Hello, all! Mark has been busy and our visions for bathroom and bedroom on the 1st floor are coming together.
Bathroom:I was completely ecstatic last week when Mark texted me that the floor was done. I couldn't wait to get on that plane home so that I could get a look. Love, love the color of the tile, the diagonal install, and the variations in each tile. So happy with it that I'm thinking of using it in the kitchen/dining space once we start tackling that project (Lord, help us...well, Lord help Mark especially since he'll be the one tiling every day!)
This week Mark has spent his time getting tile on the walls in the bathroom. Still a bit to go, but he is making lots of progress. We're not sure we love the light color of the wall tile, so we are thinking that we may use dark grout to tie it in with the floor. Still debating that one. Sorry the pics are so bad but we are using a work light to illumate the whole space as there aren't any lights installed yet.
Mark was a bit concerned that our vanity was too big for the space and so we mocked it up. I don't think it looks bad at all. I am in love with the hammered copper vessel sink and the victorian faucet. Exciting to get a glimpse at what it will look like as things start coming together.
Office:We are starting to pick up some pieces for organization in the office. Mark and I are WAY into maps and have a huge wall map with little red pins in all the places we've been together over the years. So..the theme for the room is travel and maps. We wanted to carry that through in some unique decorations in the room that could also help serve as storage pieces. So...we purchased a few antique mailboxes (you know, the old thick metal ones) and a bunch of old state map postcards from the 1950's. I am going to decopage the postcards to MDF and mount the mailboxes on the piece to serve as storage for mail, bills, checkbooks, etc. Will be an interesting piece of art that serves a purpose. Mark and I get a kick out of putting old things together and creating a new purpose for them. Once I get all the mailboxes sent to me (bought them off e-bay) and assembled, I will send pictures. Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out as cute as I envision.
Random Cool Stuff:I have already made three rhubarb cakes from the patch out in back of the house. It is the recipe my dad used so many times for the cakes he brought to his co-workers in St James. Brings back lots of memories because I was the one that made those cakes last year when he was sick. We talked about them for a month and he was SO DETERMINED to get those cakes to the plant and also to the priest.
I haven't seen Lily of the Valley since I was a kid. My grandma Barb had them growing along the house and I loved them so much. Surprise, surprise, they showed up along my house this spring. So exciting...again, loving the memories this house brings for me even though I didn't grow up here.
I think we'll see quite a bit more progress next week...more to come soon! Hope you all have a great weekend!
Mark has been a busy little beaver this week. I came home from my travels in Denver to an amazing transformation in my bathroom. It's not done yet, but holy crap is it a HUGE difference from what it was a few months ago. On top of getting about 3/4 of the tiling done, the mirror is installed and so is the bathroom light (which both look amazing). Mark built the mirror right into the tile which meant he had to do some serious precision work...he is SO talented! The vision is coming together and our bathroom is going to feel like a fancy schmancy hotel bathroom. I'm loving it! Mark thinks the tiling and grout should be done next week...then it's on to plumbing and non-dungeonlike showers!!
Take a close look at those clothes Mark is wearing. If he gets any more thinset on those shorts, they're not going to bend. He's going to start looking like a Roman statue pretty soon.
One more project checked off our to-do list. Thank God it finally stopped raining long enough for us to get the driveway laid. Good thing, because the escrow expired at the end of June! Here are a few pics to show the destruction. Forgot to take a pic of the finished product. It's just a boring driveway...you'll have to use your imagination. Mark said I can't drive on it for 28 days until it is at 90% strength. Doesn't that seem just entirely too long? I guess no cracks, means no driving. Melissa is going to have to get over it and park in the street!
