Follow up to yesterday's action plans.

Yesterday I had a great action plan for the upstairs hall bathroom.  Here's how my day went.

Excitedly I dashed over to that new Salvation Army and perused the books.  I was getting discouraged until I came across this one:

Ahahahahahahahahahaha!  Cracked me up.  I almost bought it just for giggles, especially since it was only 99 cents, but I don't need extra books.

Just after I saw that one, I came across this one for $1.69:

Huh.  Interesting, I thought.  I started flipping through it and got all wide-eyed, holy cats and dogs, this is so ridiculously, insanely marvelous.  

Just the most outstanding book.  Breathlessly, I zipped over to the register then out the door.  I thought, ok, one more, I'll stop by my old stand-by trusty Salvation Army that never lets me down.  Well, it did.  Nothing there to go with the mid-century vacation home idea.  Plus their book selection has gotten much smaller and much worse.

I don't know about by you, but Salvation Army stores around here are getting way too overpriced.  I saw a painted canvas that would make a great starting point for some improvements, thinking oh this can't be more than $10.  Well, it was marked down from $150 to $75.  I rolled my eyes and wandered on.

If I wanted lots of sheet music, no problem.  New Yorker cartoons, a huge book?  Yep, there.  Fishing books?  Uh huh.  If it were a kitchen I was working on, no problem -- zillions of cookbooks, new and vintage.  Microwave cookbooks!  Tiger Beat magazines!  Hilarious.  Point being, there is no shortage of ideas out there.  There is something out there for every one and every DIY wallpapered room.  Except bowling books.  Hmmmph.

And, scene.

Cut to

Evening with Mike.  

I mention I found this really neat book and I bring it out for him.  I also mention that I spent at least two hours online after I got home looking for another copy to no avail.  Or even something as a companion.  Nothing.  Huh.  What do I have on my hands I wondered.  (And then figures, the binding breaks today while I'm taking a picture of the black and white page above.)

So he asks why I would want to work on a room that's already done.  I said because it doesn't feel done to me and I think this would be oh so spiffy.  Guest bath, vacation home theme, get it?  He wasn't as into the overall idea as I was, he said, and I should focus on other rooms.  Vrooomp, plop.  Wind out of sails.  Plus, he states, he's morally opposed to cutting up a book.  I agree, cutting up books goes against everything I learned.

Granted, when I was doing theater, I don't know how many books I had to cut up.  Invariably, there was always at least one show per season that required massively filled bookcases.  Bookcases and scenery that couldn't hold all the weight of course, so we were always cutting out the insides.  It's so funny and weird -- you walk into a theater, work on a show, and all the laws of physics and rules of the real world don't apply.

"This is an architectural record of history, babe, you can't cut this up."

Still, I'm giddy about papering that bathroom.  I thought maybe I'd print images off the internet instead then but I should probably test the paper with the ink and the cornstarch recipe I posted yesterday, see if it all holds up, doesn't run, you know.  Or find out if color copies of this book would work, though that would add up fast I imagine.  If only I had access to a plotter still.

So Mike says, work on your office.  He's been reading along, mmm hm, I can tell.  Squirmily I say, it's just so much, I don't know what to do.  He then makes a fantastic suggestion:  move all my books upstairs to the strange little room above the pantry and make it a library.  Holy great idea!  We didn't know what to do with that room anyway.  I said put a little chair and ottoman in there, a circular rug...bingo!  Plus we have plans to rip out the wall between that room and the neighboring one, both in the extension part of the house.  We have no idea why the flipper broke up the space like he did as it makes for two really awkward rooms.

Room above pantry, a copy cat of space only with wood floors and a window. Wall on right, you're outta here.  Someday.

Room to the right, east, of the room above. Not as big in real life.

Mike has a desk set up in this room so when we knock out the wall, it'll make for a nice big fancy office room.  Which I may overtake.  Currently the weird little room is a dumping ground so I'll have to figure where that pile goes.  Plus my phenomenal drafting table is in there unassembled.  I really need to find a place for that and assemble it again.  I miss it.

Anywhoooo....So in wrapping up Mike says to me, I'm going to make your blog now huh?  I said a-yep, tomorrow.  Here ya go, sweetheart.  ;)  That bathroom will get papered, it's only a matter of time, sorry 'bout 'cha.

By the way, Hailey finally pooped yesterday!  Twice!  I'm sure you didn't need to know that but we're excited and relieved.  A-ha ha, relieved.  I got some good cuddles in bed with her this morning after Mike left for work.  For a non-cuddler, she sure does like morning cuddles in bed.  I even got a hand kissie, purposefully, and I never get kissies.

Off to a busy day of dessert making, book moving, laundry, and who knows what else.  It's a sunny day and it should warm up enough to open some windows, so that is exciting.  Have a great weekend!