Caulk, Caulk, and More Caulk

Let's just gloss over the fact that I haven't posted in 11 months, why don't we? I can't promise I'll return to churning out regular blog posts, but there is so much to update. I've painted the living room, dining room, built-in bookcase, and kitchen... then painted the kitchen back to the original color. I've purchased a new coffee table and entertainment center, an under-the cabinet microwave oven for my tiny kitchen, super-duper organized my built-in and closets, painted a fairly gross bedroom room closet, and started overhauling the mudroom.

However, today I did what I've been putting off for three years: caulking. The two big containers of kitchen/bathroom caulk and window/trim caulk have been mocking me for months. I'm not sure what got into me today but I worked for about 7 hours straight. (I work slow, ok?)

During the winter, the master bedroom is about 5-7 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. We have gas hot water heat. (The pipes are in the slab flooring.) Wonderful heat system except that the valve to the master bedroom is turned half-way off. During the last boiler servicing, I asked for the technician to turn it on 100%. The valve wouldn't budge. We have new windows so I figured the room was as warm as it would get. When I held my hand near the trim today, I felt a LOT of cold air. Not good.



I like to tape off to make the application easier. But I'm really disliking the Frog Tape. It would NOT stick to the walls. It was really strange. It worked when I bought it 6 months ago. It's not like I stored it in a hot or cold location. Three windows down and we'll see if the temp discrepancy keeps more at the 2 degree mark rather than 7 degrees! (The "outside" thermometer is keep in the living room.)



After I finished in the bedroom, I dragged my feet to the bathroom. The outside bottom of the tub gets so gross! I can scrub but it never gets clean!

I'm sure there was a better way to do it but I pulled up the old caulk with needle-nose pliers. Then scraped with a tool that looks similar to a flat-head screw driver. It will gouge the shower tiles but thankfully not the flooring tiles.



After vacuuming, I taped the area off.



I applied the caulk and here's my special secret to smoothing out the caulk: my fingers. Dip your finger in water and drag across the caulk. Wipe off the excess on your finger onto a paper towel. After finishing the area, remove the tape immediately.



Do not use this tool:



I had it and never liked it. I don't know why I didn't toss it. It makes it worse than if I hadn't done anything.



It takes a while for me to get the hang of getting it smooth.



But when I do, it gets better.

See, MUCH better!



(I realize my camera isn't the best quality. But trust me, I'm no longer embarrassed if guests see this.)

Since I had the caulk out, I figured it was time to tackle the bathroom sink. I would bleach the heck out of this any time I was expecting company. For three YEARS! Why didn't I do this sooner?



See how gray and nasty it gets? (I am really embarrassed by this.) Don't mind the ick around the faucet. I have no idea what causes this. I can use a Magic Eraser and Bar Keeper's Friend (the sure-fire combo) and it still won't budge. Eventually the caulk scraper removed it.




I taped around the sink. That was easy. A little tricky behind the sink but nothing a bunch of 1-inch long pieces of tape wouldn't solve. I couldn't tape on the countertop and keep the line even.



I decided to just apply a very thin line of caulk and hope for the best. It worked. I barely had any excess to wipe off. Then I carefully wiped around the sink with a paper towel. Viola!





I hope this helps someone that may be putting off caulking because it seems a little overwhelming. It really is fairly easy for beginners and it an important step in keeping bathrooms mold-free and your house more energy-efficient. Now I'll kick back with a beer and watch tonight's Boardwalk Empire. :)

P.S. Anyone have any tips for regrouting? The floor tile desperately needs it and I have no experience with it.

Ask and You Shall Receive

But it might take me three weeks to get to it! I've been a busy little bee around the house (lots of new posts to come) so I haven't gotten to taking a full picture of the new bedroom lamps. Finally, here they are:


(It's a dreary day so the lighting is terrible!)

So if you were undecided before, what do you think? I think they are growing on me so they are here to stay. Until a cat knocks one of them over and breaks it. I've already come home to a lamp crashed on the floor. Speaking of which, they seem to be drawn to the camera. Out of 7 shots, they were in all but 6. lol



I think I need to do a less stark white color on the "art" above the bed. Those are actually ceiling tiles, believe it or not! I purchased 5 of them for about $40 (free shipping) and gave the other two to a friend. They are perfect for above the bed due to the lightweight material. If they fall off, no one's teeth are getting knocked out in the middle of the night. But let me tell you, they WILL scare the beejebus out of you if they fall on you while sleeping. So don't just stick them on top of the headboard for the night and think you'll hang them up tomorrow. Unless you want to give yourself a heart attack! lol

Falling Out of Love in 8 Seconds Flat

I'm organized, analytical, and a planner. Everyone IRL jokes about how predictable I am. However, I can be impulsive. Really impulsive, especially with big decisions. My job, my hair (goodbye brown, hello blonde), even moving in with Matt. So far, all those decisions ended up being even better than expected. :)

I made an impulse purchase on something pretty insignificant: bedside lamp shades. Albeit, an expensive impulse buy. From a store with a sign posted, "All Sales Final". I had been eyeing a similar lamp at Target for ages:

I was picturing some drum shades with them but wasn't sure. See, I'm very lamp/lighting stupid. Then I saw a similar set up in Freckles Chick's blog and fell in love with the lamp combo and her style seen here:



Here's the bedroom so far:



(I now have three of those tiles above the bed to hang. Although they'll be lower this time. I'm just too lazy to get to it. And maybe put the duvet IN the duvet cover.)



