Who doesn't love fresh paint fumes in the morning?

This weekend was probably the third most productive weekend in my life. On Friday Jeff and I went to see a house that is for sale on 8th street, just around the corner from us, mostly out of curiosity. It was really nice looking on the outside (a craftsman) with beautiful landscaping, a one bedroom unit in the back, and super cheap! It was listed for 320K which is pretty good for a 2000 square foot home. We weren't too jazzed after taking the tour, even though it was nice inside we kept saying to ourselves how much better our house was for us. This is a picture of the house:


So when we got back home, we felt pretty lucky to be living in such an awesome house and had a renewed spirit for making it the best it can be. We bought Jeffy a push lawnmower called the Task Force and he went to town on the lawn (we decided to let our gardener Alberto go so we could use the money to buy iPhones! So spoiled...). I planted a few more succulents and tended to the garden but when I went inside the house, I had the overwhelming urge to paint the kitchen. My parents know, and Jeff is learning, that when I get an idea in my head of something I want to do, it kind of has to be done right then and there. So after fake crying and complaining to Jeff about how the kitchen was dark and bummed me out, I tricked him into saying he'd help me repaint it. After a call to Gina and Brian for their painting blessings, I was off to Lowe's!

This is what our dining room looked like after I emptied the cabinets. We have a LOT of stuff. :)

This is a "before" picture. I sewed new curtains for the kitchen cupboards and then realized they did not go with the green cabinets at all. The solution? Paint the cabinets! It was a lot of prep work. We had to sand everything, take off hinges and hardware, clean and scrub the cabinets, move appliances, sheesh! Quite the undertaking, and a good workout!

This was after the first coat of Linen White. We decided to go with the same color as all of the trim and doors in the house because it would make it easier to touch things up, plus it's a really creamy and pretty white.

While Jeff taught his weekend classes, I did most of the painting. My right hand is sooo sore from that stupid little roller. I want a paint sprayer gun for my birthday. Jeff- take note.

And the finished product! The kitchen is so shiny and new now, and looks a lot bigger we think. When I came downstairs this morning and the sun was shining into the kitchen, it was so happy and cheerful and fresh. A job well done we thinkest.


Next up- the upstairs bathroom! Jeff picked the color, a light minty aqua and I'm going to find some mounted staghorn ferns to hang on the walls. If we can swing buying the joint, Jeff's projects include Geoff McFetridge's Yeti wallpaper for the downstairs bathroom and a window in the wall between the stairwell and den closet. Because who doesn't want a window in a closet?