The Ugly Duckling House

Saturday Stimuli: Non-Nursery Designs

2012-05-26T03:00:00.000-04:00

Whenever I see a picture of a nursery, I usually notice one very clear thing: it looks nothing like the rest of the person's house.

I'm not a mom, so maybe I don't have a say in this yet. But I'm at the stage in my life where a friend is having a baby about once every five minutes (okay, that's an exaggeration, but three in one week is not). So, as an aunt to many, and in honor of yet another recent birth, I just have to say that I like that there is a design trend for nurseries that actually look like another room in the house instead of screaming HEY OVER HERE, THIS IS THE NURSERY. Lesson learned: baby rooms don't have to be inspiring for just the baby!

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Lighting Luck

2012-05-24T01:30:00.000-04:00

I find it nearly impossible to stay focused on a single task in the house. So when I can't take the mess anymore, I let go by finding a finishing touch of some kind - usually a pillow, rug, or a piece of art. Lately, I seem to be on a light fixture streak.

It all started with an unexpected discovery at a brief trip to TJ Maxx. Still feeling zero buyer's remorse. These suckers are staying.

My usual perusing through Pinterest later the same week turned up this photo:

Source: Uploaded by user via Sarah @The Ugly Duckling House on Pinterest

And instantly, it was like a jolt of caffeine: that white shade would be perfect for the pantry area in the kitchen. An Ikea MÅNLJUS fixture was the next best (and least expensive) thing.

And since two in a row isn't enough, the stars aligned one more time to let me discover the perfect pick for the hallway. It's rare to find light fixtures this size that don't look like gumballs. Or worse yet, boobs. And not even nice ones. Pale shades with dark bronze nipples. Zombie boobs. Which makes me wonder, what was the model for these? Rollos?

The only drawback? I needed at least three. Lowes had only one at my store. But luckily their stores keep stock up to date online, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I was forced to use the online search tool.

Because when I did, I learned that the store just six miles away sells them for $5 cheaper (plus another 5% on top for using my Lowe's credit card). For less than $20 apiece, these beauties are worth the trip.

Discover any great buys lately? I'd love to hear 'em!

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If at first you don't succeed...

2012-05-23T01:30:00.000-04:00

...try 800 million more times, and you'll probably get it right.

I have been trying in vain to cover the legs for the chair in the study-o for several weeks. Every time I think I've painted the last coat, it only gets streaky once it's dry. I've tried this four times now, and I'll be damned if I'm going to paint a fifth coat and still see streaks (I was sure to use a primer that has proven itself time and time again, so I blame the paint rather than blame the primer or method).

But, perhaps it's a blessing in disguise. Frustrated, I wanted to prove to myself that a fifth coat, however annoying, was necessary to get the look I wanted. Now that the walls are painted and I have the fabric, why not compare everything together in one photograph to show myself it's going to be worth every time-consuming coat?

Hmm. Or, not. Everything looks pretty bland. For funsies, I tried out a caulk cap for color inspiration.

Now that's more like it! Off to the garage to take care of this bland color combination (and the streaky paint job) in one coat (and using a new product too, which is also fun to try!).

Where have you gotten color inspiration lately?

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I Leapt Through Fire (and thankfully this had nothing to do with the house)

2012-05-21T23:18:00.000-04:00

I'm not much of a runner. I'm not much of a swimmer. I'm not much of an athlete in general, I suppose. But as of this weekend, I'm a warrior. After years of hearing about Warrior Dash, I finally did it. I stopped giving myself excuses and participated in one of the most challenging races around.

I ran up muddy hills. I trudged over buoys across a lake. I crawled under barbed wire, pulled my way up a rope wall, scrambled through a scrap yard of old cars, and hurdled over barricades. And as the post title tells you, I leapt through friggin' fire! (Maybe the most impressive thing is that I drove up to the middle of nowhere and did this with a strong stench of petting zoo in the air.)

For years, I have watched several of my (guy) friends run Warrior Dash, and always gave myself an excuse not to try it. It honestly looked like fun (they have awards for best costume, so the people watching factor is off the charts). It also looked like you had to be tough as nails (or batshit crazy, or both) to do it. But over this last year, I've been throwing myself into things I've grown tired of avoiding (grad school, for instance). It was time I took that to physical challenges I've always wanted to do, too.

