Our downstairs bathroom

Since my husband and I are no strangers to fixing up a house or two, I've noticed we always tend to fall into a pattern when it comes to remodeling. And that's that we work hard-core on a house for a few months, and then we get burned out. Sometimes we "burn out" due to lack of funds and we just have to wait to get caught back up. That was the case this time. However, since we sold our fifth wheel, we feel that we can now start working on the house again. But, that doesn't mean we get real motivated to do the work. However, just like our burn out pattern, there is also one sure-fire way to get us motivated on fixing up a house again. What is it, you may ask? Having company! We've known for a few weeks now that my sister and her family would be visiting us this month, so that gave us a goal to get our downstairs bathroom remodeled! We finished just in the nick of time considering our guests will be arriving tomorrow!!! (Also, my parents are driving up to see them as well, so we will once again have a house full!) Now, keep in mind we still haven't remodeled our upstairs bathroom, which happens to be the bathroom that is attached to the master bedroom. I am a little jealous that my family members will be using the "nice" bathroom while Greg and I will be using the "crap" bathroom. But hey, we figured they would enjoy it. Plus, there was literally a hole in the downstairs shower which meant it needed to be fixed before we remodeled our upstairs bathroom anyway so we'd have a place to shower while the other one is being fixed. Sheesh!

This is what the bathroom used to look like:






And this is what it looks like now!





Do you want to know what our inspiration was for the color scheme? The shower pan! Greg didn't want to have to install a new shower pan when the one that was in place was in good shape. However, it had blue flecks in it. I figured, why not work with it! And thus, the blue/gray tiled shower was born! Luckily the shower door was in good shape as well, so even though it's gold trimmed, we figured we'd cut cost by re-using it. We had originally bought some marble tile to re-do the vanity top with, but decided there would be too much tile going on. So, we decided to use the same tile that we used in the shower, and I'm so glad that we did!!!

Next, we painted the vanity and the medicine cabinet white. Also, Greg did some "modernizing" to the medicine cabinet. Everyone who has seen it can't believe it's the same one! It's amazing what some paint, new hardware, and new trim will do to a piece of furniture!

I figured the best color for the walls that would go well with the tile was a gray color. Typically I like a warmer color palette, and since the grays and whites really gave the bathroom a "sterile" feel, I decided some pops of color were in order. Originally I wanted hot pink, but figured Greg would kill me. I think red was a good happy-medium! I already had two of the black towels and one black rug. I bought another black rug and towel at Wal-Mart and the three red hand towels at Wal-Mart as well. The flowers came from a Hobby Lobby run I did while we were in Oklahoma. Those happen to be my favorite flowers (antherium) and were used in our wedding! OH, I'm forgetting one of the most important things! Ever since we purchased this house, I kept picturing a decorative ladder to hang towels on for that bathroom, since there is so much wasted space in there. Low and behold, I found one at a garage sale for $5. All it needed was a coat of white paint! Also, do you like my curtain tie-backs? They are actually pony tail holders! Yes, sometimes I can think outside the box!

There you have it! I think next on our agenda may be flooring for our dining room and kitchen. Which means, who's coming to visit? We may need some motivation!

A Year Ago.......

This is a pretty significant day for me. Why? Because a year ago my husband and I were moving out of our house and going to the title company to sign the papers that officially sealed the deal. We were fortunate enough to pre-sign before the buyer signed since we were going to be out of state and that was the only weekend my husband could get off work to help me move the big stuff. Signing the paper work and receiving our proceeds check was exciting since we had completely remodeled the place ourselves, but it was also a little bittersweet for obvious reasons.

I remember vividly going to the house for the very last time on Sunday to do a last minute clean and to grab the few items we literally couldn't fit in our truck when we were there moving the day before. Unfortunately, Greg didn't have it planned out the way I did. He was excited to sell our house and move on to what the future held in store for us. I have a tendency to resist change, and I wanted the house to be perfect for the new owner. I had a long list of things I wanted to dust, wipe down, vacuum, etc. Not that the house was dirty. I had it looking "show-room ready" while it was on the market and since my husband was working out of state, it was very easy to keep the place extremely clean and tidy! But, really, the main reason I wanted to clean was because I wanted to stay in the house for as long as possible. It really was my dream house and I was a little apprehensive about living in a travel trailer for a few years. (Wouldn't you?) But my husband had other plans. He had friends he wanted to visit since he was in town and he said, "You know people always clean before they move into a house anyway. You're wasting your time." Which is true, I know. But still!

So I begrudgingly left the keys on the counter along with the folder I had filled with useful information for the home's new owner (I'm the best seller in the world, I know! lol! JK! That's the old Realtor coming out in me!) I settled into our truck and immediately burst into tears. Of course, since we've sold our fair share of homes in the past couple of years Greg knew this was coming. And as usual, he laughed at me (his way of making me feel better). He asked why I was crying and I told him it was because we were officially homeless. He, being the typical guy that he is, hadn't looked at it like that.

Now, fast forward to today, it has been one year of being "homeless". I really can't believe it has gone by so fast! The one exciting thing to think about since pretty much 99% of what we own is now in storage is the fact that if we happened to end up in a town that we absolutely loved, we could buy a house and just settle down there. Of course, that's fine to talk about. But, my husband has a tendency to get stuck in towns for long periods of time, so we haven't been able to travel and see as many places as we would like. On the flip side, we do still talk about moving back to Oklahoma. And the tricky thing is, is that whenever we talk about it, I instantly picture our former house. I still think of it as "home". How sad is that? And what's funny, is it's the little things about the place that I miss. Like opening up virtually every single wooden blind in the house every morning because I just love natural light so much. And the feel of the soft cut Berber carpet underneath my bare feet. I even miss vacuuming our swimming pool and the cute little baby frogs that were sure to greet me every morning when I checked the skimmer baskets. I miss having the option to take a bath. I miss my built in make-up vanity that my husband designed for me in our master bathroom. I miss having a dishwasher. I miss the security of having an alarm system. I even miss sweeping off the front porch and decorating it for holidays! Do you really want me to continue?

We have drove past our old home just once since we sold it. And it was when we were in Oklahoma back in March. (Or maybe it was when we were there in December...who knows!) And at that time it really helped me. The OKC area had been hit hard by an ice storm. So when we drove past our old property, there were literally tree limbs everywhere in the front and back yard. One of which that landed on the swimming pool cover and tore it. Shingles were missing from the roof and one part of the chain link fence had fallen down. Honestly, seeing it look like that made me feel a little bit better. Is that terrible? I have since learned from my former next door neighbor that the new owner has put a 12 foot privacy fence all the way around the back yard area. So I know if I drive past it again it really won't look like the home I remember so vividly.

Sheesh, I'll try to end this on a positive note. If you own a home, cherish it! I have seen my fair share of properties that people do not take care of. And it's really a sad thing. Pride of ownership is evident when one walks into someones home. And if you are reading this and do not own....well, what's stopping you?! This is a buyers market so please take advantage of this great opportunity that can leave you with one of the best feelings there is, which is saying that you own a piece of the All-American Dream.