Painting - Yesterday

I was finally able to get a second coat on most of the walls I'd done the other day. The dining room walls got another coat, as did the living room as well. I actually ran out of paint, though, so I'll have to pick up more. But the second coat looks great! I can't wait to paint the trim, as most of it is still the same bone color that the walls used to be.

I also killed/primed the woodwork above and below the big window. I think I might paint the upper part the same color as the walls, just to make the space look bigger; the bottom part is definitely going to be covered with cushions. I have to put a second coat of kill/primer on the top and bottom part of the window, so don't mind the fact that it looks streaky and nasty right now.

Painting - Monday

This entry actually took place 2 days ago, on 3/2/08.

So painting on day 2 was more frustrating than I thought. I had to go back and re-spackle some places I'd missed, as well as re-caulk some placed that had fallen in. All while trying to amuse two dogs who were desperately trying to get me to play with them.

I finally got the first coat on several walls that didn't need more spackle/caulk, and even with one coat of Benjamin Moore matte finish Shaker Beige, the difference is amazing. The white trim - even though so far it's killed and primed only - totally pops and looks so clean. SO much better than that awful stained wood crap.

I did a few more walls - the dining room, long wall that runs the length of the dining room to the living room, the wall where our huge picture window is, and the low wall that has a nice ledge to put our keys but temporarily houses our family of plants. The big window already looks so great with the new paint surrouding it. We're not quite sure what we want to do with the window itself - our dogs like to go up there during the day and catch afternoon sun, so we'll probably end up putting some cushions on there and getting a set of doggie stairs, since they currently jump on the back of the couch and walk onto the ledge. But I think we're going to go with individual sheer honeycomb-style blinds for each of the windows, something like this, that will still let light in and provide privacy at the same time. We'll probably do a nice set of drapes to frame the window itself.

And my painting crew was hard at work, as always.

Painting!!!

Everyone is rejoicing because I've finally selected paint colors to satisfy my more-than-picky preferences. Tim said that prepping takes much longer than the actual painting, and wow he was not kidding.

I started last night by stripping the varnished and oiled wood trim around the bedroom doors and also lines the hallway floors. Unfortunately that process took a much longer time than anticipated because I had to first sand the wood down - which was a pain because the wood is carved and grooved. Next I had to spackle in the tiny nail holes since they'd show once I put the actual paint on. Luckily by the time I was finished spackling (I did all of the other holes around the house I could find), the spackle was dry and ready for sanding and vacuuming. That also took a long time as well.

After an eternity and a ruined manicure, I was ready to put on the first coat of the stain killer/sealer. I lined the floors next to the trim with tape and put down my nice dropcloth. The first coat went on thin and streaky and only took an hour or so to dry, so by the time I was finished with the bedroom/bathroom doors I was ready to put on coat number 2. Trim will be in a nice bright glossy white, on trim throughout the house.

(By the way, I know I have random squares of paint on lots of walls. I was paranoid of not liking colors once they're on the walls, so I wanted find a color I liked everywhere, in every light. If you don't like that, go sit on an egg. I tested about twelve colors total before settling on the ones I like.)

End of the hallway.

A better view.

Front section of hallway, towards the front door and living room
Please excuse the jumble of furniture
Everything is in the center of the room.
Our front door.
We get a ton of awesome afternoon sun,
but since we have a solid dark wood door,
it's too hot in warm weather.
We're going to replace it this spring
and possibly add a nice big window above it.
We have this gorgeous picture window
in our living room. It used to be covered
by the most fugly floral and lace box valance
and no-tell-motel lace draperies and sheers.
I took everything off and it did WONDERS
for the room - it made it seem so much bigger,
and lets in the gorgeous light. I decided to
use simple end curtains and we'll have professional
vertical blinds installed on every section of the
window later this spring because the ledge
is Pete's favorite sunbathing spot, so she needs the room.The couch is actually a dark forest-green leather, not black.

