The Light

I can see it! The light at the end of the tunnel, that is. There's still so much to be done, but everything is really coming together. I'm dying to post pictures of what the master bath looks like right now, but a) I don't have time, and b) any pictures I took right now wouldn't be good anyway because it's too dim as the light fixtures aren't all in yet.

We're taking a few days off to spend some time in Dallas (yea!), but then it's back to grunt slaving around......

Lesson of the Day

If you're going to get new doors, you should paint them before installing the hardware.

Having...Heart....Attack.....

I just paid for the granite. That is all....

Hall Bath

The babies are in Tulsa this week (I will not cry, I will not cry) and John David was at school, so I just had Julia with me. We spread out a blanket and took a bunch of things to do. She played on the blanket for several hours while I painted trim.

This is the doorway from the hall into the bathroom. It's not grouted yet, but isn't it pretty?

This is the shower for the hall bathroom. I really like the way it came out and I'm totally wishing I had used those stones in the master! I didn't want them to look the same though....

Master Bathroom

The master bathroom is coming along - finally. They worked a lot more after these pictures were taken but this what I have for now.

Has anyone else noticed that blogger now inserts pictures in opposite order than it used to? Totally annoying because you have to think backwards!

Moving right along.....

This is the (ugly) view from the outside of the bathroom (remember there's a door in there that leads out to this patio area?). The window that was there just had to go and we're replacing it with a glass block window. The bricks that were there were apparently very loose and will now have to be set back in (at our expense I'm sure). I know it wasn't our contractor's fault because the bricks beside the new back door were the same way, according to the door installer.

I know all you can see when you look at this is a big mess, but I see candles and bubbles and a very relaxed La who is no longer remodeling a house.

Here's the shower. I have been very torn over those little square stones ever since they first put them in. They look blueish to me which, as John pointed out, is clearly because of the blue colored spacers. But still. I'm just not certain about them.

Go ahead and say it, Johnny. "I told you so." John wanted me to use "Noce" pencil tiles as a border around, but I was concerned about the lack of color interest since the Noce tiles were the same color as everything else. I thought the squares would be a nice break. The floor of the shower will be all of these tiny squares too. (I changed my mind from the picture I posted earlier of the floor tiles.)

Would you think I was crazy if I went in and ripped out the squares and replaced them with the Noce tiles? They're the same size so it probably wouldn't be hard. Crud. Why can't I ever make the right decision the first time???

It Takes a Certain Kind....

....of personality that is. Or at least someone who can play the part. In this business (look at me - I said that as if flipping is my "business" - how cute!), everyone is out to get the most money they can for the least amount of effort and if you're not tough, they'll try to screw you over. I learned this lesson today as I had to put on my big girl pants and get a little mean.

I'm so not a hard person to deal with (am I?) and I'm super nice normally. I talk to our workers and today I had even taken them a couple dozen cookies from a bakery I had gone to. I'm pretty sure they like me, but they still try to get by with stuff.

I spent two hours today (that sounds totally ignorant now, but trust me) tracking down the soap ledges for the showers. The kind of ledges that are tiled over so they match your shower. My "guy" told me they would be at Lowe's or Home Depot, either one. Strike one. Strike two.

Next I followed the tip of the (seemingly quite knowledgeable) man from Lowe's and went to the big plumbing supply place. In retrospect, I should have called first to check, but I was quite sure they would have it. They didn't. Strike three.

At this point, I called our "guy" and asked him where in the world I was supposed to find this thing. He was no help. Grrrr...

The man at the plumbing place suggested somewhere else he was quite positive would have them. Thankfully, he was right and I left that store with my ledges in hand.

I delivered the ledges to the Piece and went on to the granite warehouse where I received a call from our "guy". He said those weren't the kind of ledges he needed and this kind was going to take much longer to put in and cost way more labor. According to him, he and John had never discussed using these and now the dura-rock was already put in and he didn't want to have to tear it out. I kindly told him that was indeed the kind he told me to get and that I had spent TWO hours to find those ledges and that was the kind he needed to put in. I ended up going to the Piece in person and, well, let's just say that I will have my ledges.

I don't enjoy being mean, but I can put it on. So in an effort to finish this house before the 30 year mortgage is up, I'm going to start wearing my mean pants. Well, maybe. I'll try anyway. I'm just such a nice person. Sigh......

