Bathroom Remodel

So...back in February we decided to remodel the bathroom. It was partially because we wanted a makeover and partially because it NEEDED it...the bathtub had been leaking, causing water to go into the floor under it and into the basement bathroom, which also caused MOLD to grow. We had just found out I was pregnant and mold + baby = not good, so out came the saws-all!

Here are the before pics!

The previous owners PAINTED the counter and the tub. Then, when the painted the walls they must have spilled in the tub so to cover it up they "splatter painted" the tub. Really?!?! Then they used those cheap sticker tiles on the floor and they started to peel.

The vanity was super cheap and no amount of varnish could've fixed it. We also had NO storage in it so I had to put a second set of drawers to hold my makeup.

This is during:

This is when we took the tub out and cut out the parts of the floor that were rotten.

New tub and walls are ready for tile!

Travertine floor to ceiling with glass and slate accent tiles. I LOVE the way it turned out! That was the first wall color we tried...WAY too green. We tried a few after that before we found one we loved...a slate gray with blue undertones that matches the accent tile perfectly!

Jesse putting up tile!

And this is how it turned out!!

So, here is the end product! 12x12 travertine on the floor, polished 12x18 travertine on the walls, a paint color we love!

I just LOVE our vanity and the hammered copper sink! Oddly, even though it is way smaller than the last one it has WAY more storage space! I also love that the smaller vanity makes the room look a little bigger.

So glad that project is done, but mostly, I am glad it is a safe place for Haley!

Nesting

Yep! I've been nesting like crazy. In our first childbirth class last week we learned that nesting is actually a sign of labor, which freaked me out a little, but I've always been sort of...um...crazy awesome about keeping our place clean and organized so I think it is just me wanted to make things even better for baby. Plus, I know I won't have time once she is here to do some of these things!

That said, I have turned to Pinterest for some sweet cleaning tips lately and I thought I would share what worked...and what didn't! First, here is a short tutorial on how to clean your stove grates (for a gas stove). It was smelly, but it worked SO WELL! I will definitely do this again!

Before...hard to tell, but there was A LOT of crusted on food. Gross.

Supplies! I forgot to add my mask to this...didn't feel like breathing harmful/stinky fumes. You need: ammonia, plastic bags that zip and fit your grates, a sponge and a cookie sheet. That's it!

Put 1/4 cup ammonia and the grates in a bag and seal. Put them outside on the cookie sheet and let them sit for at least 12 hours. I just set them out overnight. The FUMES do the cleaning, so don't worry if they aren't soaking in the ammonia! This was about 2 minutes after I bagged them and you can already see the dirt in the corner of the bag in the lower left side of my photo.

Take them out (wear a mask again), wipe down with the sponge in warm, soapy water and rinse clean. That is it! No elbow grease required! Love love love!

Another thing that worked:

• Cleaning the grease from the vents above the stove. I REALLY wish I would have taken pictures of this. It was seriously amazing. Haven't cleaned them since we moved in 6 years ago and they look BRAND NEW!\

What didn't work:

• Using baking soda and water to clean my oven. What a mess and it still looks horrible. Let me clarify...the bottom looks great. The window (which the tutorial was supposed to be for) looks nasty still. I did find this PDF that explains how to clean a gas oven, so I might try this instead. 

What I will try next:

• My steak knives need some help. Apparently, lemon juice will fix that.
• My microwave, also gross, although it could be worse. We keep one of these in there so we always remember to cover our messy food! However, I will try this out tonight to see if this gets things really clean. 

I will keep you posed on the results!

Firewood Part 2

Besides having fun at the Back to the 50s car show last weekend, we needed a little help with a project...a BIG project. After the big storm two weeks ago, the tree that was struck by lightning needed to come down. Jesse's mom and dad were so kind and brought down their chainsaw to help take care of the mess. I think the pictures (umm...and a few captions) say it all...

Jesse in the tree tying the guide rope.

It took up the WHOLE back yard after it dropped, but they took it down perfectly!

Gone...sad.

Hauling the "jungle" to the front for the city to pick up.

The hole in the yard and our pile of firewood. You would think there would be more from that huge tree!

The brush pile in the front yard...sorry neighbors...the city said they would come by soon!

The ever-helpful Wally, carrying sticks to the front.

Since the best times to plant trees are Spring and Fall, we will be waiting a little while to fill up the yard again. I think we've settled on adding several Maple trees along the fence line. Perhaps just the right distance apart to put up a hammock when they are strong enough!

