Walls! We have walls!

04 April 2011 | 1 Comments

The drywall is done.  Dave has been furiously stripping the old baseboards, prepping for primer and vacuuming up the mounds of dust that drywall entails.  I {mostly} have a plan together for putting the room together.  It’s such a gamble trying to decide if I’ll like something or hate it when it’s in the concept phase.  I haven’t figured out if it’s going to be good or a total disaster… I also haven’t figured out what to do with the weird soffit or the layout of the room.  If you have ideas, I’ll gladly hear them. 

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Here is the closet.  We’re doing something fun in there, inspired by the fabulous Sara and her drool-worthy hall closet.  What a great thing to open the closet doors and just smile from a dash of color in an unexpected place.

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And lookie here, it’s my clean up crew…  I paid him in cheesy crackers and watermelon.

Child labor laws?  What?

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Sunday, Rainy Sunday.

03 April 2011 | 14 Comments

The brown. Oooooh the brown.  I can’t wait for the green, I am ready for it. 

It’s been a long winter here in Ohio.  And an even longer rainy dreary cold early spring.

This week is promising temps in the 60s and I’m holding my breath in anticipation.

It’ll be so nice to take walks in t shirts.  I can’t wait to ditch the coats and sweaters.  I’m trying to be patient, but Mother Nature has other plans apparently.  Doesn’t she know it’s April?

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Monty doesn’t mind the cold or the rain, as long as he is invited to the park.  

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Here is a 27 week bump pic.  This week I told Dave, I feel like I went from ‘cute’ pregnant to just feeling as big as a house.  I ordered some new maternity clothes to get me through to the end and right now they are too big, but everything else feels too small.  It’s that frumpy yuck stage. 

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DIY Bathroom Remodel

01 April 2011 | 15 Comments
You know, there is nothing like being in the midst of another hellacious lovely remodel {By the way, we now BEDROOM WALLS!  Yay!} with drywall dust in every crevice of the house to remind you that you’re an awful blogger. 

Michelle, an awful blogger?  No, it can’t be true!

So, you probably don’t remember this post or this one either because it was  A YEAR ago.  Um. 

See above description of worst blogger ever.

First, I should say how incredibly proud I am of Dave and my Daddy O because aside from the drywall, they did everything themselves.  Well, I did most of the painting.  You know, because I’m such a big help.  Ahem.  Anywho, it pays to marry well and have a handy Dad.  They kicked all kinds of remodel ass.

I love this house.  I’ve come to terms that it isn’t our forever house though, so we wanted to make the bathroom nice, but didn’t want to spend top dollar.  To keep the remodel under $2k we kept the tub & glass surround {more about that in a bit} the tile floor that is in great shape {& set in cement} and the toilet.  Everything else came out completely down to the studs.  The old horsehair plaster ceiling, walls, everything.  We added much needed insulation in the walls, Dave updated the last of the knob & tube wiring with Romex, the plumbing was updated, and extra support was added in the walls.  We also had the added bonus of being able to add a new light switch into Finn’s room which is on the other side of the wall.

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knob & tube wiring

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And now onto the Before & Afters…

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My favorite thing about the room is the way we painted it.  The ceilings in the room are really high and the paint just draws your eye up.  I used Behr Elephant Skin on the bottom two feet, then Behr Cathedral Gray in the middle three feet, then Behr Graceful Gray on the top & the ceiling.  We had intended on white bead board, but made a last minute decision to ditch that idea.

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The original sink and mirror and light were mounted really low on the wall.  Like abnormally low.  Instead of going with another medicine cabinet mounted in the wall, we decided to go with a free standing unit that is a lot bigger.  I also love that it has a mirror both on the outside and inside of the cabinet.  We went with a white pedestal sink.   Dave added another outlet {there was only one before} and it has a built in nightlight.

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You can see the paint colors here as well.  Dave added the fan switch on this wall along with the light.  You can also see the new hardware for the glass shower doors here.  It went from a 1980s square to a sleek polished chrome towel bar.  My mom had the glass surround put in and when we found out the cost of replacing it {the end piece is stationary glass with two sliding shower doors} we decided to just reuse the old one instead.  Dave contacted Agalite about finding replacement gaskets and they sent us all new hardware, gaskets, and everything for our specific set up free of charge.  Their customer service was AMAZING.

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Hideous 80s tub surround gone and replaced by white subway tile.  The shower feels so much bigger with the absence of the old surround.  Shampoos are now stored neatly in built in ceramic corner units.  Dave also raised the showerhead and tile about six inches for tall peeps like himself.

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A close up so you can appreciate the hideous, painted over about 700 times original woodwork, Dave painstakingly stripped and repainted.  It was so caked on that you couldn’t even see the detail in the molding anymore.  Now, it’s absolutely gorgeous.  We also got a Gila kit and frosted the window on top and bottom {24 hour privacy} in lieu of a window treatment.  It lets in so much light during the day!

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So there you have it.  Our DIY bathroom remodel.  Hope you like it!

Finnisms

31 March 2011 | 12 Comments

Finn: Were you preg-a-net with me a long time when I was a baby?

Me: Yep, nine months.

Finn:  A long LONG time?

Me:  Almost a year.

Finn:  Ok, and when are you going to not be preg-a-net?

Me:  July

Finn:  July Forf-th?

Me:  Yep.

Finn:  Um, ok.

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Finn: You smell like mint.  Did you eat a mint?

Me: I just put my lip stuff on.  {Burt’s Bees} 

Finn: Can you tell me the difference… is it minty fresh or just mint?

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Finn:  Mom, do you want a piece of Pez candy?  Say yes or no.

Me:  No.

Finn:  You want it?

Me:  No, I don’t. 

Finn:  Well here it is.  You can save it for the morning if you want.  I don’t like these ones.

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Finn:  It is really nice outside.  We could stay out here for a couple days.  You know, have a little guy time.

Dave: Buddy, you crack me up.

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Finn:  {Just out of the bath.}  Mom, smell my armpits.

Me:  Ooooh they smell like strawberries!

Finn:  Ok, now smell my butt.

Me:  I’m not going to smell your butt.

Finn:  Why?  It smells like strawberries too!  It smells good.

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*My mom & I may have been lost-ish in downtown Ann Arbor*

Me:  Mom, want to ask that guy {standing on the street who looked admittedly a little sketchy} directions?

Finn:  That’s a BAD man.

Me:  Finn, why would you say that?  You don’t know that!

Finn:  He writes on walls!

*My mom & I are laughing at this point, but obviously not paying enough attention to Finn so he clarified.*

Finn: He writes on CITY walls!

{BTW, I have zero clue why he thought this guy was a tagger and/or how he even knew that people do this.}

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Me:  How much was that check you wrote to John?

Dave:  Two

Finn:  Hundred Million Dollars!

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