Yes, we really did finish the bathroom…

Okay, I know you last heard the update in June and it’s now…drumroll…October; but, we really did finish it in August.  August 16th to be exact.  And let’s just say the guy who started it for us, wasn’t the guy who finished it. Let’s take a look at the work along the way:

This is just the beginning of the awesome repair job that Jeff did for us to begin to put our house back together.  He is awesome; that’s all I have to say.  Without him, we’d probably STILL have one toilet that wouldn’t flush and a leaky tub faucet; even AFTER we paid our plumber a HUGE amount of cash and he pulled his helper off the job because “they needed to get moving”.  Don’t even get me started. 

Okay, let’s take a look at the repair as we go:

Below, you’ll see the big hole in the wall where the hot water was run to the front bathroom and then had to be routed to the master bedroom shower as well. 

    Then, below you’ll see what an awesome job that Jeff came in and did repairing it as well.  He’s meticulous, neat and LOVES our vintage tile as much as we did and did his absolute best to help us keep everything looking original…thanks Jeff. 

Okay, now, I’ll just post more pictures of the work in progress for you to see.  This was a very long, difficult and very expensive project but it’s behind us now and I’ve finally calmed down enough to blog about it without a lot of cussing…It started early June and finished the 2nd week of August. 

That hardworking painter there is also the guy I “shack up” with and he also had to help pay for all this work.  He’d already worked 10 hours that day and then came home and painted here; no complaints from him, just meticulous work.  I love him so much…

 

If you look close, you can tell that our original tile and our replacement Daltile don’t match exactly but after hours on the internet, driving all over town, visiting all the big box stores, this is pretty darn close.  You don’t even notice once I put the shower curtain back in and we put the toilet and tissue paper back in.  We found this tile from Daltile and bought it from a local distributor. 

Bathroom floor tile before above…cheap stuff from the big box store..and below, is our awesome vintage inspired tiles that I found from SJMasters Tile in Canaan, CT thanks to Pam and her readers on retrorenovation.com.  This site has been a huge help in our kitchen and bathroom projects. You can see the new tile below (I should have left the rug out for the picture…sorry about that…). 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT.  It was hours of searching but well worth the hunt and they were so helpful.    They sent samples to me for free beforehand and I did the happy dance in my driveway when I got them. If you only knew how hard it was to find “the old stuff” when everyone out there wants to sell you the same stuff every other homeowner is using today… 

This beautiful custom vanity (oh yeah, that turned out to be a major project as well as hardly anyone makes an small single vanity for 1959 bathrooms anymore…) was built out of Ribbon Striped Mahogony wood that was done by Ed Hardy Custom cabinets.  Ed’s the same guy that did our turquoise boomerang countertops last year.  Thanks Ed…

Oh, and don’t let me forget to show you my personal stain man.  Correction:  tung oil man.  He did four hand rubbed and applied coats to our vanity that Ed built as he wanted to do it himself.  He’s amazing…and patient, and loves vintage stuff as much as I do.  I’m blessed.  Oh, and he’s hilarious too…

This is the bathroom after.  With my hand painted vintage shower curtain that I got off Etsy. 

  

Ta Da!  That’s it, sorry it took so long but I just got out of therapy as a result of this project so I know you understand, right? 

Ow, 51 year old plumbing can hurt a gal….

Well, I know, I know, I've been missing from my blog for months but I knew it would "hang on" without me, but I'm back and boy, when I come back it's a doozy! I'll try and catch you up on some of all the rest of my life since my last post but this one had to be seen to be believed. I guess, really, it was inevitable but that doesn't mean it's not still truly shocking as well as truly expensive and truly a little overwhelming, but when you buy a house that was built in 1959 it's going to need new plumbing at some point in time and unfortunately, that time is NOW! It all started on the morning after the first day of Hurricane Season, when, in our neighborhood we had a small tornado hit but that's another post that I'll catch you up on next. The following morning, I awoke early to go to the restroom and heard a "hissing" sound in the walls and unfortunately it's a noise I've heard before and I almost instantly knew what it meant: we have another leak in the plumbing in the concrete slab of our house.

So, we called the plumber at 7:00 a.m. to run the scenario by him and after some turning on and off of the hot water heater, the shut off valve at the street, etc…we determined it was our hot water line again somewhere in the house and the plumber couldn't determine exactly where it was without bringing a jackhammer in the house and starting to drill up the foundation from in the house or start just cutting holes through random holes in the house. So, under our plumber's advice and after some soul searching and reviewing the financial costs, we bit the bullet for a total re-plumb of the house.

