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Author: October

  • Building Cabinets- Counter Top

    The next fun task was putting on the counter top and adding the sinks.  I wanted to tile, just because I had this vision in my mind of what the bathroom should look like.  The counter had to withstand the weight of tile, so I had to do some research on making sure the support was strong enough.

    Cutting the holes in the cement board.

    Whoops!  I forgot to take the middle part of the sink into account when cutting.

    I decided to do the tile on a diagonal.  It takes A LOT more time, but looks better.  And yes, I cut and laid every tile out before starting on actually putting it down.

    Up next…doors and hardware…

  • Building Cabinets- Part 2

    After remaking the drawers, I was glad I waited for the bottom drawer until the cabinets were finished.  See the large space at the bottom?  That is for a step-drawer, something I have seen done…but never like this.  I wanted mine functional, not just a step, so mine also was big enough to store rolls of toilet paper in.

    With the lid.

    This time I was careful about measuring to make sure the drawer was going to fit and work correctly!

    Now it was time to put the cabinets in place.  Yippee!!!

    Next up…adding the counter…

     

  • Building Cabinets

    Let ms start by saying…I have never built cabinets…or drawers in my life.  I am not sure I want to ever again, but maybe after having done it, I will try it again.

    The original plan was to use the existing cabinets and just cut out the drawer part and make it doors to cabinets.  After tearing them apart (because they were not real cabinets), nothing about them was salvageable.

    I set to work on plans for building.  I knew I wanted a pull out drawer for standing on, and a flip out part in front of the sink.  Beyond that, I was really open to what to do.  I search Ana-White and found some ideas, but nothing I could follow all the way, so a lot of this is made up as I went.

    First was the base of the cabinet (leaving the back open).

    Then I had to figure out the support for the sinks which would also be used as drawer guides.  This was just trial and error.  I really had no idea what I was doing.

    Here is where I ROYALLY messed up…I made the drawers next.  Wait until the VERY end to make the drawers.  I ended up having to make them twice because I messed up the dimensions so badly.  But here are pictures of making them…twice…

    As the girls helped with the drawers I continued on the main cabinets–adding more supports for the drawers.

    Using pocket holes, the bottom was attached.  They are starting to look like real cabinets!

    Next came the facing.  This is where it is important to have the measurements right so that the facing is flush with the drawer supports.

    Priming and painting…X2

    Adding the drawer slides:

    This is where measuring after you finish with the drawer slides (or really knowing you will be exact) will prevent having to remake the drawers.  I found that when I finished, I had not taken into account the wheel on the slide.  My drawers were a 1/4″ too big.  No bueno.  🙁

    More to come…

  • Painting

    Once the bathroom was clear of the old sink and cabinet, I set to work painting.  I wanted a gray color, but not the purple gray we painted the master bathroom.  I went with a pretty dark gray this time and LOVE IT!

    One of the things on my cut list was to have beadboard (or wainscoting) at the bottom.  I planned out how that would look, and decided on a space in the middle for a more decorative look.  I cut, primed and painted the board and molding.

    I added the ceiling trim first.  It was a simple 1″x3″ but I love the look!

    Next came the beadboard.  Fun times cutting around the plumbing!

     

    First line of molding added.

    Here is what the final trim looked like.  I could have painted the wall white, but that is actually a thin backing board.  I did that because I knew I wanted several hooks on that part, and there are not studs as often as I wanted hooks.  I thought the board would give the hooks more support.  Plus, it looks pretty nice!

  • Gutting the bathroom

    Taking something apart is a whole lot easier than putting it back together.  The first part of our 2-week project was to gut the bathroom.  The toilet and tub stayed (much to DH’s disapproval).  DH wanted to replace the tub with a walk-in shower.  Thinking about resale, I did not think that was a good idea.  Anyone with children is going to want a tub right?

    The mirror came down first, which made the room shrink in half!

    After talking with my uncle, he mentioned to reuse the existing cabinets. Great idea! As I took out the drawers to look at how to convert it into a cabinet, we noticed how crappy the whole thing was. An executive decision was made and the cabinets came out. I would be building new ones. (((This project just got a lot more complicated!)))  Yes, the cabinets were made of flimsy panel board with a few pieces of particle board thrown in to look like it had some substance!

    We knew that the tile was absent from under the cabinets, so what we built was going to have to fit within that 59″x23″ rectangle because I was not ripping up nor laying new tile.  One thing we were not prepared for was the AC drain pipe came into the sink drain.  We would have to keep that in mind when reconfiguring the plumbing.

     

  • The Girls’ Bathroom

    We are so blessed to have two wonderful girls.  It is amazing how quickly they grow up though!  When we bought our house, there was not an option for 2 sinks in their shared bathroom.  Knowing this would become an issue as they got older (they were 1 and 4 at the time), we figured we would be out of the house by then.  Wrong!

