Edges Like Sea Glass

By Leah LaRocco

House & Home

Home From California…Sans Turquoise Skinnies

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After being in LA for a week of excitement at work and June gloom weather, it was good to return to the nest.  I knew I’d been in LA too long when I found myself contemplating a pair of turquoise skinny jeans at Urban Outfitters.  It was time to go.  I love my job and the people I work with are simply amazing, fabulous, human beings who I feel so blessed to know.  But for the first time in a long time, I wanted to be back in TN taking care of things before the parental units arrived today.  Let me take you on my little journey home.

The bathroom is nearing completion!!!  I have never been so excited to take a shower.  Washing my hair in the kitchen sink was a nightmare, but thank goodness it was short lived.  There are still things to do, but this is what’s happened in the bathroom.

The new vanity is firmly in place, replete with glass hardware from Anthropologie (on sale for $2.99!!!) and a new high efficiency toilet has been installed, purchased from Costco for less than $100.  Don’t worry, a new mirror is coming, the one in the picture is just there to help out right now.

 Sink faucets are expensive!!!  This cool looking modern one was listed on Overstock.com for $139.99, so I went on Ebay and ordered the knock-off version for $36.  The only problem was the hoses that came with it weren’t a standard size, so Rob spent some serious time with the plumbing “specialist” at Home Depot figuring that one out.  And who knew Target carried such adorable soap dispensers!  Thanks to a stay with my friends in LA who took me to Target to buy my very own copycat version of theirs 🙂

Here’s a picture of the completed shower tile, but this just can’t do it justice.  There are pretty sparkly parts and it’s all blue and green and sea-glass-ish.  I love it!  If only I could take all my readers in the shower with me to experience the awesomeness that is this tile….but well, that would be all kinds of awkward. 

A lot has been happening in the yard as well.  When I was mowing the lawn I noticed that the roof had been knocked clean off the bluebird house.  I looked inside and there were four perfect blue eggs.  Bluebirds and robins are in the same bird family so the eggs look very similar.

I put the roof back on the house and banged the nails in, but I was very concerned about how long the eggs had been left uncovered.  Today I saw the mama bluebird telling some other bird off and waving her wings around like she was a NYer defending her right to eat hot dogs from a street vendor.  Hopefully the eggs will survive and my little bluebird family will fly happily into the sunset.

There’s also been some action in the weeping cherry tree on the front lawn.  Those of you who know me well know that I am a total nerd when it comes to butterflies.  I raised them as a kid, then as a teenager, and am still quite obsessed with them.  I love butterflies and moths.  They bring such beauty into the world for a fleeting time.  I think they are magical.  Eventually when I figure out the backyard I want to have a garden with plants that will attract them, but for now, I was thrilled to find this chrysalis.  My caterpillar/chrysalis identification book is buried in a box somewhere, but I’ll eventually be able to tell what it is.  It could be a moth considering the shell is covered with leaves, but moths don’t tend to hang as much as butterflies do while in this phase.  I liken this to finding a Tiffany bag under the Christmas tree!

I have some sad news…I think one of my Purple Leaf Plums has some kind of borer in the bark.  The tree has looked weak since I moved here, but half of it is dead and it’s not looking good.  I hope it can survive.  Dad was a horticulturist and used to inspect greenhouses for plant diseases so I need to see what he thinks. 

I bought a rug!!!!  The living room rug was super tricky, but after looking at thousands of rugs online, I settled on this “deco inspired” one because it ties in the black of the fireplace with the cream color of the furniture.  The walls will be a pretty light green called “Recycled Glass” and it’ll look much more colorful once it gets painted. 

People always ask me about “The East End” pillow.  I bought it at Hildreth’s in Southampton, Long Island.  It’s what the locals call the North and South Forks of the island.  Historically it used to only refer to the South Fork, but everyone on the North Fork says they live on The East End too, so I’m claiming it.

And lastly, I leave you with a flower.  My dad has a way with plants and I can only hope I inherited half of his magical green thumb.  A great pastime of his is hybridizing daylilies, which is creating his own varieties by cross pollinating plants.  I planted several along my front walk and since the first bloom they all sent up second shoots of buds.  This one was open to greet me when I came home.  None of them are named, so perhaps I shall call this one “Welcome Home.”

Adventures In Bathroom Tiling

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It has been a very busy week for the bathroom.  Rob has done such an incredible job getting all the tile down, so let me tell you what’s been going on.  After he pulled up the subfloor and laid down 1/4 inch Hardie backer as a new subfloor, he started the tiling process with the Snow White subway tiles I got from Home Depot.  They were very reasonably priced and came on a 12″x12″ sheet.

