Step 1.5

After cleaning the pool and mowing the yard, Mr. Monkeygirl still had some energy so we started working on the demolition in the Craft Room.  We didn't finish because we ran into a couple of issues.

1. The original owners owned stock in Gorilla Glue.  They had to because they used it everywhere.  I will attest to the holding power of the stuff. It really holds. For a long, long time.  The only problem is how do you get it off the wall if you ever change your mind.  In the grand scheme of things, the cork came off much easier than we thought it would.  Now we have to figure out how to get this gluey residue off the walls so we can paint.
2. Contrary to it's name, the ceiling fan isn't attached to the ceiling.  The fan is braced and hung from the grid for the drop ceiling (ok, if you really want to be technical, I guess you could count that as part of the ceiling).  Until the fan is disconnected, we can't take down the grid.  We did remove most of the ceiling tiles.  The only ones that remain are the ones used to hold the blocking for the fan.

3. A little wooden rack on the closet wall gave us more problems than we thought.  I have no idea what you could hang on this thing but I doubt it could be more than 2 hangers.  I'm not sure who installed this, but they definitely wanted to be sure it was sturdy.  They lag bolted this half ounce rack into the wall.  I guess we get to practice patching drywall again!

Since we needed to find something to remove the gluey stuff (it's a technical term!), we made the rounds to Home Depot and Lowe's.  On the agenda, look for paint samples, find something to remove the glue, look for countertops, look for new lighting, new pots for some plants, and dirt to fill the pots.

We found something that claims to remove the goo - we reserve the right to pass on our judgement until we try it.  Paint samples were found that may work out - I love that machine at Home Depot that reads your "inspiration piece" to find the color!  I need to look at the colors next to the furniture before I make a final decision.  Both stores had countertops that I liked at prices that aren't going to break the bank.  I think the prices were exactly $1 different between the two stores so it really will come down to which one looks prettier!  We also found some good lighting choices at Lowe's that will work for what I want.  Most importantly, we didn't forget the pots and dirt so it was a good trip.