Paint That Funky Mirror, White Girl

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Other bathroom remodel posts:

Bye Bye Bye to 80s Tile - How To Remove Trim and Tile, Bathroom Renovation Part 1

She Only Wants Me For My Beadboard - Bathroom Renovation Part 2 

Trimming and Caulking and Painting, Oh My! - Bathroom Renovation Part 3 

When we started remodeling our bathroom, I knew from the get-go that we would be replacing the medicine cabinet mirror. My husband and I are very different heights (1 foot, 3 inches difference), so we need a large enough mirror that will allow each of us to see ourselves.

As it was, I could really only see my collar bones and up in the old mirror. That wasn't going to cut it for me. So, I was on the hunt for something better, and something that would add some more detail to the space. 

Please ignore the mis matched socket plates!

For a while, we considered doing a gilded gold framed mirror. But, over time, I realized it wouldn't quite work. We already have brown, white, and gray going on in that bathroom, and we planned to use silver for the faucet, so I didn't want to throw things off by going a completely new direction with the mirror.

I spotted this gem at Eastown Antiques and was immediately smitten. We have a large mirror above the fireplace that is a similar shape, and the stairwell stained glass window has it, too (see this post for those pictures). So, I liked the idea of pulling that shape into the upstairs.

I took it home and held it up against the beadboard, and was satisfied that it would be a good fit. Unfortunately, with the rest of our bathroom being a grey-tone white ("Satin Snow"), this cream-tone baby was going to stick out. So, I taped her up and, you know, painted her.

Once she was ready, I picked up some high-weight-bearing anchors. The fellas at ACE set me up with this guy:

We measured it out and drilled a hole in the wall, then sent the anchor through (with those wings at the bottom, folded in, going into the wall).

Then, we tightened everything up until just the right amount of hardware was poking through.

And it hung beautifully.

(Note: The trim is not nailed on behind the toilet in this picture, so the shadow looks a little bizarre)

Once the counter and faucet are swapped out, along with the beige light plate covers, we will be in good shape!

(Note: The trim is not nailed on behind the toilet in this picture, so the shadow looks a little bizarre)

Before and after:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

• Do you like medicine cabinet mirrors for their storage?
• What would YOU have done for a mirror in this bathroom?

15 4th of July Drinks, Desserts, and Breakfasts

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Whether you love getting festive for the fourth of July, or you're still feeling the USA love after watching Tim Howard defend the union last night, here are 15 delicious and healthy recipes you can make to celebrate your Red, White, and Blue!

Cocktails and Drinks

1. Skinny Summertime White Wine Sangria

2. Blueberry & Chambord Patriotic Cocktail

3. Strong & Skinny Strawberry Daiquiri

4. Victoria's Secret Model's Red Detox Juice
For those of you who are trying to keep away from the alcohol, there's no reason not to indulge in something patriotic and red, white, or blue!

Desserts and Sweets

5. 100 Calorie Cake Balls
These aren't red, white, or blue, but you could easily make them more patriotic. Try using natural food coloring mixed in with white almond bark for the hard shell exterior. You can make them any color you want!

6. Gluten-Free Upside-Down Apple Pie

7. Blueberry Cheesecake In A Jar

8. Chocolate Frozen Yogurt with Berries

9. 4th of July Red, White, and Blue Suckers

Mains

10. Berry Balsamic Crumble

11. Whole Wheat Fiber Waffles

12. Paleo Grilled Carrots

13. Spicy Corn & Black Bean Salsa

14. Pork, Caulirice, and Feta Stuffed Peppers

15. Grilled Eggplant with Sharp Cheddar and Vine Ripened Tomatoes

She Only Wants Me For My Beadboard (Bathroom Renovation, Part Two)

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I know you all are curious to see how this bathroom renovation has turned out.

...so am I.

When it came to what to remove from the bathroom, it was a pretty easy answer. Everything 1980s, beige-y and salmon-y, had to go (GOODBYE TILE!). But, then we had a few options for what to do once that was out.

