from OMG (dread) to OMG (thrill)!!

I rose early and took my dogs for their usual 5am walk yesterday.  It was wet outside, but lovely.  When I got to the front door upon our return I had a sinking feeling of dread.  And yes, my intuition was right - the door was locked.  with workers coming and my going, my routine has been disrupted and sure enough I had locked myself out of the house.  It was dark. I was in my PJ's.  I had no phone. No windows were open (I am diligent about safety).  I was screwed.  I could wait the 2+ hours til the work crew arrived.  But instead - I cried.  I waited for a neighbor's light to come on - one who's name I do not know and rang her bell for mercy.  She allowed me to use her phone.  I called my 23 y/o son repeatedly until he picked up.  He immediately agreed to rescue me.  He drove an hour in the early dawn light to let me into my own house  He didn't complain one bit. He was comforting and supportive.  I am a lucky mom. 

The work results yesterday are so impressive.  I have a gorgeous new floor in the upstairs bathroom.  Small white tiles interspersed with tiny black ones.  To say I LOVE it is the understatement of the year.

So my day went from OMG - my door is locked to OMG this floor is fantastic.


Thank you Nat!  Thank you One Week Bath!!

staging area in the garage

The mighty OWB truck!

A promise they can keep!

Some of the guys making my dream come true!

beautiful!!

close up but fuzzy (bad photographer)

good to go!

 the subfloor

the wallboard

Day #3  (yesterday) of the great Bathroom Remodel!!  The day before, Nat met the 'guys'  when he came over to do his laundry in the afternoon and later on enjoy some Mom's Famous Lasagna.  He was impressed with what he saw.  I got home a bit on the early side on Thursday so was able to talk with the men who are in the process of making my life so much more wonderful...AND....drum roll, please...the three inspectors came and we passed with flying colors!!  I guess this is sometimes a major trouble zone on construction projects, but we got lucky!  Or, perhaps it is the incredible skill of the OWB (One Week Bath) folks!

And, the TUB is in place!  And, the water works!!

TA DA...the tub!

Don't know if you noticed, but the hideous 'soffit' is gone...POOF!  And NOTHING horrid (like wiring or air conditioning ducts) were behind it.  The lead installer speculates that the previous owner who 'spiffed up' the bathroom with the most horrible tile ever, was too lazy to cut it to size and so built the stupid soffit so they could use the ugly 12 " tiles that had probably come from a Swap Meet or something.  So relieved!

off to a GREAT start!

I was thrilled when Oscar, Jaime and Jose arrived at 0806 on Tuesday morning.  They had promised to arrive between 0800 and 0900.  I thought it was very auspicious that they came right on time!  I LOVE punctuality!!

They were polite, informative and very, very nice gentlemen. I gave them a check, my key and the garage door clicker, showed them the bathrooms, answered a few questions and asked a few as well and then left for work!  Easy peasy.

I came home to a house where the floors and walls were neatly covered with plastic protective wrap and a bathroom that was gutted down to the studs.  I love DEMO!  I felt like I was in one of those home improvement shows.

Here are a few glimpses of the action.

My beautiful new soaker tub waiting patiently in the garage!

The gorgeous new vanity!

Carefully protected tile floors.

Awaiting transformation.

Ready for a facelift!

Can't wait to see the progress when I get home tonight.  These guys are simply incredible!!

here we go....

So - today is the BIG day.  I've cleaned out the bathrooms in preparation for the remodeling work that is to begin somewhere between 0800 and 0900!  I am so excited.  I will be showering for 10 days at my local Y.  Not really a big inconvenience since I go there to work out.  It will just mean a bit of rearranging my schedule, but VERY doable.  Here are some snaps of the upstairs bathroom "before"....

Notice the weird 'soffit' above the shower curtain.  We don't know what is in there...but we hope we can make it all go away thereby really increasing the spacious feeling in the shower.

Ugly, old, outdated...though it looks better in the picture than in reality!!

I wish I could have gotten a shot of the rusting insides surface of the sink.  I finally resorted to 'painting' the enamel with white out to cover up the hideousness.

No amount of scrubbing, grout replacing, scraping would fix this disgusting mold, mildew issue for long.  I hate going into the shower...and forget about a
leisurely soak - YUCK!

Yup - you got it!  These people tiled (with floor tiles) the wall of the bathroom...c'mon peeps -what were you thinking??

ONE WEEK BATH can't start soon enough!!

out with the old!

One of my favorite O'Keefe prints.  This will find a home in the new powder room.

The towels are fine, they can stay.  But the stupid looking "gold" fixtures?  I think NOT!

Nothing horribly wrong with this, but nothing special either!

OK - I've added some pretty little elements, but if you could see how ugly this 1979 mirror really is!

The fan:  hideously ugly, horrendously loud and not up to code.  this goes.

SO - this is the powder room downstairs as of April 23, 2012.  Stay tuned for updates.  

Tomorrow, the master bath as is....

Some Family Fotos

I had such a wonderful time with friends and family during my March trip to New England, Baltimore and New York.  I find myself dreaming about my retirement (NINE years down the road) and the cozy little beach house in Connecticut where I will live.  Or maybe, it will be a river house.  It will definitely be a WATER house of some sort.

I have loved (mostly) living in LA.  Moved here from Old Lyme, CT in 1991.  It was a marvelous place to raise our children I was so glad of the diversity of friends, schoolmates, food and culture  I also figured that if kids could survive growing up in LA - they could live successfully anywhere.  My daughter is a died in the wool New Yorker now.  I love that she has created such a wonderful life there.  My son is still here in LA... I REALLY love that.  He lives on his own but we are able to see one another at least once a week - usually for laundry (his)and dinner at home.  Now he says he is planning to relocate - WHERE???  New York, of course!  SIGH.  I moved here to be a good wife and supportive of my husband's career advancement.  I found regarding work too, a fantastic circle of friends and a meaningful life.  Turns out that I didn't have what it takes to be a really good wife, despite the move across country.  After a short two year break of living in New Mexico - I returned to LA.  Now, it appears, I may be the proverbial 'last (wo)man standing....the former husband moved to Phoenix a few years ago - again, career advancement, daughter in NY and son soon to follow.   Why oh why can't I retire now??

These are some of the reasons I want to be home on the East Coast.....

College friend's sweet daughter Sophie

College friend and fellow social worker enjoying some seafood

My cutest nephews Ty and DJ

Cousin Sherry's eldest daughter and HER darling baby girl!!

Cousins Sherry and Bill and our Auntie Pearl

My girl Jordan and her girl Meredith

Soup du Jour

I don't know quite why - but I felt like making soup today.  It doesn't make sense - yesterday was 85 degrees!  Not exactly 'hot soup' weather.  I guess I didn't actually feel like MAKING soup, more like eating soup.  I will feel good all day knowing that there is homemade soup simmering on my stove and it will be ready for me to feast on tonight, and tomorrow, and the next night, and the next...I don't know how to make quantities for ONE!

Earlier this week I made a delicious lasagna.  Shared it with my son.  But I had so many ingredients that I wound up making two trays full.  The remainder of one tray Nat took home.  The other tray found its way to work.  My nurse partner and I nibbled on a bit for lunch ( we NEVER have time for a proper meal of any sort) and she took the rest home to share with her family.  Reportedly - they LOVED it!!

So - my Saturday soup - carrots, celery and onion chopped medium, a squirt of tomato paste into the vegetable broth (homemade and frozen a few weeks ago for just such a day), a tiny bit of garlic, some minced herbs (parsley, oregano, chives), generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.  When it's all nice and blended and the vegetables are soft, I'll add canellini beans, red kidney beans and some of those tiny ears of corn - sliced into edible bits. I  couldn't resist including just a tiny bit of HOT green chilies from New Mexico.

It's good all by itself, but at some point I will serve it with egg noddles or maybe some orzo.

it's going to happen in 20 days!!

I am SO excited about my upcoming bathroom remodels!  The project officially begins on the 24th and is slated to be complete on May 4th.. YES...that is more than ONE WEEK... and I am using ONE WEEK BATH, but folks...it's  two bathrooms in 10 days!  That is LESS than ONE WEEK per bathroom!!  Ten days is less than two weeks... so they are really pulling out all the stops to make this a pleasant and speedy experience for me.

I spent hours wandering around Bed, Bath and Beyond this weekend.  I went so far as to pick up a few new hand towels and washcloths in a blue color that I think (hope) will compliment the new wall color in the master (MISTRESS) bathroom upstairs. Got a new shower curtain and bathmat as well.  Oh yes - and some pretty new cups, a soap dish and a toothbrush holder

I also chose some different sized blue candles for ambience during the soaking I am looking forward to doing in my new tub.

NOW - I want to update the kitchen.  Don't know if the budget will support two big projects...but, heck - I am convinced that I will be living in this townhome for the next nine years minimum before I can retire and move to Connecticut!  Might as well have a pleasant living space.  After those two projects I will "tackle" - and by tackle I mean choose paint colors and hire a painter to freshen up the rest of the house...everything but the dining room and my bedroom. 

Stay tuned for pictures...

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

http://www.bluehillfarm.com/food/blue-hill-stone-barns

 

Had no idea that such a place existed.  So glad that I was able to share this very special dinner experience with Jordan and Meredith.  We ate ONLY what was raised and grown on this 100% organic farm.  I cannot even begin to describe the taste delights with which we were treated.  The eye appeal was just as powerful.  Every morsel a work of art.  Every detail noted and executed with perfection.

Would love to go back for my 60th!  With Nat this time too!

 

Brooklyn Fun!

My NY time was so amazing. What a great town!!  The girls I and feasted, partied, went to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, visited Jordan's museum, got mani/pedi's, entertained friends...had a wonderful, wonderful time.  Of course the MAIN event was Jordan's 28th birthday dinner at Blue Hill Stone Barns!

Nibble feast for friends

Mom and Girl

Smithies

Gorgeous Olga!

fun at brunch

Brooklyn Babes

Botanical Gardens

Kreepy  Koi

amazing art