Every time I started wheezing up a steep, muddy incline (I have asthma, so this happened a few times during the race), I found myself swearing aloud to push just a little further (the mantra, if you want to call it that, was "F*ck you, b*tch. You're doing this.") It wasn't really something I said to me, but more to the excuses I give myself. I wanted to prove (to me) that I could do it.

My sister and I signed up for it together, and we had a blast. We witnessed a blind participant compete (hell, after seeing this, it was kind of impossible not to finish).

In the end, I was bloody, bruised, and exhausted. I even discovered muscles that apparently only pop out when they are covered in mud.

The above photo is probably the one and only time I'll ever look anything like a bodybuilder. I consider that a good thing.

But without a doubt, I am doing it again next year. These are just a few photos we took the day of the race (the others are not yet available from the photog company, and based on the Dirty Girl Mud Run I ran earlier this month, are ridiculously expensive to purchase, so I may not have more to show). And at the end? A can of beer to replenish what I'd lost during the race (sweet of 'em to cater to me like that, don't you think?).

I'm not going to lie, the race was tough. But I'm so glad I did it. I actually DID IT!

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Easily Seal Grout Joints

2012-05-18T01:30:00.000-04:00

For some reason I thought sealing my grout would be messy, time consuming, and stink. Instead, it couldn't have been easier.

When I was first shopping for tile, I learned that there are two different types of sealant products available. Actually, that's not true; I first learned that I needed sealant in the first place. Grout sealer not only helps keep the grout from staining, but the more the grout can keep moisture out, the more pristine it stays over time (the porcelain tile itself is pretty stain-resistant and doesn't require the same kind of protection, but there are also varieties of porous tiles that also need sealing).

Where was I? Oh, right - there are two kinds:

additives that can be mixed into dry grout powder instead of water (which is supposed to seal the grout as it dries as a protective membrane, eliminating the need to seal afterward) and
sealant to apply to the surface of grout lines after the grout cures (which can be done to either dry grout that is later mixed, or pre-mixed grout)

I went with treating the grout lines after curing for a number of reasons:

1. Every time someone tried to convince me to get the additive product, they were a store clerk using the "listen, little girl" tone and selling it a little too hard. By default, I say no if my bullshit meter goes off. Nothing against the product on that one, but after two years of getting simultaneous opposing pieces of advice on virtually everything, I've learned to listen to my gut.

2. I did some research online, and again found conflicting opinions on if the additive really works forever like it says it does. Some complained that it still stained (which would imply that either it was done improperly or really is a faulty product). This would eventually result in having to re-seal the grout in the future if it is true, so I really didn't see the difference.

3. Unlike mixing to exact specifications and worrying whether I did it right (especially since this was the first grout job on a tile floor that I've ever done), the sealant comes in a nifty applicator brush, much like a giant bottle of nail polish. I can handle that with my eyes closed.

4. It took less than an hour and a wad of paper towels (really though, you just apply the liquid generously all over the grout lines and let it soak in for 15 minutes, then wipe it up - another coat in a half hour, and you're done).

5. I spoke to a few people who have been tiling for years, and none of them suggested I try the additive (though the argument could be made that the additive is a newer product than traditional sealant, so it's not universally accepted yet by everyone even if it's a good product).

6. The bag of grout I was using specifically said not to use an additive and to instead use water. For once, I actually read and followed instructions.

Listing them out, I realize none of these reasons are necessarily good ones for going the sealant route versus the additive. I suppose one can go either way, especially when the coverage area is as small as mine. Nonetheless, my grout is sealed, leaving only one other part of the floor to take care of before I can continue on with the walls.

What have you been working on lately?

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Installing a Gate Latch

2012-05-17T01:30:00.000-04:00

I put off easy tasks way too much.

The gate to the back yard fence had a latch on the wrong side for over two years. Even after the latch broke, and even though I had a dog who preferred the front yard to the back and kept constantly trying to jump the fence, I still didn't do anything about it for months.

