This week we’re sharing the mystery of why half the power in our house went out just as we were about to leave for vacation. We also bring you up to speed on the near-finish of our bathroom renovation — including how the flu, a surgery, and a last-minute deadline kept us scrambling. Plus: an illuminating update to our upstairs hallway and a few practical takeaways about managing “life admin.”
You can also find this episode on your favorite podcast app, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, and Spotify.
What’s New
- If you missed last week’s episode and our big duplex news, you can listen to it or read a full transcript for the full story.
- Sherry referenced an earlier episode about reducing stress during our bathroom renovation — one of our strategies was trying not to set rigid deadlines, which didn’t quite work out this time.
- To illustrate why our plumber’s sudden deadline felt urgent: we effectively had three days to get the bathroom ready before his surgery. It looked close to finished, but we hadn’t even planned our box molding treatment yet.
- Read more about our mostly-finished bathroom result in our project post, and see detailed how-to notes about installing the decorative molding in last week’s write-up.
- For good measure, here’s the GIF Sherry mentioned — it captures us trying to juggle mortar, grout, caulk, and paint while still giving each the drying time it needs.
Can We Just Talk About Life Admin?
- We mentioned the book Life Admin during the episode — it’s a helpful read if you’re trying to get better at handling paperwork, appointments, and household logistics. We also referenced an audio interview with the author that gave us the initial nudge to explore the topic further.
- If you listened to the outtake, you’ll get the context for the funny old photo of Sherry with a celebrity we mentioned.
We’re Digging
- Our upstairs hallway got a noticeable refresh with new drum shade lights — the change makes the ceilings feel much higher. If you have dated flush-mount fixtures in small spaces like a hallway, foyer, or closet, swapping to low-profile drum shades is a simple update that makes a big difference.
- Below you can see the original ceiling lights that came with the house and the larger black lanterns we once installed. We’ve swapped lighting a few times as the style and molding evolved, and the changes helped tie the spaces together.
- If you want to revisit the transformation that included board & batten and crown molding, we documented that project in an earlier post with photos and details.
- On a lighter note, here’s a link to the personalized “Where’s Waldo” style book you can customize with your pet — a fun gift idea with hundreds of breed options for personalization.
If you’re trying to find an item we’ve recommended in a past episode, we keep a master list of everything we’ve been “digging” across all episodes, plus a Book Club page with every book we’ve suggested.
Finally, a note of thanks to Agility Bed for sponsoring this episode. They ran a Presidents’ Day deal and offered a promotional discount and free pillows with qualifying mattress purchases. We appreciate sponsors who support the show and pass along savings to listeners.
Thanks for listening!
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