i remember mike asking me a couple of months ago if i had any home improvement projects to do and flippantly replying that “it’s brand new, what would i have to work on.” turns out it wasn’t more than a week or two before i was finding all kinds of things to perfect or update.

taka and i watch quite a bit of hgtv so we’re always finding new things to do. one thing that she had disliked about our place since we bought it was the builder-grade (hgtv term) guest bathroom mirror and light fixture. the mirror was just a standard mirror screwed to the wall with those plastic clips on the edges to hold it on. the light fixture was even more generic (which when we were at home depot looking for a replacement found was only $13, ugh).

The light fixture was very simple to replace and alone made a big difference. Framing the mirror to give it a custom look was a bit more involved but only took a few hours and only cost about $25. We measured out the edges of the mirror and bought the correct length of pre-primered MDF trim for about $20. Using a miter box i cut clean 45 degree angles and used liquid nails adhesive to simplly glue the trim onto the mirror. making perfectly square cuts and fitments require lots of measuring and leveling so if you try this yourself, take your time. after assembled and glued we painted it with the same trim color as the rest of the bathroom to bring it all together.

before:

after:

they sell real fireworks here and jasmine couldn’t be less interested in them. she doesn’t appreciate the freedoms she has.