6 Months and not much done still

I have a feeling this old house of mine will take me all my life to fix. But that's ok.

Right now my main goal is my bathroom. The walls were hideous and the floor was a little alarming. So on to find the right repairman and boy was that a feat!

Getting contractors to answer phones, return calls, show up to do walk through estimates etc etc... I give up! Then someone saw me complaining about it on my FB page. Thank goodness for her and smart hubby.  Boy will I keep him busy!!

So on to my bathroom. I am sure you remember this:

 OMG the yellow paint! And that head banger cabinet above the toilet! And the weak wall that won't allow a shower curtain rod to stay up. And the soft floor that well, needs to be fixed, and the toilet that never will fix!!

So here is what's going on and how I am surviving around it.

My lovely little 8' x 6' bathroom (plus the tub that is)

And here's the tub. I love this tub! Later on I'll have someone come refinish it because it's cast iron and huge!!! It's for sure a soaking tub. Did I mention how much I love it?

And the dreaded toilet. No matter how many times you fix it, it just won't stay fixed. I think because the floor is weak and it kind of moves sometimes. Anyhow, when the floor is fixed a new toilet is going in. And the rebates I get between Home Depot and the city, the new toilet will be free! WHAT? A free toilet? Yep free!!

I know you are saying "OMG I love her lighting!" Yep, me too. So soothing, efficient..... NOT!

Oh and look! Towel hooks!! I could hang about 1242 towels in here or just throw it in the air and it would probably land on one all on it's own since they are everywhere!

Oh this is my temporary door so the neighbors (if they are looking through my window that is), don't see me if I'm using my awesome bathroom in privacy!

But wait! There's MORE!!!!! BEADBOARD ceiling! It's going to be so beautiful!!!

I don't know how to turn this pic around but my new gorgeous French Pavers sheet vinyl in white, will replace the outdated stuff. The new one is a 4" pattern that resembles French Pavers. LOVE it!!!!

So that's what is going on right now. It's promised to be nearly done by Tuesday before Thanksgiving so my family can use the bathroom while they are here spending Thanksgiving with me.

I can't wait for it to be done. New sheet rock, new toilet, new flooring, a little larger space since I had them tear down a closet and open the bathroom up a bit. Now instead of a 4' x 6' it is a roomy 8' x 6', much better.

I'm using an old cabinet for a sink vanity, I did buy a new vanity top for it. And I've been drooling over Pinterest on how to decorate the bathroom when it's complete. I'll share those pictures next week I HOPE!!!

Tootles for now.

xxoo

Shabby Jen

Pushed on through the day and got some stuff done.

So we were off at 8am to get our flowers.

First day off in a long time so I wanted to take advantage of every minute of the day.

In between my To Do List, I had cable guy and internet guy over running my cable and internet, so that's done too! woohoo.

This is my little helper for the majority of the day.

We got lots of flowers. They're so pretty.

I found this image online and fell in love with it. So I hope to recreate it in my front flower beds. 

I know it will take a little time to get there. I might consider some sort of Miracle Grow or something, what do you use?

I bought  Delphinium, foxgloves, small Shasta daisy and pink knock out roses.

I need to get some Snapdragons and a couple more Shasta Daisy then I'll just sit back and watch it all grow.

There is a lot of painting to be done on this old Bungalow of mine. But at least now she has some sweet little flowers to look at.

There's going to be a tiny little white wood boarder around the flower beds. It will be so sweet. I hope my Peony's like where I planted them. We even went to Dollar General for a few little garden ornaments.

Then this happened.....

I tackled it. After weeks of debating and reading and listening to people telling me the "best" way to do it, I got down on my hands and knees, sometimes flat on my rear, sometimes on my side... lol

I stuck to it.

I wanted to quit but I feared the dreaded overlap of stain.

I persevered. I really didn't want to. Believe me I wanted to cave. The smell was horrible.

My knees and hands were killing me.

Needless to say my back was so binded up (is that a word?) When I did stop I started getting awful spasms and thought I'd end up in ER.

But I just had to get it done. I have to be moved by June 15th and that day is coming very quickly.