And then with no particular reason last night, I finally stopped making excuses. I bought a new latch and unscrewed the old. Seemed like things would be simple enough. And then I immediately dropped one of the rusty screws into the dirt.

The rest went a little more smoothly. First, I drilled pilot holes to keep the wood from splitting.

Then I screwed in the three rusty leftovers (the package came with screws, but they were too long to keep from sticking out of the other side of the door). When I needed to screw in the other side of the latch, I realized the bit I was using was too short. Insert "size matters" joke here.

I'm very proud of this shot. It's not easy taking a picture of something that requires two hands to do.

It took fifteen minutes. Well, two years and fifteen minutes.

What have you been putting off for too long?

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WNW: Master Bedroom Lamps

2012-05-16T01:30:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I stopped by TJ Maxx on my way home. I intended on checking out their pillow selection and adding to my growing collection, but as usual, a trip to the store to get pillows had me leaving the store with everything but pillows.

There is a long, long list of things I need for the house eventually: pillows, picture frames, light fixtures, curtains, artwork, etc. So when I go out shopping, I feel pretty free to look at just about anything, and as long as it fits my budget, buy what works for the house. Even if it means I haven't gotten to a certain spot to really use it yet (like the duvet cover I bought for the guest bedroom - to be revealed soon I hope), I have a growing design scheme ready. It may require a little more patience, but there's a certain point in a DIYers journey where a perfectly smooth wall just isn't satisfying my zeal for change in this house. Enough about toilets and tile for one day; I need color. I need to see a friggin' finishing touch already!

When I saw them, I knew right away that these lamps were exactly what I wanted in the master bedroom. If I'd been asked to draw the perfect lamp for the room, I'd probably have come up with something made of mercury glass and capped with a shade. But maybe that's why I hadn't found them before until now; I'd been looking at lamps that were all almost right - that each had something about them that just weren't right. Now it makes sense, because now that I have these, what all those other lamps actually were was totally wrong. Funny how that happens, right?

These weren't all that I picked up; even Charlie scored big with a new favorite toy.

The lamps provide the perfect light in the evening for reading. And I suppose it's just in time; I'll be using them plenty in two weeks when school starts up again! Happy Wednesday!

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Out of the Haze

2012-05-15T01:30:00.000-04:00

The grout is in!

Grout is one of the easier steps of laying tile. After smushing (technical term) the grout in between the tile, it's important to wipe everything down with a damp (but not wet) sponge. After a first pass, rinse the sponge so it stays clean and then wait about an hour for a second wipedown. The haze that forms can be buffed off with a dry towel.

For anyone wanting a more detailed tutorial, I'm writing one up to share when I work on the master bath (which will start immediately after finishing this guest bath).

These grout lines were only 1/16th of an inch, so I used unsanded gray grout. Using gray instead of white lets the grout lines disappear as much as possible. Am I happy with it?

Hell yes, I am. But the bathroom is far from finished. A majority of the to-do list is still yet to be done:

~~rip out the old flooring, vanity, and toilet~~
~~install cement board~~
~~lay down tile~~
~~grout the tile~~
apply a patch to the gaping hole near the vanity plumbing
finish patching and sanding the walls
pick a paint color
prime and paint the walls
apply insulating foam to a large gap in the floor (once again, a big thank-you to the builders who constructed this home)
reinstall the baseboards and put in new shoe molding
install a new toilet
install the vanity
install a new faucet
hook up the plumbing
recaulk the shower
add finishing decorative touches and artwork

I have the shower curtain, 3D art, and a paint deck to choose the paint color for the room. I may have a lot more to do, but I think one of the biggest obstacles is now out of the way!

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Correcting Minor Tile Mistakes

2012-05-14T01:30:00.000-04:00

When you're laying down tile, wiggle is usually a bad word. One of the most important lessons to learn is that you always want to take care of any corrections and cleanup before the tile begins to dry. Once mastic (aka tile adhesive) is cured, it's hard as a rock (and that's the intention of course, since it's meant to be the glue that holds the tile to the floor), which makes it extremely difficult to clean up if you get it somewhere other than under the tile.

