Preparation

This weekend was full of preparation…minus our outing/drinkfest on Friday night. We went to this place, called ‘The Place’ in Woodstock – this is apparently where 40 year old, and above, divorcees go to pick up, well….anything. It also appeared to be the place for underage boys to flash fake ID’s and get into…case in point, one young buck who looked younger than both my brothers would not stop hitting on my friend, Mandy. He really wanted to share the ‘last dance’ with her…But it was fun – we drank and had fun and danced like we were the only ones in the place…ha ha, get it? The Place? But all this fun made our Saturday morning/afternoon a little difficult, at least for me… Shane was up and at ‘em like a champ.

Saturday: We had recessed lighting installed in our kitchen! Surprise! I appreciate everyone’s feedback and participation in the poll. But once Shane and I did some measuring we realized that our ceilings aren’t really high enough to do any kind of drop lighting…so recessed lighting was our only option. And you know I don’t mess around, so we measured Thursday, I called around on Friday, and they were installed on Saturday!

First off, I didn’t realize that these little lights that sell for around $10-$15 at Home Depot cost an arm, leg and first born to install. The electrician arrived really early (about 9:30 a.m. ;)) on Saturday and proceeded to walk us through the specifics of the install. I ask ‘So, how many lights do you think that we will need?’ He says ‘Ummmmm….I would say probably (counting in his head)…9.’ I all of a sudden was not so scared about this process, as I realized that there was no science to the installation and/or design of this type of lighting…this guy just pulled a number out of his butt. So, I say ‘I think that is a little bit too many…I don’t want it to be THAT bright in here.’ We decide on four – far cry from the nine that were initially proposed. He then says that it won’t take that long, and I’m like ‘Good, because I have a really bad hangover, so I’m going to be on the couch.’ Won’t take that long? It took him until 5 p.m.!!! Geez. But the lights do look REALLY good…here are some before and afters:

P.S. Shane and I also had to brush up on our sheetrock repair skills this weekend. When the previous fixtures were taken down, some of the sheetrock crumbled out from around it. But with a little bit of sheetrock tape, spackle and paint – they were like brand new!

Just in case you ever need it, here is a little how-to:

1. Cover holes and/or cracks with mesh tape. You can purchase mesh tape in a roll (like masking tape) or in sheets for bigger holes. (Do not overlap the tape when putting it on your wall or ceiling.)
2. Once you have covered your hole/crack, slap on the spackle. Don’t be afraid…pile that stuff on. You would rather have too much rather than not enough. And Shane and I like to buy the kind that goes on pink and dries white. We are impatient. The ‘no pink, all white’ color change really helps us.
3. Once the spackle is dry, sand everything down using a medium grit sand paper. I find it best to sand in different directions to ensure that you are smoothing the surface evenly.
4. When you think that you are done sanding, sand a little more.
5. Wipe with a moist cloth to get all of the dust off of your repaired area.
6. Paint and…Voila – Like new!

And funny thing about the ceiling paint…I thought that it was the same color as my ceiling. Ha. Ha. Ha. It wasn’t – which means that I have to seriously paint the entire kitchen ceiling – which involves cutting in – which I hate.

Also, the granite and backsplash should be going in this week, so we demoed the guest bath in preparation for the vanity top in there. Behold my purple pain – again!

But let’s all count down the days until the hideous brick kitchen backsplash is gone!!!!
Does anyone know what I can do with all this junk that we are tearing up out of our house? Like the bathroom vanity? Or the track light from my kitchen? I may not love them, but one man’s junk is another man’s treasure!