A nice shot of our antique dining room
furniture.
For some reason the color is better here.
The dining room walls.
Our living room is open to the dining room.

The same fug valances were on the dual
dining room windows. It was like Laura Ashley threw up.
The chandelier is dated but tolerable, and will eventually be replaced.

Now if you guys don't truly believe the descriptions of the
heinousness posing as window treatments,
get a load of this knockout, on my kitchen window.
Architectural Digest totally wants to feature this.

Well enough procrastinating for now. Gotta get back to work!

Links for Thursday!!!

Trader Face or "OHHHH" Face? (For my friends in New Haven, Stamford, and Boston)

Is this simply good marinara or something a little spicier (wink, wink!)

It's all over...Dr. Phil has a Myspace

My high school hedge-fund friend now has a book.Again, for you New Haven, Stamford, and Boston...

Brides today have it tough. Thank God I got married 2 years ago.

If you've ever worked retail...read these horror stories!

We're on YouTube

It may not be a Stallone montage, but the dogs are on YouTube.



Click here to see.

Sorry [Dave] for the Lag!

We went to Las Vegas to Tim's aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving. Pete stayed behind with Chris and his fiancé Jody, and little Ella came with us - she wasn't terribly happy to be alone. You could tell that she was upset that Pete wasn't around.

Anyway, the drive ended up being about ten hours each way. Once we got past Phoenix, the scenery ended up being like a giant flashback of our drive across Texas on I-10 last year - brown foothills dotted with little scrubs, and occasionally some rocks were thrown in for variety. We stopped at the most enormous truck stop we'd ever seen for breakfast - there must have been over 150 tractor trailer trucks there (the photo at left shows barely a fraction of them). Eddy, I thought of you! The stop had a cute little restaurant that had possibly the best breakfast buffet ever, The Iron Skillet, where Tim indulged his Atkins fantasy with Western Omelettes, sausage, and enough bacon to make my blood pressure rise ten points. And the general store there had all sorts of things for truckers, including these weird weaponlike things called Tire Thumpers. I think they sell these same things under a different moniker at VIP...can anyone confirm? LOL.

But we did get to see the Hoover Dam up close and personal (from the safety of our vehicle, since heights and I don't really get along). It was sort of ironic because everyone asked if we were going to see the dam whilst on our honeymoon last year, and since our flight flew over the dam, we said yes, but now we can really say we saw it since we had to drive through it. Actually it was really impressive up close - like the Las Vegas strip, it makes you feel really small and insignificant. What's next - the Grand Canyon??

Tim's Uncle Connie (Cornelius) and Aunt Eileen (Tim's mom Breda's older sister) are two of the most delightful people I've had the pleasure of meeting. They're both from Ireland, and since they both moved here when they were young adults, still have their accents, which make everyday stories they tell sound so much cooler. Of course Ella took a day to get used to them, but before we knew it she was following them both around begging for food, helping Eileen with laundry, and marching around the neighborhood with Connie on his walks (although he made it very clear he would not take her out if she were wearing her pink sweater - his neighbors would never let him hear the end of it!!!).

One night Tim and I went to our favorite Vegas haunt, The Cheesecake Factory, the haven of all things fattening and fried. The crowning glory? Deep Fried Macaroni & Cheese. Yeah, it sounds like the one of the most filthy trailer-trash thing out there, but we were really surprised when it arrived at our table. Instead of being a big breaded grease-oozing mass, it was four balls which looked almost like big hushpuppies. They were mini penne pastas in a rich alfredo-like sauce that were balled up, tossed in breadcrumbs, then lightly fried, so that when you dug in with your fork, the cheeses were perfectly melted. And the most surprising thing was that they weren't greasy at all! If any of you faithful readers get a chance to go to a Cheesecake Factory soon, definitely try them. YUM.

But they weren't nearly as good as the Mango Margaritas - Gil I definitely think you'd like those.