What you see next are images of the "aftermath" of the project: This is the guest bathroom before the drill and jackhammer…Love this original tile..

This is how it looks right now, the "after" or should I say "in between"

(before we get it fixed)

This is the carport, we had to cut a panel out of the wall and the ceiling to run the pipes into the kitchen. They did it this way so they didn't have

to mess up our kitchen that we had remodeled last year; yes, I would have cried if they would have had to pull out my cabinets or countertops. Thanks Wooten Plumbing for helping spare me on that one.

These are the pipes in the utility room that then run up into the roof to go across the house. The temperature in the roof today fluctuated between 120 and 130. Poor Derrick, I don't know how he does it. He's awesome!

I was so gld this didn't take up much space as I store a pile of junk in this utility room…

Next, let's take a look outside to see what the Ditch Witch did. They have to dig ditches around the house to get water to the city's waterline coming to the house and then run it to the outside spigots and the utility room which is under our carport. Take a peak.

This machine is unbelievable but will whip your tail! I thought I might try my hand at it and run it out to our utility shed to run power out there but it took 2 grown men all they had to maneuver this bad boy when they have to turn it around. It's unbelievable. I didn't take their pictures while they were running it as it was crazy hot out there then.

Oh, I forgot to show you what we found we pulled out the vanity in the bathroom. I was SO excited to know the original vintage 50s tile was under there.

 I'd love to restore it and I'm going to have the plumber bust out the new tile and see if I can save this. I'd love to but they're not sure I can do it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I love this gray mini tile. I have the same stuff in the master bathroom in beige and we were glad it didn't have to be touched in this process. What knucklehead covered up this awesome feature? It's a dirty project….

So, we've been without water for 2 days and thanks to dear, dear friends who let us use "their facilities" it hasn't been too bad. Oh, let's end this entry by sharing with you our temporary "loo"….You know, it could be worse. They haven't found any mold, no termites and our house is solid, you know, like rock solid. Check 'em out, you know you want some…

Well, this is a very tiring project and I've got to turn in to start tomorrow; thanks to this lovely "issue" with our home, I've missed two Saturdays of "treasure hunting": Oh, but they did find one awesome "treasure" up in our attic. It's an original sign from the builder who built this house in 1959.

I was so, so excited about this little treasure right in our own attic. So amazing, right?!

I'm going to contact this builder's son and email him this photo too as his son is still running a business here in construction and I think he'd love to see it.
Enjoy and talk to you later.

Precious memories...

Top to Bottom - It's her 1st Christmas and she made it so special for all of us.  Middle shot she takes a nap with her G-Daddy and the bottom picture she went and met her Great Granddaddy.  Those eyes don't miss a thing and we're so crazy about her. 

Did you miss me?

Okay, Okay, I know...you weren't really missing me but I bet you did miss this adorable little one!  Can you believe it, these were taken in October and she was already 3 months old.  She's growing way too fast and now that it's February already, she's crawling and pulling up.  We're all crazy about her and are loving watching her grow.  Oh yeah, and today her Mommy and Daddy got her a new house to grow up in.  I'm so proud of their family and love them like crazy.

Yep, $3.00, that's all I spent and got Coach & Ferragamo

On Saturday, August 17th, I came across 2 architects that were having a sale and they had amazing prices. They didn't have prices on stuff so I didn't know how much they were asking for stuff, so I picked up the three pair of shoes below, yep, a gorgeous pair of red kitten toe Coach pumps and 2 pair of Salvatore Ferragamos for...drumroll....$1.00 a pair!

I also got this cute package of vintage wrapping paper lately, it was only $1.75. There was some real cute stuff in here. I got it from the estate sale company that I follow religiously, if they're open, I'm in line at 7:00 a.m....love it. Know what I really love, $1.00 for Coach Pumps!

Wow, bet you've just been dying to see what I got...took me long enough!

Some people call me crazy, but not you, because you understand, you know that this is my "hobby" and that I love to get up before the crack of dawn to drive 2 hours to another state to an estate sale. Yep, all by myself, that's why the picture is so out of focus as I was driving in the middle of nowhere trying to shoot and click. You get the idea though, right? I'm on my way and I'm excited. The sale was in Albany, GA and that's a little over 2 hours from my house: Distance? No problem!

