Much awaited guest bath reveal

By popular demand, the reveal of our guest bath. Ready for this - the whole thing, new ceiling, floor, we kept track down to the nail (well, screw) and caulk - less than $2500! There are still a couple open items: window covering, seal liner between tile wall and tub top, some accessory items (towel hook is purchased, needs to be hung, and need to get matching tub handle). I'm not 100% sold on the shower curtain either, but the price was right and it was in stock. Let me know what you think! We're very happy with the way it all turned out. We did most all of the work, and had our friend who is a plumber help with the water lines, tub install and tips and tools for a lot of the other projects. Our master bath is next on the reno list.

Shower curtain is actually from Walmart. We tried this one from BBB but it was too heavy and dry clean only! Ugh! I had wanted this one from BBB, but they were out of stock for several months. Now it's back in stock, but has chrome hooks which won't match our finishes. I found this light weight one at Walmart for $20. I love the see through fabric on top, bonus white hooks, double bonus, machine washable! Yes, I need to steam it to get the wrinkles out.

Tilt your head for this pic. After aches and pains with drilling the water holes in the tile, we decided on a tension shower rod rather than the curved rods that are drilled into the tile for now. This one works nicely, enough elbow room in there.

I'm really happy with the tile choice. It was DH's. I hated it in the store, but under our lights, love it! The wall color is a grey/tan Woodlawn Colonial Grey from Valspar color matched at Home Depot because I just love Behr paint. Toilet's American Standard Cadet 3. The little cabinet on the left is the one from BBB noted in a previous blog.

Here you can see a little of the heavy shower curtain we took back. For window coverings, I'm probably going to order woven wood bamboo shades from http://www.blinds.com/. They've done all of our other window coverings in this house. Great prices, fast shipping, great customer service.

The toilet paper holder is great. No extra reaching across for the paper. Before, it was mounted on the vanity, but since we shortened it from 48 to 36", that would be an extra reach too. Do you know how expensive bath trash cans are? $30+! We got this one from BBB as a 'just for now' can, but it's growing on me. The price grew on DH - $10 and then $5 coupon, so $5! I like how it's dark on the inside and brushed metal on the outside.

I would still like to put something between the can and the 'can' there for height. Maybe a 3 ft vase with bamboo or reeds in it. I've been checking out Ross, and will check out Home Good when they open at the Pavilion March 10!

The hardware is Moen Sage. We weren't going to replace the mirror, but after seeing the size relation to the new shortened vanity, we had to. Got a good deal at Lowe's on this one. Towels and bathmats are Laura Ashley Lifestyles Microcotton Bath Towels in Twine (always wait for a sale at Kohls!)

We were able to refinish the vanity. Took off (1) 12" pc, stained the front wood doors (very time consuming, clean, scuff, stain, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat!). The sides are laminate, so they didn't take the stain well. Ended up using a good spray paint in espresso. Looks great! New hardware for $10, new granite top, new faucet (with single handle and soap dispenser) and we saved a lot vs. purchasing a new vanity (which I tried to do, but couldn't find any I liked anyway!)

Thanks for following our adventure in our first big reno. Let me know if you have any questions on any reno money saving ideas, project how to's or product info.

Mail order steaks

Look what arrived on our doorstep last week - Mail order steaks from Omaha Steaks.
DH got the American Celebration with the Omaha Steaks gift card his sis got him from Christmas. I think we're set for a while.We had the stuffed sole with potatoes au gratin the first night, it was delish as previously mentioned.
This package came with:
(4) 5 Oz Top Sirloin Steaks
(4) 4 Oz Boneless Pork Chop
(2) 4.5 Oz Stfd Sole with shrimp and crab
(8) Gourmet Franks
(4) 5 Oz Filet Mignon
(10) Potatoes Au Gratin
(4) Omaha Steaks Burgers
Bonus - (6) Omaha Steaks Burgers and (1) Cutlery Set W/cutting Board
Over the past week, DH has had a couple burgers he said were good as well as one of the sirloins (a little tough) and a filet mignon (ok, nice and tender).
We got a free knife set and cutting board with purchase. Here's Rufus checking it all out as usual. The knives are bendable, sort of like gag knives. What a joke! And the cutting board. I think my printer paper is thicker than that thing. Good thing they were free! :)

DH had an experience one time years ago when he lived in CA with a door to door meat salesman. He and his roommates paid about $150 for a freezer full of meat they said was some of the best beef and pork they've had. We had a guy come around a couple months ago, but we had just eaten dinner and were too full to think about getting anything from him. I tried to find him before Christmas and couldn't. Guess they have to find you!

Anyone have experience with door to door or mail order meats?

As Seen On TV

We don't watch much late night TV, but with all of the DIY network shows we watch, there seems to be a million infomercials on that channel. I know some of them have to be obvious scams like the belt that's supposed to magically melt away the pounds some of the other interesting products with crazy claims. There are a few that I've wondered about.

One that I know works great is the FoodSaver vacuum sealer for food. I got ours from a friend of mine who didn't cook much so she didn't use it much. It works great (well, I have to press a little harder since I left it on top of my toaster oven and burnt some of the underside). It vacuum seals our meats so we can buy in bulk, freeze individual portions and not worry about freezer burn. I may have to break down and get a newer model to match our stainless appliances and so that I don't have to push down so hard since I melted this one. The newer ones also have a canister sealing option. But for now, it's great! And I only paid $10 for it and about 10 years worth of reusable bags!

If you've seen any infomercials at all, you've heard of or seen Billy Mays. This guy is everywhere. His latest one for ESPN has to be a spoof, but I still don't know. He's got one out for Mighty Putty that looks like it works. It's a pliable putty that you knead and form and it hardens. Now I don't know if I believe it'll replace a chain and hold hundreds of pounds, but I've used similar product and it is good for filling in gaps. DH used it on a cracked car alarm remote, kneaded it, formed it around the part then sanded and painted it and it was good as new. You can also drill through it after it has hardened.

I was looking through an 'as seen on tv' website and noticed I have another infomercial product that I love - my microfiber cleaning slippers! I got them from Bed Bath and Beyond shortly after we finished our hardwood floors. They're great for house slippers plus they pickup dust bunnies while you walk around the house. I have the pink ones :) I've also got the Magic Bullet which is a wonderful little food processor or quick mixed drink maker. Thanks to my aunt Joyce for that one, she bought one and got one free and was sweet enough to give me the 2nd one. I've used that thing so many times - alfredo sauce, chop onions, quick queso or salsa, and of course margaritas!

A couple of products I've thought about getting at BBB are Space Saver bags which you vacuum seal and compress linens or clothing and also the Debbie Meyer green bags which are supposed to keep your produce fresher longer. Oh, and I can't forget the commercial that always gets stuck in my head - Shamwow, you'll be saying wow every time. There are a ton of knock offs of these towels at the Flea Market that I may have to try out. Their commercial says beware of imitators though...And of course the Snuggie. The huge fleece blanket with arms. DH pointed out something funny on one of their commercials, they say it's one size fits all and near the end, they show a group in the stands at a ball game and the little kid with the snuggie on is struggling to get his/her hands out of the arm holes.

Anyone use any of these, or have any other 'as seen on tv' favorites or dislikes?