For my cousins

Hi folks,

Long time no type. Sorry about that. We've both been busy with life, as I'm sure you've been too.

We're in the process of remodeling the "pink" bathroom. This was my project and my bathroom, and having a 1950s pink tub presented quite a challenge. Since this bathroom faces our brown bedroom, I decided pink+brown+white= neapolitan ice cream. Covering up the tub wasn't an option to me, as I saw it as a nod to my late Grandmother.



We got the shower part of the bathroom fixed up about a month ago. Two big delays were finding a vanity I liked and would fit (we're talking a 5' x 6' bathroom here), and finding the flooring I had pictured in my mind. Now that both of those are accomplished, we're moving forward.

I guess any time you do construction or remodeling on a home that was hand built by someone you're bound to find neat little surprises. For us, these surprises have a lot of meaning, because they're things done or left by my late Grandfather.

So I wanted to do this post to share with my family, and especially my cousins, so they could see all the neat things we've found. Why my cousins? Well, we've heard family stories, and I don't know about them, but I feel like there's a lot of the family's history I missed out on. Sharing this stuff makes me feel like I'm getting to live a little bit of that history, and I hope my cousins feel the same.


Take for instance this pattern. This is the adhesive he used to stick to the tiles to the wall. Our Grandfather placed each one of these by hand. (And the tiles were numbered, which helped.)


And even weirder than having carpet in the bathroom are both of the layers of tile we found under the carpet. The white pebble-y kind isn't so bad, but that marbled blue? With a pink bathtub? I don't get it. It certainly was a technicolor world back then.


But to me, at least so far, the best surprise has been this one, hidden behind the toilet paper holder:


It looks so much like my own Dad's handwriting, I had to ask if it was his. It's our Grandfather's.

I'll try to post more if we find more.

Hopefully I'll have some finished bathroom pictures up just after Thanksgiving.
All for now,
akc

Playing catch up

Hi folks,
Just wanted to pop in to give a quick update. I landed a fantastic job in Tennessee, and August 19th will be my last day at USC. I'm really going to miss the fantastic friends and colleagues I've made while here, but I'm looking forward to homesteading with Ian! My birthday is on the 20th, so I'm giving myself unemployment and my first home for my birthday!

Now to the pictures!
Here's the before:

And here's the after (adjacent corner):

One room down, one to go! WOOT!

The bathroom is the next room. We've already torn it up, but I'm at a loss as to what to do with it. We've got a mauve bathtub and limited funds right now, so that's hurting progress. I think I'll keep the pink bathtub just for fun, but how to plan around it? I have some of the floor tile that'll work with it, but the walls are stumping me. The whole bathroom is currently tiled halfway up the wall (except for the shower/tub area), and it bothers me. I like all tile or no tile (again, except the shower area). Also, the tile is white with little green/gold specs, so it looks off-white overall. Suggestions (and pictures of suggestions) are absolutely welcomed!

So stay tuned, friends. Looks like my 29th year on this planet might just be the best yet.
xoxox,
akc