Not Me! Monday

Each week tons (well, tens) of people gather over at MckMama's blog to share what they have- or haven't-done that week. And because no one is perfect, least of all me, here's mine!

I definitely did NOT forget to write a Not Me! Monday post last week after being all hyped up to finally do one the week before. Nope, not me! I always follow through with everything I start.

And because I definitely did not forget that post, I also definitely did not spend five minutes in the shower this morning racking my brain for something funny I did not do last week.

After that I definitely did not realize that I had completely neglected to pick up vases from one of my weekend wedding venues on Sunday...

....only to get over to the venue today and discover that I definitely, absolutely, positively had not forgotten that the bride's family was going to take charge of that task. Nope, not me! I always remember little details like that and save myself from going an hour out of my way.

Finally, I did not make a list of at least three good blog posts over the past week, including FINALLY posting renovation photos, and then not get around to posting any of them.

And you? What did you not do this week?

Not Me! Monday

One of the things I've always loved about the blogs I read is this little thing called "Not Me! Monday," started by the hilarious and insightful mother of 5 known as MckMama (how she manages to be this funny or write this often on top of having 5 kids I do NOT know, especially when I can't even muster a daily post.)

I always catch the "Not Me!" post on Tuesdays, upon which I always think "Darn! I'm going to catch that next week."

For A YEAR NOW.

So, with that in mind, when I realized I was on MckMama's blog and it was STILL MONDAY! I had to jump on the chance to write my own Not Me! post.

Here goes!

This past week, I definitely did not use the fact that the bathrooms are currently being remodeled as an excuse for not cleaning the house. Nope, not me! I definitely clean up every day, especially when the house is getting daily doses of sawdust.

On Friday, I definitely did not eat my weight in State Fair food and swear to burn the calories off the next day cleaning the house......and on Saturday, I definitely did not forego cleaning the house to have a casual day with Cute Boy playing scrabble and drinking Saturday afternoon wine coolers.

Finally, today, I definitely did not oversleep and not shower before the contractors showed up, and when I discovered that they had turned the water off to the house, definitely did not simply spray some perfume on and forego showering before heading out for a lunch meeting. Nope, not me, and certainly not in the midst of this lovely heat wave!

What about you? What did you NOT do this week? Link up over at MckMama's!

The Scene In Which The Shower Is Done! (aka Renovations Day 10)

The shower is done! The shower is done!

Yesterday (Day 1o) Eric and Eric came to install the final touches- the shower and tub fixtures! (Aren't they pretty? Major kudos to Cute Boy on these! I had never liked this finish, but now I LOVE IT!)


So without further ado, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere it is!

For those of you who have never lived in a historic home, you may not notice the tiniest detail, but those who have will notice the placement of the shower head! Which you can now stand under! Without craning your neck at ungodly angles! OMG!

Oh the simple pleasures.

Detail of the tile pattern on the back wall:

After Eric and Eric finished, Jason and Avery loaned me the power drill (I think they were skeptical at first but then gracious once I told them mine was just at the store.....and I had actually successfully used one before!) and I put up my cool "curved bar" shower curtain rod (making the tub even wider when showering!) and two matching towel hooks on each side. Yes, the hooks are deliberately off-set so that one is about two inches lower on the wall than the other. Aesthetics. Definitely aesthetics. Definitely not the fact that I knew I'd never get those suckers evenly lined up.

The final result!

The Scene In Which This Is Starting To Get Complicated (aka Renovations Day 9)

A shopping list.

Kitchen sink, kitchen faucet, dishwasher, one more towel hook for the upstairs bath.

"Ok, here is the can light I bought for the downstairs bath above the toilet."
"Yeah, that's not going to work, it's too deep."

A shopping list.

Return can light. Kitchen sink, kitchen faucet, dishwasher, one more towel hook for the upstairs bath, new light for the downstairs bath above the toilet.

"So, here are the lights I purchased for the upstairs bath and the kitchen."
"Yeah, these will work for the kitchen, but not for the upstairs bath."

A shopping list.

