Slowly, oh so s-l-o-w-l-y...

Despite the long break away from this blog, work has been moving along.  The trim is in, although unpainted, the vanity has been moved back in, and my grandma's antique medicine cabinet has been hung on the wall.  I went into a home improvement store the other day to return a pipe section Matt didn't need, and to buy tile for the counter top.  When I pulled out my driver's license to show the lady at the cash register, she just waved it away and said, "Oh, I know you.  You're in here a lot."

Oh.

This should be our first sign that it's time to take a break.  When the checker at the huge home improvement store in another town recognizes you, that should say something.

Here's the board and batten trim:

The original baseboard in the bathroom was 10 inches wide.  Matt ripped it with his table saw into two sections -- a six-inch and a four-inch section.  the six-inch section is the new baseboard and the four-inch section became the top of the molding.  Towel hooks will be screwed into this top molding once everything is painted.  Now that the vanity is fully painted and waxed, I really like the way it turned out.  The paint was easy to work with.  My mom and I distressed the edges of the drawers a little, so it wasn't quite as perfect and smooth.  The idea is that as soon as we start using this regularly it is bound to get some chips in the paint.  If we have already started that process gently, maybe they won't show as much.  I can always dream.

Now for the counter - I mentioned in a previous post that we weren't sure what direction we were headed.  One piece units seemed to be either low quality, or insanely expensive.  The materials to tile are far cheaper, but to hire someone to install the tile puts the price up higher than getting a good quality all-in-one counter and sink because of the time it takes to put everything in and then wait for everything to dry before the grout can go in.  We haven't really tiled before.  We (Matt) installed a small backsplash in the downstairs powder room and used two sheets of mosaic tile.  The installation was simple, although the grout gave him trouble.  He didn't enjoy the experience at all.  Those youtube videos make it look a lot easier than it actually is, apparently.  He finally decided to tackle another tile job.  It is cheaper all around and should hold up well if it is installed correctly.  After buying all the supplies, including a tile cutter, we're ready to go.

After placing a few tiles so he would know how many he would need, they all came back off so he could draw and cut the opening for the sink.  This went through the heavy-duty plywood he put on top of the vanity, and the HardieBacker that goes directly under the tile.  (By the way, I learned through this process that this stuff is named after a person.  I always thought it was "hardy-backer", you know, because it was hard, or something.  Duh.  James Hardie is a cement siding guy.  I wonder what they would have called it if his name had been something like Bagdonovich.  Just wondering.  These are the things that keep me up at night.)

We both kind of liked the look of the painted vanity and the stained top, but it is impractical for an area that will see so much water.  I'll have to remember that look the next time I'm painting furniture, like a kid's desk.  Could look good.

When my grandmother moved out of her home many years ago and into a small apartment, we got her antique medicine cabinet.  I have always liked it, including the silvering on the mirror that is chipping away.  Matt says that's a fancy way of saying the mirror looks awful, but I think it gives it character.  It's not like I'm trying to apply makeup using that mirror anyway.  At our old house we had it in our back bathroom and it was hard to see.  I really like where it is now.

This medicine cabinet sat on the floor of this house for several months when we moved in because we weren't sure we were going to be able to use it.  There is a rod that hangs under the bottom of the cabinet for a towel, and my refined children liked to use it to sword fight.  I promptly took that away and put it in a safe place.  Anyone have any idea where that safe place is?  Because I can't find it now.  I'm sure it will turn up at some point.

Through the middle of all this mess, school has started!  After seeing all the cute "first day of school" photos my friends posted online, I realized that in true mother-of-four fashion, I had forgotten to take a first day of school picture.  So here are my kids - on the SECOND day of school!  I win the Mom of the Year award for being on top of things.

My oldest did not wear his "I [heart] bacon" shirt on his first day.  Wouldn't want to give the wrong impression, now.  We were slightly more put together on the first day.  It's all downhill from here.