Hard work and no play...

...makes Julia a dull girl. The Shining anyone? Creepiest.Movie.Ever.

So where have I been lately? Well, the black hole of a kitchen sucked me into it's domain. But I have progress pictures for you, so sit back and get comfy.

I. Project Chai Spice paint in the kitchen:

Before [fridge will be in corner]:After:

Before [stove and microwave go here]:

After:

Before [the door will have it's wood trim reapplied]:

After:

So yeah, painting still sucks. Primer, then two coats of the stuff. I don't think you can tell from the pictures but we made the walls a little textured with joint compound. We tried the "Mediterranean Trowel" style to cover the bumps and cracks. We are still considering a color wash on top of our paint to make it more of a "fresco" look. We'll see how much energy we have. Also, the paint isn't THAT orange in real life....it's more of a muted brownish terracotta. And I love it.

II. Project wall decor:

You see these four GIGANTOR boxes? They are full of my picture frames, wall decor, and shelves. This doesn't include my big framed art. I have a sickness, I tell you.

A. The family room. This is my current project but I have everything laid out for inspiration. I'm going with the "funky haphazard collage" style for this room. All frames are some form of brown or silver. Gotta have themes, people.

This is my inspiration. LOVE this [not sure where I found this picture, sorry!]

I framed our little "H" from PaPaYa and I love how it turned out. It's going in the collage, too.

So this project will likely take me all day. Nate is working today so I'm on my own to figure out the frustrating shelves and sconces....but as God is my witness, I'll figure this out somehow! I usually rely on my detail oriented hubby for hanging objects using levels and measurements. My theory is I can just eyeball everything to save time, but he does not follow this school of thought. We'll see if I can manage:) Pictures to follow.

Also, our big "H" found it's home in our family room. Note my cute painting sweatshirt and pajama pants.

B. Our bedroom:
I finally found our lampshades after much cursing and searching every box in existence. Where were they, you ask? Inside our giant stock pot, of course. Now our end tables are dressed and the bed is ready for it's headboard. Can't wait!

I decided to put our wedding shadow box above my dresser. Please ignore my awesome white lab coat. It doesn't fit with my theme, does it?

C. The guest room:
I like this room to display our college diplomas, marriage license, my PT license and random pictures. The theme here is black frames and of course I laid them out before hanging them.

I had an empty frame and decided to create a little something with scrap paper and scrap lace. I love the result!

So this is how I spent my night:

I apologize in advance to our guests. This shelf is the bane of my existence and is tilted despite my best efforts. If it collapses in the middle of the night we could be in trouble. But at least it looks nice!

Above the desk: Packers clock and calendar, Chicago and Duluth panoramic shots, and our half marathon shadow box. I know I have a lot of stuff hanging in this room but I quite like it.

III. Project kitchen floor:
I can't take credit for this one but the boys were up until 1 a.m. last night slaving away on our floor.

Let's take a moment to commemorate the yellow linoleum from the 50s:

And now? FABULOUS vinyl tile. It looks just like ceramic but it won't crack because it's vinyl. The boys stuck them down last night and today will add the grout. I am in love.

Doesn't it look great?

Henry is not impressed.

So yeah. We've been busy. And the boys are definitely not cutting corners with anything because they spent about five hours just prepping the floors. And it's not completely done yet.

But you guys.....it's almost finished! I even have our dishes unpacked into the cabinets! Just the grout, some finishing touches on the woodwork, possibly some faux finish on the walls, tiling the back splash and then we are done. Once the appliances and our kitchen table are in I just might cry.

In the meantime I'll be hanging a pimp wall collage. And nursing my new injuries including:
~lumbar strain from improper body mechanics
~carpal tunnel from carrying boxes/objects
~broken fingernails from too much manual labor
~scratched cornea from a stray wall chip, sustained while hammering a bitch of a nail into petrified dry wall.

I know, I'm whining now. So I must go. But pictures of my masterpiece will follow!