Return can light. Return upstairs bath light. Kitchen sink, kitchen faucet, dishwasher, one more towel hook for the upstairs bath, new light for the downstairs bath above the toilet, light fixture for the upstairs bath.

"Then, what I was thinking we could do is use the light from the upstairs bath for the downstairs bath over the sink and use the faucet from the upstairs vanity for the downstairs vanity."
"That should work."
"That won't work."
"Why not?"
"The downstairs bath takes a single-hole faucet and this one's a double."
"Ok. Will the light work?"
"Yep."

A shopping list.

Return can light. Return upstairs bathroom light. Kitchen sink, kitchen faucet, dishwasher, one more towel hook for the upstairs bath, new light for the downstairs bath above the toilet, light fixture for the upstairs bath, single-hole faucet for the downstairs bath.

"Here's the light I got for the kitchen."
"That works. We'll take this one down."
"Hey, would that one work in the bathroom over the toilet?"
"Yep."

A shopping list.

Return can light. Return upstairs bathroom light. Kitchen sink, kitchen faucet, dishwasher, one more towel hook for the upstairs bath, new light for the downstairs bath above the toilet, light fixture for the upstairs bath, single-hole faucet for the downstairs bath.

"This new kitchen light looks really nice. Where are the bulbs?"
"I have some upstairs. It takes regular ones, right?"
"Um, no."

A shopping list.

Return can light. Return upstairs bathroom light. Kitchen sink, kitchen faucet, dishwasher, one more towel hook for the upstairs bath, new light for the downstairs bath above the toilet, light fixture for the upstairs bath, single-hole faucet for the downstairs bath, fancy new lightbulbs for the kitchen.

"By the way, you're going to need to touch up the ceiling paint in the upstairs bath since we'll have to put some putty over a couple areas. Also there's going to be some touchups needed to this wall paint (unspoken: this 5-year-old, ugly somewhat yellowed-white wall paint)."
"So really I just need to paint in here."
"Well....yeah."

A shopping list.

Return can light. Return upstairs bathroom light. Kitchen sink, kitchen faucet, dishwasher, one more towel hook for the upstairs bath, new light for the downstairs bath above the toilet , light fixture for the upstairs bath, single-hole faucet for the downstairs bath, fancy new lightbulbs for the kitchen, paint.

A shopping list.

Lottery Ticket.

The Scene In Which I Interrupt These Renovation Updates To Make Fun Of Myself

I realized a few moments ago that I hadn't given you all a fun, old-fashioned, let's-laugh-at-Becky-as-she-does-stupid-things story in awhile.

I may or may not have realized this as I was standing in my front yard watering my porch plants and getting soaked from head to toe in the water that was spraying every which way out of my (previously unrealized) somewhat non-correctly-secured garden hose.

Wearing a white shirt. You know, the kind you can see through when it's wet.

And linen khaki shorts. You know, the kind you can see through when it's wet.

And, ahem, certain undergarments that were perhaaaaaaaps not either of those colors.

I'm not sure what was funnier (and I mean this in a funny but yet slightly sadly pathetic way):

1) that I actually didn't care much because OH, MYLANTA it is hot out there

2) that I actually didn't care much because most of my neighbors could care less about seeing me in see-through garb

3)that I actually didn't care much because most of my neighbors are used to seeing me in see-though garb (thankfully, not true, though anyone around at 7 AM usually gets a peek at whatever I threw on to walk the dog in the morning....regardless of color, pattern, normal purpose of the clothing, or time of year.)

4)that I actually didn't care much because I couldn't wait to get inside and post the story for you all to laugh at.

The worst part? The only reason I was watering at this particular moment was so that all the little birds could get some water from the planters. What's up with me and the birds this summer?!?

The Scene In Which I Am Starting To Smell (aka Renovations Day 4, 5, 6 and 7)

Hey renovation fans! Sorry to leave you hanging over the weekend as I ignored the massive mess in my house and drove off to Toronto for a wedding.

As for the title of the post, fear not: I AM, in fact, showering elsewhere for the duration of my own shower being ripped apart.

