Mission Accomplished

It has been too long since I've posted. I accomplished the bathroom makeover and it feels like a lovely "girls bathroom" now. It was such a stark, hospital-white room before - and that was fine when we were sharing the room with the hubby/dad of the house. But now that he has his official man-cave bathroom all to himself, it was time to bring some estrogen to the room. Of course, I saw on HGTV a makeover that made over a room that was the color I choose to use. Oh well - we like it and that's all that matters. So, first the walls and ceiling were cleaned and the ceiling had to have some sanding/patching done to it. The last time it was painted gray, some weird spots formed in the paint that needed to be smoothed over. After taping off edges, I got down to the job of painting the room. My best advice for painting would be to use the best tools and the best paint available. I used Benjamin Moore paint and good rollers and paint brushes. I also used a tool that is a flat pad with rollers on one side to do the ceiling and some other edges. To use this tool, you have to make sure you NEVER get the rollers in the paint and after gently dipping the pad into the paint, to scrape excess off on the edge of your paint pan. Be sure to paint all of your edges first so you can easily roller the rest of the surface with ease, getting as close to the edge of your surface as possible, being careful not to bump into adjoining surfaces that are a different color. You very well may need to do 2 coats of color and if covering an already painted surface, be sure to paint on primer first to cover that color up. Best advice I can give for a painting project is to be sure you are doing it at a time when you can relax and enjoy the process. Put on your favorite music and comfortable clothes (a good tip for that is to turn sweatshirts, t-shirts, sweatpants, etc. inside out for the work) and enjoy!












The next step was to clean and scrape out the old floor grout using a grout saw. I wanted to regroute the entire floor, so I removed any grout that was old and cracked and roughed up the rest so it would take the new grout and the entire floor would look even.

You can see what an amazing difference the new, fresh grout makes. What a refreshing difference this little makeover makes! And, done just in time for our focus to turn to the outside and all of the projects that await us out there. A homeowner's work NEVER ends! On that note, be sure to check out our Home Maintenance list under Tips and Articles on our website and scroll down to the Spring Maintenance ideas.

Beat the Winter Blues By Bringing the Outside In

Yay! It's March 1st, which means another month closer to Spring. I don't know about you, but by this time of year, I have absolutely had it with snow and cold. I am very passionate about being out in nature and especially, gardening, but do not like to be cold, so that makes for a very long Chicagoland winter for me. After seeing an article on earth911.com, I have been inspired to change the paint color in one of our bathrooms from white to a springy shade of blue. And, of course after doing that, will have to buy new bath sheets, and who doesn't like the feel of a new, fluffy towel?! Along with painting, I will be regrouting the tile floor and cutting out the caulk around to tub and shower door to replace. Just the thought of having this little mini-facelift project on the horizon brightens my mood. How about you? Any little indoor project you could actually tackle now instead of customarily waiting until the spring/summer, like we all think we must?

Along with this mini project, I also saw a post on one of my favorite blogs about using a favorite dish as a plant dish for some small plants purchased from your local grocery store (or perhaps I might grace my beloved local nursery to find them - I MISS that place that again, I only think of during the spring/summer!). I have decided to get out a beautiful, crystal dish that we only use on Thanksgiving to serve as the plant dish. It was Randy's grandmother's and is much too beautiful to only use once a year to hold the cranberries. I can't wait to put this project together too to grace our kitchen table. I will also be making those insane cannolis this weekend - can't wait (check out my favorite blog to see what I'm talking about)! And, if you haven't already, now it is time to put away your winter decor and replace it with plants - either silk or real and spring/Easter decor. I put out our Easter decorations this past weekend and it was a definite mood booster!

I just have to add that my daughter and sister both work in a green-house and I get to see pictures and actual flowers that they come across in their work and received this beautiful picture in a text today. What a blessing it would be to daily work in such a warm, wonderfully smelling place filled with such beauty!

And last, but definitely not least, our most-awesome employees get to get back to work this week. It has been a quiet last two months, but that is about to change. I hope they rested up as from here on out, it's going to be an amazing 2010! Can't wait to have job pics to blog about!

Happy March, everyone!