Bathroom Plan

Hey!  I promised I would give you the low down on the bathroom, and I am happy to say it is actually happening!  Unlike the rest of the house {which I still plan to post about at some point in time!}, I am going to try to blog about this one as it comes.  We will see how much I am home during the process, how much it goes as planned, and what the general timeline turns out to be to help determine.  But I think it is possible!

As a refresher, here are some of our "current" bathroom plans {I have decorated the guest bath slightly and we have junked up the master, but nothing else has changed}

Guest Bathroom - Soon to be DEMOLISHED!

Master Bathroom - Can't wait for the end!

The PLAN

You guys -- this part of the remodel is going to be tough.  After redoing the rest of the house, we want to be D-O-N-E done.  So in this effort, and the effort of saving money, we have a few "musts":

1. Keep bathtub and tile in the bath. {The tub is in great shape and we have a work-around for the tile that is also not-to-bad-but-not-gonna-work-for-high-maintenance-Kelcie}
2. Toilets have to be fixed to work for Kelcie {a.k.a. they are too tall, scratched and always look dirty, are WALL MOUNTED, and just generally really annoy me}.  Some of this is logistics that I will just have to explain on another day!
3. Vanities must go - they go up to my short-statured hips.  So that's definitely a problem. 
4. Walls have to be fixed from the peeling paint due to too-much-humidity, not-enough-ventaliation 

Peeling paint due to humidity, while this looks like traditional water damage in the picture, there have been no leaks. 

5. Flooring {obviously}

6. Lighting {currently terrible}

Here are our "wants":

1. Pedestal toilets {who, other than us, has to add this to a want list?!}
2. Storage, especially in master
3. Remove soffit and fluorescent lighting over the vanities. 

Mirror is awesome {to be kept for another project} - lighting, not so much

4. Change tile color

It is really speckled in person!

So basically, do everything except for the tub.  Yay!

Timeline

Here it is {today, at this moment - maybe not tomorrow}:

Week 1: 

• Start tearing out soffit/lighting
• Start tearing out tile behind toilet only very carefully so we can reuse the border pieces around the edge of the tub we are replacing {Weekend}
• Complete tile in tub area
  

  

  Keep everything to the left, get rid of everything to the right and reuse the edge pieces

Week 2: 

• Tear out sinks and vanities {Weekend}
• Scrape walls {or other solution as suggested by our "Sheet Rock Guy" who does amazing work... and one of the only things we actually contract out!}
• Tear down "half-wall" in guest bathroom

Master Bath: Not exact but close enough!

Week 3:

• Paint tile around tub {yes: PAINT! Can't wait to see how this works!} {1 evening to paint, 2 days drying, per tub}
• Lay Flooring {weekend}

Guest Bath: Not entirely exact {like that gigantic toilet} but you get the gist!

Week 4:

• Remove toilets, reroute plumbing to floor, put in new toilets {1 day-ish, the other piece we contract out}
• Have walls textured by our Sheet Rock Guy {several days - hello brother, may we borrow your shower?}
• Paint ceilings {weekend}

Week 5:

• Paint walls
• Put in vanities, sinks, cabinets, etc. {3-ish hours per vanity/sink}
• Make pretty

The Good News

I don't have to do dishes in the bathroom during this leg of the remodel. 

The End. 

Not really, next I will explain how IKEA fits into this {spoiler alert: the options are limited on what it could possibly be} and give you an update on our vision for the bathrooms with colors, feel, etc.  

Weekend Review: Our Road Trip!

Wow - what a wild and crazy weekend!

Friday Night

We had the honor of joining Andrew's family for a lovely outing.  We all gathered for a delicious dinner {and wine!} before going to the Tulsa PAC for a performance of Once.  I didn't know anything about the musical - other than I like musicals. I had not seen the movie. I had not looked up the songs/story line/setting.  And I think I could listen to {most of} the soundtrack again and again.  I actually think the main song, "Falling Slowly", has played on some of my Pandora stations.

Moral: Good company. Good food.  Good entertainment.  Win-Win-Win. 

Not quite fantastic at this selfie thing... but the "burst" photo settings help!

See - helps when Maggie assists!

Saturday

Saturday we hit the road {Jack}.... we went to Dallas. It is about 3.5 hours from home one way so we decided to make the trip all in one day.  I have done this before, but it can be exhausting.  

