Upgrade time :)

Upgrades were the reason we did this project. The old bathroom lacked a lot of modern conveniences and necessities. First up, Brandon added a bath fan that has a light as well. This will help get the moisture out of the room faster, thus decreasing the mold/mildew likelihood. The fan has to be vented to the outside, so he added a vent through the soffet.

Electrical work..with the new bath fan and recessed can light over the bath tub, Brandon upgraded the wiring and added a pretty cool switch with 4 switches. Lots of options!!
Last but not least, we got rid of the shower and put in a whirlpool bathtub. These require their own dedicated circuit with GFCI outlet. We had space in the new circuit breaker we got last summer so this was relatively easy. Still impressed it works :)

Demolition!

Let me tell you..this is a lot harder than I thought! I give all the credit to Brandon he did an awesome job at ripping out anything and everything he could get his hands on! It was tough work, but now we can start getting the bathroom put back together!

See..still smiling at the end of it all!

Bathroom Renovation

Yes it's been over a year since I've posted anything. Let's forget the past and move forward, shall we? We took on the biggest project to date with the en suite bathroom off the master bedroom. Now this isn't a his and hers bathroom with separate sinks and closets, shower, AND tub. No, this is barely big enough to move around, let alone get two people in there. Before, this bathroom had a teeny tiny shower with storage on the side, ugly tiles and just an overall blandness. So 2 months after we got married, we started. The jumping off point was that as Brandon went into the crawl space to check out the situation, and noticed that when he told me to flush the toilet, it flooded everywhere! I have no idea how long this has been happening. Thank goodness for home warranties! After that was fixed, the toilet was already disassembled, so it was the perfect time to start! Here are some before pictures:

Next up..demolition!

Updating for the 21st Century!

I'm on a mission. I cannot stand the old, aluminum windows in my house. They feel dirty and drafty. There are no screens on most of them, so in the spring I can't open the windows. AND there are bugs that get in, and I think it maybe because of the windows. I had a salesman from Champion Windows come out to give me an estimate. About $9000 for 9 windows plus the big picture window in front. WHAT!! So Brandon and I decided to tackle this ourselves. We wanted to test our relationship to the max, I guess! I ordered 3 windows (I only wanted to commit to three at a time!) and we got all of our supplies. On one of our days off from work, we said it was go time. It took about 8 hours to put in the old windows. We really needed a reciprocating saw to cut through the metal flap on both sides of the window. Once we finally got it out, after breaking out backs, we were working against the sun. After 9 hours, the new window was in and insulated.

That was about the end of our adventure. I then went to Home Depot to ask the window man about solutions to some of our problems. He recommended a handyman he knew. So I called him and they did the windows for $375 out the door (or window..haha). That was for finishing the 1st window, and removing and installing the other two. Not bad!! Plus they were really nice and even asked if I wanted him to pick up a breakfast sandwich for me. Talk about customer service! Here are some "after" pics..I dont think I took any before, but you're not missing much :)

Happy early birthday to me!

My parents wanted to get me some patio furniture for my birthday in October (read between the lines: they're tired of standing around on the deck!). But since patio furniture isn't that available in October, we picked it out early. I got this set from the Home Depot online when they were running a special. The cushions and pillows came with it, and hello! Free delivery! So the nice delivery men brought it to my backyard when I got home one Friday (i left a nice note asking them to take it around back and they were so sweet to do it!). Can't wait for it to cool down a bit so I can enjoy it more!

They're giving the Crape Myrtles away!

I got some awesome deals this weekend at the local nursery and Lowe's. I guess they're trying to get rid of most plants so I got a Crape Myrtle tree for $35 and $16! A Crape Myrtle bush was $5...um can I get more?! Overall some really great deals out there right now and SCORE! my parents were in town to help me haul all this stuff home and into the ground! Looks great so far, and those trees grow fast so more backyard privacy is on the way!

And Addie had a friend to play with as well!

Heat, heat, and more heat!

