The Master Bath....Wallpaper Free!!

Well....I am SUCH a dork!!  Gah....that is the second time today that I have described myself like that....oh well....I guess I am what I am.....

I realized....later....you know....like days later.....that when I posted on removing wallpaper in the Master Bathroom HERE that I never actually showed you what it looked like with all the wallpaper removed!!  I am SUCH a BAD BLOGGER!!  ;)

I guess that post was sort of a tutorial on removing wallpaper....so maybe I can think of it that way, so I can feel a little better about not showing the After pics.....yeah.....I think that's how I'm going to look at it.....ahhhhhhh......I feel better already......

So.....just to refresh your memory a little.....here are a couple Before pics of the Master Bath with the wallpaper in all its glory......

 

Yeah.....I know you're jealous....LOL!

And one up close pic......

And here are the After pics....with NO MORE WALLPAPER!!  YAHOO!!



Yeah....yeah.....my bed isn't made in that last picture.....don't judge....k......  :)

In these pics we hadn't done anything except take the wallpaper down....and the room already looks SO MUCH BETTER!!  So crisp....so clean....LOVE.....

Time to get excited people!!  The best is yet to come :)

It's Friday night....so I gotta run....there's fun to be had.....

Until next time.....

XOXO-

Kristal

Master Bedroom....A Little Change Makes a BIG Difference....

Hello all.....Happy Wednesday :)

Is your week off to a productive start?  Around here we are still working on the Master Bathroom makeover that I told you about HERE....we made NO progress yesterday....I had to take our little girl to the doctor....so that pretty much killed most of the day.....SO.....no progress to report on that project.....

HOWEVER....I do have a little something to share concerning another room in our house that is a work in progress......the Master Bedroom.....

My plan was to show you how a recent little change made such a major difference..........but I CANNOT find a recent "before" picture.....UGH!!  THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!  I KNOW I HAVE ONE!!

Anyway....whatever....we'll work with what we've got......so I'll have to go back a bit and show you a SUPER Before picture.....so.....get ready.....it's really bad.......no seriously.....it's bad......so......cover your eyes if you must......because.....here it is.......

Ha....Ha!!  I know it could be worse......but how do you like those unpacked suitcases at the foot of the bed.....nice......as you can see I worked very hard on "staging" this photo .....ummmm .....yeah......NOT.....seriously....I don't even remember when this photo was taken.....this was before we got new bedroom furniture.....

So.....there's really no reason to delay the after photo.....so here you go.....

Oh....yeah....momma likes......

We've come a long way baby!!  Well....sorta.....

Like I mentioned we did get new furniture a couple years ago....and that did make a HUGE difference....BUT you will notice that the bedding is all the same....yep.....I think we've had it for like 8 years....it's from Wal-Mart.....but I like it and it looks very much like the much pricier Hotel Collection version....and feels like it too :)

BUT.....the recent small change that we made was to add the mirrors behind each nightstand.....it made a BIG difference!!  I got the mirrors for my birthday.....they are from Hobby Lobby....and the Hubs got them 50% off.....woo hoo.....way to go Hubs!!

I just love the way they frame the bed and give that wall some bling.....

And as you can see.....they are most awesome at night when they reflect the light from the lamps back into the room.....what an awesome glow!!  The ambiance is amazing ;)

And just for your viewing pleasure....here are a few more pics.....

Like I said....this room is a work in progress.....it is definitely not finished.....but we are piecing it together....and once the Master Bath is finished we will turn our attention here.....so there will be much more to come.....yay!  I'm excited :)

Sooooo.....what do you guys think?  Likey?  Have any of you ever used mirrors like this in your bedrooms or other places in your house?  Just curious....I'm always interested to find out what other folks are doing.....

Well....I've gotta run....

Until next time.....

XOXO-

Kristal

The Master Bath Makeover....Part 1....Removing Wallpaper

Hey guys!!  Here we are again....the end of the weekend.....I hope that yours was great!  We were supposed to get a lot of work down on our Master Bath Makeover......but instead.....we decided to have a football watch party....attend a "Snow" day Winterfest party.....and celebrate a birthday.....

So.....in consequence our bathroom makeover took a bit of a backseat.....oh well....I'll take fun with friends and family over DIY anyday.....and that is saying something.....since I've got a little love affair going with DIY projects right now.......  ;)

But....we did make one BIG breakthrough....we finished the removal of all the wallpaper.....can I get a WOO WOO!!!  And we finished floating the walls............whew.........what a lot of work!!

In case you've forgotten.....I gave y'all the low down on our lovely awful Master Bath and talked about some ideas I have for this space HERE.......

But just for fun.....here are a couple of before pics of the Master Bath.....

Yep....it's bad.....

Just look at all of that wallpaper.....AAAAAHHHHHHH!! 

BUT.....NOW....IT....IS.....GONE!!

AND.....seriously.....the removal wasn't that bad......sure......it is tedious work.....but it is doable!!

Here's how we did it.....

First....get you one of these little scoring tools (available at Lowe's).....

And use it to rough up the wallpaper using circular motions.....and then the wallpaper will look like this......



Then spray a wallpaper removal spray all over the wallpaper......we used this......Piranha Wallpaper & Paste Removal Spray.....

