What Ana Does

This week I need to get my paint story together for the basement. My colors are falling in the same family as the rest of my house, though not as navy. I just want everything to be bright and happy! The walls are going to be a gray-beige, the ceiling will be a white. The bedroom will be a pale blue. And I'm thinking about adding a very green accent wall and using it on the stairway, too. Colors for the Basement I've got walls in the stairway that I can paint up with samples and get a good idea of how they'll work together and with the dim light of the basement.  The budget is starting to pinch, so I may be doing the majority of the painting myself. Yipes!  More paint sample pictures to come!  Related Posts: Check out the original floor plan And see the Before photos Earlier Color Ideas All the Paint Projects!

We just arrived home after spending a fantastic week in New Jersey and New York seeing friends and family (oodles of time with the grandparents!). It's always delightful to go back to familiar territory seeing places that stir up memories. We've only lived here in Illinois for five years and while we have a few oft-visited places, we don't have the roots here that we have back east. The girls especially loved our two days in New York City, riding the subway, visiting the holiday markets at Bryant Park and Union Square and, as is tradition, having breakfast at Alice's Tea Cup.

We can check Framing off our to-do list, because I just approved it. Hooray! This is a pretty cool phase, as all the shapes of the rooms and ceilings are on full display. The ceiling has soffits around the venting and walls are clearly defined. There were a few difficult spots the contractor made some clever fixes to, but all in all it was straightforward. Rough plumbing is also complete. And electrical is just a tad behind, but they're moving pretty quickly to get it done by next week so they can get the village over to pass rough inspection. A Look at the Long Room Door to the Storage Room and New Bedroom Next week they will be working on insulation and getting ready for drywall. On my to-do list is contact the painter to schedule his work and buy the wood for the vanity. Related Posts: Check out the original floor plan And see the Before photos

We've been binging on Gilmore Girls episodes before the new-season/continuation starts on Netflix next week. I started with Season 4 and have been getting reacquainted with the characters of Stars Hallow. And I'm reminded how firmly I'm Team Jess!  Though, Logan does have his good qualities!! Team Jess All The Way Have been reading a little about the new season in Entertainment Weekly and hoping it will "fix" the awfulness that was season 7. The new episodes release at the end of this week on Netflix. Yippee!!

Not an exciting week in the basement, picture-wise. Lighting and plumbing have been underway while the contractor/carpenter has been away hunting. Yup, hunting. I live in the midwest, people! Here's the pipes all in place for the vanity in the bathroom. Picture a Sink, Mirror and Lights Here! Next week the framing will be complete and the electrical should all be in place, because the week after Thanksgiving is the rough inspection. I'm told after the rough inspection is passed, things move pretty quickly. Yippee! Related Posts: Check out the original floor plan And see the Before photos

There's something so satisfying about creating this custom vanity for the new basement bathroom. Not just because we're going to save on budget, but because it will be uniquely ours! And I'm lucky that our contractor/carpenter is also excited about getting creative. "It's why I do what I do!" Here's more inspirational images of vanities ... The Top Middle Image Is the One Our Contractor is Working From. And the One on the Left Shows the Tile I Found. And here's the vessel sink and sconce we ordered from Amazon... Shop Link: Vessel Sink Here and Light Fixture Here I Have a Mirror That We'll Re-Purpose. We'll start building out the wood shelves next week, as I'll have to stain and seal them. Then, we'll tile the backsplash and start contstructing the space. Yippee! Lots more to come! Related Posts: Version 1 of the Bathroom Ideas

The plumbers arrived on Thursday and jack-hammered the FLOOR of my basement to install the pipes for the new bathroom. It was super-loud and just a little smelly. But in only a day they had it all laid out. The Rubble From Below My House! Next steps is to pass the plumbing inspection, clean up the mess and pour concrete to fix the holes. Because, you know, we need floors. But, we'll have a shower, sink and toilet in the basement. Huzzah! I'll just say this ... if you're building a house PLEASE rough-in a bathroom in your basement ... even if you're not going to put one in immediately. If the folks who built this house had just done that, our budget wouldn't be so strapped. Sigh. Related Posts: Check out the original floor plan And see the Before photos

I have clear memories of 2000 election and the horror I felt when Gore lost. That feeling has followed me around each election year, as I go in knowing there's always a chance it won't go my way. That feeling is nothing compared to the disappointment I feel now. First, because I have to explain it to my daughters. And second, because I have to try to understand it for myself. So, where to do we from here? This is what I know: a President doesn't have absolute power in our democracy. He's got to work with the two other branches of government to get anything done. He (adding "or she" continues to be frustratingly unnecessary) needs the support of his party and, for most legislation to pass, bipartisan support. He can't get a Supreme Court judge elected without a hearing and a simple majority.  From all that I've read and seen, Mr. Trump does not have that support. He belittled the GOP for the last 16 months while campaigning. And I can't imag...

