master bath after pics...

I swear I've been meaning to post the 'after' pics of my bathroom re-do FOREVER! But I just can't seem to take any good pics. I just deleted some old so-so pics, and took some new also-so-so pics. So...I'm embracing my bad camera, posting the after's, and moving on. Enjoy...

These are the before-before pictures. This is what the bathroom looked like when we bought the house. Before we moved in we did some renovating - including stripping the wallpaper in this room, painting and adding a new towel rack and TP holder. Keep in mind that this house was built in 1970 and, um-yeah, decorated in 1970. **SPOILER ALERT** If you have a weak stomach, you might want to skip this part:

niiiiiice...brown and tan tiles {on every flat surface} and pastel-y colored butterfly wallpaper on the walls. It's just wrong. Turns out this is like a $1000 toilet, though...so we decided to keep it. Seems a shame to spend so much money on something you poop on, but there you go.

...and here are the just-befores:

I think the burned-out light bulb is a nice touch...

...the "during" pictures. I {heart} this drill/screwdriver. One of my BFF's

My favorite part was the tiling. It was exhasuting, hard work, but I enjoyed it. And I love love love the tile. Seriously, I sit on the throne and just stare at this tile. (Like the old sock hanging out of the plumbing?)

It never really looked this clean and neat during the installation. I have no idea who snuck into my house, cleaned up the mess and took this 'before' picture. Someone really crazy, I think. Maybe my Mom. Nah.

And...drum roll please...here are the after's:

{the vanity was our big splurge - about $550 at Lowe's. Mirror also from Lowe's}

{this is one of my favorite things...the glass jar - which I'm using to hold cotton balls. LOVE IT. About $3 at a thrift store. It was one of those thrift-store buys that you run out with, feeling like you just stole it. I know. I'm overreacting.}


{since I was going for a earth-tone theme I had pictures of my kids printed in Sepia-tone from Snapfish, bought espresso-colored frames for $5 each at Target and the mats were about $1.50 each at Michael's. Cheap, easy artwork. Plus, every morning when I get ready for work I can look at the faces of my little angels. I'm reminded what sweet little pumpkins they are and how lucky I am. Then I walk out of the bathroom and am instantly brought back to reality by screams of "MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tanner hit me!!!!!!!!! Mom!!!! She bit me first!!!!!!!!! It's sad when your happy place is the bathroom}

{I swear this tile looks just like terazzo in person}


{And finally...our former-wine-rack toilet paper holder and Amy Butler toilet scrubber caddy. Told you this was the happiest room in the house}

Thanks for visiting! :)

Good, clean linky fun at...

Between Naps On The Porch

Under the Table & Dreaming

dresser / buffet re-do...

So lately I've been a little obsessed with re-decorating - with an emphasis on painting. Painting furniture, lamps, walls and fabric.

In the midst of this madness, I decided that I needed a buffet in my dining room to hold all of the clutter that normally accumulates on the dining room table and other assorted flat surfaces in the house. In my quest I found this very southwestern-y dresser for $25 on Craigslist. I'm not one of those people who is always finding incredible buys on Craigslist, so this was very exciting for me. I should note that it's owner was on the OTHER side of town, so the drive to and from our new dresser/soon-to-be-buffet was about 1 1/2 hours round trip. DH had other things going on and was fuming.

The dresser was really not my style, but it seem sturdy and full of potential...

{please ignore my disgusting garage - I would blame my husband, but it's not his fault}

I sawed off the zig-zaggy southwestern cut-outs around the bottom, slapped on a coat of paint (or four), added moulding around the bottom to cover the old cut-outs (the moulding was left over from our recent bathroom remodel), and added some brushed nickel pulls (which cost more than the dresser itself!) and here's what I got...

...with so much storage space I can hardly stand it! :)

The lamp was a $1 find at a school rummage sale. "Before," it looked like this - nice lines, but a little worn out:

and with a few coats of brown spray paint it now looks like this...

Not crazy about the shade, but it was handy. And the paint was left over from my recent wheat pillow attempt...which didn't really turn out the way I wanted, but I'll try again.

The botanical prints are actual plates from an old botanical illustration book. I got them on ebay several years ago - they are all originals from the 1860's. They had been hanging in my daughter's room, but I thought they'd look better over the new buffet!

Re-decorating frazzles my husband a little...but he's hanging in there.

I'm linking to:

house address numbers...

For two and a half years we haven't had address numbers on our house. The numbers that were on the house when we moved in were on a tiny piece of metal attached to the street-side lightpost. Hated it...took it down.

It never bothered me that we didn't have numbers on the house, but it made my mom crazy...and it made it hard for the pizza delivery guys to find us. :)

So...a few weeks ago I was driving down a street in Bisbee - a quaint old mining town in Southern Arizona - when I saw an old, weathered piece of wood (actually half of a door) sitting by the side of the road. Long story short: the door wound up at my house and I was trying to figure out how to use it. My husband, of course, was aghast that I had picked up this piece of junk. I ignored him. Then it hit me:

I'm linking to...

making these this weekend...

I need to re-cover the pillows on my living room couch. I'll be making the "wheat" pillows in dark brown and "burnt" orange. For the {awesome} tutorial, go visit V & Co.

wish i was here...

...have a fantastic weekend!

it's finally happening...

...or at least I think it is {I hope it is}.

We're finally re-doing our master bath. I use the word "master" loosely, as it is about 50 square feet. I'll post the before's and after's later, but here's our inspiration:





And here's the "mood board":


Here's what we're getting:

* Euro vanity in Java by RSI - bought on Craigslist
* Light fixture in brushed nickel from Home Depot
* Mirror with brushed nickel mounts from Lowe's
* Brushed nickel faucet from HD
* Ikea Expedit shelving (we're still debating this one)
* Expedit baskets from Ikea
* Miscellaneous apothecary jars from flea markets, etc.
* Light bamboo vinyl plank flooring from HD - not sure this will work, but we're thinking about it
* Plush bath rug from Restoration Harware in white - which we will purchase with gift certificates that we got for our wedding {yes, it was 9 years ago - they'll still honor them...I checked}
* Walls are already painted Kilim Beige from Sherwin Williams

We're trying to do this project on the {relatively} cheap. Someday we'll do a full remodel where we knock down walls, add on to the house, etc. But for now I need a bathroom that doesn't gross me out. This should do the trick! :)

nine years ago today...

we gathered family and friends together in the prettiest little church

and did this...

and then we did this...

{ miss you Casey }

{ miss you too Uncle Seid }

it was a wonderful and crazy beginning to a life full of craziness and blessings

and today i got this...

...and best of all, this...