Master Bathroom Makeover

When we first bought this townhome, there was only one room I really hated. Our bathroom. I was so excited to have a bathroom connected to my bedroom, but it was ugly. Not only were the walls an offensive green, but they were poorly painted. Oh, and before it was green you could tell it had been poorly painted red. It was like a Christmas nightmare. It's called painter's tape. Use it. I think we just stepped backstage into a local theater's dressing room. Plastic curtain rod with rust marks, plastic curtain rings. Oak cabinet with no hardware. Gag. Above the toilet, a glass shelf and a cheap chrome shelf. We tried to live with it but enough was enough. Also note the oversized mirror. All builder's grade.

A whole lot of ugliness in one picture.

This is what we had to work with.

You might think, it's just a bathroom. But it's not. I retreat to this room every single night to soak in a scalding bath and forget the world. Before the makeover, all I could concentrate on was the sloppy green paint slapped over the sloppy red paint. And now...

Our hotel bathroom. Small but elegant. The walls and ceiling are cream (after a hefty dose of primer.)

Ikea helped us choose a soothing print.

That's a metal curtain rod with sliding curtain rings and a spa curtain. Just the way it should be.

A real medicine cabinet in place of the glass and chrome. If you'll remember, this cabinet was so ugly but only $5 on Craigslist. I spruced it up.

We replaced the mirror and added a towel holder.

We replaced those hideous lights. We painted the bathroom trim white (and we used painter's tape.)

This Ikea find gives us a little dose of Restoration Hardware. I love it.

Finally, a creamy rug from Ikea contrasts nicely with the newly painted vanity. Heaven.

When I am taking a bath now, I feel like I'm in an old restored hotel. Most of the makeover came from Craigslist or clearance racks or a bucket of paint, but it feels rich and calming and beautiful. It's a tiny room, but I think it's my favorite one now.

--KC

Minne-vacation in Minneapolis

Like I mentioned before, TJ and I had a chance to get away for 2 nights to Minneapolis this past weekend. It was our "Valentine's getaway" and the whole point was to be spontaneous and to try new things and to have fun. Done, done, and done.

Friday night we ate at Chevy's and got the exact same booth we had two years ago when we tried to take Topher to the Mall of America (big mistake). That night we sat in the hot tub and relished an uninterrupted night of sleep ahead. It was even better than our imaginations could dream. It was so luxurious. It is the single most obvious change of lifestyle since having our son (not sleeping anymore) and it was amazing to remember again how it feels to sleep through all the unholy hours of the night.

Saturday morning was exciting. We had a whole unplanned day stretching out in front of us. We knew we wanted to go to Ikea, but had no other plans. So we headed to Ikea.

We were there all morning, roaming the store, absorbing the Swedish design and dreaming of decorating our next home. At lunchtime, we decided to try the Ikea cafeteria (we had heard good things about those Swedish meatballs) and ended up with way too much food. It was all delicious (and cheap!!)

After about 6 hours at Ikea, we bought all the things we wanted (well, not all, not by a long shot--I literally wanted EVERYTHING) and stuffed it all in the car somehow.

From there, we decided to wander the Mall of America for a couple hours until dinner. By that time, we had been on our feet for 9 or 10 hours and we couldn't wait to sit down for awhile. We didn't want to eat in the Mall and we aren't familiar with Minneapolis cuisine, so we turned to the phone. One of our apps will use GPS to find out where you are, lists all the restaurants in a wide vicinity, and then will spin a jackpot-style screen and pick one for you at random. So that's what we did. We let our phone (and the universe) tell us where we were supposed to eat that night. Here's what it said:

Hell's Kitchen it was. So we headed into downtown Minneapolis and miraculously found this odd restaurant. We kind of thought it might have some affiliation with the TV show of the same name. Here we are in the car, having our adventure:

Well, it did NOT have any affiliation with the TV show. It was an actual hell-themed restaurant. So we ate in hell, weird Gothic art, red walls and all. Did you know they serve breakfast all day in hell? That's how TJ came to eat a Belgian waffle with mixed berries on top. And when I saw that they had a sandwich voted one of the best in the country (ham & pear crisp), I had to try it.

I loved this chandelier that greeted us as we descended down the staircase into hell. Those are assorted butcher knives. Good sign, right?

