Guest Bathroom Plans: phase 2

We’ve made quite a few improvements to our guest bathroom since we moved in.  Here’s what it looked like back in March:

after painting and updating the fixtures here is what it looks like today:

Yet the gold flecked counters and retro shell sink remain.  Our goal for 2010 is to update all three of our bathrooms for under $1000 total, and I think we can do it.  Probably the biggest splurge will be on a new counter/sink for this bathroom.  We’d like to get corian/solid surface.  Since granite shows water stains so easily we’d rather not put it in the bathroom even though we could likely get it cheaper than solid surface.  The vanity is sturdy and I plan to paint it white, along with the trim.  The peel and stick tile in there is in great shape, so I don’t think we will put real tile down, especially since the floor is noticeably slanted in there.  I can just imagine what a headache it would be to make the tile level, ugh.  So here is the mood board I started when we first bought the house, I’ve added to it to reflect the changes we have planned for next year!  Which counter color do you think would look best?

from top left: wall color is restoration hardware’s silver sage, matched into Behr paint.  Silver framed mirror was a steal from Homegoods.  Shower curtain and curved brushed nickel rod from Target, as well as the towels.  Bath rugs from Homegoods.  Approximate color of the existing peel and stick tile.  A print I’d really like to hang in there but Tyler is not in agreement.  Faucet design I like.  A few counter options.  What our vanity should look like once I paint it and replace the hardware.

 

master bedroom plans

So the master bedroom remains at the bottom of our “to-do” list but it’s fun to plan and scheme, so here are my ideas for the day we will finally get around to giving the master a face lift!

clockwise from top left: Repaint the 3 blue and 1 brown wall a neutral beige (yeah I’m sick of the paint we chose back in March already!)  A project higher up on the list is painting most of the trim in the house white and replacing all of our doors with white 6 panel doors, so that will already be done.  Fill the wall space above the dresser with floating shelves and assorted frames/accessories that I can change out with the season (and my mood!)  Replace our Ikea chest of drawers with a shorter dresser.  Keep the white grommet panels already in place.  Replace the Ikea nightstands we have with more “grown-up” looking nightstands.  Buy another white lamp from Pier 1 so we have one on either side of the bed.  And finally, get a real bed with a real headboard!  I would like to have white linens and then different colored throw pillows/blankets/comforters/quilts that I can change out with the seasons as I am CONSTANTLY finding new bedding that I fall in love with.

I have heard great things about the Canopy line of furniture at Walmart of all places, so we may consider purchasing there so we don’t break the bank on furniture.  Really I am crazy to consider dark wood when I am constantly griping about having to dust our dark living room furniture all the time, but I can’t help it, I love the look!

 

Thank you Target!

Tyler and I have been less than impressed with the durability of the tables we bought earlier this year for our living room.  The end tables are holding up okay, but the coffee table takes a beating, especially since I store my laptop on it.  Plus it is way bigger than we pictured it to be (store didn’t have our tables in stock so we didn’t realize how big they were!)  I tried the furniture touch up markers but they only masked the problem and the table still looked like crap.  We shopped around a bit for glass tables but couldn’t find the style we liked for a price we liked.  Then inspiration struck and we quickly found the perfect replacement, this wicker trunk from Target!  I was going to order it online but shipping was $20 and it was actually available in our local store.  I hope that it lives up to the 5 star rating on the site!

this was the best picture I could get today, I’ll take some more when the living room is a bit cleaner and we have some sunlight coming in!

 

a day of good food!

Friday was a day of very good food!  While I was out at West Elm browsing through their store closing markdowns, I decided to go to Dean and Deluca for the first time and see what the buzz was all about.  I quickly discovered AMAZING CHEESES.  Including 2 of our favorites that we had in San Francisco back in October, midnight moon and humboldt fog.  I brought home a wedge of midnight moon for us to indulge in, deeeeeelicious!

Then we went out to Pierponts at Union Station for an end of the semester/Christmas bonus celebration.  With our $25 gift certificate from restaurant.com (that I only paid $4 for!) we had quite the feast at a very reasonable price!  I did not take pictures of the food (I usually only do that on vacation) but here is what we had:

Tyler: calamari, blue crab & sweet corn bisque, muscovy duck breast, and bread pudding for dessert

Julia: crab cake, walnut and pear salad, slow braised beef short ribs, and chocolate torte for dessert

it was all soooooooooo good.  We got the wine pairing which was great, it was nice to have wine that matched each course so well.  Loved the atmosphere, even if the lady at the next table was a *little* loud.  We had great service and not a complaint about the food!  We’ll definitely go back.

 

a little bird told me…

West Elm here in K.C. is closing  very sad about this as I just started shopping there within the last few months.  I stopped by today and much of their stuff was at least 20% off, and I came home with a few small odds and ends, including 2 of these cute wooden birds that I think I will use as bookends:

Only about $5 each!

 

The table is set

We finally got all of our new dishes run through the dishwasher and I managed to clean off the dining room table, no small feat!  I toyed with the idea of buying microfiber napkins (or some other type that doesn’t wrinkle easily) but then I realized I should probably get a matching tablecloth, so I decided to just get some cheap white ones and wait until we have a real dining table to get nice linens as I have no idea what size/shape table we will upgrade to.

So I then started hunting for some white cotton napkins and found these cute ones at Pier1:

however then I get home, roll them up….and realize they will not fit through my napkin rings.  Well that won’t do, so I returned them.   I then stumbled upon a 25% off friends and family coupon for World Market and was able to get two packs of 6 white napkins for about $7.50 each, yay!

So last night I finally put the dining room back together, with my fun Christmas place settings.  Complete with my new basic white dishes from C&B outlet, the fun ornament napkin/placecard holders I got on clearance from C&B last year, and my new napkins.

the centerpiece is some stuff from Target I got on clearance 2 years ago and threw together.

I love the way the dining room turned out, all the Christmas decor looks great with the green walls!

and finally, the view from the couch, where I am pretty much glued as I try to finish all my school work for the semester!

 

speaking of A Christmas Carol

Scrooge stopped by last night.  Methinks it may have something to do with a certain sister that insists on stealing toys and laps?

 

marley and marley, whoooooooo

Best Christmas movie of all time, hands down.  I think I will pop it in during the next couple of days while I bake Christmas goodies and plug away on my homework!

 

Christmas Time is Here

 

My Secret Shame

I am not artistic, really I have always been lacking in artsy skills.  Now that my right hand/wrist is all wonky from years at a keyboard (just look at my handwriting, or better yet, watch how I hold a writing utensil) I definitely can’t draw a straight line, or a circle, to save my life.  Elementary school art classes were torture, as I could never make my project look like the teacher’s model.  So after elementary school I gave up on art classes.  I took photography, a scrapbooking class, and resigned myself to a life with store bought Christmas ornaments.  However, I still display this hideous ornament as a reminder of my youth, and why I should never take an art class!

I typically hang it on the back of the tree