What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

Today has been one of those cold rainy days when you just don't feel like doing anything. At least, you don't feel like doing anything that involves going outdoors. For some people it's the perfect kind of day for getting indoor projects done, but for me, it's the perfect kind of day for curling up with a good read and nice cup of coffee or tea (if it were winter, I'd be having hot chocolate).

Even my ever productive husband has been a little lazy. Although, since he can never be completely unproductive, he's kept himself busy working on his family tree. It's a hobby he started years ago, and right now he's taking advantage of a free trial with ancestry.com.  Since I became part of his family, he's had a whole new family branch to research. But today he's researching more of his side of the family. He found out he has ancestors who fought in both WWI and WWII, a fact he was pretty excited to discover.

What what's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?  Do you like to be cuddle up with a good book and listen to the rain, or do you like to get housework done?  I'd love to hear what you would be doing today.

Thursday's Quote #11

I totally forgot about posting a quote last week. The bathroom renovation just took over everything! That's actually a good thing, because we got a lot done... However, I did completely forget to post last Thursday, and I do apologize.

I'm looking at my new blog design, and feeling a just a little sad that the old design is no longer. Is that weird? I probably should take the advice of the above quote and stop over-thinking!!!

Small Moments Redesigned

If you're reading this on a reader of blog feed, hop over to my blog to take a look at the new design!!!

Today I took a mini-break from working on our bathroom to work on my blog, and I'm so glad I did! But let me tell you, the bathroom is coming right along, and I cannot wait to show you the final reveal!!! We're getting really close to being finished, and I think you're going to be amazed. Hint: The cabinet is no longer oak. That's all I'm telling...You'll have to come back to see the bathroom when it's finished.

Anyway, back to my blog. Last night I started working on creating a new header for Small Moments... The old one, although I love it, just isn't current with my life now or with the direction this blog seems to be going. I wanted something that still reflected my relationship with Jim, but he and I agree that our wedding is not a current event in our life. Living our lives together and designing our home is what we're about now.

I also wanted something more clean looking for a header, but something that still reflected my romantic nature and desire for beauty. The old header was so busy. It was very shabby chic inspired, but I don't think anyone ever really looked at it closely or read what it said... of course, who could blame you for not reading it, it was too wordy!!!

The new header, I think, accomplished all my goals.  I came up with a simple tag line that says everything in one sentence. One of our wedding pictures is still in it, but it's not the main focus. The picture gives the feeling that someone has created a special moment for themselves to enjoy a cup of coffee--at least I hope that's the feeling it gives.  Hopefully, it looks more up-to-date and current, while still keeping the the essence of my personality.

Well, once I created a new header, I realized my blog's background needed to be changed too. At first I was going to go with something very clean looking...a simple white background. But then when I tweaked my header a bit, I realized you wouldn't see the bottom of the "t" in the title. That was one of my favorite parts of the design, so I really wanted it to show. Still, I wanted something very subtle, and I think that's what I got.

Whenever I do any blog design, I always work on the design on a test blog before making any changes to Small Moments. It makes everything so much easier, because I can tweak things until I get them just the way I want them without worrying about my current blog getting messed up. Sometimes it takes me a few days to work out how I want it, so I've found this way works best for me.

Oh! I also created a new Favicon. I had a heck of a time getting it to load the new one... I had to clear all the cookies on my browser. So if you still see the old red rose, you might need to clear your cookies if you want to see the new one. It's a really, really, really, really small version of the above picture. I might have to work on it a bit, because I think that picture has too much detail for Favicon.

Anyway, there you have it! That's what I've been working on last night and this morning. If I wasn't so eager to get the bathroom done, I'd take a nap! (I didn't go to bed until 3:30 am, because I got so involved in designing a new header!)

Let me know what you think!

Bathroom Renovation Preview

Do you remember back in January, when I posted that I wanted to redo our bathroom?  Well, since Saturday, Jim and I have been working on our bathroom, and what a difference! We're not finished yet, but I thought I'd give you a little preview.

Just a reminder

This is just a reminder of what we started out with. Dark and cramped. I had suggested painting the one wall brown to make the dated oak look better. Unfortunately, it backfired. The oak looked richer, but the room became dark and dirty feeling. 

So, here's what we've been up to...

 

We removed all the cabinets.  See the little hole in the wall next to the toilet? Well that's where the original toilet paper holder was. It was really low on the wall behind the toilet, and nearly impossible to reach when... I know -- TMI!!  Fortunately, Jim had installed one on the cabinet, so we never had to use that one. Still, it remained there even after the new one was installed, because the wall would have needed to be patched.

Since we really didn't prep the wall before we painted it brown, there was a lot of ugly that needed to be spackled. I took on that little job myself, and didn't do too badly. Every time I look at this picture, I think of a brown cow with white spots! No idea why!!!!!

 

Here you can see Jim had started installing the wainscoting. One thing I'd do differently, if we were to do this again, is I would prime and paint the walls before installing the wainscot. It would have saved a lot of cutting in with the paint. Lesson learned. Hopefully, someone else will save themselves some time by reading this and learn from our mistake.

By the way, Jim said he liked installing beadboard.  We got 8 foot lengths and cut them in half, because I like the higher height. It always looks a little disproportional to me when only the lower third has wainscot--just a personal preference.

We did find out that actual beadboard has a direction. Jim installed it the same way on both sides of the room, and you can see the difference. On the right side of the room, it looks like a solid piece, but on the left side, you can see the gaps where the tongue and groove come together. Another lesson learned.

Here it is all primed. You can see little touches of the brown above the beadboard. It already looks so much cleaner. Of course, having the vanity cabinet out made the bathroom feel huge!!  We concentrated on getting plumbing side of the room done first, because we found it was a bit of a hassle being without a bathroom sink. Small house equals one bathroom...and you don't want your only bathroom out of order for very long!

I did most of the painting, but because Jim is 14 inches taller than I am, I decided he should paint the ceiling. Fortunately, he was okay with that. 

In case you were wondering what Jim was standing on. He got this great little bench thingy a few months ago, and it worked great. It folds up and is light weight. It was also high enough that it fit right over the toilet bowl, which made it very convenient for painting. Otherwise, I would have been standing on the toilet, which probably isn't a good idea!!! 

 

So here is the almost finished after. We decided not to go with green paint. I took the shower curtain to Lowe's to pick out a color, and selected three colors I liked with it. Then I let Jim pick between the three. This process seems to work really well for us. I don't remember the other two colors, one was kind of a green/gray color and the other was a blue/green color, and then there was the one we chose, which is Valspar 6008-1B Shoreline Haze. It picks up the gold/beige color of the damask foreground of the shower curtain rather than the background.

I really like the color. It's very peaceful. Plus I'm not locked into a green color if I ever want to get a new shower curtain. The Shoreline Haze is so versatile. I took the chip with me to buy some new accessories, and the color goes with practically anything.  I know, I know...it's a "safe" color, but EVERY room doesn't have to make a design color statement!!

So here's a side by side of the bathroom before and after.  We still have some more to do. Actually, we've already done more, but I still have to upload the pictures to my computer. Plus, I have to leave some things for the final reveal.  I just wanted to give you a little preview.

What do you think?  Good so far?

This post is linked with the following Parties:
Sunday Showcase
Nifty Thrifty
DIY Project Parade

Show Off Your Cottage Monday
Mod Mix Monday
Tuesday's Treasures
Nifty Thrifty
One Project at a Time

Thursday's Quote #10

Words to live by.  I find this so inspirational. I really need to practice this more.

Source: propertopper.com via Loribeth on Pinterest

Before & After: Hall Artwork

These pictures used to be in my apartment kitchen, but I just don't have a place for them in our kitchen. However, I still really like them, so I hung them in the hall. And, yeah, the subject isn't really right for a hallway, but you can see them when you walk from the living room into the kitchen.

You can really see one of the pictures well in the picture below (sorry about the glare). The pictures are a group of four prints with coffee words. They have a green/beige background. My kitchen in my apartment had a coffee theme. I'm not so much into doing themes now, but I still like these pictures.

Before:  Close up of one of the pictures

Here you can see how they looked on the wall. This little vignette hides the cold air return. When I first put the little table there, I was sure Jim would say there wasn't enough room in the hall, but he never said a word. If I had realized that before pictures were so blurry, I would have taken new ones today...that's what I get for not checking first!!