We realized shortly into the process that it would have helped immensely if white mortar had been used instead of gray, but it actually made me realize that I wanted to keep the detail and not use white grout. The second day we grouted and washed…what a process!!! I felt like Jill running up the hill to fetch her pail of water, over and over again.  But it came out so great!  There is a light gray grout in between the white tiles which gives them a subtle definition that looks lovely.

With the floor tile down, we were ready to move onto the tub surround!  I chose a tile called Vineyard Glass by Jeffrey Court, also available online from Home Depot.  I wanted to find glass tile that had blues and greens to create a beachy feel.  What resulted was something Mediterranean that really makes me think of home with the green wine bottles from the different local vineyards.

Here’s what we did.  It was important to tape plastic around the tub so none of the mortar or grout got stuck in the non-slip surface (thank you, Virginia, for that tip).  We used white mortar this time, and didn’t have to worry about cutting any of the tiles. Rob only had to cut one small strip off the end tile for the back wall and the two side walls worked out perfectly as well, thank goodness!

After all the tile was all up, we began the grouting process all over again.  This time using non-sanded grout which Rob compared to cake icing.  It went on very smoothly without the grit of the sand, which worked great for the small tiles.  These glass tiles were rather fragile and some chips were discovered after grouting.  I’m pretty convinced that sanded grout would have destroyed them.

You can see the difference the white grout makes.  I was worried the tile was going to be too dark once a shower curtain was put up, but the white grout lightened it up beautifully and really added some dimension.

Once we got the grout washed off (Jill running up the hill again), it was simply gorgeous.  I could not be happier with the result!

ASK FOR DISCOUNTS!!!!

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My friend Marcy is an expert when it comes to finding deals.  She told me about a site called www.plasticjungle.com where you can buy discount gift cards to dozens of stores.  I was able to purchase discounted Home Depot gift cards to save money on supply purchases.

Also, you can get 10% off coupons to Lowes and Home Depot either at the post office, by asking for a change of address packet, or on ebay where you can search for “Home Depot coupon” and purchase them for approx $2.00-$2.50 apiece.  Totally worth it when you’re blowing the bucks every time you walk into a home improvement store.  Lowes coupons can be used at Home Depot.  I have already saved a ton of money just by using the coupons combined with the gift cards.

 
One thing I have been very surprised about is that you can ask for a discount, and most of the time you’ll get one.  I ordered my dining room rug from www.homedecorators.com and before I ordered I called the customer service department and told the lady I was a first time purchaser on their site.  I asked if there were any discounts I would be eligible for and she gave me 10% right off the bat and saved me $50.

When I was getting the stove, I hunted for the best Memorial Day sales and found a good deal at HH Gregg.  I called the online phone number and was told no discounts were available, however, when I called my local store and spoke to the appliances associate, I said I knew they were having a 25% off sale, but could he do any better on the price?  He told me to swing by the store and when I got there, he’d come up with a number that was $60 below the sales price.  Although their customer service is less than to be desired, I was really pleased with the price.

Rob had a similar story.  He went to Home Depot and was checking out with a $500 total purchase price for a job he was working on. He asked the lady at the register if there was any way he might get a discount and she gave him 5% off, no questions asked.

The thing to be learned from this is to always ASK!!!!  I know that many stores have non-negotiable prices, but sometimes you can make a deal.  I’ve gotten 10-30% off at Marshalls and TJ Maxx for finding a scratch or flaw on a piece of furniture.  When you buy a house or do a project and feel like you’re bleeding money, even saving a little bit can be quite helpful because it all adds up in the end.

ASK FOR DISCOUNTS!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend: Where We Remember Times When We Rented

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The common phrase I heard this past week was, “Welcome to being a homeowner.” Lots of things went wrong and took way longer than they were supposed to take, and I even had the pleasure of running into an ex because the week was just that awesome. But enough about me, let me tell you what is happening with the house.

I got my awesome new Whirlpool fridge from the VIP program that a friend had access to. We plugged it in and it worked for all of 3 minutes before the control panel went dead. The lights still work, the water dispenser thingy works, and yet the fridge does not cool off because the little digitally lit snowflakes melted in the heat. A technician is coming out on Tuesday.
I made an unpleasant discovery in the guest bedroom. It is never wise to leave me alone in a house with a crowbar. There were visible tape lines all around that room and we’ve been thinking we’d need to repair the drywall in there. Well, people, I have an announcement to make, it’s not drywall. It’s paneling…with a couple layers of wallpaper…that were painted over. Son of a biscuit!!! I immediately started tearing the room apart, and in the manner of Ty Pennington, I have made it my “special project.”

