Let the Bathroom Exorcism Commence!

This week, we (well, contractors) are demolishing our only full bathroom and rebuilding it into something usable and attractive. It's going to be painful, annoying, and dirty, and then it will be the best thing that ever happened to us – once it's finished. And afterwards we will have to pay the bill and it will become painful again!

Before we embark on this harrowing adventure, here are some more "before" photos to remember the old green gal by:

Are you happy now?!?!

I know, I know, I know... I haven't put up a post or any photos of the girls in ages. I know! All anyone wants to see are photos of the girls. Girls, girls, girls!

Fine, here you go. Are you happy now?

Here is a link to the Snapfish album that has all 376 photos of the girls (I can't possibly post them all here)...

... on vacation in Indianapolis with my family,

... hanging out with Big E Smalls in New Hampshire,

... and playing in the kiddie pool out in the backyard this morning.

Enjoy.

Tu(n)esday

I just LOVE this video - the old footage of the band members as boys and playing together in their early days, followed by video of their children at their concerts. Most of them went to the same high school and have played together for years, and The Walkmen have been a band since 2000. It's so touching to me to see the close friendships of men, perhaps because they usually gloss over such deep feelings. It's a lovely video and song, and the rest of the album is excellent as well.

Our children will always hear
Romantic tales of distant years
Our guilty age may come and go
Our crooked dreams will always glow

Stick with me, oh, you're my best friend
All of my life, you've always been

Remember, remember
All we fight for
Remember, remember
All we fight for

Don't leave me, oh, you're my best friend
All of my life, you've always been
Don't leave me now, you're my best friend
All of my life, you've always been

Remember, remember
All we fight for
Remember, remember
All we fight for



Here's another recent video of them on Jimmy Fallon playing The Love You Love, which is also from their new album, Heaven.

Photographic Evidence

Just after I mentioned in my last post that Kate is quite a fan of the Chrysler Building in New York City, she spent the afternoon in the kitchen building a replica of Manhattan out of canned goods. But of course, no tin can NYC would be complete without her model of the Chrysler Building. How many three year olds do you know with their very own Chrysler Building? Just one, I bet!

After the photo shoot, she went on to add a paper towel version of the Empire State Building and a Duplo Central Park. (There is a matching model of the Empire State Building that came with the kit, but Mike's not finished putting it together yet.)

In case you missed it in the previous photos, that is indeed the Statue of Liberty perched on top of the tomato paste. As Katie sez, "It's Wiverdy Enwightening the Wuhld! She's my best friend!"

So start spreading the news. Kate's leaving today. She wants to be a part of it: New York, New York! Oh well, if she can make it there, she'll make it anywhere, I guess. Or so I've heard.

Great Gatsby, that Art Deco looks hot!

Excellent! Baz Luhrman is a great choice for director - he has a kind of manic, festive style that makes the party scenes look perfect and will push Gatsby's suppressed passion to the edge.

And here's my prediction that Art Deco is going to be the Next Big Thing. The whole Craftsman style craze is winding down, so the logical next step would be Art Nouveau and Art Deco. You heard it here first! Start stockpiling Lalique, people.

Art Nouveau
Emile Tassel House by Victor Horta

The "Cwyswer Biwding"
(Kate's a big fan)

Art Deco design

Tulsa, OK happens to be a mecca of Art Deco architecture. Here's a detail from the Boston Ave. United Methodist Church:

Built in 1929, when Tulsa was booming with oil money and Progressivism

Mirrored bed side table from Pottery Barn

Light fixture from Home Depot

And yes, I'm just writing all of this propaganda because this is the light fixture we bought for our bathroom this weekend!

More of an Exorcism than a Renovation

After much debate about finances, we decided to go ahead and redo our bathroom this year. We had planned to do it, but because the painting of the shingles outside took so long and drifted into this year's budget, we worried that we wouldn't be able to squeeze the bathroom in, too. But it's our only full bathroom, and it is dreary and nearly non-functional - here's a photo of what it looks like now so you can feel our pain...

Would you like a chicken taco to go with that avocado?

