Old Becomes New Again

This post is long overdue as was this project.

Ever since I've moved into my condo there have been two major things on my hit list, the bathroom and kitchen. I've been procrastinating on doing anything with them until a few weeks ago when my sister came to town. We spent some good Sunday Funday quality time wandering around IKEA then when we got back home Whitney said, "When are we going to take the mirror down?" The mirror? You mean the giant bathroom mirror that gives me flashbacks of 1987? How in the world would we get the thing off of the wall?

So Whitney and I manned up and did everything I was taught in basic hand tool safety class not to do! Screwdrivers as prybars? Check. Sunglasses as safety glasses? Check. Not having a clue on what we were doing? Double check.

We pried and pulled without getting anywhere, then out of frustration I brought out the hammer thinking if we couldn't get it off in one piece, why not multiple pieces? To prevent shattering, we put painters tape on the mirror around the edges and then ran it diagonally over the entire thing. I smacked it once with the hammer and a perfect mirror circle popped out. I put the hammer down and tried to put some weight into it once more and sure enough the entire corner came unglued. With Whitney's help and a little more wiggling we finally got the whole thing off in one piece, minus the perfect hammered circle.

To my disgust behind the mirror was not my perfect wall, but instead a mass of divots, black tacky mastic/glue and pencil marks. What was I going to do? Whitney was leaving the next day and I'd be home alone (well not exactly alone, Lola's still here, but unfortunately home improvement isn't her forte) to tackle this project all by myself. Heeeelp Home Depot! www.homedepot.com

Home Sweet Home

It was the amazing deck that I fell in love with when I bought my little city condo. I somehow went without noticing the stained carpet, poorly insulated windows and overlooked the dated kitchen and bathroom...yea the deck is that good. I've done my fair share of painting, hanging frames and shelves and little electrical and plumbing projects over the past year. Here's a little history of what's been done thus far.

I had my wood floors put in last year, hand scraped elm in "desert". Initially it was only supposed to be installed in the living room and kitchen leaving the bedroom carpet but Miss Lola had a different idea. While I was at work one day she decided she wanted to chew through a fluorescent green paint pen leaving a giant stain on the bedroom carpet. It had to go. Woody (real name, no joke) and his team showed up and installed the floor everywhere except the bathroom. It definitely spruced up the place, but also made me more aware of how cold the floors can be. I just have to keep a pair of slippers handy and maybe an extra pair of socks.
Here's Lola modeling the new floor.

Since the floor I've installed a new electronic thermostat and new pretty outside deck light. Although some people may might find the task a little daunting, it was merely a matter of connecting a few wires. Seriously, you can do it, just follow the directions and make sure you turn off the circuit breaker to whatever you're working on and double check to make sure you've turned off the correct one. If there's no electricity flowing, you can work safely. Here are the before and after shots:


I also fixed a leaky bathtub faucet, thanks youtube.com! and have had to clean all of the screens in my faucets and toilet. With those tasks the key is knowing how to turn your main water lines on and off. The screens were really easy with just disassembling the faucet, cleaning out the grit, sand and dirt, then reconnecting it again. With the bathtub faucet it was a little more complicated, but still fairly easy to do with the assistance of youtube.

Now the time has come to fix up the old, textured-walled, mirror from wall to wall bathroom. I'll post more later this week.

Love.