What did we have planned that was going to make the exhaustion that much worse? 

Andrew's First Trip to IKEA!

So here are some preview pictures of our haul, but I am hoping to do another detailed post of our bathroom plans, as well as our IKEA adventure, sometime very, very soon.  And yes, please hold me to that! 

Chocolate was Andrew's only requested item!

We made two impulse buys: a soap dish and a chocolate bar.  And I would almost bet on the fact that the chocolate was more expensive.  Or the hot dog and soda Andrew got while we were waiting on our "Full Service" items {a.k.a. Full Service to pull from the warehouse for you, all assembly and car-loading still required!}

Overall, I don't think it was as bad as Andrew thought it COULD have potentially turned out.  And we didn't make impulse buys because by default, we went in to buy anything and everything we thought we could use/want for the bathrooms.  

And we ended up with this amazing rug! 

IKEA: So efficient at packaging that we are STILL weighing down the edges {although just because I am OCD - they are pretty much flat at this point!}

Food in the "Big City"

We actually went to In-N-Out Burger {also a first for Andrew} before going to IKEA.  Excuse the bite out of the hamburger... no it did not come that way.  It is just what happens when you eat a somewhat-early dinner the night before, sleep, get up early, don't eat breakfast, are in the car for 4 hours, and then wait {for a relatively short time in retrospect} to eat as you think your stomach is going to come out of your throat. 

Thanks for listening. 

{And to be on the safe side, yes my husband did offer to pull over to get me something to eat but I didn't get hungry until all of the sudden I was hungry - if that has ever happened to you, you will know what I am talking about.  Otherwise, better luck next time!}

Whiskey Cake

We are big users of Yelp on our trips.  I don't know what we did before iPhones in this manner.  Actually I do, and it didn't taste nearly as good! 

We decided to go to Whiskey Cake because it was relatively close by, had good reviews {everything actually did in that area}, and had a good mix of food for an indecisive set of people.  So indecisive that we weren't even saying "I don't care what we eat.... but that doesn't sound good."  Doesn't go like that in your family? Oh, sorry. 

We decided to split a salad that was meant for an entree because it sounded soooo good.  

And we scored. 

Kale & Pomegranate Salad with fried chickpeas, apples, bacon, onions, and a fried, poached egg full of goodness on top.

This salad was out of this world fantastic.  

I actually discovered something about myself because of this salad, that I immediately disclosed to my husband, and created a hashtag I think I might actually use twice.... 

Things I have learned in 2015: We must learn how to fry and poach the same egg.  Period.  Or I think I may.... never eat anything green again.  There - I have made my threat!

Then I followed it up with the OMG Burger

My eating strategy?  Cut onion ring in half, lie flat, cut burger in half, and use knife and fork as necessary!

Delicious too - very different take!

Chicken & Cheese Melt and Champagne Berries Romanoff 

Not pictured {because I couldn't risk taking a few more seconds to eat it or Andrew would have eaten more than his half}: Adult Mac and Cheese.  Just Say YES.  Trust me.  Calories don't count because I have a strong belief they make it with heavy cream. 

Sunday we cleaned... and cleaned... and cleaned.... and Christmas is over.  

Hopefully I will give you the bathroom plans later this week - - until then.... STAY WARM {for only a few more days people!}

Feel {Great} Friday!

Here are my favorite things about this Friday - which, let's be honest - really revolve around this cold weather that seems to be taking over!

My 5 Feel {Great} Friday favorites about the bone-chilling cold we are experiencing:

1. These two acting like they love each other this much 100% of the time.  Really, they love snuggling on the couch with their heated blanket.  I affectionately call it "Doggy Crack".

 2. Snuggling with my husband on the couch {sorry to disappoint, pictures don't exist} even though we know we have wayyyyy too much to do.  The cold sucks the motivation out of us but actually does us good by making sure we are getting our priorities straight and listening to one another.  Marking off the to-do list isn't always the most important!

3.  Seeing only this much of Goose the majority of the time for the last week {minimum}.  When he isn't on his Doggy Crack, he is under the covers.  Period.  It is one of the reasons I love him as much as I do.  Really.  I think it is adorable! 

Goose blanket burrito

4. On the first sunny and somewhat, relatively, warm day we have - I have talked Andrew into taking a road trip! More details to come.  Can't wait to share!

