It's softly raining and a little dark -- prime napping weather!! I'd love right now to be snoozing like this little kitten princess, but have much to do.

I've just completed the hair raising process (for me) of selecting floor tile and pain for Doc Brilliant's and my master bathroom. We tend to stick with choices for a long time, so re-doing in a short time if I don't like it is not an option.

When in doubt, go neutral. Sounds easy, right? But, if you're like me, that opens up a whole new set of questions: cool neutrals? warm neutrals? What if I like these neutrals for Doc Brilliant's and my master bathroom, but really would rather use slightly different neutrals in another part of the house? And, how does all this fit with existing fixtures?

I ended up with a tile called cameo which has speckles of various neutrals in it, but overall is sort of a camel. I decided on spiced beige paint for the walls. I'll post a photo when my bathroom redo is done.

I think one way I can ensure continuity is to use the same white trim throughout the house.

Doc Brilliant likes warm tones, so I hope that this bathroom will feel warm and cozy for him. There's enough of my froufrou in all the other rooms to lighten my heart.

Of course, color is not the only consideration. There is the material and texture of the tile, as well as the value and the cost to think about.

And, the thing is, that no matter what colors you use, nothing looks good until your house is sparkling. So, off to do some chores in that line.

While I'm cleaning, you all are welcome to leave any tips for me on choosing such things as tile, paint, etc. What have your experiences been? What are your favorite products? What have been your experiences with different kinds of floor tile?

Happy Monday! A Wedding, the Flu, a blustery and wet fall day, a wonderful quote, and a report on bathroom re-do!

I hope everyone's having a happy Monday. I hope to jump over to the Simple Woman's Daybook and do the exercise and read everyone else's exercises soon. I may end up doing the Monday exercise on Tuesday, though.

We had a wonderful time at a family wedding this weekend. The older I get, the sappier I am about weddings, and I can really relax and enjoy them now that all my children are married and all I have to do at extended family weddings is just show up!

On the way home, however, DH came down with the flu. I am having some respiratory issues, but I don't think it's the same thing that DH has, and I'm getting around better than he is. So, I've had the opportunity to take care of him as best as I can. He's managing to work from home -- albeit at a slow, slow pace.

I'm so thankful we can both be warm inside on this blustery, wet, fall day. Don't you just enjoy your home on a chilly day when you get to stay inside and be snug? I do.

I've been thinking a lot about sharing our blessings with others who do not have homes. Serving this way is really on dear daughter's and her husband's hearts, and they are bubbling over with excitement as they tell what they are learning with us. Both they and my son and his wife are volunteering at shelters. I am finding that their age group at our church are very interested in actively serving, and I am happy to see young people so occupied. (Now, that just made me sound really, really old -- the way older people used to talk about my group when we were young!! I'm actually young youngish in my prime.)

Our cat was cooped up inside while we were gone, and she has tried twice to go outside today. Once, she made it as far as underneath my husband's car, which was parked in our driveway. I have had cats who are very in tune with the weather outside and who know when to stay in and when to go out. I do not think this particular poor kitty realizes that if it was wet just thirty minutes ago, it is probably still wet and cold. So, she mournfully checks the front door from time to time, hoping that at any moment to discover sunshine and warmth.

So, what does all this have to do with our bathroom redo? Our dear daughter flew down from her home and spent the night with us before riding with us to the wedding. She was my test case for the "Spa feel" bathroom! She noticed it right away and especially appreciated the shelves with all of the little necessary do-dads that one might forget to pack.

So far, I've put in the said shelves, covered the shelves with old embroidered hand towels of my late mother's, placed the items on the shelves, covered the blue shower curtain with white eyelet, replaced the old blue bathmat (which I did not realize was falling apart on the other side) with white ones with a blue and pink flower, and have taken down my old light house wallies and a few pictures.

Still left to do: paint walls a light blue, move my prints from France that advertise old French soaps into the bathroom -- more appropriate place than the bedroom where they are now, and come up with one more piece of art from around the house or something that I make myself.

Those of you who have been kindly indulging me by pretending to be interested in my little project will remember that I was committed to doing this on a budget, and, so far, I've spent very little. Someone pointed out that the white bathmats might not wear well and, thus, might end up in having to invest more later on. I agreed and actually intended to change them out with some fluffy and bright blue mats I had seen in Wal-Mart. However, I left the white mats in place so long that I just ended up keeping them. I have found that that type of mat, which has no plastic backing, is very washable, but I've also found that white objects attracts dirt and can look dingy. So, we'll see how they do.

And, as promised, here's a wonderful sight that came from Caryn's site.

One of the secrets of a happy life is to dwell much upon your likes and to ignore your dislikes. If your mind tends to criticism, fault-finding, and disapproval, it will readily find occasion every hour of the day. There are unfortunate temperaments which dwell habitually upon the disagreeable aspects of life. The result is a mental condition of perpetual fretfulness and unrest. It is possible for you to form the habit of directing your thoughts to pleasant, agreeable, helpful subjects, so that our mind will be in a uniform condition of peace, poise, and healthy optimism. As you dwell upon the best aspects of life, you will find your own life becoming happier, better, and more productive. Dwell upon your mercies, not upon your miseries.

This fits in so well with Julieann's wonderful post on my companion blog. She's a great example of someone who dwells upon her mercies and not upon her miseries. I always enjoy reading her blog, because her enthusiasm always shines through.

Did you notice this sentence in the quote from Caryn's lovely site:If your mind tends to criticism, fault-finding, and disapproval, it will readily find occasion ever hour of the day. Ouch! (I might add that this is all to easy for those of us who tend to worry if we are not disicplined in our thoughts, keeping them focused on the Lord who promises perfect peace if our thoughts are stayed on him.)

And, this one: There are unfortunate temperaments which dwell habitually upon the disagreeable aspects of life. Double ouch!!

Yet, I like the conclusion. As you dwell upon the best aspects of life, you will find your own life becoming happier, better, and more producdtive. Dwell upon your mercies and not upon your miseries.

Good thought for the day!

enjoy!
Elizabeth

Update on bathroom redo...

I've taken down the light house Wallies that I was using in the bathroom. I enjoyed them for many years, and they still looked nice. However, I would like to move in a different direction. I don't know if any of you have tried Wallies, but I think they are an inexpensive and easy way to add a little decorative touch to your walls without doing full wallpaper. They come off easily when you are ready to change decor styles.

I am going to take photos tomorrow to post to get opinions about whether I should keep or return the white eyelet shower curtain. I already have a soft-blue shower curtain, which I've used for many years. I washed it to see if I could freshen it up. I placed the eyelet over it in the hope that the blue would show through the eyelet, but the blue is so soft and subtle that I'm not sure it works. Anyhow, I am thinking white might be fresh and in keeping with a spa feel. Of course, Topaztook had a point about using white floor mats in the bathroom. They can start looking dingier earlier than colored ones can. That might apply to a shower curtain, as well.

DH suggested before I could even ask him that we could pain the bathroom. I'd like to do a cheery blue.

I have some old-fashioned soap advertisements that I brought back from France. I'm using them in a bedroom right now, but am thinking of moving them into the bathroom instead.

My father-in-law, who is an excellent artist, had given each of his four children a set of three small paintings of a lighthouse that is located where we all spent a summer vacation together once. I have been using them in the bathroom, but will move them down to our entry hall, where we have a collection of his paintings.

So far, I haven't spent very much on the bathroom at all.

I hope I'm not boring anyone with details of my efforts to create a spa-feeling on a budget. It's just a fun project for me. I want to have it done by Thanksgiving so that my children -- especially my daughter and my daughter-in-law -- can enjoy it.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

Update on bathroom redo:

I brought home two of the above bathmats, but haven't taken the tags off. I may go with a plain, shaggy bright blue instead. I bought a white eyelet curtain, which I hope will go over the plain blue one that I have in there now. That would be three layers: the liner, the blue fabric, and the white eyelet, but I'm hoping it will all fit on the rings for a blue peek-a-boo effect.

What do you think?

Enjoy!
elizabeth

Bathroom getaway on a budget program:

Accomplished over the weekend:

A) Blew up photos -- not sure will use. May re-purpose artwork around the house, instead.
B) Found inexpensive bath pillow at Wal-Mart for guest bathroom. Someone gave me one as a present a while back, and I've been using it in my bath and loving it.
C) Added small quantities of medicines to my containers of little doo-dads and cosmetics.
D) Tucked away feminine supplies in guest bathroom
E) DH assembled white shelves with beadboard look to hang on our master bathroom wall. The shelves have doors, so it makes a nice place to hide away extra bathroom supplies.

For this week's Feminine Friday, I need your help.

My current feminine fun is re-doing my tiny little guest bathroom and my master bathroom to feel more like pretty spas/getaways. I don't have a whole lot to do to the master bathroom -- just a few touches. But, I'm really concentrating on the guest bathroom.

Since we're empty nesters with two open bedrooms, we have a lot of company. So, I want my guest bathroom to be inviting and also convenient. While I'm re-doing it, I'm thinking of my daughter and daughter-in-law for inspiration, but I would like all guests to enjoy the space. I don't want to overdo the frilly thing so much that our male guests, particularly my son and son-in-law don't feel comfortable. It's so fun, though, to make a feminine space for my two lovely daughters.

I'm also using a stay in a luxury hotel as inspiration. I took note of how they do things.

Oh, and my goal is to do this on a teeny budget.

This week I'm deciding which of several pictures I might enlarge and place in frames to put in the guest bathroom. I'm going to take down some wallies of light houses that I've had for eight or nine years and go with more of a spa theme.

So, please read the previous post and cast your vote for which two -- if any -- of the photos might work for my project.

Enjoy!
elizabeth

Getting dizzy? Sorry, I don't know how to rotate photos in Blogger. Bear with me, as I need your help in deciding which two photographs will grace the walls of my guest bathroom.








Help me decide which of these photos -- if any -- would look good enlarged and in frames in a small bathroom. I'm pressing onward with my "Thrifty Turn Bathrooms into Spa" projects.

I'm only planning to use a couple of photos -- It's a small bathroom! These were taken in Florida, but I don't want them to look "too obviously Florida". I'd like for people to imagine that they could be anywhere romantic and warm -- say on the Mediterranean or in South America, for example. I am looking for frames with a slightly "Old World" feeling.


I'm not the world's greatest photographer, so don't be afraid to say, "Back to the drawing board -- or, rather, back to the photo board for you. "


I have no idea how to rotate photos in Blogger, so please excuse the need to turn your head sideways to see some of them properly. Obviously, when I print them at the photo kiosk, I'll rotate them.



So, how about it? Vote for your favorite two!


Items accomplished so far:

1) Purchased two big white fluffy bath sheets for our master bathroom. I purchased them at Wal-Mart. There are more luxurious towels in the world, but these are nice to the touch and were a good price. DH loves big, over-sized towels. Our old towels are not as big and are getting a little ratty and faded looking. We have a lot of guests and are hard on towels. I have not purchased new ones in quite a while. I usually gravitate toward towels in pretty colors, but I believe that it's good to have a set of basic white on hand. They look fresh, go with anything, and generally wear well.
2) Purchased and put together a five tier chrome shelf for the smaller bathroom. Still deciding if the scale is right, though DH thinks it's ok. On those shelves, I've placed pretty containers with little necessities and luxuries, plus candles. Both my daughter and daughter-in-law love candles. I have several small packages of bath needs. I also placed a mineral soak for athletes so my son and son-in-law won't feel overwhelmed with all the girly stuff. I am going to fold some towels on the bottom shelves. That will make having a house full of guests a lot easier, as I now take out towels for each guest from my linen closet and distribute them. If people can just grab the off the shelves, I think it will be handier.

Still on the agenda: Buy bath pillow for guest bathroom. Someone gave me one for my birthday one year, and I use it still. I love it! Also, figure out a budget-friendly way to pipe soothing music into bathrooms or at least in bedrooms.

Topaztook left some great suggestions for turning my bathrooms into rooms that feel like spas on my last post about my bathroom project. If you're looking for ideas for your own bathrooms, you'll love her comments. I plan to re-read and implement some of her suggestions.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth