I Have a New Skill

I know how to grout! It's that exciting?! Most of you are probably saying, "um, no." Our bathroom floor was in sad shape. The grout was flaking out in places. In other places the previous owners had unsuccessfully tried to fix the problem w/ gray grout (the grout's white) and white caulk. It was hideous and such a mess. I hated the floor. I started scraping the grout out in October, maybe. I've been working on it slowly since then (it's a huge bathroom). I finished it up last week just in time for my Dad's visit. I guess you could say I had a "Daddy Do list."

We regrouted the floor today and it looks phenomenal! At first, Dad did the work and I just watched, but after some prodding (since it's my floor), he let me do the work. We worked together on 3/4 of it, but I totally finished the last part. Next week, I'm regrouting the kids' bathroom! I'm addicted to pretty white grout lines. The rest of my house must have them!

Dad working - he was so not into me taking pictures.

The finished floor. Isn't it beautiful! We'll seal it tomorrow and it's all done. If I'd known it was going to be that easy, it would have been much higher on my to-do list...and on my list, not my daddy do list.

Pictures of My Room

I'm DONE! Dan said it looks pretty much the same, but when forced (and believe me I forced), he could tell the problems I fixed and agreed it looks much better...even though it's the same color. Good Dan!

I'm super thrilled with it. Before, the walls were semi-gloss so you could see every imperfection. The previous owners used big anchors EVERYWHERE so all the places I removed the anchors and patched could be seen. The patches have actually been glaring at me just daring me to fix them. They painted on the ceiling and the baseboards and I truly don't believe the baseboards had been cleaned for years. I know...I've tried and couldn't get all the built up dirt and dog hair. It's so pretty now. There's a crisp line between the moldings, ceiling and walls. The walls are flat so you can't see every little thing. The moldings are clean and white and will be so easy to maintain. (I've already decided my next project - after the grout - will be to repaint all the trim in the house). Sorry, no before pictures, but take my word for it, it looked horrible and dirty.

I'm on the hunt for a new quilt because mine is in bad shape with rips and wear. I've actually bought 2 and returned them. The hunt continues....


So, you can see the lengths I had to go to...check out that ledge. It's really high and I had to crawl all over it.
The color is way off in this picture, obviously. I love the color. It's Behr Butter Cookie - sounds good enough to eat or lick maybe!

I had these pictures over my bed, but moved them to the hall to add the wall words above the bed. I love them in the hall. It's been so empty.

The Work Has Begun

Our master bathroom is done! It took two nights to paint and of that 2/3 of my time was spent cutting in. I hate painting kitchens and bathrooms. It's so much easier to paint bedrooms. After the painting, it took another day to replace the first new light fixture with a different one, buy upgraded towel bar and toilet paper holder and put everything back into the bathroom. The first light I bought was so pretty and way too much money. I was worried it would be too short and I was right. For what I paid for that light fixture, I was thrilled to get a new light (that looks right) and the new towel bar and toilet paper holder. The ones in there were so cheap. I painted the bathroom the exact same color in flat instead of semi-gloss so I can touch-up as needed and it looks so much better. I also painted a little shelf and hung a new picture. I still need to do some trim painting, but I'll do that when I do the trim in the bedroom.

I got our bedroom prepped today. I'm going to touch up around the ceiling with ceiling paint tonight (because the previous owners were STUPID and got paint all over the edges of the ceiling). Then, I'm hoping to be able to get the room primed and painted tomorrow and Monday. By Wednesday, my room should be all done. I'll post pictures then because the bathroom is a mess again with things from my bedroom piled in it.

Guess What I'm Doing Now

There are 2 rooms left in our house that I haven't touched and it's time to start working on them. Our bedroom and bathroom are in major need of paint and I want to get them painted before Dan leaves (so he can help move furniture :p). I'm very excited to get this project started. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but have been intimidated to do because it's such as a big project (as you can see by the 4 gallons of paint). Stay tuned for pictures!!!

