Our Forever House

Picture Frame

We have this picture hanging on our fireplace: 

 

 (I'm not even going to attempt to explain the decor we have going on on the mantle right now.)

From the time we got it, Roman and I have been thinking that it needs a frame.  So, Roman built one and I stained it using the same stain that I used on this table.

I definitely should've used gloves during the staining.  This stuff doesn't wash off that easily.

Then I applied 4 coats of the following polyurethane:

After the first coat of polyurethane:

The polyurethane really raised the grain of the wood so I sanded between the coats. 

And here it is finished:

Sometimes it's the small things...

...that make me the happiest.

I have been loving the updates we made to our bathroom and we made another small change today.

Our bathroom and bedroom doors had these horrible door knobs:

I hated their color, their shape, that they had paint on them, and the cheap feel of them.

So, we went and picked up some new ones.  There was an option that cost only $11 each (that I wanted to get), but Roman insisted on the $22 ones that were a better brand - it was probably the right call.  He installed them today:

The new door knobs also came with new latch strike plates.  Thank goodness because the old ones were really rough:

This is another one of those changes that no one else will notice.  I know we won't ever hear someone ask, "Did you change the door knobs?"  But every time I use them, I'll know.

Before:

After:

Simple change, big improvement.

 

Good and bad

The Good:  Jacie's ultrasound didn't show any stones in her urinary tract so surgery isn't necessary.  We'll get her urine analysis results tomorrow, but I expect it will be fine.

The Bad:  Roman mentioned two days ago that his tooth was hurting; he suspected that one of his fillings had fallen out.  I made the earliest appointment that I could.  During his appointment, he needed to have an unexpected root canal.  He's in a lot of pain, but it's a good thing that he had this taken care of.

 

Bathroom Update

"Let's touch up the paint in the bathroom" - the sentence that started it all.

Our bathroom was needing some paint touchups so we pulled out the leftover paint that the previous owner left us.  The color is a shade of baby blue. I hate it.  

When it was time to paint, I couldn't bring myself to use the old stuff...

We had another gallon of grayish blue paint that I love.  The idea was that I would use the new paint on the one wall that needing touching up - and it would become an accent wall for the time being.

The new paint is much darker than the old:

It's a huge improvement and it made me realize how much I couldn't stand the old color.  So, I decided that I was just going to go ahead and paint the whole bathroom.  Roman helped me and we put on the first coat that evening.

The next day, since we were going through all the trouble of painting the whole bathroom, the next logical step was to buy new white outlets and switches to replace the off white ones that looked dingy.  

While at Home Depot, I checked out the knobs and found some polished nickel ones that only cost $1.97 each.  Roman almost didn't let me get them, but I begged.  Then on the end of an aisle, I saw some clearance bath hardware.  I decided to look, not expecting to find anything.  But then I found this:

I really liked the style, but this was the best part:

Roman reluctantly let me get the new faucet.  Not only would this one look so much better, but our old one didn't work very well.  The old faucet was really short so the water flowed really close to the back of the sink - if that makes any sense.  Also, the hot water pressure was just a weak trickle and we never knew why.

When we got home, I continued painting while Roman installed the new faucet and outlets.

I didn't take any true before pictures, but here are some that I took toward the beginning along with the similar after shots.  The painting ended up taking 3 days.

 

The vanity desperately needs to be repainted, I'll do that one of these days.

New white switches:

What started out as a few hour project turned into a three day project, but in the end it was well worth it.  We spent $74.45 for the following: short handled paint brush for cutting in, outlet, 3 switches, 4 knobs, and a faucet.  

We still have a bunch of things still to do in there like:

• replace the door knobs
• replace the tub/shower faucet
• replace the mirror
• replace the sconces 
• replace the cheap clock on the back of the door
• repaint the vanity 
• in the far far future, we'd replace the vanity completely. it's really oversized for the space and I can't stand the pinkish granite top
• also in the far future, we would probably add some board and batten or beadboard to make the space more interesting

Hopefully we'll find a way to do these on the cheap inexpensively as well.

Baseboards

Our living room came with tiny baseboards that didn't go with the style of or year our house was built.  We always knew that we were going to replace them with wider ones, so we didn't even bother painting all the way down to them.

A few years ago, Roman did replace the small baseboards with new ones in the entryway.  But, he later decided he didn't like the style he chose, so they had to be redone.  

We are finally getting around to doing them right this time.  First the baseboards were taken out.  You can see the tan color that was on the walls before we painted them green.

The floors also need to be refinished, but that's way down on our list of things to do.

We are using MDF instead of solid wood because it's cheaper and it will be painted anyway.  

Roman cut the pieces and made sure they fit in the space.  Then he routed the top edge.  

I used a roller to apply one coat of oil based primer.  I thought I had some in my stash, but it had completely dried out.  So I had to buy a new quart for around $11.

The MDF became a bit rough after the primer dried so I lightly sanded everything with 320 grit sandpaper to get a super-smooth finish.

Then I rolled on 5 thin coats of white paint.  Roman and I disagree about using a roller or brush.  I prefer the smooth finish with the roller, but Roman prefers a brushed finish.  While the roller is my preference, I don't feel strongly about it, so Roman brushed on 2 final coats of paint.

He installed the new baseboards with finish nails.

All gaps were filled with 2 applications of caulk.

Roman filled the nail holes and sanded, then painted and they were done.

Painting the trim before installing it, made this project a breeze.  - It was one of those, "Why did we wait so long to do this?" projects.

We also purchased and Roman installed a new switch plate for the light switches.  

We have new oil rubbed bronze socket plates to replace the white plastic ones, but we can't locate them right now. And we'll be replacing the plug parts as well.  Then they'll match the light switch.

The only thing left to do in our entry way is to finish spray painting the light and reinstall it.

Can't wait to get this space checked off our To Do List.

 

 

Lately - Pictures from my Phone

We were driving and I thought the flag looked really pretty against the clouds that day.

 

Including the next photo because I'm still obsessing about Gregory Alan Isakov over a week after we saw his show.

 

On Wednesday, August 28th, I traveled accross the original eastern span of the Bay Bridge for the last time.  It was closing that evening for the transition to the new span over Labor Day weekend.  This is looking at the new from the old.

 

We went to the pet store to pick up some flea medication and one of the store cats was sleeping by the register.

 

I bought a second hummingbird feeder for the front of the house. It took a while, but finally someone has claimed it.  

 

The sky on our walk tonight.