Bathroom Renovation

As  a reminder of what our bathroom looked like a few weeks ago...

A very outdated bathroom from the 1980's.

Grungy fiberglass tub enclosure that had lost its luster years ago.

It was cramped and dirty and old!

Two weeks ago,   J. D. Shea Home Improvements began
       working on the project.

John Shea has been very meticulous with every detail
       and a great guy to work with.

First, the destruction...

It looks better already!

The tub was put in first.  It is a soaking tub from Kohler.

The floor ripped out in preparation for new tile.

The area around the tub was tiled with large tiles from Porcelanosa.  Eve at Tile America was wonderful to work with when deciding which tile to use for the walls and the floor!
I painted the walls a denim blue color, picking up a little of the grey/blue from the floor tiles.

The floor was also a large tile from Porcelanosa.  Very pretty!

 We are 95% done with the first bathroom now.  The tub is waiting on a frameless glass enclosure.
The tile looks amazing! 

 The fixtures for the tub are from Grohe.  Very modern and plain.

The tile looks like a woven grass cloth.   We accented it with a simple dark brown strip.

  There is a niche in the shower wall for toiletries.

 And the shower head can be hand-held for cleaning the tub.

Nutmeg Stairs and Cabinets in Ellington made the vanity.  The hardware has not arrived yet for the drawers.

The floor is beautiful!

I really like the way the tile comes up around the bottom of the wall so I dont' need to have the painted white molding!

I also love the one-piece skirted toilet by Toto!  I hated to clean around the base of the old toilet where the dust, dirt, and hair collected.

I splurged a bit on the VIPP garbage can - so pretty and sleek!

 The light fixture is very modern and square - like the bathroom tub fixtures.

I even found a square door knob in polished chrome to match the fixtures.

I added a train rack of the wall over the toilet for towels from Restoration Hardware.

 And matching modern hooks from Restoration Hardware for towels.

And a modern toilet paper holder, also from Restoration Hardware.

 The medicine cabinet door has not been installed yet.  We are waiting until after the plumber hooks up the sink so it doesn't get injured in the process.

I am so happy with all of my choices and with the quality of the work that has been done.
When I shower, I feel like I'm in a hotel instead of my own house!  I also tried out the tub and soaked for quite a while the other night - my whole body was nice and warm under the water the whole time!

When the glass doors are installed, I'll give you the final picture.

But for now,  that's it!

Fun with Toby!

When I decided to open a photography business,
I knew I loved  being behind the camera.
I've been taking pictures all my life!

At the end of a shoot, the first thing I do when I
get home is download the photos onto my computer
so I can examine them up close.

That's when I feel like an artist!
The photos are nice, but it's up to me to "develop" them
into little works of art! 

I LOVE that part of the process!

I had the pleasure of working with a beautiful puppy
this week.  His name is Toby.

He is a Bernese Mountain Dog.

I've always loved this breed.  Whenever I see them in
person, they are always so calm and regal.  And BIG.

As a puppy, Toby had plenty of energy, but it was still
easy to see the handsome man he will grow into.

He definitely has his mischievous side too!

Snickers the cat was not amused!

I don't want to show you too many before Toby's mom has a chance to see them, so I will stop now -

Oh well, maybe just one more!

I couldn't resist!   :)

I Didn't Paint the Trim

The first half of my day today went as planned.

I spackled and sanded my wall trim, getting it ready to paint.

I washed door and walls, getting them ready to paint.

But I never actually painted.

Well, I DID paint, but not the trim and not the walls!

As I sat down to eat my lunch, 

I decided to search for something to hang on the wall in my new bathroom.

I found something on Etsy that I loved,

but I didn't want to pay the $295 price!

So I headed out to AC Moore and bought a frame

and some acrylic paint.

Then I went to Home Depot for wood.

 Next, I hauled the miter saw up from the basement to the garage
and cut the wood into pieces.

About an hour and a half later, I had finished cutting and piecing,

and it looked like this:

 But it wasn't done yet.

I still had to paint it!

It took another 4 hours to get all the pieces painted

and pieced back together.

It felt good to finish it all in one day!

 

 I like abstract things.

And I love color.

 It's all ready to hang

as soon as the counter top is installed

on my bathroom vanity.

I can't wait to show you my bathroom remodel!

When it's done.

Maybe Wednesday, I hope!

Tomorrow I'll paint the wall trim.

I got a little off-track today!

The "Snaggle Tooth" Gene

We all have something about ourselves that we wish we could change, I'm sure.
Ever since my adult teeth grew in, I've been self-conscious about a tooth right next to my front teeth that is crooked.  If I was born in later times, I probably would have had braces to straighten my teeth.
But back then, you only got braces if your teeth were really bad.  And my problem was just one tooth!

Whenever possible, I would try to turn my head so that ugly tooth wouldn't show in pictures.

 In this picture with Vance shortly after we were married, I made sure my tooth didn't show. 
Vance called it my "snaggle tooth".

Over the years, teeth shift and get pushed closer together.
Over time, it became less and less noticeable.