Original plan:
At first, we planned on removing all of the tile in the entire room (including the floor tile) and doing a white hexagonal penny tile on the walls with a white-and-black basket weave penny tile on the floor (floor like this image). It would have been true to the era of this house (1910s = penny tile and marble all over the place).

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A change of heart:
But, after removing the wall tile, we took a good look at the floor and realized we really didn't dislike it so much. It was recently put in by the previous owners, so it is in great shape, and it has some white and gray in it, so we know we will be able to brighten things up by whitening the walls. By keeping it, we could make our bathroom renovation significantly shorter/cheaper, and avoid having to remove the tub and toilet.

So, we decided to keep the floor tile. Huzzah for slightly less renovation work!

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But what about the walls?
Next, we debated the wall tile idea. As it turns out, "penny tile" is much more expensive than its name suggests. We realized we would be shelling out four to six hundred dollars on the wall tile, alone. We didn't have a specific budget in mind, but we did want to be as price-conscious as possible at every turn, because this isn't a "forever home," so we want to be smart about how much we invest into it.

So, when the idea of beadboard popped into my head, it was really the price and time factors that confirmed it as a brilliant idea. For $80, we could get enough beadboard to do the bathroom with extra to spare, and it would take us less time because we found large pre-fabricated slabs of imitation beadboard at Lowes.

$80 vs $600... there was really no contest. So, we revised the plan.

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Getting down to business!
Once the walls had been patched and smoothed, we picked up the beadboard and started cutting it. We still had a large piece of the drywall that the old tile was attached to, so here's picture that show the color difference. I was immediately satisfied that this change would brighten and visually "clean up" the bathroom.

My in-laws came over to help us cut the beadboard to size. We measured each wall and cut it to size as best we could.

Then, we would bring it up to the bathroom and put it in place. If it wasn't a perfect fit, we went back downstairs to trim a little off.

Once we were satisfied with the fit, we glued the back with Locktite Binding Glue. We did a line around the edges and then every 4-6 inches in between.

We continued this process around the room, matching the pieces up as best we could. We tried to keep the pattern continuous by cutting the pieces so that the vertical "grooves"were always the same distance apart, even when moving from one piece to the next.

Once every piece was in place, we could still see some edges where the pieces met up.

Finishing touches:

The next step was to caulk all of the places where the pieces met up, including corners and one spot on each of the longer walls. We also painted all of the walls and beadboard, so that the everything would be wipable. The beadboard came pre-finished, but it did scratch during the installation process. I also read in reviews that it would smudge easily if it hadn't been sealed well with a few coats of paint. So, paint we did. We used Satin Snow (a white with cool, gray tones) and got to work. 

Once this process was finished, we could already see some major change in the bathroom. Next up was finding the right trim to put on top of the beadboard, cutting it to size and painting it, and dealing with the mirror and countertop! More to come... 

A Rambling Brain Post, and a VERY TASTY FLATBREAD PIZZA

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Sometimes, on the worst days, all it takes is a little flatbread pizza.

Wake up at 4am to help my husband finish packing and then drive him to the airport. Think I've thrown a travel pack of Pepto into his belongings, but I have no memory of where I've put it, so I double the effort and throw a second one in.

Make it home from the airport before the sun's up. Contemplate letting my dog take a piss because I know she's going to need to before I wake back up after the nap I'm about to take. Decide not to because I can barely keep my eyes open.

Nap. Nap. Wake up and text my husband. Nap.

Wake up at 8:45, walk the dog, pick up her warm gooey poop, hold my breath as I walk it to a trash can in the park.

Return home, ignore breakfast, ignore the kitchen.

Look at the laundry list of chores that need to be done on top of regular, actual work. Feel a little guilty about how desperately I want to mope on the couch.

Finally decide to make my breakfast at 10am. Mother freaking pizza.

Get giddy as the aromas of oregano and melted mozzarella fill my house. 

Feel like a genius.

Deal with the kitchen. 

Scrub bathroom floors.

Send important work emails.

Vacuum. Vacuum. Vacuum.

Run errands, come home and wash laundry and dry it and make the beds.

