Winter, Why Do You Stay So Long?!

It's that time of year that I walk outside into the shock of cold and ask myself, "Remind me, why do we live here???". The cold and snow are fine for the holidays - they add to the whole Norman Rockwell/It's a Wonderful Life feel of the season, but once it's over, if it were up to me, we'd head right into spring. But, that is not to be the case, so what to do with what we have??? This is a perfect time of year to settle in and read those business books that got pushed to the wayside during the busyness of the summer/fall months and then the holidays. There are a few that I am really enjoying reading that I highly recommend.

If you are pondering/planning on remodeling your kitchen you MUST check out and read, Everything And The Kitchen Sink. It's a great book full of pictures and ideas for making the absolute most of your kitchen and kitchen remodel.

If you are planning on remodeling other areas of your home, I highly recommend reading The Not So Big Remodel to get some great ideas about making the most of the space you already have in your home and how to make it so personally your own space, just right for the way you live.

And for business owners, a favorite marketing book of mine that is always great to pick up and refresh on a couple of chapters of is, Guerrilla Marketing. A very timely book about marketing at low or not cost. I have gotten some amazing ideas that really work from this book.

So, make the most of this cold, gloomy weather by hunkering down by the fire with a cup of your favorite hot drink and a great read. Reading one of these recommendations will get you fired up and ready to look ahead and plan for better days. ENJOY!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy 2010!!! Here at R & W, we have already gotten off to a great start in the new year. On New Year's Day, there was an article on R & W in the Chicago Tribune talking about some of the things that we, at R & W, are passionate about. We have great plans and goals for this year that will keep us VERY busy. We have many certifications we hope to obtain - Universal Design, LEED, Lead Removal, Energy Auditing and Lead Carpenter Certification for our lead carpenter. We plan to also work on a presentation on the Not So Big® concept (building better, not bigger) that we can present at libraries, civic group gatherings and more. We will blog about each of the steps as we work toward them.

Here are before and after pictures from our most recent kitchen remodel:




We wish for all of our readers a happy, healthy and FUN 2010.