It actually worked great!  It says on the bottle to let it set for 15 minutes after spraying, but that wasn't really necessary and in fact we found that after that length of time it would all be dried out.....so we just sprayed in over an area (probably about 3 ft x 5 ft) and then immediately started pulling off.....

The wallpaper will come off in two steps.....after you spray the area the first time.....you will probably only get the top decorative layer of the wallpaper to peel off.......then you will need to respray the area....so that you can pull off the wallpaper backing.....

Here are some pics.....

The wallpaper after being sprayed for the first time, but before any peeling.......

And here is how it looks after peeling off the top decorative layer......and then getting a second spray of wallpaper remover......

And here's an upclose look.....





And.....HERE'S THE SECRET......BE PATIENT.......PEEL SLOWLY AT FIRST.....THIS WILL HELP YOU TO PEEL THE WALLPAPER OFF IN LARGE SHEETS!!

Seriously......this little project is WAY easier if you take a little time and peel off the wallpaper in large sheets....otherwise you will spend half your life forever a lot of time dealing with little bits and pieces of wallpaper stuck on your wall!!

And here is what you'll have after the removal.....

Oh yeah baby!!  Looking better already!!

But....even with a lot of patience and peeling most of the wallpaper off in large sheets.....there will inevitably be a few bits and pieces to be dealt with.....like these......



Gah!!  Oh well.....no worries.....just put a little more spray on them and they will come right off.....like this.....

And finally.....the wall is all clean.....AND WALLPAPER FREE!!  YAHOO!!

Our bathroom already looks SO much better.....and we haven't even started on the improvement projects yet.....just getting that wallpaper down made such a HUGE difference!! 

We are SUPER excited now, because we are about to get to the FUN part....when we get to start working on the new stuff.....the stuff that will hopefully make this bathroom awesome when it's finished......

I can hardly wait to get to work and then show you what all we've done!!  But first.....I'll share some more details on floating the walls.....and taking care of a few other little problems that cropped up......so more on that to come soon.....

So....have any of you guys tackled some wallpaper removal?  How did it go?  Did you use the same technique?  I've heard from a few others that their removal didn't go so smoothly....so I'm wondering if we were just lucky?  I'd love to hear your stories......

Gotta run....

Until next time....

XOXO-
Kristal

Balsamic Chicken....So Quick, So Easy, Sooooo Good!!

Hello friends!!  How is your week going?  I hope everyone is having a good start to the new year.....I know it can be hard.....I remember when I was working full time that I always went through an after holiday depression of sorts.....BUT.....it is the start of the new year, so I hope that you may also be finding some joy in thinking about the many possibilities for 2012!!

One thing that we are going to try and work on this year is eating at home more and eating healthier.....I think I've told you guys before about our very bad habit of eating out almost every....single.....night!  In some ways this bad habit was sort of excusable when we both worked full time.....but now that I'm at home.....well....we I should be able to do better.....

Of course....there is the issue of how deliciously good restaurant food taste....I mean.....darn those restaurants.....why do they make it taste....so......good......ugh!!  But then again.....I guess that is there job....right?

Ok....so we need good tasting food at home.....WELL......I told you guys HERE about the gold mine that I stumbled onto called the Skinny Crock Pot.....

So.....one small update.....they are now called Skinny Ms. Slow Cooker.....and you can find them HERE......

We've tried three of their recipes and all three were delicious.....I told you about the Moroccan Chicken we made HERE......

And today I want to tell you about the Balsamic Chicken......Yuuuuuummmmmm!!  It is SO good!!  We just finished eating some for dinner :)

Here's a look at my plate tonight.....

We served it over wheat pasta....IT WAS DELICIOUS!!  And just like the Moroccan Chicken....SO EASY!!

So.....here is the recipe copied from the Skinny Ms. Slow Cooker page......

    Ingredients:
    4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
    2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
    1 onion thinly sliced (Not chopped)
    4 garlic cloves
    1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
    2 tblsp olive oil
    1 tsp each: dried oregano,basil, and rosemary
    1/2 tsp thyme
    ground black pepper and salt to taste

Preparation:
   1. Pour the olive oil on bottom of crock pot 
   2. Place in chicken breasts, salt and pepper each breast 
   3. Put sliced onion on top of chicken 
   4. Put in all the dried herbs and garlic cloves 
   5. Pour in vinegar
   6. Top with tomatoes

Cook on high 4 hours in slow cooker, serve over angel hair pasta.

I follow this recipe to the letter and it is perfect just as it is.....

Here's a couple of pics that I took as I was putting everything together....

The ingredients.....

And then the most difficult (ha, ha) part of the recipe......slicing up the onion.....

Add the olive oil to the crock pot....and then the chicken, salt, and pepper.....

Cover the chicken with the chopped onions....



Next....add in the spices......

Using the freeze dried garlic is another little "cheat" that I do to cut down on prep time....it works great and can be used just like fresh garlic!

Next pour in the balsamic vinegar and then top everything with the tomatoes.....

And soon your house will be smelling SO delicious!!

Then right before the slow cooker is done....just cook a little bit of pasta......And soon you'll be enjoying this.....

Ohhhhhh........it is SO good :)

So....what do you guys think.....pretty easy, huh.....and healthy too!  If any of you give it a try.....I'd love to know what you think about it....

Gotta run.....

Until next time.....

XOXO-
Kristal