 Rob has been working so hard on the bathroom.  The Hardie board backer is going up for the tub surround.  This will provide moisture-proof backing for the glass tile.

I continued tearing the guest room to shreds with the righteous anger and incomprehension of how someone would wallpaper paneling and then PAINT over it!!!  Morons.  Thank goodness there is drywall underneath.  It’s in rough shape, but we can fix it up.  I can’t even describe the smell of that paneling without making you sick.  It smelled a bit like sewage.  As I was tearing everything down, the pile in the dining room grew larger and more overwhelmingly smelly.

Lacey got all dramatic with the explosive remodeling noises happening throughout the house, so she decided to find a quiet corner to chill.
The Hardie backer is up!!!!  How exciting!  Onto the floor!
I made another awesome discovery in the guest bedroom.  In the picture, it just looks like a white square on the wall, however, be not deceived by the innocent white square.  After whoever made this nightmare ran out of paneling on that side of the room, they smeared drywall mud all over the empty portion of wall to make it nice and even.  Needless to say, that part of the wall will need to be replaced. 
My new dining room rug was delivered on Friday.  I ordered it online from the Home Decorators Collection to match the Jacqueline Penney picture I am putting up in there.  After demo-ing the guest bedroom and filling Rob’s truck with the debris, I held my breath, rolled out the new rug, and did a little dance across it.  The color is EXACTLY what I wanted and so much prettier than the picture online.  I could not be more pleased and I think it will look so beautiful in the dining room.  A burst of color that just begs to be dived into!
 HH Gregg is where I purchased my stove, and while I was very pleased with the deal I got, I could not have had a more horrendous customer service experience.  I will never buy anything from that place again.  The salesperson was abrupt and unhelpful, the cashier had no clue what she was doing and took 15 minutes just figuring out the computer while looking like a brick had just hit her in the skull.  The manager was also less than helpful when asked what to do if the item were discovered to be damaged.  His words were to “just bring it on back” like it was an ill fitting pair of shoes or something, as opposed to a hundred pound item.  THEN, as if the attitude weren’t enough, we drove there to pick it up on Saturday (when they told me it would be available) and the delivery truck hadn’t arrived yet and they were not able to tell me when it would get there.  I was livid when we left the store because that one mishap cost us hours of time and frustration in our plans over the next 36 hours.  After much angst, a trip to the dump, and many murderous thoughts later, we got the stove.  However, the sales manager who helped us get it out of the store neglected to tell us we needed to buy a power cord, which would have been much more helpful than the Verizon phone pitch we got while signing the pickup form.  Unless you want to be treated like crap, don’t shop at HH Gregg.  This is not where these appliances will remain…they’re just there until the kitchen gets built…so ok, they’ll be there for a long time, but we won’t think about that right now.
Today, Rob worked wonders on the floor of the bathroom.  I seriously cannot say enough good things about the quality of work he is doing, I am so impressed.  The original sub floor was a nasty conglomeration of particle board and plywood that was water damaged, so he pulled all of that up to reveal the slats on top of the joists.  All of this after removing the original toilet, which was a nasty business, to be sure.
As you can see, some of the boards in this area needed a bit more support, so Rob went under the house and nailed a 2×6 to the parts with holes or shaky boards.
While he was doing all of that and cutting the 1/4″ Hardie board for the sub floor, I decided to tackle the bamboo in the backyard.  While bamboo is a lovely plant, it is very invasive and needs to be controlled.  There is a lovely stand in the corner of my yard that is obscuring two large viburnum bushes that were probably planted years before the bamboo forest began to encroach.  Here is a pic with the evening sun shining through.
My friend, Charlotte, just built a lake house and needs some bamboo for her shower wall.  I cut down quite a few pieces and cleaned the leaves off of them and piled them next to the shed.  Obviously, I will have to get a panda bear.
While I was cutting the trees, I noticed the most glorious beetle!  It was an iridescent red and blue that just shone in the fading light.  I tried to find a picture online and the closest thing I can find was a picture of the larva of the Blue Bug, which eventually grows a hard blue shell after the red disappears. 
I came inside to find the floor all finished and ready for tile!  It’s almost a bathroom again!!!  Rob added silicone around the toilet ring and the tub, so water leaking and damage will no longer be an issue.  What a job well done! 
 We are both exhausted, sore, and beat up.  There were a couple of times this past week when I indulged myself in a meltdown.  I whined pathetically while standing in the middle of my demolished guest room asking Rob, “Did I bite off more than I can chew?”  He answered sympathetically, “Maybe for the first two weeks.”