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Random Thursday: So Happy to be Home and Blogging!

Thursday, November 19, 2015


It's a pretty, sunny day in Central Alabama!


Happy Thursday, My Lovelies!  I think I mentioned that we were in DIY h$ll lately….well, here's the scoop!

Mr. Art @ Home and I decided to strip the wallpaper from our bathroom walls and paint.  We've been sick of the wallpaper for quite some time.  We started with the basement bathroom, and the wallpaper was refusing to come off.  We watched every YouTube and HGTV video we could find on the subject, and we were following instructions.  Nothing worked short of the tedious inch by inch scrape and peel method.

Needless to say it took us three weeks to strip, patch, and paint one small bathroom.

It was time to call in the professionals!

The painter came in and looked at our three remaining bathrooms and sea in he could have the job done in 1 1/2 to 2 days.  He was so very wrong!  He had a team, and it took him six days.  The paint came off with the wallpaper.  The only thing we can conclude is perhaps the first owners of the home painted without priming first.  Who knows?  We had to leave the house, which isn't easy when you're homeschooling!  :/   We have been vacuuming and mopping sheetrock dust for days.  But it's done. Thank God!

Here are some photos:


Shanley Belle's spa-like bathroom





Shelley's feminine bath




Master bath with a favorite Hatch Show Print of The White Animals







Bright basement bath






I'm very pleased with this color



Here are the colors we used in our bathrooms:


Shelley's bath:  Nano White




Master bath:  Sonic Silver




Basement bath: Turquoise




Shanley's Bath:  Seaglass

All paints by BEHR


I've painted every square inch in our home, and it did bother me to have others paint, but sometimes you must needs call the professionals!

I've also been working on Shanley Belle's bedroom.  She had been using the room as a book repository, apparently.  She came home a few weekends ago and helped me clean out her coset.  I organized and stored most of her books in the attic, but I kept a few of her favorites in her bookcase and secretary in her bedroom.  I also bought her some new bedding so when she comes home for Thanksgiving week she'll be comfortable and can relax!












A reading nook in her dormer.  This is the only window in her room, and it's the darkest room in the house!




I love the needlework Penguin Classics!
The lamp was in her nursery.



I was so happy to be home, I decided to bake banana bread with some overly ripe bananas I had on hand.



Easy Banana Bread

Ingredients:
2 very ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup of sugar 
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2  teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork  and then add the melted butter.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes (check at 50 minutes)  or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack. Remove the banana bread from the pan, slice, and serve!



I have not been painting much, but I have been drawing in art class and playing in my art journals.  




The dates on the art isn't the date I painted the pages, but rather the dates the prompts were published on Journal52.  You can visit my art journal blog by clicking on the link in my sidebar.


On Tuesday I cleaned out my closet.  Mr. Art @ Home installed some beautiful drawers and shelves.  I love it!  I worked until midnight.  You would unfollow me if you could see the before photos!  Yes, you would….

Check this out!  Our kitchen table is usually full of school books, papers and projects.  Check this out:


Nothing but a vase with roses and a large bowl.  YAY!!!


Later this afternoon, I'll begin to get our tables ready for Thanksgiving.  Basically just making some decisions because I don't want the dishes to get dusty before the big day!  But I did buy some bright pink Christmas cacti this week.  I might not buy as many poinsettias!  


I love the color of the pink blossoms!


And finally (sorry for such a long post, but we haven't been home much!) we spent the weekend in Marion, AL @ Judson College.  It was Judson's preview and scholarship day, and Shelley met some of the faculty and staff.  She also shared her art portfolio with the art department chair.  We had a great weekend!


Pretty white camellias, our state flower



A view of camellias and Jewett Hall from under the porte cochere outside the Alumnae Auditorium.  



Please come back tomorrow for a special Cozy Christmas Literary Friday!



Until next time…

Blessings!
Ricki Jill

10 comments

  1. I agree not primed the paint will come off... Thank goodness now for a nominal cost your can purchase paint with a primer built in. I love all the bathroom color choices and your daughters bedding is ever so sweet. I'm happy for you everything turned out beautiful - just in time for the holidays.
    xoxo,
    Vera

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  2. Love this..
    I think your bathrooms look amazing...
    everything looks cozy and happy!
    That new bedding is just lovely...so comfy...
    Haha! I want to see before photos!!
    you have a great night, hugs to you!

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  3. You have been very busy! Welcome home! Love all the new bathrooms!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was wondering where you were! That wallpaper nightmare must have been just that - a nightmare! So proud of you for calling in helpers. Love the paint colors you chose. Everything is so bright and fresh.

    How exciting to visit Judson! I bet y'all had a great time.

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  5. I know the wonderful feeling of spending a day at home just being. '-)
    Love my visits here. Your McK-C pieces never fail to make me smile. . . just a vase of flowers and an empty bowl. Sigh! Love that the lamp was in Shanley Belle's nursery. You are a smart mom who would pick a classic that would grow with her child. ;-) Did you make the pom pom pillow? Love it!

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  6. Hi,
    I loved looking at your art the other day. The onion was one of my favorites.
    Lovely blog post today.
    Carla

    ReplyDelete
  7. I LOVE that Seaglass color on Shanley Belle's bathroom. And I totally understand about painting it all yourself and then calling in professionals. We had the same struggle here, although we decided to go it ourselves (technically we're not done yet, as we haven't painted the bathrooms....but I'm over painting for a while now). I'm glad it's finally over and done for you. I can never wrap my head around how you manage to homeschool, paint, decorate, do house renovation work, cook, and everything else. It sounds exhausting!

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  8. I think builders always slap on that wallpaper with no primer. We went through the same thing at two other houses. I took off so much of the sheetrock that I decided to go with it and mudded up the walls in a rough plaster finish. I then painted and some of them I glazed very lightly. I really got a lot of positive feedback when it was time to sell the house. Of course, here in this house, some dodo bird painted over the wallpaper, which can work. The trouble is, this has bubbled up in spots. Ah well, nobody said being a homeowner is ever easy!

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  9. We only have one bathroom, but we had to call in the professionals because Steve and I don't climb ladders these days. Finally the repairs are done, the paint is up, the shelves are back and the bathroom looks great.

    Your bathrooms all look fabulous.

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  10. Oh I feel for you having to go through the dust! As you know I did it back a few months ago in the kitchen. Wallpaper removal is the pitts! Love your color choices and the girls rooms are so pretty. Love the vase and flowers. I know your home will be lovely for Thanksgiving.
    Wishing you a wonderful and restful holiday weekend………..

    ReplyDelete

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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