Occasionally we get comments like “I don’t know how you spend all day together without fighting.” While I appreciate the assumption that we have some flawless, all-smiles marriage – we fight. We get upset with each other… and Clara… and even Burger. I’m not saying we have Real Housewives-worthy throwdowns (our table flipping count is still at zero) but like any normal couple we argue. Sometimes in a healthy, I-fight-because-I-care way. Sometimes in a probably less-than-healthy Sherry yells and I give her the silent treatment way. But the point is – yes, we fight (skip to about 11:45 on this old blogiversary Q&A video for a brief mention on the subject).
As upfront as we’re willing to be about the fact that we argue, we try not to air the specifics of our dirty laundry. And that’s not just to you guys here in blog land, we make a conscious decision not to gossip to our friends or family about what’s frustrating us about the other person. It’s not that we’re trying to “keep up appearances”, we just don’t want to complicate our messes by entangling others in them. And we’re usually over things pretty quickly (there’s always another project to do or post to write) so I don’t want my venting to discolor someone else’s opinion of my loving and beautiful wife – because, at the end of the day, that’s how I see her.
Today, however, we’re putting that aside momentarily to indulge you with the story of a home-improvement related fight that we had a little while back (jackpot: it’s actually sort of related to DIY/house stuff, so since we can laugh about it now, we thought it was worth sharing). And yes, it was over a bathroom shelf. Specifically, the one on the left of this old picture:
Let’s rewind to this post about painting our bathroom, which involved removing a glass shelf and towel bar on the wall first (we inherited them with the house when we bought it a year and a half ago). When they came down, both went into a box on our bathroom sink to be dealt with later. “To be dealt with later” were not the actual words we used. The actual words are actually the source of the argument. Sherry’s version of the transcript includes her saying “Don’t donate these, I want to craigslist the towel bar because it’s from Restoration Hardware and I might want to reuse the shelf by hanging it in the bath for our shampoo and stuff.” My version of the transcript is pretty much blank as I don’t really remember anything being said at all.
Fast forward a few days. The room is painted. Art is hung. The un-dealt-with shelves are still taking up space next to our bathroom sink.
One evening I get the “I’m fed up with this clutter around the house” bug and I go on a brief but intense cleaning spree while Sherry readies the post for the next morning. In other words: she’s sitting in the office glued to the laptop and isn’t paying any attention to what I’m up to. My spree includes loading a bag full of old clothes, the old bathroom light fixture and – here’s the beginning of my crime – the old shelf and towel bars into the car so that I can drop them off at Goodwill. I didn’t bother to tell Sherry more than “I’m gonna run a bunch of errands” as Clara and I headed out the door the next morning.
Skip ahead to that afternoon (yes, literally that very afternoon) and this conversation happens:
SHERRY: Oh hey, I was thinking over Clara’s nap we should swap out the towel bar in the shower for that old shelf we took down. That way we can actually put our shampoo and stuff on a shelf.
JOHN: Wait, what old shelf?
SHERRY: The one that used to be on the wall. It was sitting by the sink in our bedroom the last time I saw it.
JOHN: You mean the one I donated this morning?
SHERRY: You WHAT?! John! I said I wanted to Craigslist the towel bar and possibly reuse that shelf!
JOHN: Sorry, I figured they’d just been sitting there making a mess so I’d help take care of them.
SHERRY: Why didn’t you tell me?? You snuck out without a word about it! I could have stopped you and explained if you just told me what you were doing!
JOHN: Am I supposed to tell you every errand that I run?
You can probably guess where this was headed. Sherry got increasingly frustrated with me. I grew more and more indignant. Sherry informed me that I had “ruined her plan” for adding a free shelf to our shower. I couldn’t believe I “was being yelled at for cleaning” and Sherry was angry that I had also “donated a $75 Restoration Hardware towel bar” that she could’ve craigslisted for at least ten bucks. I threatened that if she didn’t like me voluntarily running errands while watching Clara, then “maybe I just wouldn’t do it anymore.” Mature, I know.
I knew I had messed up, but I wanted credit for my good intentions. I also wanted to make it right. Which is why I sped over to the scene of the crime (Goodwill) and kindly begged for them to dig out the bag I had donated that morning.