It's getting mighty hot up here..buuut we have been getting some showers from hurricane Alex so that helps. I have done a few things to the house, mostly small but HUGE impact! I switched out the heavy green drapes from the winter with some cool, white, Ikea panels that make a big difference. I also added house plants to the kitchen and rearranged the chairs in the dining room to accomodate 4 instead of 6. Really, when are 6 people over at a time. So I stored the extra chairs in the office closet and it really eases up the clutter in the dining area. Take a look!

Addie's playground

Addie has taken a liking to my yard, rolling around and resting. I'm so thankful for her, she's made my life so fun and I laugh at her all the time..or maybe with her, but more at her :) Here are some pictures

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I have the BEST yard on the block!

Happy Easter! My amazing parents came into town and for once I didn't have any projects for them to do around my house. But they came with projects, in the form of a big Lowe's trip to get soil, mulch, and flowers. What a difference these few things made! We were in the yard all day Saturday pulling weeds and planting flowers. I had no idea it would turn out so well. On Friday we went and I bought a mower and trimmer..Craftsman of course :) Hey, all my power tools need to match! We were definitely sunburned and tired at the end but I am slowly turning my yard into a mini jungle..like mother like daughter :)

Kitchen. Done!!

Finally done with the kitchen cabinets! Lessons learned: Fill holes and sand AFTER you strip the paint. And also, make SURE you know where the hardware is supposed to go. I can't count how many times I drilled holes only to find out that they were in the wrong corner! Doh..but so happy with how it turned out! Make sure, also, that all surfaces are at least sanded so new paint will adhere to the surface. Or apply primer maybe? But I didn't have the time or energy for that. All in all, this makeover cost about $75-$100. Money well spent!

New baby in the house!

They tell me my life is about to change..and it already has, in the form of less sleep and stepping on toes. I adopted Addie, a 1 year-old Weimaraner last weekend. So the first full week has come and gone. She has heartworms, and technically, until she's cleared by the vet I am fostering her. Therefore, I am supposed to keep her calm and quiet, no runs or even walking. Boo. I got a dog to take running! But once she's healthy she'll love it! Here are some pictures. She's quite the character already!!

Kitchen Cabinet Overhaul

All of my power tools ready to go!

I painted around the drawers and started getting excited about the outcome!

The new drawer pulls didn't match the holes of the old, might I add UGLY old ones, so I filled the holes with wood putty. So easy. Then I sanded it all down to feel like buttah.

Finished product! I did learn a lesson for the rest of the kitchen. make the holes for the hardware before you paint. I did the opposite and the paint started cracking. No bueno. But I knew this would be a learning experience! Ok off to eat the can of soup sitting here in this picture because I'm driving myself into the poor house with these renovations! No actually, this one..painting and new hardware is going to cost me about $60 since I already had the paint. I didn't include the $30 sander in the cost since I will use it over and over again. I am loving it!

I think all this goes together..I may be colorblind though :)

So I am mostly complete with my bedroom. I was going for kind of a hotel luxe style but more comfortable and personal. I'm going for natural colors with sparkle and pops of green. I just got this cute storage ottoman so I have somewhere to store purses and somewhere to sit to put my shoes on! Small houses=no storage, so I am looking for anywhere I can maximize storage. This seems to do the trick. I have filled up this little house pretty well so far and am on to the office! Oh and hopefully a dog by the end of March! That way I have a companion in my house that won't talk back :)

Oh, and yes, that is Cougar Town on the TV. Love this show!

Kitchen Tile Complete!

Here it is! I changed the blue disgusting vinyl for some updated slate-lookalike self-stick tiles. So easy! Spacers really helped keep the lines going, and I used a pre-mixed vinyl tile grout so I grouted over the course of a week. For my first DIY project I'm pretty happy! I will probably paint the kitchen cabinets next with the same color as the living room. Just so happened the color works out fabulous and I already have a ton of it leftover! I like a bargain :)