Master Bath Reveal

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE my new master bathroom!?!

While I'm still not crazy about the jetted tub, and I still wish the cabinets were new and not painted by me...

I'm still totally in love with my bathroom. It turned out to be a two-week project because we had two holidays in the mix, plus I got really sick then Hubs got sick. Ugh. You can see the "in-progress" pictures HERE. Sorry there's no "before" pictures... just trust me... not attractive. 

January is a no-spend month for us. So I won't be getting new rugs yet (my white ones will be just fine!)

Did you notice the cabinet without the knob in the picture? We thought we lost 2 knobs in the process... finally found them downstairs where I painted the doors and drawers (after I had already snapped the pictures, of course.)

Hard to believe where this bathroom started - with greenish-blue walls and brown cabinets. The white walls and cabinets really make it brighter, and everything got a good cleaning along with the new coat of paint. It just feels good to walk in and see our handiwork.

Oh, and by the way... I heard from several who said that I SHOULD try painting the brass fixtures on the tub. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Nif

Installing Plank Walls in the Bathroom

Back in July, I posted something on my wishlist - Shiplap walls in my master bathroom. They are also called plank walls... they remind me of being in a farmhouse in the country, and I LOVE the look of it. We finally used vacation time over the holidays to put it up in our bathroom, and I'm excited to show you our progress today.

I first had to learn just how to get started, so I depended on Ashley over at Domestic Imperfection for instructions. He blog post is spot on - we followed it and her tips and had lots of success. 

We went to Lowe's for our plywood, and it came in big 4x8 sheets. We had the guy at Lowe's to make all the cuts for us on the big machine. Even though it was $.25 per cut, it was WELL worth it! 

We brought the boards home and started installing. We set up the table saw in the garage, and we had lots of "back-and-forth" due to the many measurements we had to make around doors and windows. 

Sorry for the blurry iPhone picture. This is progress over my sink. On the left are the cabinets that have been primed. They were brown, but they will be painted white to match the walls.

This is a picture taken from the door to the master bath. Notice the ugly brass/gold fixtures on the spa tub. We didn't replace those because of the expense. I think the hot and cold faucet knobs will come off, but I think I may try taping off the tub and spray painting the spout with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint. (Am I crazy??)

In the picture above, you can see that we still have to put the planks to the right of the pocket door. The walls were a greenish color, which we painted with a coat of primer. The brown cabinets will be primed and painted white, and we plan to frame the mirror over the tub. Other suggestions?

This is the pocket door leading to the toilet and the shower. I'm proud of the little ledge we created with trim. I can put a starfish or other found item up there. 

I will fill all of the nail holes with wood filler, and use caulk at all of the corners and seams. While I hate the popcorn ceiling, it definitely looks better with caulk prior to painting!

Do you notice that the trim around the windows and existing doors is more of a "Stone White" (not really almond white, not pure white) than just white? Do you think I need to paint the trim, too? 

(I actually kind of like the off-set of the different whites. 

What is your opinion?)

We're almost finished! Left on our to-do list:

1) Frame the mirror over the tub

2) Caulk and paint the small foot molding

3) Prime and paint the cabinets

4) Hang the mirrors over the sinks

And.... since the tub is in the corner, I discovered a cool product from Pretty Handy Girl. She shared a blog post on how to convert a recessed light to a pendant light in 5 minutes. Worth Home Products sells a light that I think would be perfect over my tub!

It's the same light fixture that is featured by Pretty Handy Girl.  What do you think? Hang it in the corner over my tub?

I cannot WAIT to finish this project, along with my basement bar renovation.  Bring in the new year!

All my best,

Nif

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Basement Bar Update, a Lesson Learned, and a Surprise

Well, we are almost finished with the basement bar! It's not really a bar, but much more a place where I fold laundry and stack clothes for my daughters to pick up. (It's directly across from my turquoise mirror, though, and really adds to the space now!)

In my last post, I had just started painting it. Now, the painting is finished and the plywood top is on it. 

Next step.... have a piece of stainless steel cut and fitted to the top. (I wish I had a photo editing program where I could "draw" it on there to see the "finished" bar. Oh well - I will have to wait!)

I wanted it to look built in, but there's a gap between the bar and the wall. When we put the bead board and trim on the bar, I should have planned for that and made it flush to the wall. Lesson learned!

But... should I caulk the bar to the wall? It's not secured to the wall, so I'm afraid that it would pull away if it got shifted. (It's a heavy piece of furniture now, but it can still be shifted a little.) What do you think?

I priced corbels at Lowe's, and they were way above my budget for this project! Then I remembered these oversized hooks that my mom gave me to put on the deck posts by our hot tub to hang towels on. Since we rarely use our hot tub, I never put the hooks up. Now, I'm going to use them as corbels! They kind of look like their different sizes in the picture, but they are identical and I think they'll add a surprise element to the bar. I'll show you how they look when the bar's all finished!

Tomorrow, I'll share our progress on yet another project - finally updating our master bath with plank walls. 

Wishing you a happy new year! 

Nif

I'm linking up at

Basement Bar Renovation

It always amazes me when I see that it's been so long since I posted on this blog! One of my goals for the new year is to do more DIY projects and update more often. It's what keeps me accountable and trying new things. 

