the one where jen and dustin do a podcast.

OKAY SO. Let’s just jump right in and say we are by no means professionals in the field of restoration, renovation, or preservation. BUT we are attempting to do what we can, when we can, with what we have in order to update and refresh our little home. And we do have a story- a story that we chatted with Boise Mid-Century Homes about. And they just so happened to release a podcast episode of said conversation! (What?!)

This group of enthusiasts have big plans for the world of mid-century modern real-estate and their vision extends far beyond their home base in Boise, Idaho. It’s inspiring to talk to people who genuinely love what they do. And it was such an honor to be included amongst the professional interior designers, architects, preservationists, historians, and who’s who of this movement that have, or soon will, grace you earbuds.

Without further ado, click play below to hear a small piece of our story. And please forgive the audio issues… who knew the distance between face to microphone made such an impact on output quality…! haha #podcastnewbs

progress post: green beer and gray tile.

Saint Patricks Day 2017.

We went to a friend's house and drank beer, ate delicious food, and played darts. Then we came home and tiled our bathroom floor. Very productive day!

Tile drunk, grout sober. That's how the saying goes, no?

The hexagons lost out to this gray mosaic. Happy to have a stacked neutral / bummed about the hexagons. But those cement tiles were just too inaccessible for us at the time and would have created a height difference from the wood floor.

so long to seeing this!

moo moo the construction cat, helping.

you can kind of see my green eye shadow in this photo.

subfloor > mortar > waterproof membrane > mortar > tile > grout > sealer

RIP old green spatula, thank you for your sacrifice. thankful for new wedding gifts!

All in day's work! If only all projects would follow the Friends, Food, and Finished-by-the-end-of-the-night approach.

Stay tuned for the two things we tried/redid in the bathroom. Because who doesn't like doing things all over again...?

progress post: tile that tub!

From about October 2016 to January 2017 we used my sister's shower, work, ... or the gym on very rare occasions. Thank goodness they 1. live less than a mile and a half away and 2. weren't working on their shower at the same time. 

notes.

waterproofing

first tile! that yard stick we're using as a spacer against the tub, we found in our walls.

decided on a schluter trim piece vs a bullnose tile for the edge.

home depot pattern. #sponsored lol jk.

like the fancy raincoat i made for dustin?

faux wood tile to match our floors throughout the rest of the house.

last tile!

family affair.

fresh grout film.

preparing for caulk. in which, i cried heavily after our first attempt.

Don’t do it this way- with the tape. At least I wouldn’t recommend it. Also, cut a SMALL hole in the caulk nozzle, you can always make it bigger. Do thin layers and smooth out with your finger.

One of meltdowns where I thought, for sure, we ruined our house. We have definitely improved our caulking skillz. There are some areas we will be redoing… someday.

sweet sweet satisfaction peeling that plastic wrap off.

finally!

water has never looked so beautiful. hah

You probably noticed the floor tile isn't done. Of course not... that was a couple months later. You can see it here, though. Luckily, we knew what tile we wanted for the tub, but that floor was a wholeeee other decision!  Remember this idea? Anyway, we secured plastic over the subfloor and showered with the door open and fan on for about two months. #glamorous.

Also, don't get me started on the faucet knobs. I was told we could change those out later and we have yet to find a new set we like/works... so in the meantime, we're stuck with these default, yet period appropriate gems. Decisions are hard, guys!

But hey- after about three months, we could finally shower in our own home!

demo days: bathroom.

Update! Or more like "Recap!" It's about time for one of those, right?

I started this blog to keep track of our projects, document progress along the way (not just post dated before photos and beautifully blown out after shots). To be honest this blog would have year long gaps if that were the plan.

However, it’s hard for me to decide what to include and what not… I’ve taken so many shots of demo and construction but I don’t know how to curate it into a nice little story. Plus, we bounce around from project to project, room to room; so it’s not like we complete one entirely before we start another. Is that how you renovate- one room at a time? Or do you bounce around?

Well, knowing that I love looking back on photos no matter what, I’ll just include a whole bunch. My blog after all. Thanks for making it through this inner monologue.

We started renovating the bathroom in August 2016, here are a few photos from the early stages.

this used to be my painting shirt when i was younger.

newspaper from june 1960, the year our house was built.

old tub out.

we've come a long way, baby.

hi down there! (remember these butterflies.)

dustin approving the new tub.

new tub in! and our shower niches.

dustin's parents helping add insulation.

i moved marian's butterflies inside the shower wall.

i see you!

By the way, the cover photo was the first layer of wallpaper in the bathroom. I love it.

If you didn't see our plans for the bathroom, you can check out the initial mood board here!

death by perfection.

I am dying a slow death thanks to perfectionism.

Okay, dramatic. Obviously I’m fine. But could I be happier? Maybe. Could I let more things go? Probably. Perfectionism is something that I will always struggle with- even after I post this declaration of flaws. It’s a common trait amongst firstborns, Capricorns, and procrastinators. Um hello, hi, this is me. (Also please realize I’m generalizing and everyone is different.)

But also you know who you are and you know I'm right... :)

For example, I have been trying to post a quickie little video we recorded of our kitchen demo. No biggie- should be pretty simple! It's gone something like this:

I have the clips… but now I want to add music… is this song too literal? I want something fun, but with lyrics, not instrumental. Add title. Kern kern. This song seems too deep- like whoa we're not that profound. It this too cutesy? Trim clips. Shoot, why did I think I could make this in a night? Google how to tilt composition. How do you make the words animate again... was that iMovie? No, I felt more comfortable in After Effects... I should stick with Premiere Pro though. Google how to animate text. Has it really been eight years since that college class when we made the stop motion animation?!

OH MY GOD FOR LIKE TWO WEEKS.

Still not done. #facepalm #facepalm #facepalm

So here begins my rant on why this specific trait is slowly killing me. Or at least putting a major damper on my days.

I personally ruined a good majority of a day during Memorial Weekend. I got all anxious thanks to a powerful combination of self-doubt, confidence issues, and good ole perfectionism. We did a ton of work on the house, yard, and even made some fun impulsive purchases! But all of a sudden it washed over me like this big angry disapproving cloud of disappointment. It wasn't enough. We're moving too slow. We should not make impulsive purchases. Others are negatively judging our choices.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love that I am detail oriented, picky, and an advocate for consistency. I believe those are good things to stand for. And I do believe in not half-assing stuff. Dustin and I talk about that with house projects all the time. But to what extent? I read an article from another blogger I follow on her discovery of this horrible curse- and why it's bad. You should read it here.

Everyone knows quality over quantity- yes? Most people can agree that's usually a good thing. Better to have one great thing than a bunch of mediocre things. But does that still fly with blogging? Is it still the case with personal projects you want to accomplish? Or is this the wrong analogy?

I probably run across a blog article, at least once a week, that has a big fat grammatical error in it. Mine probably do too. Does that suddenly diminish it's content, deem the author unintelligent and unworthy? No! At least I don't think so. It was a mistake. Yeah, not the most professional, but I wouldn't categorize blog posts and resumes in the same group. I notice the error and keep reading. I actually learned in a workshop that you should include minor errors in work emails as to appear human... like... not a bot. What a weird world we live in now?!?! But anyway, I digress.

I guess what I'm getting at is I feel that I would personally be happier if I put more out there- accomplished more projects, versus agonizing over when they are "done" and perfect. What filter and composition work best on my insta feed (UGH-why?!). Because here's the kicker- I rarely ever feel that way, and then nothing is ever done!! Hence why perfectionism is directly correlated to procrastination. It's crippling. And that is what the article above focuses on. "The root [of procrastination] essentially being perfectionism and putting off participating in life if you feel that you can't do it perfectly."

Perfectionists and procrastinators, we are putting off our life because we (consciously or not) feel that we cannot do it perfectly. I cannot finish this video. I cannot decide on these cabinets. I have not posted our wedding photos, have not finished any vacation photo books. I mean it's maddening to think of the amount of time I've put into projects and not finished them. Starting to feel a bit more like a personal problem, but I know there are others out there!

I wouldn't wish this on anyone, and I'm trying to be better. Let things go. Just buy the dang light fixtures. Finish projects- just get them done. I'll be happier to look back on them. Because I'm keeping myself from other fun opportunities by not finishing current ones. And watching them pile up is killer.

Don't procrastinate your life away due to perfectionism! If you have any tips- do share. :)