Some of the strange art. Inside the bathroom were pictures of ghouls whose eyes followed you as you moved. Classic.

I'm happy to say that we escaped hell as easily as we entered. The next morning we packed up and headed home to our little boy (who was GREAT for grandma & grandpa and flew into my arms like a linebacker when we walked in). We couldn't wait to show him some of our Ikea purchases.

His room now boasts a new nightstand and lamp.

This lamp is awesome when lit and looks like either an alien or a sea creature.

He also got new bedding and a new area rug. He was very excited about all of it.

For our room we purchased this series of Picasso line drawings. We still need to hang it, but you know we had to have it, being the animal lovers we are.

It was an amazing weekend full of memories and fun. I am so in love with the man I married, and I am so grateful that he is who he is. There is no one else for me. Happy Valentine's Day, baby.

--KC

While I unloaded the dishwasher...

I turned on some music and bopped along to the rhythm as I unloaded the dishes this morning. I was vaguely aware of Topher playing in the living room but I wasn't specifically watching him. When I put the last spoon in the drawer and looked up...I wondered how a tornado had occurred right under my nose. The toybox had vomited. The couch had heaved every pillow off, leaving a trapped victim identified as Curious George underneath. Topher had found and emptied both of his backpacks. He had found daddy's Transformers and taken them all apart. He had gotten every single puzzle out and taken every single piece out of each one. All my library books were scattered on the floor. And I could not love him more. Instead of putting the couch cushions back we lined them up down the middle of the living room and jumped from cushion to cushion. We raced to see who could put the puzzles together fastest. And all I could feel is grateful that I have a little boy who is curious and healthy enough to make such big messes.

I love you, Topher.

--KC

P.S. Here is a little teaser of my current knitting project:

My Bipolar Self

I have been bipolar since October 24, 2008. This also happens to be my son's birthday. Coincidence? Not a chance. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with Topher. For 2 years and 4 months I have been home with him every single day. In the winter we don't have a car (and it's Iowa so it is -5 degrees) so we are within the same walls of our home every single day. I have attended to every diaper, every tantrum, every mess, and every injury. Sometimes staying home feels more like a test of my sanity than anything else. It feels as though Topher is wrestling me, pulling on me, or clinging to me every minute of the day. I am a very private person. I live inside the walls of my head and I need physical space to myself or I can't feel like a whole human. (Being pregnant was a challenge for me just because I could never, ever be alone. That baby was with me no matter where I went. I know that sounds horribly selfish. It's not my most attractive trait, but there it is.) And on days like that, I know it isn't fair to my husband who works hard all day but I will watch out the window for his car, clobber him the moment he walks in and declare, "I can't be around the baby right now. I need some distance." This gives him not a moment to decompress from work, not a minute to sit down or eat. And yet he always takes Topher without hesitation. I love him for that. But here's where I become bipolar. There are those days when I can form no other thought than, "I need a break from this. I can't do this. I need to go to work and be a productive individual." So TJ and I will plan a rare weekend away, and I will be ecstatically looking forward to it. A whole night of sleep? I think I can still count those on one hand. I will count down the days and become more and more excited... until my countdown gets to 1. Suddenly I start feeling guilty. I think about Topher waking up at night and asking for me. I think about letting him down by not being there. I wonder if he will feel abandoned or heartbroken. I imagine him crying for me. And then I want nothing more than to cancel my trip. Even if I have been counting down for 30+ days with unsuppressed glee. The thing is, we're so lucky. We have the best place to leave Topher. My in-laws are the most amazing grandparents in the world. They are calm and reliable. They have gardens and bird feeders and they bake their own bread and can their own salsa. They have a shed with a real tractor that my son is enthralled with. Grandpa takes Topher to his workshop and shows him what he is building and lets Topher watch and help. I love that about him. Grandma reads to Topher and lets him sweep the kitchen (even though it makes a bigger mess) and is never, ever too busy to just sit and rock him. I love that about her. They have room to run and play, indoors and out. Their home is clean and inviting. They always, always want to be around Topher. They love him as much as we do. When he leaves their house, I have to endure days of "Grandma grandpa be back soon?" from Topher. In fact, the more I think about it the more I realize how blessed we are to live close to them. They are the salt of the earth. But there's just something about being a mom that makes me bipolar. I want nothing more than a break from my son, and then nothing more than to never let him go. I have a feeling this is not something I can grow out of. I have a feeling that I will be bursting with pride on my son's first day of school, and then I will promptly have a nervous breakdown as his bus pulls away. I want to be more laid back as a mom and I'm really working at it. I know he's fine when I'm not there. He's more than fine. It's good for him and it's healthy. I'm the one who needs to work on feeling fine. And I do...once we're well on our way I can feel myself relaxing and looking forward to a little adventure with my husband. We have just such a trip planned for this weekend, a little Valentine getaway to Minneapolis for 2 nights. And I will NOT freak out about leaving Topher. I will drop him off, tell him I'll be back, squeeze him tightly and kiss him a million times. Then I will go and I will be happy. I will be overjoyed. I get a weekend away! I will have so much fun that I might never come home. :) So to the world's greatest grandparents: my apologies if I ever seem to panic before leaving my son with you. He could never be in better hands. I really mean that. I am so grateful to have married into this family. It's all within the walls of my head. It's a disorder. It's my bipolarity. And I blame it on my son. --KC