I got it done! I worked every minute of the day.

I am so happy that I kept on chuggin along. It looks just like I hoped it would.

Yes it's not perfect. But I did it, and I did it by myself.

Many people (men) told me it wouldn't turn out right since I didn't sand it down 1/8".

Many also told me that the stain wouldn't hold along the edges since I didn't sand it with and edge sander.

But guess what, I think it turned out purty dern  good!!!

In 2 days I will go over with my sealer and seal it with a roller. 

I love how it looks. I wanted it to look worn and aged and uneven. I can't believe I did this all by myself.

Oh and it took just 3/4 of the gallon!!! Gal at Home Depot said I would need 2 gallons. Guess what I'll be bringing back for a refund!! LOL

The finish is going to be a matte finish sealer. I want the floor to look like it has been waxed and I THINK the matte sealer will give me that look. What do you think?

Soo... after it is all sealed and set I'll go in and paint all the baseboards, then start moving in.

K, this gal is hitting the sack. I hope I can get out of bed in the morning!

Tootles!!!

The work I attempt cracks me up

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

So I rented the floor sander to do these floors

Here I go, never doing it before. But I sure watched 3 weeks of videos. And I have done floor buffing before so I think I can do this.

This is the living room.

Here it is after I was halfway done.

I plan to use a couple dark stains mixed together. I'm hoping for a nice finish and hope I did a good enough sanding.

But before I stain I want to do my walls, but wait, what's that up there under the drop ceiling?

Here I go, ripping down that T Bar drop ceiling. What a mess!!!

Oh yes there are a few problems up there but nothing I am worried about. Keep on ripping it out Jen. You got this girl. Yes you are Superwoman!

What a mess it makes. Be sure you have a mask on and a shop vac handy!

Nothing a day can't do when you set your mind to it. And I didn't hurt myself once.

And yes, that is my brand new Werner fiberglass ladder. Bought it just for my new home. I love Werner ladders. There are hooks and holes all over it for your tools.

TADA, here is my new old beadboard ceiling. It's going to be beautiful. I'll be putting a long 2" x 6" stained board along left to right where it's open. (click here to see what I hope it turns out like) Going to fill in the other smaller openings with bead board. Then a chandelier. 

Tomorrow I scrap the wall, put in some putty and sand down where all the t bar hardware was. THEN PAINT!!!

To be continued...

xxoo

It's like the song by Barenaked Ladies, "It's been 1 week"...

My new old home.

It's been 1 week since I bought you. And my mind has run away with me.

It's been 5 days since I looked at you. But I can't get you out of my mind.

It's been 4 days since I slept real well. The dreams keep me up at night!

LOL

This is why....

The floors need serious lovin'! And I mean serious! See the place had been rented out for a long time to college kids and, well, I don't think they really did much with them other than use and abuse.

Then when the college kids moved out and owners wanted to sell it, it just sat for over a year!

And as many of you know, I am a shabby chic kind of gal. Almost all of my furniture is white.

My walls for the most part are going to be Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan. You can see in the picture how pretty it is with white.

Isn't it lovely? The picture belongs to Becca at Adventures in decorating. I love her style and the color was just what my brain was thinking of. And I do think it will be lovely in my new old home.

I also think it will go beautifully with darker wood floors. And with my love also of Jeanne d' Arc style, the darker floors will help me with achieving that look. Take a peek at some of my faves:

(If any of these pictures are yours, I tried hard to find the original post to give you the credit. I take no credit at all for these pictures, as I found them on Pinterest) so without further ado, here are my faves:

antiqbr.blogspot (loooove it!)

tarahlowry.blogspot (love it)

Me & Alice (love it)

and again, mine...

Soo.... won't you show me yours??? Remember, my walls will be Manchester Tan and my furniture shades of white and floors a bit darker than what they are presently. 

As soon as I get back from training and get my walls painted, I'll be sanding and finishing them. So seeing some of yours might help me with my final decision on color.

The post of posts! My new home and project.

Here she is. My very own DIY fixer upper Bungalow.

