Phase 1-Peeling wallpaper

Phase 1 of my bathroom renovation is complete!

The horrible disco-kaleidoscope mustard yellow-gold wallpaper is officially gone as well as the very retro toilet.

I was slightly sad to see that toilet go

Prepping for the new toilet that actually flushes!

I know most people find peeling wallpaper to be one of the worst parts of a home renovation-the time it consumes, the tedious little pieces, scrapping those little bits and pieces off....

I don't mind it though. I actually like projects like that (it's also why I probably like folding laundry, knitting, and untangling knots)

I started peeling the wallpaper a few weeks ago when I just peeled off one tiny spot to jump start the process on fixing up this bathroom. Now that I have had a good chunk of time off, I kept going with it.

We didn't use any special tools-just the steam from the shower, and since oil is so freaking expensive, I only peeled the wallpaper when Ryan or I were using/just finished taking a shower. The steam from the shower allowed most of the paper to peel right off. The worst area was behind where the mirror was but a little spray of the wallpaper remover gunk and Ryan's electric sander made the process relatively painless.

Goodbye ugly wallpaper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I saved some of the "good" pieces for an upcoming project. The wallpaper deserves a little bit of credit!

 

Random Thursday Thoughts

1. We had a low-key but perfect NYE around here. It's almost become a tradition for Ryan and I to host our friends for the evening. Ryan slightly over estimated the amount of food to make and now we have an abundance of pulled pork. It's-all-we-have-been-eating-for-the-past-two-going-on-three-days.

2. Massive snow storm up in New England. Most schools, mine included, have the day off tomorrow. Yep, teachers get excited when we have snow days too.

2. I am bugging out about potentially losing power and therefore, losing heat and hot water.

3. My parents are coming back from vacation today and have already had to re-arrange their travel plans to accommodate for the weather. It's nerve-racking thinking they are flying in this weather although it does help being able to get alerts from the airline sent straight to my phone.

4. But, since I don't have work tomorrow, I plan on doing some more painting in the master bathroom. It's really starting to come along! (Previews coming soon)

5. Assuming everything goes according to plan, I should have my wedding venue and date set very soon. Over vacation, I looked at a few more places and found the one. The venue is all booked except for one specific date in Spring 2015 that makes perfect sense. I'm hoping everything works out!

6. Speaking of wedding planning, I have learned the following things:

• It's a lot more fun when it is a pinterest wedding and not the actual thing. So many decisions, so many factors to consider, and so many different people to please!
• At the end of the day, whatever happens with it, it is just a wedding. I'd rather put my focus on the marriage.
• With that being said, there are a few major aspects of the day that I am dead-set on because they will reflect and be a part of the beginning of our marriage.

Top 13 Posts in 2013

I thought I would jump in on the bandwagon to do a quick "Top 13 in 2013" post.

13. Coming in at the 13th most viewed post is:  Puppy-sitting. Pole Competition. Apple Picking. Friend Making Monday. Looking back, that was a really fun weekend. I started getting back into pole dancing and that weekend even inspired and motivated me to train harder and enter in my first competition.

12. Ranking in at 12th most viewed post was one of my favorite recipes: maple Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Bisque. Yum

11. And in eleventh place is one of my other favorite recipes: Homemade Ravioli. I seriously love the convenience of these! Too bad they aren't the healthiest option

10. In tenth position is my post about Unforgettable Moments where I had so much fun announcing our engagement. (I have been working on my "how we met" series which will lead into the "how we got engaged" story)

9. My Dance Room is the ninth most viewed post and gives a tour of my dream room. Well, having a pole wasn't always in my childhood dreams but a room/area that is specifically made for dancing always was.

8. Friend Making Monday-10 Things That Make Me Happy. The title is as obvious as it gets.

7. "I'd Like To Quit The Gym" and Ten Things Tuesday In the seventh most viewed post, I discussed my anxiety over quitting the gym as well as some other tasks that had to get accomplished.

6. My neurosis was in clear view when I explained my Thanksgiving Menu in the sixth most viewed post.

5. In the fifth most viewed post, I showed a bunch of pictures from a weekend of brewing beer and other fun activities. I'm Clearly A Few Days Late On This One...Brewing Beer and Friend Making Monday

4. The fourth most viewed post was on my decision making process for living painting the living room. Debate of the day: Smoky Olive or Mark Twain Olive.

3. Crossing things off my list was the third most viewed post and helped me get a handle on the multiple to-do items going on at that time.

