Stone accent wall in the foyer almost complete...

Since tearing down the wallpaper, this small accent wall was always an idea in the back of my head.  I would check for stone veneer listing on Craigslist and in the big box home improvement stores.

I eventually found some and the price was perfect.  It came to be that this is actual stone - not man made so it was extra heavy and very colorful.  I drove up and loaded it into the car with the help of the seller and his son.  They could not be nicer.  There was a LOT of stone!  :-)

Then I stacked it on the driveway - completely confident that I would have this project done in a week. (Um yeah - I bought this in October).  LOL

From the driveway, I moved it into the garage and that is where it is still sitting.  But the pile is shrinking.  Then the wall preparation began.  I started with a staple gun and some waterproof tar paper.

Next came the metal lath - this stuff just rips your fingers apart - OUCH!

Then you add mortar to create the scratch coat.  I let it dry completely and it was time for stone.  Yay!

I was nervous about starting this so I laid it out on the driveway first.  This actually didn't work too well for me - I liked doing it like a jigsaw puzzle - one piece at a time.  It was actually fun!

Here is the before - the view when you walk into the front door with the scratch coat ready and waiting.

I started with the first row and I was thinking ok, I can totally to this.  :-)  

And I simply worked my way up the wall....

Higher and higher.... until I reached the top!  

And ended with this...

I still have to icing and strike the joints but I am thrilled with the final outcome.  I will post a final reveal picture when I get the area de-mortared.  It is everywhere - even though I put tarps down.  I even have enough to to another wall in the living room.  Sweet!  

Walk-In Closet makeover progress....

Here is the progress on my Tiffany & Co. inspired closet door... still waiting for warm weather to spray paint the brass door knob silver.  UGH - Hurry Spring!

Here is a preview of my new navy and white striped walls.... I love it so far!

Found this awesome bright pink shelf liner on clearance at Marshall's!  This is what started it all!  More to come!

Closet Door Makeover.... in progress!

With the winter season winding down, quite slowly but very surely, I have begun to transition my closet over from Winter to Spring.  As I was going through this process, I realized I don't like my closet very much.  So, I have decided to do something about it.  It hasn't happened as quickly as I would like, but hopefully by the end of Spring Break, I will have a reveal to share.

I have decided to start with a project I can finish rather quickly - the dreaded closet door.  It is a plain, unattractive, faux woodgrain hollow core door.  I am in the process of changing out all the dark, plain ranch moldings to bright white colonial trim and this is just one more project I can scratch off that list.  Here is my progress so far..

Since I have already emptied the majority of the closet to paint it, it was wonderful to be able to work on the door IN the closet instead of lugging it downstairs and out the door to the garage.  I removed the door knob which is being moved to another door in the house and the antique brass hinges.

Normally, the next step would be to use a light stripper to remove varnish and roughen up the surface.  That is until I found this on clearnace at WalMart.  YAY!  I simply put it on a rag and applied it in a circular motion and walah!  It definitely de-glossed the surface and provided a smooth surface which held paint.  AWESOME!  I elected to add one coat of Krylon white primer to give me a neutral surface to paint.

All ready for the final coat!  

These are the totally random items and supplies I am going to use for the door makeover.  The bow, which I LOVE, was from a thrift store and cost me 25 cents.  It is made from a very thin wood and was from the Walmart Christmas collection.  I bought it knowing I would use it somewhere, someday - I love bows!  And they are trending for Spring 2013.  Lucky me!  :-)

 I primed it white and it is also ready for its final coat of paint!  That is all I am revealing so far -  I hope it turns out as adorable as I imagine it to be.

I Bought A $1,000 Toilet Today! For $60 bucks!

I can't believe I am writing this post - that I am actually admitting I bought a used toilet today.  A big part of me is really excited and a little part of me is still grossed out a little bit.  Please don't freak out, please don't unfollow me, please don't look at me that way.  LOL  It's gonna be ok.

I was in South Bend this weekend for Notre Dame playoff hockey - by the way they swept Bowling Green to advance to the next round (whoo hoo) - and I always go to the Habitat ReStore here in town.

Nice looking place, huh?  And it is SO clean and organized.  Like a Home Depot!  :-)

This summer, I am going to re-model the downstairs bathroom because it is just icky.  I have been accumulating the tile, faucets, etc. over the past few years at unbelievable prices and the only things big left to purchase are a vanity and toilet.  Strolling through the ReStore I passed a toilet.  But it just wasn't any toilet, it was the Kohler Revival toilet.  The snazzy looking one with the pull flush knob on the top.

I looked at it and for a minute I thought it was new and then I took the tank lid off and it definitely was not new.  It wasn't gross, it just had water deposits around the tank.  I thought about it for a split second and then walked away.  But it was gnawing at me - you know how that is.  When you see something and you are like, "meh" but once you think about it or come up with the perfect place for it, etc, YOU MUST HAVE IT!  Lol - I do it all the time!

So when I got home, of course I Googled it.  (I Google everything!)  And there it was, on the Lowe's website for ...

KOHLER Revival Biscuit Elongated Toilet

Item #: 89230 |  Model #: 3555-US-96

$1,001.44

WHAT?  A $1,000 toilet?  You have got to be kidding me?  

So I then Googled, "Buying a used toilet",  "Is it gross to buy a used toilet?", etc.  And you know what?  It isn't.  After reading so many posts from people who have done this, it really is ok.  