Firewood

Yesterday we called and asked my dad if we could bring some firewood back from the lake in a few weeks. Last night nature had its own idea and gave us our own supply right in our back yard!

I snapped with with my cell when I woke up this morning.

Yes, it is CHARRED. It was struck by lightning.

I guess we have our work cut out for us now, but we will have a good supply of firewood for a while! Really, the last thing we needed was another project, but I am so thankful that this didn't fall on our house, on us or on anyone else. Things could be much worse! Like this:

14 power lines down!

Just up the road there were 14 power lines down from the wind! We were "lucky" and got our power back around 6:30 (just in time for work...ugh). I would've liked the power to stay off a little longer so I could sleep and then go to the coffee shop to work today.

So, for now, this is our new view until we determine if we can salvage what is left or if we should just take the whole thing down so it doesn't blow the other direction onto our shed next time there is a bad storm (which according to weather.com is supposed to be in about 7 hours). 

In Bloom

I am NOT a gardener, yet every year it amazes me that I can get my plants to grow THIS BIG! I love looking out my front window and seeing lilies, roses, phlox, hostas and more...

Keeping My House CLEAN

I am a neat freak. However, my husband is not. Don't get me wrong, he likes the house clean, too, but if there is choice between fun and cleaning, he does not choose the latter unless it is absolutely necessary. This has been a good thing for me, though...he has definitely taught me to LET GO of having the house 100% perfect all the time and to enjoy life a little more! Thanks, honey!

I know in September, when our little girl arrives, I know I will need to find a NEW "clean enough" and get used to having baby things and toys all over the house. To help with this, I created a cleaning list (those that know me really well know my affinity for lists) that can pretty easily be done in 15-45 minutes/day depending on the day. This is something I have done before and when I am faithful about keeping up with it, it is REALLY effective in keeping the house presentable! You will no longer need to scramble when you have surprise guests!!

I was inspired by a few different lists and tips, including this one and an old article I remember from Real Simple about laundry!

I created this list in good 'ol Word, so anyone can download it themselves and update it to meet their own cleaning needs! It is a zipped file so click the link to open the public Google Docs folder and hit the little arrow on the right-hand side of the page (must hover over the name of the document to see the arrow) and choose "download" to get your very own copy!

Keep in mind...this will keep your house looking good IF your house is already organized. You may still need to have ONE BIG DAY of cleaning, sorting and organizing before starting this schedule. :) Enjoy!

Halfway there...

20 1/2 weeks!

Half done with this pregnancy. Wow. Crazy. It really became real last week when we had our ultrasound and now we started looking at our "to-do" list and only one word comes to mind...yikes!

So much to do in the next 19-22 (oh, please I hope not 22) weeks ahead! Let's see...what have we checked off the list so far:

• Empty baby room
• Make a list of 8,487,548 other projects to do around the house

Baby's room is almost cleaned out!

Bathroom floor tile is in! Ready to grout - add that to the list!

What is left to do:

• Finish our bathroom remodel
• Paint baby room
• Refinish/assemble crib
• Decorate baby room
• New light in baby room
• New window in baby room
• New trim in baby room
• Find a daycare
• Sign up for baby classes
• ...

The list goes on and on. Fortunately, our families are awesome! My mother-in-law took 2 1/2 days out of her busy schedule to come help out this weekend. She is the sweetest! It was SO helpful and nice of her. My parents are slated for some help in June with a few things (will have to add "make a German Chocolate Cake for Dad" to the to-do list!). 

Slowly but surely, it will all come together. One thing at a time. :)

Potty Time

Well...I wish. We decided to remodel our upstairs bathroom before the baby keeps up too busy to do things like that. Unfortunately, there was mold under the tub and we wanted to make sure we have a baby (and mama) safe environment! Looking back at the dates on my camera, we started this project FEBRUARY 2! Needless to say, it is a lot of work and it is hard to do a big project like this in our "spare" time. Especially when I am less than helpful right now. I'm the official "picker outer", while my awesome husband is the muscles behind the project.

Here are a few photos of the progress! MUCH more to come...hopefully soon (it is hard getting back to sleep after getting up in the middle of the night EVERY night to pee and having to go ALL THE WAY downstairs).

Before

Before

Removed the tub surround and the parts of the floor that were moldy.

New tub, new plumbing (HIGHER shower head so Jesse can fit UNDER it) and cement board ready for tile!

Our beautiful travertine tile with a slate and glass boarder! Ignore the green walls...tried that color and hate it.