Monday, February 28, 2011

Hole in the wall

We have hit a couple of snags along the way in this bathroom reno. Of course I pouted and then things ended up working out (the latter did not depend on the former.)

One of these things was that we had to decide on a new layout. Since our bathroom is on the 2nd floor, it was going to be too difficult to move the toilet that far from the original spot without ruining a couple of floor joists. And the last thing we want is for the bathtub to end up in the kitchen because the floors aren't rock-solid.

So after several days of working over this puzzle, we decided on a new floor plan which puts a ding in my "shower on the whole back wall" plan. BUT, it will still be great!

We found a claw foot tub at an adorable antique warehouse in Ft. Worth (can't remember the name right now, but will share later.) Patrick & Todd came over to help Kennedy haul it upstairs (while Amy, Emily & I hung out with the dogs downstairs.) Now it's sitting in our gutted bathroom, and it's beautiful. I'll share close-up photos later.

The biggest change we've seen (besides the plumbing and electrical being done) is a brand new window in the wall that was not previously there. I think it will be best if I can just show you with these photos....


Before, we had one window above the toilet. (That's the old tub and old toilet, by the way)


Now! Nice big window (You can see part of that claw foot beaut in the corner). The tub will be centered under the window (and I'll put some frosted film on the window for privacy, don't worry Mom!)

If you notice, there's a cute little white dog in that bathroom. Oh, and Kennedy is installing a bigger window in the other pre-existing window spot. He's sooooo handy!


It's in, it's level! I think we have a window addiction right now....


Another view of that big, beautiful window. I'm obsessed with it. It's even better during the day!


Kennedy is finishing up the window (and this is tonight - a weeknight! How does he keep up with all of this?)

That's all I got for the night. Thanks for reading!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Fireworks

Today Kennedy and I picked up ANOTHER window from Dallas (bringing our grand total of windows bought for this bathroom renovation to 9!)

We won't use 9 windows in the bathroom, we just kind of got carried away, and now we have 9 really inexpensive, brand-new windows (thanks Craigslist!)

Traffic was horrible for no reason at all, other than the fact that Dallas is home to some of the worst drivers in the world. I hate to badmouth that wonderful city, but their standards for Drivers Ed are severely lacking.

One good thing that came out of it is that we got to hear Katy Perry's song, Fireworks, on the radio. It's funny because that song NEVER comes on the radio (sarcasm)!



Kennedy got to hear me belt it out at the top of my lungs. He started laughing, probably because he was so shocked at how good I am, and surprised at how I hit every single note.

Now I have the song stuck in my head, but just that one part: "Baby you're a fiiiiiiiiiiiiirework, c'mon show 'em whaaaaaaaaat you're worth!"


Now that you've read this post, you will also have only that part stuck in your head.

You're welcome.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Bathroom, Interrupted

I hate to disappoint, but it's not much fun taking pictures of a gutted bathroom (after the first time.) Progress continues to be made (thanks to Kennedy, pictured below.)

Unfortunately, it's not the kind of progress that is particularly interesting at this point in time. So in the meantime, I'll show some befores and afters of one room that has been completed for a while now (until I figure out how to decorate it, anyway!)

Meet the office
Move-in day

Then, a little later...

Another shot of the giant window - unfinished at this point.


If you click that link, you can see my wishlist. Well as of today, the only thing on that list that is currently in our office is that beautiful desk we scored on Craigslist. It was $200 but we considered it a steal since it is an antique naval officer's desk. Still trying to find out it's exact origination, but we know it was made in Chicago, so we are imagining it came from the Navy Pier (where we spent a few days after Kennedy and I got engaged.) Anyway, boring, I know. 

Moving along....

Here are some photos of what our office looks like NOW!

Literally, I took the pictures just now.

Notice the crown molding and baseboards that the Hulk, I mean Kennedy, installed himself! Scroll up to look at the very first picture so you can see what a dramatic difference it makes. 


New closet doors, also installed by the Hulk.

Now that I'm looking at the pictures, I'm hating that rug with those curtains ($8.99 per panel for Waverly curtains at Ross!), so I'm thinking I should switch it out for something like this:


This will give it a little more of a nautical feel. Yes, I think that's what I'm going for...

We need to hang our diplomas on the wall, among other decorations. Perhaps I'll get around to printing and framing the pictures from my wish list post!

For now, we are satisfied with our progress on the office. Stay tuned, I may decide it needs to be pink!


