The Fogue Abode

Stepping off my home renovation soap box for a quick minute, I had the opportunity to write about my Hometown in an article over on Arkansas Women Bloggers. 

I had a blast cruising around and photographing some of my favorite parts of Arkadelphia. 


Make sure you head over and check out the full post. 

As promised, but terribly late, I'm back to share the finished bathroom cabinets with you.   The only missing piece at this point is the backsplash, which sort of got abandoned when we had the Great Flood.  I think upgrading a countertop can make a world of difference in any bathroom renovation.  And, it's probably the easiest upgrade to make.



So here is our before picture for reference.  Notice the dingy white cabinets, the builder grade counter top and faucet.



And here is the after shot (minus the backsplash)



To revitalize the cabinets, I used a Valspar Cabinet paint in Benjamin Moore Simply White.  I wanted a stark white to really make the cabinets stand out. 




We replaced the counter top with an Evercor Solid Surface countertop called Aspen from US Marble.  It has the look of a marble top but isn't as porous; therefore, it won't stain nearly as bad.  I can testify to this, as I had a bit of a clean up this morning with it.  We had set some items on top of it during the panic of the Great Flood and when I came back, it had left a stain.  I just used an all organic cleaner and it wiped right up. 



We chose to use nickel faucets for both the sink and the bathtub.  It had the matte silver effect that we like but doesn't show water spots nearly as bad as our previous chrome faucets did. 



I also changed out the cabinet door nobs.  So, I did it, remember when we discussed the mixing of metals in a room?  Well I bit the bullet and mixed a darker oil rubbed bronze nob set with our nickel faucets.  I think the key to mixing metals is the contrast.  I wouldn't necessarily mix anything that was similar in shade or material.

I plan to us a darker oil rubbed-bronze door nob and hinges to finish off the mixed metal look.

So, once we get the backsplash on, we are going to install the light and the new mirror I just found.  I'm so very thankful the water didn't damage our new flooring as you can see, it's still in the pictures above.  All in all, I think we got relatively lucky with minimum damage in the bathroom at all.

I was not prepared to discuss flooring with you guys today.  But, since that has jumped to the top of my to-do list, you guys can help me sort through some options. 

Remember last week, I told you about our little water leak?  Ok, it was a big water leak.  Big enough that we have stripped bedrooms and the main living area of it's previous flooring.

Now we are challenged with determining what our new flooring will be.  As someone who likes to put a lot of thought and research into such a big decision, we are entering crash course - floors. 



Home Depot

Carpet - Warm, Cozy, Fluffy.  Just a few words to describe carpet.  We had carpet in our bedrooms, and while its an ideal choice for many, I just don't think we want to go back down this route.  To me carpet says Stains, Dirt, Yuck.  I hate how hard it is to clean up carpet and with 2 pups and a kid, it's not our ideal choice.  So carpet is a big fat no. 

Build Direct

Ceramic Tile - Ceramic Tile is another really popular choice in homes.  Its one of the least stain resistant options and water leaks aren't very damaging to it.  While we did just install ceramic tile in our bathroom (which did withstand the great flood), I'm not fond of this look throughout a home.  It's cold and can break pretty easily when a toddler decides to drop something on it.  So we nix the tile idea.

Build Direct

Laminate - While laminate is one of your cheapest options, this isn't your typical grandma's laminate flooring.  They have really come a long way in development of the laminate type flooring.  Many options have the look of real hardwood floors.  While it's a popular choice, we saw the effects a little water can have on it.  It makes us a bit leery of going that route again.

Build Direct

 
Vinyl Tile - Just one step up from the new laminate flooring feature, are vinyl floor planks.  These too have a look of hard wood floor and install just like a wood floor plank.  The pro to the vinyl option are its moisture resistant quality.  With pets and toddlers, I'm thinking this is the route we should take.

Build Direct

Hard Wood - Hard Wood floors are the most classic look in my opinion.  They can be easy to maintain and their life span can go virtually forever.  This beautiful look, while it is the most expensive, ranks high up there on my wish list.  If it were up to me, I'd install hard wood floor everywhere!!! 

So, what is your favorite type of flooring?  Have you had any negative experiences with your current flooring?  What's your wish list flooring type? 

I will admit, most of the time, you see the sunny side of a bloggers projects.  The beautiful end result, the near perfect step-by-step guide.  But you rarely see the mess-ups.

