And Finally THE AFTER

I know you've all been patiently awaiting the results of our bathroom remodel.  Thankfully it was finally completed at the end of May & we have now been enjoying it for a few weeks.  I can honestly say it's everything I had hoped for & looks exactly as I planned it to look.  It might not meet everyone's needs but it sure meets ours!

We credit our bathroom design to a few friends, Brian S & John S.  They creatively took some graph paper & with our needs in mind created the perfect space for us.  Here are our two vanities in the corner where my old single vanity used to be.  The vanity on the left used to be the the doorway for our old bathroom.  To the left of the left vanity is now the new entryway into the bathroom.  And to the right of the right vanity is our new closet which used to be the toilet/jacuzzi room. 

Here's a little closer view.  This is Jason's vanity; I use the one on the right (in case you cared).

And now the glorious shower!  It came with a few bumps along the way like Jason's shower head initially being installed too low (this problem was corrected while we were in Europe).
The shower is where our old closet used to be.  We knocked out the wall between our old closet & bathroom to make a rectangular usable space for our new layout.  Needless to say all the plumbing & electrical had to be completely redone.

Next to the shower is the toilet, much better concealed in the corner now.  Between the windows is a cabinetry/furniture piece that holds sheets & towels.  This cabinetry along with our vanities came from Home Depot.  If you're ever in need of cabinetry I highly recommend their services!
I really wanted hardwood floors in the space because that's just what I like.  Of course I was advised against it multiple times because of moisture issues, etc blah blah blah.  So I compromised, we put tile on the floor & created a wet area around the toilet & shower.  Then through the rest of the space in front of the vanities & into the closet we chose a pre-finished engineered hardwood which hopefully won't warp.  In addition to that we also got the most powerful exhaust fan we could find to draw the moisture of the room.  So far so good, time will tell. 

Our closet was built from scratch by our dear friend Brian S.  No more monster of a useless tub in this room thankfully!  We were afraid our new closet would be a little smaller than our old but so far we're managing just fine.  Luckily neither one of us has that many clothes. 

     
Another view of the closet as you're standing inside & looking back towards the bathroom.

And the final view, this large window is the one right above our front door.  This corner is where the toilet used to be.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!  If you ever want to know about remodeling a bathroom please don't hesitate to ask.

And so the remodeling goes...THE BEFORE

I've had many requests for bathroom updates lately.  Shame on me for not posting sooner.

We're just wrapping up Week 5 of Extreme Makeover Master Bathroom/Closet Edition.  Once you see the before pictures you'll understand why there was no possible way we could save ANYTHING.  It all had to go!  I honestly don't know what the builders of our house were thinking when they designed this space. 

So walking into the old bathroom, this was pretty much your view.  The toilet.  Yep, just sitting there in between the windows.  Right in the middle of everything, just hanging out.  There it is.  Brilliant!  And all those windows, they're on the front of our house.  The really big one to the left being right above our front door.  While on the potty you could open the shutters to wave at your guests arriving.  Really???  A note about the shutters...these are the only ones we have on our 2nd floor.  I like things to be symmetric.  And when you look at our house from the front there are about 6 different window coverings you see...gotta work on that.  Needless to say these shutters will not be making an encore appearance!

Over in the room next to the toilet was possibly my favorite amenity.  A giant jetted garden tub.  Not just any tub though.  One that made a 80-90 square foot space completely useless.  Did I mention the tub grew vivid shades of green & blue goop all the way down the side of it under the always dripping faucet?  Only purpose it served us was to hold Moe & Bluebell's litter boxes.  And yes that is lovely mauve tile you see on the floor.  Niiiiiiice!   

