the bathrooms are getting a facelift :: guest bath update

For those who have been wondering, the guest bathroom is still a work in progress…  We ran into a couple of problems (nothing major… except for a minor leak while updating the plumbing which eventually had water coming down through the ceiling into the living room) but no worries!  When you have an older home you realize real quick that you need to have a great plaster/ ceiling guy on speed dial.

The bathtub is in.  I was a little worried about it and you can read about why here, but as you can see in the picture below, the guys got the tub up the stairs peacefully, installed it, and leveled it. SO HAPPY!  The tile work is done and the wainscoting is going up today and tomorrow.  I think we are on our final stretch to the finish line!  I still need to pick out some light fixtures, but other than that it’s good to go!

Next post will be the reveal of the guest bathroom!  Then moving on to the master!IMG_4460

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Mayfaire 2013

 

It was an artsy-fartsy weekend for Husband & I.   Mayfaire By The Lake is a annual art festival that takes place in central Florida.  This festival attracts talent from all over!  And, as always, brings out all sorts of characters which makes for some great people watching…

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^^This trio was great! There’s nothing like some jazzy/ bluesy tunes to entertain the audience! So good!^^

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The artist below is a Florida photographer who takes amazing pictures of Florida geography.  I really loved the top right picture titled “Lonely Palm” (below).  He was fantastic!  I would love to cover my entire master bedroom with his work!

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I Want the Strings

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This painting completely stopped me in my tracks.  The meaning behind it honestly brought tears to my eyes… not because of sadness, but because of it’s honesty.

From the artist- Mark Pulliam:

“Why the title?  In a world with the need for instant gratification, the strings remind us of love’s simplicity, yet complexity.  A meaningful, long lasting relationship will have tangles and knots at times and flow freely at others. In a world where so many choose relationships with no stings attached…

I want the strings…”

And then there was this cute moment:

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A mother goose with her babies lined in a row following close behind her.  Cute, cute, cute! Perfect for Mother’s Day weekend! :)

A Post for My Mother

First of all, I would like to send a shout out to all the mommy’s out there! Hollllllaaaaaa!!

To be a mom doesn’t necessarily mean that you have been pregnant and gave birth to a child. I know lots of women who have married or are dating men who already have children, and have taken on the mommy role with ease.  I know women who have decided with their spouse that they may never have children, but they have plenty of nieces and nephews to spoil :). Then there are women like me… Fur-Mommy’s who love and care for our animals just like they are our children.

Sometimes mothers inherit children.  Obviously, I am married and have the most wonderful mother-in-law a girl could ask for!  She is beautiful, fun, smart, and makes some really great Sangria ;).  She always makes me feel included, loved, and most of all, she makes me feel truly accepted as her daughter.  Regardless of how women choose to use their maternal instincts, Happy Mother’s Day to ALL the moms out there!

 As for my mom, I’m not even going to say the cliche’ words that every daughter says about their mom on Mother’s Day such as the following:

“oh, my mom is seriously the greatest mom on the planet.”

 ”my mom is my best friend in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD.”

“like, my mom has totally been there for me no matter what.”

Honestly, if you’ve had any kind of decent relationship with your mother, you probably think these things.  And that’s great!  You probably have an amazing mom who does so much for you and is just wonderful!  In no way am I trying to insult the girls that say these things, because believe me, I have said them too.  I just think my mom is on a different level…  When you think of the best of the best, the greatest of the great, the crème de la crème… that’s my mom.  She may not be the Martha Stewart type, but what she lacks in artistry, she exceeds in life moments, advice, and love.

She doesn’t need any praise because she knows what she means to me.

I love you, Mom. Can’t wait to see you in a couple of days.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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American History

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For our final day in Philly, we decided to be good American citizens and check out Independence Hall.  Now, I’m no history buff… I was never really interested in it at all in school… but being int he same room where the Declaration of Independence was signed by the Founding Fathers of our great country was pretty cool!

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And of course we had to see the Liberty Bell…

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Did you know that the Liberty Bell was purchased for only $225?  I guess back in the day that was a lot of money, but it just seems like such a small amount considering it’s symbolic meaning to American history… whatever, I’m glad we checked it out!

the city of brotherly love

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Ok. How gorgeous is this city?!? Stunning!

Husband & I had such a great time in Philadelphia this weekend.  As I’m going through and editing all of my pictures, I’m realizing that there is no way I can put it all into one post so I have decided to break it up into two!  Husband had meetings to attend throughout the weekend but the little time we did have to explore, we took full advantage of!

