Bathroom Redo Almost done!

Its been forever. I quit the gym and pretty much my social life in order to DYI remodeling my downstairs bathroom.

We took out the shower back in May
 

 

Loooooook at where the water got in the wall (again).

What started as a "we will just fix the shower" turned into an entire bathroom remodel. A pop in cabneit was here but it was too close to our washer and dryer that were to the right of my plubming shot here. Oh and done get me started on the plumbing and eleterical and the WALLS!

Lets just say this entire room was a mess. I tried fixing the wall, we ended up moving this whole wall section!

 See the heater on teh bottom right?
yeah see how its flush with the drywall?
Its not supposed to be, its supposed to mount to the drywall.

Then took a nice long 8 weeks to pick a new shower out. Ends up we have a pretty odd space with a "neo angle" entrance. But finally we found what we liked at menards. However, they suck, and i will never do business with them again.

So this is just a teaser! :) Expect a full fledge bathroom reno review in the coming weeks!

I just wanna give a shout out to one of my favorite bloggers Em, from Beauty and the Greek who is expecting! And wishing her and her Greek all the best!!

Goals - Fitness & Personal

So a bunch of bloggers i follow are doing this Follow Through Friday.
And i want to join, hopefully this friday ill be ready with all the goals! But here is a quick run day.
Today: gym fail - all the snow kept us in, as we were shoveling at 5 am the plows finally went by.
Wed: BodyPump
Thrusday: run dreadmill
Frida: BodyPump

Over the weekend i was about 50/50. Good and bad.
We did get tickets to the illini game on Saturday.
WE PLAYED LIKE GARBAGE!
Play the freshmen they out played our vetran players, in less game time.

Little candid of our time, and our expression at the terrible playing.

WELP! I renforced the wall behind the shower. It wasnt pretty but i think it will hold up.
We got the final piece of cement board in.
The hole in the wall above the that cement board is for our new shower head, at a height that i can actually stand under! Whoop for getting that done!

We bought tile, tools, grout and moratar.

Then we visited our awesome neighbors the Jones.

And Mr. Jones is going to loan us a saw and talk to us a bit about layouts.

I am pretty gratefull for amazing neighbors.

Mr. Jones even offered to come help us with it, which i will 100% be taking him up on that offer. we can use all the help we can get, so that hopefully we dont have to redo the shower!

Happy fake Monday. Yeah i had yesterday off, i drank on Sunday and slept in. Occasionally i need a night off, apparently followed by a day of eating all the bread!

Sharkbite and a burst pipe

Its not what you think, i didn't visit that part of Florida for the holidays. (read:swamps)

We got new clickers for opening our garage, only problem is they weren't working right and we kept thinking we had fixed the problem.

Polar Vortex hits, middle of the night our garage opened, unbeknownced to us.

Morning, no water.

Yup, our pipes froze.

So we went to work all gross.

I was so stressed i finally just took a half day to go deal with it.

When i got back.

3 pipes had burst.

We got super lucky on all accounts. First very little water because we shut of the main when we realized that morning.

Second, what my head had invisioned as a pipe burst, was over dramatic. This is what it looks like.

Third, two of my breaks were AFTER the shut of value for a facute in the garage that we dont use. So i just shut them off.

Fourth & Fifth. Plumber put me on a wait list till "maybe Thursday". My dads the best. I was frequently calling my Dad, he started sending me videos on how to fix it myself.

Off to the store i went for a Sharkbite. soldering-less way to fix a burst pipe.

Of course i had to buy a pipe cutter, duh, I am a new home owner.

Copper. I followed the video i found of Sharkbite replacing a burst pipe and the instructions on the bag.

About this point i had an anxiety attack.

Head between knees.

Just breathe.

Dad text message "I believe in you, you can do this!"

My dad wins again.

Sharkbite slipped on to the 'slip-on' edge just fine.

My phone rings, its the plumber who i was on wait list for 3 days later. They were in my neighborhood and would be over in 10 mins. Divine Intervention!

I couldn't quiet to get fitting down on the bottom portion of my pipe.

But a plumber came, popped it on and turned on the water. He told me i bought the right brand and that they had several on the truck.

