Mid-Weekend Recap

I refuse to sell my weekend short and am sure we will embark on new adventures today, but I do want to document the fun we had yesterday, hence the optimistic title.  It's quite possible that all we do today is house chores and horseback riding, but one just never knows.  It is Shark Week, after all.

Yesterday morning, in all my craziness, I scheduled an 8AM photo shoot.  This is the third year for the Tails of Love photo book put together by the Humane Society of the Ozarks - an organization near and dear to my heart (I was even co-Volunteer Coordinator for nearly a year...I don't know where I found the time!).  Our family has been in it both of the previous years, so we couldn't imagine not participating now.  This is our second year to use Chris Blake, a member of the board, as our photographer.  He is a very patient man and we are so grateful to have him to take our pictures.

I scheduled the darn thing at 8AM because we were in the middle of 105 degree heat and I knew Landry would not be long for this world in any kind of heat.  But when we woke up Saturday morning,  it was barely 60 degrees!  The dogs loved it, but Alli was freezing in her cute little dress.  The shoot was, as ever, painful with two rowdy dogs and a kid who won't look at the camera, but Chris felt like he got some good shots, so here's hoping.

Afterwards because it was so incredibly cool, we decided to head up to the Farmers Market with the boys.  They were the hit of the day, and Alli had a great time too.

The world-famous "Hamdry" as my sister calls him

The PedalPops guy gave us a frequent buyer card...

Afterwards, we returned to The Natural Pet (mentioned here) to try Landy out on some new dog food.  Then, on our way home, Ryan pulled a u-turn and slid sideways into a new place on Township called In Retrospect.  I introduced him to thrifting a few weeks ago, and I think he's hooked.  In Retrospect just opened August 1st, and the tagline below the name said "Vintage.Kitsch.Flea-tastic."  Sign me up.

There was so much adorable stuff there, but I flew through it with Alli, Ryan, Cash & Landry waiting in the car, so I didn't get to ponder it like I wanted to.  But we are definitely going back - it had the feel of a place that already shopped the thrift stores and repainted and updated them for you, which is nice in that one, it saves you the time of doing it yourself and two, it gives you good ideas if you want to do it yourself.

We then headed home to all take naps - the long week and early Saturday morning took its toll on everyone.  We got back out around 5PM and did some new furniture shopping.  I think a healthy mix of old and new keeps your house from looking like a thrift store itself.  Plus, they can be pretty proud of their stuff, those antique stores.  Sometimes, it's to your advantage to get new!

Here are some inspiration pieces I snapped while we were out:

• Hall tree - PierOne: Oh how I long to have a mudroom and a launch pad.  This hall tree would definitely help - it has good spot to hang purses, keys and backpacks, a mirror to make sure you don't have mascara clumped in the corner of your eyes, a bench begging for punchy pillows, and concealed storage below.  PierOne knows how bad I want this, because it's around $350, but oh my!  You should note that it also comes in a mahogany, but we both know I prefer the white.  Cute pose, RLowe.

• Lamp - Furniture Row:  We got a bedroom suite and our current kitchen table at Furniture Row some years ago, and we've actually been pretty happy with both pieces.  I didn't see too much in there that grabbed me this time around except this pretty lamp.  I love the big base, and I love that the shade is almost burlap - very textured and very not white.  White fabrics don't last long at this little abode.  Oh, and sure.  I like it because it's white.

• Jewelry Chest - Ashley's:  This gem drew me in from across the room with her slender build and weathered look.  I didn't know until further inspection that she was a jewelry chest - complete with hooks, drawers, and even those special drawers that you can put your rings in.  Top it off with that blue and white paint job and I was hooked.  Price tag scare - they knew I was coming.  This little baby is $700, so I am thinking she will just need to stay inspirational for me.

• Buffet Table - Ashley's:  I was pretty smitten with this leggy buffet table the minute I saw it.  My most favorite piece in our house is my gorgeous buffet table (sort of spied here), so maybe I have a thing for these multi-functional go-anywhere pieces.  Entry tables, serving tables, sofa tables...these babies can do it all.  This lady was on sale for $500, which isn't terrible.  Maybe one day I will have a spot for her.

So there's a little shopping with the Lowes this weekend.  Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday, and here's to Sundays being just as fun!!

Parental Punch List

I know you've been crying into your pillow every night because your fave bloggette has been a little slow this week, but we just haven't had much going on.  Fortunately, my parents came up this weekend and helped us complete a laundry list of home improvement items.  Aren't helpful parents the best?  Here's your rundown:

• The bamboo blinds arrived for the sliders.  I was especially happy that they arrived while my parents were up - Momsy and Daddykins have a great critical eye and will give me constructive advice on the house decor.  I love the mister to death, but a helpful critic on home decorating he is not.  So I was quite pleased to have some in-person opinions on what I considered a bit of a window treatment risk.  Verdict:  love.  Daddio was pleased with the function and Mamacita was pleased with the appearance - put those hands together and you have exactly what I was going for.  Happy dance.

