Condo Revamp - Getting Ready, Freebie, & Good News!

If my retail friends could see me now! Whew. So much has changed these past few years and I never would have guessed that at 26 I'd be putting off buying close in favor of buying guest bathroom towels and 15 gallons of paint. Oh adulthood, what have you done to the Coach purses buying Becca of the past? Ok fine, I still don't carry cheap purses I just buy them more infrequently...

Making my home upgrade dreams a reality is big deal for me. I've had to grow, stretch, and learn so much these past 4 years of being an 'adult' and taking on 2 big, expensive projects and planning in advance to pay cash for them was huge for me. I felt great about it and my parents have been proud and encouraging along the way. I was so proud when I went to buy the paint and I had perfectly budgeted every dollar needed in advance!

I should also share a few things I've learned along the way...

1. 5 gallon buckets of paint are heavy and you should accept the offer of help to get them in your car.

2. Everything related to a home is more expensive than you'd expect (faucets cost HOW much?)

3. Having a second job is a great way to save for projects faster, if your impatient like me

4. 'They' (as in super professional smart people) say you get back the money you spend on bathrooms and kitchens. I did some researched and that's what it says. So whoever buys the batch pad after me better be ready to fork over the big bucks for my upgraded bathrooms.

5. Haggling is a good thing, even if it's slightly mortifying and makes your hands sweat just thinking about it.

I've focused the last few weeks on getting ready for the upgrades which begin May the 1st. With being out of the country and out of touch the week before this all goes down, I've really had to be on my game. A few of you have been extra excited about these projects so I've been keeping a board of everything on Pinterest for you as well and thank you, by the way, for caring! : ]

If you follow my pinboard you already know I got this for the guest bath:

What you may NOT know is that One King's Lane really hooked me up! A few weeks ago they sent out a survey request and I tried to sign up. I didn't get into the survey and was totally bummed until...they STILL gave me the $50 giftcard code! For doing a whopping nothing. So I signed in on Friday and bought this shower curtain, a beach towel (I'm always working on my stash), and a set of canister for my kitchen and all I had to pay was the shipping and a little tax. Amazing, no?

I really want the guest bed and bathroom to be a place where people can find rest. I want it to be simple, luxurious, and elegant in a way that encourages the people who stay there to take a load off, like their own a-couple-blocks-from-the-water Florida retreat. So that's what I'm working towards...

Ok, back on task...

So far I've completed:

1. Picking out, hunting down, and purchases new faucets
2. Picking out new sinks
3. Picking out granite from a massive yard of it in the middle-of-no-where (Land O Lakes)
4. Unofficial and official measurings and quotes for the counters
5. Scheduling of the counter upgrades, sink and fixture installs
6. Picking out and purchasing 15 gallons of paint and 2 gallons of primer (goodbye Magenta wall, you've been a good friend)
7. Hiring a painter (because let's get real, I'm not doing it)
8. And researching plumbers out the wahzoo. Still working on nailing this down, however.

I've had a roommate living with me for about a year now and she will be moving out 2 days before this all begins. Did I mention I'm insane for planning this 2 days after returning to the country? Yeah, ok...thought so. Anywho, that gives me exactly one exhausting Sunday afternoon to get the guest bed, etc up there before the painting begins and I can't dink any of the walls ever again (at least without a major meltdown).

After 2 months of scrimping, saving, ebaying and craigslisting, working extra hours, bargain hunting, haggling, and maybe even buying a few clothing items and taking them back in leiu of this project, I feel blessed that it's about to begin!

So now for the good news! I found out last week my Mom is taking me up on my invitation/request to spend Memorial Day weekend with me! I can't wait to get some quality time with her just the two of us...and she's agreed to go on a little hunt with me for a lamp, bedside table, and accent chair or chaise for my reading corner. Whoo hoo. It's so nice to have company and an extra pair of hands/eyes. Best.news.ever.

Love,
B