

The bathroom is often overlooked in terms of comfort and charm. We’ll put all of our efforts into making the living room and bedrooms comfortable spaces and then just settle for whatever’s already in the bathroom. I’m here to say that it’s easy (and totally worth it!) to upgrade a bathroom. Whether you rent or own, all it takes is a few affordable items to create the creature comforts that will take your bathroom from lousy to luxe. Continue Reading…
After complaining about the window box and its persistent flooding flaw, we’ve had few dry weeks during which we’ve been able to enjoy the box and its bounty. I plopped these sunflowers in the box earlier this summer knowing that if it flooded, they’d be goners. Fortunately, we haven’t seen a return of the blustery storms we had at the beginning of the season. And so these sunflowers have been peeking at us through the window. But of course we know this dry box is only going to last so long. And the frustrating thing is that we’ve figured out reason for the flooding – and have even fixed it – but we’re not able to get to it as often as we need to.
Sometimes I think that projects would be so much easier if I wasn’t such a neatnik.
Take the task of stripping the fireplace brick, for instance. Not only have I created an ornate plastic bag and taping routine to keep the surfaces surrounding the fireplace protected, but I also clean and put away the entire operation at the end of every weekend.
I’d probably save a lot of time by leaving the ladder and plastic bags and other stripping supplies sitting in the living room even when I wasn’t working on the project. But, well, that just wouldn’t be me. I like a neat and clutter-free home – whether projects are finished or not.
And, hey, carrying that ladder up and down from the basement is a good workout!
In some ways, the flooding basement was a blessing in disguise. Not only did it force us to clean up what was quickly becoming a cluttered mess, we were also inspired to buy a dehumidifier to help dry out the basement. I had no idea our basement was so damp until I found myself emptying the water bucket multiple times per day. Hooray for a dry basement! But boo for schlepping a sloshing water bucket to the basement bathroom multiple times per day. Schlepping is for chumps!