I have spent the last two days working on re-painting the bathroom from top to bottom. So far I have painted the ceiling and the trim, touched them up, and removed the tape. Also the walls are sanded and smoothed to the best of my abilities.
Note I said 'to the best of my abilities'.
The people who lived here before us were not handy people. This was evidenced on our first round of painting when we had to remove the gigantic wall anchors they used to hang EVERY SINGLE tiny picture in the whole apartment. Where a finishing nail would have been fine they used 1/2" plastic anchors which left 1/2" holes in the wall. Which then had to be patched, sanded, re-patched and resanded to even seem halfway smoothed out.
I learned three things from this:
1) if using an anchor, use the butterfly kind - the holes are much smaller.
2) or just use a finishing nail
3) the guy who lived here before us was a moron and I hate him.
In repainting the bathroom, I have discovered a whole new level of idiocy. Not only were there four more giant wall anchors in there, but at some point Mr. Fix-It did some spackling of his own to install a new light fixture, and also some super fantastic paint around the ceiling of the shower and toilet cubby. Result: FAIL!!!. There are ridges and chips all over the place. Sanding them down is impossible without stripping everything down to the gyprock. So, I've been sanding and patching and sanding and patching and cursing. The ceiling was the worst since I have to crane my neck in such a way that I feel I may pass out. I'm not even sure how the paint stayed up there when it was applied that thick, by the sheer will of gravity I would have thought it would have dripped off.
Because we have been tossing around the idea of a complete remodel in the next year or two I am more than hesitant to put in too much effort. Yes, I want it to look good, but I know that if I put in too much blood and sweat into it I will not feel like working quite so hard next time.
Tomorrow I will tape off to prime the walls, then paint, then a little caulking around the shower, then done. I have all fingers crossed that I will not find anymore handywork.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
My short attention span, why I'm going straight to hell, and what's wrong with the youth today.
I get tired of things quickly.
That's a lie - I get tired of news stories quickly. Things happen every single second, but when something big happens, I get really really into it for about five minutes, and then very very annoyed when everyone keeps on it for another 5 days while I am so over it.
So, today, Michael Jackson died. My mother could attest to the fact that when I was four years old I was literally OBSESSED with him, but not 1983 him, I was obsessed with Little Michael, who was "Little Michael" many many years before I was four. But The Jackson 5's Greatest Hits was the first real tape that I owned, and I listened to it incessantly. I also vividly remember watching Thriller with my aunt and Uncle around the same time and not believing he was the same guy.
I had a Glove. I also had a pleather pant/jacket set.
So, back to today. He died. I haven't been a fan of his music for many many years. That is, I haven't liked his new stuff. I still like the old stuff. Anyway, so it was news, and then it was confirmed news, and now, four hours later, CNN just keep going ON and ON and ON. Really, enough already.
So, I'm watching Angels in America and drinking wine.
Also, I was on a discussion board before where people were insisting it was IMPOSSIBLE to explain to their children who Michael Jackson was because it was IMPOSSIBLE to point to any modern day celebs who could ever compare.
I not only beg to differ, but I outright protest this statement/inference. Because it is totally all relative. Our grandparents never thought anything could compare to the likes of Elvis, or the Beatles etc. Then came Madonna and MJ. And our grandparents thought they were crap and our parents disagreed. Now there is Justin and Britney, The Jonas Brothers, etc. The hype is still there. The only thing that remains to be seen is the staying power, and who will last. I think it is so ignorant to think that only YOUR generation has relevant musicians/artists/actors/writers. These things are fluid and evolve. I think the best thing to do is foster an appreciation in what came before, and not crap on what you don't get, or have the foresight to believe in.
I'm not saying that either JT or Britney are this generation's legacy, I'm just saying that we won't know for another 10-15 years. It could even be that slutty Cyrus girl.
That's a lie - I get tired of news stories quickly. Things happen every single second, but when something big happens, I get really really into it for about five minutes, and then very very annoyed when everyone keeps on it for another 5 days while I am so over it.
So, today, Michael Jackson died. My mother could attest to the fact that when I was four years old I was literally OBSESSED with him, but not 1983 him, I was obsessed with Little Michael, who was "Little Michael" many many years before I was four. But The Jackson 5's Greatest Hits was the first real tape that I owned, and I listened to it incessantly. I also vividly remember watching Thriller with my aunt and Uncle around the same time and not believing he was the same guy.