At any rate, Day 4, 5 and 6 brought a lot of slow, steady process as the flooring was laid in the upstairs bathroom, then partially grouted over the weekend, and the downstairs was grouted as well.

My front porch was also turned into a makeshift workbench, complete with wet saw for tile. Pretty sure my neighbors thought this was the coolest part :)

Today (Day 8) Eric from Jensen Tile is finishing up the grout upstairs and then the tile guys are DONE! New fixtures also go in today, as well as the upstairs toilet being hooked back up. With any luck, we'll have two functioning toilets, one functioning shower, and one functioning sink (kitchen) before the end of the day.

Tomorrow Jeff and Jason from M-Wood come to assess all the work and set a timeline over the next couple days for the odds and ends they are doing- changing out some of the vanity fixtures, installing the new downstairs vanity, changing out light fixtures, etc. I'm VERY excited to see the new wood trim for my bathroom, as it was the only place in my entire historic home where the trim had been painted over the original color. (Though I'm luckier than a lot of my neighbors in that regard!) They'll also be doing some work in my kitchen- namely, installing a new dishwasher and sink for me!

With that, I am off to purchase said kitchen updates.....and I'll be posting more photos of the FINISHED SHOWER later!!

The Scene In Which I Am Out Of Title Ideas (aka Renovations Day 3)

Can you guess what THIS is?

If you guessed "my awesome new shower," you'd be right! But you'll have to wait for at least one more day to see the end result, 'cause it's not quiiiiiiiiite finished yet.

Since we're on the topic, though, have I mentioned how much I LOVE JENSEN TILE OMG?

Because I do.

I also LOVE M-WOOD CORPORATION OMG.

Because you asked.

And since you asked, here's the story of how I came to know and love both these companies.

Awhile back (like 5 years ago when I moved in) I knew I'd eventually renovate the 1.5 bathrooms in my condo. As the years passed I'd get around to a place where I had the time and cash to do so, and inevitably, something else would crop up on the priority list....big time.

Stuff like ceilings falling in.

Anyway.

I finally came to the point where I was ready to have the bathrooms done and called in Jeff Morgan from M-Wood Corporation. Being that he's the husband of a Butler pal, and has done amazing work for his own home and other clients, he was a natural choice. Over several drafts of design plans and estimates, we crafted a solution that combined total renovation with the ability to save some cost by doing the materials search-and-purchase myself.

Since Jeff's talents lie largely in the woodworking arena, he often brings in Eric Jensen with Jensen Tile to do that aspect of it. Several weeks ago, both of these guys as well as a couple members of the crew came over for a walk-through of the project and a brainstorming session- which I can't rave about enough. I had a fantastic time plotting out some of the ideas I'd had for the shower and bouncing ideas off the two professionals, who (as you'd expect) contributed some amazing thoughts as well. Given the materials I'd already purchased, they came up with a basic design.

Before Eric started this week, I laid the tile out on the floor of the living room and played around with the area that would be the mosaic center of the shower- and as soon as Eric walked in on the first day, he got right down on the floor and started checking out all the ideas! With his knowledge and expertise, we came up with a great design- and I loved that I was able to really see what I'd be getting on my wall. That especially allowed me to trust his judgement on other tile decisions.

AND I'M SO GLAD I DID.

Can't wait to share more photos with you tomorrow!

The Scene In Which They Are Making Progress (aka Renovations Day 2)

Sorry for the lack of update yesterday, but by the time I got back from a 2 1/2 hour trip to Lowe's - and because of the stomachache induced by the mid-trip dinner at China Buffet - I lacked the energy to do an update.

However, energy is one thing Eric, Eric, Josh and Josh have NOT lacked over the last few days! Yesterday (Day 2) they created and installed a new subfloor in the upstairs bathroom and completely built the shower.

Photo!

