The Starting Point: Master Bath Remodel

Many times you've heard the phrase "everything was fine and then..." it wasn't.  Back in March when we were in lockdown, there were 5 of us living in our house.  Everyone had their own bathroom but, somehow everyone including the kids would migrate to our bathroom for whatever purpose. The bathroom began to have an odor, not a normal bathroom odor.  At first I just thought it was because we were all going in and out.   To no avail I'd spray with an assortment of sprays both air freshner and cleaners around the shower.  Months went on and by May, Honey decided it was time to have a handyman come by.  He looked at the shower and then said, let's go under your house(we are on a crawlspace). As soon as he opened the door under the house he said immediately your shower drain has a leak!  He takes my phone and starts snapping pics of water marks all over boards under the house, along with the drain pipe from the shower that was covered in calcium deposits.  We both knew this was over his head and it was time to call professionals.

Having contractors come over took the better part of June.   I must admit, we were in sticker shock...along with our insurance agent!  We had such a variety of estimates ranging from $6000-$9450.  All the estimates were without the price of the tile!  Along with the financial side of this came the time to complete this project.  Most said it would take up to 4 weeks to complete. With that information  I knew I wanted to wait until John had gone back to college for the fall and Andrew's fiance had left for University of Minnesota phd program.  

For a bit I want to talk about the odor that was present.  I've already mentioned it wasn't an odor that would be typical for a bathroom.  A contractor told me it was the smell that bacteria from rotting wood give off... his word was "bacteria fart."  I'm glad we followed mine and Melissa's nose as this was the ideal time to find this type of damage for insurance concerns as well as our safety(think falling thru the floor).  When the insurance adjustor came out he told us had the decay gotten worse the insurance wouldn't have paid.  I'm telling you all this because if you have stuff going on in your home that isn't typical, like a smell or something you need to seek out the cause...this has saved us big $$$!

One thing most bloggers don't do is share what things like remodels or home repairs cost. Most site the difference in areas for what things cost and simply don't share that info.  I do believe locations do cause prices to be different.  From the very beginning I've said I will tell you everything!  As I sit here typing I'm waiting for my tile guy to finish and give me the final invoice.  As we finish the details of the bathroom I will absolutely share all of the costs and the varied expenses we have incurred, along with what the insurance company paid.

Before all of this happened I had not even entertained the idea of having to change anything in our master bath other than the chandy that was above the tub.  I had never looked at tile or even master bath ideas on any site.  Once it happened my first thought was...well it is just a shower, surely $5000 will cover it.  Stay tuned to see just how wrong I was!

Tailgate Time

The excitement in Auburn this week is almost palpable.  For the past few months most have wondered what football would look like this fall or if there would be football at all.  Thank goodness the SEC made sure that our football would go on.  That said, as a resident of Auburn I'm relieved that they are limiting of seating inside Jordan Hare stadium so maybe there won't be an enormous flux of folks in our little town.  In addition to limited seating, they've said there will be no tailgating with tables, tents and such...all due to the corona virus.   Since there will be no tailgating I've opted to created our own version right here at home!

Anytime before I have any sort of a gathering with food I plan out what I'm going to have and what dishes I will use. Also I'll determine which dish/bowl/platter will get which food.  This pretty much tells ya'll I'm not a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal!

Most of these platters and serving trays I've had for many years.  You'll notice I've kept buckets we get popcorn in from the stadium, they hold chips great!

The orange and blue megaphones were a cute find at online craft store.  I simply google orange and blue megaphone and up they popped!  Found a couple other cute pieces there as well!

Those tallish blue and gold canisters are also new, those are from Montgomery Antiques.  As soon as I saw them I knew they would hold our cutlery for tailgates!  You might not know what the W and the E are for....as Auburn fans we say War Eagle!  

I always save shakers form all the games and they came in pretty handy under this vegetable tray!

I've debated food for the tailgate.  I'll pick up bbq from Country's Barbeque along with their baked beans cause ya'll they are the best EVER! You have to have wings if there is a football game so I'll grab those at Publix!   I'll have chips, crackers, vegetables and a dip or 2 of some sort.  

Gosh typing that out made me hungry and tired!  

Ya'll have a great weekend

& WAR EAGLE

Fall Family Room Tour

My fall tour continues today in our family room.   This corner has been dubbed the prettiest corner in the house.  This corner holds lots of my fav pieces, starting with the drapes and moving on to the gate legged table.  Adding the pumpkin pillow makes it fallish without overdoing it!