So, I made it and this is what I saw as my little GPS navigator took me right to the front door; I got a little worried knowing that it started on Friday that they may not have much "stuff" left, but really, you'll see...that wasn't an issue. This place was gorgeous and the house sat on this gorgeous piece of land with 100 year old oak trees. The house was over 4000 square feet and was originally built in the 1920's; then, a man and his wife, who never had any children and who also owned a large Chevrolet dealership in Albany, bought it and moved in.

Here's a little history that I learned about the house while I was waiting in line and then as I was checking out, I met Maxine, the last owner who was selling and downsizing. She was amazing and I could have talked to her all day. She was 82, could see and hear better than me, loved to play golf and went and saw Tiger Woods play several times in the last couple of years and helped me carry my plum lady glasses to the car - Thanks Ms. Maxine for sharing all your treasures with me and everyone else who showed up. They'll enjoy their new home in my 50s ranch!

They had a friend, the first woman attorney (in the 50s...)who lived alone, that they asked to be their personal attorney and representative. They asked her to come and live with them in their huge home and she did. She brought all of her things with her and lived there and was also their caretaker as they both got older and eventually passed away. When they died, the attorney got lonely and asked her friend Maxine to move in. When the couple died, they left all the property, including all of the contents, to the attorney which resulted in a house full of awesome stuff from some pillars of the community who loved to entertain and have fabulous parties throughout the 1950s and 60s. Wait 'til you see the "rompus room" and all the liquor decanters; I've truly never seen anything like it. The picture below is the front of the house and I stood there and waited about an hour for it to open and was thrilled that I was first! It was worth the early (4:30 a.m. wake up call....seriously folks!) The attorney asked her friend Maxine to move in as she was lonely in this huge house full of stuff. Maxine inherited the house and all three of the previous residents' stuff; lucky for us Maxine didn't have much sentimental attachment to it and let us buy it all.

Okay, so let's show you some of the stuff I got; got this tablecloth for $4.00..had a few spots but I soaked it and got them all out with Retro Clean. If you haven't heard of it, it's an amazing product that I love to tell anyone about that loves old linens as much as I do. Go to RetroClean.com and see for yourself. (No, I don't get anything for telling people I'm just glad to share info when I get it)The awesome little amoeba fish shot glasses below were a set of

8 for $4.00; love them!

Okay, can you hardly stand it... I mean, check out these high ball glasses of the plump "round bottom gal". They are truly fantastic! I loved them so much that I bought 2 sets of them, one for me and one for my dear friend who has an awesome beach house that they will be quite at home at. They are hilarious and make me feel that even us plump gals no how to have a good time! They were only $4.00 for a set of six too, awesome prices so I just shopped away!
I found this beautiful unused kitchen towel for only $2.00...

I also found this gorgeous fruit tablecloth below with all the stains on it; I guess that's why it was still there on the 2nd day, Saturday when I was there, but never fear as I soaked it in RetroClean too and they all came out, it makes me happy just to look at it...I know, I know...I recognize the illness...it could be worse though.

Isn't it pretty?

This awesome gravel art picture below, with the musicians was

only $2.00; love it!

Check out this awesome sofa that I saw when I first got there, it was in the garage and had sold the day before, it was only $45.00 and was a vinyl arched one that I would have loved to have brought home even though

I had no where to put it. Hasn't stopped me before...

The picture below was in the "rompus room" where many an awesome parties must have occured; they collected liquor decanters and there were 100s of them. They couldn't hardly give them away, so, if you're a collector, I know you're hating that you missed this. This is the room where I found my shot glasses and my big bottom gals.

The fabulous, and I truly mean amazingly fabulous, green naugahyde sofa, with needlepoint teal and green cushions sold while I was there. It was a sofa, 2 end tables, lamp for $275.00. Absolutely worth every penny.

There was also a lemon yellow naugahyde club chair with ottomon

that the man got for like $75.00. He loaded it up before I could snap a picture for you to see.

The best part about this couch and sofa was the fact that if you spilled any liquor from all those decanters or high ball glasses..you were safe; thank goodness for naugahyde. I miss it...

I loved the needlepoint/pettit point cushions. They were terrific.

And, as always, I try to find a sassy bag whenever I can and this sale didn't dissapoint; got the above fabric bag for $8.00. And, since I found so much stuff at the sale, and there's stuff I didn't have photos of here, I needed something to put my remaining few pennies in for the trip back to Florida.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day going to this sale and really enjoyed meeting Ms. Maxine; I hope that one day, if God willing, I live to be 82 and have to downsize my treasures, that someone will spend some time getting to know me and all the great stories behind my "treasures". Bye, bye awesome sale; you were definitely worth the trip. Thanks for sharing your history and treasures with me.