Tuesday, September 1, 2009

A visit from the parents

Yesterday I took the day off work to spend with my mom because my parents are in town. My dad had to spend the day at a work conference so my mom and I drove up to Boulder and wandered around the Pearl Street Mall, browsing in the shops and enjoying the lovely weather. It was the first time I'd really been to Boulder, and it was lovely.

We also went to a couple of regular shopping malls and did some shopping, and um, can anyone explain to me why I haven't been to a New York and Company for years? Because they were having a summer clearance where a ton of adorable stuff was 70% off, and I came away with two fantastic cotton summer dresses for $13 each. Plus, they offer a 15% discount to AAA members (we aren't, but my parents are), so the dresses ended up being $11 each. In fact, I'm wearing one right now. How awesome is that?

And, my dad has been helping us around the house with some minor repairs and upgrades we've been meaning to do. The first thing he did was help us install a shower door in the master bath so we don't have to use a shower curtain anymore. Am I the only person who hates shower curtains? I always bump into them while I'm showering and then they stick to me, and also if you don't manage to hang them in a way that allows them to dry completely after your shower, they get all moldy and have to be replaced, which is a pain in the ass and also gross.

So, no more shower curtain issues for us! The new shower door looks AWESOME and also makes the bathroom look much more open and spacious, because now you can see that it ends where the tub ends, instead of where the tub starts. Plus, the previous owner of our house redid this whole bathroom and put really nice tile in the shower, and now you can see that tile from the bathroom. It was a relatively easy upgrade and SUCH an improvement in the room. It makes me want to do a lot more of this type of thing. Although, of course, without my dad around to help it's a lot harder.

The next project that he and Torsten are taking on is installing a dog door. I was a little concerned about this because raccoons (and small people) could theoretically come inside through a door. One solution to that would be to get a fancy electronic door that only opens when activated by a little box that the dog wears around its neck, but a) those doors cost $350, and b) I didn't really want the dog having to wear this special fancy collar with the box.

But, it turns out that now dog doors (or at least the one we bought) come with a locking metal cover that you can just slide in and lock at night when you go to bed, so you don't have to worry about nocturnal visits. And during the day animals could come in, but I doubt they would--and either way, it's better than our current system of just leaving the back door open during the day so Montana can come in and out as she pleases. Flies also come in and out as they please, which is no fun at all, and in theory squirrels could do the same, though so far they have not. Plus, once it gets cold we would have to stop propping the door anyway, at which point Montana would be SOL. So basically, this dog door is a WIN for everyone.

Everyone, at least, except the person who has to cut a giant whole in our back door to install it. This is why it's great to have my dad visiting! He does all the scary jobs, and he does them well. I don't not even want to think about how much money he and Torsten spent at Lowe's this weekend. Ugh.

Speaking of shopping, though, later this week I'm going to have to take pictures of my new dresses (and I got a third one at Target, also adorable and cheap) and of the shower door, and do a little show-and-tell post on the blog. But that will have to wait, because I have work to do. And a manicure to go get with my mom.

22 comments:

  1. The dog door we have slides into a regular patio door, so we didn't have to install anything. Do you have a sliding glass door? Worth checking out anyway.

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  2. I love shopping with my family too!:) Your dad is great, helping you installing all those stuffs. I so much prefer shower doors than curtains too.

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  3. There are two other units with dogs in our building. All our dogs adore one another. We jokingly suggested putting doggie doors on our front doors (that access the main hallway/stairwell), so the dogs could visit with one another during the day when we're all away at work. We then decided the other non-dog-owning owners in the building might not be so pleased. hahaha. Glad Montana will continue to roam free this winter!

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  4. I would love to see your new dresses!

    I actually prefer shower curtains to doors. In fact, we had shower doors in our bathroom and took them out. It's a lot easier to bath a kid in a tub with a shower curtain. We're remodelling our bathroom now and purchased a hotel curtain rod that bows out to give a little extra elbow room.

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  5. I'm definitely on the shower curtain fence. I like the fact that I can toss it to replace it - I think shower doors get all icky in the track and such. Plus, it makes me feel super confined in the bath!

    Have fun with your parents :)

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  6. I'm too short to wear anything from New York & Company but I have tall "glamazon" friends who have found super cute stuff there in the recent past.

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  7. I would love a shower door in my master bath, but I hate cleaning them. So, I stuck with a curtain. Got a bowed shower curtain rod, which helps with the "stickage" issue. If you have a guest bathroom, maybe you could consider a bowed rod and curtain, which I agree might be easier with kids to get in and out of the tub.

    - Mon

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  8. Love parent help around the house - how come they know how to do everything? Totally agree on the shower curtain thing, beautiful glass foor every time.

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  9. Happy Projecting and Happy Manicure!

    xox

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  10. Jon's dad helped us to install our shower door at our old condo...I don't like tackling big projects without him or my dad around because they have a wealth of home improvement knowledge!
    Also, I went to NY&Co. for the first time a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised with their prices and clothing. I love their camis too! :)

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  11. NY & Co. has awesome deals on clothes. I stocked up on a ton of cute summer dresses in July when they had a huge sale. I seriously love that store. Can't wait to see photos of what you got!

    It is so awesome to have a handy dad. My dad helps us with all of our major house repairs. The best part of the whole thing is that he really enjoys the work so I don't feel to guilty asking!

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  12. We had a shower door in our old apartment and we have a curtain now. I hate the way the curtain gets moldy and I hate throwing it out (landfill anxiety) and I hate the way some of them cling to me (but not all---why??), but I DO like choosing a pretty shower curtain for the outside layer, and also I hated bathing children in a tub with a shower door (could only access half the tub, and had to lean uncomfortably on the ridgey thing that the door slid in).

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  13. Your parents visiting sounds really fun!

    I love NY & Co., but had no idea I could get 15% off with my AAA card. Thanks for the info!!
    Also MissRis- they have petite sizes.

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  14. YAY! I love those little improvements. We've been making some of our own lately, and it's just so satisfying.

    Also, for dog doors? May I recommend: http://freedompetpassdirect.com/index.html You may have already installed, but I can personally vouch for this company as I know the owner. Really a great product.

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  15. Oh we have that clawfoot tub with shower curtains all the way around it - I hate it! I mean, it's cute and charming, but not very functional. Too bad it weighs like 1300 lbs so it will be there for another 100 years I'm sure. Lucky you with the new shower door!

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  16. i love ny & co! they always have awesome sales and send me coupons all the time for like $30 off a $75 purchase, which is a great deal!

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  17. I love NY&Co! A lot of my wardrobe is from there. They email me coupons every day!

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  18. Euch I have a major phobia of shower curtains. The way the stick to you, gross and I have a completely irrational fear that a bugler will be hiding behind one just waiting to jump out and scare me.... Very glad I have screens in my house :)

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  19. I recently bought pants at NY&Co and after just one wash (on cold, delicate, hung dry) they lost an INCH in length. Ridiculous. Fortunately they took them back.

    But that's me saying NY&Co is hit and miss for me. My very favorite going out top is from there, and it was a steal.

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  20. Please do share photos from shopping! I love it when family comes to town and we go out.

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  21. I LOVE Ny and Co! I didn't go there for years b/c their stuff seemed for older people and out-dated, but now their stuff is more sophisticated and they have such great deals!!

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