Today was spent on the bedroom that we're adding. There are three closets that needed framing, two that go around utility things like the water meter and sump pump. Tomorrow the plumber and electrician get started ... and that's the really fun stuff. Having never done additions or built a wall before, this is pretty exciting for me. I've been day-dreaming about this basement for so long and seeing it just starting to get out of my head and into real 3-D space is incredible. Related Post: Here's the early draft of the floor plan with notes . 

All week I've been looking at tile and flooring and cars. And on Saturday, all my questions were answered. First, we test-drove the Subaru Crosstrek , which I was impressed with. It drives better than the Outback we owned eight years ago and the seats are just as comfortable as I remember them. However, no climate control or navi system. Plus, the sunroof is tiny and Alice had a major problem with no center console in the backseat. "Where will I put my head when I want to nap?" But, given all the pros/cons, this is probably the car we'll go with once we unload our VW sport wagon (hopefully soon). The only question is color: desert khaki or quartz blue pearl? Next, we went to Floor & Decor , which I'd been hearing is THE place to go for good deals on, well, floor and tile. That rumor proved to be true, as we got a great deal on tile flooring for the bathroom, found a wall tile I really liked and talked to a pro about flooring for the larger (900 sq ft!)...

With all the supplies to get underway loaded into the basement, today was filled with saw and hammering noises. And classic rock. Day 2 - Walls Going Up It's funny to think maybe someday in the future this wall will be taken down. They'll see this graffiti and know whom this basement once belonged. Leah's Basement - YEAH! Electrician and plumber arriving on Thursday. Off and running!

Not to get all political on this blog... but holy hell this is a biggie. I mean, every election is history in the making, right? But this one, whoa! blows them all out of the water. I have lost all perspective. As a feminist, mother of daughters, fan of suffragette history -- I mean, it just doesn't get bigger. I'll say this: If you were just looking at the resume of these two presidential candidates, because you live under a rock and haven't seen any of the media coverage at all, you'd laugh. The choice would be so simple it would be ludicrous. In one corner, a person who has held public office and has worked on policy for decades. Or a person who is a business person and reality TV star who has filed for bankruptcy a few times, and has never-ever held public office. And U.S. President is the highest PUBLIC OFFICE position you can hold (in case that's not totally clear.) It's like hiring a plumber to be the CEO of Apple. Ok, so throw in the first w...

This weekend we hit all the big box stores to get an idea about bathroom vanities, flooring options, showers (acrylic vs. glass) and tile. Not to buy, just to touch some things and learn what is out there. We came to a few decisions about the vanity in the bathroom. 1) I really like the open shelving. As a guest, open shelves make you feel less creepy when you have do dig through cabinets to find extra toilet paper. 2) We'd like some wow-factor. The bathroom will be used primarily by guests and when we're in the basement, so we'd like something in there that will add a little flair, and the vanity is a good place to accomplish that. 3) We'd like to avoid white cabinets, as they're looking a little builder-grade to us. That's the exact look we're trying to avoid. Keeping that in mind, I'm seeing two top options: This From Home Depot That Has the Open Shelving. The Black Vanity with Vessel Sink Has the WOW and More! Here's the fun pa...

Just recording some BEFORE pictures of the basement, as it's going to get quite a transformation! These two images are from the wall looking back at the staircase in both directions. This view is going to be finished as one long room. The ping-pong table will move to the middle and the farthest wall will be the media area. Still trying to decide about flooring ... carpet? Laminate? This angle (below) shows the future location of the unfinished storage room (around that aqua-blue shelf), and the bedroom (far right area). So when the project is finished, this view will be walls and two doors. As you can tell, a lot of clean-up is still in progress. We're filling up a big dumpster bag in the garage and have recycled a LOT of cardboard boxes. And there's more to be trashed. Though, I can leave some stuff in the unfinished area, but I'm being careful to vet it before I decide to hang on to it. Related Posts:  The basement floor plans .