It's time for Another Confession of a Remodeling Moron!

Hello there fine Readers especially those of you joining me in areas outside the US (Malaysia, Germany, and Australia).

 

I love that there are people in other countries reading my blog and I wonder a lot about you. I wonder who you are and what drew you to read my silly ramblings. I wonder if you read thinking I'd have another horror story to tell you like the house exploded. I probably shouldn't have said that…. Do you believe in Jinxes? I really don't but I sure believe in Murphy's Law. You know the saying "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong".

 

I'm avoiding my confession but since I want to be honest with you I'll just spit it out.

 

C and I bought the legs for the vanity and being true to our fashion we bought pretty legs (without bothering to measure what height we really needed) that are wood and unfinished. I took them home stained them to match and the learned the following:

 

1.     the legs screw in but the vanity has castors- we had to change them out and it worked.

 

2.     the legs are way too tall. It puts the vanity almost to chest height and I'm 5'6!

 

So we have to either cut the legs down or get new ones. We are gonna go with cut them down but don't be surprised if I mention sometime soon how we have to buy new legs…

 

It sounds like something we'd do.

 

 

Black Out Curtains!

I need these! Why did we buy a townhouse on top of a mountain facing East?

A Good Caulk Job is Hard to Find!

The Chateau has 1 and a quarter baths. This is the upstairs bathroom (the room that we are currently remodeling). The bathroom grout looked like this when we moved in. Over the years I have re grouted, and tried every bathroom product that was a sure fire way of removing even the nastiest of grim. So far none of them have actually helped. Believe it or not I scrubbed this right before taking the picture. This is as good as it gets I think.

This is after 5 years of scrubbing!

Yes, it really looks like this

Sorry if this scares you! Then it scare me too!

9 must-have tools for the DIY newbie

1. Finishing hammer with claw Plumb. Reliable and built to last with a great grip, fiberglass handle.




2. Tape measure Stanley. Durable steel exterior, easily retractable.



3. Battery-powered cordless drill Black & Decker. Invaluable for small repairs and quick fixes; doubles as a screw gun.



4. Duct tape Holds the world together; provides a strong, flexible hold, good tensile strength; water and tear resistant.



5. Level Johnson. Determines whether a surface is horizontal or vertical.



6. Pliers Klein. Hold objects firmly, for cutting, bending; many types for specific uses.



7. Utility knife: Preferably one that retracts; for cutting carpet, scoring drywall, opening packages. Any decent brand will do.



8. Adjustable crescent wrench Klein. Removes or tightens bolts of all sizes.



9. Mini crowbar Hyde. Takes off old trim and molding; doesn't mark up walls; easy to keep in your tool belt.



Before you begin



What experience (if any) do I have? Just because you're not afraid to take on a project doesn't mean you should. Be realistic about your skills. Not having the expertise could lead to additional costs and work. Also, you might find it difficult to find a contractor who will fix your snafu.



Do I have the time? Many home-improvement projects take weeks rather than days. Measure the inconvenience against the cost of hiring a professional.



Do I have the right tools? Consider what special tools you'll need. If you have to buy a power saw but don't plan to use it again in the near future, it probably won't be a very good investment.

Finding Joy in the Journey Weekend

The last few days words from a plaque I have hanging in my home have really been running through my head. They are words from a talk I heard a few years ago from a very wise man. The plaque reads "Find Joy in the Journey". I loved the talk and felt the inspiration and love behind the message. I felt like I should share it with my readers to express what has been going on with me and my family lately.

In order to do that I need to share the whole quote with you not just one phrase.

 

 

He said "This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now. Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."

I cannot tell you the great impact reading these words this morning have had on me and the great notebooks of plans I have. I ran into a old friend in the store at lunch time. He has always been a man that has found as much joy in life as possible. He told me his beloved wife had recently passed away. There was tremendous pain in his voice. I cannot fathom what he was feeling. His only regret was that he didn't have more time to spend with his wife. Anyone who had ever meet him heard of his dear wife and the love he had for her was immense. It was palpable when you spoke with him.

