bathroom renovation, in photos……..

Sigh.

It’s done. Everything went wrong, for the most part. But somehow we managed to keep the budget under $1500 and completely renovate the master bathroom. Most importantly, it’s done. Done.

Joe really gets credit for the bulk of it…. Maggie supervised his tile job & I painted…. but the rest was really him. Well, until it came time to buy a shower curtain and new towels. I don’t even remember the last time I bought new towels! I am totally smitten with the colors in there…..

Craziest part of the job, scraping grout out & having half of the tiles come with it. Seriously. Not a good moment. Much swearing under the breath, broken tiles, etc. We couldn’t find square tiles that were the same size, so Joe improvised by adding the rectangular section and salvaging the broken squares to do the zigzag top. He’s a smart one! And it looks so good.

Hardest part, waiting three weeks for the vanity to come in. And another week on top of that for the mirror. I guess we like to find bathroom vanities that are on back-order. But when you have a tiny budget and specific measurements to work with…. you have limited options!

In other house news, the kitchen and hallway are completely repainted. The music room and entryway walls have been washed and retouched. Most of the moulding has been repainted. Two small tile jobs in the kitchen were done. The cabinets finished. The kitchen will be ready to share here by late next week!

Things are moving along and we’re hoping to have an appointment with the realtor next week to get a for sale sign in the front yard. Oh do please wish us luck.

And one last thing…. Joe finally got official orders!! They still say Providence, RI. We should be heading to New England sometime in June….. or maybe part of us sooner if the house sells quickly.

Either way, we’re in for a whirlwind of events these next few months….

my word for 2013…..

I've been seeing bloggers and crafters and writers choosing a word for the year. For their year. Something they want to work on, or something they want to see manifest in their own lives.

To tell you the truth I wasn't initially drawn to this……. but I changed my mind. I do want a word.

Perhaps more accurately, a word wants me. It crept in the back corner of my mind a few weeks ago and slowly made it's way front and center. It's not going anywhere. Maybe it's one of those things that will keep me grounded in the coming months which will be so full of change and upheaval for our family. Maybe it will help keep my mind in this moment, mindful. I'm always working on that one. And noticing is certainly part of the craft in writing and photography, capturing the little details that make up this beautiful life…..

I don't really know what it has planned. But I think I'd better pay attention…. and listen.

And notice.

Did you choose a word for 2013? I'd love to hear it….. do share…

~mindful monday~

“I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it”
― Thomas Jefferson

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mind.ful = conscious or aware of something

Something that speaks to your heart and leaves you feeling beautifully grounded right where you are. If you’d like to share yours…. please leave a link in your comment below for others to discover.

happy monday friends,

~stephinie

random bits from the week + some link love…..

this week had tea, lots & lots of tea. we're pretty smitten with heather's recipe and this handy dandy little tool that froths up almond milk. yes, that photo up there…. it's almond milk.

chocolate chip banana pancakes on a weekday? why not. this girl in the kitchen always makes me smile. i need to give her some room to be free in there…. fly solo with some culinary adventures.

the january stack….. purple

handmade lego glasses are apparently the new in thing….

finally got some fresh aprons in the shop, with one set aside for the little man. he loves these veggies. i love leaving something hanging on his door late at night for him to discover the next day.

more tea.

i can hear the youngest two in the music-den-room chattering as i type this up… luke lugs the typewriter down the hallway from his sister's room and yells "is this from the olden days, it smells like it!"

some other bits:

my friend elizabeth has some sweet little valentine kits in her shop

my other friend erin has a new session of her photography course starting next week {it's awesome!}

a second run (because it sold out the first time!) of this fresh new magazine, amazing…

yellow

blue

and lastly, a year ago……..

wishing you all a very lovely weekend.

xo,

on + off the needles…..

I knit this hat three times.

I started it this summer…. knit, knit, knit. It was supposed to be a slouchy hat & I decided it wasn't slouchy enough so I ripped it down to the brim and started over. Knit, knit, knit. Super slouchy hat complete. I pulled it onto my noggin and looked in the mirror. Hmmm. I looked like the swedish chef muppet. I should have taken a photo of that for you. I have one on my phone of Joe wearing it…. too bad I can't get it from my low tech phone to my computer. I'm sure he'd love for me to share it with you.

I tried it out a few times. Hoping I would learn to love it. I loved, loved the yarn I knit it up with it. But I didn't love the hat. So I ripped it down to the brim. Again. Knit, knit, knit. This time I knit it straight up without increasing…. aka no slouch. Finished it off with a purl two together decrease and it was done. For the third time. More details on Ravelry.