After the tile is glued and dry, grouting is the next step. Spacers can be easily swept up, but as I collected them from some of the joint lines, I noticed there were areas where the mastic had squished its way between the tiles, leaving very little space for the grout to stick when applied. If I'd left it this way, the grout might have a difficult time staying where I need it, and eventually find its way back out from between the tile (or never stick at all).

Some of that extra dried mastic needed to be removed, but would it be possible? I took a gamble and tried out my Porter-Cable oscillating tool again. For most of the lines, a grout blade worked really well. The blade was exactly the width of the spacers and made quick work of ridding the dried glue in the narrow lines.

Some of the tiles joined together in a T shape, which made it harder to get at the right angle with the blade. For these, I switched back to a metal/wood blade to make sure that I didn't risk hitting the tile and chipping. I was thrilled at how well this worked.

Granted, you would always still want to get it right the first time, and sawing into mastic isn't something you should rely on to clean up every mistake. But since I'm no expert, mistakes are inevitable. Knowing that I'm not going to ruin it if I don't get it 100% right is just the kind of reassurance I need to actually do the project in the first place. I may not want wiggle room on the tile itself, but wiggle room for my mistakes is always welcome!

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Saturday Stimuli: Black & White

2012-05-12T03:00:00.000-04:00

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I Named the Tile Bon Qui Qui

2012-05-10T01:30:00.000-04:00

Because it will cut you.

I was surprised to find that the edges of porcelain tile are rather sharp. I was also surprised to find that despite them being identically sized rectangles, they are not flat and level, which made installing them a little more challenging.

The tile I used in the bathroom is 12x24 inch porcelain tile called a rectified or "dimensionally stable" tile, which are both just ways of saying that they are the same size tile after tile. During the drying process, non-rectified tiles are cut to size, then baked. Rectified tile is cut to size after baking, so there's no shrinking, which allows for very thin grout lines (for this bathroom, we went with 1/16th spacers). And narrow grout lines means less opportunity for dirt to get into crevices (in other words, keeping right in my lazy girl wheelhouse).

The challenge about baking tiles this size is that they have a tendency to warp, which means that although the sizes are supposed to be all the same, the height will vary at different areas on any given tile. This can pose a problem when laying one tile against another; if they aren't level, the difference can be really obvious when the joints meet. This issue is frequently referred to as lippage. I use the same term when Charlie makes an Elvis face.

After a number of tries with dry fitting, a staggered brick pattern seemed to be the least likely to cause extreme lippage (the middle of the tile tends to be the most warped compared to each end, so doing a standard half brick pattern was the worst of the variations we tried).

While Tony was upstairs laying tile, I was outside on the lawn, cutting pieces to fit. I actually really enjoyed it. That is, until my Dad decided the tile saw needed more water, filled it with the hose, and proceeded to laugh at me while I got soaking wet. I guess he forgot the splash guard at home. Har har. That sludgy hair look is all the rage right now.

By the late afternoon, the tile was in, we were tired, and it was time to call it a day. I'll likely be grouting tonight now that I've let it cure for several days.

A tutorial (including all of our obvious unofficial tile tools, like my favorite taping knife) will be in the works when I do the master bath. This round was about learning how (the benefit of having two rooms that need the same things done to them), so I'll be taking more pictures when I do the next room. I am so relieved to be making progress in this room. Who knows? Maybe my next semester will start with a fully remodeled bathroom.

Well, maybe about halfway as usual. But with a toilet.

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Misplaced Enthusiasm

2012-05-08T20:52:00.002-04:00

I never really thought excitement would be the emotion I'd feel at the thought of having a sink and toilet working in the same bathroom again.

The pedestal sink in the powder room has been leaking when water drains, and I've been forced to stop using it for months (to make sure the leak doesn't ruin the floor) until I had a second set of hands around to help me lift the basin, pull the pedestal out, and take a look at the pipes. When a friend came over last week, I had a few minutes of help, but only tightened the rubber attachment from the sink drain to the lower pipe. I thought this solved it, but the drip returned.

When Dad and Tony visited over the weekend, we took another look and discovered the real problem: a crack in the rubber seal (you can see it on the yellowy putty area in the pic below). No tightening would fix this; I would have to buy a replacement part.

Given the tiny space we were working in and the fact that our hands needed to be used for lifting the sink and then holding and installing the part, the best I could do is a shot of everything back together.

