Plans for my Master Bathroom

As part of my New Year's resolution to get projects finished up at my house I thought that I would tackle my master bathroom first since there isn't too much to do and it would be an easy first step.

When I first moved in, the room where my bathroom is seemed to have been used as a kitchen at some point since there were some remnants of plumbing sticking out of the wall and some remnants of tea kettle wallpaper. It was a great, nice sized space (10' x 10') with hardwood floors but there were no outlets and the horsehair plaster was crumbling off the walls and ceiling. The room is adjacent to the two tiny rooms that I combined to make my master bedroom so I decided to make it into my master bathroom.

The room required a complete renovation, tearing everything down to the studs, adding all new electrical, plumbing, and HVAC and refinishing the floors. I moved in the cast iron tub from the tiny upstairs bathroom and built a 3' x 5' walk in shower that I tiled with subway tile for a period look in keeping with my house. The built-in provides a nice storage space and also makes good use of the niche left after the chimney was boxed in. Having the built-in also allowed me to use a pedestal sink instead of having a vanity which I liked for having an open look in the bathroom. The lighting fixtures are vintage reproductions and I bought the antique glass shade for the overhead light on eBay. I wanted the bathroom to be be bright and cheery so I painted the room a fun teal color. One of my favorite parts about the bathroom is the wainscoting that goes around the room which I think adds a lot of charm. The pictures below show how my bathroom is currently, starting with the sink and going counter-clockwise around the room.

While I love how things have turned out in my master bathroom, I have a ton of small projects to finish up before I will feel like it is complete. Here's my current to-do list:

- Paint the outside of the tub teal (it is currently a light creamy yellow)
- Replace the cheap, temporary mirror with a medicine cabinet
- Add shelving to the inside of the built-in cabinet
- Jazz up the built-in with some color
- Make a wood vent cover to go over the ceiling fan (the plastic cover that came with the fan just doesn't fit in with the vintage look of the bathroom) 
- Make a rug to go in front of the bathtub
- Add some wall art and do some paint touch-ups

I'm still out of town right now, but I'm looking forward to start tackling some of these projects when I get home. 

Picture of the Day: Eucalyptus Leaves in Federal Pass

Federal Pass, Blue Mountains
New South Wales, Australia
11.2010 

Baby Quilt for Susan's Little Lady

As I am in the midst of making baby quilts for several friends (it seems I am at the age where all my girlfriends are having little ones) I started reminiscing about the first baby quilt I made which was for my friend, Susan, and I thought I would share it.

I was living in Japan at the time and was heart broken that I wouldn't be able to go to Susan's baby shower. Missing things like that was one of the toughest parts about living in Japan. 

Even though I couldn't be there she was in my thoughts and I wanted to make something special for her so I decided to try to make a quilt. I had made baby blankets before but piecing a quilt top was something new for me.

In the craft area of Jusco (Japanese store sort of like K-mart in the US) there wasn't the huge selection of fabrics like Jo-Ann's back at home but I did find a bundle of pre-cut 4" squares in pastel yellow, blue, pink, and green. Susan's daughter's room was going to be lavender so I hunted around to find a few other lavender fabrics that I could cut into additional squares to throw in the mix. 

To make the top I simple joined the 4" squares into strips and then joined the strips together. I used some of my lavender for the back, quilted it with a straight, diagonal pattern and finally bound the edges with cream fabric.

Susan's daughter is now three years old and I love that she still has the quilt in her room. Since they live in Washington DC I only get to see them about once a year or so, but it means a lot to me that she has this gift from me with her still. 

Picture of the Day: Dragon Roofline on a Temple in Taipei

Taipei, Taiwan
04.10.2009

Hello from Las Vegas

After only being back in town from New Orleans for the weekend I had to head out to Las Vegas for work on Monday evening. Currently, Las Vegas is hosting International CES (Consumer Electronics Show), American Beekeeping Federation - Beekeeping Conference, Photo Marketing Association 2012 Show and the first round of the Miss America pageant. Can you guess what I am in town for? Yes, this nerdy girl is here to check out the lastest and greatest electronics.

Vegas is crazy right now with over 140,000 people in town for CES. We had to wait for forty-five minutes in the taxi line to catch a ride to our hotel and our taxi driver said that the busiest time of the year is always CES. By the time we checked in it was late and we were starving so we decided to head to In-N-Out Burger for a quick bite. I love In-N-Out from my days of living in California so I was excited to get my standby favorite of a double-double animal style (double cheeseburger with added sauce, pickles and grilled onions) with animal style fries (fries with sauce, cheese, and grilled onions). Yum!

After we finished eating my co-workers hit the strip, but I had other pressing matters at hand. In my hurry to pack I stupidly forgot my power cable for my MacBook Air so I headed off to the Apple Store at the Forum Shops which was luckily open until eleven. I love the customer service at the Apple Stores. They are always so nice and helpful and the woman I was dealing with gave me my corporate discount without me even asking for it.

Armed with my new power cable I started walking to the entrance of the Forum Shops on the strip when I was enticed into Banana Republic and Ann Taylor by some sale signs. Nine dollars for a long black sweater? Okay, I'll get it. Eight dollars for a cute red shrug? Well, if I must. After paying for my ridiculously cheap purchases I checked out the cool entryway to the Forum Shops with spiral escalators and headed back to my hotel room to pass out asleep.