And I think I love it.

Now…. on to some very silly self portraits…..

Next on the needles is the cowl. You know the one. I think it's pretty much taken the knitting blogger community by storm this season. Easy to see why right? It's gorgeous. I'm using another Net Loft custom color by Three Irish Girls. I wish I could you tell you what it was…. but I've misplaced the darn tag. Also, I am currently searching high & low for my size 8 needles and wishing a yarn store was closer than a 45 minute drive away.

Linking up with Ginny today with new (hopefully-i-find-those-darn-needles) yarn project and this book. Again. Do you ever start a book, put it down, and then start it again to find that it was this moment when you needed to read it? The words on these pages are singing to my heart…. it is truly a gem.

Also…. happy anniversary to my sweet man. Fifteen years ago today. Thought you would enjoy a snapshot of us a long time ago. Maybe thirteen years or so? On the beach in cape cod. Just starting out together. Gah, we were babies then. It seems like so very long ago. He still makes me smile like that though, with a few crows feet thrown in for proof of the journey. Our old photos are starting to have a lovely vintage grainy look to them….. ahem~

But really, truly. I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect match to share this life with……

three day weekend…..

the little girl and the daddy are learning a new song on the guitar

there was painting, of course…. but you all ready knew that

that calendar mades me smile each time I walk through the kitchen….. make plans, indeed

i started the weekend with a big batch of quinoa chili and some black eyed peas that later became soup, i have to remember this is a good idea…. even when we aren't busy with house projects. nourishing easy food to end a hard days work is so very good….

air compressor outside, out of the living room…. moving along the to-do list

the kitchen cabinets are finally finished…. joe & i put them back on tonight while we made dinner

i tossed the last foam brush in the garbage, saturated with dark walnut stain…

birthday cheesecake with fresh blueberries…. such a treat

it was a good three day weekend…..

how did you spend yours?

yes, i peeled chickpeas…….

I love hummus.

With everything.

And even though I do love the recipe I shared here awhile back. It doesn't really hold a candle to the super smooth and creamy stuff you get in a real Mediterranean restaurant. I assumed that stuff must have been made with one of those really amazing $400 blenders that some people have. You know, the kind that can blend up raw beets and carrots? I would love one of those… but I have a $40 thirteen year old refurbished kind. It can't make hummus. (but it does make darn good margaritas!)

Anyhow, I was really okay with my textured hummus. I mean, it's plenty good enough. Then I read the secret to ethereally smooth hummus here. You have to peel the chickpeas. Who does this, right? Well, Deb of Smitten Kitchen of course. And me. If you are jonesing for hummus, and a recipe like this falls in your lap, AND you just cooked up a huge batch of chickpeas…. it must be a sign.

So the sweet man came home for lunch and after giving me a questionable glance, he joined in and we peeled a quart of chickpeas in under ten minutes. It's not so bad really, you just gently squeeze them and the peel comes right off.

Voila!

I followed a kind-of-sort-of recipe in my head. A quart of peeled chickpeas, two heaping tablespoons of tahini, two preserved lemon quarters, two cloves of fresh garlic, a splash of white vinegar, a handful of parsley and salt to taste. (use water or chickpea broth to thin, if necessary) Whiz it all up in the food processor. Spoon the velvety smooth hummus into a dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Sit down with fellow hummus lover and chickpea peeler to an oddly quiet delicious lunch. Perhaps this hummus also holds the power to keep the children cooperating and playing with legos together or reading in their rooms so the grown-ups can enjoy a full twenty minutes of quiet. Magical hummus….

This is the best hummus ever, Joe said to me.

Best hummus ever.

painting…..

I’m still here…. really. Just not taking a single solitary picture these last few days. I mean, how much painting of trim and scrubbing of little fingerprints from walls can I really share in this place? You know?

So uhm. I should tell you that I probably won’t be here quite as often in the next week or two. Due to the painting and scrubbing…. and painting. Who knew it would be so hard to attempt sewing for the shop, helping the man get this house ready to sell, and homeschooling. Not me. Well, I didn’t. Now I know it’s down right insane. Truly ridiculous. But that’s life sometimes, right?

But the good news? The sun is out. Hello Sunshine. It’s glorious folks. My backyard is like a wet sponge from all that rain, but I feel like running through the yard singing something out of Sound of Music anyway… the swamp is alive, with the sound of music…..

But seriously, back to the painting. And scrubbing.

I leave with you this… before & after of the laundry room…. we’re getting there. Slowly but surely.