 

I am taking this as a sign and I am very determined today. As Chris, Logan, Ronan and I work to put our home together we will cherish every second we spend together working on Le Chateau Ghetto. We are throwing away the notebooks and plans of a better tomorrow. We are embracing the today and the project at hand. We are not building a home. We are building memories and we are building a family.

 

So, I challenge each of you reading this to Find Joy in your Journey this weekend. Do something this weekend that brings you joy!

 

We Need a Break!

 

 

C and I have been hard at work for the last several months on Le Chateau Ghetto. It has taken a lot of effort and a huge toll on us. So we have decided to take a break for now. We will finish up the few projects we have in the works but put everything else on the back burner for a few months. This will free up a lot of time to spend with the babies and planning the rest of the remodeling projects. I have at least a month's worth of posts on just the projects we have been working on these last few months. I will begin posting them next week.

 

Until we have caught our breath I'm hoping you will join me in the planning and searching stage.

 

Thanks for Sticking with us,

 

Sher

Le Chateau Ghetto

My Own Pep Talk

 

 

 

I am giving myself a pep talk. Frankly, I need it and I was thinking maybe you out there in Blogland could use it too!

 

So here goes….

 

 

I once had this job. It was in an office. The office was managed by a gentleman I called Squishy. Really, I called my boss Squishy for 9 years.  It wasn't out of contempt or to be mean. That's just me. I call my boss right now Seamus and trust me that isn't her name at all.

 

So one day Squishy is dealing with a Tyrannical Ken doll that was a distributor of the goods sold by the company I worked for. The Tyrannical Ken doll was a pompous ass. He thought way too much of himself and wanted to throw his weight around. He choose the wrong person. I forget what started the conversation between Ken Doll and Squishy but Ken Doll was very unhappy that Squishy wouldn't back down. Squishy was actually in the right and a very stubborn fella! (If he reads this I stand by that statement).

 

The conversation turned nasty and I was looking for a hiding place. I'm glad I didn't find it because what happened next has been an inspiration to me for many years.

 

Ken Doll: You will do what I say Squishy!

 

Squishy: No I won't Ken Doll.

 

Ken Doll: If you don't I'll make your life a living hell! (Ken Doll leans forward with a harsh look on his face)

 

Squishy: (starts laughing)  No you won't! At the end of the day I'm still going to go home kiss my wife and play with my kids. The most you can do is make work uncomfortable and if you do no bigee I find a new job.

 

Squishy laughs and walks away. Ken Doll stands there with a stunned look on his face. Then he leaves and true to his word Ken Doll mildly annoys Squishy but can't make Squishy's life a living anything.

 

 

Moral of this story….

 

 

No matter how stressed or crappy things can get out there as long as you can kiss your spouse and play with your kids WHO CARES!

Do you Doula?

I have been an accountant for 11 years now. I have never enjoyed it and not only that it has always felt unnatural.

 

When I became pregnant with my first child, Goo I kept hearing from people that I should hire a Doula. Even my OB/GYN suggested it. I didn't know what that was and in effort to conceal that I just nodded.

 

Throughout my pregnancy I was obsessed with everything that was happening or was going to happen. I read books and articles. I read, and talked nothing but baby. I was convinced that after being told by Gynecologists, and Reproductive Endocrinologists that C and I were unable to have kids that this would be my only shot at having my own child.

 

When I had a spontaneous pre-term rupture of the membranes all the reading flew out of my head. I panicked and so did C. After 12 hours of labor my heart stopped. The doctors were able to bring me back but Goo's heart beat had dropped below 30 beats and had stayed that way for over 9 minutes.

 

My doctor preformed an emergency cesarean birth. There she determined that I had a complete abruption of the placenta and was hemorrhaging to death. Obviously I survived.