Tombstone Has Awesome Pizza

My mom and dad came to visit this weekend! I haven't seen them since we left, so it's so wonderful to have them here, if only for the weekend. Last night we went to the Daisy Mae steakhouse for dinner - yummy! Today Tim and I showed them around Tombstone, which is always an interesting place to go. We toured the Shaft at Big Nose Kate's Saloon (if you're unfamiliar with the story, check out her history here.)

For some reason, Tim ordered a pizza at the saloon. Why - I have no idea, since we're from the pizza capital of the country (Pepe's, Sally's, Modern....). Yes, that crust is crimped and fluted just like an apple pie. And Dave, they had plenty of sauce on that pizza - no need to ask for extra!We toured the mine shaft below the saloon, and the gift shop carried the best accessory ever, perhaps only appreciated by myself and Jessica. Yes, Jess, I actually saw a satin jacket - oh where is Satin Jacket Man now?

After lunch, we had fun going through the numerous gift shops - Mom and I tried on some interesting hats. Tim looked especially nice in the pink cowboy hat (insert Brokeback Mountain joke here.).

But the best part of the day was seeing my favorite little mountain, Buttchin Mountain.

Christmas Preparations

Tim and I were in Target today and we came across some Christmas costumes for pets. They're so ridiculous that of course we had to buy some for Pete and Ella. So we came home with a Santa suit for Pete and a Mrs. Claus dress for Ella.

Pete's really good about letting you put stuff on her (afro wig, biker vest, etc.) but she doesn't really enjoy it - she just sort of sits there with a grumpy expression on her face. Ella hates having stuff on her, and she hates having her feet touched, so that makes getting her into a costume that much more difficult.

But here's the results. Pete's costume was a little too small, so I'll exchange it, but the hat from Ella's costume fit her fine. Sorry the last pic is a little blurry; Ella was trying desperately to escape us.

Pete is already anticipating Christmas cookies...

Ella thought the hat was a new toy.

"Stop touching me, dammit!!!"


She wasn't too thrilled about the costume.

Apartment neighbors...just like your college dorm!

Tim and I have been really spoiled since we live in our own house back in Connecticut. Which roughly means that we don't have neighbors above us or immediately next door to us, so there's no noise in the house except ours.

So it's a huge shock to live with someone else above us, and next door to us. I just don't get it: we've been here for nine days now, and only yesterday the freak living upstairs decides to blast music starting about 4pm and lasting until bedtime. So yeah I know I sound snarky, but seriously, I feel like I'm back in college. (Jess, remember us banging on the wall when Gimpy refused to turn the bass down???) How old are we when we have to blast poor musical choices (Vanilla Ice....I am SO NOT KIDDING) in order to feel hip and cool? And the horrible thing is that I have no clue how to handle this idiot because if I go and ask nicely to turn down the freaking music will it make him be a complete ass and refuse to turn it down just to spite me??? Maybe he'll be like that moron next door to me during my sophomore year, whose idea of a good time was to hook up as many subwoofers as humanly possible and try to shake the dorm down at all hours of the day or night, even during midterms or finals.

Seriously. The bass is shaking the walls.

I'm afraid that if I go up and attempt to make nice, I'm just going to lose my temper and make the problem even worse because you know how incredibly patient I am.



That last bit was meant to be heavily drenched in sarcasm, by the way.

New Place!

well on 11/1 we moved into our new apartments. tim wasn't around due to class, so i had to do the whole thing myself, which was no easy task considering that tim doesn't like to use suitcases to pack his stuff. and the two dogs made things a little bit difficult, but i managed fine.

the apartment is pretty nice. it's 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, with a small [and i mean small!] patio off of the living room. the great thing is that all utilities and cable are included, and the apartment came with brand new appliances, including washer and dryer. it's also gated, which is pretty sweet, and parking is all assigned and covered. next week we get a garage that is like right next to our building, so that's pretty nice too.

so here are some pictures - these aren't of our apartment, but from a website.