The only part that needed multiple attempts to connect was the rod for the pull to pop the drain. But once everything was in, I could finally wash my hands after using the toilet. I mean, it's been months; they're getting pretty gross.

Kidding.

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Weekend Not Wasted

2012-05-07T01:30:00.000-04:00

Most weekends, I feel like there is a lot I want to accomplish, and then I fail miserably at getting it all done. This weekend, however, my weekend was packed with events both in and out of the house.

I've been making a greater effort over the last few months to get more exercise. It started as part of a New Years resolution to just take care of myself a little better, and then I found bikram yoga. The first class was brutal (for those not familiar, it's 90-minute yoga in a room over 100 degrees), but I've gone twice a week for the last few months. From there, I also signed up for my first 5k (the Dirty Girl which I mentioned last week, and I'm still waiting on the official photos)...

...and hiked up Stone Mountain, which is about a half hour outside of Atlanta. If you ever visit the Atlanta area, the view is certainly worth the effort!

As for the house, on Sunday, Dad and his buddy Tony came over to teach me about installing tile. It turned into a long afternoon, but they were amazing help. And it's a huge step toward getting the guest bath back into a state where I don't have to travel to another floor in the house to pee. All it takes is sitting on the front lawn with a tile sludge flying into my hair. You can clearly see from the state of the lawn that I like tiling more than mowing.

More photos and peeks at the new floor coming this week! Be sure to stick around for a few tips, a sink update, and trying out a new spray paint. But first - how was your weekend?

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Saturday Stimuli: Red Laquer

2012-05-05T03:00:00.001-04:00

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Twinges of Badassery

2012-05-04T01:30:00.000-04:00

Every night when I get home from work, I make a point to do at least one thing that I hadn't accomplished the day before. With only a month off of school, I don't want to look back in June and think that I wasted the month with frivolous things like showering and doing laundry.

All of this buzzing around the house is typically dealing with the more boring aspects of home ownership, like fixing the garbage disposal or tightening the powder room plumbing (a friend stopped by the house last weekend, and I immediately asked for a second hand holding the sink basin - "Hi! Got a sec?").

Interesting thing to have learned this week: when a sink disposal gets clogged, the motor will cut off and needs to be reset (along with getting rid of whatever caused it to jam in the first place). It's usually an easy fix, but if you have a disposal like mine, you need to use an Allen wrench to wind the motor and hit a reset button. The spot to place the wrench is pretty straightforward (hint: it's the hole on the bottom of the disposal). This usually frees anything that's stuck and allows you to remove it from the sink. Once the jam is clear, run ice cubes through the disposal to sharpen the blades (plus, it gets rid of all those old refrozen ice cubes that have been lingering in your ice maker - leave them in there too long, and they can turn into one giant ice block). Until this week, I'd never "fixed' the disposal myself before; now I feel the teensiest feeling of badass every time I run the kitchen faucet.

As glamorous as things like this are, it's putting me in a great mood to know that the nagging things on my to-do list aren't forced to wait, which translates into time for shopping for funky light fixtures for the study-o.

Jonathan Adler Bamboo chandelier

I've been on the lookout for several weeks now without success, so I need all the help I can get. Got any stores you'd like to suggest?

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Home Shopping

2012-05-03T01:30:00.000-04:00

I haven't spent much time at home this week, but ironically enough, a lot of it has been spent getting things done for the house.

For example, I sped over to World Market during my lunch break to do a little light shopping. Almost immediately, I spotted a wall of colorful pillows.

The velvety ones are currently on clearance at 50% off. They are only five bucks each, a standard 18in. x 18in. size, and with zippered covers... meaning I have the freedom to remove them, create my own (say, with beautiful printed napkins), and still come out at steep discount from normal designer or custom pillows.

I filled my cart with 'em and grabbed two more that weren't on sale. When I got home last night, I tried them out as-is with another I picked up on sale from Target (the yellow one in the pic below).

It may not be a color combo that will last forever in this room, but it's a very cheerful greeting when I come through the front door (the couch faces the front windows). What sort of things have you been picking up for the house lately?

