Red and White Dishes.

One of the first things I wanted do with my summer was to go junking. 
I just haven't had much time to do that this spring. 
As soon as I was done at school I hit one of my favorite thrifts. 

I went out again the next morning. 

 Arlington Resale had 25 percent off everything in the store. :)

I was thrilled to find that the tablecloth was Williams Sonoma. 
It will go with some white napkins I found over the holidays. 

All this red inspired me to pull out my red dishes. 

When we had the kitchen cabinets painted last fall, I loaded them with my brown transferware.
The brown goes better with my collections of pumpkins, turkeys and gingerbread men. I meant to change things up in January, but I didn't feel like it. 

Transferware is wonderful to collect in a variety of colors.

A copper plate was used to print the design on tissue paper and the tissue paper was then laid on the clay. 

In my years of antiquing I've noticed that blue is the easiest color to find. 

 Mulberry (purple) is the most rare. 

The teacup is Mason's China. 
This pattern is gorgeous and very collectable. 
It's my favorite of all the red dishes but 
it's hard to find at a price I want to pay.

The larger plate is also Mason's.
The smaller plate is some hotel china that I found last summer at Goodwill. 

Only a few pieces of my red and white are
 vintage transferware. The rest is a mix of thrifty finds. The teapot is Old Britain Castles by Johnson Brothers. I picked up at an outlet store.

My cow pitchers make me think of my grandmother. Too cute.

I found the chicken at my favorite thrift.
The milk bottle was Pier 1 clearance. 
Red and white kitchens can be very kitsch or more elegant.
I like a mix of both. 

 I'm not sure when red and white kitchens were in favor but I have a feeling every generation has had a version of the red and white kitchen. Tomato red was popular in the 70's. The first house I lived in as an adult had tomato red laminate countertops. :) I wish I had a picture of those.
Two of Bill's little aunts had red and white kitchens. 
In fact Mason's was his little Aunt Louine's everyday china.

His Aunt Doris had a treasure trove of vintage red and white utensils, canisters and other items. She wasn't trying to decorate vintage. It was all original from when her house was built in the 1940's.

I found some super cute pins on Pinterest by searching for red and white kitchens. 
Some of them looked like Aunt Doris' old kitchen.

Having the white cabinets is fun because I can change my accent colors for the seasons.

I love, love the red in the white cabinets.

It's fun for summer.

and it just pops.

I love it!

Katie 
Linking with,
The Charm of Home  
Funky Junk Interiors

Bathroom Update V

We have had a busy week. It seemed like the bathroom remodel was slow, slow, slow but then once all the plumbing and tile was in it flew by.

During the last update I shared that the plumbers were here. 

It took about 7 hours for the plumbers to move all the supply lines and hook up the new pressure valve for the shower.

The tile guys met the plumber here Monday morning to look at the position of the tub so they would know where to put the shower pan. It is all a tight fit and the whole thing made me nervous just like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. 

That is for my sister. ;)

Tuesday they added all the concrete backer board and built and poured the shower pan. 

Wednesday they tiled the shower

Thursday they tiled the floor.

Friday morning they grouted. 

The tile guy said it would take two weeks and it only took one.

As Bill said, "They under promised and over delivered."

It made me so happy!

Now it was our turn to crank it out.

Bill and I got to work as soon as we ate dinner Friday night.

He went to Home Depot for supplies. 

I covered up all the new tile and got up on the ladder and started scraping popcorn off of the ceiling. 

As soon as that was done I rolled on the new paint.

( I have no pictures of this because it was horrible and I was very crabby.)

I had paint issues this weekend. The first one was with the ceiling paint. I bought Valspar. It goes on pink and dries white. Well I have to say I didn't love the product at all. It was steaky and thin. I had to keep rolling on more and more coats. I should have gotten to Sherwin Williams.

The next morning I did all the cutting in of the ceiling paint. 

At this point I still thought I would keep the Sherwin Williams Stamped Concrete color. 

I love SW but I was a little frustrated that they discontinue colors and paints so often. I had Stamped Concrete for about 6 years. I needed to do some touch ups so Bill got me more paint. The new color didn't match the old color because they changed formulas and it looked a little greener instead of blue/gray. So in order to touch up, I had to repaint the whole wall. That is what I was doing the day I found the mold. 

I had two walls that were the old color and two walls that were the new color. I was trying not to get any paint on the two walls that were the old color but the ceiling paint was so thin that it dripped like crazy. Now I had to repaint the two walls that were the old Stamped Concrete. Since I didn't love the new Stamped Concrete I went to get new paint. 

Ay yi yi!

I finished painting the walls Saturday night. The new color is Gray Screen. It is a light blue/gray and very pretty.

(and I have a whole can of the same formula to do touch ups.) I chose this color because I wanted a light blue that reads grayer rather than baby blue. 

Sunday morning I got up and started painting the trim. 
White Duck by Sherwin Williams. 
It's what I have been using for my various paint projects.

It will be my new trim color throughout the house once I get motivated to start painting doors.

 Bill spent all weekend fixing sheetrock, cutting trim for the baseboards and making the surround for the tub.

His millwork on the new windowsills is amazing. We had water damage where the windows leaked.

He picked out the trim. I love it!
  Poor thing, he had to make several trips to Home Depot for the right supplies. He worked like a trooper and by Sunday night we were both exhausted. My legs ached from climbing and up and down that twelve foot ladder. 

The plumbers were here this morning installing all the faucets. :)

This afternoon the glass guy comes to measure for the shower surround.  

I will be fluffing and staging and then it will be time for the reveal!
Here is a sneak peak.

Katie
Linking with,
Savvy Southern Style   
From My Front Porch to Yours  
The Brambleberry Cottage   
French Country Cottage 

New Lining For Vintage Louis Vuitton

I did not buy this bag new.

I thought it was super cute and I got a great deal on it off of Ebay.

But (and I knew this going in)

 the liner for this bag was just gross. 

The material called Vuittonitte gets peely and sticky in humid climates after a while. 

It leaves a white residue on the stuff that it touches. 

I was able to clean it pretty well the first season I used this bag but I just didn't want to mess with it anymore.  

To find out what to do, I went to my favorite place to read about handbags, shoes and jewelry. 

The Purse Forum.

I visited the site to know what an authentic L.V. Petite  Bucket Bag looks like 

and to know what to do or not do to repair it.

I always thought I would send it off to L.V. to get the lining replaced but it cost about $100 which kind of takes a little of the good deal out of it. 

 I could take it to my cobbler to get a new lining but I read that the company won't work on any bag years down the line if it is worked on by someone else. 

I decided to make my own liner for the bag.

I had two cute reds left over from my apple making project. Here.

This one looked better with my Vera accessories,

This one looked cuter peaking out of the bag. 

I set my bag on the fabric to make the oval for the bottom.

I sewed a large rectangle of fabric to the oval. 

This bag is one of the few older Louis' that have two pockets. A lot of the older ones don't have enough pockets for cell phones and stuff. 

I made two little self lined pockets by folding two rectangles in half and sewing them right sides together. 

Make sure to leave a small opening to turn them right side out. 

This is just like making a pillow only smaller. 

I had to hand stitch my new liner to the top rim of the bag making sure I didn't poke through the L.V. vinyl. 

I know there are thoughts and opinions back and forth about this designer.

I have always been drawn to this pattern just as I am drawn to other things vintage. 

This pattern has been around since 1854 and it is one of the most counterfeited patterns in the world.

Which is why I did so much research. 

To me this is a classic.

It may go in and out of style but it has been a staple of women's wardrobes for generations. 

I love seeing the floral peaking up out of the bag. 

It's cheerful.

What do you think?

Love L.V. or hate it?

Katie 
Linking with,
French Country Cottage  
Funky Junk Interiors 
Sew Chatty       
That's What Che Said   
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  
Savvy Southern Style

Summer is Here!

Summer!

Yesterday was the first day of summer vacation for me. 

I have a list of projects running through my head and one is already complete. 

I will list some of the things I want to get done this summer but first let me show you some before and afters. I've been browsing through my old photos this morning. 

     

The mantel was so dowdy before. 

All the crisp white pops off of the brick.

Here is another.

We have had a few spills on the new paint, but I have been vigilant about cleaning off the cabinet door fronts. I had three small children the last time I had white cabinets. It is much easier this time. I just love them. 

Okay back to summer.

I have already stained the deck this morning. 
Once it is dry, I'll put all the furniture back on. 

I need to scrape popcorn off of some of the ceilings. 
I am going to do it the same way my friend, Michelle, did hers. 
She did it dry instead of wet. Two summers ago I did some small areas and did the wet method. The new paint didn't stick. I have tested a spot in the hall and the ceiling looks just like the texture my painter did in the kitchen. Hopefully this won't be too much of a beat down. 

There will be some things to tweak in the master bath once the subs are finished. I still have to pick out molding, mirrors and light fixtures. They are tiling the shower walls today. I had a panic moment last night. We don't have a lot of room for the shower and the tub and for a second it looked like it wouldn't all fit. Yikes. I need to chill!

 I will begin the great stairwell painting project. The paint in the entry and stairwell is at least 13 years old. It needs to be freshened up because it looks yellow. 
Days - it will take days. :/

I also plan on doing something with my banisters if I have time. Not looking forward to that. They are still the orange oak color.  

I have a few slipcovers to make and at least one chair that     needs to be reupholstered
andthen I leave for Alaska!
More about that later. :)

Oh and my blog should hit 100,000 pageviews soon!! 

Happy Summer!
Katie 

Bathroom Update Part IV

The bath crash is complete.

Bill did it in two parts so that we could have water for a little while longer at the sinks.

   

I was ecstatic to see the last of the cultured marble. 

Bill was ecstatic that taking up the tile was not as hard as he thought it would be. 

We dry fit the vanities.

Bill moved the old plug from the jetted tub up and over so he can have his own. He said it was the easiest electrical he has ever done. The wire was right there when he opened the wall.  
Please don't do your own electrical unless you know what you are doing. Bill has had years of experience. 
He still has to move the light fixture over a few inches to center it over the new sink.

Now on to tile.
I had no idea it would be this hard. 
I was going to go for the Rehab Addict classic look. 
White subway tile on the shower walls and some sort of hex tile on the floor. 

Via Pinterest 
For years when I thought about remodeling this bathroom I was sure it was what I would do. 
I grew up in a house with a bathroom with hex tile on the floor. 
But, when it got down to it, I couldn't spend $$$
on a tile that was a 3 x 5 white rectangle instead of a 
3 x 3 white square. 
Whenever I mentioned that I wanted subway tile, I got a less than enthusiastic response from people. Not to mention...
I have been in the subways of New York many times and it is not always a pretty place.

I am still going for a classic look but
 with a more modern feel. 

White carrera looking tile on the walls. 
Gray tile for the shower pan.
Cream 20x20 on the floor. 

I want the floor to just disappear and I don't want obvious grout lines. 
Our border for the shower wall will be this glass with metal accents tile.

 It will tie the vanities in with the scheme and will add a little bling. The border is much more gray and white than it looks here. 
The plumbers are here moving the drains and the shower supply lines. 

 I'm so glad we are not doing this ourselves. 
Here is a sneak peak at the tub.

Fabulous!
I can't wait. 
Katie

Linking with,
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  
Savvy Southern Style  
French Country Cottage