No dice. It was gone-zo. But they did sympathize with my husband-in-the-doghouse story and politely took my number and a description of the item. But now several silent weeks later, we’re considering it a lost cause. Hence the Plan B suction cup solution you’ve since seen in our bathroom. They’ve actually been great so far, although they weren’t free or built-in. Oh well, can’t win ’em all.
This particular tiff is obviously settled and behind us. There were apologies, concessions that it wasn’t a big deal, and promises to be more communicative. Though with as much time as we spend together and as many projects as we tackle as a pair, I’m sure our next bump is lurking just down the road. We just try to remember we’re on the same team with the same end goal. We wanna whip this house into shape and have as much fun as possible (specifically without killing each other) along the way. So now if you’re one of those folks who wondered if we ever fight, you cay say “oh yeah, there was the Towel Bar Incident Of 2012” (or feel free to recall it as “oh yeah, there was that towel bar incident where John was totally right.”)
Now you’re up. Care to commiserate about a DIY-related miscommunication? Feel free to put the blogging equivalent of a blurred face and altered voice on your comment if you want to protect the innocent (or perhaps the guilty).
Psst- For a more detailed post on actually resolving decorating-related disputes, click here.
rachael says
haha, we miscommunicate all the time. This was funny to read, glad to hear you all are normal. And what possibly could little baby Burger do to make you mad?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, both the kiddos know how to try our patience. Right now Burger is standing by the door whining to be let out for the tenth time and John and I are scrabling to get stuff done during nap time. He likes to interrupt us so we’re as slow as possible. Haha.
xo,
s
Clare says
My husband donated my wedding dress along with another really expensive dress I had set aside for repair. There were two piles, one for Goodwill and one for the dry cleaners. Everything ended up going to Goodwill. Talk about “in the doghouse”! He may never live this one down.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no!!! That’s so sad. I hope it finds its way back to you somehow!
xo,
s
Lindsay says
Did you end up getting it back?
Courtney says
That’s awful!!!!!!!!!!
Linda says
Oh. My. Goodness. That one may take the cake!
Steph says
Oh my gosh, this is horrifying! Please tell me you got it back!
Lori says
Omg…. That does suck, but maybe, just maybe, someone that couldn’t afford a pretty dress will end up with it. I have to tell myself that every.single.time I donate stuff, or else I will pack it back up in the car and race home to apply for Hoarders. Perhaps it’s time to make someone else some good memories :). (and I would be hard pressed to let him live this one down ;) )
Caitlin says
ACK! But I agree… maybe somebody who needs a nice dress will find it at the right time. But seriously I think I would probably kill my husband.
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
oh my gosh you guys sound just like us! seriously every piece of it. relationships aren’t perfect but when it’s meant to be you learn how to fight and move on – the quicker the better. :) plus we do not dish our little spats with others. it isn’t nice to talk about your spouse behind their back (or people in generall…haha) and other people having a negative outlook on your spouse/relationship just sounds bad…
Renee says
You could possibly find it on here: http://www.shopgoodwill.com/Listings/
although you’d pay an arm and a leg for shipping!
YoungHouseLove says
Never heard of that! Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Angela says
This never happens at our house. NEVER. I have no idea what this is like. No sirree. *whistles*
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha.
xo,
s
laura @ hollywood housewife says
Such a funny look into the life of married, work-at-home, DIYers. I love it when you share this kind of behind the scenes stuff!
Tamsen says
Not so much a DIY related comment however, many Father’s Days Ago, my mom, brother, sister and I went to run errands. Errands included but limited too; buying a shirt and tie from Macy’s for Dad and dropping old stuff off at Goodwill. So what happens, we buy a very nice shirt and tie and then “donate” it to goodwill along with the old stuff… sorry dad, no Father’s Day gift this year. :(
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no!!! That’s totally something that would happen to me.
xo,
s
Sue says
Oh thank goodness you are normal people. Weekly I think to myself, “how can they do all that togetherness and not want to kill each other sometimes???” Thanks for keeping it real!
