Floored

This update made a huge impact for very little work.

WARNING! Multiple pictures of tiles coming up!

This is thrilling stuff...

Before...

After!

See what we did there?

Hopefully I'm not the only one noticing the huge difference.

Pretty, right?

These tiles are in both bathrooms and the kitchen.

They have been there since 1990, and it shows.

Lucky for us they are a fairly neutral beige.

While creeping the blog world,

 I came across a product called Polyblend Grout Renew.

Unfortunately I can't for the life of me remember who had the original post, 

but there were a few success stories.

So out to Home Depot I went.

This is what it looks like, pretty sure it was around $10.

Maybe $20? 

Honestly I don't know, but it was cheap!

You can find it in the section where they sell actual bags of grout.

When all was said and done

 I only had to use a third of the bottle to finish two bathrooms!

Snow White is the color I chose.

White is white.

Basic instructions:

Paint it on, 

I used a tiny paintbrush not much wider than the grout line.

Did one coat on the whole bathroom, starting in one corner and working out.

Duh....

Once that was dry, which took all of 15 min, I did a second coat.

I guess this all depends on how drastic of a color change you are going for.

My tiles are glazed and shiny so once dry the excess scrubbed off easily.

Can't speak for other textures but I'm sure you could test in a small corner. 

I just used a small rag and basically washed the floor.

Try to avoid water getting directly on the grout.

Since this is a grout sealant it is fairly water resistant, 

just give it a week or so to be safe.

Essentially it is as easy as painting your grout!

Tedious, but two bathrooms took half a day and I think the transformation is worth it.

The floor looks cleaner and really brightens the room up!

Can't comment on longevity.

In our case we are hoping it will last a few years, 

just until we can replace the flooring.

Considering how hard it is to dig up tile, I'll take the $20 update!

Some more eye candy...

Bathroom #2 before...

and after!

If you can have a favorite picture of tiles, grout and a toilet, this is mine...

BAM!

For the kitchen I bought a separate bottle, 

more of a sand color...

Here it is in progress...

- cell phone pictures, not as pretty...

It really is amazing in person.

It's the small things friends....

Tin Roof Rusted

We're having a baby.

I'll start like that in hopes that it explains my terrible inconsistency with blogging.

I've been lucky, 

no barfing!

Hallelujah!

Overall I feel really great, 

I'm beyond scatterbrained though...

and so that is what makes it hard to focus.

Taking pictures of my living room

and assembling them in some sort of cohesive post 

seems like an impossible task.

I have only just mastered the art of waking up and going to work!

Somewhere in this mess of a brain...

sits a whole lot of gratitude.

Waiting and wishing for a baby has been the most humbling experience,

and that is without complications.

Proof from the world that you can't plan everything.

We are due May 24th, 

which makes me about 17 weeks, or 4 months.

I've slowly been planning a gender neutral nursery,

but have yet to pull the trigger on anything.

Pictures will follow, I promise!

Names and gender will be locked away, 

at least until we meet the little babe.

For now.. 

I'll show you a few small projects that we have been working on around here,

and probably vanish for another month!

Until then I'll be rubbing my belly, 

praying, smiling and waiting...

The loo

Wanna see my toilet?

This is what the main bathroom looked like when we moved in.

Harlequin.

Romance.

Here she is now...

We painted her up, 

Lakefront by CIL

The blue really helped tone down any yellow in the tile/sink/toilet.

Pink WAS NOT helping in that department.

These pictures were taken at different times, 

like I said before there truly isn't an 'after...

For example; 

that nasty yellow shower curtain rod in the picture below....

yum - o

in the first shot you will notice it has since been dumped for a nice shiny silver one.

it's the small things friends.

$10, get on it.

The black wire basket is from Homesense, 

same with the purple towel.

It was sold as a throw, 

it is in fact a Turkish bath towel.

Fancy.

Google those, they are wonderful.

I'm actually looking for one to use as a throw/blanket...

you win Homesense.

As much as I loved the brass Hollywood vanity light...

it had to go. 

This really helped to direct the light up, 

which in turn brightens the whole bathroom.

Happy accident really, 

I just thought the light was pretty.

Let's pretend I did it on purpose though, OK?

The first tray has been switched out for this pretty silver one.

This picture has since been turned on it's side..

Not too sure what to do with this, 

It's very handy, also very yellow.

For now it stays.

Originally this little display was to the left of the sink, 

one day I looked at it and thought

'oh hell no...'

I pitched half of it to other rooms in the house 

and now all that remains are the pink flowers.

Too harlequin.

too cluttered.

There was no real plan in here.

Just get rid of the pink and fill it with pretty things.

Half cottage chic half bright and shiny is what we ended up with.

I'm going to paint out the vanity white and go from there.

I'll leave you with this pretty picture of hand soap.

What more can I say about a bathroom?

This is where I shower and poop.

and sometimes, 

this is where I read romance novels.

Seeds

It's been a while.

 I still need to organize photos of our house to post. 

First I need to take said pictures so that could be a while.

We put in a new garden, I forgot to take pictures.

We painted the spare bedroom, again no pictures.

I have a secret board on Pinterest...

full of ideas and beautiful things to share, and it just sits.

That's OK.

 My eyes have been opened to how incredibly hard it is to maintain a regular blog.

When I check my feedly I have a new appreciation for the work of those I read daily.

