Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Back in Town!

Wow, we were so busy with Christmas traveling complicated by a puppy and a broken car! We are very blessed to both have very generous families. Bruce got some new clothes and a new phone, I received a stand mixer (!!!) some other kitchen gear and Wii fit. I've been trying to take it easy since we've come home, Kenny puppy had an upset tummy, and I can't seem to find my camera! Bruce mounted the TV last night it looks great over the mantel and its even nicer to be able to see the fireplace. I'll post some photos when I find the camera.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Holiday Decorating

Holiday decorating has come to a screeching halt! Everything since my last post is still on the couch. We even decided not to get a tree, but you ask Why Christine, what happened to your Holiday Cheer??? We got a puppy!!!! YaY us! His name is Kenny, he is a 4 month old Boxer Great Pyrenees mix, he's pretty shy about new anything but he's definitely coming around to us and is still inquisitive. We got him through Great Dog Rescue New England and they were awesome! He is neutered, microchiped and all his vaccines are done properly all he needs is a Lyme vaccine and parasite prevention! (Note Bruce's "It's cold out" beard and the lovely paneling in the office)

Friday, December 11, 2009

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like . . .

Christmas!!! It's snowed twice in the past week and our candle lights
in the windows look beautiful with the snow, I was going to put garland up the driveway lightpost but I think I'll just do lights. And a small lighted wreath on the front door.
I found these huge ornaments at Target, ten dollars for the set! They are perfect for the picture window in the living room.



This vase was in the breezeway when we moved in, I brought it in and cleaned it up. It's pretty much flaw-less. Then got these artificial berries from Target (my favorite store) they should be a relavant decoration Thanksgiving through Valentine's day!
This little guy sits on the other side of the mantle from the berries in the vase. He's getting my Santa Hat for the season.



The snowmen are hanging out under the TV, one is a glass-blown piece from my mom a few years ago and the other is a wind-up from last year!
There's alot more to do on the decorating front! The pile of decorations has moved from the kitchen table to one of the couches in the living room. Hopefully we will get a tree and the wreath this weekend. I already have some ribbon for the wreath bow and I'm thinking of getting some more ribbon to drape over the trim in the dinning room to hang Christmas cards on. Most decorating is on hold until I'm done with finals though!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Bathroom Reno

Here's the much awaited bathroom renovation update. Let's start with what the bathroom looked like when our offer was accepted, when we started moving our things into the house. All I did once we moved in was clear out the clutter and change the shower curtain.
Lets notice a few things, those curtains and the ceiling should be white, that's mold/mildew. The sconces on the wall (didn't match) and were both plugged into the outlet that's in the fluorescent sconces. The toilet although it has a seat it didn't have a lid. Somethings you can't see in this picture, the faucets of the sink drip and the drain leaks (small trash can under the sink is to catch the drips not for trash). There was a hot pink bathmat and no exhaust fan, the seams of the wallpaper were obvious due to the mold/mildew build up. Lastly there were towel bars and handicap bars everywhere!
Here's what we did: curtains, wall paper and all the towel/handicap bars were removed with the exception of the original towel bars with tile mounts. This is what it looked like mid sanding and spackling on the main wall where the medicine cabinet and lights were and the tub surround. Bruce got really into removing the mold, instead of using some bleach to kill/remove it, he used the pointy end of my painters tool to physically remove it, hence a lot of sanding and spackling. While the medicine cabinet and fluorescent lights were down I decided to touch them up a little bit (I needed something to do while I was waiting for paint to dry!) I taped the original labels and the razor blade slot in the medicine cabinet and spray painted my little heart out.
Bruce installed a fan/light while I was dealing with the walls. All said we were without a shower for 3 days! I thought my hair (full of spackle dust) was going to get up and walk off my head!
We chose a paint color that was as close to the tile as I could find, in a new Benjamin Moore special formulation that is supposed to retard mold growth. Now ideally there would have been wallpaper but we have no desire to have that mold come back and until we insulate above the ceiling there is going to be a lot of condensation. So after two coats of primer and two coats of color. The painting was completed the lights and medicine cabinet went back up as did the shower curtain.This is the finished product but I'd like to point out a few special touches. Like the new toilet seat and the disappearance of the mismatched sconces now that there is an overhead light.
Our awesome original wall mounted sink with chrome legs and tile bars, revived with a little Turtle Wax chrome cleaner. The faucets no longer leak, the drain still does a little but not the torrents that it used to.The lights and medicine cabinet were spruced up with some spray paint and we purchased a chrome corner shelf for some extra storage. The shelf isn't exactly stocked beautifully but I'm waiting until the linen closet is done to really decide what's going there.

Our new lined cafe curtain, my first sewing project! I love this fabric which we got from http://www.tonicliving.com/ they have great retro fabrics, they'll even make stuff for you!
Lastly everything was cleaned! (accept for the grout), I love the princess tub (an overhead shower head would be amazing but for now what we have is fine) and our great new bathmat helps pull white into the room, I'm waiting for some hand towels that match (mom picked them up because our Target didn't have them). I just need some art for the walls and I'm taking suggestions I'd love a retro print that incorporates the colors from the curtain. That's all for now, I've already moved on to the linen closet so that I can get things into it. From there its organize the rest of the closets then paint/accessorize the half bath!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Not to much to Report

Updates, not to many with the holiday we haven't really been here to much. The house is way to quiet without PeanutButter and I find myself bothering Chloe (the chinchilla) frequently in a paranoid mommy way. And telling her that she is to quiet. She is not excited about the extra attention, which is hopefully short-lived I have my sights set on another pet!

Today is Bruce's birthday and I was really excited to set up his side of the office while he was at work at as a birthday surprise. Imagine my surprise last night when I got home after class to "ok let's move my desk!" Boo, surprise ruined. Back to the puppy search, after spending the weekend with his parents doodle I think we might need a dog.


I have a busy day of shopping planned, lining for the bathroom curtain as the fabric finally came and I need to construct this curtain (as soon as I do that I promise photos) and a book to tell me how to construct said curtain. The Christmas Tree Shop for thermal curtains for the bedroom, Ikea for more shelves for the bookcase in the living room, and target for hand towels to match the bathmat.