Highlights

Highlights from the weekend:

Friday:  Babyville.

Visited Caitlin's new baby Dario.  To describe him as precious would be an understatement!  What a sweetheart!  Congratulations to Cait and Tom!

 

More baby time...this time with Niall.  He's getting so big and so very handsome!

 

 Saturday/Sunday:  Mud Volleyball Tournament.

We lost our first match, won our next three and lost our last one.  So much fun.  So much mud!

Grocery shopping because my fridge has looked like this for about two weeks:

I went to Rainbow instead of Cub this time.  This was my first time "big" grocery shopping at Rainbow.  It was OK.  Do you ever get the feeling when you go into a new place that people know that you don't belong there?  It's like you have a big sign above your head that says "I don't usually shop here".  Maybe it's just me, but I felt that way.  I was totally out of my comfort zone and I think people could tell.

Houston, we have a bathroom.

Well, I couldn't have one more "bathroom" thing go on without a glitch.  I literally just spent an hour writing this awesome bathroom post and I went to publish it and everything disappeared!!!  If I wasn't so excited about this bathroom reveal, I'd say forget it and write a different one tomorrow!  I am going to do my best to re-write, but it's hard to duplicate a masterpiece.  :)  Anyway, let's try this again...

250 days, 700+ pictures and a few emotional breakdowns later, the bathroom is done!!!

 

Last time I left you with a bathroom post was back in May.  The sink and toilet were getting installed and the shower leak issue was solved.  I was waiting on trim, blinds, a medicine cabinet and some sort of storage for above the toilet.  I am not going to bore you with all the nitty gritty details, but over the span of the two and a half months it's been since I blogged about my bathroom, all of those things have gotten solved.

I decided to forgo the "storage" above my toilet.  The space was too small to force something in there that didn't belong.  I decided I could keep my face wash and other things in my future old/new medicine cabinet or the linen closet outside the bathroom.  I also knew that I needed somewhere to put the two decorative items I bought months and months ago, knowing they would someday call the bathroom "home".  And the little owl my dad got me while out of town that he thought would look good in the new bathroom also needed a little perch to sit on.  I am SO glad I did it this way instead of a clunky storage thing.
 The shelves were actually a box/crate thing that I got from the Container Store.  I planned on flipping the shallow box/create and screwing the bottom to the wall and using the edge as the "shelf".  It ended up being too big, but between my mom and I, we decided that the length and thickness of the box edges would be the perfect size for shelves.  I asked my grandpa take the box apart with his table saw and I took two of the sides, sanded them, put a coat of primer on to give them a washed out look and created shelves.  I figured finding delicate brackets would be simple, but of course  I was wrong.  Then one day I came across these old, paint-covered hinges in an antique store and had an idea. I asked my grandpa weld them at a 90 degree angle so they could be used as brackets.  I planned on leaving the cracked, thick paint as is, but after the welding I realized how gunky the paint actually was and stripped it off.  I was so glad I did because I love the dark color of the hinges and the delicate detail that was uncovered under all that paint!

 

While we're not on the storage subject anymore....my original medicine cabinet is back!  I am not sure if I mentioned this before in a different post, but my plan was always to keep the medicine cabinet/mirror and the lights on either side, original.  That almost came true. There was a minor mishap when trying to get the mirror back into its frame.  I won't mention any names, but hopefully my brothers 7 years of bad luck won't start anytime soon.  Luckily we have a family friend with a mirror business so he was able to make me a replica, sans the etched flower on the top.  And my friend Nick who did the drywall also graciously took the old, rusted, paint covered cabinet portion and made it look brand new!  He put bondo in places I never thought possible and gave it a few fresh coats of paint.  I swear, you would never know that that "box" had a stamp on the back that's dated 1952!  There were some rust spots on the back of the door that wouldn't come off so I decided to jazz it up with some patterned contact paper from Target.  As for the lights on either side of the cabinet, those guys are still original and add that "vintage" touch along with the faucet handles, medicine cabinet and hinges-turned-brackets.

The rug was from Talking Squid on Etsy.  I had seen a rug made from T-shirts months and months ago on Pinterest.  I attempted to make one myself but realized after I started that the project would take longer than the entire bathroom renovation itself, so I turned to the internet.  I love the way it turned out and would highly recommend this girl if you ever decide to get one for yourself!

The shower curtain, although not what I orginally planned, is from Target and the tray and containers that sit on the back of the toilet are also from the Container Store.

 

The blinds are from Menards and are white wood.  I decided to go with black fabric strips as accents for a little more pizazz.