So... I've written about our basement update several times... first about painting the dropped ceiling grid, then the basement bathroom re-do, then the laundry room makeover, and most recently the pop of turquoise over the sink.

Our most recent project is transforming the basement bar. You can see it in the picture below from the laundry room makeover post:

You can see part of the bar on the left. We've been wanting to replace it, and we couldn't figure out what we wanted to do that would be budget-friendly. 

Then it hit me - we could just "wrap" the bar in beadboard. I was inspired by THIS kitchen island transformation over at remodelaholic.com. I told Hubs about it, showed him the blog post pictures, and he was all for it. We looked in our storage room, and we had enough beadboard left over from our basement bathroom make-over that we didn't even have to buy any! Score!

We took all of the doors off and removed the drawers. We're leaving one side open with shelving, and the other side is covered with beadboard. The picture above is just after we nailed on the trim pieces (1x4 on the top and sides, and 1x6 along the bottom edge) and filled all the holes with wood filler.

We also had a piece of plywood cut at the store to fit the top with an overhang on one side. We have a friend whose family owns a company that works with stainless steel and we are going to have him to fit a stainless "cover" to the plywood which will be our new bar top.

I also had to share a new favorite painting tip! 

I've read about this painting tip, but had never tried it until this project. I didn't have any paint tray liners, and I knew I would need some for the primer and for the gloss paint, but I was eager to get started without another trip to the store. So I tried lining my paint tray with aluminum foil. It worked like a charm! When I finished, I just balled up the foil and threw it away and put more in for the next paint. Have you tried this before? I highly recommend it.

I will be sure to update you on our progress. In the meantime, enjoy your holidays!

I'm linked up at

Flaunt it Friday

Tweak it Tuesday

It's the Little Things - Like a Turquoise Mirror

The basement is the most neglected space in my home. I don't go down there much except to do laundry, even though we've done a make-over in the bathroom down there and my treadmill is in the basement. I've been slowly but surely making small changes, but it's definitely not been on my priority list.

I have been wanting to add more color in my home, so I decided to paint the mirror over the sink a turquoise color. 

The mirror was brown, so I taped off the mirror, spray painted the brown, and then roughed up the edges to give it a distressed look.

(You can see the brown mirror in pictures from our laundry room makeover.) 

I found a terrific rug at Target to use in the space. 

See that ugly sink and counter top? Imagine a beautiful faucet with a stainless countertop. We haven't invested in something like that because we just don't use the space enough. I also want to paint the cabinets... **sigh** 

My laundry room (which is just a space) is to the right. I am LOVING the beadboard we installed. 

And... I added a suprise.

I love this mirror with lights around it. (and... it wasn't until AFTER we installed and painted the beadboard that I noticed that this wall didn't get the new lighter paint!)

It's the little things...

Nif

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Alabama Firecrackers

Today I've got an easy recipe to share that calls for only 5 ingredients. I also LOVE the name - Firecrackers! This is a great snack to take to a tailgate, school event, football party, or even for a weekend treat at home.

Alabama Firecrackers

1 box Saltine crackers (4 sleeves)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 package Ranch dressing mix
2 tsp garlic powder
2-5 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk together all ingredients except for crackers in a bowl. Divide the crackers between 2 large Ziploc bags, then pour half of the oil mixture into each bag. Close the bags, then turn over to coat evenly. Let the bag sit for a couple of hours, turning every 15 minutes. (I then like to transfer them to new bags or a large container with a lid.)

Enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos and Tortilla Soup

Aren't crockpots the greatest? In the summer, I can use it and it doesn't heat up my entire kitchen, and in the fall and winter I can make the most wonderful soups and stews. When it gets cooler I will definitely be making Olive Garden-inspired pasta soup, and my Famous Chicken Chili can be cooked in the crockpot.

When I found the recipes for Crockpot Chicken Tacos and Torilla Soup over at Chocolate Therapy, I knew I had to try it!

The Crockpot Chicken for the tacos couldn't be simpler. 

Into the crockpot, add 6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts1 16-oz jar of salsa and 1 1-oz package of taco seasoning 

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. When the chicken is ready, use two forks to shred the chicken. Serve with your favorite taco fixings like avocado, lettuce, cheese, jalapenos, and more. Looking for an easy crowd-pleaser dish? This is it! Try it for your next family game night and let me know how it goes.

But, best of all... here's another recipe! Before you use the chicken on the taco bar, scoop out 2 cups and put in a large dutch oven or pot. 

Add the following ingredients to the 2 cups of chicken:

2 cups of the shredded chicken

One 32oz box of chicken broth

One can corn(drain)

2 handfuls chopped cilantro

One squeezed lime

One can diced tomatoes (reg size)

One can diced tomatoes w/ chiles

1/2 large yellow onion

One can black beans

2-3 table spoons of tomato paste

2 teaspoons of cumin

2 teaspoons of chile powder

2 teaspoons of garlic powder

Simmer on the stove for about 30 minutes, and it's ready to serve!

This soup is perfect for warm weather or cool weather, and the taste is incredible! I love serving it with tortilla chips to give it a little crunch. I divided the soup into 2 food storage containers and put one in the fridge for weekly lunches and one in the fridge to pull out for dinner on a busy day. Paired with a salad and 3-ingredient chocolate muffins, it's a perfect dinner!

Thank you, Sarah, for the wonderful recipes!