#77 Replace kitchen counter

Replacing the counters was a housewarming gift from my parents. Yeah, we've been in the house for three years. Last Thanksgiving, we finally applied ourselves and organized a day off to be home for the installers. Special thanks to Sissy for being there for the creation of the template. It's Zodiac, a composite stone, never needs sealing in Galaxy Black. We love it!

Of course, then we realized what we needed was a backsplash. Fortunately, it's a lot easier to organize our contractor; he knows where we hide the key.

Now we realize how much we need new cabinets. Let this be a lesson to you, never fix up your house...

#80 Install blind upstairs bath

That is a new blind in the newly painted bathroom. It replaces the craptastic burgundy metal miniblind that came with the house. So, yeah, two years later and we just fixed that. (Let's not talk about the toe-molding in the bedroom.)

#74 Repaint brown bathroom

I finished four coats, just in time for Christmas and the visit from the relatives. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to put up the blind, but soon. Very soon. I’d show you a photo, but it’s a picture of a bathroom painted white. With pink and burgundy tile (which is why we wanted it to be brown. But with no bathroom fan, there was no way that paint wasn’t bubbling.)

#90 Rip up carpet in craft room

I thought we weren't going to finish today. I was still packing up the room (and sorting, lots of sorting) at lunchtime. I suppose the experience of taking up the carpet in the bedroom--and figuring out how to deal with the disintegrated rubber mat--paid dividends today. Armed with our dustpans (yes, the secret to taking up rubber mat that has stuck to the hardwood), we made quick work of the carpeting.

This floor is in the best condition of all the hardwood we've revealed so far. It's very exciting.

#89 Shelving for dining room

Okay, so it doesn't look much like shelving, but it does take up much of that wall--we decided we didn't really need to add the storage the shelves would provide. (It was that ubiquitous Pottery Barn hanging bar sort of thing. Very chichi, too expensive.)

This is much more us anyway.

And, just because I can, a gratuitous shot of the $60 chandelier I got from Home Decorator's Outlet.

Not On the List

This is how I spent my Sunday:


The dude and I put up the map in the study. And we did it without any arguments or fights. It came in eight parts, and we had to line up all the parts, so that was downright miraculous. The first photo shows the suede paint we did a few months ago. This room is really shaping up!