Working Overtime!

Todd had the entire week of the 4th off due to his company's annual, and oh-so-appreciated shutdown! Instead of spending the week in Tahoe, or in Sonoma like most of his coworkers did, we stayed at home to work on the house.  Not only does Todd's company shut down, but since they are so large the entire town of 140,000 residents practically shut down along with it!  This place was a ghost town!  However, it was so nice to not have to wait for a table at restaurants, stand in line at Home Depot, or have to dig for the best produce at the grocery store.  My Mom came and stayed for four days and more than earned her keep!  She helped us prime 5 rooms, and complete paint in 3 as well as do some extensive planning for the interior and exterior of our new home!!  My cousin also came up from San Diego a few days later and helped with things like fixing the garage door and breaking in our brand new grill!  Needless to say, we were super productive!

We have accomplished so much over the last week like unpacking and cleaning, but here's what was picture-worthy:



The Dining room in all of it's plum, overdone tackiness before....

Breck putting those nasty drapes to good use while we painted...

...and a MUCH happier, less in-your-face after...including new light fixtures!

I would say this picture needs no words, but oh it does!
Your eyes are not decieving you - this is jet black paint...
on the walls AND the ceiling.  To top it all off,
it is in a matte and gloss harlequin diamond pattern!
Clearly this is the Before!!

Thank goodness for my Mom and a 5-gallon bucket of primer!
(which is already gone, and we are now on the second bucket)

Thank goodness there was a fairy-tale ending!

The master bedroom before with its horrible faux finishes that weren't quite executed...

And after!!!  Notice the lovely mini blinds that were 2' too short are also gone!

Another after :)

You know those horrible tables from the 80s that look like this...
well, I somehow inherited one when I married Todd,
and he has some strange obsession with keeping it and said "we" should paint it...
which really means I should get to work on
stripping, sanding, priming, and painting 4 coats with a trim brush.  So, I did....

And I am so happy to report this is how it turned out! 
Feels a little Pottery Barn-esque and it now has a new lease on life
as a much more up-to-date desk!