Before:  Picture is blurry, because it is pretty old and taken with my old camera.

One thing that's bothered me about these pictures since I put them up in our house is the boarder around them.  It's black, which worked in my apartment, but not so much in our house.  It didn't bother me so much when the refrigerator was over on that side of the room, because the black in the pictures and the black side of the refrigerator tied in together and made them look as though the colors were intentional.  However, once the refrigerator was moved, and the white china cabinet was put in it's place, the pictures just looked dark and out of place.

So today I went out and bought some scrapbook paper to put in the frames and get rid of the black. Yep, you read that right, I bought scrapbook paper. It's the perfect size for these particular frames. The frames are 12x6, so cutting one piece in half takes care of two frames. I wasn't sure what I would like, so I bought three different kinds.

Anyway, here's what they look like now!

After: I'm pretty sure I'm going to change the fabric. I have a gingham that's going to look better.

Some time ago, I moved the pictures over to make room for a letter holder. That letter holder made things so much easier for Jim and me, because now I have a place to put the bills when they come in. He complained that they got lost when I put them in his office, so now we have a dedicated spot for them. This spot is just outside the office, so I can put things there for him even when he's working without having to disturb him.

After: Everything blends in as it should.

Now they blend in with the rest china cabinet. I think they also make the thermostat less obvious, because everything is white around it.  It just looks so clean to me.

When Jim got home this evening, I showed what I had done, and he thought they were new pictures! I would say that's proof they look completely different than they did before.

After: With Gingham Napkin

Yes... I think the gingham looks better than the chintz.  I'm happier.

So that's one of the projects I worked on today.  Funny, I actually went out looking for something to modify a cabinet in our bathroom, which we're going to start renovating this week. Jim is finishing this semester's classes this week and will have a couple weeks off, so we have to work quickly to get it done.  I'll have lots of pictures to share then!

So what do you think? Do you like my pictures better with the white boarders for this location?

Thursday's Quote #9

If you are a strong woman or know a strong woman, this quote is for you! 

Source: Uploaded by user via Loribeth on Pinterest

Countertop dilemma

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my kitchen.  Does that surprise you?  I know it's going to be quite a while before we can make the changes that I want to make, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming and thinking.

Just to remind you, here is my inspiration picture for our kitchen:  I'm quite certain that the countertops in my inspiration picture are real granite; however, that would be over-improving our little house for the neighborhood we live in. So even though I would LOVE granite, it just isn't a practical improvement for our house.

My inspiration kitchen

Below is my little kitchen. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of getting the feel of my inspiration. It's a work in progress, and I'm not going for an exact match. (An exact match isn't possible in my kitchen, the ceilings are too low and the kitchen in general just isn't large enough.)

My kitchen

I really need to think about taking a picture during the day, when the light is better!!!!

Eventually the cabinets are going to be rearranged. The both the upper and lower cabinets to the right of the sink are going to be moved to the other side of the stove, the stove is going to be slid to the left and a microwave will be installed above it, the upper cabinet will be replace with open shelves, and either an 18" dishwasher or shelves with baskets will go between the sink cabinet and the stove.

Wait until you see my idea for my "la cucina" valance once everything is moved. I just really don't want to give it up!!! But think I have a great idea for it!!!

You're probably wondering when I'm going to talk about my ideas for the countertops. Well, we only have about 118 inches of counter space, part of which is taken up by the sink, (See what I mean about having a small kitchen?), so we don't need to purchase a lot of countertop. The problem is do we go with a solid surface or a high quality laminate?

Here are the two I'm looking at. Now understand, I have not compared prices yet.

Wilsonart, Solid Surface, Terrazo

Wilsonart, Premium Laminate, Granite

I think I'll get the look I want with either one. I've ordered samples of both, and they'll probably be here later this week.  You probably can't tell by the pictures, but they both have a lot of the same colors in them. I already have samples of the laminate, so I know it would look the way I want. I'm really just waiting for the sample of the solid surface material.

I'm quite certain the solid surface will be at least double what the laminate is. Oh! and did you know that they now make sinks for laminate that can be under mounted???  Is that totally cool or what?

But I thought all my dear blogger friends could give me their opinions pros and cons of both?

Thursday's Quote #8

Source: etsy.com via Loribeth on Pinterest