The Little Things

Do you have anything in your house that just bugs you? With some things, after awhile, you get used to them and don't see the flaws anymore. Well, I have had something that's bugged me for 18 months....this cord. We have 2 cable jacks on our first floor: one in the living room and one of the wall above the kitchen counter. I think the kitchen is an odd place to have a cable jack, but then again, maybe I'm odd and people like having TVs in the kitchens. Anyway, we have our modem and router on a cabinet on the other side of this wall so we wrapped the cord around the wall rather than putting the modem and accompanying cords on the counter. I HATE it. It's bugged me since we first did it. Last week, I had a "duh" moment. We have cable in that wall, why not just move the cable. Of course, Dan tells me he would have done it if he'd known it bugged me. Apparently, I've kept my annoyance to myself. So while he was doing something else, I decide to investigate. I didn't want to go to the trouble of buying a new connectors, a splitter and whatever tools we'd need to split the cable. We don't really need cable in the kitchen. Dan got me the biggest drill bit we own and I drilled a hole through the back of the cable box and the wall behind it. We unplugged the cable from the cover, stuck it out the back through the hole and presto, no more cables running around the wall. I'm such a happy camper when I walk into my kitchen now! Look, no cord!

2 Coats Is All It Took

I am in love with our new green bathroom. The bathrooms are color coded. We had a red, green, blue and yellow bathroom. Now we have 2 green bathrooms...it could get confusing. Anyway, thankfully it only took 2 coats of paint to cover the walls because I really didn't want to have to buy more paint. The room before was red and dark and small. Now it feels clean and fresh and open. I think the ceiling is 2 feet higher now that it's painted white instead of dark red. Even Dan commented on how nice it looks, without me asking him! The only thing to do is paint the baseboards.

It's a tiny space so there's really not that much to see, but here are a few pictures. Sorry, no before, but the walls were the exact color of the red in the wreath. Now they are a soft, sage green.

Procrastinating on the Bedroom by...

I've been wanting to paint my bedroom for a LONG time. It's a huge job though as it's semi-gloss and has high ceilings. I'll have to prime the walls before I paint them with flat, my preferred finish. The sad thing is I really like the color and will probably paint a really similar shade. Only, it'll be a clean, fresh paint job that I'll be able to touch up and maintain easily.

So anyway, I just can't quite get myself started on the project, but I've felt the need to "do" something. As a procrastination, I decided to paint our half bathroom. The original owners painted it a pretty burgundy red semi-gloss. They not only painted the walls, but the ceiling and the woodwork. I've painted EVERYTHING with kilz and have put 4 coats of ceiling paint on the ceiling to cover up the red. I have a half gallon of green left over from our kitchen and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll only take 2 coats to cover since it's a color and not creamy white like the ceiling.

I'll try to post pictures when I'm finished, but it's a kind of small space to photograph. I'll be able to re-use the things I had hanging on the wall and will only need to purchase a towel hook for a hand towel. I have no idea why the builder put a huge towel bar in such a tiny bathroom. Must have been a man who did it :p. Anyway, I'm excited to get this project finished. Once I get our bedroom and bathroom done, I'll have repainted every wall in the house except the basement storage room and bath (although I have touched those up with left over paint). Next step, learning how to regrout tile!

Oh and since I'm on the subject of paint, I finally had our bay window bump-out and trim around the front door painted. They did a really good job. I love driving up and seeing the front of our house now. Yea.

Dan's Honey Do List

Dan was a busy boy yesterday, but he made me proud :p. The things on his list...fix the toilet, replace the dining room wall sconces and replace the foyer light fixture - all things I know nothing about. He went to Lowe's twice and Home Depot once to buy, return, and rebuy what he needed. I'm thrilled to tell you the toilet is now working and I love our new lights. Installation of all wasn't easy. The toilet gave Dan a small fit (but I helped him figure out how to take a clip off the new part to make it fit on the old clip instead of taking the entire toilet apart to make the new clip fit). The first light fixture didn't want to come down, but Dan triumphed over it. Removal and installation of the rest were easy and now Dan has a happy wife. Yea Dan!

I'm Done

I'M DONE! I'M DONE! I'M DONE! Want to hear that again? I'M DONE! I finished painting tonight. The stairwell is finished and now the colors flow from the front door to the back door, from the living room to the basement and back up to the bedrooms. I love it and it looks so good (if I do say so myself). I know I said I was going to do it last night, but I took a hot bath and read a book instead :p. I'm still not going to hang those pictures in the guest room, not yet anyway. I'll wait until the itch to move is impossible to resist and then I'll jinx new orders right into existence.