Bathroom remodel – plus the coolest gift ever

Happy New Year! I hope each one of you had a safe and blessed holiday season.

The door has officially opened on 2012. I am anticipating a year filled with new possibilities, projects, friends, challenges and triumphs … and probably a few failures along the way to keep me humble and reliant on God, right?

To kick things in gear this year and get y’all in the DIY spirit (plus help to bring you out of your sugar cookie comas), I thought I’d show you some of the progress we’ve made on our guest bathroom remodel.

In case you don’t remember, this is the project we started right before Christmas. My goal was to get it finished before Jan. 1. Ummm, raise your hand if you think I accomplished this. (For all you peeps out there who raised your hands, I’m giving you a double fist bump to the chest, followed up by a peace sign.) But, uh, no, I did not finish by Jan. 1. In all fairness, however, I am thisclose to having it all done.

After I took the photos above, we installed all of the beadboard and chair rail molding, finished painting, installed towel racks and cleaned up the room. Since I am probably the messiest painter known to mankind, the cleanup probably took the longest. Note to self: No, Susan, drop cloths and painter’s tape are not optional for you. Use them. PLEASE USE THEM.

The only projects we have left to do in this room now are caulk around the sink, install the oil-rubbed-bronze plumbing fixtures (yes, they have already been purchased, silly), and attach molding around the vanity mirror. What was that? Oh. Ahem. No, that molding has not been purchased yet.

I’m anticipating a room reveal for you later this week (fingers crossed). It may not include the mirror molding, but I have faith that y’all will be able to picture it in your minds and it will be beautiful:)

By the way, this project was made a lot easier thanks to the coolest Christmas gift ever that we received from my dad.

He built this toolbox for us and filled it with all kinds of goodies that beginner home improvement DIYers need. He is, hands-down, the. best. dad. eva.

Before I go, I wanted to leave you with a couple pictures of our little “angel.” (P.S. She’s the one on the left.)

Soul improvement

As I embark on my journey through 2012, I _­am challenged by these verses:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62

Are you ready to move forward with me this year to accomplish, with God’s help, things that we never dreamed possible?