Apparently, my last update was in May. No, I'm not dead. Yes, we're still working on things. I think between planning on doing things and actually doing things, the post-doing-things blogging has just been...woefully neglected.

My bad. 

So, where are we? 

In May, we applied for and were approved for a home equity loan, which meant that the larger projects (bathrooms, laundry room, plumbing, etc) would finally be feasible. The most shovel-ready of these was the plumbing. During our initial home inspection, we were told that the older pipes were polybutylene, which was phased out in the nineties after a class-action lawsuit. (Fantastic! Just what every prospective homeowner wants to hear.) Our inspector said these were in good condition, so they could fail in twenty years...or they could fail tomorrow. 

Since plumbing would be the basis of our next major renovation phase, it made sense to prepare . 

The first step was to extend the tile in the kitchen into the laundry room. As it looked before: 

Icky, hateful linoleum. Awful, leaky utility sink. Terrible paint job. Cramped layout. 

Pro tip: don't try to move a washer by yourself. The dryer, sure, they're pretty light. And if you do move the washer by yourself, don't wear sandals. (I hope you can see where this is going. I don't think I broke my toe, but it wasn't pleasant to walk on for like a week.)

The original wood floor was under the laminate. I thought about sanding and refinishing it, but because this was the original bathroom before the 1986 remodel, there were a lot of plumbing holes that were poorly patched with plywood, so it wouldn't have worked out. Plus, we'd already bought the tile. 

I put down new backerboard, and had some expert help on laying tile squares:

The black and white cat approves of the black and white tile. 

  

After way too much research, we bought a new stackable washer and dryer, which we love. (And which totally haven't been stacked yet because three months later, I still have not finished patching the drywall. Oops.) 

Our plumbers were awesome. We went with Puddletown Plumbing, and have been very happy with their work. The guys seemed a little scattered, but they were very friendly and did exactly what we'd asked for, and were meticulous about cleaning up. 

Puddletown was the only quote we got. They agreed to replumb all our water lines with PEX piping (2.5 bathrooms and the kitchen), add an icemaker line, and move the utility sink and laundry hookups for $2400. I should have called other companies, but it seemed like a really reasonable rate, so...we didn't. Luckily, our neighbors had another plumbing company do the same work on their house, and when their plumber found out how much our job had bid for, he threw up his hands and said, "WHAT?? He can have it." So that was some good validation. 

Also, our guys discovered a stack of early-2000s adult magazines stashed in the floor behind the upstairs bathroom. 

Me: Our friend seems to be, um, quite the leg man. 

One of our plumbers, fervently: "God bless the leg man."

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The existing toilets were fine, but I'd seen this toilet on Pinterest, and immediately loved it.

Source: Pinterest

Source: Pinterest

Source: Pinterest

Yes, I fully admit to obsessing about a toilet. And even though ours were perfectly functional and new, perfectly functional ones could be had at Home Depot for $89, I made the case that I have saved us so much money by doing things myself, and we deserved the $300 toilets. 

Obviously, Jesse agreed with me. (Or at least acquiesced.)

So I ordered them, and they came on a pallet. That was kind of awesome. 

Installing a toilet is literally the easiest thing in the world. And even though I've only installed the one in the laundry room (the upstairs bathrooms still being, erm, in transition) it's skyrocketed to being the best toilet in the house. (Despite the fact that the door catches on the bowl when you're opening it...oval vs round was not part of my calculations, but the upcoming new doors will solve this problem.)

The fanciest of porcelain thrones. 

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In other sitting-related news, we obtained a new couch. I've been drooling over Chesterfield tufted-style couches for ages, but new ones are prohibitively expensive (like, we could have paid for plumbing...or bought a couch; obviously we chose plumbing). So periodically, I'd look through Craigslist and sigh forlornly. 

No, I can't have this. (Source: Pinterest)

And then, the ad for It appeared. It was green velvet, in almost perfect condition, and was listed at $60. The only caveat was that It was in Corvallis, which is an hour and a half away. 

I needed It. I convinced Jesse we needed to drive to Corvallis immediately to acquire It. 

It is totally worth it. 

See?

Everyone loves the new couch. 

(And doesn't Pecan look spiffing in her fancy summer haircut? Say yes. Just say yes. You don't want to know the effort it took to get her that way.)