The Nursery: A Sneak Peek

Hope everyone has enjoyed 2015 so far! It's been awhile since our last post and s lot has happened since. With birthing classes. doctors appointments, ultrasounds, acupuncture appointments (yes, this happened) and a couple weeks of sickness, 2015 has already been a crazy year for us. Luckily Baby Girl Schorr is getting bigger and stronger everyday and already practicing for her gymnastics and karate lessons.

During one of our classes, we talked about the "nesting phase" in which Brian just laughed and mentioned that my "nesting phase" started well before we were even married :) We started working on the nursery in January and took it pretty slow (compared to some of our past projects). We decided to turn the old office into the nursery because it was the last room upstairs that hadn't been touched yet. We started off scraping the popcorn off the ceiling (I should clarify by "we" I mean Brian)...since I have had horrible congestion for the last several months I was quarantined from the room for a few days.

Here are a few before pictures:

Freshly scraped and sanded ceiling

Poor sad dark window with ugly blinds

A view of the closet - lots of dark brown

Tequila doesn't understand why we are messing with his room

Then we started painting all of the trim and windows...we no longer have any more dark trim upstairs!

Freshly painted trim and windows, testing the new paint color

I always like to test the paint color on the walls for a few days to make sure it's what I want and can view it in multiple lighting scenarios. Sticking with our tried and true Benjamin Moore paint, we chose to go with Rodeo, a gray-taupe color because we wanted to keep the background neutral and calming.

My pro (and handsome) painter

Tequila supervising

Here is a view from the doorway (Tequila is always supervising)

Love the color

Once we got the second coat of paint up, my handy man started working on the crown molding. I have to say that he is mastering the crown molding and this is the best room yet. With the help of my brother they tacked it all up and really finished off the room.

Then our awesome friends Zac & Ally came over and the boys brought up and put together the furniture while we got to play with their adorable son Cullen. Tequila was really good with him and completely worn out after they left and didn't move the rest of the weekend. Definitely great practice for the future! And even better, Ally totally rocks and let me borrow her maternity clothes so that I would be able to wear more than Brian's sweaters and yoga pants everyday :)

That is some good looking crown molding right there

Still not sure why we are messing with his room

Then we tackled the closet. After using a customized closet system in our room we decided to stick with what we knew best and used the same for Baby Girl's room.

New closet system installed

After the closet we got a call saying my favorite new piece was ready to be picked up...the glider! It is the most comfy piece and I love that we got to customize it with the fabric and lining of our choice. The next obvious step was to run up to Home Goods to look for a new pillow and sure enough, HG didn't disappoint.

The most comfy chair we own

The next step was adding the blinds, curtains and a few pieces of artwork we picked up along the way. We still have more to do and we will share finished pics once everything is up, but for now here is a sneak peek of some of our additions:

Had to throw in some pink :)

We're working on an art piece for the dresser and finding some fillers for the gallery wall. Plus we are painting the closet and entry doors.Once that wraps up we will be able to share more pics and relax.

Oh wait, did I say relax? Ha...since I can blame this one on my extra "nesting phase" of pregnancy I decided we needed to tackle the sun room and turn it into an office / playroom. And since we like to stress our timelines, I decided we needed to complete this project before our first baby shower next weekend (that we are having at our house so everyone can see the baby's room). Luckily I have a very patient and loving husband who is working on patching drywall as I am typing so we can start painting tomorrow. Will we make it in time? Of course...it's all about the drama :)

We'll share our updates on the Sun Room soon...

XOXO,

Sara, Brian, Tequila and Baby Girl Schorr

Baby Schorr Update: We are in the third trimester and the countdown is on! Baby Girl is 30 weeks along and getting bigger and stronger everyday. To say she is an active one would be an understatement and loves to squirm around and kick the most as Mom is trying to get to sleep. She is a night owl that packs quite a punch and loves to kick back at Daddy and her big brother Tequila whenever they get close. We've been battling a horrible cold over the last few weeks and running on little sleep so we are definitely getting prepped for future late nights. Other than that everything is looking good and she will be here before we know it!

Our Big Reveal

We hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season!  We just got home from visiting Brian's family and friends in Mayfield, KY and we have some exciting news to share...

Baby Schorr thing is a GIRL!!g to 

Tequila is looking forward to protecting his baby sister, playing dress-up & sharing his love of all things pink.  Baby girl is healthy, growing bigger and stronger everyday and giving mom a hard time already.

Thank you for all the well wishes and we hope you and your families have a safe and wonderful Holiday Season!