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Snow Day #5

Dear Texas,

It snowed a little, but not enough to measure with a standard ruler. You closed everything anyway. That's one of the reasons I love you.

Love,
Sara

It was a nice surprise to wake up to no work for the 5th time in 2 weeks, but one thing that is NOT a nice surprise is how the dogs want to go out every 5 minutes to wrestle in the "snow". It's not snow anymore, though. It's now just really cold mud. And do you know how hard it is to wipe really cold mud off of a dog's paws? It's hard. Especially because I can't justify making them rinse off in the pool at this point in time...

They are cute, though.

In other news, I came home late from work last night, and my dear husband showed me his continued demo progress on the bathroom! He cut the studs out that were separating the bathroom, closets and toilet closet thing. He also pulled out the vanity, soffit above the vanity and the last mirror.

Now it's nice and open!

All that's left is to pull up the marble tile on the floor and get that gigantic tub outta here!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ahead of Schedule

One way to force yourself into taking on a project that seems a little scary at first is to act impulsively!

We were only gonna take down the mirrors and doors yesterday, but as you can see from the following photos, we got a little carried away.

This is good because it puts us ahead of schedule! This is bad because we have bought nothing (NOTHING) to begin this bathroom renovation, except for a crow-bar combo pack and a sledgehammer. Oh and some construction trash bags.

Kennedy is currently working on getting the corroded vanity faucets off the wall so we can carry the vanity out to the garage and perform all sorts of magic on it!

Just to remind you of what it looked like before:


Enjoy our destruction!

Bags full of drywall greet us at the top of the stairs - This is only from today - there are 15 bags on the front porch from yesterday. I'm sure our neighbors are wondering if we are chopping up dead bodies over here. (Sorry, I let Dexter influence my imagination.)

We still have a lot of framing to tear out, but it's a start! (Hey Kennedy, nice socks!)

Look at all the fun exposed wires!

Most of the shower is torn out...

Have fun, Kennedy! I'm gonna go blog about all the hard work you're doing! (Just kidding, I helped clean!)

Total spent so far: $40.00 (New tools & trash bags) 
Total saved so far: $1500? How much does someone charge to smash up a bathroom?

Saturday, February 5, 2011

It has begun

As I sit here, wasting my life away on the computer, I hear this:

Pound - Pound - Pound - SHATTER.

The bathroom renovation has begun. And it sounds like Kennedy's new sledgehammer was just introduced to our 1970s mirrored cove.

Good-bye for now - I must fetch a dustpan!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Stick a fork in my living room wall...

I've finally finished stenciling that confounded wall in the living room!

And it doesn't look bad, if I do say so myself...


And now for my disclaimer!

Do not perform this project if any of the following apply to you:

1. You have a short temper when it comes to math
2. You don't have a large chunk of time to waste (Thank you, inclement weather days...)
3. You don't have a pint of Ben & Jerry's to reward yourself when you come to a stopping point

DO perform this project if the following things apply to you:
1. You're a cheapskate (To the tune of under $5)
2. You are extremely patient
3. You have a lot of wall space and nothing to use it for

Here are the cutest dogs in the world admiring the stenciled wall.

I had honestly not even thought about this wall. Kennedy and I have commitment issues. As a result, we haven't really hung things on the walls in our house. Except for a few mirrors here and there, we have NO ARTWORK displayed. Anyway, the thought struck me after strolling through the blog-o-sphere and seeing some neat projects here and there.

I found a great tutorial from Centsational Girl's blog for a Painted Trellis Wall, and used that as my starting point.

Then I went to Wal-mart (ugh) and bought a poster board for 38 cents, and 3 small bottles of champagne colored acrylic paint.

I first decided which stencil I wanted and played around with how to draw it. I ended up using a ruler and a salad plate as guides. Here's where all that fuzzy math comes in with levels and rulers and such. It was a nightmare, but it's true what the Army says: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

I am the world's worst blogger, and don't want to show you step by step, so if you have any questions about this little project, just ask me! Right now, Kennedy is pressuring me into cleaning the house with him. He has bribed me with Jason's Deli for dinner. He knows my weaknesses and has exploited them. Quick, look at Elvis!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Don't try this at home...

Seriously, I can't wait to be done with this stencil wall. For one, it will look REALLY good when it's all done. For another, I can't wait to unload all of the complaints I have about this project!!!

For now, I will share with you a low-quality iPhone picture of the progress I made while watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Reunion Show Part 1 (which I had already watched once, so I could listen and know exactly what was going on!) Progress is actually further along than the photo depicts. Yay for me.

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