Bathroom - done!

Here are some before pictures, so you can see the difference.  Truly not horrible, but truly not beautiful either.

Here is the finished space....they are coming back tomorrow to caulk and touch up the trim but I am calling this done

  

I absolutely love the wallpaper.  It is a floral but when you look up close you can see there are frogs, ladybugs, dragonflies and caterpillars on the branches.  It is so cute and fun.

 

We decided to add beadboard, since we would not have a backsplash behind the sink.   We have beadboard in the backhall so it matches and is really cute.  And you can see the floor here.  I absolutely love it.  It is so fun and bright, but looks vintagey too.

 

We used the Kohler Memoirs line for the toilet and sink.  I wanted to do a more vintage look for the sink, but I was very limited in this tight space.  I am already really happy that I decided to do a medicine cabinet, and while I would have loved to do an inset one, I think this looks good too.  I love having space for all our medicine and the kids toothbrushes next to the kitchen.

 

Here is a list of the specifics:

Wallpaper - Thibaut Spring Lake - Lillian in Blue

Tile - Merola (home depot) in black and white and green

Grout - Mapei in silver

Trim - Benjamin Moore "super white"

Faucet - Kohler Bancroft

Sink & Toilet - Kohler Memoirs

Medicine Cabinet - Restoration Hardware Cartwright small (I am not happy with this cabinet at all.  There are a few flaws which I didn't notice until it was installed.  I don't want to have to have it reinstalled so  I placed a big order with them and 1/2 of the stuff had defects or was of sub-par quality...I am currently working with them on returns/exchanges and credits -fun!)

Linen shade - Pottery Barn

Light fixture - already here...I am sure it is home depot or lowes....would have loved to have dropped a pendant down from the ceiling but didn't think of that until after it was too late.

Recently 7

Since I haven't been that timely with the blog lately, here are some random shots from my phone.

I took a day off of work to get some stuff done for the remodel and hang out with Grace.  I had 2 hours with nothing to do and I had no idea what to do with myself!  So I took a walk to a nearby park.

We made an impromptu trip to the zoo with our friends.  I have so many photos of my kids in front of this statue - I will have to do a separate post on that!

My sweet Andrew.

Andrew and I were enjoying a beverage at Alterra and selecting paint colors.  We are getting an Alterra a few blocks away from our house this weekend.  Frankly, I am a little too excited about this.

Grace on her last day of 5K.

Now that the weather is nice, we have been going to the pool every weekend.  I am really not a pool fan, but the kids and Kevin love it.  Grace is a great little swimmer and Andrew is a maniac.  There is literally nothing he is scared of....which makes me very, very scared.  He jumps, does cannon balls and tries to dive off the diving board.  He is the youngest kid up there and he has absolutely no fear.   The first time he went up on the board this year, I walked him up there.  As we were climbing the ladder, I could hear him saying to himself..."This is sooo scary...this is sooo high..." and then he walked right off the end.  The funny part is that he is in swim class.  A swim class for 3 year olds.  Where they learn to blow bubbles and put their face under water....lets just say Andrew is a little advanced for that one. 

Mae is also a little wild in the water.  She loves it and wants to be under water, like her face under water.  She loves to "jump" off the side and splash.  She is a sweet little summer baby.

Bathroom - progress

This is my little collage of what I wanted in the bathroom.  I highly suggest doing this if you are planning a remodel, I could picture it all in my head but it is easier to explain my ideas to other people (like my husband) if I can show them a visual of it all together. 

When we made the decision to do the kitchen, naturally this project grew to include the bathroom and back hall/mud room. We started on the backhall and bathroom this week. We won't start the kitchen for another month or so. I have been living amidst dust and tools and empty powerade bottles and dust and drop cloths and dust and miscellaneous supplies and dust and dust and dust.....


Anyways, I will post before pictures later but here is a little progress update.  Today wallpaper, painting and grouting is happening.  When they ripped up the tile in the old bathroom, this is what we found.  Of course I got all excited thinking we could keep it, but we couldn't.  There was a big section missing. 

With our remodel, I am trying to make everything look like it could have been here since the house was built in 1927.  Which is fun...and making me crazy.  So when I saw the ORIGINAL tile, I was thrilled.  And I am totally, irrationally disappointed about not being able to use it. 

So here is the new tile.  We just bought standard home depot black and white flower hex tiles (available online) and I also bought a box of plain green hex tiles.  I had my contractor pop out the white centers of the flowers and replace with green.  Not going to be modest here, love my brilliant idea!

What a difference a year makes

One if my favorite things about keeping up with this blog, is looking back and seeing what we were up to a year or two or even three years ago.

These were taken almost one year apart on a walk to the village. Grace can now make the trek herself, especially if the goal is the ice cream store. Last year at this time, Mae had horrible diaper rash that wouldn't go away (ugh so frustrating) and she wouldn't sleep or even nap very well. Now she is a good (not great) sleeper, but we still are dealing with some very sensitive skin. Andrew was in the midst of some very challenging potty training and was still very much a toddler. Now he is such a big boy!

Andrew and Ryan

A few months ago (yeah, so this is a little late), Andrew had the opportunity to meet Ryan Braun at a Brewer event. Here are a few snapshots....

They had a quick conversation.

My version of what happened:
"Hi Mr Braun."  My kids have the best manners.
"Hi Andrew, who is with you? Your mom I hope!  I have heard she is super cute, really cool and hilarious. Can't wait to meet her....What? Just your dad? Too bad. Tell your mom I said, 'How you doin'.... "

What actually happened:
"Hi there.  What is your name?"
"Andrew."
"How old are you?"
"Three!"
"Wow!  You are already three!  And you are sooo big!"
I guess he was really super nice to little buddy.  Not that Andrew now likes baseball or anything....he still calls it "Marquette ball" and frequently confuses the Brewers, Marquette and Miller Lite logos.

Fancy Mae and the Guacamole

A few weeks ago Amy and Justin were in town.  Mae was being fancy that day with her new headband (yes she does insist on wearing one every once in a while) and butterfly wings.

 Isn't she so sweet?

And dainty with her little cracker?

 Why yes.  Until she saw the guacamole!

I heard she ate half the bowl.

 

Headband gone, wings askew, tummy hanging out...oh Mae!  

And while Mae ate, Grace played soccer and giggled.  

 And Andrew was in heaven playing (or whatever you call this) with Uncle Justin.  I guess playing with Andrew is basically like playing with a puppy.  Sweet, determined, easily exhausted and somewhat stinky.

Memorial Day Weekend - Andrew Style

Day trip to Madison

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Madison.  We are trying to determine what countertops we want for our kitchen, so we were checking out some soapstone at a dealer in Madison.   We found this slab, but didn't like the sharp variation in color with our layout. We also stopped by the farmers market, checked out the Capitol building and stopped for lunch at Ella's Deli on the way out of town.  There are no pictures of Andrew because he now refuses to get his picture taken.