Today (Day 3) I'm told exciting things are in the works- and because I haven't left for the day yet, I know it's true! Fingers crossed, today the entire downstairs bathroom will be ripped out (they're already half done) and re-tiled, with the toilet installed. Also today, tiling will commence (and possibly finish) in the upstairs shower, and well as getting started on the floor. Eric and I have been working with a couple shower layout designs that include some cool mosaic tile I found, and I think we've hit on a neat solution. No sneak peeks though- just the real thing, hopefully today or tomorrow!

The Scene In Which The Floors Are Sloped (Aka Renovations Day 1)

Day 1 is complete as Eric, Eric, Josh and Josh (nope, not kidding) have finished the tear-out of the upstairs bath.

While I'm happy to report the tile came out easily (money-saver) I'm less thrilled to report that they discovered the floor actually has a gradual slope to it. And by "gradual slope" I mean there is a difference of nearly two inches between the door and the wall 6 feet away. So we'll have to fix that (money-sucker).

I've been waiting to purchase the "little things"- shower fixtures, lights, dishwasher, sink - until the biggest part of the tear-out was done and I knew how much it was going to cost (not knowing what was under the floor, we faced a range that spanned almost $1000 dollars!) With that in mind, I have an A-, B-, and C-list of the things I'd like, and it looks like we'll be going with the B-list items in order to make up some of the cost that will go into fixing the floor, now. Luckily, there are still some good deals to be had and I'm off to get them!

Photos!

The Scene In Which The 1930s Leave The Building (aka Renovations Day 1)

Contrary to many home improvements that I've made over the years here at my historic condo (built in 1890, renovated in 1980, and worked on ever since), THIS week's projects have actually been in the works for several months.

Unlike the replacement of both furnaces, the time my kitchen ceiling fell in, the leaky skylight, the leaky roof, or the cat-attacked third floor carpeting, THIS project I actually WANTED to do, PLANNED to do, SAVED to do, and had a TIMELINE to do.

For this place? That's pretty unheard of.

Oh, you want to know what we're doing? Crazy!

(drumroll please)......this week, BOTH BATHROOMS are being completely torn out and re-done, as well as a couple other miscellaneous finishing tasks around the house!!

Our list includes:

1) Installation of a new kitchen sink that matches the appliances and decor better (changing from a silver sink in a white-and-wood kitchen to a raised-edge ceramic farm-sink-esque look)

2) Installation of a new dishwasher that (wait for it, waaaaaait for it...) WORKS.

3) Installation of a new piece of trim around the step-up kitchen, which has been 5 years in the making after the dudes from Lowe's just put the old, non-matching-but-already-cut-and-we-don't-care piece back up after redoing my kitchen before I moved in.

4)Installation of a new light in the kitchen- an item that was added this morning after the demo in the room above caused the bulbs to, um....fall and shatter. Which became the final straw for a fixture I didn't install and have never loved, whose bulbs cost me $10 to replace. Gone.

5) COMPLETE RENOVATION of the downstairs bath, including:
- Ripping out the ugly built-in fiberboard vanity
- Ripping out the cute, but dated and nonmatching to the rest of the house, 1930s blue tile
- Ripping out the 1980s built-in fluorescent tube lighting. No, I am not kidding.
- Repairing the rotted subflooring (the impetus, in fact, for this room getting redone)
- Laying down new ceramic tile
- Installing new light fixtures
- Installing a new freestanding wooden sink unit with awesome ceramic bowl
- Painting over the paint job I did when I moved in back in 2005 (this is my DIY for the space)

6) COMPLETE RENOVATION of the upstairs bath, including:
- Ripping out the cute but dated 1930s tile
- Ripping out the ugly AND dated 1980s shower, which was conveniently tiled OVER the 1930s tile for extra work. Rock on, 1980s contractors.
- Removing the trim in the bathroom, which was/is the ONLY location in the house where the previous owners painted the historic trim white (Thankfully). This trim will be stripped and re-done to match the wooden trim in the rest of the house.
- Completely re-tiling my floor with two sizes of ceramic tile in a pinwheel pattern
- Adding four posts to the shower's corners
- Completely re-tiling the shower, including the addition of three built-in shelves, and some awesome mosaic work.

I am so excited to see this all come together!! More updates to follow!!