Lindsay says
This sounds like something we would do. I had our king size white down comforter by our back door to take to the dry cleaners. It sat for about a week since I didn’t have the time. Came home one day to realize H threw it away when he took a load to the dump! I was furious, mainly b/c if I wanted to get rid of it (which he should have known I wouldn’t have) I would have at least taken it to goodwill, not the dump. Oh well guess he’ll just owe me a new one someday :)
ErinY says
When my boyfriend and I first moved in together 2 years ago we were unpacking everything. I gave him the kitchen because he’s a chef and I took the bedroom. When I came out to get something I noticed him putting ever. single. appliance. out on the counter of our *tiny* kitchen. Including the rice maker that has yet to be used after 5 years of owning. I suggested we put a few lesser-used items away to have more workspace. He claimed that as a chef he needed all appliances at the ready in case he should need them. Things escalated to the point of him almost moving out during our first few hours of living together.
After two years we’re still together and living together so it’s all good and quite hilarious to look back on. We still give each other a hard time about the number of appliances that should be out in the kitchen.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so funny! I love hearing your stories!
xo,
s
Kaity says
Haha when my other half and I moved into our first place we only had a tiny amount of kitchen stuff and our new kitchen had HEAPS of storage, so he put one thing in each cupboard.
Cindy says
That’s funny because my husband and I just had a tiff, and he said the “Oh don’t worry, I won’t ever do that for you again!” thing to me, which I thought was VERY mature also. Glad you’ve worked this out, we’ve apologized to each other but he is still silently sulking. This all happened after out big 2 weeks family vacation, looks like we are not the type of couple who can be together 24/7. Kudos to you guys!
Amanda says
This totally made me laugh because it sounds like my husband and me! He always gets an urge to clean and then it has to be done. I once bought some new pillows for our bed because ours were so old and I put the new ones next to the old ones while I went to put the sheets in the washer. When I came back upstairs my husband was coming inside from throwing out the old pillows – but it was really the new ones he threw away.
Leigh Anne says
I found this particularly hysterical because my husband does the same thing. For example, “Did you put my dress pants in the dryer? I prefer them to be hung up to dry.” Hubby: “Fine, I guess I just shouldn’t do the laundry anymore.” Not really a fight or even a disagreement, just a sly way for the hubbies out there to get their point across. Or maybe just a way to get out of doing certain chores – haha!
Kasey M. says
I’m going to be honest – I HIDE some articles of clothing from the normal laudry pile so they don’t get ruined. Everyone does their own laundry around here, but a few articles from my closet have ended up ruined when some grabbed my laundry to do me a favor & primarly because they didn’t quite have enough for a full load.
Good grief I sound uptight about my clothing. I close this with the fact that I am 5’2 and nearly all of my work clothing needs alterations, so I try to make these (unnecessarily expensive) things last!
Chrissie says
My husband asks me now before he puts a load on, “does anything in this need to go in bags?”. Of course, I often say no and then realise later that something did, but that way it’s my own fault if something comes out worse for wear.
Sue says
And I agree about not airing dirty laundry. Not sharing the uglies with friends and fam led to shock and surprise when we ended up divorced after 13 years, but I would do it again. It is SOOO worth it to know your partner has your back!
Krystal C. says
My husband is not a DIY-er at all…so “hey, can you watch the baby while I work on this 10 hour project…” is a constant source of upset between us! Then he sees the awesome and his happy, glowing wife and gets over it!
Kelly says
OMG i know how that goes (sort of). We have a puppy, and a very old house and I have a husband who has absolutely no DIY skills. Me working a few hours on paint stripping, painting, or wall spackles while he has to watch the dog (who is crazy destructive) is also a constant source of upset between us.
Nichole says
Can I be weird and ask what suction cup shelves you’re using? We need some for our bathroom, but I’ve hesitated on pulling the trigger and actually getting any because of so many previous bad experiences with suction cup shelving falling.
YoungHouseLove says
They’re from Bed Bath & Beyond. If you click the link in the post there’s more info for ya. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Nichole says
Thanks! Should have clicked on the link before asking! :-)
Ally S. says
I love honesty like this! I think the blog world, it’s so easy for us as readers to get wrapped up in the comparisons and forget that you’re only human, too! Humans with an amazing eye for thrifty home improvement, but humans nonetheless. Thanks!
Erin says
Hahaha, I feel like we’ve had the exact same disagreements… just replace “towel bar and shelf” with one of many other things. In fact, one of them was some old rusted silverware that got thrown away in the name of clean up, while I was sure we could sell or donate them. Good to know we’re not the only ones! Thanks for keeping it real!
