It is Finished- Kitchen

I have to say that the kitchen was mostly my labor of love. Painting and distressing the cabinets was about a 2 week process that seemed to involve 30 steps. OK, that is not entirely accurate. But one day I did count through the steps and got to about 17. Joe was responsible for everything to do with the appliances: Jason helped him moved the water line so we could have an ice-maker, Joe cut cabinets in half to fit the appliances in, installed the microwave and outside vent above the stove, and of course he and Noel did the floors. I was thrilled with the outcome and even though it is small I really enjoy cooking in it.

Before:

During:





After:

The score:

paint on walls "Sagey" by Behr
3 new outlets
light fixture
water line moved so we could have an icemaker (and re-patched ceiling)
4 new appliances
repainted cabinets
new hardware for cabinets
hardwood floors/baseboards

Back tomorrow!

It is Finished

I am so very thankful to report that we have finished remodeling our house. Oh my goodness, what a job! We started in June before we moved in, worked the rest of the summer, took a break and then picked up after the new year, finishing this weekend. We are SO ready to be outside enjoying the beautiful Spring instead of inside working and breathing questionable fumes.

Each day this week I will post the before and afters of a different room. And then at the end we will share our house remodeling "black magic list"- products that work so well that they must have something to do with the black arts.

Another thing to mention is that I apologize for the quality of the pictures. I can't remember if we've told the story on here about our camera and how we lost it- basically I unknowingly dropped it in the snow one day during the first blizzard and didn't find it until the snow melted. And it obviously didn't survive. Nick and Maren have graciously lent us their old camera until we get another, but I do not know how to use it that well. So try to ignore the glares, shadows, blurriness, etc.

And now down to business- keeping in mind that we did all of this ourselves...and with our friends. No professionals (unless you count Jason who could be if he wanted to quit his day job).

We will start in the living room:

Before:


During:


After:



By the numbers:

4 coats of paint on the wall
2 coats of ceiling paint
1 hardwood floor installed
4 new vents
5 new outlets
3 new light switches
1 new ceiling fan
baseboards and shoe molding

The peeps:
Jason: fixtures, drywall patching, got Joe started on the floor
Noel: laid floor with Joe (for a WEEK), baseboards, shoe molding, touch-ups, decor
Chris: painted shoe molding, baseboards, touch-ups, decor

There is someone that is missing from the pictures because they are behind the camera- please do NOT think that person was not working!!!!

See ya back here tomorrow.

Sneak Preview

You may be thinking that I have gone back on my promise to post photos of the entire house remodel after we finished the bathroom (last project). Nope. I have bought myself plenty of time in that area because the bathroom is taking forever. It doesn't matter how cut and dry you think a project is- IT'S NOT.

The bathroom has taken over our lives these past few weeks. The reason for the lack of blog posts is because there is NOTHING to tell other than: we're working on the bathroom.

Exciting, I know.

My saintly husband has battled all sorts of plumbing and caulking issues, repaired drywall, and moved electrical outlets. Wow, that sounds so easy when you put it into one sentence. Translation: Those things took 2 weeks. The upside: he has learned SO much and impresses daily me with his remodeling knowledge.

Today I spent close to an hour cleaning up the bathtub. It was finally ready for my precious boy to take his bath tonight. It required some serious elbow grease and this:


and this:


both of which work so well that:

a) they must be toxic
b) have something to do with the devil (black magic)

I try not to use these types of products in my house very often. However, after weeks of mortar, grout, caulk, and paint flying around the bathroom desperate times called for desperate measures. So, before that cute little body got in the tub, I rinsed and rinsed and scrubbed and scrubbed.

The result, along with a little preview of what is to come:


And just in case you were wondering, here is where Grayson has been taking his baths in the meantime:

Out on the Town

Well, Saturday night was quite a treat. One of our Team Dickerson JV members was in town and so the 3 of us packed up the diaper bag and went out on it! (the town, that is)

Many of you remember Michelle, who spent a blissful 3 months on varsity, and who we traded last minute for Grayson. (Sorry friend, but he is DANG cute). Despite this, we are thankful that they are still able to enjoy a great relationship.

Joining us for our big night out, (which if you are wondering what that includes: dinner at 6pm at the Cheesecake Factory, followed by a leisurely stroll around the Galleria), were our friends Dr. and Mrs. DeSalvo. (Daniel and Michelle...she's also named Michelle) They are both super-smart Aggie medical professionals whom I love to pepper with questions. During the dinner conversation when I heard Daniel would be Chief Resident in his department next year, I quickly asked if that was like Dr. Bailey (from Grey's) just to make sure we were on the same page. We were! Way to go Dr. Daniel!