By the time my kids were in grade school, I didn't really worry about it anymore!

As I've been going through old family photos, I saw the following picture:

This is a picture of my father (right) with his sister and brother in his younger days.
Take a look at his "snaggle tooth".

 The same tooth but on the opposite side of the face!

 His teeth must have changed over the years too, because I don't remember his "snaggle tooth".

Is it wierd that I somehow feel connected to my Dad through our "snaggle" teeth?
It's a part of him that is in me, and it's nice to think about that!
It must be in the genes.

I wonder if it will show up in future generations?

Here Comes 53!

Every now and then I like to assess my life.  I think it helps put everything in perspective as I travel from age to age.  It also enables me to stop, rethink, and set goals. As I approach my 53rd birthday in May, I have many things to be thankful for and some things I am not happy about.

I always like to end on a positive note, so here are a few things I am not happy about:

1.  The pile of jeans I can't fit into. 
      I have an assortment of jeans in an assortment
      of sizes and styles that have fit me perfectly at
      one point or another.  However, at my current
      size, which is larger than I've ever been,
      NONE of them fit.  I am currently making strides
      toward becoming a smaller me.

2.  My relationship with two of my siblings.
     It would be nice to have one big happy family,
     but I've come to accept that it most likely
     will never happen.

3.  My parents are both gone.
     I know I can't change this, but miss them terribly.

4.  My husband's snoring.
     Again, it's something I have to live with. 
     However, getting a good night's sleep in the spare
     bedroom helps.  It's the quality of the time spent
     together during the waking hours that matter the most.

5.  Rachel from cardholder services.
     I know I'm not alone on this one.  Rachel calls
     me almost every day, on my home and cell phones.
     I've tried blocking the incoming number, but she calls
     from a variety of numbers.  There is a Facebook page
     entitled "Shut Down Rachel from Cardholder Services",
     so I know she has been bothering more people than
     just me.  If a presidential candidate promised to shut her
     down,  he would probably win the election.

And on a positive note:

1.  My parents are both gone.
     I know this doesn't sound very positive, but two of the
     things I've always dreaded in life was losing my mother
     and losing my father.  Those worries are over and done.
   
2.  My husband.
     We have made it through the tough years of raising
     our family and have settled into a comfortable, relaxed
     time when we can enjoy our almost-grown children
     and spend more time together.

3.  My kids.
     I have three wonderful but very different children who
     are all at exciting times in their lives.  I am loving watching
     them continue to grow into adulthood.  It's nice to see we've
     done a good job as parents.

4.  Creative outlets.
     My personality needs creative outlets in order to be
     truly happy and excited about life.  I love writing this blog
     because it forces me to reflect on what's going on around
     me and write about it.  I love my photography and the endless
     possibilities it gives me to capture the beauty of the world. 
     And I love gardening because it lets me work hands-on
     to make my physical world beautiful.
  
5.  Contentment.
     I am content with the person I am.  I pretty much don't
     worry about what other people think about me anymore
     like I used to.  I know that I'm a good person with good
     intentions.  Everyone living in this world is different. 
     Sometimes we understand each other and sometimes we
     don't.  Sometimes we like each other's ways and at other
     times we clash.  I don't have to be like you and you don't
     have to be like me. 

6.  God.
     I have learned that I can worry less,  knowing that I am
     not the one in control.   No matter what happens,
     it will all work out, sometimes in ways you could never
     imagine. 
    

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

Beyond the Obvious

“There's nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater,you realize that you've been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent.”

                          ~ Dave Barry

I came downstairs yesterday morning and looked out the windows of my kitchen into the yard.  Everything was a little wet, so I knew it must have rained during the night.  It was still a little misty outside too.

At first, looking out through the screening of the porch,
this is what I saw.  My backyard.

Sometimes, we see what we expect to see.
Sometimes, in our attempt to get the big picture,
      we miss out on all the possibilities out there.

That morning, I changed my focus slightly.
It's funny how you are able to see the world differently
    with a slight change of focus.

The pattern of the raindrops on the screen sent me rushing to get my camera!

It's moments like these that make a photographer's day!

Focusing on the raindrops instead of the yard changed the picture entirely!

But then, what would it look like if I got a little closer?

Knowing I wouldn't be able to hold the camera still enough,
I got my tripod out and attached the camera.

Then I changed the focus again.

 As the focus changed, I captured more new and unexpected beauty!

 Until finally the image was sharp once again.

It was at this point that I knew where the real picture was.
I would NEVER have imagined what I saw!
It was sooooo cool!

But I needed my macro lens.

Going even closer, this is what I noticed.

If you look into each droplet of water, what do you see?

I'll get even closer.

In each droplet, I could see an upside-down reflection of my yard.  In this picture the grey shed with white trim is obvious.

In this picture, I changed position and now you can see the pathway and gate leading into the yard.

And here is a nice view of my deck with an ornament which hangs right in front of the screen!

The world has so much to offer if we take the time to look.
Dig a little deeper.
Change your perspective.
Adjust your focus.

In your world, your life, your relationships.

Look beyond the obvious and you might find the real beauty.