First stop was the art museum where the infamous “Rocky” steps and the most beautiful views of the entire city can be found.  Of course we got our picture in front of the Rocky statue and ran (walked) up the stairs with our arms raised high just like the movie… ;)

I had my very first (EVER) Philly Cheesesteak at the local favorite, Jim’s Steaks.  Not sure if it’s really my thing… but Husband seemed to enjoy it!  He even got another one at the airport before we left!

We also checked out City Hall which is such an amazing building!  It was located right down the street from our hotel and as soon as you walk through City Hall you are practically in Love Park which I have pictured here. There are people just standing around waiting for tourists such as Husband & I to arrive so that they can take our picture in front of the LOVE sign… then of course they let you know that they work on tips. They did take a very nice picture of the two of us so I guess it was worth the two bucks Husband gave them…

Here are some random pictures from the trip including a picture of our historic hotel The Bellevue:

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^^ Loved these doors!^^

More to come in the next day or two!

Gettin’ Silly in Philly

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Seriously… What a gorgeous weekend we spent in Philadelphia!  Husband & I are sitting at the airport awaiting our flight back to Florida, but I just couldn’t wait to post a little teaser from our weekend in The City of Brotherly Love!  Honestly, when I first heard that Husband’s annual convention for work was going to be in Philly, I wasn’t too excited.  I mean, last year the annual meeting was in Hawaii… Hawaii!!!  So, in my head Philadelphia kinda fails in comparison, BUT to my surprise, I had a wonderful time!

Will post all of the cool stuff we did after we get home in a couple of hours… right now I’m just looking forward to seeing the progress on the bathroom (supposedly they were starting tile work today) and of course I can’t wait to see my three stinky mutts! :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Stressed!

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The tub for the guest bathroom is going in today!  I’m praying that as these four young men carry this 400 pound monstrosity upstairs, they keep in mind that my windows are original…. and I just had my staircase and hallway painted… mmm-k? thanks!

Also, the space where the tub is supposed to go (from stud to stud) is 59″… yet the tub is 60″…. hmmmm…. interesting.

Wish me luck today!

the bathrooms are getting a facelift :: Part 1

For those who don’t know, almost 3 years ago, Husband & I bought a house that was built in the year 1920.  The character of our house is not something that you can just recreate with lots of money… it has been developed over many, many years.  The plaster walls, the original hardwoods, the spiral staircase… Gosh, we love everything about our house!… except for the original bathrooms.

Now, the house does have 2.5 baths… so 3 toilets, 3 sinks, 2 lovely (NOT) tubs, and 1 shower.  This is why we need the guest bathroom to be completed before we start the master.  Gotta have a shower!

Well, demolition of the guest bathroom started on Monday. Woo hoo!  After lots of jackhammering: all fixtures are out, the original tile has been removed, and the walls are open for all new plumbing which happens next Monday!  I’m so excited!  Here are some pics of the beautiful work so far ;) ::

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I will be posting the progress over the next few weeks.  The contractor tells me that tile is the longest part of the whole project and that’s not starting until probably late next week, but I think it’s going really well so far.  No major problems yet (surprisingly, I really thought there would be a ton of rotted wood)!  Only casualty so far::  the toilet that we were going to reuse broke during removal… boooooo!

Check back next week for Part 2!

Dos Años

If you currently follow my blog, instagram profile, or happen to be my friend on Facebook… you probably already know that Husband surprised me with a weekend getaway for our 2 year anniversary.  But for those who are just tuning in… here’s a little recap! :)

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I only had 2 clues:

1. Beach

2. Travel time = 3 hours give or take 1/2 hour

So, living in Florida, that could be ANYWHERE! We filled up the truck and were off and running by noon… we drove, and drove, and drove, but finally… we made it!

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 ^^ The beautiful Ritz Carlton in Naples, FL ^^

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 ^^ yep… this is where i sat almost the entire weekend ^^

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 ^^ watching the sunset before dinner ^^

Husband did a really good job!  The hotel was wonderful, the room had the most stunning views, every meal was delicious… everything was perfectly planned!  It means so much to me that he put so much effort and love into planning this relaxing weekend for me.  So sweet!

Saturday night we had dinner at The Grill which was excellent.  Husband had a steak while I had Halibut.  It seems I’m eating less and less red meat these days…

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  2 years down and a lifetime to go!  Love you, Husband!

xoxo