 

And last but not least, this is a little something I created in honor of my Grampy.  He didn't make it to see the final reveal but was extremly excited when he saw the tiles and fixtures in their boxes.  I hope he likes how it turned out!  He always said "Be Good", so Grampy, this is for you.

There you have it!  For Old Time's sake, let's take one last before/after glance, shall we?  Oh hell, I'll even throw in some never-before-seen footage for you!

 

 

Wow, after looking back at all these pictures, posts, excuse my French, but Holy Shit!  I can't believe how much was accomplished!  Thank You to everyone who helped with this project, both physically or if I just ever needed an ear to talk or vent to!  I owe you one!

 

 

 And one final glance....

Artsy Fartsy

This past weekend, my friend Kari and I got our paint groove on.  We busted out the paints and canvases just like the days back at 308 Ave. in St. Cloud.  It was almost like old times.  I spread out some very old sheets-turned-paint throws, a folding table, chairs, paints and we watched the Olympics, painted to our hearts content and chatted away.  It was a lot UN like our last painting experience where were getting "advice" on how to paint from tree hugging art "instructors".  This time we were free to paint whatever we wanted and however we wanted.  Kari chose to make a silhouette of her dog, Mason and I was inspired by this post on a blog I read to do some putty knife/textured artwork.  After I finished my painting, Kari was still working on her Mason Masterpiece, so I took another stab at a smaller canvas.  Both aren't perfect and probably won't sell for millions until long after I kick the bucket and can reap any of the profit, but hey, they'll do for now.

This table looks so inviting, even the girl on TV wants in on the fun!

Painting number two.

Painting number one.

Caved.

Well...I've done it.  I've caved to the Twitter craze and I'm lovin' it.  Twitter is my new Pinterest.  Scary, isn't it?  Now I have yet to actually "tweet" and understand all the ins and outs of it, but I still love it.  I actually got myself a screen name (screen name: such an old school, AOL term, isn't it??) and started an account a couple months ago.  My friend told me that she's on it just so she can follow celebrities.  So I took the plunge and did the same thing and have yet to regret it. Well, maybe I regret the half hour of sleep I am losing at night while checking my Twitter feed instead of going to bed, but still, it's addicting.  Did I know who was singing next at the CMA awards because they were an hour ahead of us and I was following them on Twitter while watching the awards?  Yes.  Did I know about the fan at the Twins game last week who shaved a Mauer "jersey" into his back hair and I hadn't even seen any of the game or news that night?  Yes.  Why?  Because I follow CMT and MLB on Twitter so I know every move, instantly!  It really is a sickness.
A few of my favorite celebrities that I follow:  Ryan Seacrest, Joan Rivers and Ellen DeGeneres.  Ryan for the ins and outs on what he's doing in the world.  The guy is probably the busiest guy in Hollywood, yet you feel like you could be his best buddy.  Right now he's in London prepping for Olympic coverage for the Today Show.  He's an awesome one to follow becasue I truly believe it's him that's tweeting, not some PR person doing it for him.  He snaps pictures of himself, him with his interviewees and then types a little blurb about it.  It's like I'm right there with him, getting the inside scoop on whether Mihael Phelps thinks he will be back in 2016.
Joan Rivers for her hilarious comments on whatever Hollywood scandal is currently happening and also that she too, gives us an inside look on her personal life.  This week she must be hanging out with her grandson becasue she is tweeting non-stop pictures of him and her hanging out at all these fun places.  Of course I have yet to see her in some "regular, fair-going, hot dog-eating clothing", but still, it's cool that although she can be a nasty, harsh B on the red carpet, she seems like she's a great, hands-on Grandma.
And Ellen for her basic humor of course.  She has "classic joke Monday" where she tweets jokes that a nine year old would tell, but they still give me a chuckle.  Like: "Why can't you push an envelope?"..."Becasue it's stationary."  :)
And let's not forget about my favorite, "regular joe" Tweeter.  Declan Goff, my friend Caitlin's brother.  This guy is 19 years old and knows more about sports than anyone I know.  He is going to school to be sports announcer and as a freshman in college, already is interning (as an on air commentator) for the St. Paul Saints.  This guy's going places...mark my words.  Following him on Twitter lets me know how Mauer batted for the night or that so-and-so from whatever team threw a no-hitter.  He also throws in random comments about life in general that crack me up.
Anyway, there you have it.  I'm a Twitter junkie.  Don't judge.

Oh, Crop!

