oh so ugly

It's been a busy busy weekend here in the new place. My parents flew up from Texas and upon their arrival, I handed a To-Do List over to my step-dad. Before you start thinking, I'm some kind of slave driver... let me just clarify. My step-dad hates Chicago. LOATHES IT. He finds the people unfriendly and the city much too busy. No matter how many times I informed him that we were no longer in the city, but were going to be living in the suburbs, he didn't care. He had zero desire to accompany my mother on her visit. That is, until I mentioned that I was hoping he could do a few things around the new place for me. Suddenly, he was game for a visit. This man goes insane if he goes to long without working, so my little list was like hog heaven for him.
Since we are renters, not owners, we're clearly limited to the things we can change. (We have no idea where we'll end up living long term and right now in this economy, we're not as comfortable with job security as we'd like to be before taking on a mortgage.) We've already slathered paint on a few walls (still some painting left- anyone wanna help?) and it made the space more personal. There's one thing I was really hating about the new place... and that was all the bathroom fixtures. I don't even know what metal they're made out of but I do know that they're anything but my style.

 

I've managed to lose some photos, but imagine a toilet paper holder that matches the faucet, a toilet seat that matches the light bar and some random white towel bars. Not only did these fixtures live in the main bathroom, but also the half bath on the first floor. *sigh*
I know there are people out there that think, "why pay money and change out fixtures when you're only renting?" My answer? When I can bring down the level of ugly in my living space, I do. A few hundred bucks to spruce up a place I'll be living in for at least 2 years... totally worth it in my mind, especially when the labor is free.
There's still some tidying up, hold patching, and painting  to do before the bathrooms are done... but I'll give you a sneak peek at the new fixtures...

Tomorrow.

because as I've just found out... walking around a huge Botanic Garden while simultaneously trying to make space on the memory card for more photos... not such a good idea.