Deep in the center of KS is where I found this darling 1920 Craftsman Bungalow.

Making my home here near family and calling it home feels so right finally.

So, here's the new home.

I love all the details.

Look at that leaded stain glass!! I have 2 across the front of the house.

The living and dining are open to each other.

This is looking to the front door. Just look at the ceilings! No I won't be ripping it out. It's what stole my heart!!!!! (ps. do you know what those crystal ball things are called that go on the end cap on the banister? They are missing from the bottom of the banister and the top :( Please tell me in the comments below)

oh yea baby yellow!!! NOT! This kitchen has lots of plans.

Yep, this is my bedroom!! aint she a beaute? I see about 100 gallons of paint being spread inside this place! LOL Oh yea, the T-Bar ceilings will be going buh bye!!! They were put in for heat and air efficiency but I plan to just deal ha! I want the wood ceilings that are hiding up there!!!

(Can you guess how much paint will cover the walls in this room? Take a guess in the comments below. Whoever is the closest wins a prize!!!)

Uuuu scuze me, who paints such a bright yellow? This bathroom will have shiplap or beadboard. I'm wavering back and forth. Have you ever installed shiplap or wood slats??? I'd love to hear your experience.

Ok so you wanna come help me? Come on, this is my guest bedroom. Bags packed yet??  Nah, just wait until it's pretty. This green is pretty but it's not me.

The attic is finished and will be home to all my sewing and craftings. I can picture many days spent up there with Shabby Jen and Gracie. I vision new carpet and some DIY wainscoting or planks. Maybe a little built in bench by the window....

Ah the dreams I have been dreaming. The plans I have for this little home. 

She's all mine and I'll take you along with me during this journey.

It will be a labor of love, penny savvy and learn and explore.

Here is my Pinterest page about my plans: https://www.pinterest.com/soshabbyjen/for-my-dream-cottage/

I can't wait!

See you soon!! Remember, comment below on how much paint you think it will take to cover the walls in my blue sky bedroom. Winner gets a prize!!

My favorite way to pass time.

I could totally get lost in Pinterest and Etsy pages.

I'm here today to share some of my favorites with you, some of my own Etsy items and hope to hear about some of your favorites, AND your own Etsy or Pinterest pages. Please be sure to leave me a comment with your links.

Whether it's a rainy day, sunny day, sick day or random surfing the web, you can find me totally invoked in Etsy and Pinterest. I am hooked on both!!!

What do you search for when you surf Pinterest or Etsy? Do you always use the same keywords? What are your favorite words to use? Mine are shabby cottage, rustic romantic, vintage lace projects, shabby furniture, white French Country. I do hope you share yours with me.

So light a favorite candle, grab a cup of coffee, turn on your music and take a peek at several of my very faves!!

Linda at the Peony Shanty - Ilove ALL of her work. Her prices are excellent and she is super sweet. Here are a few of my faves she has newly listed (click here for her bunny pillow)

Bunnies are my all time fave little decoration and I can't wait for Easter to get all of mine out. I actually have a couple pillows that I bought from Linda's Etsy page. I have a chandelier pillow and a very pretty woman pillow

You should totally check out her Etsy page!

Here are a few of my other favorite Etsy shops: Junque Chic

This is a brand new fave of mine: Vintage Daisy

I enjoy looking at this gals page too: Antique Basket Lady

Oh but the love I have for Pinterest!!! Sometimes if I wake up in the middle of the night I just get on Pinterest for a bit. 

This is from Anne at White Lace Cottage. Just look how many times her images get pinned!!! I swear my laptop is going to get zapped one of these days by drooling on it so much!

https://www.pinterest.com/whitelaceanne/

My Petite Mason is one of my faves

I adore Nina Hartman

This is a personal friend of mine, Lisa, her page is adorbs!

Karen at A Shabby Moment is a very sweet page to follow

Oh these are just a few. I hope you take the time to visit them. I visit them often. And I do my favorite search words everyday to find new images I have to drool over.

I hope you leave me a link or 2 and tell me what your favorite search words are!

Have a great day friends!!!