 

My experiences and my research allowed me to be a great resource for other pregnant women and I soon found them asking me all kinds of questions. Soon I had become a pregnancy guru and I loved it.

 

Two years later I was working for a baby gear manufacturer and I encountered a woman in Florida that owned a baby boutique. Her name was Diana and she was a doula. She told me that I was perfect to become a Doula and she really thought I should look into it. The word kept coming up so I asked her what it was. She explained that it was a woman trained in pregnancy, labor, and support. She helps the woman through labor and afterwards to establish breastfeeding.

A labor doula or birth doula is someone (often trained, though this is not required) who provides non-medical support (physical and emotional) to a woman leading up to and during her labor and delivery, as aspect of care that was traditionally practiced in midwifery. A labor doula may attend a woman having a home birth or a woman laboring at home before transporting to a hospital or a birth center, where they will continue their support. They do not perform clinical duties such as heart rate checks or vaginal exams, or give medical advice. Labor doulas rely on techniques like massage, positive positioning, emotional support, encouragement, and nurturing to help women through labor. Many offer phone and email support as well as prenatal and postpartum visits to ensure the mother is informed and supported. The terms of a labor/birth doula's responsibilities are decided between the doula and the family. The doula is also an ally for the father or partner, who may have little experience with the labor process and may also find the process anxiety provoking. Studies have shown that childbirth education can help reduce paternal anxiety ^[5] and one of the doula's roles is to educate.^[6] A responsible doula supports, encourages, and educates the father or partner in their support style rather than replacing them.^[7]

Having a doula can have a powerful impact on a woman's labor including a 50% reduction in c-section rates, a 60% reduction in requests for pain medication, and mothers who were supported by a doula believed their babies cried less than others' babies and that they were better able to care for their babies than anyone else.^[8] Dr. John Kennell, who has studied the impact doulas have on mothers, babies, and childbirth, says, “If a Doula were a drug, it would be malpractice not to use it”.

 

 

Finally I found out that there was a name for what I had already been doing and even more I could get paid to do it!

 

 

I started training and am proud and happy to say that I will soon complete the schooling part of my training and begin to attend births. Soon I will be

 

Sherilyn CD(DONA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freschetta is amazing

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™
As a person who normally goes for pepperoni pizza ,with a husband who likes a little more variety I was pleasantly suprised at the 8 tasty choices available from Freschetta. We can both enjoy it.  Pizza is one of the few foods the family can agree on. We have tried a lot and we have come to love Freschetta for having the best sauce and freshest, tastiest toppings, they well compliment the thin and crispy crust. 

 One of the best parts of Freschetta is how it is always so fresh. This is provided by the fresch-taste seal which uses 30% less packaging material.  They make an amazing product that if you have not tried this you should and share it with your family. 

To learn more about this amazing pizza and the 8 different varieties Freschetta offers go to  http://www.freschettasimplyinspired.com/ or on twitter @FrischettaSI . 

Though my best suggestion is to friend them on facebook to get a chance at weekly giveaways of awesome prizes till the end of 2011.


Coming soon a  $2 off coupon.Check out the  link below under some pictures to make your mouth water.    etet jkgal;gjkl;az
TvTh an             

FRESCHETTA® Simply Inspired  

http://www.facebook.co m/FreschettaSimplyInspired   

AND THE WINNER IS

 

 

SHENDRA!

 

Thank you to all those that participated. I am so excited that Falling Down House is growing as fast as it is. When I started it (well when Mandy and I started it) I had no idea how well received it would be.

 

 

Thank you so sincerely for every time you have come to this site and read what I have to say!

 

 

***Shendra I have your address and will mail your cash prize this afternoon! Congratulations and thank you for reading Falling Down House

I have an Inspiration Room!