Keeping with the honestly trend, here is how our #projectbathroomreno went wrong.



I had planned to share with you our beautiful bathroom cabinet updates after I dropped this teaser on Saturday.  I got the cabinets painted, the countertop installed and the plumbing hooked up.  (or so we thought)  And then, this happened.




Unfortunately, the line that hooks up the water wasn't on as well as we thought it was and the pressure from the water busted the hose.

So now, we are in insurance limbo and looking at replacing our flooring. The bathroom project is on hold while we figure out our next step here.  The good news is, it didn't do that much damage to our bathroom updates.

All I can do is sit here and say WOW!  I made it to my 100th post.  While I actually started this blog in late 2013, I still consider myself a newbie first year blogger.  I was only hot and heavy at it for a couple of months before, well, life. 



Not only did my husband get a new job which had him away from home at the time, but I also became pregnant with our first little squish.  The combination of it all left me without any motivation, so I just set the blog aside and went about life.

The next year was rough.  Juggling a new born, and husband who was gone more than he was home, and working on top of it all.  It left me tired and depressed.  I had zero motivation to blog and actually turned it completely off for a few months after our baby announcement post.

Once I took care of myself, and the Mr was back home, the creativity flooded back into my system like the first rain after the summer dry spell.  I was excited for all the possibilities and projects at hand, so in January, I picked the blog back up again and virtually started over.

Now, here I am, 100 posts later.  This blog has become a part of my life.  It's funny how it really feels like a newborn baby.  The rollercoaster of excitement, tiredness, frustration, disappointment, and then feeling like maybe I have this blog-parenting thing.  And that's all in one day's work.  Then we get back up and do it all over again the next. 

So this 100th post is brought to you by my ramblings of life.  And to tell my loyal readers how thankful I am that you continue to check in on this little space of the internet.  Without your dedication, I wouldn't  have had the motivation to keep it up. 



Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Happy Monday!  I had a last minute trip come up and am away from the Blog today!  But I promise, we will be back with all our bathroom details later this week.  I've been slaving away with the painting.  And, the shower should be complete by the time you read this.  Make sure to check back later, and follow me on for some behind the scenes shenanigans.

I remember growing up, one of my favorite shows was A Wedding Story on TLC.  I loved seeing all the fairy tale weddings and, like most girls, dreamed of my own big day.  I'm one of those freaks who enjoyed every minute of wedding planning.  It was my zone and I got to create the event of my dreams.  In the end, I love how it turned out despite the threat of rain.  I stuck to my guns on having an outdoor wedding, and after many prayers, the skies cleared for about an hour.  Long enough for the I-Dos and then back in for the reception.




Today, I want to tell you all about our BIG DAY. 

To say we were just a tad bit worried about the weather was an understatement.




Our ceremony was to be held outdoors on the lawn of the DeGrey Lake Resort Lodge overlooking the lake.  With just minutes to spare and guests arriving, the skies cleared and we managed to get the service started right on time.

Ready to get going!


We wanted to do the unity sand vase.  In theme with our Country Chic wedding, we did this in mason jars with our initials.  Our moms each brought out a jar.




Ready...Set...Go




Here Comes the Bride....dum, dum, duh, dum...




I was blessed with a great step-dad and I wanted a way to incorporate him as well.  He meet me and my dad half way down the isle and I was escorted by both my dads to the alter.  It was very special having both of them, and a bit intimidating to Chris if you can't already tell.




For the unity Sand, we had Brad Paisley's Then played.  I loved that song back then and as we have grown through life, it becomes more and more real. 


Finally, a prayer to bless our union and the kiss!



As we walked back down the isle, we were showered with yellow rose petals.



Then, back inside for the reception.  And just in the nick of time, it started raining again as soon as we got in.




Chris' brother and girlfriend (at the time) caught the garter and bouquet.  You know what that means....we are celebrating their wedding later this year.




And we danced the night away!






Hope you had a blast reminiscing with us about the big day.  Just wish I could have shared some of that yummy Italian Cream Cake with you. 

Photography - Greg Owens Photography - El Dorado, AR

Venue & Catering - DeGrey Lake Resort Lodge

Cakes - Ambrosia Bakery Co - Hot Springs, AR

Flowers - Stone Turtle - Arkadelphia, AR