XOXO,
Sara, Brian, Tequila & Baby Girl Schorr

Bathroom Remodel: Mission Complete

It's been a long three weeks, but we did it. Our bathroom remodel is complete! A huge thank you to my handsome and handy husband, my parents, my brother, Jamie the Plumber, Brett the Electrician and everyone at The Tile Shop for all of their help getting this complete before Thanksgiving. Take a look at the final result:

Bathroom - Complete!

Another view

  

View from the tub

We have so much to be thankful for this year - our family, friends and our health. We are so excited to spend time with both of our families this weekend and relax in our new whirlpool tub! Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Schorrs

XOXO,

Sara, Brian & Tequila

Bathroom Remodel: Shower Shelf, Water and Lighting

Two days until Thanksgiving and we are definitely cutting it down to the wire on this project. We had a couple delays with the tile shipment and having to replace the entire door frame, but things are finally moving along. There have been a lot of late nights, multiple trips to the hardware store and sore backs this past week so we haven't had a chance to update on our progress.

Friday we got the call that our tile had been shipped directly to the store a day later than scheduled, but it was in KC so we got to pick it up and start working on the shower shelf. We had originally intended to use the floor tiles as shelves for the unit but the look wasn't right so we scrapped it and went with a little more sparkle. We started by setting the back with a glass and marble mosaic tile:

Setting the mosaic

Completed back wall

We let the mosaic dry overnight (hardest part after a long delay) so that it would set and we could work on adding the shelves. We picked out polished San Dona tile for the shelves because they were white with a little shine and character to them. They blend in really well with the mosaic and the subway tile. 

Adding the shelves

Once the shelves set we added marble trim pieces to give it a nice finish. Then we completed the subway tile around the shelf and added the grout. Here is the finished piece:

Marble trim

Not bad for the first time! The best part of the week was when the plumber came out to install the fixtures and turn the water on so the bathroom is functional. I can't wait until the finishing work is done so I can try out the new shower head. 

Grout complete

 Brian also got the crown molding up so we are working on caulking and finishing it tonight.

Another view

Last night we decided to tackle the lighting, but first we needed to set the mirror. We've been looking for a new mirror for awhile but we couldn't find one that we liked that fit the space, but luckily we had the perfect one already under our roof. We scored a mirror from ZGallerie a couple years ago for only $50 (normally $400) that we've had in our dining room. It was the perfect size and look for the new bathroom so we decided to move it (and bonus - I get to look for a new fun things for the dining room).

We bought pendant lights online so we didn't know how much light they put off, but before we could hang them we needed to set the mirror. That was a lot easier than getting the lights wired, but once we got them up they were perfect.

Adding the lights and the mirror

There is a lot more light than there was before and the room is starting to look complete. 

 

Without the flash

We should be able to put more finishing touches in tonight so that the bathroom is ready for use by tomorrow. We'll have finished pictures soon and some before and after pics to share after the holidays too. It's crazy to see how far we've come in such a short time. Just a few more late nights left but we are so looking forward to Brian's family coming in town for Thanksgiving and to show off our latest update.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday week so far!

XOXO,

Sara, Brian & Tequila

Baby Schorr Update: We are 17 weeks now and have some tests tomorrow to check on the progress. Baby Schorr is about the size of a large onion and has been moving around enough so that I can feel the movement...really active!

Bathroom Remodel - One Step Closer

We are getting closer! In just a few short days we have done a lot of finishing work. We have the floor completely grouted and ready to go:

Newly grouted floors

 We have most of the shower tiles up and ready to grout.

A lot of subway tile

We had a little delay when we realized what we wanted to do with the back shower shelf wasn't going to work the way we envisioned. We took another trip to The Tile Shop on Metcalf (seriously, the BEST place ever) and spent time with John, the store manager and finally decided on the materials to use. Unfortunately we had to special order some pieces so we have another day before installing everything. I can't say enough about how helpful John and the rest of the team were. If you are even thinking about tiling for the first time, go there and ask for help, they'll walk you through the whole process.

Tequila loves the new floor

Since the floor has been setting for the last few days we finally moved in the new vanity. It is super heavy, the marble top is attached so it adds even more weight. Sara's brother came over to help haul it in and after some adjustments and a lot of heavy lifting...it's in!

New vanity

Fits perfectly (Tequila is monitoring the progress from the hallway)

We'll keep the plastic on until we finish the ceiling and some of the other finishing work but it's in and we love it! Here's a quick look at the view from the hallway:

It's getting closer

Brian is working on grouting the shower right now so we'll be even closer when the new tile arrives. We'll update you once we have more to share.