Looks like my garden is once again pretty much a lost cause.  I think I just have to face the music that I don't get enough hot sun back there to get the plants up to their full ability.  I picked all of my "crops" the other day and here's what I came in with:  Two jalapenos, a really pathetic "red" pepper and a pretty sorry excuse for a cucumber.

Next year if I feel the need to grow food again, I will stick a potted something on my back patio where the sun beats all day.  Until then, I will have to deal with the fact that my dreams of having full bell peppers and a boatload of cucumbers by summers end, are shattered.
I have managed to make a couple kick ass wraps with my cucumber however, so the cause wasn't totally lost.
In case you want to try it at home:  Cucumbers (duh), onion, mayo, butter, salt and pepper.  If I'm feeling extra spunky, I'll throw a Kraft Single on there as well.

Lost.

I've been searching high and low for the past two days for something and I cannot for the life of me, find it.  It's so strange to think of it just sitting somewhere, waiting to be found.  Like it's a little small person just shouting with the smallest voice "I'm right here!  Look right here!  Here I am!".  While looking for this particular item last night in my  basement, I randomly looked over by my water heater and there, sitting happy as can be on the water heater was a flashlight that is usually upstairs in the cupboard above the fridge.  I know the last time the flashlight was used was about two months ago when Jeff was working on some pipes in the basement.  Had I gone to use the flashlight since then, I would have searched all over trying to find that thing.  While the entire time, it has been patiently sitting on the water heater for the last two months, just waiting to be found and put back in its proper place.  When I saw it I actually pictured a little voice saying "you found me!"  I didn't have the heart to tell him I wasn't actually looking for him, but I did put him back in its proper place so I know where to look when I need him again.  OK, now I sound crazy because you think I'm actually talking to my flashlight!
And why is it that the thing you are looking for always ends up in the place you thought you'd put it so you "wouldn't forget it was there".  That's why I say it's better to have an organized mess than to be organized.  At least if you have a mess, you can see everything out in the open.  I work for a company that makes organizing products for offices but I hardly use any of the products.  My projects are always scattered across my desk so I can see everything I have going on at a glance.  If it's tucked away and "organized" somewhere, I forget about it and when it's time to find it, I don't know where it is!
OK, enough of the mindless chatter.  Send that chant my way...how does it go...?  "Mary Mary, look around, something's lost and can't be found..."??  I don't know if that's right, but either way, send vibes my way that the item (along with another item that's been missing for about 2 years) will show up unexpectedly!

4th of July

Yea yea, It's well past the 4th of July, which in turn makes this post old news, but better late than never.  My fourth was extra awesome this year.  Not only did we do our usual big family gathering with games, prizes, food and fireworks on the 30th of June, but I took extra days following the 4th off of work and went sailing with two of my uncles to the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior.  To say it was fun would be an understatement!  Sun + wind = perfect sailing weather.  We even anchored by Madeline Island Wednesday night and saw a beautiful fireworks display that I swear, lasted at least 45 minutes.

 

Thursday late morning we headed out to our Julian Bay destination on Stockton Island.  The wind was perfect and the sun was HOT.  As I sit here and type over a week later, my legs are still peeling from the lack of sunscreen I used.  Once we hit our destination, the dinner was set out to thaw and we had a beautiful sunset to watch.

 

Friday unfortunately didn't bring us the best weather.  Some very questionable clouds cut our open water time short and we headed straight back to the slip before the storm hit.  It was fine though.  We hung out on the boat for awhile before going into town before dinner.  Speaking of dinner, we met some friends that enjoyed our leftover brat buns.  We think they were husband/wife, but we nicknamed one of them Chaz Bono due to the random green markings on her head that indicated she may be going through a sex change.

 

 

Sunday the 8th was the much anticipated Brothers Of the Sun concert at Target Field.  

Tim McGraw came out first.  The outfit he had on may lead you think he came out of the closet, but nope, he just likes his jeans tight I guess!  He's hot and he knows it.  I guess you can pull it off though when you are Tim McGraw and your arms are the size of small cannons and your butt is as tight as a drum.  I wonder what Faith Hill thinks...even if my husband was that good looking and in shape, I don't know that I'd let him out of the house wearing that!

 

 

Kenny came out next and was his usual awesome self!  Singing and bounding around the stage and letting the audience sing a long to more than a couple songs.  Ironically, he had on the same shirt that he wore last time he was here in concert.

 

Tim came back out after Kenny's set and they did four songs together.  Tim changed clothes and his blue jeans may have been a smidge tighter than the white ones.  You be the judge.

 

 There you have it!  My sailing turned concert turned fashion police 4th of July blog post!