Master bath!

We got a lot done in the past few days! It is taking us longer than we expected and like to finish the bath. After work we are so tired and busy with other house things (going to wal-mart and lowes)  that we usually only get a few hours to work on things during the week!

I found mirrors at Kohl's and Ryan hung them up the other night. I decided I wanted two mirrors instead of one. I think it makes the room look more personalized, since most bathrooms have the long standard mirror, and also makes it more interesting to look at. 

We also put up shelves/towel rack. We bought them at Wal-mart, sprayed painted them ivory, and the hung one on each side of the bathroom, so Ryan has one, and so do I. 

I also had to get a little shelf unit to store all my "necessities". I have a lot of make-up and bath and beauty products and I didn't want to crowd the cabinet underneath the sink, or put everything on the counters. Our counters don't have much space, so I didn't want it to be too crowded and look messy. 

I love my little cabinet :)

I didn't take pictures of it, but Ryan also replaces the spout in the bathtub, and we are working on replacing the hardware the turns the water on and off. The one that is there is really old (probably as old as the house) and is rusty.

I am still looking/thinking of things to hang up by the bathtub, 

but other than that we are just about done!

Baby!

I want to give a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to my best friend and her husband! 

They welcomed a precious baby boy into the world on Thursday!

I don't want to post pictures of him to respect their privacy but trust me, he's ADORABLE! :)

Auntie Jessie loves you already!! :)

some maternity pictures I took for them :)

Playing with baby :)

I love you all so much! Can't wait to meet him! :) 

moving and wal-mart

This week has been fairly busy as I continue to bring stuff over from my parents house.

I have too much stuff!

Luckily my parent's have a business where we have access to big trucks 

to help move! Friday after work, we took the truck to my parents and

loaded up some things that won't fit in our cars.

A few months ago, my mom found a washer and dryer at a garage sale for $400!

It is only a year old Kenmore. I was very excited we didn't have to spend too

much money on a washer and dryer!

They are perfect!

We also brought over my elliptical

(which Ryan says I better use since it is SO HEAVY)

desk, my big comfy chair, and other various items.

I am still working on bringing all my clothes and bathroom

necessities (well...necessities to me!) :)

I only have a few more things, then I will be completely moved in!

We are doing the finishing touches in the master bathroom, then we are heading

upstairs to put together the office and then on to the guest bathrooms.

I have made too many trips to Wal-mart that I will admit too, 

BUT we have found some really great deals there! 

(bookshelves, mattress pads, bathroom storage, spray paint, cups, silverware, pillows, etc...)

We went the other night and spent more money

than we were expecting, but we got a lot of stuff to finish our master, 

and other projects to complete the downstairs!

sad to be spending so much at
Wal-mart

sad

happy

Final master bath photos and other projects

to be posted this week! :)

Cabinets, closets, and lights! Oh my!

This week was a busy one for the house!

We are working to finish the master bathroom so I can enjoy my vanity and bath tub :)

I decided to keep with my antique-ish Paris theme and have the 

master bathroom have a elegant French country feel, with hints of shabby chic.

When I think French country and shabby chic,

 I think of lots of white, off-white, and light, muted colors

First we had to get rid of the ugly gold-brass towel racks and medicine cabinets.

We replaced the medicine cabinets with white ones we

found at Lowe's for $30!

I decided I don't want to have traditional towel racks 

and I will show that project in the next few

days when it is complete :)

Next was the tacky lighting, which also was gold.

After going to three different stores and failing to find

a lighting fixture to go with my theme, I decided to make my own!

Well, Kind of...

We found one that I liked, but was black/brown and spray painted it ivory/cream

Ruby helped too :)

I liked this fixture because of the detailing and I even

think it look better in the ivory/cream color!

Unfortunately, with how the lights hang, my mirror does not fit :(

I was pretty sad since the mirror I bought at Anastasia's was PERFECT!

BUT...that mirror will have to go someone else and I am still looking around for

a mirror to put in the master bathroom.

I was also contemplating on getting two mirrors for above each sink, instead of one big one.

I think it might make that area feel bigger and make it

more interesting to look at.

Lastly, the closet!

We got built-ins in our master closet to give us more storage space. Now we have more places to hang clothes and more shelves for more clothes! 

I am very happy with the outcome! :)

I'll post more pics once we get everything put away

(we both have too much clothes :)

How to: stickers and frames

HOW TO: 

Remove a price sticker off of a picture frame

If you know me, you know I am OBSESSED with pictures and picture frames

I have decided to share my little secret  of how to remove stickers off of the glass

First off, why do stores put stickers on the glass part?!