Tools of the Trade

For Valentine's Day, all I wanted was more knitting stuff. TJ gave me money and told me to shop, so I jumped on Ebay and ordered a TON of stuff for really cheap (thanks China!) And when it all came in the mail yesterday, I was a bit overwhelmed. I had 18 sets of knitting needles (36 needles total), 11 sets of double-pointed needles (55 more needles), and a set of 12 crochet hooks. How in the world is a girl supposed to keep all this stuff together without getting all the different sizes mixed up? Well, I've seen these great roll-up knitting cases online but I just couldn't bring myself to buy one. Surely anyone with a brain could whip one of those out, right? So it was off to the fabric store with my friend Kristin and she helped me choose the cutest fabric in the store. And after a sale and a coupon, it only cost $3! Total bargain. And today while Topher was taking a long nap, I was sewing, ripping out seams that were all wrong, and re-sewing the case I had been dreaming of. It is completely unprofessional, but yet I am absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. Kristin, I'm so glad you made me go with the fun fabric. :) All rolled up: Untie the straps and roll it out: Lift up the top flap to reveal a knitter's dream selection of needles and supplies: All those needles lined up like so many little soldiers ready to create masterpieces (or whatever I can manage to turn out): Roll it back up and voila! It is all organized, compact, and pretty:

TJ, thanks for a V-day present I can use again and again. I'm so excited to have such a wide selection of tools so that I can attempt more projects. I'll have to save another post for all the reasons I love you, but I have a feeling it will go on and on and on...

Love your little knitting valentine

A New Trend?

Topher loves his Mr. Potato Head. Yesterday he was playing alone in his room and when I peeked in, I saw that he was borrowing Potato's best accessory (his chunky blue glasses). Only...he was wearing them in his own unique way. Maybe it will catch on. This boy loves to blaze his own path. I love that about him.

--KC

A Dancing Boy and a Yellow Hat

To cap off this week, I thought I'd share a couple random things that have been going on here lately. Topher is more into dancing than ever and really wouldn't stop last night, so I took a video: I love to watch him dance. He is just so free and happy and it's as if even he doesn't know which direction his body will move next. Next, since I'm absolutely addicted to knitting, here are a couple more projects I completed this week: First, a scarf for my purple-is-my-favorite-color friend. This was my first time adding fringe. It was a little trickier than the tutorials suggested. At least for me. Last but not least is a project that was born from a conversation that went a little something like this: Me: Hey I knit now, do you want anything? My sister: Sure, I'll take a yellow hat Me: That's an odd request TJ: You own a yellow hat Me: Oh yeah, I guess it's not that weird This hat was my first attempt at a LOT of things. My first attempt at piecing together a few different patterns and improvising the rest (ie making up my own pattern). My first attempt at incorporating more than one color. My first attempt at an adult-sized hat. My first attempt at adding a little embellishment. Basically, it was doomed from the start. I started it yesterday and finished it this morning kind of holding my breath the whole time. And yet...I dare to say it's almost wearable. So without further adieu, Regina, here is your hat. It is a little sloppy but there's a lot of love woven in there. I hope you can tell. Love ya, sis. I want to do with knitting needles the things you can do with words. Make stories. Really good ones. --KC