Linda says
I will never get tired of the way you guys write. It’s like we’re there with you. ;)
My husband and I had the Great Compost Debate. He swore he could make us a compost bin out of old pallets. I said that was awesome, but “Let’s look up how to do it first so we can make sure we’re doing it right!” Nope. Didn’t happen.
Later that weekend, we had a 6′ tall square of pallets in our backyard that he was happily throwing food scraps into. Keep in mind that a) I am a whopping 5′ tall and can’t even reach that high, and b) there was literally nothing to catch or stir the compost. We currently have a 6′ tall garbage box in our backyard. We “argue” about it about once every few weeks, where I “threaten” to take it down when he isn’t looking, so he “threatens” to throw all of my jewelry in the toilet.
It’s all good-hearted, though, and we can laugh about it.
….I’m still totally tearing it down one day, though.
Shannon says
Love this! Sometimes the smallest things can cause a disagreement. While my husband and I renovate our home we learn more and more about eachother everyday…Who knew I married someone who cared so much about what the curtains looked like ;)
Laura says
So true! My husband cares way more about our decorating choices than I ever thought he would.
Mila says
Ugh!! I hate it when my husband decides that he “absolutely can’t live with” a certain throw pillow or comforter or curtains…just let me decorate the house will you?!? Besides, in the end, when it’s all out together, he always ends up liking it!
Kelly says
This is good to hear. Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to read all these stories.
I have friends, we’ll call them Emmy and Tim, who are a couple that have a similar story and it’s a sore subject when brought up around them. During the winter they occasionally snowboard. Emmy put all the snowboarding gear away last summer, a bin for each of them. Her bin included a new jacket and some kind of designers gloves signed by some illustrator that Tim had given her for Christmas.
Fast forward this winter season she goes to unpack the gear in the basement but her bin is missing. Tim swears he did not donate the bin to Goodwill mistakenly a few months prior when they did a giant donation…Hmm…
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no!!
xo,
s
Brittany says
Yep, we call that the good old “pursuer-distancer dynamic”. She pursues, you distance – in this case, over a towel bar! Haha I love examples that show us how we blow things out of proportion. As long as you respect each other at the end of the day, it’s all good!
Kim says
Lol. Whenever we do a project there are always lots of I’m sorry’s and hugs! I think that when it comes to diy the motto should be something like “what happens during diy, stays in diy” Just like vegas!
Allyn says
I fully support the “we’re on the same team and don’t bad mouth the other person” stance. We firmly believe in that. It always makes me so uncomfortable when people rip their spouse a new one in front of other people. It’s not because we’re trying to look perfect, but because, as you say, at the end of the day it’s over and done with.
Luckily (in this instance), we’re renters, so there’s no much DIY stuff for us to argue about.
Kristen @ LoveK says
We’re also people that keep arguments between the two of us. I mean silly little things I’ll share with girlfriends (like, MH can never find the peanut butter but it’s usually just in front of his face) but little tiffs just put out a bad vibe to people. And I don’t want anyone thinking ill of my main squeeze! :)
Micaela says
My husband was frustrated with of our (ooold, need to be replaced) kitchen cabinets and took one them off… I’m not really sure what his reasoning was as we aren’t replacing them anytime soon. I asked if he was putting it back on ever and he said, “no, it’s rotting so I can’t” and showed me the rot. I didn’t want an old cabinet lying around the house so I put it out with the garbage.
Later we were having a party at our house and he wanted to put the cabinet back up (??!?!) so I had to tell him I threw it out and he was not impressed.
Whatever, I stand by the fact that I was TOTALLY right on that one!
And John I have to side with you. I’d be very happy if my husband went to goodwill to drop things off on his own volition. That’s worth $10, if you ask me!
Me, Ed and Pea says
Hehehe love this post :) We have this type of “discussion” at least once a week. Usually it’s as simple as “Oh woops I threw that out a few days ago” followed by a whiny “Awwwwww baaaaaaabe!?!?!”
Emily says
when my fiance and i started dating, the package deal meant he had to be a-ok with the fact that i had a chow chow. he quickly got jealous of me having my own dog, and decided to adopt a pit bull puppy– who he’d have to keep in MY apartment, because his apartment didn’t allow dogs.
long story short, that couch i moved into my apartment? it came out in trash bags filled with couch stuffing. that was our biggest fight. we’ll be married in february, and i love our little furbabies, but no more active dogs kept in tiny city apartments!
