Etsy Pillows

We are getting new living room furniture in a little over a week (we have been waiting for almost a whole MONTH) and are going to need some fun pillows to liven things up a bit. I am trying to stay pretty neutral with all of the furniture/walls so I can change accessories out as I want. I have been casually looking at throw pillows for a long time and haven't seen anything extraordinary so I decided to take a peek at Etsy. There are so many pretties, I won't be able to choose!

Here are just a few that caught my eye!

OohLiLi



Missmosh



Sugarandfig



Bestillshop




Nenavon

Wood Floors

After much debate, we have decided to go with wood floors throughout the house (vs. laminate). The two reasons we decided with real wood if that they can be refinished in the future if necessary and they will add more resale value to our home. We will be putting them everywhere upstairs except for the bathrooms, our bedroom and the laundry room. We went to Lumber Liquidators today to look at some options and pricing. Here are some of our top choices:

Bellawood American Walnut Natural
This is the most expensive one (which means we probably won't buy it) but they are gorgeous!



Casa de Colour by Dura Wood Tobacoo Road Acacia Natural
I have always loved the look of acacia wood so these would be a good option for us if we wanted to go with a floor with a lot of variation of color. Also, a better price point than the first option.



Virginia Mill Works Co. Old World Oak Natural
These last two are the two darker choices and the ones I am leaning more toward. They have a beautiful rustic charm to them and I have been dreaming of dark wood floors for a long time.



Virginia Mill Works Co. Knob Hill Birch Natural
This last option has the lowest price, which makes it very appetizing!

Craigslist Find

This is a pottery barn console table that would look great behind a sofa or as an entry table. Price tag: $75. Too bad I don't need one!

My Husband Broke Up With Home Depot

Adam took the vanities back to Home Depot to turn them since they misrepresented the color. He had a little trouble. They had no problem taking the vanity base back but didn't want to take the granite back. Eventually an hour and a half later, after climbing the corporate ladder to talk to someone who could do something, they took everything back with no restocking fees.

Back to square one, Adam refused to look at Home Depot again so we went to Lowe's. They didn't have anything in stock that we wanted but did have something in one of the books we liked. We ordered it and the ETA is 2 weeks, which is a little depressing but it will have to do.

Here is a picture of the new vanity base we ordered. It will have a different color marble top and a different sink and faucet.



Speaking of sinks and faucets, the ones we ordered came in and they are perfect!!!





So at least another 2 weeks until the bathroom can be finished, but it will all be worth it in the end!

Bathroom Update

I sealed the marble floors in the bathroom today. I picked up the sealer/enhancer at Home Depot for about $30. It was pretty simple; spray on, wipe with sponge to cover, let sit for about 5 minutes and wipe of excess before it dries. I can't clean the floor for 24 hours so that will have to wait.



On another, more depressing note, we have a little vanity set back. We picked up the vanities we custom ordered from Home Depot a couple of days ago and just got around to opening them tonight and they are...black, which was definitely not our intention. We have looked at pictures online, on the box they came in and from the magazine we ordered it from and they are all distinctly brown. It matches the black granite top perfectly but not the brown marble floors. Needless to say these will be going back tomorrow. The hubbs isn't too happy. Back to square one.

**On a lighter note, I e-mailed they guy about the antique side table and he is going to sell it to me for $50! I am pretty excited about that. Just need to go pick it up.

Craigslist Find

How perfect is this antique side table?! A little white paint sure could go a long way here. Or maybe even a robin's egg blue....

Sassy Approves!

Grout went in yesterday but wasn't able to go in until today to look at it. I approve and so does Sassy girl! She loves the way the brown marble floors looks with her color :).





Before we remodeled, every time we turned on the shower there was a high pitched squeal. I am hoping, since we bought new fixtures, that the squeal is gone. I haven't tested it yet but am excited to see the conclusion. Anyway, here are a few pics of the new, sleeker fixtures.



Can't wait to use this rain shower head!

