Duvets for Dogs

                         

At 26 years old I learned that I am a dog person. Ok, ok...a crazy dog person. Our dog, Wally, is my first dog and I love, and spoil him to pieces. Dog decorations are commonplace at Hunter Drive and if that weirds you out you should probably stop reading this blog.

I was delighted today to find Molly Mutt, a dog duvet company that specializes in reusing old textiles from around your home to stuff a dog bed. While I think this is a fabulous idea, we already have a couple of dog beds so creating a new one isn't very high on my list. However, with 25% off from Daily Candy this week, I'm pretty convinced one of these duvet cuties will end up adorning Wally's gigantic llbean bed in our bedroom. I'm torn between the "perfect afternoon" (image left) and "pictures of you" (image right). What's a dog lover to do?

Tiling

This past weekend we moved the plumbing, installed the tub and tiled. Thanks to our helpers and some unorthodox tile tools we are well on our way to showering in our own home! Check out our progress and learn about my tips for tiling...

1) The tile adhesive (mastic) can easily squirt between tiles and show through grout. If this happens to you, use a pen cap to clean out the spaces in between the tiles.

2) Walls and sometimes tiles are not straight. In addition to tile spacers, wooden shims work well to hold tiles in place while drying. A flat head screwdriver helps when wedging shims.

3) Map out your tile pattern on a paper before you begin.

4) The work goes quickest when you have some people tile and some cut the edges, corners and pipes.

5) Even if it looks and feels dry, give it at least 24 hours before you remove those spacers and shims.

More on grouting soon!

Slow and steady -- remodeling our bathroom

The day I moved into Hunter Drive I knew remodeling the bathroom would be a project we would tackle down the road. The outdated tile, old medicine cabinet and bisque colored toilet left a lot to be desired but it was livable. "It could be worse" I'd say when giving friends a tour of our new home. A few months shy of 2 years later, the first tile fell off the wall (and into the toilet) and the leaky faucet handle broke off and shattered the light fixture. It was time...

We began by removing the tile that covered the walls and lived with the scratched up and hole filled sheet rock for longer than I'd like to admit. When we couldn't find a vanity to fit (the space and our price) at Lowes, we went to a cabinet maker for a custom bottom to match the Corian counter top that a friend gave to us from a construction site that had an incorrect order. Next came tile, fixtures, paint, and a new deep soak tub!