Mamaw03T says
Yea!!! So good to know y’all are normal. What’s life without a little miscommunication every now and then?
Kate B says
My husband and I are also taking on some major home renovations. I learned after attempting to hang drywall on the ceiling of our bathroom that it’s best to ask him to be VERY specific about the plan before we pick up anything heavy. I need to hear first what his thoughts are about which corner should lead, which way we’re going to turn things, etc. If we don’t do this step first, man is there sniping, because I am not a mind-reader. Right before we attempted to lift our washing machine over the toilet in our downstairs bathroom (we’re keeping the old toilet and vanity until we deal with the kitchen reno, since we want the powder room to have some cohesion with the adjoining kitchen), I made him spell out the plan and then reinforced that I loved him. He laughed. We get into arguments occasionally (he’s a lot more experienced with home improvement stuff than I am, so I require a lot of explaining), but we both are working towards a beautiful house that reflects us both and we can take pride in all of our handiwork. I think it’s pretty great that we can still be a team, even after little tiffs.
tracy says
Oh my gosh! So glad someone else has to deal with this! Just moved out of our apartment a couple months ago, and carrying the sofa down the stairs ended up in him being pissed for 30 minutes because I wasn’t holding it and turning it the way he wanted…like I know how he wants it to be turned! I too have learned to ask specifically where he wants me to hold it, how high, and tell him to tell me exactly when he’s ready for me to pivot. He always rolls his eyes at me and thinks I’m being a snot, but I’ll take that over his grumpy attitude any day!
Claire says
Haha, Tracy your story reminds me of the Friends episode where Ross bought that couch and gets Rachel to help him carry it to his apartment because he’s too cheap for delivery. All I can hear in my head is Ross yelling, “PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT!” in that crazy voice of his. Watch it here:
evilbunnie says
How do people NOT fight about DIY? There was the time I painted the living room without consulting the spouse, and got a three day silent treatment (I figured I half own the house, and if I’m doing all the labor then I get a 51% vote), the time I had to battle, plead and beg to install the checkerboard cork tile floor (I won and was right), the time we nearly came to divorce over a difference of opinion on light fixtures in the kitchen (he won and was right), and . . . oh a bunch of other things. But for each of those, there’s the times he held the (godawful heavy)Restoration Hdwre chandelier while I struggled to install it, the time he installed the pitch-perfect porch lamp,and the times he ignored various and sundry messes and works-in-progress to get to the good stuff. So he gets rewarded with stuff too, like the two-spigot beer tap that we installed (together) as part of the kitchen remodel. It’s a special kind of love that’s willing to struggle, curse, get dirty, and put our skills and intelligence on the line, over and over, just to get to a result that feels solid, welcoming and beautiful for us and our family.
Joy says
“It’s a special kind of love that’s willing to struggle, curse, get dirty, and put our skills and intelligence on the line, over and over, just to get to a result that feels solid, welcoming and beautiful for us and our family.”
I love this statement.
My hubby (bless his heart) is a hard-core DIY-er. For months now, I have been patiently waiting for my 2nd floor guest bathroom to be done. Him and his dad had been remodeling it since March. They argue about every little thing – from tiles, plumbing, you name it. Sure, my OCD kick gets in the way at times (I must confess it’s everyday). But this just reminded me that it’s the love of the home and family that gets us through the nitty gritty of the DIY experience. The end result of a beautifully made bathroom is the prize for us all.
Jenny says
My husband and I have been married for 5 years and he recently stopped listening to me (or so it seems to me…he denies it of course). So I think you two are right on schedule. :-)
[email protected] says
My husband did the whole silently-“helping”-clean-up-by-donating-though-not-telling-me-of-his-good-deed thing last year. With my bag of maternity clothes. While I was freshly pregnant for the second time. Luckily, it was the same day I decided to take a look at them and he was able to return to the Goodwill bin, tail firmly placed between legs. The security guard actually thought he was trying to steal them before he explained what happened.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so glad he got them back!
xo,
s
ilikebeerandbabies.com says
He may have met an untimely death if I had to buy every single shred of maternity clothes all over again.