This is them. They are way cute and fun and I wish that either they didn't live in the city or we didn't live in the burbs so we could see them more often.

Back to the other Michelle. After leaving DC, she is now the assistant for a certain lady in women's ministry who loves dressing to the nines and big hair. In the course of the evening, I came up with something I thought was hilariously original and brilliant. I told her maybe I should send her boss a Bump It! She looked at me and dryly explained that they have about 25 at the office already that people have sent her. Blast! Shot down.

Anyway, this is us before the trade-in:

This picture was taken at Michelle's good-bye party. That night an acquaintance of hers confessed with agitation to Michelle how horrified she was that I, the 9 months pregnant roommate, was walking around at the bar sipping on a Coke. When I heard that, I had a good mind, in my misery, to walk up to the girl and tell her she should be thankful I wasn't walking around with a MARTINI.

I kid.

A little.

This is us after the trade:

She likes those pearls. And she has great hair.

Can't wait for your next DC trip, roomie!

And Daniel- I totally dreamt Sat. night that I had diabetes. Honestly, I think about these things too much.

A Jenny Visit

This post is a ridiculously belated one- you'll be able to tell especially by the scenery.

In late February my sweet, brilliant, funny, Clemson cheerleader, microbiologist PhD friend Jenny came to DC for a smart people conference.

It had been at least 3 years since we had seen each other- she's a South Carolina peep- and we had so much fun catching up. We both had our first babies within months of each other, which will always bring people closer. If it weren't for a boy who desperately needed a nap, we would probably still be talking!

She treated Grayson and I to lunch at Rosa Mexicano (not to be missed in DC or ATL) and we treated her to our $18 parking fee (really DC?). She marveled at Grayson chowing down on guacamole and I was shocked that she wasn't wearing socks in that weather.



Come back anytime Jenny! We love you!

Not Me! Monday: Bathroom Tile Edition

Well, it has been quite some time since my last Not Me! post, but after our latest home improvement project, I had too much material not to write. (Not Me! Monday is a blog carnival created by MckMama as an outlet to confess your (im)perfections.)

Mom came up this past week to help me, yes ME, Ashleigh, retile our guest bathroom. Mom has done a lot of tiling in the past and we were thrilled to have her expertise. We tiled the bathtub area and the floor and it looks great! Once we put in the new vanity and fixtures we'll post pictures. I know I keep promising to post photos of all our completed projects and I haven't. Well, this is actually our FINAL major project on the house (whoop!), and so when it is finished I will be posting pictures of each room on consecutive days. Promise. Really.

And now to the not good stuff.

Over the days of the tiling I did not go back to my dirty paint clothes wearing ways all around town. Each day I got up and put on fresh clothes that matched or at least clean ones. I definitely did NOT make an early morning, spur of the moment trip to Home Depot without first brushing my teeth. Nope! Not me! That would be seriously disgusting and I would feel self-conscious the entire time.

When at said Home Depot, you surely would not have caught me trying to use my dirty, make-up free, scraggly hair self to bat my eyes at the helpful (male) employees to drop what they were doing to help me find things such as a 2 inch wide diamond head drill bit that goes through porcelain. And I did not do this so many times that the employees began recognizing us and saying,"There he is!" (meaning Grayson) each time we came around the corner.

While mixing mortar outside, I surely did not breathe in the dust from it that had a warning on the package that clearly said, WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT BREATHE IN THE DUST. (Maybe I paraphrased a bit)

Mom and I do not still have grout in our fingernails two days and several showers and hand-scrubbings after the project.

And finally, I did NOT have a tile nightmare last night! Nope that would mean that I have let tiling take over my brain. But if I did have a nightmare it might have been like this: I buy a bunch of tile and decided to redo all of the floors in the Price's house (Rowlett friends). I begin by tiling the floor in the boutique in their house (what?!). But the next morning, after the mortar and grout is completely set, I realize I have not used tile spacers or paid attention AT ALL to where I am putting the tiles, and it is a disaster! And there is absolutely no way to chip it out or fix it. And on top of that, their daughters (and my sweet friends) are annoyed with me the whole time I am at the house and want me to leave.

If I had a nightmare like that, I would not have woken up in a panic, only to be so relieved after taking a peek and seeing mine intact.

Have a great week!

Happy Easter!