5. Having lots of time to spend with Jesus - at Church and at home.  Because it isn't like I want to go out and do a lot {see number 2}, so it gives me some time to drink coffee and read.  It is nice and something fun to get reoriented with in 2015.  

Here's to you on your Feel {Great} Friday! 

And We are BACK {and where exactly have we been?}

We are back!

Sorry for the no-mention vacay.  I wish it were a vacay in real life! Instead it looked a little something like this:

P.S. Get ready for the Thanksgiving pictures I had prepared for the last post that never made it... whoops! Never too late, right?

• Have Thanksgiving at our home for the first time for 32-ish people.  It actually went off without a hitch.



Without a hitch: as in with a glass of wine and clean counters at the same time.  I told you I wouldn't ever lie!



My Momma sent us this gorgeous centerpiece for hosting Thanksgiving.  Momma's are the best.



• Go visit Andrew's cousin's Farm and enjoy the heck out of it. {And stay in a cute renovated camper that I am hoping to get some permission to share here!}

  

  We baked our first turkey!

• Get ill at some point the following week {after starting a blog post and never actually finishing it} - nothing like husband AND wife sick at the same time. 

  

  I love that I got to keep this after everyone left!

• Christmas ensues - shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, planning, you name it. 

  

  We did make this delicious beauty {twice} with a recipe pack from Hello Fresh {coupon code: GXVG2B for $40 to you and $20 for me!} and the second time with our Thanksgiving centerpieces... absolutely amazing! 

• New work - I started a new position at my current employer.  And I LOVE it.  It is a 100% challenge and I cannot wait to see what is to come.  And luckily I don't have to really miss my friends in my old position because I go visit almost daily and we still have lunch together a lot.  Needless to say, I am getting the best of both worlds but it is tiring.  
• Christmas is over - renovations begin again. 

So here is my plan going forward {other than just falling over, going to sleep, and only waking for calorie-intake}: we are starting the bathroom remodel this month {ughhhhhh} {Yay!}.  I even already have paint colors on the wall - none of which I am in love with unfortunately.... until I go buy about 12 more samples, hate those, and end up choosing one of the original 5 - only me? I didn't think so. 

It is not a coincidence that I left "Faith" in the center.... I know I will need to remember that in the coming weeks!

I am hoping to blog more now that things have "calmed down" {relative term}.  And I am hoping to cover the bathroom remodels as much as in progress as feasible.  The problem is, as with all remodels, time crunches don't really allow for extended blog editing.  But we will work on getting with Father Time and see what we can wheel and deal with that. 

My apologies for my absence - can't wait to get back at this again.

Ringing in 2015!

Once again, Here Goes Nothin'!

Let's Be Thankful Swap

Hey! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to share about how it was here in Oklahoma tomorrow.

But today, I am so happy to share about the Let's Be Thankful Swap that Meg at Borrowed Heaven and Alex at Radiating Sunshine actually hosted.  It was so fun!

Here is what I sent Alex:

She is from a much colder place than Oklahoma {when she is at school and home}, so I took this opportunity to send cold-weather items that would be more of a lucky treat than a necessity here.  I hope she likes it! If you haven't been over to her blog, here is her reveal and more details on what I sent her.  

So first, I was excited to get paired with Alex.  She is good friends with Meg, who I was paired with for September Foodie Pen Pals - which made this extra special to me.  I already knew she was great! Alex and I had some similar interests, with an obvious one being Target {I never come out empty handed!}

My catch from Alex!

How cute is that little card? I am a sucker for "geometric-not-so-geometric" prints {and yes, I just made that up}.  

First up: the hand cream.

This stuff is awesome.  Andrew thinks it kind of smells like sopapillas.  I kind of agree in a "smells so good you could eat this" kind of way.  It is so thick and creamy, and will hopefully help me with my Christmas-light-hanging hands and with my goal to stop biting my fingernails {don't say I never told you anything about my bag habits!}

She also sent me these fantastic coasters that we put out in the house immediately! Funny story about them: when I was shopping for Alex's gift, I actually spotted these {and bought them}.  I took them home and told Andrew that we could gift them {both of our origin family's last names are "E"} or we could keep them but I think we should keep them.  {Nothing like giving your husband the choice, ya know?} We actually kept them and I told him that meant we needed to go back and get a few more so we could have at least as many as we usually have guests {6 is typical regardless of which side of the family we are hosting}.  I got Alex's package a week or so later and I gasped, and giggled.  Not only did it save me a trip, BUT it shows just how well she got to know me in just a few e-mails!