Corie says
It’s a given, if you want me and my husband to fight, give us a home improvement project. We’ll be out in front of the house working on something, arguing over how VERY RIGHT I am. At the time, I don’t care who hears me, I’M RIGHT. :) Later, I’m so ashamed of my behavior. But still (and since he’s not reading this)… I’m right. ;)
It happens! :)
Shannon says
Sort of the opposite situation: When I was 8 months pregnant my hubby and I hung a floor to ceiling six foot wide removable wall decall of trees (branches cut out) in our daughter’s nursery. We had no idea what we were doing, and it was a sticky unweildy mess. It took an entire evening, on into the night, and when it was all over we gave eachother a high five and said “I can’t believe we’re still married!”
Sara says
I am sure the other half miscommunicates all the time, I mean, we do … but this story reminded me of the time I brought a bag of clothes to a donation center. I was pregnant with my second child and perhaps a little sentimental and sensitive … and as soon as I dropped off the bag of clothes my son had long ago outgrown, and walked back to my car, these emotions hit hard. I turned around and walked back to the donation center and asked if I could get this one particular adorable sweater back … she had no compassion or understanding and looking right at my bag with the sweater on top, said NOPE to late and dismissed me. I cried all the way home. (I think I can finally laugh at that now, although that sweater was super cool retro…)
Casey @ wafflingdesign says
Oh my. Maybe the best plan is a designated spot for “want to sell or reuse” and NOT leave it out where a declutterer might find it!!
I think we have all been through this. My dad is a bit of a packrat and when I needed to clean a room, I often threw out a lot of junk. but he never noticed! haha
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like a good plan!
xo,
s
gina says
LOL!!! My husband done the SAME thing one time, cept it was with some of my GOOD shoes and bags! I never saw em again, and when i think about it, it makes me mad again!!! aarrggh!
Katie says
My husband and I definitely have arguments, but it isn’t ever because he went on a cleaning spree. That would be a miracle. Lol
Leigh says
This is so funny! It sounds like so many discussions (haha) we’ve had in our house. Our most recent one was over laundry. My husband decided he would do some laundry to help out. I asked him to please, please, please read all the tags because I have some shirts that are lay flat to dry. Well, fast forward to me pulling miniature versions of my shirts of the dryer. When I asked the hubby about it, he didn’t recall my saying anything about reading the tags and then said he would never do laundry again. LOL. We’re mature as well! Of course, he still does laundry and I just get to buy new clothes so I win! See how mature I am?
Shannon says
I had cross-stitched a cute little pillow for my friend who had just had a baby. I put it in a box to be taped up and re-labeled, and it sat on the desk in our kitchen for a few weeks. My husband was trying to be helpful on garbage morning one week and grabbed the box to toss in the garbage, thinking it was empty because it was so light. I didn’t realize it was gone for another few days. The garbage was long gone. I was NOT happy.
Oh, and Sherry was totally right…
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! That’s so sad!
xo,
s
Amiz says
Oh man we miscommunicate all the time. It’s usually best if we don’t do projects together. Our problem is he isn’t imaginative at times, so when I try to explain something I want to do or what I want it to look like, he can’t picture what I’m talking about. Lucky for me he’s a truck driver so he’s gone 5 days a week. So I usually tell him at the beginning of the week what it is I’m going to do, he has his doubts, he comes home and tells me I’m a genius and he should always listen to what I have to say. Ok maybe not exactly, but it’s usually positive. Glad to see the Petersiks are normal too :)
Judy W. says
This has been my experience with a husband who is much better at imagining than I am. I’m just not a very visual person, so I have a hard time “seeing” what he has in mind. Fortunately, after 18 years of marriage, I have simply learned to trust him. In fact, I will say “I have no idea what you are talking about, but I trust you and I’m sure it will be fine.” And so far, it always has been!
Laura says
My husband and I just survived stripping the wallpaper from three rooms in three days, and that was definitely a test in patience and communication for us! It’s hard when you’re DIY-ing stuff and you’re tired, cranky, and dealing with two different mindsets of how things should be accomplished. But once you’re finished you have a great sense of team-accomplishment. :)
amy says
I don’t remember what we were fighting about, but earlier this spring while fighting with my husband in the garage about the kitchen remodel we were in the midst of, I chucked a piece of trim I had just finished painting at him. He wasn’t looking, hit him on the side of head and the trim fell on the floor, fresh white paint side down.
