While You Were Out...

I've been a little hush-hush lately on the ol' blog, mostly because my mind has been consumed by a plot to do some secret redecorating while Neil went out of town for work. It was all I could think about or talk about, but I couldn't very well put it on the internet.

There has been a growing list of little home improvements in my head, like:

+ Paint

+ Get rid of ugly hardware on kitchen cabinets

+ Put a ceiling fan in the bedroom

+ Add a couple electrical outlets

+ Re-cover the chair I bought at the flea market

Something kind of snapped when Neil left town. I hit a breaking point where shit just had to get done or else. So I just did all of them.

I've been wanting to paint for a while, and I knew I'd need professional help doing it. The living room and dining area have vaulted ceilings and our bedroom had peeling wallpaper under the existing paint. My friend at work recommended a painter, and when I called him, he offered to come by 30 minutes later to give me an estimate. I hadn't even picked out colors, so I popped by the local Sherwin Williams, grabbed all the grey paint chips I could get my hands on, and walked around the house holding them up to the wall. I landed on these two shades of grey...

I ended up having most of the house painted Argos, and I put Software in the second bedroom where the CB2 daybed resides. That room is finally coming together...

I just need to put another piece of art or two on the wall, maybe find a rug (or maybe not), a cool desk chair (for the desk not pictured), and a filing cabinet to keep all our Very Important Paperwork in order. I've been thinking about buying a used one at the Habitat for Humanity store here in Nashville and spray painting it orange. Or red. But I love orange.

That's for another day, though. This weekend I'm focused on Not Spending Money. Turns out having your whole house painted is a little bit of a drain on your bank account.

Anyway, after an exhausting week of improving (which included installing all new cabinet hardware only to discover I hated it, which resulted in an umpteenth visit to Home Depot to return what I'd purchased -- after repackaging all of it -- and buying and installing a better option) and agonizing over what Neil would think when he got home, I hopped on a plane to visit my grandparents. Neil got home before I did, and he called while I was having a beer at the Cincinnati airport.

Neil: "Honey, someone broke into our house."

Me: "No they didn't"

Neil: "Yes, and they changed EVERYTHING. I think it was Martha Stewart. Or Genevieve."

When he said Genevieve I knew he was happy with it. And so am I. I'll share more pics when I take 'em.