...so we're pushing ahead even though it makes a couple of frugal squirrels like us kind of nervous. We have a contractor lined up for July to completely gut and rebuild it, and we've started shopping for tile, vanity, faucets, etc. It's fun and tiring and nerve-wracking all at the same time.

We've pretty much settled on an extra long white subway tile for the shower/tub surround.

Just like the ones above, but off-set or staggered like these yellow tiles:

We are thinking about doing a pinstripe or two of black glass tile about shoulder height, kind of like this picture, but with black tiles that are twice as long as these to go with the extra long white tiles:

Our house was built in the 1930's, and a black and white tile bathroom was a very common design at the time, so we're trying to do that theme with a contemporary twist to match our own style. The traditional black and white bathroom would've had checkered or octagonal small tiles on the floor, but we're thinking of doing these long, rectangular grey tiles instead to get that contemporary feel without the dangerous, slippery quality of the white ceramic.

Here is the front runner in the vanity search (only in the blackish sable stain instead of this brown and a little smaller than this one, with the white ceramic top/sink shown here):

And here is the current pick for the sink faucet:

We're hoping to do some lighting shopping this weekend, and I'm hunting for a medicine cabinet with a black frame around the mirror. I had considered doing a light grey paint on the walls, but with the grey floors now and the fact that the room doesn't get much sun, I think that might be too much. I'll probably just leave them white. Add some kind of black and white shower curtain and bright yellow towels, and I think it will be a nearly unfathomable improvement. I may even have to start soaking in the bath once the room no longer sends me into a death spiral of depression or makes me hungry for guacamole. 100% less ugly!

Easter

We had a lovely (and productive) Easter weekend with Mike's family up in NH. We celebrated birthdays and graduations and exciting new endeavors all around in addition to Easter itself. Many glasses were raised and many candles were blown out. There was so much to be thankful and congratulatory about, and it was lovely that we were all together to share it.

Little E's second birthday party

Friday night we celebrated EGB's second birthday with a Sesame Street themed party. The older girls "helped" her open all her presents.

Elmo party favors

Toot

Easter baskets

We had "Easter" a day early because Ana & Family had to fly home early in the morning on Sunday. The Easter Bunny accommodated us by making a special trip on Friday night so the girls could get their baskets on Saturday morning.

Candy before breakfast

Fancy lady in a hair bow and her "stylish"

Kate actually let Amy put Elizabeth's hair bow in her hair - and then left it there almost all day! It's an Easter miracle!

Easter dresses

Playdoh Easter eggs

Ready to hunt

Once the sun came out and it warmed up a bit, we ran outside to hunt eggs.

Looking sweet

This is how she really looked most of the time.

Kate was hysterical during the egg hunt. She raced full speed around the yard yelling, "I wonned!" everytime she picked up an egg. I was pretty surprised by her competitive streak as she's usually fairly laid back.

Mags has an eagle eye for hidden eggs.

There were so many eggs that the girls had to empty their baskets into shopping bags halfway through so they could keep hunting!

Can you spot the child in this photo?

Sisters

We took some photos at a covered bridge of the whole family, but we didn't end up with any of those on our camera. I'll have to add one later. All the photos of the four of us turned out crazy, but this picture of the girls holding hands is sweet.

We hit the park after the family photos.

Braving the cold for a little swing time.

Dyeing eggs

The bunny cake in the lower left hand corner is Roger's birthday cake! Delicious!

Cutie

Chilly New England Easter Sunday

Sunday morning was freezing (with a few flurries of snow!), but that didn't stop the girls from bundling up and heading out with the dyed eggs for a second egg hunt. Thanks Grandpa!

Egg Hunt #2

They look like a pack of tiny immigrant girls fresh off the boat.

And now, we're all back to our daily grind. Maggie had school today, and Mike went to work. Kate and I hit the grocery store and did laundry. She was so sad all day that everyone had gone home, and she kept asking if we could just drive back to Gram and Grandpa's right away. I'm pretty sure it wasn't even the candy and cakes that she was missing.