What I did this weekend.

This weekend I really wanted to do the floor. Then we had a wedding to go to.
It was absolutely beautiful. I love weddings.
I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
do you like the new floor? I still need to do some finish work around the edges.
I wonder what we will do next weekend.
Also a few notes: Mike the picture comment was not about you but thanks for forgiving me for losing your template.
Claire and Kathryn: I would love to come tile your backsplash.
I have to order some fabric online to make new drapes for the kitchen now.
hugs
Janae

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Bathroom Ideas

So I want to re-do some of our bathrooms (read: all of our bathrooms.) The house is in such good condition but really- having an all yellow bathroom is an eyesore. With original Mustard Yellow Toilet! We have proof that they never broke a toilet seat since you can't buy that color anymore. Since all the homes in this neighborhood sell for way more than we got our home for I thought we had a great opportunity on our hands.
I read somewhere that the easiest way to increase the value of your home is to re-do the bathrooms or kitchen. Then I read that it was to keep your lawn looking nice. Then I read that it was to put in hardwood. Or put in a new front door and garage door to increase the curb appeal. Too much reading...

When we bought this house I was excited at the prospect of picking new things for a bathroom and personalizing it a little. Our bathrooms are TINY though. One of the bathrooms needs a new cabinet since I accidentally spilled bleach toilet bowl cleaner all over it and burned a HOLE in the cabinet. No wonder those things can clean toilets.

I like the Harrison Magazine Rack from Pottery Barn but it's not really a need. OK but wouldn't this be cool to hang fabric on too? Maybe not in the bathroom... I want one. and they are on clearance. They also have a shelf and a towel rack. A while ago a train rack was on clearance but I didn't get it. sigh.
I love the idea of white subway tile on the bottom half of the bathroom and a painted blue wall. This is my plan for the sink in my bathroom. and I'm thinking about getting a pedestal sink. OK honestly I'm thinking about not spending money on anything because I don't have any but that's no fun and who wants to blog about how they have no money? boring. We already have a medicine cabinet we just need to mount it. I thought I could do this but then realized it is an option to put them IN the wall- I LOVE that. so it is still in our basement.

I like this shower curtain from Viva Terra. I got their catalog in the mail one day and I love it. They also have a butterfly pillow that I would die to have for my bedroom. I like it so much I still have the catalog and I look at it every now and then and plan to get it for my bedroom.

Peter and Kathryn had the most beautiful octagonal white bathroom tile on their floor. I would love that. and I would love heated tile in the bathroom because that would be so fun. Rambling Renovators has a really classy white palate and it looks like they might have floor heat. I have a dream of learning how to put in floor heat. Then I could put it in my bathroom and my kitchen.

maybe I should start this once the wall isn't plastered with potty posters...

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Dear Yard,

Dear Yard,
I hate you.
I hate you so, so much.
I guess it isn't enough that I found the carcasses of about 10,000 meal worms in the flower bed last fall when I was planting bulbs. You decided to also reveal that the shrubs had carpenter ants. Then I noticed some funny white things on the ground cover. Fungus? Thanks for getting that. And the holes all over the grass? Are those from the chipmunks I see running all over or from voles? Lucky for me I imported over 8 bags of dirt for our garden. Only one of them had a cloud of mosquitoes fly out when I dumped it. One of those mosquitoes bit my poor little baby.
Why are there huge patches of grass dying? Could that be the rodents? I see rabbits and squirrels and chipmunks, but maybe there is something else.
Dear ivy, thanks for trying to take over our ground cover and growing over our back window.
I am also glad to know that the ground bees have survived the cold winter.

At least the tree didn't fall on our house. Or rather, only one more branch fell on our house after we pack 2000.00 to get them trimmed. A week later I found out one of our friends from church actually trims trees for a living and would have done it for much less.
I am happy that John decided to cut down some trees in the winter and then discovered the quickest way to make a rabbits den- just leave them under the snow when it snows two feet the day after you trim your shrubs. I am so excited that rabbit poop is a good fertilizer since our lawn is littered with it.
I am also glad that you froze like two days before our fence was going to go in and now we have to wait until June. I am so excited that whatever mystery neighborhood dog is crapping in our back yard will still have that opportunity.
I am glad that the people who lived here before us probably spend 3 hours in their yard every day and I can't keep up. I am super grateful to my grass that died all winter and now wants me to mow it every other day. I am excited about the overgrown rhododendron and the dead one.
Thank goodness that I could spend so much money on seed and insect control.
Thanks for having spider nests in all your bushes and letting me spot just a tiny little termite the other day.
You must know that I am allergic to cats and might not be able to get a mouser. I might try though.
I just wanted to share a little "halfway through the project" flower bed from the backyard. Thank goodness for homeowners who planted an evergreen tree on their property line. And put a 500 lb rock right where a fence could go.
I was just wondering if you think I should try to maintain you or just re-sod before we move out. Also what color rocks do you think I should replace all the ground cover with- and how toxic is that insecticide- should I wait a few years on my garden?
You are sucking my life and money away.
You are lucky Danielle loves you and we have to dog to chase out the squirrels.

Just one more question- what the hell is this mound?
Have a great day
Janae

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Snow

Well I have decided it is time to join the countless ranks of parents who don't claim to have a college baby. Danielle went to bed at seven o'clock on Thursday. Why put her to bed so early? Because I can... Mark and Danielle have teamed up their not insignificant child might to make sure John and I never get to sleep. What happened to Danielle going to bed at midnight and sleeping until noon? This morning I was up at six with baby Mark and heard Danielle playing in her room. She doesn't come out of her room until around eight in the morning so she still has some sense of decency.
Mark on the other hand likes to stay up all night. I was a little premature in claiming that he was the only non-sick member of our family. Now he has his first baby cold. He likes to cuddle even more.
It is cold here- this morning the snow started to melt and I took a picture of our wonderful trees. Trees which I loved when we looked at the house. For around two thousand dollars we will be able to take off all the dead parts of the tree and avoid having any more massive branches fall off these beautiful trees on our house.

It is terrifying to have large pieces of tree fall on your house, in case you were wondering. the whole thing makes me want to buy myself a new pair of shoes.

Maybe I need two, one inspired by each child.

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