Saturday, February 19, 2011

the bathroom…finally

So, yeah.  Waaaay back in September of last year, we started the grand task of remodeling our bathroom.  And, a grand task it was.  We completely gutted the bathroom, and started over from scratch.  Luckily, the husband does this sort of thing for a living, so I just did a lot of “hold this” and “get me that”, which was perfectly fine with me. :)

We took a week off of work, and pretty much did the entire project in a 2 1/2 week period.  Let me tell you, that was quite an interesting 2 1/2 weeks (we have a grand total of 1 bathroom in our house, therefore we were without a shower for several days, and without toilet for almost 2 full weeks. yeah…interesting.)  The first week, while we were off work, we pretty much worked non-stop on the remodel, and the second week we worked on it every chance we got after work and on the weekends.  Tired was an understatement once it was all said and done.

But the tired was totally worth it.  And the going without a toilet?  Also totally worth it.  Because I now have a shiny new bathroom complete with fresh paint, new fixtures, and a clean tub.  All things that were missing from the previous bathroom which was pretty much just old and dirty, and not much more.

I intended to take pictures and blog some before & after shots quite a long time ago…but, there were (and still are) a few details left that I wanted to finish before the big reveal.  Well, I’m not convinced those are going to get finished any time soon, and since pretty much all of our family and friends have come over to see the new bathroom, I figured it was about time to post these pictures.

So now, over 5 months later, here are the before and after pictures…enjoy!

Bathroom-2

Bathroom-1

Bathroom-6
Bathroom-3

I am in. LOVE. with my new vanity.  Especially considering how u-g-l-y the previous one was…Bathroom-4

The window was another major transformation.  Its so nice not to have to have a shower curtain *inside* the shower, and to not have to look at that old, rotting window anymore!  The glass block window is one of my favorite features of the remodel.  It is the only thing we paid someone else to install, but it was oh so worth it. Bathroom-5
A couple of other details I am in love with about the new bathroom…
 
IMG_1847
Custom tile border in the shower

IMG_1848
Built-in shelves in the shower - fabulous







And Matt’s own personal creation – the flat-mirror-turned-built-in-medicine-cabinet!  It looks like just a mirror hanging on the wall, but the mirror is actually the door to my custom built medicine cabinet!  This is perfect in our teeny tiny bathroom, because it gives us much-needed storage, without taking up additional space.
So there you have it, my rockin’ new bathroom.  What do you think?!  Not that it matters, because I LOVE it. :)

Oh, and I’m sure the big question on your mind is what was our budget.  Well, seeing as we didn’t have to pay for labor (thank goodness for that handyman of a husband of mine), our budget was purely for materials.  We allocated $2,000 for the project, and in the end came in around $2,300 (I will admit I never did sit down and do a final total…but I kept tabs on it all along so I had a pretty good idea of where we were).  The glass block window is what made us go over budget, as we initially planned on making and installing this ourselves.  But, since Matt had very little experience with it, and we didn’t have a whole lot of time for re-dos, we decided to hire it out.  Still, in the end, I think we got a pretty fantastic deal on a complete bath remodel. :)

I am still on the hunt for the perfect cabinet to put above the toilet for some additional storage, as well as some type of art for the wall above the towel rack.  I just can’t seem to find a cabinet in the right size, and color to match the vanity, and, well, I started my own little “art project” to hang on the wall, but I didn’t really like how it came out and nothing has caught my eye just yet.

So, maybe by September of this year the room will actually be *completely* finished.  I’m not too worried about it, though, as long as I have a working toilet and shower, I am a happy girl. :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

be mine

bgIMG_2465

I used to hate Valentine’s day.  Hated it.  Thought it was the stupidist holiday ever.  (I’m pretty sure the main reason for that was because I was single…)

I’m still not terribly fond of the holiday, but I have learned to let go of the hatred.  I’m guessing that having someone to buy me a card and maybe even flowers helps with that… :)

This year I got a smidge more into Valentine’s Day than usual, and baked some heart cookies.  Really, I just saw it as a perfect excuse to bake some sugar cookies and decorate them with royal icing again. (I tried this for the first time over the holidays)  And then when they were done I thought they were so pretty that it was the perfect excuse to bust out the camera and give that new lens of mine some more use. 

bgIMG_2472 

These cookies are, quite frankly, a royal pain to make.  They take forever, and they make a mess (well, people that can actually cook and have normal sized kitchens probably don’t make nearly as much of a mess as me – I am by no means a chef, and my teeny tiny kitchen has zero counterspace).  But, for some reason, I really enjoy making them (ok, eating them).  Decorating is the best part - I still need some practice, but I’m getting better. :)

bgIMG_2466

I made these so the husband and I could have a nice treat on Valentine’s Day, but I’m not so sure there will be very many left by Monday…  

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

snow day!

If you live anywhere near the Kansas City Metro Area, then you too probably had a snow day recently.  Ok, if you live anywhere in the Midwest you probably had a snow day.

(In case you live under a rock, a giant blizzard blew through the Midwest yesterday.)

As if we hadn’t already had enough snow this year, Mother Nature decided to dump another foot of snow on us.  Gee, thanks.

In honor of the snow days, I thought I would stick with the theme – so, here are some images from the snow day round 1 (at the time, it seemed like we had gotten a ridiculous amount of snow, but looking back: eh, that was nothin’)

bgIMG_2281  bgIMG_2231 

Check this massive icicle out – holy moly

bgIMG_2250

bgIMG_2261  bgIMG_2262

And of course, my little snow bunny

bgIMG_2264

Now, some pictures from today:

bgIMG_2378

bgIMG_2406

 bgIMG_2419

 bgIMG_2333

And, just to give you the full blizzard effect, a (bad) photo looking out our front window:IMG_2334

Unfortunately, the snow day fun is all over and tomorrow I must return to good ol’ work.  (Can you tell how excited I am…)

Here’s to hoping that the blizzard fun is over for Mother Nature, and we can move our way on to Spring…I think we’ve all had enough snow for one year.