The sales associate found a pair of shades, put them on the lamps, and I gasped. They weren't at all something that I would normally pick out. I was in love and it was unexpected. The price tag made my eyes bug out. But who cares! These are beautiful! Sign on the dotted line!



(Don't mind the cat toys. lol)

I got them home, set them up, and immediately started second guessing myself. Are they too feminine? Too frilly with the shape? The fabric too... rich? I loved the very subtle pattern. But I'm not sure if they go with the rest of the room or my style. Are they unexpected in a good way or a bad way? Let me know what you think.

Edit: I'll post a whole room view tonight. I guess I'll have to make up my bed first. ;)

The Final Reveal

I know I promised this months ago! But what can I say? Life happens. :)

Here is what I was blessed with when we bought the house:






First things first: new paint, carpet, and light fixture.



Life was hunky-dory. Until we got a great deal on a king mattress and a new bedroom set. The new bedroom set is a warm cherry color, which looked awful with the gray walls. I wasn't ready to give up the gray yet so I moved that color to the Man Room. Then I was off to find a new paint color that would complement the furniture and carpet. It turns out that those two items are mutually exclusive.



Eventually I decided on Sherwin William's Kilim beige. After a couple months, I HATED it. Well, hated it with the carpet. Other than that, it's a good color so I moved it to the hallway.

And the new color I chose? Ralph Lauren's Natural Gray. The same color that is in my living room.

A quick reminder of the before:



And now the After... Tada!

(Inspiration for earring organization from Making it Lovely.)

I was ready to give up the plum accents, thinking it wouldn't work with the wall color or furniture. (It didn't look so hot with the beige wall color.) But it turns out I was wrong! Yea!

Project Cost Breakdown:
Paint: $26
Carpet: $216
Installation: $75 (family friend)

Ceiling light: $40

Light switches and electrical outlets: $15
Duvet: $80
Sheet set: $60 (originally $180)
Quilt: $35 (originally $70)

Curtains and rods: $72
Wall decor: $70

Knickknacks: $20 (All bought on clearance.)
Total cost: $709

I know I didn't include the cost of the new mattress and furniture but I strongly believe you can make over a room without purchasing new everything.

Still left to do: buy lamps for the nightstands, actual artwork for above the bed, a classier alarm clock, replace the recycled curtains, and a couple more decor items. Maybe some more exciting sheets. But for the most part, it is done! Done! What do you think?

Ahem! (tap tap) Is this thing on?

I'm back from my hiatus. I know it's been a while. I wasn't in the house-renovation mood for a while. Then I found some more interesting things to take care of...

Introducing Linus and Lucy:



The night we adopted them, we had no intentions of bringing home a cat, much less two! We only went to get information on the adoption process. But Matt and I came across these two 6 month old kittens and couldn't say no. The two littermates were found in a local warehouse. They were starving and underweight. The foster mom, Rose, was at the shelter so it was great that we had the chance to ask a lot of questions about their personalities and needs.

I completed the adoption paperwork that asked the standard questions like:

1. How long will you give the adjustment process? (Duh! As long as it takes!)
2. Do you have any current pets?
3. If not, what happened to them?
4. Can we contact your vet for references?

I just answered very vaguely that I had a cat that was recently put to sleep. I didn't mention Fatty by name. The vet was xx Animal Hospital. The foster mom was reviewing the paperwork and looked up to ask, "Was Fatty yours?" I just looked at her bewildered, wondering how she knew. She said she works at that vet and knew about Fatty. I knew then that these two kittens were meant to be.



However, I really do have some house updates. Whoohoo! I finally got a paint color picked out for the master bedroom. (And painted!) I bought some new bedding and spray painted a bunch of decor. I was really happy I was able to reuse some of the previous decor. Initially, I didn't think the plum and lavender would work with the new furniture.

So here is a taste of what's to come:



I need to clean the bedroom of cat toys and clutter before taking more pictures. Then I'll give a full before/after update. I'm so excited. This room has done a complete turn-around, if you'll remember:



Scary stuff!!

I Know I'm a Tease

Just a preview of what's coming up for the master bedroom!

Here is the before, the temporary, the I-thought-it-was-finalized-color, and the new contenders.







You can see the dark chocolate color (with red undertones) of the new furniture. It looked awful with the gray paint and plum accents so that's why it needed to change. The beige I used afterwards is too light for the space and clashes with the whitish-gray speckled carpet. Although the color picks could change as I haven't bought the paint yet. Does anyone have any suggestions?