Shopping Sucks

About 6 months ago during my last "stay-cation" SM and I discussed remodeling our master bath.  SM wanted to start with the counters.  We shopped granite, recycled glass and laminated tops.  In the end, I got tired of the run around from the vendors who were charging a bloody fortune and I just said "screw it". 

(I had a garden to put in.  Summer was on it's way.  I could live with a 22 year old bathroom for another year.)

Now that I have a week off again, I've made the executive decision that I'd rather update the house than spend the $$ on a vacation away from home.

"So what's first?"  SM asked when I laid down the law that we weren't going anywhere again this year. 

(Neither one of us was "jonesing" to go to the beach after the HOT Summer we've just had.  We are still hoping to run over to the hills of Tennessee sometime this Fall for a long weekend though.)

"The kitchen sink (white acrylic) looks like crap and the faucet needs replaced."  I announced.  (Never, EVER put in a white sink.  It stains once the protective finish decides to break down.  There's a reason commercial kitchens have stainless steel everwhere. )

"Plus, I need to replace the bottom of the cabinet where we had that leak."  SM  pointed out.  (A slow drip under our reverse osmosis water tank rotted the particle board underneath it.)

"I would like to replace the lighting and faucets in the master bath.  Plus paint the walls and cabinets too."  I add.

"Are you sure you don't want to suck it up and just replace the counter top before you do all that?"  SM asks.  (He really wants new counters.  It's at the top of his list.  Carpeting the living room and hallway is at the top of mine.)

"Nobody but us goes in there.  So who cares that it's old."  I shrug.  "It's not like we'll never replace it, I just think we've got better things to spend our money onright now."

So I asked SM if he had time to go shopping with me this week.  Shopping is tedious.  I hate it.  Wears me out!

"Well, if it's got to be done, today's actually a good day to do it."  SM offered.  So I made a list, hustled him into the Jeep and off we went to Lowes.

I won't bore you with the details but after making a big purchase of stuff, bringing it home, changing our minds (well...my mind) running BACK to the store to return some of the stuff and then buying some more...(sigh)...Lets just say $1,000 doesn't buy very much anymore does it?

In stack number one:

One stainless steel kitchen sink.
One kitchen faucet (The fancy type SM loved.  I gotta admit I'm kinda liking it too.)
Two bathroom vanity lights.
Two bathroom faucets.
Plus one big box...

Hey, a new toilet! 

After painting one of the walls with some of the left over blue paint (SM's spare office paint that I thought would look nice used in the bathroom too), I propped everything up and asked SM if he liked it.  (Hey, anythings better than the 20 year old gold fixtures we have now.  What were they thinking?)  It's a winner!

I was exhausted.  It took most of the day.  Have I told you I really hate shopping?

But it's done.  Now I just need SM around to install it. @;)  Maybe this weekend.

(*BTW I went online to see if I could get a better price on some of the smaller items. HA!  I was shocked to see that everything was the same if not MORE than what we paid for it.)