So upon entering through the door & looking to your right, here's what we had.   A nice little nook for Jason's vanity next to what I called the 'coffin shower'.  Dun dun dun...scary right?  Apparently the idea is to pull open that glass door & immerse yourself into the coffin to bathe.  Anyone claustrophobic?  I tried to be brave & use it for a while until the old rusty brass shower head blew off one day & almost decapitated me.  Pretty sure Jason only used it once & that was when we had company spending the night which prevented him from using our guest bathroom shower.  He has very high cleanliness standards & swore he would catch a disease from showering in there.  Honestly in the 1.5 yrs we've lived here, the guest bathroom has been our go-to bathing facility.   

And upon entering through the door, here's what we had on the left.  My vanity complete with cat feeding station below.  Favorite detail has to be the shell-shaped sink.  In fact, every sink in this house was shaped like a shell when we moved in.  Now I love a good beach theme but really?  Glad to know we've learned a lot from the 80's, sinks shouldn't be in the shape of an object that had a dead sea creature living in it, ya know what I mean?  Also I would like to point out the nice drywall detailing to the left of the sink.  When we moved into this house our bathroom was decorated with a neutral brick-patterned wallpaper.  No big deal I thought.  So one of my very first house projects was going to be to remove the wallpaper & paint.  That would make the room more tolerable until we could afford to remodel.  Oh Caitlin, Caitlin...so naive!  I scored the walls, sprayed them with fabric softener (like HGTV says to do) and then started pulling layers off.  And I pulled and I pulled and I pulled.  Turns out there are at least 3 different layers of wallpaper & what looked like 1 layer of paint somewhere between layers 1 and 2 of wallpaper.  Oh & the bottom layer of wallpaper is glued straight to the drywall.  For anyone out there contemplating putting wallpaper up, that's a no-no.  Please apply it correctly, whoever lives in your house after you will really appreciate it. 

You may be wondering why we bought this house...well deep down I guess we knew it couldn't get any worse:).  And we kinda saw the vision of what it could be.  But at least now you understand why it all had to go right? 

And so we've lived...until finally the torn up walls, coffin shower, tub monstrosity, very public toilet & nautical sinks were too much to bear.  5 weeks down and probably at least 3 more to go...  

More biscuits please!!!

You may remember the last biscuit class Jason & I completed for our anniversary in October.  Well for Christmas Jason gave me an all expense paid trip to Southern Season's Biscuit Making II.  In level I we learned the history of the southern biscuit & how to make a couple of simple buttermilk biscuit recipes.  In level II we learned how to put this previous knowledge to work & make more complicated biscuit recipes.  Unlike level I, we got hands on experience making each & every recipe this time.  We started with pimento cheese biscuits & sweet potato biscuits. 

The sweet potato biscuit is above & they served it with pulled pork & pineapple chutney.  The pimento cheese biscuit was served with a scoop of pimento cheese.  Cheese in the biscuit & on top of the biscuit-YUM!  Both were delicious.

Next we altered the biscuit recipe a bit to create dumplings for chicken n' dumplings.

They were ok.  I prefer the chicken n' dumplings at K&W; they're the best.  The dumplings we made were very thin & swam in broth.  They were flavored with lots of parsley & thyme which kinda over-powered the dish.  I could definitely see these being served in a fancy restaurant for $20.  I'll take the $3.59 serving from K&W any day! 

For dessert we turned the biscuit dough into a topping for fruit cobbler (my all-time favorite dessert).  I typically prefer a flaky crust on my cobbler rather than a drop biscuit crust but once we doused the dough with butter a few times & sprinkled sugar on top, it wasn't half bad.  In fact I was so excited about trying it that I missed taking a picture of mine altogether.  Luckily Jason isn't such a fast dessert eater so I was able to snag a half-eaten picture of his. 

Note the incredibly small dish of ice cream served with it.  Really?  How are you supposed to make that little bowl of ice cream last for the whole serving of cobbler?  Pretty impressive means of portion control I suppose.

Well now we've successfully passed levels I & II.  Unfortunately there isn't a level III.  But they did just start a class on cornbread, another southern staple.  Maybe that'll be for another occasion in 2012...

Where are YOU from?