XOXO,

Sara, Brian & Tequila

The Notorious T-I-L-E: Our First Adventure in Tiling

This week has been really long and tiring. With all of the cement and green board done we were ready to start tiling. We've never attempted tile before so we knew it was going to take awhile to get through but luckily we did a lot of research and got a lot of expert advice from the guys at The Tile Shop in Overland Park. If you are thinking about tile and don't know where to start, go there and ask...they have a great staff and will walk you through the entire process. Since we are doing marble floor, we needed to get a wet saw and Brian is already a pro at using it.

Brian got the tiling started with the floors. It isn't a big area, but there were a lot of cuts to make. By the time I got home from a long day, Brian had already gotten it all in, take a look:

Floor tiles are in!

Another view

Since the snow never really came, we decided to take a trip to the dump to get rid of the debris from the bathroom...including the monster tub. Brian got to take out all his aggression with the sledgehammer and was able to break the tub up into more manageable pieces.

Tequila making sure Dad is ok

My boys...so happy to be getting rid of this thing

 We had to take 2 loads...there was a lot of stuff.

The rest of the bathroom

Since Dad came over so we could borrow the truck, we conned him into helping us with the lighting and patching the last 2 pieces of drywall so that our ceiling is finally done. Our lights should be in next week and we'll be able to get those up right away.

Ready for the new lighting

After sanding and mudding the drywall, we started to work on the shower tile. We are keeping it pretty simple with white subway tile. The floor tile went down really well so we were feeling a little more comfortable starting the shower tile. We quickly learned with tile...bigger is better (or a whole lot faster).

Brian getting everything started

The big wall is almost finished

Today we decided to paint and tile. Brian got the primer up while I started with the tile on the shower wall. It's not that easy to tile comfortably in a tub while you're a couple months pregnant, but I made it work,..plus Brian is a much neater painter than I am :)

Adding the primer

Two sides down, one to go

Getting the tile started on the final side

We had an idea of what we wanted to do with the shelves on the back side but it didn't look exactly how we had envisioned so we are going to hold off on that until tomorrow. But good news, we have two coats of paint on the wall and the color looks perfect with the flooring!

Benjamin Moore - Solitude

We'll be grouting and doing a lot of finishing work this week so we'll have more posts to share soon. Hope everyone stayed warm and had a wonderful weekend!

XOXO,

Sara, Brian & Tequila

Baby Schorr Update: We're at 16 weeks now and Baby Schorr is about the size of an avocado. Things are going well, just a little exhausted but we're not sure if it's the pregnancy or the late remodeling nights.

Tequila is really hoping we get done soon so we can get back to bath time

Bathroom Remodel: Tearing it Out and Piecing it Back In

We've had a really busy week of demolition in the bathroom this week so that we were ready for the plumber to come and install the tub. There were a few late nights but Brian was able to get everything out with special thanks to my parents and brother Mat for the extra muscle. Take a look:

Getting the last of the green out

Took out both medicine cabinets

View from the tub, ripping it down to the studs

Sledge hammers don't work with a cast iron tub

Almost all out, ceiling is next

Getting the tub out was quite a task. We thought it was a porcelain tub that would be broken up fairly easy with a couple swings of the sledge hammer...wrong! It was cast iron and all the sledge hammer did was break of some off the porcelain surround. The boys had to cut the pipe from the garage in order to detach the tub and had to use a lot of muscle to get up and maneuvered through the door. Thank goodness we have a furniture dolly!

My handsome boys taking a quick break

The tub is officially out

We picked up our new tub and were beyond thrilled that it only weighed 80 lbs...so much easier to get it in than getting the old one out. Saturday we were all set for the plumber to come and install the tub. Of course, nothing can be easy so they had to remove the entire draining system and completely redo everything. The 2-3 hour project quickly turned into an 8-9 hour day.

Tequila waiting patiently for his new tub

But alas, the tub is in and we are so excited. It is so much deeper and it's a Jacuzzi tub which will make the next couple of months a lot more relaxing once it's up and running. Plus we heightened the shower head so people over 5'7" won't hit their head while they're showering (the people before us must have been really short).

New tub is in

Today we worked on putting the walls back together so we could start taping and adding mud. We used green board for most of the room and cement board around the tub. We'll have the rest up for the ceiling and the back end of the tub after we meet with the electrician tomorrow. But the room is starting to look a lot better/

Love new dry wall...and getting rid of recessed lighting

Another view

Almost done around the tub

We'll be finishing the drywall and installing the floor and (hopefully) the shower tiles this week so that the plumber can come back and install the toilet and vanity. Good thing all this work will be done inside since it's supposed to be getting awfully chilly next week. Hope you are all staying warm and we will keep you posted on our progress.

Baby Schorr Update: We're at 15 weeks today and the baby is the size of an orange. All of our tests came back last week and everything is looking good. Just trying to get over a cold so we can help out more with the remodel.

XOXO,

Sara, Brian & Tequila