The first big remodel project at the Ohiowa House... the Guest Bathroom!

My dad is a house painter, and while I grew up going to work sites with him throughout the years... I became his expert nail hole filler, drop cloth folder, putty spreader, and tape edger.  Notice that none of these job titles involve paint?  That's right.  I'm thirty years old and decided it was time to do some real painting.

We decided to start small, so gave Dad a call and he gave me the best products to buy and where to pick them up. He even made the cutest instructional video to show me how to use a tool for cutting in the ceilings.  Check out Dad's video, below.

While the guest bathroom wasn't in dire need of a remodel, it is a small space and was a good starting point for our series of project crashing.  This is what the bathroom looked like, "before" we started out:

 

 

I stopped at Sherwin Williams, picked up our "Cardboard" colored paint, and got to work on our guest bathroom.

Nate and I tackled electricity, plumbing, and teamwork... and in my opinion, conquered them all.  Nate removed the toilet for painting and re-installed it perfectly!  We removed the old mirror and light fixture and wired in a new light.  After multiple trips to two different hardware stores, we also chose new accessories to match the faucet.

 This is the finished product... what an exciting feeling!

The "Before" and "After" comparison, below.  We have now torn apart another bathroom... more to come on that, soon!

We love Chicago!

Nate and I visited one of our favorite cities last weekend... Chicago!

For my 30th birthday back in December, one of the gifts I opened from my dear husband, was a hotel stay at the Allerton Hotel on Michigan Avenue.  It was a beautiful hotel and our room number was 1213... which also happens to be my birth date.  I should have bought a lottery ticket! :)

Lunch at Grand Lux was not planned but was a treat. If you haven't been there... try the Asian Nachos - they are a.maz.ing.

After lunch we stopped by Marketing Werks to see my baby sis.  She was all grown up and busy preparing for an upcoming training.  She was a great host and walked me around to see old friends and former PlayStation colleagues.  Here is Elyse at her desk :)

We braved the nasty rain to visit a restaurant called Big Star in Wicker Park with our buddies, Mark and Mary.  Mark and Nate recently bonded over a shared love of bourbon so Mark recommended this place.  Quite the ambiance!  We ate our (delicious) tacos standing up and got M&M home early before their week-long vacay to California for spring break.

 Saturday we swung by Lou Malnati's for pizza to go and visited Alec and Shannon for a lunch date at their condo.  We had the honor of meeting three week old Devon, who is the most precious little boy.  He is tiny, yet very strong, ha.  Alec and Shannon are great parents and we had a wonderful time catching up.

 

Next up we picked up Elyse and headed to the Willis Tower for tourist time!  Nate had been there years ago but it was the first time for the Cress sisters.  After a quick elevator ride up, we had the best view in the city from the Skydeck.  Despite the rain, it was an exciting view.  We waited in line for the plexi-glass "Ledge" which ended up being cool... but scary!

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was in Wrigleyville at a tapas restaurant called Twist.  Between the three of us, we ordered eight tapas to share with the table and had a blast trying all of the foods!  Mini Crabcakes, Chicken Quesadilla, Lobster Ravioli, Mac n Cheese a la Twist, Spicy Potatoes, Stuffed Chicken Breast, Beef Skewer... and of course, Pork Tenderloin Medallions.  Delicious!!!

 

 

After dinner we walked towards Wrigley to the Irish Oak.  Wendy and Rich met up with us for drinks, which resulted in a couple of 30 year olds staying up waaaaaaay past bedtime.

 

As if we hadn't had enough, on Sunday morning, Elyse, Nate and I went to breakfast at Ann Sathers... the best damn cinnamon rolls in Chicago!

It was an amazing trip.  Can't wait until next time!

My husband, the plumber

Nate sure showed off last month!  In just an afternoon, he replaced the toilet in our guest bathroom.  It was an exciting day for him because he bought the dual-flush toilet he had been longing for from his favorite store in the world... yes, Costco.

Here's a shot of our bathroom in it's "before" state with the 25 year old toilet. Also note how low the toilet paper roll is to the ground!  We'll be fixing that at a later date :)

I am SO proud of him!  We have now purchased another toilet for the half bath on the main floor and are planning to finish this guest bathroom soon with paint, new fixtures and a new mirror.  Homeowning is fun! :)