 The gate legged table holds some of my best finds in antiquing along with thrifting.  As I mentioned in my kitchen post, using real flowers is relatively new to me.  The flowers continue to be enjoyed.

The pillows on the club chairs are much the same color as the ones I've used prior.  These have a bit more texture which seems appropriate for the change in weather we've been having.

This soup tureen seems to be my go to for fall decor, I adore how the pops of orange pop from it.  The small blue pumpkin happens to be the exact color of the Blue Willow.

The one piece I've been looking to replace and have come up short is our coffee table.  I'll admit I'll be sad the day it goes but, that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.  For now this one does the job!  The Imari goes perfectly with an orange and blue theme that is the heart of Auburn University's colors.  We had hopped both kids would join us as alum, we are glad Andrew followed the family tradition!  The Imari bowl also pairs well with Blue Willow. 

I'll never forget the first time I saw this pumpkin pillow at another blogger's home.  I knew it would be perfect with the decor in our home.  Searching all over the country to find this pillow at Pier 1 I came up short.  The next year I was smart and looked for it early and found it!

I love when the house is tidy and I can stand in the family room and look through to the kitchen.  This was one of those moments!  I'm off to get ready for the tailgate this Saturday as we welcome in SEC football here in Auburn!!!

If you missed the fall table or the fall kitchen tour be sure to look here & here!

Fall Kitchen Table

Our Kitchen table is a work horse.  I can't even begin to name all the countless things that take place at our table that also includes eating.  It is often difficult to keep the table free of other items but at the beginning of the holiday season I give it a real go!  This assortment of pumpkins dominates the table along with the lantern.

Speaking of lanterns, this one always gets pulled out in the fall due to the copper finish.  Inside the lantern I've placed a pillar holder with an orange candle and 2 fall napkin rings.  Yes I took the round part of the napkin ring off but, the small pumpkins were ideal to put inside the lantern.

I always look for small votive holders to place around displays like this in the fall.  The candle light sets a certain ambiance to the home.

In case you didn't see yesterday's kitchen tour here is a view of the table looking into the kitchen!

Fall Kitchen Tour

Fall Kitchen Tour

The kitchen did get a fresh fall look over the weekend.  As I've said many times, fall is my least favorite of seasons.  That said, I've made an effort to make the kitchen a bit festive for fall!  The Island is the most fall of the spaces.

The small touches of orange work well for the kitchen.  I've put a few of the treats my crew likes on the tiered server.  Honey loves candy corn and the boys though not home often have always loved a sucker!

The Happy Everything plate always brings a pop of color to any space.  The glass pumpkin was a clearance find last year at Pier 1.  Have I said how sad I am that they have closed?!  We all love Goldfish so I've added those to a small Blue Willow bowl.

The oil painting over the stove was a find during our vacation.  I'd looked for ages to find an oil painting that would work in this spot.  

Rarely have I ever brought fresh flowers into our home and that had to do with the fact when our cats were living they would eat the flowers.  That never had a positive outcome, so I just never had them around.  Now that we are a pet free home I often forget I can bring in real plants and flowers!  These certainly brighten this corner of the kitchen!

 Maybe I'll bring out a few more pieces the closer we get to Halloween.  For now this is a perfect start!

Pop back tomorrow as I share our kitchen table!

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

The Bar Cart

With every change of season or holiday the bar cart gets a refresh.  It is a fun spot to decorate and best of all it is mobile!  For sometime now I've adored bar carts so much so that I have 2...3 really if you count the one in the attic!  Here are a few pics of the 2  used the most.

Usually, the one I use indoors resides in the dining room. For special days like birthdays and other events it gets moved about the house.  Clearly, bar carts aren't just for bar accessories and spirits.

Last year, I was inspired by a blogger that shared her bar cart with china and serving pieces on it.  Meanwhile, this fabulous monogrammed china I found at Scott's Antiques was languishing away in the bottom of the china cabinet just waiting to make its debut on the blog! Having seen hers I didn't hesitate to  clear summer items off the cart and carefully placed the china on it.  The look was perfect for the fall and Christmas holidays.

Pictures won't do this darling 2 arm boudoir lamp justice. It was a terrific find at Montgomery Antiques in a booth having a 50% off sale!  The barrel shades give it a bit of an updated look!

Added to the bottom shelf are a few assorted pieces I've picked up here and there.  Ya'll know how much I love a decanter so it was fitting to put a few from my vast collection on here! HA!

With Valentine's day coming soon, no doubt the bar cart will get a new look!  But for the next few days I'm still loving the way it is right now!