Finally sit down at a computer.

And write.

Easy-As-Pizza-Pie Flatbread White Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 Flatout Bread Wrap (I used 100 calorie whole wheat)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded mozzarella
• 2 tbsp feta cheese
• 1 tbsp white onion, chopped
• 1 handful spinach
• 1/2 tbsp italian seasoning (any kind of mixed seasoning will do, or you can simply use oregano in its place)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place flatout bread wrap on a baking sheet. Spread olive oil around with a spoon to smooth it out and distribute evenly.
3. Add shredded mozzarella (freshly shredded truly is the best!), feta, and white onion. Distribute spinach evenly.
4. Sprinkle italian seasoning like it's freaking fairy dust all over that thing.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges have begun to get brown and crispy.
6. Cut. Serve. Devour.

Installing A New Stove - Goodbye Ole Whitey

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We have now officially been in this house for a week, and the tweaks have already begun.

At first, we thought we may be able to hack it with the old white stove for a little while. The rest of the appliances are stainless steel, so despite wanting a new stove to match that, we weren't sure we could justify buying a new one for purely cosmetic reasons when there are other, bigger projects calling us (I'm preparing to go at the bathroom with a freaking hammer).



But, there's always a contingency clause, and for us, keeping Ole Whitey was contingent upon cleanliness and functioning. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), Ole Whitey ended up with a few issues...

First, the clock didn't work. We tried setting it a few times and it would seem to work but then the next morning it would be back to flashing --:--. <--what's up with that?

Second, it was missing a rack inside (it had only one), meaning we could only cook one thing at a time. I need a high functioning oven because I like to cook ALL THE THINGS. We could probably have bought some new racks, but it felt like 'polishing a turd' to do that. You can fancy it up all you want, but it's still a stinking turd.

I can't believe I am referencing turds on my blog.

Third, it's an old stove, so it was DIRRRRRTY inside (see above). Could we have cleaned it? Yes. Did we want to clean the heck out of a stove with problems #1 and 2? Nope.

After a while, my husband managed to convince me we needed to just buy a new stove. I was on the fence about it for a while, but he kept reminding me that I use the stove at least once a day (usually twice, but who's counting?!), so it would not only be a good investment for the kitchen, but also a good investment into my daily experience.

The fact that I resisted for a while still amazes me. You want to buy me a new stove? Twist my arm already!

We ended up ordering a new one from Best Buy. We wanted something stainless, gas-run, and with burners that have varying intensities. There is not a lot of space for the stove in this kitchen, so we replaced it with the same size we had before, which is 30 inches.

Our dishwasher is GE, and we ended up getting the same brand for the stove, but it was somewhat unintentional.

Why did we go with Best Buy? They had the best deal on the stove we wanted, they offered free delivery, and they were willing to recycle the old stove.

They delivered the stove a few days later, but it was up to us to actually hook it up. We turned off the gas and got to work, and it ended up being pretty simple: Just attach the gas to the new stove (it screws in; ours had an adapter we removed from the old stove and kept), seal it, and plug the stove in to the wall (aka get power). Then, all you have to do is scoot it into place without scratching your floor.

Now that it is in place, I am in love with it. It really did make a huge difference both visually and functionally, and I think it helps the kitchen look a bit more "grown up" and cohesive.

The design of the stove also helps hide a design oddity of our kitchen. Because the top of the new stove is curved/domed instead of flat, it doesn't make it as obvious that the stove, itself, is actually overlapping somewhat with the doorway trim. We have considered doing a renovation to shave off some of the counter/cabinet space in order to get rid of this overlap, but at this point, it seems like a lot of cost for a somewhat minor issue, so this was a nice tweak for the meantime.

There is also a neat feature on this stove that will allow me to very efficiently heat my huge pots - such as my large oval le creuset. In the center, there is a tall, oval burner that will be perfect for those kind of crockpot-like shapes.

 And there you have it. So far, so good. Now, let me get back to cooking...

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you think it is a big improvement?
• Have you ever replaced a stove?
• What "changes" do you think go the farthest in updating a kitchen?