I was panicked for a while, thinking the 'blog thing' was failing.

But why add a schedule to something that is meant to be an enjoyable expressive hobby?

Why force it? 

I'm going to take my time....

 that's my schedule.

At least I'm trying.

HOomen

Back to the garden...

Our house was built 20 years ago...

when someone decided to drop a subdivision on acres of old farmland.

In terms of a garden that means no more than half a foot of dirt before you hit clay.

So my husband built up borders, and I filled them with bag upon bag of black soil.

My parents and friends so kindly passed on cuttings...

 the standard hostas, day-lilies and tall grass.

Now, with next to no moisture in the ground combined with a two week heat wave,

everything looks pitiful.

Seriously, I have gone through 4 hanging baskets, 

flowers for dummies!

No amount of attention seems to keep them.

Could be my erratic watering habits but I will blame it on the weather.

At least I am trying right?

Luckily most are perennials.

HOWEVER..

during a trip to the nursery I found some marigolds.

Thinking they would add color and fill a few bare areas I bought two pots.

They took off.

With little attention and very little water they have grown 4 times their original size.

Crowding out the yellow and brown burnt lilies that sit beside them.

What is it called when a smell can trigger memories?

Olfactory memory.

Google that, it's fascinating.

One night while taking the dog out I bent down to admire them and the scent startled me.

I had forgotten for so long, the smell of a marigold.

My Grandmother and mother are avid gardeners, 

and likely the reason my standards are so high in the landscaping department.

As a little girl I remember trying to help in the garden.

My ever patient grandma taught me;

if you dead head certain flowers you will receive more blooms,

 if you save the seeds for later, then nothing goes to waste.

I couldn't tell you how old I was, 

but I will never forget walking around with a ziploc bag and filling it with seeds.

At whatever age, I had entire afternoons free and open.

I spent them outside picking and playing away.

Impressive enough, so did Grandma.

Every other day or so I try to get back there, to the brightest spot in the garden.

It might only be 5 minutes after work, but I try.

I usually have something 'better' to be doing, but I like to remind myself....

"you have time..."

So I sit and pick and play with the flowers. 

I sit in the quiet and think about how important it is to just pause.

I understand now why the ladies in my life spend time in the garden. 

Slowly, I'm getting it.

I had to pause.

We work and eat and clean and rush right over these open opportunities...

we put unnecessary pressures on ourselves to keep up and to keep going.

Sometimes the most important things to do is to just be quiet. 

I guess what I am saying is that I have realized something important.

We need to try, 

but we have to pause, 

and we should always save the seeds for later..

Art Attack

Jasper Johns

Jo Beer

Johanna Harmon

Rodney White

Vincent van Gogh

The bright side.

I find it amazing...

the difference light can make.

My Mom made the wallpaper border magically vanish one day while I was at a wedding.

She is a wallpaper genie.

We inherited a bunch of wallpaper with this house, 

she has helped remove it all.

This was wallpaper wish #1...

granted.

Silver Shores by CIL.

Our bedroom furniture is a hand me down from my Father.

We replaced the brass hardware with black,

 and that is when I fell in love....

We originally thought we would use this set for a year or two 

 or until we found something new. 

But it is HEAVY, and I have yet to find something as well-made as this.

"They don't make them like they used to..."

They really don't...

we're keeping her.

From there I bought a new duvet cover,

from Sears.

On a side note, 

Does everyone's Grandma love SEARS?

Those crunchy royal blue shopping bags really get me...

Grey is easy, 

because grey goes with grey goes with white goes with black goes with grey.

You really can't go wrong.

That green vase / plant needs to beat it.

She is pretty and can live somewhere else in this house.

Just not here.

She isn't grey enough.

Funny how pictures shine a new light on things.

Art/Lamps/Mirror/Pillows

...all Homesense.

Duh...

All grey everything.

 OK maybe not everything...

Now lets be real for a second....

I cleaned and vacuumed and opened a window. 

Underwear and socks make a regular appearance in this room, 

I'm not fully 'Sears' just yet.

 Overflowing laundry,

Painfully curious dog.

 I need a coffee.

Word

Knock knock...

Remember this?

It now looks like this.....

The miracle of paint.

The details...

The front door is in pretty rough shape,

so for now we painted it black...

Sherwin Williams - Tricorn Black..

because when you ask for black paint at Sherwin Williams

they give you 12 options.

Just black please...

Also added a new lock set, 

she's beautiful.

This metal grate weighs a ton, 

I originally planned on hanging it on the wall at our last place.

gravity wouldn't allow such things,

neither would my husband.

Here she sits.

The big brown bottle is from The Salvation Army, 

it's where we throw spare change...

and spare pussy willows.

The white shelf and grey mirror are from Homesense.

This old real estate sign is from Peach Parlor Vintage on Etsy.

The 'B' is just an unfinished pine piece from Michael's, 

painted her black and sanded all over.

I'm likely moving her somewhere else, 

she keeps falling over...

kind of like me.

I highly suggest taking 'before' pictures when you buy a house, 

even if you don't plan on changing much.

It is nice to look back and see what a little love and attention can do..

It is easy to forget the 'before' and focus on the 'after'.

I'm guilty of that.

This house has shown me that 'after' doesn't happen with a home.

It is a constantly changing environment when you are truly 'living' in it.

This is where we live.

I can't wait to show you more..