Tuesday was my first day at CES and I couldn't believe how busy it was. I had to wait over half and hour in line just to get on the monorail to take it to the convention center. With over 1.6 million square feet of exhibit space I only saw a fraction of it and was exhausted by the end of the day. One day down, two more to go!

Picture of the Day: Llama at Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu
The Andes Mountains, Peru
11.09.2007 

NOLA Road Trip Day 7: The Long Road Home

Unfortunately, Wednesday was our last day in New Orleans. We had a really wonderful time so we were sad to see our trip coming to an end. Frank even joked that we should come back for the NCAA Final Four even if Michigan (his alma mater) or Duke (my alma mater) wasn't in it. I think any excuse is a good excuse to visit New Orleans. 

Before leaving town we had to take care of a few very important things, like eating breakfast one last time at Cafe Beignet. It is amazing how a person can eat beignets for breakfast three out of four days and still want to go back for more. Someone seriously needs to open a beignet shop in Ann Arbor. 

Of course we ended up getting beignets (just as delicious as ever!) but I also got a croissant filled with ham and cheese and Frank got a crawfish omelette with bell peppers and Swiss cheese since this was going to be our last sit down meal of the day and we needed something a little more hearty than just beignets to fortify us for the very long day of driving ahead.

Being the day after the bowl game all of the Michigan Sugar Bowl gear was on sale for half off in the stores around Canal Street. I had to take advantage of this and got a sweatshirt and a t-shirt for a grand total of thirty dollars which is a steal compared to the prices that are charged for Michigan gear back home. I couldn't believe that they even had t-shirts for sale with the final score on them less than 12 hours after the game was over.

We also had to make a stop in a praline shop so we could bring some of the famous sweets home. French settlers to Louisiana modified the original French recipe by substituting readily available pecans for almonds and adding cream as a thickener. Yum!

By the time we hit the road it was nearly eleven o'clock Central Standard Time and we had a 1060 mile drive ahead of us. Frank was a superman and drove the whole way, making it back in just over fifteen hours.  When we finally arrived in Ann Arbor it was nearly three in the morning and we were both absolutely exhausted. It was a wonderful trip but it was nice to be able to sleep in my own bed again.

If you are interested, check out the rest of our road trip to New Orleans here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6

NOLA Road Trip Day 6: Game Day

Tuesday was the day that we had been waiting for and the purpose of the whole trip to New Orleans; at last it was finally Sugar Bowl game day!

We got a late start on the day and decided to go for an early lunch at Johnny's Po' Boys, where I had a half of a shrimp po' boy and a cup of gumbo and Frank had a shrimp and oyster po' boy. The po' boys were absolutely fantastic and during a trip full of good food they were one of the best things we ate in New Orleans. Luckily there wasn't any wait when we went since we had seen lines going down the street the day before when it was closer to lunch time.

After lunch we headed to the Louisiana State Museum at the Cabildo which we had tried the visit the previous day but had been closed for the holidays. The Cabildo was the seat of colonial Louisiana government and is famous as being the site where the Louisiana Purchase was signed. We saw a lot of great exhibits about the life before and after the Louisiana Purchase, the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The coolest thing I learned was that Napoleon had strong armed Spain into returning Louisiana to France in 1800 with the Treaty of San Ildefonso but kept it secret until it was quickly transferred in 1803 so Napolean could sell it to the US to raise funds for his war with Great Britain.

We then went next door to the Presbytere to see the Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond exhibit. The exhibit was well done showing what led up to the hurricane and the damage it inflicted on New Orleans. In the front hall they had on display Fats Domino's piano which had been damaged in the storm. The best part for me was a video installation set in old windows where residents talked about how Katrina affected them and what makes New Orleans so special that they felt compelled to stay and rebuild. It was a nice, hopeful message after seeing all of the destruction.

We then headed upstairs to see the Mardi Gras: It's Carnival Time in Louisiana exhibit which showcased the tradition of Carnival and Mardi Gras in Louisiana. They had a lot of wonderful costumes on display and I liked that they showed how things were celebrated in areas beyond New Orleans as well.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Bourbon Street which was packed with fans in town for the Sugar Bowl. It was fun to see everyone dressed up in their Michigan and Virginia Tech gear and I was happy to see that the Michigan fans out numbered the Tech fans. There was tons of spirit in the air and I can't even count how many times I yelled 'Go Blue!' or sang The Victors that day. 

About an hour and a half before game time we headed over to the Superdome. There was a huge party in Champions Square with a band performing so we hung out there until it was time to go into the stadium.

For the game we had awesome seats, but it was a not a great game to watch. Michigan looked rusty from being off since the end of November, but Virginia Tech kept making mistakes which kept us in the game. At the end of four quarters the score was tied at 20 so we headed into overtime and we ended up winning 23-20 with a field goal by Brendan Gibbons. Even though it wasn't the best game it was a great result and a wonderful way for Team 132 of the Michigan Wolverines to end a very successful season.

If you are interested, check out the rest of our road trip to New Orleans here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 7

Picture of the Day: Pier at Vizcaya

Vizcaya
Miami, Florida
United Sates
01.2011 

Picture of the Day: Gyeongbok Palace

Gyeongbok Palace
Seoul, South Korea
08.08.2008