    With the oldest starting middle school, now was the time for a little bathroom remodel.  After spending a little over a year pinning bathrooms, I had some idea of what I wanted, but I knew it would take doing it to make it all come together.  DH insisted he wanted something a guest could use, and not just something “girlie” or “cutesie.”  These things made the must-have list:

    • 2 sinks
    • beadboard on the walls
    • colors- gray, yellow, white, oil rubbed bronze
    • new light fixture

    Anything above that will be a bonus!

    Here are the before pictures.  Very white and very plain.  (See those shelves above the toilet…yeah…I got those when I was 12!  Kinda sad to see them go…)


  • Underground Kansas Salt Mine

    On our way to my cousins wedding, we stopped at an underground salt mine in Kansas.  I had read about it on OMSH blog when they took a road trip, and added it to our list of “must do’s.”

    You have to wear a hard hat and take a small breathing apparatus should you get stuck down there!  AND you have to ride an elevator down to the shaft…not for the claustrophobic person!  Once you get down to the mine, you are on your own to walk around and read the information.

    There are a number of hands on things to touch and look at.

    This part of the mine has been set up as a museum, but there is another part that is still in operation.  Because the mine is deep, and it salt, it sits at 68F degrees year round, and there is no humidity in the mine.  This makes it great for preserving items including trash!

    We opted to take the train through a part where they explained more about the mining process.  It is very interesting!

    Especially when we got to the “toilet” area!

    As mentioned, this is a great place to preserve items, so there are a number of movie reels, costumes, and other important documents and artifacts preserved down in the mine.

    We were able to take some mined salt.

    I would love to take my Girl Scouts here someday…they offer a scout night.

  • Little House on the Prairie

    The only vacation we took this summer was a short trip up to Kansas for my cousin’s wedding. We left early Thursday morning (like 4am) and drove all day. I say we…but really Wade drove so I could work. Our plan was to stop in Independence, Kansas and then head over to Wichita. They are not near each other but we promised the girls we would go see the “real” little house on the prairie.

    I had plugged in the address into the GPS in the morning and did not think twice about it, until we got to our destination and there were nothing but fields. 🙁 After driving around for about 30 minutes and arguing whether or not the place existed (even though I was looking at their website!), I called.  The lady that answered could not figure out where we were but mentioned they were closing early so we had better hurry.

    It was around 4pm. The website said they closed at 5pm, but the lady told us she was closing at 4:30 so she could go deposit payroll at the bank. We had approximately 30 minutes to find out where we were and then find the museum. All of this after driving for 12 hours straight JUST to see this house. Wade was NOT happy and the lady at the museum really did not care that we just drove through 3 states to get there.

    We arrived at 4:27pm. She had already closed up the shop and told us to start with the far house because that is the one she locks first. She literally followed us through each small building and locked behind us.

    Lesson learned…MAKE SURE YOU POST ON YOUR WEBSITE WHEN YOU ARE CLOSING EARLY!!!!

    (I only took iPhone pictures for this one.)

  • Contracted Datana

    I went out to the front one evening to look at the clouds as a storm as blowing in.  As I was walking back up the path to front door, I could hear this weird crunching noise, like something chewing.  I walked over to one of our two trees in the yard and noticed that 2 big branches were just skeletons!  The leaves were all gone!

    I ran in and got Wade so he could take a look and grabbed my iPad to look up what they were. They are Contracted Datana and apparently they just eat until they are finished and then move on to another tree. There was no suggestion on what to do, so Wade cut the branches that contained the worms (they were in giant clusters!), and we put them in a bucket of scalding water with a drop of dish soap (to remove the surface tension). They all drowned.

    A month later and they still have not returned.

  • The Best Pickles EVER

    Yes, these are the best pickles EVER!  Not because we made them, but because the recipe is the best one I have ever tried.  And of course the best pickles come from home-grown cucumbers.  For the first time in my garden, I was able to grow perfect cucumbers!  I planted them by the trellis thinking they would climb…and boy, did they ever!

    The one problem that I have always had is powdery mildew. I can’t seem to keep it away. I found some organic spray that actually seemed to work fairly well, but if I missed a spraying, the leaves were covered again.

    From the vines, I was able to get about 5 quarts of pickles before we went on vacation.

    The recipe is as follows:

    1qt jar
    1 jalapeno
    1″ wedge of onion
    1 clove garlic
    cucumbers (as many as will fit, cram them in there because they shrink)
    1 teaspoon dill SEED
    1 tablespoon canning salt

    BRINE
    1/2c sugar
    1/2c pickling vinegar
    1c water
    Mix until sugar dissolves. Microwave JUST until boiling (about 4 minutes). Pour over jar contents to the top and seal. Store in a cool dark place for 2 weeks.

    ***The original recipe from a friend said to put the brine in cold, then place in a hot water bath just until the pickle color changes (10-15 minutes).  I have not been successful doing it this way, as my pickles always get too soft.