We Bonaparte worked so hard on Thursday night to take everything off the counters and to move the dining room furniture to make way for the installation of the backsplash in the kitchen and the chair rail in the dining room.
Some could see this as a mess–I like to see it as a “Kitchen and Dining Still Life”!
It was actually a pleasure to see the counters so bare, but those bare walls-with my cooking and baking prep, we definitely needed a backsplash that would clean easily.
Prepped for the backsplash!
Yesterday we had the tiles for the backsplash installed and the chair rail in the dining room installed. On Monday, Paul, the contractor will return to grout the tiles and to paint the chair rail. We are both so excited to see the finished project—so far, even without the grout; the backsplash is such a great improvement to the kitchen. Those tiles just give everything depth and give off a more high end vibe.
Subway tiles installed and ready to be grouted. Can you see the slight marbled detail?
Adds so much depth to the kitchen area!
The chair rail also gives the dining are a more “defined” look and seems to separate it more from the living room.
The chair rail will look fantastic painted an enameled white, but I may want to paint the bottom wall red!
It’s certainly going to be a challenge to decide on a paint color for the bottom of the dining area. Although I love neutrals, I think a nice red would look great. Somebody does not agree with me. Can you guess who that is? I would also love nice red Dutch enamel in the kitchen, with white crown molding, but our dark cabinets just make me think that it might not look that great.
Paul Brearly, contractor extarodinaire, was so quick and efficient. What I thought would be an all-day job to install the tiles, was a half day! I was amazed at how clean he left everything too. It was great!!!
Bonaparte is still on the fence, though about having the extra bathroom done. I really want to wait till I get another job. But he really wants to have the job done soon. I guess it’s a 50/50 thing. If we get it done now, at least I’m home and won’t have to take a day or so off from work. Right???? I don’t know. …
Anyway, we went to the Ferguson showroom in King of Prussia. Whoa! Can I just say that this showroom was overwhelming and fed into any delusions I may have had about winning the lottery! I now realize that one can have a million-dollar bathroom retreat. I also realize the importance of hiring an interior designer when if I ever do win a huge lottery! Monsieur Pragmatic led me over to the more—affordable bathroom fixtures. Paul, the contractor, gave us good advice. He said not to get a sink that comes out more than 24 inches from the wall as the room is very small. Bonaparte liked this best. However, I don’t like those shiny chrome faucets or knobs. I like the more funky kind of fixtures—but the ones I saw were ridiculously expensive—and for a guest bathroom that’s small and won’t be used but maybe three or four times a year-it’s crazy to spend a fortune.
The more affordable is what we are looking for! These were what came closest to what we need.
The rest of the afternoon was spent running mundane errands and picking Chippy from his day care. Since he tried to eat the contractor’s leg when he came to give us an estimate, we thought it better that our little “angel” spend the day with his peers. He’ll be at the groomer on Monday afternoon when Paul returns!
Hard to imagine his face wanting to eat people!
Sleep came to me early because I drank wine after our aperitifs. I’m a disgrace to my Irish roots. Seriously. I have no tolerance for any sort of alcoholic beverages. It’s fine if I just have an aperitif or two. It’s fine if I just have wine with dinner and not the aperitif. But if I indulge in both, it’s “lights out” for me.
Lights out came at about 9PM.
Saturday morning! Rainy. Dreary. Bonaparte is with clients this morning till this afternoon. As much as I despise Disney, I was thinking of catching the new “Cinderella” film. (Bonaparte would never see it so I will go by myself.)
Yes. I am NOT a Disney Fan. Can Frozen PLEASE melt into oblivion?
I mean, come on now, Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother and Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmom—this is cinematic greatness! Disney or now, I need to see this.
I realize I’m a Disney hypocrate, but this is Cinderella–it’s all about the shoes!!!!!
But not today. I’m giving myself a completely (and yet another) lazy day!
No makeup whatsoever will touch my face. Today will be my fanaked (face naked) day for the week.
….and the same sweats…but Adam’s blow out is still looking mighty fine!
I decided to gather the makeup brushes and clean them. I fill the bathroom sink with soapy water—the suds coming from shampoo, let them soak for a few minutes (not long as the wooden brushes can rot), scrub the bristles clean then rinse and place on a towel to dry. I’m pretty decent about doing this on regular basis.
Dirty little brushes…………that need a good soak and scrub…..all clean and drying and waiting to get full of makeup again!
Next I decided to clean out my purse. Presently I’m carrying around a Jacrew Bromley bag. Oona got it for me as a Christmas gift a few years back. I love this bag because it has a ton of room to carry my junk around—and I’m not one of those women who changes my bag regularly. For the amount of bags I own, most of them sit on the closet shelf. I’ll carry the same bag around for months at a time!
Jacrew “Bromley”..note the hair claw on the strap. This bag carries a ton of stuff!
Anyway….here’s what I cleaned out. Only to put practically everything back in!
Wide toothed comb. I have one in every purse. A Weight Watchers calculator that I should use all the time. Two packs of tissues because my post nasal drip is so bad.
Three packs of chopsticks. Chapstick, pens, gum, white out tape, clear gloss. MORE gum and the pieces of unwrapped gum–well, I was so lazy, I just popped them in my mouth and started chewing, a stylus change, metal hair clip, satin twirly-do (that is the family name for hair ties.)
What I thought was a pen is a screwdriver–how convenient. A portable magnifier so I can check my skin at any time! A picture of my niece, Isis, that Oona was carrying around for me in HER purse since Thanksgiving. She gave it to me last week. Some members of my family have stopped speaking to me because I suggested my brother change my niece’s name. Why are they angry with me?
My completely disorganized organizer. It takes me five minutes alone just to take it out of my purse to get credit cards, my license………..It looks like George Costanza’s fat wallet!
Notebook from Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn. I love the toile cover! Plastic thingy from a tag. I can assure you I had that on a sweater for years, it started bothering me and I tugged it off–why I put it in my purse I’ll never know!
Lastly, an old Coach wristlet that has been repurposed to use as a change purse–and to hold additional twirly-dos and a camera to use as backup when my phone camera goes on the blink!
Tonight I’ll be making chicken breasts with morels and chanterelle’s and for dessert a Grand Marnier soufflé.
Two mushrooms are better than one!
I have the soufflé recipe from this book. I received it in the mail a few days ago—a gift from my friend Marykay Abblett, a fellow France fanatic AND a chef!
Thanks to Marykay–there are wonderful recipes in this book!
Well, I’m off to binge watch some TV. Maybe “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” or some Anthony Bourdain. I’ll figure it out!
Should I watch a great sitcom on Netflix–or my favorite bad boy? Tough decision!
In the meantime, here’s a song to describe my day “Lazy Bones”. And oldie my mother used to sing to me when I was younger. She had me pegged! Jonathan King sings! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO!
