Florida!

We just returned home from another wonderful weekend at home in Florida. This trip was much different from our last visit a few weeks ago. A huge blessing, Dad has had a burst of improvement, which I've been told is not uncommon for cancer patients once the chemo leaves their body. As a result he was able to spend more time in his wheelchair and less time laying down resting. In fact, he is sitting on the couch now, sleeping in bed with mom and is no longer attached to any medical equipment (which made getting him out and about so much easier). He also looks more like himself and has gained some strength in his arms and legs. Although we know this burst is temporary, we are all just so blessed by these tiny miracles that have allowed Dad to be more comfortable and present!

After a very long drive, we arrived home Wednesday evening to Ian's 30th birthday dinner. Mom always makes a delicious crab dinner for birthdays and Ian was sweet to request that she wait to make his until we got home a few days later.

On Thursday we took dad to New Smyrna Beach. The first time we took him to the beach a few weeks ago Hospice threatened to release him from their care. However, I think we've broken enough rules now that they have let the beach trips slide under the radar -- hallelujah.

The kids couldn't have had more fun. The trip to the beach was an absolute blast.

When we arrived home from the beach my girlfriend Mel surprised my family by sending dinner to our house. It was such a nice treat to have more time together and less time cooking and cleaning!

Friday we spent most of the day in the pool until the kids were completely waterlogged.

That night Mom invited family and friends over for a large spaghetti dinner -- her specialty. My bestie Shannon never misses a spaghetti dinner and stayed late catching up with me over lots of wine and ice cream cake.

Saturday we spent more time by the pool, watched a marathon of Disney movies & football (sad, sad game for the Gators), and of course, we had steak for dinner.

 

On Sunday we said our tough goodbyes and made our long drive back to Charlotte. I already can't wait to return...

Remembering Charlie || A Post By Matt

(Last night we said goodbye to our beloved Charlie. Today's post is brought to you by Matt.)  

The short story on my dog Charlie.  I was a law student at Tulane University in 2005.  On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans where Tulane is located.  Shortly before the highways were closed down, myself and a few friends were able to leave the city and make our way to Atlanta.  After the storm, we were informed that we were not allowed to return to the city that semester due to the destruction.  Unlike New Orleans, I was very lucky and spent that semester at Wake Forest before being allowed to return to New Orleans in January of 2006. However, you may recall the photos of the spray painted "X" on front doors of many homes in the city.  These tags would signal to first responders whether someone or something was in the house, including animals left behind by their owners.   In the middle of April 2006, a classmate asked me if I wanted a white lab puppy.  She and her boyfriend were sheltering a litter of 10 puppies that were rescued by ARNO after the storm.  ARNO stands for "Animal Rescue New Orleans".  Although finals were gearing up, I said yes, went to her house and found 9 white lab puppies raising hell in her living room.  I asked where the 10th puppy was and was directed to look under the couch where I found the alpha puppy sound asleep.  He was exactly my sort of speed.  His name was Zeus.  What is amazing is that he and his litter were born on February 28, 2006, which was Mardi Gras.  While living in New Orleans, I lived in a condo on St. Charles Avenue which is one of the historic roads and parade routes for Mardi Gras. Zeus was a good name, but I gave him a better one.  I re-named him St. Charles, Charlie for short.  He was my sidekick for nearly 4 years before we met Christina, which is when he became our "Fur Baby" (which to this day he and I object to that name) and soon thereafter he became the protector of my pregnant wife and ultimately my kids.  Many nights he would sleep between their rooms until they fell asleep when he would then return to my side of the bed.  He helped the kids clear their plates and always served as a large furry jungle gym for them to crawl all over.  Such a loving and laid back friend.  He was the best dog ever and I will miss him terribly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Master Bathroom Renovation | The Tub

Coming in hot with part 3 of our master renovation -- the tub! I am a huge bath person so the tub renovation was super important to me. During our home inspection I was disappointed to learn there were several cracks around the tub which made it unusable. However, a broken tub meant a brand new tub was in our future. So we said goodbye to the swimming pool and hello to the most gorgeous freestanding tub!

Okay, a few BEFORE photos...

How massive is that tub?! I think my entire family could fit in it.

Once we decided to rip out the tub I immediately started tub shopping! At first I was worried that a freestanding tub wouldn't be as comfortable to sit in as my old whirlpool tub. So one day on my lunch break I went to a popular bathroom showroom in Charlotte and sat in every. single. tub. I was amazed at how much MORE comfortable the freestanding tub was! I didn't feel like I was sliding to the center and the tub walls came up so much higher which allowed me to rest my neck over the side more comfortably! I picked out a few tubs I loved and when I received the pricing I about fell out of my chair.

So I decided to shop around online for the tubs I liked from the showroom and guess what? Lowes had one of my favorites, the Jacuzzi Primo Acrylic Oval Freestanding Tub, for 1/3 of the price!!! Again, I purchased the tub online for delivery, using a 20% off coupon (purchased for $1.99 on eBay) and received a check in the mail for 5% cash back just for ordering through ebates!

Demo complete! Time to tile and rebuild the walls. So this was a big decision that I agonized over. I didn't think wall tile would fit in to this space so it was between beadboard, plain drywall or picture frame moulding. Finally after falling in love with this pin, this pin and this pin my mind was made up completely to go with picture frame moulding!

I am so obsessed with my new tub and use it almost every single night to soak in!

I also need to give a shout out to my favorite tub accessory, my Tub Caddy, for all of the Netflix + wine nights it has allowed me to have.

Alright, alright...real life...just trying to make sure no one poops in my tub...

Other Master Bathroom Renovation Posts: The Tile | The Shower