Pour Myself a Cup of Ambition...

Oh. Em. Gee. It's been so long! I got sick, like a lot sick, and was out for a while. Then I saw a specialist who told me my septum was deviant, (which explained a lot), and that was keeping oxygen from flowing freely to my brain thereby explaining my exhaustion, but not my dehydration. So I opted for surgery, which is not as fun as it sounds.

In between all this we finally finished our kitchen! And Jane Fonda hugged me. Not in that order.
So,...some befores?






That's right, asbestos floor, navajo white cabinets, tile counters, lathe and plaster, everything that only makes a redo more impossible. Nothing plumb, nothing level, nothing at all, in any way, easy.

And now, what you've all been waiting for...
We finished the sink and the mini subway tiles! Which was really hard! Since nothing is plumb or level, our solution was to use matching birch trim to frame out the tile. Quarter round tiles didn't work and I couldn't find any tiles that had finished edges. 


Bug plate! I think it is a perfect mix of me and John.
I love the beads I added to my wood mini blinds...
Paint brush storage!
Maybe those canisters hide something,...you'll never know...
To refab the doors, my husband knocked off the top rail, cut the door down to size with the handles still on them and then reattached the top rail piece. I painted and he rehung the same doors. He says it was super tricky.

I put a piece of cork under the toaster. No idea if the heat from the toaster will do any damage. It looks nice and might help. Plus I got it for 49 cents at a thrift store.
Take a turn about the room...
 What?! Did I leave my Mother's Day stuff up?!
The thrifted basket lamp...
Discount IKEA cabinets...
Things I need close at hand...
Mini Buddha shelf...

The beginnings of our front yard landscaping plan...
So much fresher and cleaner! No more dirty grout and sink full of 80 year old stains...

Next up, landscape the front yard, finish painting the house, turn my garage into an outdoor dining room...hopefully, my nose surgery will solve my exhaustion so I can get back into the swing of things! And maybe it will solve my money problems and I will get everything I want for free!!

Thanks for hangin' out with me! I always liked you best!

(Oh! I almost forgot! Jane Fonda...My husband worked on the HBO show The Newsroom and we went to the wrap party whereupon I talked to Jane Fonda and she pulled me in for a hug! She's delightful and down to earth and I highly recommend getting a hug from her. It may have led me to my improved mood and rehydration!)







We're Painting the Houses Warm Stone or It Puts the Paint on the House...

Before Painting House...

And After Painting House...
Sometimes California is too sunny for pictures...and skin. I got a sunburn today...

I told my son I was taking a bath because I worked so hard today. He said, "I worked harder. I found a lot of holidays." (Holidays are my missed spots. In this case they were white). After a 'mean'-ingful look, he said, "Mom, there were so many white spots for me to find!"
I think we're adding shutters! The house always looks like it needs shutters in photographs...

Now if someone will just bring me food, I will be happy...







Drinking and Painting!

Here's the before. With a dash of the yellow color I eventually painted the living room. It took me three days to paint. But I don't use tape. Just a steady hand and a furni pad that I moved under wherever I painted. And no paint clothes. I just paint in what I have on. If you see me, you can find at least one paint drip on any outfit.

Here is the after...after I got tipsy and painted that nook...

I'm not a huge fan of the yellow walls...it looks great in the morning and great in the evening, but from 12-3 it looks garish. So I think I'm going grey. That should help all the colors of my furniture pop...
I think it looks much better. And I can't believe what a steady hand I had after a few vodka drinks!