Reason for MIA

Man, things have been dead on this blog for awhile!

We have been taking a break for a few months because baby #4 is on the way (arriving at the end of October)! I have been super sick, Dave has had to take over a lot of my normal "jobs", and neither of us had any energy or desire to work on our home. 

BUT

I have turned a corner and am excited to get working again!

The plan is to do the kitchen back splash this weekend. 

Wish us luck and I will post when it is done!

Quick Project=Big Impact

My closet came with a fluorescent light. Not just any florescent light but one with only one working bulb that would flicker constantly when turned on. I would literally get a headache if I had to be in there for more than a minute  which was daily since I couldn't see very well with the one bulb! 

The last working bulb finally burned out and we decided that it wasn't worth buying another florescent light bulb when we could put a cheap regular fixture in. 

This project happened so fast that I don't have any before pictures!

I sent Dave to the store and he bought a $11 double bulb fixture.  

(If you look close you can see the outline of the long and skinny florescent light)

Seriously, I can see every corner of my closet now. I am so happy! And no more headaches! 

It is the simple things sometimes that make the biggest difference. 

A New Roof

Last June there was a CRAZY hail storm. I have never experienced anything like it. It was so LOUD and it sounded like the windows and roof were going to break. This lead to a crazy summer and fall of new roofs for everyone we know. Having home insurance was a great thing for everyone around here.

We put our claim in, they came back with not enough money to cover even just the roof (there were other things the money was supposed to covered too- damage to the fence etc), and at that point we were in the middle of our craziness with the new floors, having no kitchen & banisters ordeal so it sat on our back burner. Fall came and the roofing company that we wanted to use (they did our new roof on our old house) said they would do the roof for less (off-season pricing I think). So we did all the back ground work and then waited for better weather and an opening in their schedule.

It snowed Monday February 25th.

Tuesday February 26th they dropped the roof tiles. Not the ideal weather for getting a new roof? But what do I know?

Wednesday February 27th the sun was out and some guys came over and scooped the snow off of the roof so the sun could dry out the rest. 

Thursday February 28th they put our new roof on. It took less than a day (7:30-4:30). Truly amazing how fast it can be done. We also had them blow a ton of insulation into our attic. There were many areas were completely bare and rooms in our house that were FREEZING. We could feel the difference immediately  Totally worth it. Can't wait to see how it changes our heating/cooling bills. 

The boys watched them after school. The roofing guys played a little game of soccer before taking off. (Hard to see, but the ones in the back are kicking a ball around).

Yay! Next up, fixing the front gutter. This is the one I blogged about when we first moved in and I painted to match the brick so it wouldn't stand out. It is the only gutter on the front of the house and it was too small to handle to amount of water that would drain off, SO.... new gutter. 

They took off the parts near the roof when they did the roof and we waited for the gutter guy to come.

When the gutter would fill up, water would run off of the edge of the gutter, onto the driveway in front of our walkway and then freeze, creating a layer of ice that wouldn't melt (with us being south facing).

Just a little dangerous???

The gutter guy put on a wider gutter, sloped it right and did a bunch of other stuff that I couldn't catch as he rambled off how he was going to fix the problem.

I also decided to have him put the drain down the side of the column rather than on the front.

Not looking great at first. 

Wasn't so sure I made the right decision when I saw the crazy white drains and all of the angles. 

Nothing a little sanding, chalk and paint won't fix :)

 Much better.

That one little curve between the brick and the column still bugged me, so I painted the brown a little higher.

 I think that is better. Once we get some bushes in there, no one will notice it and I am happy the brick stands out more and the front of the column or brick isn't covered.

Wider gutters :)

 So far so good, no sheet of ice or water dripping over the edge. Excited to see it in action/not have a problem anymore!

Powder Room Finishing Touches and Reveal

The Powder Room is done!!!

Here is how we finished it up.

We looked everywhere for the right vanity and sink. We finally picked one from IKEA of all places. We went and looked at it and it was the perfect size (24") and is great quality. The drawers are soft close, and it is all made of solid wood.

One Saturday we installed it. 

Sink (also IKEA) and faucet (found online)

It was in! The hot water wasn't a big deal to hook up, but getting the cold water hooked up took a few more tricks and trips to Home Depot.

 I started shopping for accessories... I loved this rug, it was SUPER soft, but the pile on it was too high- the door wouldn't go over it. Keep looking...

I found this one online at Cost Plus World Market, so the next day Hudson and I went to check it out. 

First we stopped at Hobby Lobby. I wanted different knobs on the vanity- the plain black ones weren't doing it for me. These were my favorites there, but they were out- these were the display ones.

At Cost Plus we found the PERFECT knobs. I love these. They are glass but have the perfect amount of blue/gray in them. The rug was also perfect!

Then we went to Bed Bath and Beyond looking for hand towels to match the new rug (the ones at Cost Plus that were supposed to match weren't even close), I found this towel rack/tp holder set.. It was just what I was looking for. We had bought a towel rack and tp holder from Home Depot, but I wasn't in love with them.So we picked these up and took the Home Depot ones back. 

Dave spent a few days figuring out the plumbing...

It was time to install the tp holder and towel rack. We didn't want to walk into the bathroom and see the tp on the wall- see? not good.

So we decided to install it onto the vanity. 

Dave put an extra piece of trim behind it so it is really strong and won't hurt the vanity. 

The towel rack was 18", so Dave cut down the rod so we could install it onto the little diagonal wall. I love that it covers the electrical plug- it isn't going to get a lot of use in a powder room, so hide it!

 Onto the mirror. This is what I REALLY want- I think it would be the perfect mirror for this bathroom. The only thing is it costs a pretty penny... 

One day I will have this mirror! 

(I looked all over for a similar one that was cheaper, but it isn't out there. It can only be 24" wide, which makes it hard!)

Until we want to spend some bucks on a mirror, we needed something. I lucked out and found this little mirror for super cheap- $12!  The frame is plastic, but it will do. It just needed a little paint. I decided it should be white- so it would "blend in" with the walls. I didn't want it to stand out.

Taped the mirror off and chalked the uneven corners. 

I primed it and painted it. 

Are you ready? Here is the finished powder room. I absolutely love it. It feels so light and clean. With no window I think it is important to keep things light. The vanity grounds everything. I normally don't go for chrome fixtures but I love the shine and sparkle that they add to the space. 

We bought a new white floor vent, to match the new floors. 

A white doorstop

We love that our little stool fits perfectly under the vanity so when little kids come and need a little help with the sink or toilet, there is a stool. But when you don't need it, it is out of sight. 

The lovely new knobs. 

The drawers hold so much! I am not quite sure what else I should put in them- ideas??? 

Extra TP in the bottom drawer. 

An extra hand towel in the top drawer. 

I love the rug. 

An unexpected shape, 

very durable and easy to wash. 

See the stool in the pic above?

There are a few more things that I want to add. A bathroom needs a trash can- thinking a chrome one. There is the perfect place for it- below... just need to find it! I also need to find a soap dispenser. 
The one currently being used it chipped...

The walls also need something. I think I will know what it is when I see it, but I am not sure what it will be yet. Maybe something like this? Different shaped mirrors hanging? They would have to be a lot smaller than these of course... 

Or maybe something with a little texture... Who knows. I will post whenever I find something, but I am ok if it takes some time. 

What do you think? 

We had our first dinner party over the weekend and one of our younger guests told me it was a very pretty bathroom :) Makes me smile because I agree.