Since my job requires me to make small talk with strangers all day long, I answer this question quite often.  My answer usually goes something like this, "Well, I'm not really sure."  This is always followed by a weird look from my patient.  Then I continue, "I grew up mainly in Winston-Salem but both of my parents are from Louisiana.  Besides my parents who live in W-S, all of my family is in Louisiana (except for Aunt Sissy of course who lives in Dallas but that's pretty close to Louisiana).  I've always had to get on a plane or travel a long distance by car to see anyone I'm related to.  I've never known any differently.  So I guess I feel like I'm from Louisiana even though I haven't lived there much because that's where all my family is."  This is followed by a look of relief on my patient's face due to the fact that I'm done explaining it all. 

Disclaimer:  My dad's family is from northern Louisiana & my mom's family is from southern.  This post focuses on my mom's family but I love my dad's family just as much. 

Cefalu family on Christmas Day

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!  I can't even find words to describe the excitement & anticipation I have towards celebrating Christmas with them.  I look forward to it for 364 days; it is the best day of the year!

This year Jason & I drove 14 hours to Baton Rouge to spend Christmas weekend at Aunt Markey's house (my mom's younger sister).  Aunt Sissy (my mom's older sister) flew in from Dallas to join us.  The time together flies by as we're busy baking, running errands around town, going to church, eating & catching up on the past year.  A highlight of the trip is always spending time with my cousin Christen Lee & her husband Patrick who live in Baton Rouge.  They are just 2 years older than Jason & I.  We have so much in common with them especially our love for traveling!

Jason, Caitlin, Aunt Sissy, Christen Lee & Patrick on Christmas morning

This year was extra special.  Normally Jason, myself, my mom & Aunt Sissy leave Baton Rouge & drive just over an hour to Amite (a small town north of New Orleans where my mom grew up) for Christmas lunch.  But this year Aunt Markey, Uncle Joseph, Christen Lee & Patrick came too!!!  While I've never lived in Amite, just the sound of it makes my heart flutter.  It's where my mom & her siblings grew up on Camille Street.  It's the town that my grandfather was the mayor of for 20 years.  It represents small town south Louisiana.  To me it's everything that is my family.   

Christmas lunch was traditionally held at my great Aunt Helen's house for as long as I could remember.  After she died her son Tom Ed & his wife Irene took over hosting the meal.  They have a beautiful home which makes the perfect setting for our holiday feast.  It all begins with the traditional toasting.  The cranberry juice gets passed around in little crystal goblets.  We stand in a circle & consecutively take turns 'toasting' the current year or the one to come.  I don't know why we do this but it's always entertaining to see what everyone comes up with.  Next Uncle Buck blesses the meal & the feast begins.  All the traditional components are there, my two favorites are Irene's dressing & biscuits.  I'm pretty sure neither have an official recipe, that makes them taste even better.  The dressing is so moist & the biscuits are perfectly crispy from being baked in a cast iron skillet.             

Even sideways it looks delicious!

How long until the next meal?

After lunch we take the customary family pictures, visit a while and then head to Uncle Buck & Aunt Susie's house down by the river.

Cousins!  Christen Lee w/ Patrick, Me w/ Jason & Trey w/ Amber

Down by the river is a grove of oak trees.  These trees have been on our family property for quite some time.  Just looking at them makes me feel Southern and I love feeling Southern.

Note the moss hanging from the branches, ahhhh so Southern

When I see these trees it makes me feel like I'm home.  Strange I know because I've never lived here.  I have lived in 6 states and in about 15 different houses, condos, apartments, etc.  Only a few of these I would call home.  But I guess home is more than where you've lived.  For me it's where my family is.  My heart is definitely in Louisiana so I guess I'll proudly keep my answer the same, "I grew up mainly in Winston-Salem, but my family is all from Louisiana." 
   

