Welcome to the new blog! Hope everyone made it here okay. I know it can be a pain switching to something new from something you're comfortable with, but I hope you like this new space as much as I do! Please become a follower if you want, (I'll no longer be posting on Our First Nest, so if you're a follower over there you won't get any updates), follow by email, or just keep checking in whenever you want. As a reward for everyone who's made the journey over here, I've got a room reveal!

We finished our basement bath back in October, a little before we headed out on our honeymoon.  It was pretty much finished back in May when I shared the updates here, but I still needed to add the shelving.


I'll have another post specifically about the shelves, but for now I'll just show the completed room.  To jog your memory, here's what the room started as:



The layout was decent, but the large vanity seemed overkill for a basement, and caused the shower and toilet to compete for space on the other side.  I suggested changing the layout and moving the toilet to the other side and installing a smaller vanity.  This would mean we could install a larger shower, and some built-in storage.  Even though it meant a lot more work for Mike, in the end we're really happy with our decision.

 
So, here she is, almost a year in the making:




It's a very small room so it's difficult to photograph, but here's as much as I could get in one shot so you can understand the layout.  The shower is on the left then behind that is the new built in.


We love all the storage of the built in.  There's so much we haven't even begun to fill it all.  I did grab some baskets so that we'll have some organization when we do start filling it up.



Other than the shelves, we also changed the side of the mirror the towel hung.  Yep, major change people.  I finally convinced Mike to install one of these Ikea towel hangers, (he wasn't convinced the towel would stay on it), and it's also useful for hiding the outlet.



I also found a houndstooth rug from Target that I grabbed on impulse, but ended up really liking.


Mike let me accessorize how ever I wanted with the only caveat being that it couldn't be girly, since this is where he usually showers after working on projects that make a lot of mess.  I wanted some sort of red or orange in there and even though I don't really like candles threw this one in the Target shopping cart too.  It's actually a really nice smell and I wish I used candles more, because I would be in the habit of lighting it more often.  Mike's okay with it, because unlike me, he actually likes candles, go figure!


Overall, I'm really loving this room.  It was once a small, dark room that is now very light and functionable.  We also went a little out of our comfort zone with nearly white walls, and more industrial feel.


I always like to recap what's been done in the same reveal post, so here's all the steps that we had to take to get us to this point.

We started by demoing all the previous fixtures out.


   
Then Mike cursed my name as he cut the concrete floor up to move the drainage for the toilet to the other side of the room.  In reality, he wanted to replace all the cast iron piping in the house to PVC, so he would have done this anyways, but it did require some extra measuring.


We then cleaned up and filled it back in with dirt, sand, and concrete.


Then drywall and the shower was installed, and the makings of the new storage closet could be seen.



Once Mike mudded everything, I was able to get in a paint.  Then came our heated floor system, (best idea ever) and tile.



I actually ended up not liking the color so much and repainted, but never wrote about it.


After the grout was dry, the walls a different shade, and all the trim added and painted, we installed our Ikea vanity.  Of course Mike had to modify it because he didn't like the trap, but it's so nice either way with all the storage and small footprint.


We wrapped everything up by adding shelves and accessories.  This room has been such a nice addition (technically there was always a bathroom, but we never used it because it was so gross), to our newly finished basement.


Next time I'll share all the details about the shelving!

Well, kind of.

Sometimes I get an idea and I can't shake it.  A while ago I thought of how I want this blog to evolve.  Mike and I have talked about it, and something I could never get over was, what happens if we move?  We have no plans in the immediate future, but I couldn't get rid of the thought that it will no longer be "Our First Nest".  It's such a silly thing to worry about!  To be honest, I was also a little tired of the name.  I picked it years ago, and it no longer felt like us.  I wanted more freedom.  That's why I started a new blog.

It's not technically a new blog, since I've copied every post, and will continue writing about the same stuff I've always written about, but it finally feels right.  I came up with a couple names and thought them over until I found the perfect one.


The name works a couple ways.  Danks is our name and we're beekeepers.  Obviously, we're big do-it-yourself'ers, so it's nice to have one of our hobbies up there.  Also, before I was Mrs. Danks, there was Mike Danks and Mike's name is such a big part of who he is.  So, he's the Danks, and I'm the Honey.

I've spent the last few months tweaking everything over there for the big move and I think I'm ready.  It's also fitting that it's the start of a new year, and the start of our big kitchen renovation!  Instead of updating all of my lost photos over here, I've been working behind the scenes to track down every single photo and updated all my posts for a complete archive in the new space.  It's kind of like prepping for a physical move, but with a lot less paint splatter.

I'm hoping that everyone will make the move, and it's risky to think I can maintain my current readership, especially with sites like Pinterest which will link back here.  I'll continue coding behind the scenes and will eventually have each post forwarded to the corresponding post on the new blog, (very tedious, but the only way I can think to send Pinterest visitors to the correct blog post).

I'm so grateful for all of you guys who check out what we're up to and hope to see you over at Danks and Honey!    

I'm sure you've noticed that something is amiss over here.  I recently noticed that all my older photos look like this:


The only thing I can think of is that I was prompted to update to Google+, I did, didn't like it, converted back, and when they asked me am I really super sure that I want to go back even though they were going to delete everything associated with my Google+ account I was confident nothing would happen since I didn't do anything within the Google+ account.  I think it converted all my picasso pictures over to the + and then when I switched back, poof, they were all gone.

I tell myself that it's not my fault.

I really have no idea if I even have the old photos anymore.  I'm still working through all that.  So, use my tale as a cautionary one.  Don't go to the dark side unless you're sure you want to stay there.

I'm working behind the scenes on some major changes over here, on top of just getting it back to normal, ugh.  And, I owe you all a bunch of posts, including some wedding related stuff, a lot of small projects, a room reveal, and an update on a major room that we've recently started working on.  Let's say it's caused us to make a lot more microwave meals, and rhymes with Fitchen Femodel.

And, because I can't have that damn triangle be the only photo in this post, here's a sneak peak at what a typical evening looks like nowadays:


Thanks for sticking with us!!