Needless to say, I am in love.  

And great minds think alike. 

And I can't wait to do this again! 

And no family, I am no longer gifting these coasters - they are staying! {Too bad, so sad}

I am so blessed and honored to be a part of such a lovely blogging community.  Now I have two friends who I have met through this community and in such a short time.  It has been so fun getting to know both of them, learn about their experiences, and join up with them for swaps like these.  It has been an awesome experience!

Thanks for hosting the swap ladies!

Weekend Review - and Feel {Great} Monday

WOW! Last week flew by - so quickly I didn't even realize it was time to feel great.  I was technically feeling great, I just didn't write about it.  So here are some updates!

Feel {Great} Anyday - including Friday

This Last week, I felt really great about the to-do list.  We got a lot done.  Which was perfect timing.  In my mind, it was time to start fresh and turn a new leaf.  I sat down an caught up on my "In Everything Give Thanks" plan with She Reads Truth and the subject was giving thanks in stress.

The Big Kitchen Remodel {and reading the end of the book before the beginning}

Here is to reading the end of the book before the beginning...

Preface: We have tutorials coming on most of this kitchen {as we did about 85% of it ourselves in some way shape or form}.  However, I keep posting "sneak peeks" due to no other way about it and I can't wait to share with everyone anyway.  So without further ado...

Get ready for a LOT of pictures!

We bought the house because of this which proved to be a huge undertaking.

DIY House Remodel - Lay Your Own Wood {or bamboo} Floor - Tips and Tricks and General Instructions

If this is new to you and you want to see all of the other steps we took: prep work and supplies and Elastilon.   Hope you find them helpful as well!

This post may seem scattered, because we learned things as we went - and this post will probably look the same way.  However, we hope you can learn from other people's mistakes experiences. It will mix your general instructions with our tips - because ultimately we winged it {as much as a control freak can "wing" anything}.  Here goes nothin'! *Sorry for all of the words and less pictures, these are more brain tricks and tips and unfortunately, we couldn't snap pictures from inside there!

Patterns and Execution

Tip #1: Turn the last board in the row around so the groove is up next to the groove {length wise}, mark where the cut should go to make it shorter {should light up with the board you lay immediately prior to this step - make sure to leave room for the gap!}, and cut there.  Instead of measuring, marking, etc. we found this method to end up in an extremely low error rate and made the process go much faster.  The majority of the time, if there was a "miscut", we were usually making it too long instead of too short which meant we could correct the error. Yardsticks really help when you made an ut-oh cut. {If you would like pictures or further explanation of this, just let us know in the comments, after much searching for a picture, we couldn't find one.  But we could definitely stage the situation for you if you would like!}

Weekend Review

This weekend was pretty uneventful in the A+K terms.  So, unlike my usual weekend reviews, I am not going to break it out by day - it was all a blur anyway!

Weather
We did brave the cold {pre-snow} for the OSU game, which we unfortunately lost, but the temperature wasn't as bad as even we thought it would be! Mid-November in Oklahoma does NOT usually mean snow.  However, Sunday, we got a good {early for Oklahoma} dose of it.  Not too bad in our area, but it did make you want to cuddle in a blanket and do nothing {or in our case, finish a few house projects and THEN cuddle up and do nothing}.

This is November? Really?!

Feel {Great} Friday!

There are a lot of things I am feeling great about on this Friday {one of which is NOT the weather}.  But here is what I am feeling particularly GRATEFUL about this Friday - which is, technically, the same thing because it translates into feeling great!

Bucket List {almost} Accomplished!
I have two concerts left of my concert bucket list, and I bought tickets for one of them today! YAY!
However, I did get this halfway through my purchasing experience - it started at 1 minute, went to 6, and then took this screenshot almost there - and it made me extremely nervous.

Weekend Review

Wow! What a weekend?  We were extremely productive.  And be prepared for a LOT of pictures!

Friday Night

We were pretty lazy.  We knew we had a very busy weekend ahead of us because Lizzie ate her crate {yes, ATE her crate}.  So after dropping the dogs off at "Doggy Day Care" {a.k.a. Papa and Lala's house}, we went out and treated ourselves to a dinner at a restaurant.  Then we struggled with what time it had to be to be acceptable to go to bed. We settled on whenever before 10 works.