November 12th

The tile is done now and will be grouted tomorrow. It's amazing how much farther along everything seems with the floors done. (Well, we still have to lay carpet, but that's last, it's quick, and it's not messy.) Here's part of the kitchen design. They wanted to do just a straight square design throughout, but I insisted on some various diamond patterns. It just looks so much better! So although the tile could have been done a couple of days ago, I think it's very well worth the wait (and the extra money!).

You win. Here's a picture of one part of one side of the kitchen. This was taken from near the bar. It will be a couple more weeks before we get the granite counters and after that we'll still have to do the tile back splash.

In other news, we've been given the victory over the ugly green linoleum floor. It was a hard fought battle indeed.

Our appliances are ready to be installed! Any takers? (on the installing, not the appliances themselves.) I always have wanted an over the range microwave to call my own. [insert dramatic princess sigh here]

Check out this bad boy of a stainless steel stud muffin!

There's a dishwasher too, but he's in his box so that's no fun. (Notice I referred to the dishwasher as a "he". Obviously, that is not inspired by real life.)

Time Spent Thinking Instead of Working

If you've ever been shopping with multiple kids, then you know how hard it can be to make decisions (good ones anyway) when you are simultaneously feeding someone goldfish and wiping something brown from someone else's hands that you can only hope is chocolate.

So while I like to busy myself painting or working at our house while all kids are in school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, today I found it much more necessary to stroll through Lowe's thinking and choosing and comparing. And then on to another place.

While I did make some progress, in some ways I was even more overwhelmed when I left. I've learned that I have a difficult time seeing things in my head beforehand. For instance, the shower tiles. I can't design these things in my head - I really need to have a great big play shower that is magnetic and I can walk in and arrange and rearrange all the tiles (which would have to have magnets stuck to their backs) to my little heart's content. Whatever home improvement store implements that idea first is going to make a lot of money. Seriously.

Anyway, as I left I was in a give-up kind of mood. I was tired and obviously not too good at all this picking stuff out business. I prayed that God would send me to the right place and to the right people to help me figure things out.

Next thing I know, I had the good sense to call our cabinet maker to help us with our fireplace. (It is apparently much too large for any stock or even special order mantle.) He's coming over tomorrow to help me design something!

Then, I remembered a small place called Decorator's Outlet that I had driven by a million times but never thought about. I went in and there were two awesome women who helped me pick and choose from so many beautiful tiles and stones. I think we came up with a beautiful design - time will tell. =)

So, although I didn't get any work done at the house, I got a lot accomplished just by clearing my head and figuring things out. Now I guess I'm going to go catch up on some physical work while the kids snooze away. (Which is something to be thankful for after this.)

In Progress

The tile is still being completed as I type.
I took a few pictures on Saturday so it's further along by now.

This is the wall cabinet above the hall bath toilet. It's still unfinished since I have yet to decide on a stain color. The walls and ceiling are painted a green color. I've used green before in our last house, but this shade is the best so far. I'm considering repainting one of the bedrooms this color. Except then the painting will never end. Hmmm. Can't decide.....

New Doors

Hey, the internet is actually working right now! I'm going to post while I can before it goes out again! Knock on wood....

Here's the new front door, unpainted though it may be. We'll probably paint it the same color all the outside trim will be - a totally bold beige.

These were the old garage doors. While it was tempting to keep them, we decided to part with them in favor of some that weren't falling apart.

Like these! They'll look even better once all the trim is repaired and painted the same color. They are things of beauty though. John picked these out and I think he did good!

Right After Lunch!

I took pictures but have had no internet to post them (that's a whole different post). It's working again now but it's time to go to church......As soon as we're done with lunch they'll be up - as long as the internet hasn't gone out again!

How Could I Forget?

I have to admit that as I got dressed this morning, I flexed my muscles in the mirror. I was just positive they would be huge since yesterday I transported three pallets of boxed 18x18 tiles from the store to the Piece. Unless you have personally done this, you probably can't imagine just how much three pallets really is. Let me tell you - it's a lot!

Oh, and in case you were curious, yes, my muscles were indeed quite large looking.

No Pictures Still!

We have made some great progress, but can I show you? NO! Why? Because my camera charger is still missing. Whah. It's just near as interesting to tell you about it as it is to show pictures. I guess my mission for today should be to either find the charger or get a new one. Ughhh.

A few things to look forward to seeing would be:

• a new front door and back door (yet to be painted, but whatever)
• new garage doors
• the painted hall bathroom (I am in love with the color I used!)
• the tile laying in progress
• the master bath taking shape
• the color we used in the master room (can you guess what it is? If you know me you can.)

Hopefully, I'll get some pictures up by the end of the day. [fingers firmly crossed]