Then.... He didnt charge me!

How many good things can happen!?!?! Seriously.

We got so lucky. I believe in God and i was sure to be thankful immediately after the plumber left. may have cried a bit.

Sharkbite was in all the local Harware stores, and i was able to pick one up for about $11. For not having to sweat (thats what its called when you asolder copper pipes together) new copper in there i was very happy.

However, only downside, apparently you have to be a man in order to actually install it. i jest but seriously, i could not get it back down far enough against my other portion of pipe. i was just going to wait until my spouse got home.

Sharkbite was quick and easy to use except that i wasn't entirely strong enough. Sharkbite is not paying me to say any of this, all my opinions are my own!

Home improvement goals

Soooooo I am a big procrastinator on this bathroom ordeal.

So the tile was failing and water was in the walls (coming in through the ceiling down stairs).

This was August.

I think I'm terrified to Tile without the help of my dad (who lives in PA).

But several people have told me i can mess it up and have to do it over 3 times for the cost to pay someone.

so here is the status update:

First row of felt on, sealant around tub.

GOALS!

1. Clean tub edge
2. Last row of Felt up
3. Buy Backer Board
4. Maybe start mounting the backer board?

I thought maybe if i started posting about it, i would feel like i actually had to follow through on it.

Heres to hoping that works and i get my ass in gear.

I would love to be tiling by next weekend or thanksgiving week.

We don't have plans for thanksgiving this year as we have been traveling for waaaay to much this fall.

In other home improvement news:

• we did buy a shelf to hide our kitty litter
• got a free credenza
• bought paint primer on sale and Sherwin Williams
• finished unpacking boxes and now have two rooms towering with boxes.
• cleaned out the unfinished space under the stairs, plans: buy some cheap paneling/sheets of wood/drywall and close it in, in order to use it as a secondary closet of some kind.

Thats all i got. think my plate is pretty full with the bathroom i can't committ to finish! Fingers crossed!

Used furniture

What's your take on used furniture?

I've found every living room couch set from Craigslist for every place we've live (3 apartments and 1 house)

And made money or broke even.

We have this huge house and not enough shelves or book cases...
Or furniture to fill it right now.

Additionally I hate having the cat litter out and I'm trying to find a way to hide it, thanks Pinterest.

We have an excellent Craigslist in a University community and close proximity to Chicago.

But we also have a Habitat Restore.

With this restore you have to be a frequent flyer to get something real good.

Props to the SAHMs that can pull that off. its awesome.

I want to be a SAHW - stay.at.home.wife. kthanks!

With the bathroom shower still looming over me (who wants to come help!)

I dont feel like im allowed to ENJOY going and finding cool old bookcases.

these are awesome. not entirely sure they will work for us.

but i feel guilty about my need to 'nest' a bit

when our main bath looks like a war zone.

I pick up T-Dubs from work tonight and we are either buying, bookcases, shelves to hide the kitty litter, a desk, or a filing cabinet, or all of thee above.

First Paint Project Done

My first (of many) paint projects is done!!
We found lots of paint in the basement but OF COURSE we couldnt match this room.

see along the back wall in this picture.

All those spots are from me patching.

They had nice looking shelves up there

but they left HUGE drywall mounts in them, so when i took them out, bigger holes.

So while i would not have made the choice to paint this room, i didnt have an option.

Choosing a color too almost 4 weeks.

Winning at homeownership not

So here is the progess

It took two coats.

The under color was darker than i had thought.

We couldnt even find a 'swatch' close enough

I know because i brought home EVERY ONE that lowes had.

so next time i will buy primer.

My next 3 paint projects are the bed rooms, Pink (including the ceiling, please shoot me), Blue and Green room, and our master bedroom which is a barf flesh color.

Know a great primer? I have heard Sherwin Williams is great.

Ahhhh finished project!

can you tell we are into art?

Home Projects Update

Home projects update:
if you're new here, i've done everything myself (or with T-Dubs)

The bathroom hasn't progressed at all, we can't decide what to do in there and it's really intimidating me lately

I broke out the paint, is that bad?
I don't have enough on my plate, obviously.
I'm sick of the mountain of art that needs to be hung.
Its currently stacked in a room, and thats all thats in there!
GAH! Makes me feel like we havent moved in yet.