Feel {Great} Friday & Monthly Goals - November 2014

Just like last month, I want to keep myself accountable.  Well, here is where we stand after October:

Not bad {in my world}!  I would say finishing 3.5 of 5 projects {and for the record, my car did spend 2 weeks in the garage} and finishing 4 Project Elephant items is a success! 

{Never too late for a} Weekend Review

Here is the crazy weekend as it was!

I took a few days off of work so I had some extra time in my weekend {very gratefully}.  So this update is a little bit past due, but it was technically still my weekend!

Thursday and Friday {day}

I started on this:

DIY House Remodel - Lay Your Own Wood {or bamboo} Floor - Our friend Elastilon

To make sure everyone is on the same page:

• Yes, we decided to lay our own flooring.
• No, we didn't regret it {for any longer than you usually regret any manual labor}.
• Yes, people thought we were crazy.
• Prepwork takes a looooong time {much longer than my very scheduled brain could comprehend}

We left off somewhere around here:

 So far we have:

• Taken out staples and removed glue residue from the subfloor.
• Removed baseboards.
• Swept, and swept, and swept some more.  
• Laid the moisture barrier.
• Had Dad simultaneously doing other seemingly important tasks {in Kelcie's mind, they were very urgent, hindsight says they probably weren't quite as urgent as originally thought}

So now we are ready to lay some wood {or bamboo} floors - right?

Not for us! 

Feel {Great} Friday!

This Friday I am appreciative of the chance to soak up this view for as long as I wish: 

For this growing girl being the sweetest 110 lb fur-baby possible: 

And for this one being a cuddle buddy convincing me that the things on my to do list aren't as important as growing relationships with humans and canines alike: 

This Friday is a great and grounding one. So here are my reasons to Feel {Great} this Friday. Hopefully yours are just as wonderful! 

October Lessons

{Source: a pair & a spare}

October has been a full month - unexpectedly.  Of course, I expected our weekends and to-do's to be full but there were a lot of unexpected things that have happened that have really caused me to reflect on my expectations for myself.

Weekend Review

Hello Friends!

We had an awesome weekend in Stillwater, and a very productive Sunday {unexpectedly}!

Friday Evening/Night

On our way to Stillwater, we were welcomed to God's Country with a gorgeous sunset {filled with orange}.  We knew it was going to be a great evening from the very first second!

OSU Homecoming 2014 "House Dec" winner

Feel {Great} Friday!

Today is a Friday that is definitely worth having (what Friday isn't?).

Go Pokes! 

This weekend is Homecoming in Stillwater - the greatest Homecoming celebration in America {no, but really}. Keelie has been working long and hard on a "house dec" all semester and today is judgement day - and the sign that pomping is over! I will try to grab some pictures of all of the great decs, maybe some examples of pomping if I can dig some up, and all of that goodness for the weekend review on Monday. 

This Friday is great because it is another day to be thankful for: for the lessons learned, the prayers answered, and comfort sought and received. 

And because I can't resist the nephew already sporting his orange:

I hope you see reasons to Feel {Great} on this Friday too! 

DIY House Remodel - Lay Your Own Wood {or bamboo} Floor - Prepwork

Here is your slight background story.  But if you are just here for how we approached this humongous and screaming project, feel free to skip a paragraph or two.

We got married at the end of May 2014.  It was beautiful, wonderful, and absolutely perfect for both of us.  We had spend an entire 5 months preparing (we got engaged on Christmas Eve of 2013) and saving money by doing most everything ourselves.  In April before we got married, we decided it would be a good idea to buy a house.  This house was in various stages of disrepair or antiquity.  So while we Andrew did some demolition before the wedding, we Kelcie said absolutely no work on the house during the month of May.  

Weekend Review

Hello Friends!

Here is a small weekend update for you on our very hodge-podge weekend! {Friday night was date night and lay on the couch for a good catch-up binge TV show watching.  No pictures of that because I don't want to bore you to death.}

Saturday!

We decided to start cleaning out the attic - which means after 1 week of my car in the garage, it is booted back to the driveway {for now}.  It is a much larger project than we anticipated - including a new dumpster and thorough sweep.  We finished about 25% of it and found some nice treasures that we think someone, somewhere will enjoy {read: too special to throw in the dumpster but not something we personally want to hoard}.  So we plan on selling it in some kind of Etsy or Garage Sale fashion (maybe both?)