 It really annoys me :(

YOU WILL NEED: 

Windex or any glass cleaner

razor blade

paper towel

frame

1. Spray the glass cleaner on the sticker

2. Take you razor blade, place it on the under a corner of the sticker, 

and gently work your way to the middle

( I like to do all the corners, then get the middle all at once)

Be careful to not scratch the frame by keeping the razor angled (about 45 degrees? :)

Do not have the razor angled up

3. Once the sticker is removed, spray the glass cleaner again and 

clean up any pieces of the sticker with the paper towel.

4. Put in a picture and enjoy :)

Water Heater

My house uses gas instead of electric and this is the first house (i think?) that I have 

lived in a house that uses gas. I have no idea what to do, how to work it, etc. 

While I was in San Diego, Ryan turned on the gas, but still had to 

take cold showers since the water wasn't hot.

After some research (which was asking my mom) we learned that even though the gas was on, 

we still need to light the pilot light. Luckily my brother also lives in a house 

with gas and showed Ryan what he had to do to light the pilot light.

I was EXTREMELY nervous for Ryan to light the pilot light. 

I am not very good at science but I do know that

gas + fire = BOOM!!!!!

As you can tell, we did not blow up or explode and my house

is still in one piece!

AND we have hot water!

Vacation

This week I took a little break from house renovations and went to

 San Diego to visit my best friend.

She is pregnant (and do in a few short weeks!),

 so it is the last time I will see her before the little guy arrives! 

She had a gorgeous shower over the weekend in a stunning house on the beach!

 I am so excited for her and her husbands next chapter in their lives! 

They will both be amazing parents and

he is going to be the cutest and most loved baby ever!

Thanks for letting me come visit :)

Ryan worked on a few projects while I was gone. He taped off the master bathroom for paint,

 sprayed for bugs, and power sprayed the house and garage, as well as set up the internet. 

This week is move-in! I'll post pictures of that in the following days!

While in San Diego, my friend showed me a tutorial for making curtains that I want to try. 

She made the curtains in her nursery and other rooms in her house that turned out great! 

I would of never guessed they weren't store bought!

 I am going to start looking at fabric and hopefully have some 

custom curtains in the next few weeks! 

Updates!

It's been a few days since the last post and a lot has happened!

We got our couches! I love them!

They are pretty neutral but do have some hints of gray to match the living room and decor.

They also came with the cute pillows! I was excited because I  

thought those were just decorations in the show room!

I also got some more adorable stuff from Anastasia's!

mirror for the master bath

the two smaller candlesticks

I got a few more gifts for friends too :)

I continued to add items to the entertainment center. I realized I wanted to make it 

a little more personal by adding personal and meaningful items and pictures 

instead of new stuff. 

My old dogs :)

 I still have a ways to go on filling the shelves, but I want to make sure it shows who I am and who me and Ryan are as a couple. I need to add more personal touches 

and stop buying stuff from Hobby Lobby! I forgot to take a picture, 

but I also added our album from our Christmas trip to Hawaii and a 

statue my mom bought for us in Hawaii too! 

I'll post them in the next post :)

We also took on some more projects this weekend. We finished the loft and started taping in the hallway upstairs. I am thinking I want to do something a little different and add wide stripes.

Something like this

                      

The colors would be fairly neutral and I would add color with pictures or paintings. I think I also want to add a shelf in the hallway too!

What do you guys think?

We also started prepping the master bath for a fresh coat of paint as well!

Ryan took down the old, ugly towel racks and rings and filled the holes with putty.

I don't want to put in standard towel bars. I want to find or think of something more creative and better looking to hang the towels with. I have a few ideas I saw on pinterest.

                       

While working in the bathroom, I suffered a painful injury :(

We were taking the old mirror off and I was holding one end, and Ryan was holding the other. He put his end down faster than I did and I wasn't expecting the weight of it after he put it down and it crushed my fingers! It was the most painful thing that I remember ever experiencing.

 My fingers are purple and numb now. 

Be careful when taking down big wall to wall mirrors!!

Today we also got an alarm system installed! 

I am going out of town to see my best friend in San Diego

but Ryan has a whole list of projects he wants to do while I'm away!

Including power spraying the garage, driveway, and house! Spraying for bugs! 

and possibly resurfacing the garage!

I love how he wants to do everything to be more of a "handy man"

He might stay there this week and we will move in when I get back next week!