I had a Glove. I also had a pleather pant/jacket set.
So, back to today. He died. I haven't been a fan of his music for many many years. That is, I haven't liked his new stuff. I still like the old stuff. Anyway, so it was news, and then it was confirmed news, and now, four hours later, CNN just keep going ON and ON and ON. Really, enough already.
So, I'm watching Angels in America and drinking wine.
Also, I was on a discussion board before where people were insisting it was IMPOSSIBLE to explain to their children who Michael Jackson was because it was IMPOSSIBLE to point to any modern day celebs who could ever compare.
I not only beg to differ, but I outright protest this statement/inference. Because it is totally all relative. Our grandparents never thought anything could compare to the likes of Elvis, or the Beatles etc. Then came Madonna and MJ. And our grandparents thought they were crap and our parents disagreed. Now there is Justin and Britney, The Jonas Brothers, etc. The hype is still there. The only thing that remains to be seen is the staying power, and who will last. I think it is so ignorant to think that only YOUR generation has relevant musicians/artists/actors/writers. These things are fluid and evolve. I think the best thing to do is foster an appreciation in what came before, and not crap on what you don't get, or have the foresight to believe in.
I'm not saying that either JT or Britney are this generation's legacy, I'm just saying that we won't know for another 10-15 years. It could even be that slutty Cyrus girl.
Monday, June 22, 2009
I didn't plan on this much planning
We are in the thick of planning mode - I thought once we got the big things done it would be a piece of cake, except now it's all those little, silly things that we don't really care about but know we probably should put some effort into. It's kind of annoying, and I spend a lot of time googling and bookmarking. I fear I may soon break my google, that's how much I'm googling.
Last week we accomplished quite a bit, including booking our mini-honeymoon! We got a great deal, and we're going to VEGAS! Which in itself is extremly exciting, however I am starting to feel a bit of anxiety about how we are going to swing the wedding and all this travelling along with running the business.
Last week we accomplished quite a bit, including booking our mini-honeymoon! We got a great deal, and we're going to VEGAS! Which in itself is extremly exciting, however I am starting to feel a bit of anxiety about how we are going to swing the wedding and all this travelling along with running the business.
Monday, June 15, 2009
After two years, we're finally starting to settle in.
In keeping with the "home improvement" theme, we made a few changes to our lighting situation over the weekend. SB switched out our dining room light fixture, and also put a dimmer switch in the bathroom.
Of course nothing is ever as easy as it should be - while the light fixture went up pretty much without incident, it was still pretty time consuming. So worth it, though, it looks fantastic and the light quality is much nicer. Before we had some harsh halogen lights, but now it feels so much warmer... I'm very happy with it, and also a bit surprised that the one living space in our house that is finally totally complete and updated is the one space we use the least. Oh well.
The bathroom dimmer was another story. SB has switched out many switches for dimmers, so it should have been a piece of cake, however the wiring in the switch box was a little muddled - there was already one light on a dimmer, plus the fan switch, plus the switch we were changing out. Since there were so many wires in there, I guess it was inevitable that something would get mixed up.
Anyway, at one point one switch turned on both lights, while the other one dimmed them, and also the electrical outlet (in a completely separate box) would only turn on when the switch was on. What should have been a 20 minute project turned into a three hour ordeal, during which I was relatively useless since I a)didn't see the dismantling of the wires, so had zero clue which belonged where and b) don't know anything about this kind of thing anyway. But, SB figured it all out in the end and now we have two dimmers in the bathroom. Hoping to switch out the light fixtures in there shortly as well.
All that to say, yesterday was pretty productive. Saturday we played tennis, and yesterday I was expectedly sore, but I am still sore today which is a bummer! Gaaah, and I thought I was taking it easy on Saturday, on purpose, to try and recover quickly. Oh well.
Of course nothing is ever as easy as it should be - while the light fixture went up pretty much without incident, it was still pretty time consuming. So worth it, though, it looks fantastic and the light quality is much nicer. Before we had some harsh halogen lights, but now it feels so much warmer... I'm very happy with it, and also a bit surprised that the one living space in our house that is finally totally complete and updated is the one space we use the least. Oh well.
The bathroom dimmer was another story. SB has switched out many switches for dimmers, so it should have been a piece of cake, however the wiring in the switch box was a little muddled - there was already one light on a dimmer, plus the fan switch, plus the switch we were changing out. Since there were so many wires in there, I guess it was inevitable that something would get mixed up.
