One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

 We were so proud of ourselves last week. A project actually went as planned and we did the entire room in only one week! We removed stubborn wallpaper boarder, filled holes and prepped walls, lots of taping, painting (even an accent wall), sanding the sub-floor, laying the black paper, laying the hardwood (we literally had three or four 6 inch pieces left - cutting it SO close!), installing molding, moving in furniture and hanging artwork. Whew! Lots of work, but now that I'm working from home full time, I have almost 10 extra hours a week - awesome! That extra time made all the difference on this project. Well... admittedly... we had to put a time limit on this one. I really needed a place to work from home and the dining room table wasn't really cutting it.

I wasn't totally sure about the blue wall in this room - I'm not really a pastel paint kind of girl. But this is a small room wit only one window (the one in the door) and it's pretty dark. I actually had to mix this color myself. I think we had a bit of a miscommunication at Ace. Somehow, I ended up with sage green paint... Not so hot in this room. It kind of looked like moldy bread. Yikes. I had some cobalt blue from Jordan's bathroom, so figuring it couldn't be much worse, I dumped some in the can and mixed it up. Voila! The creamy blue was born. It actually matched the blue in the pillows almost exactly, and the blue in our artwork perfectly. I'd like to claim skill, but I think I just got really lucky.

Monday morning, my Dad had a rare day off, and surprised me by stopping by to see how the study looked with all of the furniture and art. He was impressed and pretty proud of himself for that pretty floor! He offered to take me for pancakes, so as I dashed off to brush my teeth, he decided to run down to the basement to grab some of his tools so he could work on some projects at home that afternoon. When I looked up from brushing my teeth a few minutes later, my dad was standing in the doorway with a soaked pant leg, squishy shoe and a dripping wet Madison... The basement was flooded. With the dim lighting, he didn't see it until it was too late. He stopped two steps from the bottom and he was soaked to his knee. At least three feet, he said. Maybe more. Madison, his constant shadow, had followed him downstairs, slipped on the steps and splashed into the water. She was not amused.

Needless to say, Dad and I missed out on the pancakes. Poor Dad. He spent his whole day off helping me chase down hoses, set up a back-up sump pump, turn off breakers and drying his shoe and pants. He was so sweet, but I couldn't help but laugh. His one size 9 foot in his shoe, and the other in Jordan's size 12 shoe, was just too much. Once again, my Dad saved the day. I treated him to a late lunch the local Chinese buffet, but nothing can ever repay a dad.

What's that? Tan paint...?

Madison, helping Jordan sand the floor.

Madison helping me design the layout of the floor

Jordan Prepping the floor for hardwood.

Laying the planks down "for real"

Almost Done

Thanks Madison, but that piece is a little too small.

All Finished - Feeling Victorious!

Our awesome hide rug from Canada and
Jordan's family "heirloom" leather couch.
He picked out the pillows: Impressive, huh?

I'll be doing lots of work at this desk!

And, the very next day...

"Good Feeling Gone."

- Marlin (Finding Nemo)

Burned up the element in our water heater.
Two days with no hot water while we pumped out
the basement and waited for the electric to dry.

At least three feet of water. Madison tried to
follow my dad down the stairs, she slipped on
the steps and went for a cold, involuntary swim.
She has avoided that basement ever since!