This is my dream room. I am working on creating it bit by bit. I am assembling it in my head and in my inspiration notebook the pieces I need to create this look in Le Chateau Ghetto. As I find the pieces I will show you them, where they are at, what the prices are, and hopefully what my Master Bedroom looks like as I transform it from my Greek Ruin to this Old World Charmer.

I have already blogged about where I can get the ceiling mounted curtain rods. In case you don't remember this is the link.

http://www.abcdistributing.com/For%2Bthe%2BHome/Ceiling-Mount-Curtain-Rods/prod40220.jmp?fm=topnav&navAction=push&categoryId=cat51556&navCount=0

This is what my version will look like (the curtain rods that is).

$24.99 for the set of 3

I love them it is so elegant! I already have the curtains. I got them at Anna's Linens almost 7 years ago and they have been in my hall closet since 2008. Right around the time Goo learned to crawl!

Today I found ceiling tiles that can give me the look of this Old Style moldings and the added bonus is that they go over popcorn ceilings!

    

Sher's Pick



C's pick


I think the one that C wants is a little too much for me and maybe the one I want is a bit much as well but why not right?

Each retail for $3.99 for each 20 x 20 tile. These tiles are made out of Styrofoam in Germany. They are paintable if you want to and hey install with regular adhesive that you would find at a hard ware or home improvement store.

You can use the link below to check them out more if you want. If you are interested use the code: DCT to get 5% off at checkout!


http://www.decorativeceilingtiles.net/





Extremely Discouraged!

Hello out There!

 

I need a pep talk. I am tired and discouraged. I was walking around my house this morning trying to get two kids dressed and ready for daycare in hopes I wouldn't be late to work again. (Didn't work I was late).

 

Everywhere I looked was a problem that needed to be fixed.

·        I went into the bathroom to splash water on my face and had to use the bathtub because we still don’t have the sink installed.

·        I went to look into the mirror but we took it down to cut it smaller and it shattered.

·        I walked down the stairs that are covered in grease in the shape of footprints.

·        My socks stuck to the floor in the front room where I pulled up the pull n stick tiles.

·        I went into the bathroom downstairs to comb my hair in the mirror and the pipes from upstairs leaked on my head.

·        The light fixture has a missing shade and the walls have been destroyed where my crown molding once was.

·        I tripped over the floor where the laminate ends.

·        I had to get a butter knife to open the pantry door to get out something for lunch. We lost the door knob.

·        I noticed the bad paint job I did when I painted the 2 doors with the chalk board paint. I either need new moldings around the door or I've got to paint them again. Plus another few coats of blackboard paint.

·        I put my soda down on the butcher-block countertop that's just sitting on the cabinets because we need to cut and install them.

·        I tripped again over the table saw C put together for me for mother's day (it was my Christmas present). He didn't finish it because we don't have a crescent wrench the right size.

·        Last of all the threshold of the door moved as I walked over it because it's not actually attached to anything.

Maybe I have the right to whine like this and feel discouraged or maybe I need to get off my butt and start fixing some of it.

 

This is where the Pep Talk comes in…. Anyone got one?

 

 

Backsplash Alternatives

I was surfing Blogland the other day and I came upon a new site. Well, new for me called House on Ashwell Lane. The aurthor Radhika had some great ideas for backsplashes that I had never thought of before. Look at these!

These are all different wallpapers. I've used wallpaper in the kitchen before. I used it as an decorative insert for my old ghetto kitchen cabinets. The doors were a sort-of Shaker style so it worked well.

Wallpaper inserts in Old Cabinets

I wish I had seen her blog before I bought all that glass tile...

Check out her site though you'll love it!

House on Ashwell lane

Don't forget to Enter

There are only a few days for the giveaway left so make sure you enter!

Our First Giveaway!

I am very pleased at how fast my little blog is growing! I have had an increase of 500% in the month of April in readership. I will soon get our 1000th hit on my site and to celebrate this achievement I are hosting a giveaway.

So how do you enter this giveaway and what is the prize?

Rules of the Giveaway:

1.     You must be a follower of Falling Down House

2.     You must leave a comment on this post saying what you like about the site. (Remember this is a celebration so let's be nice)

3.     Yeah, that's pretty much it..

The giveaway will close at 10pm (Pacific time) on May 11, 2011. I will draw a name out of a hat and that person will win.

The Prize:

One penny for every hit and follower of Falling Down House as of that moment! Not to exceed $50 USD.

Good Luck!

Sher and Mandy

Falling Down House

The Master Bedroom!

When we bought the house C said I could do what ever I wanted to it as long as he didn't have to help. I went with THEME ROOMS! The Master Bedroom is my Ode to Ancient Greece and I must admit I love it but it's all starting to come apart. I used something called Tatouage and I didn't protect it as the directions told me to do and now it's all flaking off. I need to do something about it and I've started a bit. I lament greatly the loss of my Greek ruin but I also know that the $400 to fix it just isn't in the budget right now where as 2 gallons of paint is.


Before it's gone for good I just wanted you guys to see what it looked like.

My Headboard

My side of the Room

C's side of the Room

I wish there was a way I could save at least part of it...


Oh, so sad!

Hot Water.. It's a Tankless Job!

So, the Chateau doesn't have a lot of storage and I've been working on changing that. C and I have storage under the stairs we call it "Evie's Room". When we bought the house C joked with his little sister that she had her own room @ our new house. She was really excited about it until C told her that it was the storage room. She wasn't too amused and to be honest being the 8th child I understand what it's like to be teased by older siblings that think their funny and I wouldn't have let C tell her that. However, to this day we still call it "Evie's Room". The dominating feature of the storage room is the giant hot water heater. We've been thinking for awhile now that if we went tankless then we'd have more storage. I know most people get tankless water heaters for the energy conservation and the good impact on the environment not to mention their pocket book. I wonder if we are the only ones out there that want one for the space saving?

I've been doing some research and the first step is to figure out the size of tankless water heater you need is. I found this chart that help you figure that out. Each shower head is per "Hot Water" appliance used simultaneously. The GMP shows you how big of a tank you need or should I say tankless.

So C and I need one that's around 7.1 GPM.

The next thing I looked at was how they actually work. I found this chart and it makes it really easy to understand.

The next step was finding out if we need gas or electric and that one was easy enough. I read the label on the current water heater.

Then pick out the tankless water heater of your choice. I want this one.
It's got great reviews and I love how compact it is.



 Of course you need to make sure that your circuit can handle this. This one is 36kw. Which means it need about 3 circuits on your breaker to handle the load.

C and I will hire an electrician to make sure ours can handle it and I don't think that will be too expensive. The HOA has a great one that is super cheap plus he's licensed and bonded!!!


Make sure you go to Amazon.com and check it out for yourself!

The Last Two Elements for the Bathroom Sink!

I have been asked over and over again where I get the items that I use in the Chateau and I must confess that I get a lot of them from Amazon.com. I've teamed up with them on Falling Down House to allow my readers to have the direct link access to the items purchased by C and I to use in the Chateau so if my readers want they can get the same things. I will start doing this with every item I get from Amazon.






I am constantly amazed at how many things you can find on Amazon. I am pretty sure you can buy anything that you need from them. A case in point is these two items. I got them from Amazon and they are the last two pieces I need to install the bathroom sink. That is I mean the actual sink. We still need a few more pieces for the vanity and of course C and I are still debating the backsplash to hide the drywall we had to replace.

I got a new tool that will allow C and I to do wonderful things in the near future and I am so excited to share them with you. It means that not only will I have something to talk about but it also means that I will have some finished projects!

If you've ever taken a tour of my house you'd know what I mean by that.

Hmmm.... that's an idea.  A virtual tour of the Chateau Ghetto..   I think I will... As soon as it's clean!