P.S. Even though I took home plenty (several more for the upstairs bedrooms), there are more still at the store, so you can get in on the deal too.

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Successful... Not So Successful

2012-05-02T01:30:00.000-04:00

Last week, I took a short trip after work to Ikea. Overall, I'd give the trip a 'meh' in terms of success.

Successful: Finding several sizes of simple pots for a project I'd been thinking of copying from Pinterest.
Not so successful: There comes a point when I'm shopping that too many options might cause as much trouble for me as too few; I wind up picking one up, putting it back when I find another I like more, and continue doing this until I run out of options. When you do this nine times in a row, you go from choosy to insane.

Source: craftgawker.com via Sarah @The Ugly Duckling House on Pinterest

Successful: Finding fabric that is the perfect balance of colorful, unexpected, and the right price range.
Not so successful: Finding the one item at Ikea that does not have a bar code, and losing the slip of paper that allows me to ring it up, annoying the hell out of the employee forced to help you instead of ending her shift.

Successful: Finding a comfortable, affordable mattress that is exactly what I'm missing in the guest bedroom (Inner monologue: Woo hoo! When friends from out of state mention visiting Atlanta, I don't have to stutter through the part of the conversation where I'm praying they'll tell me what hotel they are staying in).
Not so successful: Awkwardly lugging it through the store to inevitably give up when I realize I'll never manage to get it into the Jeep, and even if I did, I'll never get it all the way upstairs to the bed frame it's supposed to belong to. At least, not by myself (Luckily, dear ol' Dad is available this weekend, so we can try again together... and with a truck).

Successful: Walking out of Ikea under budget.
Not so successful: Walking out of Ikea under budget because I didn't get what I'd really gone there for.

Have you ever taken a trip to the store and later grade yourself on how you did? Are you an A student, or more of a solid C?

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Happy Birthday to... Us

2012-05-01T01:30:00.000-04:00

Today happens to be my 28th birthday. And since Charlie's paperwork from the humane society said that she was also born in April or May (they weren't more specific than that), I've decided to share my birthday with her. I'm pretty used to sharing a birthday - after all, I was born on my Dad's 30th!

Charlie Bug turns 1!

This year, I'll be going out to dinner with friends and family (including Dad of course) to celebrate. I got several of my presents early, like this amazing Michael Kors watch from my parents. I'll have to leave it off a lot with all of the messy crap going on around the house, but it's been on my Wish List on Pinterest for a while - and I am in love.

And in case you haven't seen the Facebook page lately, I've just joined Instagram. Yesterday, I received in the mail several pieces of jewelry I got from a fantastic members-only online discount store called Rue La La. It was pretty much me buying something for me - my birthday just happened to be a good excuse.

Tomorrow, I'll have another round of HHMMF (no, it's not a grunt, it's an actual series that makes me giggle to abbreviate this way) and some updates about the house (hint: think color!). What have you been up to lately?

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A Different Kind of Mud

2012-04-30T08:20:00.001-04:00

Normally when I speak about mud on this blog, I'm referring to a joint compound mixture and applying it to my walls. This weekend, I was covered in a different kind: I ran in my first ever Dirty Girl "mud run" - a 5k with an obstacle course and plenty of the wet stuff.

I had SO much fun! I also ran into Redhead Baby Mama along the way. There were professional photogs during the race, but I haven't yet seen the results. I'll update this post later this week with some more dirty details!

Saturday Stimuli: Aqua

2012-04-28T03:00:00.000-04:00

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Ah Yes, The Mess

2012-04-26T23:43:00.000-04:00

Enough books. Now this is more like it!

It may not be ready for a big reveal, but after a little me time (including a trip to the salon and spa for a facial), I've renewed my energy and attacked the study-o once more.

The coats on the chair legs seem to be taking forever. Just as I think I've applied the last coat, I come back to find streaks that need another. I'll just keep at it though - can't hold out forever.

I spoke earlier this week about accidentally choosing the wrong paint for the remaining two walls. I've started with the white, but just like the chairs, I may have underestimated the number of coats needed. And the color may be too bluish to hold its own against the white blinds; I'm waiting until I get a second coat to dry before I consider making any changes. The good news though is that it no longer looks like this:

Once the walls are done, I want to find a new light fixture for the room. I've got little bubble gum lights all over the house, and while I don't really hate them, this room is just begging for something a little funkier.