Craigslist Find

I was browsing through craigslist and came across this:



This table reminds me a lot of Lauren's from Pure Style Home and with a little paint and some new chair covers could look A LOT like it. And the best news is it's only $100!! I might just have to purchase this.

To do list

The grout is in and just needs to be set and cleaned up. Though we have come a long way, there are still many projects to be completed in order to be finished.

1. Paint: I am thinking of going with the same paint color that we have in our kitchen. It is called winter's evening and is a light blue-gray, which I like against the deep brown.

Here is a picture of the paint color in a bedroom to give you an idea. (BTW- this bedroom is GORGEOUS)



2. Trim: None of the existing trim was saved in the demolition process so we will also have to whip out our paintbrushes again to paint some baseboards creamy white.

3. Attach granite to the vanities: We picked up two of these bases from Home Depot and two black granite tops (not exactly like the one pictured). So, we need to attach them. Apparently all you need is a little silicone and it's on there!



These are just a few of the items on the to-do-list. We also need to transform the piece of mirror that once hung into two framed mirrors for the vanities. On top of that we will be adding a new ceiling light, vanity light and trim to the doors to give them a little architectural detail.

Oh Overstock...

Just ordered the sinks and faucets for our bathroom last night. The old bathroom had only one sink so we had a plumber come in and set us up for two single sink vanities. We found them at Overstock after looking at Lowe's and Home Depot and not finding anything we loved. There are so many more things I am dying to order from there but I have to keep telling myself one room at a time!



The bamboo faucet wasn't the easiest sell to my husband but he graciously went along with it.



They should be here in about a week, and can you believe the shipping was only $1?! I thought it was some kind of error at first. If everything goes well, I will definitely be using overstock again.

Caipirinha

For New Years, Adam and I decided to stay in and make our own drinks. He discovered this drink while on a business trip at a Brazilian restaurant and thought pretty highly of it so we decided to recreate it at home. Here is the recipe from an e-mail one of his coworkers sent him. (I liked his description so I decided to include it...with some spelling corrections!)

Okay, for those of you who succumbed to the embivement (I think he made this word up...can't find it in any dictionary!) of the sweet
nectar at the Brazilian restaurant, here's the recipe for that
illustrious clear hi-ball!

1 lime pulp only crushed
2 tbs. sugar - crush into lime

Fill glass with ice and top off with Cachaca, this was the liquor made
from dripping's of sugar canes.

Here are some pictures of us making this "sweet nectar."



We were a little nervous that it would be hard to find the Brazilian liquor. Adam headed to a liquor superstore and had to ask a few workers before someone knew what he was talking about but was finally successful.



The finished product! A couple of these bad boys is all you need...

New Bathroom/New Blog

My husband, Adam, and I bought our 1970's ranch about a year ago not for it's elegant style, but for it's massive potential. We had looked at many other houses that were much, much smaller than our lovely ranch and felt a little claustrophobic in them. Especially since Adam was making the move from a 1 bed, 1 bath apartment. This home was in foreclosure and it's price had dropped more than half from what it sold for in 2006. Granted it needs a lot of work to be what we want, but it wasn't in bad shape for a foreclosure (mostly everything needing work is cosmetic).

We haven't done much work on the house other than painting and are just now starting to make the big changes. First project: Hallway bathroom. We didn't really choose this to be our first project, it chose us. Adam was taking a shower one morning before heading out of town and the old, almond fiberglass tub cracked. We figured it we were going to be replacing the tub, we should go ahead and remodel the entire bathroom. Here is our new enameled steel white tub. This baby won't be cracking anytime soon!



We had a contractor come in to demo the bathroom, replace the tub and tile for us. and all of the tile in the bathroom is finally down. Now, add a little grout and we are that much closer to being back to working order.

We chose to do a white ceramic subway tile for the tub surround. We picked up these puppies for 21 cents a piece at Home Depot!

And for the floor... this dark brown marble that I am literally lusting over. I can't wait to use this bathroom.


The grout is supposed to go in tomorrow, and I will post pictures after! I also need to scrounge up the before pictures from when my husband and I first bought the house. Let me tell you, it wasn't a pretty sight!