We have a drop ceiling downstairs
And there were two switches to nothin in the hall,
one where I'm standing in this picture and you can see the one at the bottom.

But I climbed up to see in the ceiling and found a light box, one ugly fluorescent later.... LIGHT!
And its to BOTH switches!

I cannot describe how much this improves our quality of life,
this is the way to the other bathroom we've been using. 

i'm afraid of the dark....so yeah, this makes me happy.
now i can SEE the monsters hiding down there before they get me.
T-Dubs did this project without me, husband winning.

Confessions

I haven't gone to the gym in over a week and I don't care

I'm drinking a beer every night

I wish sometimes all my friends were in the same circle so I didn't have to make 5 different dinner plans, can't we all be friends?

I have an all girl Kayak trip on Saturday, I was invited, but I only know one person.
Social anxiety thru the roof!
but I'm sure it will be fun!

Weekly Goals 7/29

If you saw on Friday T-Dubs had his wisdom teeth surgically removed.
Gross. Double Gross.
I don't do blood, I almost barfed twice changing his gauze.
Poor guy though he is in pretty rough shape.

Soooooo we had one of the first appointments in the morning.
Got home, set him all up to relax.
I walk downstairs and there was some water on my floors....
....no.nononononono! this can't be happening to me.

yeah, when we bought this house the upstairs/main bath had busted tile and we assumed The Classy Sellers were still using it and letting water just go into the walls. we had thought we would demo this bathroom. We want to try to do it ourselves but i don't have a lot of the tools to install a new bath/shower. Anyways, back to the water.

i pulled off the access panel and sure enough my spiget was all drenched in the wall.
fantastic.

This is the real problem, the tile needs to be removed and redone.

and because the tile 'falling' the pipe is now tooooo long for the faucet

Causing this GAP! Where water gets into the walls. Fabulous.

Lucky for me i found a pretty quick and cheap solution.

This fancy ($3) ring took up the space and i needed and i filllllllled it with bathroom sealer (caulk)

1. Finish filling holes in the walls and sand them down. Basement, master bed room and refill in the living room.

2. I will STOP eating the same thing as T-Dubs. He has been living off of ice cream, pudding, yogurt, and Velveeta cheese in shells. STOP IT ROBIN JUST STOP!

3. I will not drink during this week. This is soooooooo difficult in the hot summer months, but it cooled off for a few days. Honestly, all clean eating starts here. And when i COULD run it was much easier to not drink. Since starting physical therapy, I've been a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, which means i need a drink a lot more often.

4. I will clean the house. Seriously there is soooooo much more to clean than a 2 bedroom apartment, it takes FOREVER! But its gross especially with all the sanding, so i need to do a thorough clean after #1! :)

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Our yard was a hot mess when we moved in.

With a defunked pond with a one winged fairy in it.

Our house has had two prior owners, the original ones, and then the Sellers we bought from.

The Classy Sellers.

Some neighbors told us about the yard and how Maud loved gardening.

Maud's husband Ray was a painter which explains the awesome studio space.

(may or may not be why T-Dubs had to have this house)

Maud and Ray moved to their children 6-8 years ago.

The Classy Sellers, did not do yard work.

And neglected their older dog, and basically left him alone all the time in the yard.

this is all from our wonderful neighbors the Jones. 

They are wonderful, and the greatest part is the Classy Sellers set the bar SUPER low.

Basically anything we do will be 100% better!

Mrs. Jones just was full of compliments when we got done on Sunday.

yesssssss!

Before

After

Before

After

My in-laws came for the weekend and overhauled the yard.

something they personally enjoy.

I would never put this much work into my yard.

or money.

they said it was their house warming gift.

woo.

Before Pond Area

This needed the most work...

After Pond Area

Now little garden-esk area

Before

After

Now I just have to keep everything alive until they come visit again.

EEK!

Now that i look at the pictures, it doesn't do it justice.

Also we laid a little more brick on the front step, there way like a 2 foot area of grass. um no.

I promise I'll get better at Before and After pictures.