Finally-- a FLUSH!

The home-improvement deities have smiled upon us, and we now have a fully functioning toilet in our bathroom again! Remind me to sacrifice a goat, ASAP!

In addition to getting the toilet reinstalled, we also made some major headway on getting the bathroom flooring tile down. I'm not going to lie-- that was a tough job (miserable) and was unbelievably challenging (time consuming, back-breaking, and clearly requiring more skills than we possess.) Both John and I have a GIANT new found respect for professional tilers, and have the aching backs and creaking knees to prove it. At one point during this project, I was definitely heard to say, "If I could walk away from this right now, I would." Sadly, there was a thick coat of thin-set setting on the floor at that moment, so there was no walking away in my future. Someone please remind me, the next time I do this (god forbid that day ever comes), USE SQUARE TILES! Hexagonal tile is a tricky son-of-a-b*#@!

Next steps: John's going to install new baseboards in the bathroom, then we're doing a couple rounds of grout. We chose "bright white" (which looked more likely muted-white to me...) because I didn't want the lines between the tiles to stand out with too much definition. It's an atypical choice, and a bit of a gamble, but I'm hoping it will end up looking just right when all is said and done.

We also have to cut and install our new marble saddle (to join the new tile and the pine floor in the hallway) and then cut down the door so it will swing smoothly over the new tiles. I kind of doubt we're going to get through everything on the list tomorrow, but here's hoping!

After all of that, we get to tackle the "fun" stuff: painting the walls, a couple of new accessories, new towels... I confess, we already got a little jump start on this phase of our project by replacing the toilet seat. I've got to say-- it is SO WORTH IT to replace your toilet seat periodically. Having a bright and shiny new toilet seat can make your whole bathroom look fresh, and for $20.00 odd dollars, what's not to like? (One handy hint: There are a surprisingly large variety of toilet seats available at your average big-box hardware store. I highly recommend taking your old seat with you so you come home the right replacement.)

Okay, now back to work... but more photos will follow!