10 Easy Bathroom Upgrades You Can Do Yourself

We have officially lived in our new home for 9 months! We have spent countless hours on upgrades to make our house into our home. The one thing I can tell you is that there are so many upgrade options out there, some reasonable and some not. I'll be sharing what we used to upgrade our master bathroom to create a space that not only looks put together but a welcoming space to spend time in. Here are 10 easy bathroom upgrades you can do yourself.

For our bathroom, we started out with pretty much a blank canvas. During the design process, we went with everything white.

These matte black cabinet pulls were extremely affordable and purchased off of Amazon. We had the option of doing this through our builder, but doing it ourselves was cost-effective. Not shown in this picture is our matte black towel ring (shown in the builder grade chrome). These are about $15 on Amazon as well. While I searched up and down for unique ones, I concluded that they are just towel rings and will be hidden with a towel anyway! Save money and put it somewhere noticeable, for example, the faucets. This photo above shows the builder grade chrome, but we upgraded to this modern matte black faucet from Amazon.

The light fixture! My favorite so far in the bathroom. We instantly removed that ugly chrome builder-grade light fixture and upgraded to Wayfair's Vallie 4-Light Vanity light (on my side) and the Vallie 3-Light Vanity light on Nick's side. This made a huge difference! See below (you can click HERE, and all the items are linked for easy shopping!)

In this photo, you can see the almost done master bathroom. I have said this a number of times to friends— if this was our "forever" home, I would take the bathtub out and put a stand-alone tub, lol. Instead, I have opted for, again, a matte black Gibson MOEN tub faucet that matches the sink faucets. Our faucets are already MOEN, making the switch to matte black easier because we did not need to purchase a whole new valve. This was something I wish we knew for our faucets; however, we figured it out... I mean, Nick figured it out, lol. The Matte Black Gibson Tub Faucet is on its way, and I cannot wait to show y'all!

Above the bathtub, we replaced the builder-grade chrome towel rod with a floating wooden shelf from Target. I never understood the placement of those things, unless to showcase your most beautiful towels….?! The quality is great, and the price was even better! Under $40! This is the larger size. I have purchased the smaller size for other spots in our home.

For the mirrors…the mirrors came as just a standard mirror with no frame. Instead of buying a whole new mirror, we used a company called Mirror Mate. Mirror Mate offers custom-sized frames at such affordable prices. The frame we went with was called Cherokee Montauk Sand Frame. The frame looks like bleached wood, which was the look I was going for. With Mirror Mate, you simply measure your current mirror (instructions can be found on Mirror Mate's website), order online, and receive parts in the mail. You'll install the frame by gluing and piecing together the parts, SO EASY! Then, you place the frame on top of your mirror. Easy peasy!

I never really show photos of our cave shower because… well, it's full of my products! Here is a picture of it:

Our shower is somewhat of a work in progress. It needs some sort of shelving system to organize our (ok...my) products. The showerhead and turn knob will be upgraded to the Gibson Matte Black Shower Head and Knob. In fact, it should be here today! I'll be able to post an updated photo soon. I placed a funky bath mat from Urban Outfitters that says "Get Naked" to add some color to our black and white bathroom. You can get the same bath mat here. Urban Outfitters also has A TON of super cute bath mats.

Oh! One other fun and minimal change I made to the bathroom was updating the handles to our French doors. Eventually, I will replace the two in the photo of the shower, too.

This was a fun and random bathroom update but definitely gave the door some character. The crystal knobs were easy to install; I even did them myself, lol! I purchased them on Amazon, and they were under $10, but excellent quality!

I will update y'all when the MOEN Gibson Tub Faucet and the MOEN Gibson Showerhead come in and the installation process.

New Years Resolutions: How to Focus on Happiness in 2021

Goodbye, 2020! I know that the majority of us are ready for this year to be in the past. One thing that you need to know, however, is that just because a new year is approaching, that does not mean that it will automatically become a better year. While there are a lot of things that we cannot control (pandemics, as an example!), there is a lot that we can control and at the end of the day (or year!), we are the ones who decide how happy we feel. Happiness is created by the individual, not by the circumstances. If you are ready to move into 2021 focusing on happiness, here are a few tips on how to focus on happiness in 2021:

Decide What Is Important To You

Deciding what is important to you is the first step to happiness. What brings you joy? What is holding you back? Write it all down and then create a plan to put more focus on the things that are important, and get rid of the things that are holding you back from your passions. This will take time to figure out, but if you take the time to do it, your life will change significantly for the better.

Make A Big Change

If you are not happy with your current life situation, consider making a big change. This looks different to everyone. Some might think that making a big change is switching jobs, changing their hair style, or removing toxic friendships from their life. Others might think that a big change is moving cross country or trying to become an entrepreneur. Keep in mind: no matter what big life change you decide to make (if any), you do not have to do it alone. Your family and friends will be there each step of the way, if you will let them help you out. If you want to tackle it alone, but still need help, consider hiring out help. For example, we moved from California to Texas, so if you’re moving, I know how much help you might need because it definitely has the potential to get very timely and stressful. Ask your friends and family for help and also consider hiring a moving company to reduce the stress even more. Our Truck Moving is a Garland TX local moving company that has a goal of providing honest and stress-free moving services. They can help with residential and commercial moves + packing services, labor only services, and more. They will provide customer-focused service, fast and efficient services, and affordable pricing. Their five+ years of experience has allowed them to become the best movers around Texas! Making a big change in your life is hard, but you can make it easier by asking for help!

Limit Social Media

Limiting social media consumption is never a bad thing. Why? Because of the dreaded highlight reel! Nobody goes on social media to post about the ‘bad’ things in their life. Try to be aware of that the next time you are looking at a picture while thinking about how perfect this person's life is. Depression is at an all time high and Instagram has the potential to increase negative feelings about your own life significantly. Just keep that in mind going forward!

Say “Yes” More Often

There are so many amazing opportunities for you out there and the only way you will get to experience them is by saying “yes” more often, even when you are scared. A lot of the time, saying “yes” will get you out of your comfort zone and that is a good thing, in my opinion. Fear can be a valuable thing - it encourages caution when people need to be safe, but it can also be extremely limiting. Not everything you’re afraid of needs fear all around it. Sometimes, moments of bravery are what is needed to make your life better. Saying “yes” opens more doors for you, creates a more fulfilling and colorful world for you to live in, and it also promotes positivity in your life and others lives around you. Do you need to say “yes” to everything? Of course not! In fact, I think that we should say “no” more often (am I contradicting myself?), but the things that we “say” no to are the things that do not have the potential to bring us joy. So, for example, say “no” to that get together that you are dreading, but say “yes” to something such as traveling across the world (even if that might be a bit scary!).

Surround Yourself With Positivity

Last but not least, surround yourself with positivity! Think positive thoughts, do things that will enhance your happiness, and most importantly, surround yourself with people who want the same. This is important because even if you think positively, when you surround yourself with others who spread negative thoughts and feelings, you are bound to fall into the trap. Surround yourself with those who want to dwell in positivity, as well.