Hello Moto - Part 3, The Wines

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Happy Friday! It's official; we made it to the weekend. Breathe a sigh of relief in 3...2...1...

Friday might actually be one of my favorite days of the week, even though Saturday involves the most free time. There's so much potential for Fridays.

Especially on a day like today, when I have no plans. After a long and busy week, I'm pretty thrilled to be able to relax, clean my apartment, and watch a movie with my honeyboo. Yes, I said that.

Now that it's been a week since our Moto Excursion (you can read part one, about the general experience, here... or read part two, the juicy details on the food, here), I'm finally ready to share the rest of the info. Writing about bridesmaids dress shopping, proposing to my bridesmaids, and working out apparently took precedence over wine.  What. A. Travesty.

Let me just start by saying... yum. Most of the wine selections were perfectly paired with the food, so we were thoroughly enjoying them.

EMANUELE SCAMMACCA DEL MURGO, SANTA VENERIA, ITALY, BRUT ROSE, 2009

We started with a yummy rose champagne. I typically am not into roses, but it was actually much less sweet than I expected. Thumbs up.

FORLORN HOPE, QUE SAUDADE, VERDELHO, CALIFORNIA, USA, 2011

The next wine was a white wine from California. My favorite thing about this wine was the story behind the name. Apparently, a forlorn hope is "a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the leading part in a military operation, such as an assault on a defended position, where the risk of casualties is high." Apparently, this vineyard in California tends to go against the grain and grow grapes that most people think are not suited to the region. People told them they were crazy and that the risk for error was high. Hence the title "Forlorn Hope."

That said, the wine, itself, was... decent. Not mind blowing. I'm a sucker for marketing, though, so the story tugged at my heart strings a bit.

DOMAINE GUIBERTEAU, CLOS DE GUICHAUX, CHENIN BLANC, SAUMUR, FRANCE 2008

This was a drier wine that was pretty tasty. Other than that, I don't remember much. Except that I liked it a bit more than Forlorn Hope.

DOMENICO CLERICO, PAJANA, BAROLO, ITALY 2008

Justin and I tend to prefer red wines to whites, so we were excited when the pairings shifted into the darker realm. We kicked off the reds with this wine, which I continued to affectionately refer to as "The Pajamas." Justin really enjoyed it, and kept comparing the other reds to it, so I started asking, "Babe, do you like this one as much as your pajamas?"

This sh*t is PAJAMAS! P-A-J-A-M-A-S! Yeah, this just went from a classy wine post to a trashy parody of Gwen Stefani. I'll move on now.

For some reason, between the pajamas and the next wine (which was my favorite), I stopped taking pictures. Or maybe I took some but I lost them. Either way, my bad. Here's what we tried:

AVELEDA, FOLLIES, TOURINGA NACIONAL/CABERNET SAUVIGNON, BEIRAS, PORTUGAL, 2010

and
BEATRICE ET PASCAL LAMBERT, LES TERRASSES, CHINON, FRANCE 2011

SPRING VALLEY VINEYARD, URIAH, MERLOT/CABERNET FRANC/PETITE VERDOT/MALBEC, WALLA WALLA, USA, 2009

Now, how about this blurry wine picture? Starting to wonder if this was my favorite because it was delicious, or if we were just deep enough in wine that everything was amazing. Either way, I loved it. The bottle featured a picture of Uriah, who is the patriarch of the family that owns the vineyard.

BARRA OF MENDOCINO, BELLA DOLCE, PETITE SIRAH, MENDOCINO, CALIFORNIA, 2008

The final glass of wine was a perfect example of why sommeliers are geniuses. It was a petite sirah, and came in a tiny little glass. When we first sipped it, we both looked at each other with an odd look. It was so sweet. Like, thick and syrupy. Then, they brought our dessert - red velvet cake pieces that burst in your mouth into a sweet, drippy amazingness. And then, when we sipped our wine again, there was more eye contact. Oh. Now I get it. The wine was suddenly delicious and even extended the flavors of the dessert - a perfect pairing.