We use the bathroom at our friends' houses, we buy a house and we don't replace the toilets, we use public toilets every day.  So why not a used toilet from a thrift store?  :-)  

I texted my sister for her opinion and she told me of cleaners and such which remove EVERYTHING - germs, viruses, and crud of any kind!    I can also power wash it to remove any lingering micro gross.

So they opened at 9:00 on Monday morning and of course it was sleeting and raining.  But I threw on jeans, a hoodie, and brushed my teeth.  That is the wonderful thing about second hand store shopping, the effort to be presentable is about 1/3 that of a retail store.  It was about 9:10 when I reached the store and my pulse was quickening as I imagined a contractor loading it into his truck.  So here I went from being totally grossed out to being obsessed with this used toilet.  SERIOUSLY???  

I entered the store, exchanged pleasantries with the workers and made a bee line for the plumbing department and there it was.  In all of its wonderful grossness.  :-)  So I took the tank lid off and checked for cracks.  I crawled underneath - yeah that was icky - to check for cracks in the base and under the tank and negatory.  SO I grabbed the lid and proceeded to walk around the store so no one could swoop in and grab it away from me.  I also found a NEW - yes NEW in package - Kwik Set polished chrome (SO hard to find) doorknob set for a door project I am hoping to finish in a few weeks.

So the price was $75 for the toilet and I had - wait for it - a COUPON!  25% off!  I KNOW!!  So my total for the toilet and the door knob came to $66.20.  So now I have gone from being at the top of the heebie-jeebies scale to being really excited about my bathroom remodel.  

And the seat has chrome hinges and is $160 to replace.  YIKES!  I may have to Google around for a way lower price than that.  

So, now, when it comes to thrift shopping, second hand stores, re-sale shoppes, etc., my NO WAY, NOT EVER NO MATTER HOW CUTE list of banned items is one item smaller - TOILET has now been removed.  After considering all aspects, it really is OK - and because Google said so.

Kitchen Revamp 2013: A work in progress...

In 2008, I stripped all the wallpaper in my kitchen and jumped on the trendy bandwagon of the black and bright green and damask decor as shown by Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs.   I loved it but the minute I finished painting, I turned to my sister and said, "I bet this would have been pretty in a soft grey blue."  And I always felt that way since....

On the "oops" paint shelf at Lowe's was a gorgeous shade of blue grey which blew me away!  It was only $1.00 so I bought it just because.   One day I came across it in the cabinet and just for kicks, I painted a small part of my kitchen wall with it and I instantly knew I had use it in my kitchen!   Here are the beginnings of this project and I hope to have it done by Spring.  It is a slow go... 

I found this remnant piece at JoAnn's for $1.50.  It's just laid on top of the cushion for now and I loved the pillow but returned it to HomeGoods because I thought it was a little too large. 

This is the half painted ceiling so I could put my new oversized lantern.  Found it at a ReStore store and it is for outdoors but I fell in love with it and it was only $28 new in box.  A very good thing.  I also painted the patio doors black which I LOVE!  

The new slanted wall treatment still needs caulk, sand and paint but I like the way it looks so far.  

This was a picture from the first kitchen re-do before I did the crazy painted countertops project.  That project can be seen HERE.    The brass knobs and hunter green laminate is just not for me especially coupled with the honey pine wood trim!  LOL  I think the AFTER looks much better!

Another BEFORE picture and more green laminate.  Please... make it STOP!

There - that's better.  :-)  But this is now my new "BEFORE".  I hope I like the AFTER just as much!

The sample paint against the stacked stone I found it for under $100 at a Home Improvement outlet.  When I saw the coastal look this presented, I knew I was definitely getting rid of the green.  

The original backsplash plan was a roll of white shelf liner.  I cut out a ton of this stuff whilst watching TV.  But when I saw the stone, I knew this was no longer going to work - I would always wish I did the stone instead.  This will be saved for another project for another day - I still love it.

I scraped and painted the inside of this lighted glass cabinet to match the walls.  

This remnant fabric at JoAnn's was  only $4.53 and so I lined the cabinet with it for texture and contrast from the wall paint.  I am thrilled with the result.

So that is my progress so far with a LOT more to do.  I have to figure out what to do with this THING which houses the task lighting and exhaust for the oven and stove.   I think bead board and molding may be in order to glam it up a bit.

I cannot wait to post the reveal - that will mean it will be completely finished!  Oh a girl can dream...

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It's Here - Downton Day is finally here! :-) Happy viewing...

Finally!  I have bided my time waiting for Season 3 of Masterpiece Classic's Downton Abbey watching the Notre Dame football team go 12-0 and become number one in the country, Memorial Day, Wimbledon, Labor Day, the US Open, Halloween, Christmas and New Year's, etc.

But, alas, the time has finally come.  It is so funny how people are making such a big deal about this but if you don't get, you obviously aren't watching.  I cannot wait for those first few beats of that invigorating music, the ringing of the bells on the servant wall, etc.  I cannot wait.  I hope you are excited too and I simply wanted to wish you all Happy Viewing.

I have not cheated and read the spoilers so I really only have a few inklings of what is in store for the Crawleys.  Are you going to watch?  There is so much going on with the NFL playoffs and Once Upon A Time coming back on but Downton will reign supreme tonight for me!  Enjoy!