Aislynn says
LOL this made me laugh – my hubby and I go through the similar sort of conversations but it’s usually about the dishes! When he puts my mug (which isn’t suppose to go in the dishwasher) through and does the “well I was just trying to help” comment get thrown out there!
Brooke says
My then-fiancé and I bought a fixer-upper that we were determined to finish work on in time for Christmas, when our families would be joining us for our wedding a week later. We managed to get everything done in time by blowing our budget on having the whole house professionally painted from top to bottom. The night before everyone arrived, my fiancé bumped a ladder into the freshly painted ceiling above our basement stairs, leaving a big scratch in the paint. No problem! The paint was fresh, so I asked him to just touch it up. Which he did… with bright white high-gloss trim paint on our matte off-white ceiling (he forgot to check the cans before painting). In all of our ten years together, I can’t remember ever having been as mad as I was then! He finally managed to doctor the spot with the right matte paint, and our relatives had fun betting on where the spot actually was during their visit. I figure if we managed to recover from that, our marriage should be safe for a while :)
Laurie says
My husband and I are about to start building a home and the bickering has started already. He is fixated on the grundtal toilet paper holders and while I agree they are sturdy, I don’t think they are the prettiest, and I want pretty for my new home. We don’t have a floor plan but we are arguing about toilet paper holders! Stop the madness!!!
lori says
Last winter I spent weeks changing out all of the builder brass door knobs and hinges in our town home (I think there might have been about a thousand of them…) to a nice ORB set. I can only work during nap time, so this project drug on for a while. (hence my blog title, the nap time creative. shameless plug, ha). I saved the front door for the end, as it was cold out and I wanted to wait until it was warmer to switch them. Add in the HOA frowning upon making your exterior look nice (they wanted everything to stay brass for a unified, albeit dated, look). I finally got approval from them, and was just waiting for spring to switch them. One chilly day the front lock busted and we needed a new one ASAP. My loving, wonderful, talented, handsome husband went to Lowe’s to retrieve a replacement. He came back with brass. UM. WHAT? Not sure if it was the moon or what, but I lost it. If there had been a table near me, it would have been flipped. Then turned right side up to be flipped again, just to make sure it was understood that I was not happy with this. I was beyond mad that after the weeks of work and the numerous “I am so glad that awful brass is gone” comments, it was not understood that the front door set was going to be bronze as well. We (meaning ME) eventually got over it, but I do cringe when I unlock that brass door lock. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we’re loving all of these stories! Laughing with everyone and not at them! Thanks for sharing.
xo,
s
Courtney says
This is TOTALLY something my husband would do, and then he gets that hurt puppy look when he realizes that I’m mad at him for “trying to help.” Haha! I still cringe when I see the scratched up dresser I spent a whole summer refinishing.
Kara says
Oh you guys. This is such a classic marriage thing. One time my friend had a bag of dry cleaning next to a bag of clothes to donate and they got mixed up so that all of her husband’s nice dress shirts went to Goodwill. I’m not sure they’re laughing about that yet.
KH says
Ohhh this takes me back to a ridiculous fight my husband and I had last year. I accidentally left my hair straightener on one day (I NEVER do this!) and when we got home, there was a big black ring on the counter. We tried EVERYTHING to cool down the counter and try to scrub it off, and it didn’t budge. He was so mad that we were going to have to replace the counter (our house was on the market) and we literally did not speak for hours. Fuming!
THEN… I went into the bathroom to wash my hands and realized- big dark ring on counter was the shadow from our towel ring on the wall. Move the towel ring, the shadow moves. We STILL laugh about the huge fight about a shadow! Crisis. Averted. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahah, that’s hilarious! So glad it was all ok!
xo,
s
Cindy says
This is my favorite story of all. How funny!
Bernadette says
Haha that’s the best!
Christi says
When we did our renovation our contractor said sometimes he felt like he was a child of divorced parents (and not in the good, I get everything I ask for way)! We learned ALOT about each other during that time frame (this was about 7 years ago) and now try to be more patient and explain our ideas better to the other person!