Friday, May 15th 2015

Livin’ the Dream

To fulfill a dream you first need the Idea.  You need to schedule actionable steps on your calendar, and enough monetary discretion to do so.  Therefore what you REALLY need is for no fires going off in your life!  Apparently this is the case for us for the first time… ever.

I/we have been dreaming of our bathroom makeover since soon after we moved in here, over 2 & 1/2 years ago. Being extremely frugal I have been slowly accumulating components of it piecemeal. The feel we are going for is NATURE.  This is to help symbolically assuage the dire lack of access to it while city living in a CONDO.  (Both Paul and I grew up SURROUNDED by nature.)  The bathroom is to be a bit of an Oasis Escape… basically every time you shower or poop or pee.  Or pretend to do any of those things in order to escape the children.

I painted it in colored textures last fall, but both the colors and the finish of the paint resulted in epoch FAIL. We have been living with it in half disrepair since then. One reason this project has become important to me is it would be the first significant project that my husband and I would pull off together just for the joy of it.  Something that we dreamed together.  IF we pull it off that is.

Somehow this week Hubby & I sat down together like Real Grownups and looked at our calendars and figured stuff out.  We could actually see stuff coming this week instead of just dealing with it when it’s in our faces. Miraculously we set aside Friday morning for “GO TO LOWE’S.” Even more miraculously, it *happened.*

First we had to get the kids to school, and convince my best friend we were going to the *hardware store,* not the *movies* (although either would have been equally indulgent.)

“Lowe’s,” not “Leow’s”

We’d done online research and targeted Lowe’s, although being in there mainly made me miss Home Depot.  I couldn’t believe the derelict state of displays and lack of customer support, but EUREKA we found it anyway;  a bathroom cabinet sink and hardware that both fit our specs AND we both loved.   We spent about $100 more than intended, but it was worth not risking this project continuing to hang over our heads for any more  months.

Our next task was to get a plumber.  Or was it?   Here my DH stops to contemplate whether his “brute strength and ignorance” are enough to do the job:

Will he go for it?

Conclusion?  Only way to find out:

Yes he does

And what does every Handyman need?  His wife hanging around to question his ability and take pictures;

My My Handyman

So far so good, by the way.  He unhooked our old sink cabinet without disaster  The rest is still in process.  (Turns out the new one has a fru-fru shelf-drawer thing inside blocking the space for the pipes wouldn’t you know, so today we’re working on removing it… well, *DH* is, since I have to go to work.)

One of the best perks though?   Naturally, the Box!

Handy Boy

Gavin set about to cutting his windows and access holes IMMEDIATELY upon coming home.   Besides, how many opportunities do you get use a hand saw when you’re a kid?

Cardboard Castle Kids

Though perhaps he got a bit carried away with “Gavin’s fort!”

“We will kill you!”

In any case, to celebrate; Daddy Style home-made sushi dinner.

DaddyLove’s Love

ClaraJane is under the weather, but rallied for this;

Girl’s Fravrite Medicine

And Gavin guarded his new fort all night long;

Fort Castle Guard

And there you have Vanity Day.