A Glolithariffson Christmas

I remember the first Glolithariffson...Glovers, Littles, Hares, Griffiths & Pearsons.  It must have been 4-5 years ago.  All five couples came over to our old townhouse for dinner before anyone had children.  Casey made delicious green beans, that's all I remember about the meal.  But the rest of the evening I'll never forget.  We probably just watched tv, played games & hung out.  Nothing out of the ordinary but life changing for Jason & I.  Never again would we have to wonder who to call if ran out of gas, or who we'd call if we needed extra prayer or who to call if we had exciting news to share.  These friends are the real deal & we're daily grateful to God for crossing our paths when He did.

Over the years we've bought and sold 9 houses, helped each other move into & out of these homes, prayed for babies, planned baby showers, visited Rex hospital numerous time to welcome babies, celebrated lots of birthdays, been to the beach & even been on a cruise.  This year we started a new tradition, an annual Christmas brunch.   

Jason & I hosted the 1st annual.  Everyone brought different dishes to share.  We had cinnamon rolls, hash brown casserole, sausage & egg casserole, blueberry cake, fruit, & more. 


Our delicious spread of food

Jessica & Asher with Jenn & John David

Miss Adelaide, our newest member

So nice to see the guys catching up with each other!

Little gift exchange

Final group picture

Apparently we're quite big on traditions.  The Christmas season wouldn't be complete without the girls ice skating trip in downtown Raleigh.  This was the 3rd annual.  Who needs Rockefeller Center when you have a pitiful little rectangle of ice gracefully laid next to the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh?  And who needs newly fallen snow when you have 60 degree weather in December? 

Let me clarify 'ice skating trip'.  None of us actually ice skate.  We merely watch those who are ice skating & anticipate their every fall.  It's quite entertaining!  Before the ice skating we eat dinner & after the ice skating we eat hot doughnuts at Krispy Kreme all the while laughing our heads off at the various antics we share. 

Dinner at Chuck's

Cheeseburgers all around, YUM!

Downtown Raleigh dressed up for Christmas

Posing alongside the ice skating rink

In front of the big Christmas tree

Here's to a very Merry Christmas, Glolithariffson style!

Wrapping up 2011

Well needless to say I've got a little catching up to do.  2011 ended with so many wonderful activities that I haven't had time to blog about them until now.  Here goes in chronological order...

We decked the halls with all things Christmas.  Wreaths on every window, Moravian star hanging outside the garage, snowman on the front door & much decor inside as well.  The season wouldn't be complete without the chore of running around the house each night after work turning on all the window lights.  Oh how I wish we had ones on a light sensor or timer!

 This year I went for a more 'Southern Living' style tree rather than a multi-colored light & childhood ornament combination.  I really liked it especially since we bought a much smaller tree which meant we had room to put it in the den.  Jason missed our mismatch tree.  I think there's room for both though, maybe we'll keep the pretty one downstairs & put the other one upstairs in the bonus room.
 

This is my most brilliant creation of the season, a grapevine wreath snowman.  Come to find out that after googling my idea I wasn't the first to come up with it.  Oh well...mine sure was lovely!

First official Christmas party of the season, YM1 class party.  Our Sunday school teachers opened their home & cleared out their first floor furniture to host our class dinner.  Some of the girls in the class worked to decorate the tables & we all shared the responsibility of cooking. 



Me, Liz & Kristi

Krista, Me & Laura

Our Sunday school teachers, Brian & Jeannie working in the kitchen

After dinner we all went upstairs to play Christmas tune Pictionary.

Jason taking his turn at the drawing board

Next party, 6th grade girls' Refinery Christmas craft & cookie bash.  My dear friend Liz & I lead a 6th grade girls Bible study during the year.  These girls love to make crafts so we had them all over to the house to make Christmas ornaments & decorate Christmas cookies.  They had a blast!

Erika's friend, Erika & Victoria

Victoria & Catie

Natalie & Liz

Decorating cookies

Liz & the girls

Stay tuned for even more Christmas festivities...