If you've ever hosted friends and family for holiday gatherings, you already know it's a lot of work. There's the initial planning and organizing of the gathering, prepping your home, and of course, the food you'll serve. This week, I'll be sharing my personal to-do list for organizing such gatherings- so stay tuned for some great tips.

This week, however, my husband and I are in full-on 'get it done' mode in our home. If you recall, we've been renovating our 100-year-old craftsman home for two years. We've ripped a lot of the house out, down to bare bones, and have started again. While our kitchen isn't fully finished (just trimmings to go!), we've moved on to smaller projects while waiting on things like kitchen tile.

We updated our downstairs bathroom with fresh, bold blue paint, and have painted all of the trim. We have new light fixtures that probably won't be installed before the holiday season begins, but I am happy knowing we have them and can install them when we have the time.

We also moved on to our butler's pantry. I know- the what!? They're making a big comeback in home homes, and I couldn't be more thrilled that we have one in ours. Our large built-in needed to have the glass replaced in the sliding doors (because the previous owners broke three of the glass panes when they moved their belongings out and didn't bother to tell us or fix them). Sacha replaced those over the weekend and began the arduous process of scraping layer after layer of paint (and you just know it's lead paint) off of the built-in and the trim. It actually all got primed over the weekend, and is ready for paint! I can't wait to see it painted and refreshed.

A huge goal of ours was to add a butcher block countertop all the way around this room before Thanksgiving. This is actually where we serve food from when we have people over. We already have one very long and deep piece up against the window wall, but we need to raise it, and then add two shallow countertop pieces to the two adjoining walls. And they also need to be stained and sealed. Can we do it? Not sure- lack of time is always a factor, but we are hopeful!

My husband is like the energizer bunny... he just keeps going and going, even when he's running low. I don't know how he does it. 

We're looking forward to hosting family and friends this month, and then it's full steam ahead onto Christmas.