Running thru life... Back to school

Joe started class again this week and I am going into this semester with a positive attitude.

We learned alot from last semester and Joe decided only to take one class this semester

and will be taking 1 class and 1 research in the Spring (in theory this should be not as much work as two classes since you get to conduct research on your own time and Joe is hoping to do something that he can also incorporate in to work). 

So we are back to only scheduling one big thing a weekend for Joe to be involved in

and scheduling time for us.

That being said our whole September and part of October is already booked.

CRAZY!!!! 

But we like it that way!

So Monday while he was at to school... one of my favorite movie quotes came to my head.....

"Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school. Well, here goes nothing. "

=0) 

Can any one tell me what movie it is from? 

Running thru life..... A good Blow out.....

I actually have very wavy/curl/crazy hair-  judging by most of my pictures lately you would not be able to tell that I am not a naturally born straight hair girl.    

I HATE MY CRAZY HAIR ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS HUMID!!

My secret is a good blow out!!! 

It takes me about 5-11 minutes to blow dry my hair depending on how wet it is, how perfect I want it to be, etc.  I actually only blow dry my hair 4 times a week- so not every day.  

This is a trick that the stylist I go to recommended and the results have left me with healthier hair. 

But for a good blow out you must have a good hair dryer.

A good hair dryer does not mean an expensive hair dryer. 

I actually have two hair dryers.... yes I know.  

I have one that I use almost every day and that travels well and I have one that I use when it is really humid and need my hair straight all day.  

The first is Revlon Retractable Cord Hairdryer.

I purchased it at Target for around 24$ after I used my best friends while visiting her one weekend.  

 You may notice that the reviews are not that great but I can not complain.  I have had it for over two years and it still works great- drys efficiently, leaves a shine to my hair, and packs up nicely.  

I use this almost every other day to blow dry my hair ... to be honest I am just waiting for it to die and it just keeps living.  

The second was a splurge as a gift to myself.   

Elchim Elchim Professional 2001 1800 Watt Classic Hair Dryer

This is the hairdryer that the girl who always blows out my hair whenever I get it cut uses on my hair.  I talked to her about it and she loves it.  

It is pricey at $115 but she recommended I look on amazon and ebay and I was able to find it for $70 with free shipping.  

Now this hair dryer is for when it is humid, etc and only a professional blow out will work.

What I love about this hairdryer is how quickly it dries, leaves it shinny and smooth, and my husband actually notices.  

I purchased the this one because my hairdryers normally start acting up around 1 to 2 years and I have to go out quickly and find a new one and I did not want to be in the position. 

Eventually once the Revlon dies... I will just be left with the Elchim. 

 

 

Running thru life... Joe is going to die!!!

After getting an estimate for having our chandelier changed,  Joe immediately said no!!

This was something that if I wanted it done we would have to do it ourselves.

Luckily, one of our neighbors had done this before.  So after a couple quick emails I decided to rent a stairwell scaffolding from Capital Rentals in Fairfax, VA.  I called three weeks ago to schedule the equipment and arranged with my mom to use her car. 

So Saturday morning when Clemson woke us up at 8am we pilled in the car and returned home with the scaffolding.  $67 dollars later we were home with the scaffolding. 

  We then had to put it together.  This took us about 1 hr..... 

This was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be because the pieces were heavy!!!!

Not to mention that this basically went up 15 feet....... 

Joe's joke was he was going to die....

I hate heights so I let him do all of that. 

  After putting together the scaffolding Joe went to work on changing the chandelier.  

After about another hour and a half... this was the result.  

My poor husband...

 

Final product!!!

The chandelier cost us $25 dollars and the scaffolding cost $67 that included tax for one day rental.

So under a hundred dollars compared to almost $400 that I was quoted.  

Totally love my light and my hubby!!!

Running thru life.... The guest bathroom

Part 2 of Remodeling

The guest bathroom

I have decided to completely do the guest bathroom on my own. 

This will involve a new light fixture and paint!!!!

Knowing that I would like to purchase the paint by then end of this month so I can start working on it in August/September- I headed to Home Depot for some paint samples. 

I have not decided if I want to go light or dark- I am leaning more towards dark. 

I decided to stick with blue hues because it seemed to work better for the art we have in the bathroom. 

I came home with about 40 samples and lined them up in that bathroom. 

I went thru and quickly eliminated ones that I do not think will work. 

I think I am going to go with a dark muted blue

Now I have to make decisions.... urrrr

So to my suprise I came home late after getting my hair done to find that Joe installed our new light fixture.  We went with something simple that actually reminded me of the ocean because we have a ocean/beach theme going on in the bathroom.

I spent 90$ on the light thanks to my Lamp Outlet Coupon!!!

So I finally made a decision and we went with Sky Grey which was a muted blue.  

I decided this time to go with Behr Paint with the primer included.  

So thursday night I headed home and took everything down and

also place all the painting tape in place. 

Friday night I got off of work early and headed to homedepot.

I picked up one gallon of paint. 

$30 dollars total

Once Joe got home from work, we went to work on painting.  

Joe did the big roller while i did the small areas...

We were quite the team.  

Done and 1 hr

and only 1 coat!!!

Behr Paint with the primer is the way to go and we will never use anything else.

So here are the results......

 $120 later....it is done.

I love it!!!!!

 

Running thru life... A Weekend Projext

With my hubby studying last weekend for his qualifying exam, I came up with a mini house project that I have been wanting to do since we moved in but have never really had the time. 

Paint the guest bathroom on the main level. 

So a couple weeks ago I headed to Home Depot to get some paint samples. 

I knew I wanted to go with a red- deep red. 

So I taped the paint samples up and thought about it for a week.

We decided with Red Delicious.... yummy!

 

So Friday Night I headed to HomeDepot to pick up the paint.

Then I came home to put up all the painting tape.  This actually took me longer than expected because I am so OCD and had to have everything covered perfectly.

Also while I was at home depot- I picked up some new Light Covers that I thought would be a good contrast again the red.

The light on the left is the old light, the right is the new light.

  Note this is after the first coat was put on and it is still drying.

I liked the new light covers....

More importantly my husband actually noticed....

so they will be staying.  

Finish product.....

 

 

I absolutely love it.

I just now have to find some art work to place on the walls.

I am still torn about this.  

So I am going to probably leave it till the fall.

On thing that I did learn is next time I will be buying the paint with the built in primer.  I ended up having to do three coats because the paint I bought did not have primer.  

More importantly Joe loves it.

In his words "I feel like I am in some fancy hotel bathroom!"
Which he reminds me of every time he goes to use it.
I still have to decide what I am going to do with the art work but I am happy with the results.