Just Catching Some Flies!

With a house full of pets, you gotta have rules.
No dogs on the new couch.
Don't let the cats sharpen their claws on the furniture.
No cats allowed on the kitchen counters.

But there are times when the rules can be bent.
The other day was one of those times.

She was working.
Doing a job that I don't care to do myself!

 A job that she takes very seriously.

She's focused.

On this fly.

 A bomb could go off and she wouldn't even notice!

 Sometimes the fly leads her on a merry chase around the house.

 But today it had mercy on her and stayed on the window.

 But Maddie is lightning fast.
And has no mercy on the fly!

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A very outdated bathroom from the 1980's.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!