Don't you just love the warmth and completeness it has verses this pic?  It brings a brown tone that we have  in baskets and our granite over to this half of the area.  And total cost for both shades?  $30 from Overstock.com.  Cha-ching.

•  Mom unclogged Alli's sink.  Gross, I know.  But Ryan and I had pulled the drain out and run $50 worth of Liquid Plumber down the thing trying to get it to drain at the right speed (or at all).  Enter Handywoman Stacie to go underneath the sink and show us how it's done.  It drains perfectly AND she fixed the stopper that we pulled out trying to fix it.  Gotta love her.
• After Mom unclogged the sink I walked in the kitchen and said "Now all I need is for Dad to install a light over my shower and I'm golden!"  I was joking.  I really was.  But shortly thereafter we made the trip to Home Depot (so happy I got to introduce the workers to my pops) and got the supplies.  And just about an hour after that....let there be light.

How about that?!  I had no idea this process was so easy!!  Ryan and Dad had it done in literally an hour.  This isn't a show-you-how-to-do-it blog, but Meredith at Welcome to Heardmont and her hubby followed a similar process that she detailed here, in case you need it.  Seriously, so easy.  Now I'm looking up and wondering where else I can put some...a girl can never have enough light.

Well, I'm off to wrap up the weekend by cleaning up, some spray painting, and a glass of wine.  You know, just trying to add to the cork collection.

Bitchin' Kitchen

Don't be a prude.  It totally rhymes.  And you know I have a bit of a potty mouth, and the "b" word is my second favorite behind the "s" word.  And what else rhymes with "kitchen??"  So go with it.  This isn't your grandma's blog.

So anyway, as you know, we repainted the kitchen this weekend.  And by "we" I mean me.  No cred for Mr. Lowe here.  All your girl.  The result was ah-maz-ing.  I certainly loved our purple kitchen, but the lighter brighter Lotus Leaf was a welcome change!  Let's dive right into pics, shall we?  Here's an idea of just where we were before.  Dark purple walls, dark accents, and (EGAD!) vertical blinds.

And here we are today:

Aw hells yeah.  How airy and bright is that??  What a difference!!  There's still plenty left to do.  I plan to add a window treatment to the window above the sink, replace the green rug with something a little more neutral and durable (maybe jute?), and replace the slipcovers on the chairs with some pretty new grey ones.  But how about no more vertical blinds?!  Woohoo!!!  I'm thinking I'm going to add some bamboo blinds above them a la my fave blog Young House Love, as seen here.  Something to fill in the wall between the trim and the curtain rod above the door.

And what about that spray painted mirror above my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house, the buffet? Definitely lightens up that area.  Mama likey.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend !!  I'm exhausted!!  And sometime in the next few weeks I'm hoping my good man allows me to repaint those kitchen cabinets to look a little more like our bathrooms.  Fingers crossed.

Taming the Monster

No, I'm not talking about my hair this morning.  And I'm not talking about cleaning Alli's eternally messy room despite her vast organization and storage options.  And I'm definitely not talking about teaching my little Panda to sit-stay either.  That'll be the day.

I'm talking about repainting the kitchen.  Cue horrified scream.

I think this is from the movie Psycho?  Let me know if you know.  Picture from here.

Why does this task conjure such horror?  Let's dive in.

1. The kitchen is presently dark, dark purple.  I love purple.  Painting over purple is almost like painting over teal, while not quite as bad as painting over pink.  It's just great color.  We've had some good meals, great gatherings, and lots of fun in the purple kitchen.  I hate to see it go.
2. The kitchen is presently dark, dark purple.  Purple is a hard color to paint over.  This paint job originally took one coat of primer and three coats of paint.  That's four total coats of paint for you non-mathematicians.  It's now going to be the same Lotus Leaf by Behr Ultra as the living room (a few samples of that paint color here).  That's a medium bluish-green grey.  Not sure how many coats it's going to take to cover a plum purple.
3. It took 4 coats last time - and it wasn't easy.  With all of the cabinets, windows, doorways, and the fridge to paint behind, no kitchen painting undertaking is ever pleasant.  We chronic painters love a good bedroom or a hallway.  But bathrooms and kitchens strike fear in our hearts.  All of that cutting in. Shudder.
4. I'm going it alone.  Ryan's gone today to an ultimate frisbee tournament.  I know.  But anyway, he's gone to that.  Even if he were here, he wouldn't be a huge help.  While an excellent roller, Ryan is no ace at cutting.  There's only really two or three half-walls to roll - the rest is cutting.  All me.

I got the bottom half cut last night, but that was the easy part.  Now comes the part where I balance on the counter, reach over the cabinets, and yank the fridge out and crawl behind it.  So say your prayers to patron saint of paint, and maybe I'll have some super pics for you later.  Until then - think of me often.