Finally Finished

The Big Unveil...

Well, it took two extra days, a lot of stress, many extra trips to Lowe's, and four sleepless nights at a hotel, but we finally have our new bathroom!  It was a frustrating experience, to say the least, and completely extinguished any desire to remodel again, but everything is new and updated and fixed.  We might only have one bathroom still, but it's definitely nicer!  Below are before pictures:

And a picture of a layer of old vinyl:

And after!:

 And yes, in case you were wondering, we did get the faucet and vanity that I mentioned a while ago in another blog post:

We have a bathroom that is approximately 12' long by 5' wide--a typical bathroom size for an older home.  To make it feel larger, we chose better lighting, a light-colored wood vanity, and kept the walls a lighter color, and even though we chose a larger tub and deeper vanity cabinet, it still feels like a larger space.  The porcelain tile gives it a much more polished and refined look, especially as a shower surround.  We also updated our towel bars, toilet paper holder, and towel/robe hooks to a more modern brushed nickel finish, with tied everything together well.  We like it.  I don't want to do this again, but we have a nice, updated bathroom.  It should help us sell the house in a few years without a problem.  Woohoo!

Christmas Partyin'

We attended hubby's Christmas party on Saturday night.  It was a good time, with lots of good food, live music and dancing.  There are always a lot of people there, but it never seems crowded, unless you spend the night near the open bar.  Here are a few phone pics and videos (I apologize for the quality--I need a phone that takes better images).

The local high school orchestra played before the band arrived.  They were very good!

I also took video of a couple who was really enjoying the music, and this guy had sweet moves!  I'm guessing they were in their late 60s to early 70s.  The video won't load onto the blog, but it was fun to watch them all night.  Just take my word for it.  I ran into the lady in the bathroom and she told me that he was from Greece, and that they just really get into their dancing over there.  Sounds like fun!

Staying Occupied

I've been staying very busy filling online orders lately.  I appreciate all of the support that family and friends have given me, as well as the support I've gained on Etsy, the website, and Facebook.  Thanks, everyone!  And there's a good chance that I won't have another entry before Christmas, so I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and happy New Year!!

I've been reading an online devotional from Chuck Swindoll.  Right now, he's discussing the story of Esther, another favorite story in the Old Testament.  God's not mentioned in this book, but He's certainly orchestrating everything that happens in it!  What a brave woman Esther was.  And smart, too!  She wasn't vain, she didn't aspire to be royalty, she had patience, and she understood timing in the events that were destined to occur.  She was all of these things because, through her life, God had made her into the person He needed her to be to save her race.  While she didn't necessarily want the palace life, she was obedient to not just her uncle, Mordecai, but also to God in what she was instructed to do.  Her humility caught the eye of the king, who had dismissed his previous wife for her unwillingness to obey, and this landed Esther in a position to save the Jews and fulfill prophecy.  Whew!  Good thing for that!  I wish that I could have more of Esther's attributes.  To read the book, click on this link: Book of Esther.

I've Been Bitten!

Oh, I have been bitten.  I have the bug...the bug that has no cure, except to just let go.

No, I'm not dying of West Nile or the Swine flu--at least, not that I know of.  No, I'm talking about the remodeling bug.  It comes and goes, but it seems to be coming back again, and it's very strong right now.  What makes it worse is that my husband has the bug as well!  Truly, though, the house is due.  We live in a 50 year old house that was probably remodeled ten to fifteen years ago, and in general the house has been well-lived in.  It's not in bad shape, but there are problems that need to be fixed, as expected in a house this age (or anything this age).  The vinyl flooring in our bathroom is starting to come unglued, and will need to be replaced soon.  The tub surround requires re-caulking on a semi-regular basis, and is old and hard to clean (so is the tub itself).  The sink and cabinet look aged, and not in a good, antique-y way.  'Tis time, 'tis time.  What makes this even worse are two things:  1) we only have one bathroom, and to have it remodeled will leave us with no place for "reading", and 2) we made the mistake of going to Menard's and finding a cabinet, one-piece solid surface vanity top/sink,  faucet, medicine cabinet, and tub/shower combo that I realllllllly liked.  I've even included a few photos below, courtesy of the Menard's website:

Love the cabinet, but not the vanity top--stock photo

Isn't this the cutest sink faucet??  I would take it with us when we move to our dream home someday, because it's also pretty pricey.

There are several things that we would like to do to make this house look a little more appealing when it comes to selling someday.  This is just the start, but we would also like to eventually replace carpeting and add a half bath too, over time.  We are already working on curb appeal, thanks to the hail storm and our insurance!  We already have a brand-new roof and will have all new siding and shutters on our house soon.  We'll repaint the shed out back.  We've repainted the living room and hallway.  We've replaced all of the kitchen appliances.  *Sniff, sniff*...aah, I love the smell of remodeling!  I have to admit, I was spoiled by our last house in Kentucky.  It had been completely gutted and replaced with all new everything.  It was smaller than this house, but it looked better.  But, the economy there was much different than it is where we now live, so we are faced with doing upgrades on our own.  Someday, I hope we have the house that we've always wanted, but for now, I think we can make this house a comfortable stop along the way.

Not long ago, a friend on Facebook posted that they were reminded of the verse about contentment in 1 Timothy.  It struck me, because I sway between contentment and compulsion, and I thought it seemed fitting for my desire to have the perfect house--the house that everyone envies, the house that shows up on HGTV and in the magazines as full-page color photos.  Part of it is my (now unpracticed) profession of interior design, and design in general, and should be expected.  But when I think about it, I can't help but wonder, "what's the point?"  I know that my treasures and mansion won't be here on earth one day, but rather will be found in Heaven above when I finally get there.  So, even though I would love to have the showplace of my dreams here, I know there are other more important things to focus on.  "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it."--1 Timothy 6:6-7.  Basically, be content with what God has given you, because you can't take worldly gain with you when you die!