Anyway, at one point one switch turned on both lights, while the other one dimmed them, and also the electrical outlet (in a completely separate box) would only turn on when the switch was on. What should have been a 20 minute project turned into a three hour ordeal, during which I was relatively useless since I a)didn't see the dismantling of the wires, so had zero clue which belonged where and b) don't know anything about this kind of thing anyway. But, SB figured it all out in the end and now we have two dimmers in the bathroom. Hoping to switch out the light fixtures in there shortly as well.
All that to say, yesterday was pretty productive. Saturday we played tennis, and yesterday I was expectedly sore, but I am still sore today which is a bummer! Gaaah, and I thought I was taking it easy on Saturday, on purpose, to try and recover quickly. Oh well.
Monday, June 08, 2009
The bathroom I love to hate
Our bathroom has been seriously bothering me lately. Don't get me wrong - I love spending time in there, taking long baths while reading/watching TV/drinking copious amounts of wine/listening to the rock and the roll. However, our bathroom is inefficient and ugly, and it's making me crazy.
We have one of those gigantic triangle-shaped tubs. This is not necessary. All I need is a tub that is long enough that I don't have to bend my knees up, and deep enough that I'm covered by water. But our gigantic tub is much bigger than that, and takes up half the bathroom.
Our shower, on the other hand, is tiny. Just big enough for a person to fit in, and next to impossible to shave your legs in there unless you are part acrobat.
Then, there is our vanity, which is again, GIGANTIC and ugly. Beech colored wood cabinet, with an ugly faux finished looking laminate countertop. The counter is also much taller than it needs to be, which means we miss out on storage. There is also a GIGANTIC ugly mirror, that runs from the counter almost all the way to the ceiling, and spans the entire width of the vanity.
The tile in the bathroom is terra cotta, which means that our options for wall paint color are very limited. And I am NOT a fan of the mediterranean look, so painting the walls royal blue is NOT going to happen. Right now the walls are butter colored.
About the only thing that doesn't bother me about our bathroom is that our toilet has a little cubby-type area. Not closed in, mind you, but set back, between two walls. I like that.
So, I'm dying to redecorate. Even just a little bit. I'm thinking of removing the mirror and replacing with something littler, and painting. I've already torn out the god-awful wooden towel fixtures, and have chosen some steel ones that I like. But we need to paint before installing those. And we need to decide about a mirror before we can paint.
Right now I would kill to be able to afford to rip it all out, put in either ivory tile or slate grey, a narrow soaker tub, move the shower and make it bigger, put extra storage where the shower is, put in a white vanity, a new mirror, and paint the walls whatever color I want because the terra cotta would be gone.
But for now, what color would you paint the walls?
We have one of those gigantic triangle-shaped tubs. This is not necessary. All I need is a tub that is long enough that I don't have to bend my knees up, and deep enough that I'm covered by water. But our gigantic tub is much bigger than that, and takes up half the bathroom.
Our shower, on the other hand, is tiny. Just big enough for a person to fit in, and next to impossible to shave your legs in there unless you are part acrobat.
Then, there is our vanity, which is again, GIGANTIC and ugly. Beech colored wood cabinet, with an ugly faux finished looking laminate countertop. The counter is also much taller than it needs to be, which means we miss out on storage. There is also a GIGANTIC ugly mirror, that runs from the counter almost all the way to the ceiling, and spans the entire width of the vanity.
The tile in the bathroom is terra cotta, which means that our options for wall paint color are very limited. And I am NOT a fan of the mediterranean look, so painting the walls royal blue is NOT going to happen. Right now the walls are butter colored.
About the only thing that doesn't bother me about our bathroom is that our toilet has a little cubby-type area. Not closed in, mind you, but set back, between two walls. I like that.
So, I'm dying to redecorate. Even just a little bit. I'm thinking of removing the mirror and replacing with something littler, and painting. I've already torn out the god-awful wooden towel fixtures, and have chosen some steel ones that I like. But we need to paint before installing those. And we need to decide about a mirror before we can paint.
Right now I would kill to be able to afford to rip it all out, put in either ivory tile or slate grey, a narrow soaker tub, move the shower and make it bigger, put extra storage where the shower is, put in a white vanity, a new mirror, and paint the walls whatever color I want because the terra cotta would be gone.
But for now, what color would you paint the walls?
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