Any suggestions?

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Project Gnomes

2012-04-25T01:30:00.000-04:00

Ever have one of those projects that makes you wonder why it took you so long to do it? Last summer, the A/C went out.

Strike that - it was nearly two years ago. The freezing and subsequent thawing of the unit in the hot sun led to a giant stain on the ceiling in the ~~office~~ study-o.

I left the stain for ages as if little painting gnomes would come and magically fix it in the middle of the night. After waiting a reasonable period for the little slackers to show up, the time came to finally say goodbye.

At first, I tried latex primer. But for tough water stains, there really is no substitute (no redoing later) than oil based.

A little flat white ceiling paint (I keep a quart on hand now just in case), and it's as if the A/C problem never existed.

Someone should check on those gnomes. They've been missing work a lot lately, and I suspect it may be a drinking problem.

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Don't Paint and Study

2012-04-24T01:29:00.000-04:00

Finals were on Saturday, and I had high hopes for getting home. I had a strange kink in my neck all week from studying, and it felt out of place not to have paint splatters across my arms. But instead of getting home, putting on the familiar DIY uniform (ratty T-shirt with a caulk smudge or two, paint-splattered shorts), and getting to work... I got home, put the dog outside to enjoy the sun (and chase squirrels), and took a nap.

My nap turned into sleeping all night and well into the afternoon the next day (apart from bringing in Charlie). I felt a little guilty to be ignoring the gorgeous day outside, but I think I really just needed a defining end to a tough few months.

Summer semester begins in June, which means I have five full weeks of DIY ahead of me without limitations. To think I used to be busy before school, and now I think of it as freedom.

The first thing to finish is obviously where I left off in my "study-o." During a brief break last week, I took some leftover paint from the master bath and started painting the remaining two walls in the office.

After finishing almost the entire first coat, it dawned on me that I was using a satin sheen in the bathroom, leaving the walls looking very odd in comparison to the other two in a flat navy. It was an oversight, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I like the pale gray, but these two walls really should be brighter in comparison to the navy ones. Ultra white would match the trim, and make for a heck of an easy job (since I won't have to concern myself with perfect lines along the ceiling or trim).

Lesson learned: when you know you're this tired, maybe it's time to put the paint brush down.

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I Still Hate Mowing

2012-04-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

I am never going to like mowing.

But now, I've made it a little bit easier with a ~~new~~ newly borrowed self-propelled mower. I'd been trying to drop hints with my family that I would like a new one for my birthday (cough, cough, clear throat, "MOWER"-sneeze), but my overgrown lawn won't wait. Luckily, my father had one sitting unused in his garage (which is pretty much how I came upon my last one). He has a riding lawn mower, so he didn't need the other.

This thing moves. It's variable speed, but my patience allows only one. The fastest speed causes quite a bit of hand fatigue, but it practically yanks me across the yard, so I can get this torturous chore finished that much faster. I wish I could provide you a picture, but it's finals week, so I've been hunched over a computer all weekend on campus and only had the opportunity to mow when the sun went down. Yep - by the end, I was pretty much mowing in the dark, and as I headed off to work this morning, I noticed long strips of grass that I'll have to take care of tonight. It's ~~kind of~~ exactly like shaving your legs to find you missed a small spot. So, since I have no picture, I'm just going to show you a picture that represents my murderous rage at the thought of mowing.

This image found here, and my sentiments exactly.

If there were ever a sign that my house is an old woman in house form, it's the long chin hairs growing all over the lawn. After a trim (more like a total hack job) with my ~~new~~ mower, the house is looking much less scraggly. And if I give myself a chance to come up for air from the books (~~and for a beer)~~, I can get started on applying new rubber mulch to my front garden bed.

If you were to choose the color in front of the house, which direction would you go? I'm thinking a pop of coral red would look great against the tan, cream, and navy of the house. Er, well anything would look better than dead plants. Anything.

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Saturday Stimuli: Royal

2012-04-14T03:00:00.000-04:00

Royal hues!

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