2. The Before Tour was the second most viewed post and probably the hardest/most complicated one for me to figure out. I had the hardest time posting the pictures and formatting them! But the post was really important to me so that I have a record of what this house looked like and all the progress we have made with it.

1. 100 Things About Me is the most viewed post and it is pretty self-explanatory!


Tonight is New Years Eve and we have hosted it for five+ years now for our group of friends. I'll be making bacon wrapped dates and a chocolate-y treat that's super easy. Ryan is making a large pork shoulder for some pulled pork sandwiches.
For the most part, everyone will bring an appetizer or chip/dip as well as their own drinks.

What are you doing for New Years Eve?


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not drink and drive.

Master Bathroom Plans

Our master bathroom is really outdated.

The wallpaper makes me cringe and the mustard yellow tub and sinks is very authentic to the 1970's.

 

Although Ryan loves the wallpaper and wants to keep it, I ripped a small piece of it on a whim to get me going on re-doing the bathroom.

Unfortunately, it isn't in our  budget at this time to do a major renovation so we are stuck with the outdated vanity and mustard yellow bathtub for now. The tile is in great condition and I don't hate it so we are keeping that for the time being. My mission for this house is to never see mustard yellow ever again!

The plan is to work with the existing shower curtain and matching accessories so we will stick with a darker neutral color for the walls but have a cranberry color on the mirror wall and use some orange accessories around the room. Also, I have to pay homage to the original wallpaper and will find some way to re-purpose a small piece of it.
 

Phase 1: Strip wallpaper
Phase 2: Paint wall behind mirror and exposed medicine cabinet a cranberry color.
Phase 3: Paint walls (slightly darker color than what is in the bedroom)
Phase 4: Paint all trim (deep rich espresso-like brown)
Phase 5: Decorate with a few orange accessories
 

 

School Vacation

I'm pretty sure I could speak for nearly every teacher and say we get just as excited for school vacations as the studetns do.

My break officially started as of 3:00 yesterday afternoon. Last night,  I worked on organizing my articulation cards -a process I have been working on since the end of the last school year- while we had a movie on in the background.

I have a lot of projects that I want to do over the next week and a half while I am on vacation-looking at two potential wedding venues, organizing my office, and hopefully peeling the wallpaper in the bathroom.
I brought home some school related items too-some paperwork that must get done and some projects (like the articulation cards).

Hopefully now that I have some time in the next week, I can start posting more too.

Do you have this week off? What have you been up to?

Traditions

Rebecca at My Little Devils with wings asked me to be a guest blogger and I eagerly accepted.

Check out our Christmas Traditions.



What are some of your holiday traditions?

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Happy Monday!

I've been so caught up in the excitement between Thanksgiving, the holidays, and a very happy event, blogging has sort of taken a back seat. Oh well.

Other than the initial excitement of being engaged and realizing planning a real wedding is not nearly as fun as planning a pinterest wedding, this past week had been relatively normal. This past weekend, Ryan and I went to look at a potential venue and spent the day together feeling very engaged. Later that evening, we had an impromptu double date followed by a Sunday of errands and house cleaning. It was actually one of the best weekend's in a while.

 

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Share Your Favorite Holiday Recipe

 

Anyways, this week's Friends Making Monday is all about exchanging a holiday recipe and since I still have to share the bacon-wrapped date recipe from Thanksgiving, this turned out to be perfect time. Love when that stuff happens!

And to be honest, I cant really call it a recipe. The name of it says it all. These fall into that category of pathetically easy.

Three ingredients and you're done.

You need:

• Pre-pitted dates
• Bacon
• Pecans

I've noticed that the quality of bacon makes a HUGE difference. So far , I've used maple bacon and apple-cured bacon. Holy delicious-ness

So easy:
1. Line a baking sheet with rim with tin foil for easy clean -up.  Place a cookie sheet on top.

2. Stuff a pecan in the date

 

3. Cut a piece of bacon to fit around the date.

 

4. Cook until bacon is crisp. It can go in at 350 for 15-20 minutes, 400 for 10-15 minutes, or 450 for 7-10 minutes. Just really keep your eye on it to make sure the bacon doesn't burn.

If you want, they can be stuffed and wrapped the day before. Just keep covered in the fridge until ready to bake.


I've made these for a few different get together's and they have always turned out to impress the crowd. (Except for the time when I forgot about them in the oven and burnt them. Woops)

What's your favorite holiday recipe?

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s question!  Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments!