Theft is a Most Insincere Form of Flattery

Speaking of bad karma...

Nothing Important,


Look familiar?

Update: The other site took down my article and photos this morning. Thank you to everyone who contacted them on our behalf!

Taking photos and content from my website without my consent or prior approval and posting them on your sham of a site, created for the sole purpose of generating Google ad dollars, is not appreciated. It is called stealing, but I’m sure you are already aware of that. You probably don’t care that it takes me a good amount of time to photograph and write the content on this blog.

My original article         Stolen article {they have taken it down}

Did you ever think that those ad dollars that you are earning off of my work would be better spent lining my pockets? Have you seen my house???? The next time you are on this site to pilfer content please click on an ad or two, we could really use the money. We promise to put it towards remodeling our kitchen.


Yes, we are using part of a wooden crate to cover up a big hole in our ceiling. Yes, I did use duct tape to tape over a huge hole in the wall.

Comments { 9 } February 17, 2011

One Step Closer

Removing wallpaper from plaster walls

How To, Restoration Diary, ,

Let the restoration begin! Stripping layers of wallpaper from the plaster is more difficult since the wallpaper has been painted several times. The Dummies series has a very helpful article on removing wallpaper.

Here is another approach for removing wallpaper from Yahoo! Answers:

“Go to any store where they sell wallpaper supplies, etc. Home Depot will do, too. Buy the tool to score the wallpaper. It looks like a mini pizza cutter but with spikes on it. Run this up and down and all around the wall. Then take windshield washer fluid, the blue kind (which is unbelievable cheaper than wallpaper removal liquid sold commercially). Put it in a spray bottle and spray the wall in sections. Once a section has been sprayed, slowly peel off the wallpaper.”

I intend to give windshield washer fluid a try!

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Comments { 12 } February 16, 2011

Valentine’s Day Present

And you guys thought I wasn’t romantic

Bathrooms, Holidays, Restoration Diary,


David’s Valentine’s Day present. Toto toilet with a walnut seat.

David is really the only person who uses the downstairs half bath. I decided it was time for him to get an upgrade!

Comments { 4 } February 14, 2011

Creating a Home Office

Turning Our Bedroom Into an Office

Restoration Diary,


Bedroom Before

Now that our bathroom is completed we have decided to move into the bedroom located directly off the bathroom, a little more en suite…or as “en suite” as you can get in an almost 100 year old house. Our existing bedroom will become a home office.

I’m really excited to get started!

Comments { 4 } February 7, 2011

One More Thing to Love About the Bathroom

As if we need more!

Bathrooms, Restoration Diary,

The bathtub is just the right size to give two corgis a bath and the sides are high enough that they can’t jump out.

Comments { 12 } October 1, 2010

Bungalow Bathroom Remodel

It’s Finished!

Bathrooms, Before and After

Bungalow Bathroom Remodel, Before & After

The bathroom project is finally complete. Whew! We are thrilled with the results.

Starting with an inspiration photo, to picking out all the fixtures, to taking the room down to the studs and slowly putting it back together again; this has been the most difficult project completed in our house. So many decisions…

The updated bathroom is the project that has increased our enjoyment of the house the most. It is hard to believe that such a little room can have a big impact.

Our contractor built a door to match the original closet door and framed out a larger storage space.

(more…)

Comments { 37 } September 15, 2010

Featured on Apartment Therapy

Hey, wait...that’s my house!

Restoration Diary,

The homeowner is always the last to know! Today I stumbled across photos of our house and a really nice article on Apartment Therapy San Francisco. The article posted almost a year ago and we had no idea. I’m such an Apartment Therapy fan so this is very exciting!

Check out the article here.

Comments { 1 } September 1, 2010

Hello Future Homeowner, It’s Us!

Sending a Message to the Future

Bathrooms, Restoration Diary

We replaced the glass in the bathroom medicine cabinet. I hid a photo of us behind the glass to be found someday.

I wrote a brief note on the back of the photo. I probably should have written something more poetic, instead I scrawled out the first thing that came to mind. Our names, the date and “We remodeled the bathroom. I hope we did a good job. We tried our best. We purchased the house Sept. 2002. The 4th owners. Will anyone even find this someday? Love and best wishes to the future!”

And I do wonder if anyone will ever find it? A part of me must be an optimist.

(more…)

Comments { 3 } August 23, 2010

Bungalow Bathroom Remodel

Small, Happy, Clean & White

Bathrooms, Paint, Restoration Diary

Finding the right shade of white paint can be a very difficult process. After trying numerous whites that were too blue, too green or too just not right, I hand mixed my own color. It is a pretty, soft white with a gray undertone. The bright white trim makes the wall color stand out.

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Comments { 11 } August 16, 2010

Rub-a-dub-dub

We have a tub!

Bathrooms, Restoration Diary

For those who haven’t been following along, we haven’t been able to bathe at home since our tub was removed. There is no other tub or shower in the house. The tub was held up in Customs and several other delays.

Our bathtub has finally arrived and is in place. Now, if we could just get ahold of the plumber. I am one stinky, cranky woman and I WILL hunt him down. Only kidding…sort-of.

(more…)

Comments { 4 } August 11, 2010