In the Quiet

For the past few months I have been suffering from sleep issues.  It's usually between the four and five o'clock hours that my eyes pop open. I find it difficult to turn off my brain, so I just get up.  I'm not sure why I can't sleep past 6 o'clock. Ever. But I know that while my family sleeps soundly in their beds, I am up. Thinking. Praying. Perusing.

Quietly I awake and walk on tip toes, so as not to wake the dogs. Four o'clock is a bit early to have to deal with having to let them in and out of the house at least 2-3 times. That's the routine they've established for themselves when they wake up. And, of course, I give them everything their little hearts desire. Don't judge. They're spoiled. I admit it!

Quietly, I climb the stairs to the office area in the loft.

Quietly, I sit down and begin spewing words on the page to get them off my mind. This blog of mine has come to be something of a counselor for me. I've toyed with the thought of actually going to a real live person to help me get beyond my anger of what occured during the past few months, but fear and other financial commitments seem to have gotten the best of me.  I've been before and it helped so much, but the timing this time around just doesn't quite seem right. God continues to be faithful. Each day He puts someone in my life that helps me to get beyond the anger, and I know the healing process has begun.  The tears have subsided.  It's been over a week that one has fallen from these eyes. For this I am so grateful. Don't get me wrong. I don't mind a good cry every now and again. But every day for weeks on end is not my idea of a good time.

Today, I sit in the quiet and I am filled with so much gratitude.  Slowly.  VERY Slowly.  This house is becoming a home.  I'm learning to live with the parts I hate most.  The ginormous bathroom with 4 doors, aging toilet, and giant window in the shower is beginning to grow on me.

Here's the before.

And here's where we are today.

We've spent a lot of Mann hours regrouting, scrubbing, replacing outdated fixtures and decorating this room this month.  We still have to refinish the cabinets and complete the door transformations, but I am thrilled with how it's starting to come together.

In the meantime, I am so grateful for a clean shower, a toilet that functions properly and floors that are finally clean enough to walk on barefoot!

One of the best things about this reno was putting this idea to the test.  I think you can agree that this $5 tool did wonders to my nasty bathroom floor!

I decided to take the plunge and redo the doors and trim in this house after seeing post on Pinterest. 

One down.  3 more to go.  In this room that is!

My handy Mann replaced the faucets, door handles and light fixtures with ORB because I'm a fan of the warmth this color brings to a room.  Not to mention it hides the grunge!  He even surprised me with a new toilet handle after a toilet repair didn't turn out exactly how he had intended. 

I saw these and knew instantly that the oak cabinet above the toilet needed to be replaced.

I wasn't able to find a towel rack that I loved, so I headed over to World Market to pick up a few hooks and attached them to some leftover wood from making the floating shelves.

Here'a a snapshot of the shelves and towel rack together.  Adding the caramel color has really warmed this space up.  And the touch of green here and there has been fun, too!

Looking forward to figuring out what to do with the vanity cabinet this weekend.  Trying to decide if we should paint it or sand it and refinish is with stain to match the floating shelves.  They are pretty close in color, but the shelves have less orange and more brown which I prefer.  I went with dark cabinetry and flooring in the last house and learned that I'm not a huge fan.  The trend factor won out, but after having to keep it clean the past three years, I realized I just don't care for the darker wood tones. I'm really enjoying the lighter browns and barn grey tones, so I'm going with those colors this time around.

Until next time...