Guest Bath Reveal...Finally

I know what you're all thinking.  Didn't she say back at the beginning of the summer that they were redoing that bathroom?  Is she ever going to finish it?  That sure took a long time.

And the answer to everything is Yes!  Yes, we planned to redo the bathroom.  Yes, I planned to finish it.  Yes, it took a long time.  But finally, finally, it is finished.

At least as finished as it's going to get right now.

We only had a few issues while doing it.  I especially liked it when we thought we were done for the evening, had reset the toilet, and the Mr. was reattaching the line to the toilet when it broke.
And was seriously leaking.
At 10:30 at night.
Which required an emergency run to Super Walmart for a new line.

Just as a reminder, here is what it looked like the last time you saw it.

And here is what it looks like now (with tons of pictures).

Forgive the lighting in the pictures.  Since this is a little bathroom next to the media room, there is no natural light.  We painted the walls, replaced the light fixture, switched out the towel bar for hooks, changed the shower head, hung shelves, and added a bunch of decorative accessories.

I still need to find a rug and replace the white towels with burgundy (if I can find them).  We also intend to frame the mirror in the future (once we get a new miter saw).  But for the time being, it's looking pretty good, and just in time for visitors next week.

Other summer goals

I'm the type of person that always has several things going on at once.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not, but it's just the way I am.

Now that we're back from traveling, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Currently, I am working on this blog, working on a Master's class (only three left!), participating in a professional book club about teaching, trying to keep up with and tweet about my summer reading challenge (which I do each year as a way of encouraging my fifth graders to read), decluttering and working on my office, and working on several other house-related goals.

 Some of those goals include polishing off the laundry room re-do (pictures to come soon), working on the kids' rooms, and finishing the Movie Room (aka. the man cave, except that the rest of us take it over), as well as redecorating our guest bathroom, master bedroom, and maybe even our master bath (and maybe not, bit of an overachiever here).

Today I thought I would talk about the guest bathroom.  Before we moved in, it looked like this.

I guess I never took a picture of it after we moved in.  We went with a beach theme.  We hung a white shower curtain with blue squares that we've had forever, along with the matching towels and rug.  We hung some frames with pictures of shells in them and a few other beach themed accessories. Was it bad?  No.  Was it great?  No.

Then we started the remodel on the movie room, which happens to be right next to the bathroom. The movie room has dark, garnet paint. It has dark molding.  The look is dramatic.  And that bathroom, not so dramatic.  Total mismatch.  So we decided to redo it.

After hunting online, I ordered these shower curtains.  We chose a paint to go with the color scheme and picked it up the Saturday before we went out of town.  Now, we just need to get it all put together, so it can go from this... (ahhh, scary!)

to something much, much better and hopefully before company arrives at the beginning of August. Watch for updates and the final unveiling to come.

On a side note, I order a lot of items online.  If you have never heard of Ebates.com, you should check into it.  You get cash back when you shop online at certain stores.  While the cash back varies, it's still money back on something you are buying anyway.  Click here to sign up or for more information.

Welcome back and some goodies

We got back from vacation yesterday.  Suffice it to say that it was a very long 18 hours stuck in the car with a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old.  Not. Fun.

Anyway, imagine how excited I was today to see some goodies arrive at my door.

The pink shiny bag is my Ipsy Glam Bag subscription, while the box is my Popsugar Must Have subscription.  Read on to find out what came in each of my subscriptions this month.  If you are interested in learning more about ordering either of these, check out the bottom of this post.

First let's take a look at what came in my Ipsy July Glam Bag.

Each month Ipsy sends a new Glam Bag filled with a variety of cosmetics.  Here is what was inside this month's Glam Bag.

The first things I pulled out were a shadow and crease brush and OFRA Eyeshadow & Highlighter in Bliss.  The packaging left something to be desired, but as you can see below it is a nice neutral color with a bit of shimmer.

Next I pulled out a sample size Bare Republic Natural Mineral Sunscreen.

I then pulled out two lip products, Jersey Shore Sun Mongongo Anti-Aging Lip Conditioner in Vanilla Coconut Cream and teez Cosmetics Read My Lips Lipstick in Killing Me Softly.  The lip conditioner smells wonderful and the lipstick is a pinky coral color.

On to the Popsugar Must Have Box.

After opening the tissue paper, this is what I found.

The first thing I pulled out is the Henri Bendel Signature Stripe Canvas Dopp Kit, which is a nice size pouch to store cosmetics or necessities in your cosmetics case or your purse.  Also included was a 20% off coupon code good for one item.  I have been eyeballing some items over at Henri Bendel, so not only am I excited to get this little pouch but can't wait to use my coupon code.

Next came the Yes To Blueberries Cleansing Facial Wipes.  I have heard a lot of good things about the Yes To brand, so I am excited to get a chance to try them out.

After that I pulled out Supergoop! Defense Refresh Setting Mist SPF 50.  While reading the description of this item, I was happy to discover that not only is this a setting mist (which I use daily to keep my makeup in place) but it also provides UV protection (which I can appreciate as a light skinned girl living in Texas).  I am eager to try this out.

The next two items seem to go together, a PopDental Portable Toothbrush and a The Good Bean Fruit & No-Nut Bar in Chocolate Berry.  What could be better than to eat a Chocolate Berry Fruit & No-Nut Bar and follow it up using your electric portable toothbrush.

To go along with this on-the-go theme, a Sorial Card Case was also included.  This card case allows a lady to ditch the big wallet and stick a couple cards and some cash for a night on the town.  It also came with a 25% off coupon code for use at shopsorial.com.

Last but certainly not least was a pack of Hallmark Signature Greeting Cards in fun colors and patterns.

The Ipsy Glam Bag subscription is $10 a month and each month you will receive a new pouch full of fun cosmetic products.  You can read more or sign up here.

The Posugar Must Have Box is a subscription that you can sign up for month-by-month, 3 months, or 6 months.  Month-by-month the cost is $39.95, with a discount if you order 3 months or 6 months at a time.  Popsugar Must Have Boxes include the best in fashion, beauty, home, fitness, food, and more. If you are interested in learning more or signing up for a subscription, you can sign up here.*

*Please note that by ordering through the link above I may receive free items in return.

Traveling

If you've been following along and noticed that I have been absent, it's because we have been traveling for the Fourth of July holiday and our summer trip to Florida.  For the first several days I was without WiFi and unable to post.  I expect to get back to posting more next week.  In the meantime, hope you are enjoying your summer.