Two new baths - House #2

These never made it to the blog but you may have seen it on Facebook. We did all the work, or, I should say, Mike did all the work. I was the designer.

The half bath is my favorite bathroom. Before the half bath was installed upstairs, we had to go downstairs in the middle of the night to use the facilities. It was really a pain not to mention a long trip in the middle of the night.




Mike did an incrdible job moving around pipes, tiling and installing the sink and toilet. The window overlooks the park in the back of the house. The sink was a freebie and the toilet was from the downstairs bathroom (now totally revamped). I got the mirror at Salvation Army. The door and glass knob were salvaged from Community Forklift.

The downstairs full bath was completely revamped, adding a tub and a tiled shower stall. In my opinion, if you have a clawfoot tub that doesn't have a stand up shower in it, add a shower stall to the bathroom. The tub just looks so much better without the shower surround and the stall just makes life that much easier in the morning.







The sink tub, and toilet (not visible) was salvage from the Community Forklift. We estimate the sink and toilet to be circa 1940s. The tub is vintage Kholer which has a beautifully unscratched surface! The floor tiles were a steal at home depot, about a $1 per tile. The beadboard wainscoating was salvaged from a neighbors yard. We used regular 4 inch square white tiles on the wall of the shower stall. (I don't have any pics availble of it, darn it.) Home Depot makes paint to order so we brought in a tile that matched the toilet and sink so they could make a can for me to paint the tub with. The final touch is the tiny painted floral metal chandelier above the tub.

Ok, so I love the downtairs bathroom too.


Tee

Mother's Day

I have a plan for a unique gift but it requires a trip to the salvage place and house #1. Mike's going to do that for me this week. Hint: it will help to cover up the ugly, and incredibly stark white plastic fence that her neighbors installed.

Will have more later.



Ann

Water logged.

Drinking water:
My dearest significant other Mike has been adamant about me drinking water claiming that I don't drink enough of the stuff of life. I usually argue back that I am and I don't think that I could consume any more in a day. Well, I am here, now, saying... Ahem... That he was right.
I felt like I was consuming enough but when it really came down to it, I was quite a bit under the recommended daily intake of eight 8 oz glasses. I figured this out by testing myself over several days. Here's how. We measured a glass and found one in our cabinet that was 16 ounces (2 cups). Plus I have another glass at work that is two times the size (32 ounces). In the morning I made sure I drank at least one 16 ounce glass before leaving the house. Then I fill the 32 ounce glass at work to about 24 ounces. I drank two of these while at work. I tried to space this apart, for example, 24 ounces all morning and then the other 24 ounces after lunch for the rest of the day. Generally, I drank with lunch and snacks and then throughout the day. So far I'm up to 64 ounces - the recommend amount. At home, after work, I drank at least one more 16 ounce glass with dinner or watching TV. Sometimes two, with lemon. Totalling 80 ounces for the day.
Phew, that's a lot.
It was tough for the first two days. But after a week, the extra water actually felt pretty good in my body, especially with the lemon at night. Waking up refreshed and my skin seems smoother and fresher. Now, it's just habit to drink all that water.
Try it out. It's difficult at first but you'll get the hang of it in a couple days.
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A Tale of Two Cottages: it's about a lifestyle change.

I'm reviving A Tale Of Two Cottages into a lifestyle blog. Here's why. After having my right thyroid lobe removed because it was crushing my throat and because it was playing havoc with my physiology, I reevaluated what I have been doing to myself for the last decade or so to cause this thyroid problem. Whether the doctor's understand it or not, I'm confident that chronic stress had something to do with it. That's when I realized slowing down, reducing stress, and incorporating more fun into my life is a total must. I encourage you to do the same and will provide suggestions, activities, research and thoughts on making a better lifestyle.

Three ways to make your life better if you're employed. There's no "Ah Ha!" here. Just plain old common sense.

Don't work so hard: There's always work to be done. I don't know of anyone that doesn't have this problem. So don't try to get it all done in the same day. Think about what the repercussions are if it waited until the next day, or, the next, or the next. Probably not much, in other words, the world isn't going to end. Understanding there are bosses needs, maybe your boss needs to stop working so hard. At home, choose a day to vege out after work. Sometimes we're rushing so much to get work done at work that we continue that rush at home.

Get away from your desk: At least for lunch. Personally, I take breaks like the way it used to be done in the old days, say 15 years ago - a 15 minute break at 9:30, half hour lunch, and 15 minutes at 2:30. American companies probably started doing this for a reason - keep the masses happy and fresh. So walk away from your desk during these times.

Get outside: Learn to love cold, wet days. We all love to get outside on beautiful sunny warm days but there's value to your body and mind from being outside on any day. Relish in the fact that Mother Nature has created this incredibly diverse atmosphere. Soak it in. Especially if your day is terrible.

p.s. Try a week of rising without an alarm. This is the best thing I've changed in my life that has contributed to reducing my insanity. Just try it. You'll never go back to an alarm.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:New York City