some catered events in the gallery space.  I'll update as we progress, but it's looking good!

We're finally listed on flipkey.com, homeaway.com, and vrbo.com.  Here are the links for the Redfish:
http://www.vrbo.com/391708
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p932390
http://www.flipkey.com/matlacha-cottage-rentals/p325479/

and for the Tarpon:
http://www.vrbo.com/392267
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p952204
http://www.flipkey.com/matlacha-cottage-rentals/p334157/

I need to update some pictures since they were all done at different times and I didn't always have the same pics available.  Speaking of pics, here is the final few updates of the Tarpon.  Note the coral rug in the living room and the curtains in the half bath.  Just in time for our first tenants checking in this Friday!

Tweeking the decor in the Redfish, Tarpon complete less one LONG awaited rug

It's funny - in taking all these pictures of the decor, sometimes it takes seeing a picture to realize that I don't like something in real life.  That is what happened with these yellow tables.

Looking at the pictures, I realized they looked too dorm room/color by number/bright/matchy-matchy, etc etc.  Every time I looked at the room it just screamed HEY!  I'm Yellow!  Did you SEE ME?  I'm YELLOW!  It became my new mission to replace them.  I also thought some of the art we placed would do better slightly moved around.  I decided a mirror next to the door would be awesome to reflect the water view from the other side of the cottage, and since we placed a small shelving unit on the right wall, the art there had to be moved.  So the final result is here.  I do not see anything drastically changing from these pictures.

Here's the bedroom w/ the bed made differently....SO important and life-changing, I know.

And.....since my last posting of the Tarpon, we did a few additions; wall art and curtains.  We are literally one freaking taking forever rug away from this being finished.  And maybe a light fixture once I figure out what to do about the cobalt blue.

Stick a fork in this cause they're done!

AND holy crap!  As I was editing this post THE RUG ARRIVED.  I can't believe it.  I ordered this mo-fo in August.  You will have to bear with one more set of update pics next week :)

This past week was a big downer.  Found out our 16 1/2 year old kitty has lymphoma.  The vet expects him to have another 3-4 weeks.  The only possible treatment is chemo, and I am not going to put a geriatric cat through that. 

I covered his belly for the picture since it is still shaven from his ultrasound.  He's doing very well though, all things considered.  He had stopped eating almost completely but with a combination of appetite stimulants, syringe feeding, sub-q fluids and predisone, he is eating (and eliminating) normally again. 
Took some updated pics w/ the new camera this weekend.  Still on auto as I didn't have much time or energy to play around w/ the settings.  New from the last set of pics: we got a piece of glass for the table behind the sofa, got the TV service started, upholstered the bench by the bed, painted and upholstered the desk chair, painted the desk, got a piece of mirror for the dark frame that will go over the desk, got a larger flamingo picture, and hung a few more things on the walls. 

Next weekend I hope to hang all the curtains.  We're putting a panel on the wall behind the bed, in the spaces between the large door/windows in the front room, over the small bathroom window, and over the shelves above the laundry.  Still waiting on the living room rug; last word was it should ship next week.

Well the Tarpon cottage has really come along.  We painted the entire place (save for some touch up in the bathroom) and have all the furniture in except for this rug still on order.   It was supposed to ship the end of Sept and is now delayed until mid-Nov.  I will be pretty fired up if I wait this long and it winds up being canceled so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just a delay.

I'll show the pics I took this weekend and then describe what is still to be done.  There's quite a bit but fortunately I will be working on it during the week at home in Tampa and not trying to fit it in while down in Matlacha.

Here is the front room, i.e. second or spare bedroom.  The doorway is to the left of the first picture.  We will move the fishing poles when we start to rent this out.  I think we may also paint the futon frame white or maybe espresso.

The fabric hanging is what I have on order to make curtains.  I'll hang 2 skinny panels to hang between the windows (to the left of where the fabric is in the pic).  They will be mostly for decoration but will function to cover the windows if desired.  Also those large dark fish on the floor will become wall art once I get the hanger things for them.

The flamingo picture is too small; we will get a larger one and/or fill in w/ other art.  There will be a mirror hanging over the desk.

The desk and chair are now in the garage waiting for primer and paint.   I am torn between a look like this

orange desk, white chair, turquoise and white fabric.

OR

white desk, orange chair, this for the seat (only on the reverse side where it's white w/ orange dots).

Onto the great room.  Still missing the above referenced rug, the pictures need to be hung, and I'll probably add another set of throw pillows on the couch.  I reupholstered the ottoman this weekend though and I'm lovin it!  Also didn't show the part of the room by the door as it was messy.  The table behind the couch is pending a new piece of glass and there is a plain board on it to hold things.  Also....I have to find a new light for over the island if I can't find replacement covers.  They are currently cobalt blue and while they don't bother the husband, I am way too AR to see past them in this color scheme.  In a perfect world I would have more neutral tile in the kitchen and bath too (or maybe I would have planned my colors around what is there, but that would have been too easy).

And the bedroom - the footstool is not upholstered yet i just have the fabric laying on it.  A few more pictures and there's really not much else to do in there.  Actually I take that back.  The more I look at these pics the more I want to see some fabric behind the bed.  The wall is small enough that maybe I'll hang curtains across the whole thing.

I might need to paint the wooden frame around that window white.  There's also no way to center the bed on the window and have a reasonable amount of room to get in/out of bed on that side.  So off-center it is and AR be dammed.

I got a new camera today - the Canon G11.  I am so excited and anticipate future pictures will look much better.  They better, anyway... that's how I sold the camera purchase to Chris :)