Thin and Even Layers

Our Memorial Day weekend was spent waste deep in sawdust, primer, paint, and lots and lots of stuff. (It's amazing what you'll find in the back of the lesser-used cabinets!)

I wish I could say I have some beautiful "after" shots for you, but instead you're stuck with something a little less eye-catching.

Progress shots.

My parent's house is currently a maze of cabinet-covered tables. White cabinet-covered tables, to be exact.

It was a very busy weekend.

When I last posted, cabinet doors and drawer fronts were being removed and wiped down, all in preparation for sanding. The sanding process was tiring, back-breaking work, but we managed to get everything (23 cabinets, 9 drawers, and the static kitchen surround) primed by the end of the day on Saturday. This was after, of course, everything in all of the cabinets was removed and placed in various locations all over the house, the most prominent of which was our booze cabinet.

(Side note: Between my parents' collection and Jon's and my collection of alcohol, we could stock a full cocktail bar. I mean, who do you know that actually has anisette liqueur and peach brandy at their disposal? I know. We're the snootiest.)

Sunday, we were able to get the first coat of "Steam" on all of the cabinet fronts and surround, which meant the backs were done on Monday. Currently, we have 2 more coats left on the front and 1 on the back, with a necessary 24 hour waiting period between coats.



This will take us all week, but it's gonna be sooooo worth it. Next time I post? After shots. Stay tuned.

Psst... In addition to the new cabinets, my parents actually took the plunge this weekend (taking advantage of yet another Memorial Weekend deal—this time at Lowe's) and bought a Frigidaire Gallery refrigerator and dishwasher to match their existing microwave and stove/oven. That means the "after shots" will be all the more beautiful. I can't wait!

Kitchen Revamp is Underway!

I never thought this day would come, but it actually has. As I type this, my father is downstairs unhinging and cataloging all of the kitchen cabinets. This weekend, we're actually starting to paint them!

This is huge. I can't even tell you. As of yesterday, my parent's builder-grade kitchen looked a little bit like this:

Helloooooo, 1991! Yep, those are good ol' reliable oak cabinets circa the early 1990's, and also some lovely (read: disgusting) white tile countertops. My parents have lived in this house in Livermore for about 8 years now, and one of the main conditions of agreeing to live here (yes, I had conditions) was that they had to let me assist them in painting their dark and overly wood-y cabinets white.

And you guys? They actually agreed.

Granted, this isn't nearly as dark and dank as it used to be. See that lovely butcher block-topped island? That's from IKEA and I convinced them to get it back in February after I heard my mother utter the phrase, "You know, I'd really like to have a kitchen island right here," for the millionth time. The kitchen used to look like this:

(Please forgive the very lived-in mess. Don't judge us.)

Yes, the island is a small change, I know. But it's made a world of difference in how we use the kitchen and using it as a place to gather. (The table was never used by anyone other than the cats, who were fed on it because the dogs would attack their food if it wasn't off the floor.) Now, though, the cats have a little perch inside the island, which has (despite my initial reservations) been totally invaluable; it hasn't inhibited our use of the space at all, unlike when they owned the old kitchen table, those fiends.

My parents and I have discussed painting the cabinets for years; it's always been on the agenda. We knew early on that the cabinets—while a little old-fashioned and country—were in really great shape and refinishing them in a simple white would be a significant improvement for not a lot of moo-la.

Ideally, with a large budget, my parents would prefer not to DIY the update and simply have custom cabinetry installed that makes better use of the space. Something that incorporates a large island with ample storage and a better overall flow into the family room.

As with most homes built in this time period, rooms tend to be broken up with carpet and tile, which can really make the space feel small. And for people like my parents (bless their hearts) who have a hard time seeing beyond what's in front of them, this kind of visual division of space makes it difficult to decorate.

But floors are not what we're working on this weekend. New countertops, new wood floors, updated paint and maybe some backsplash—this is all on the agenda. One step at a time. First?

Remove cabinetry to reveal extremely messy interiors. (And a surprising amount of alcohol.)

Baker's helping.

Last night we took a trip to Orchard Supply Hardware as a family to look at paint and identify all of the things we'd need. We chose OSH for two reasons: 1) they sell Benjamin Moore paint, unlike Lowe's; and 2) they're having a "no sales tax" event for the Memorial Day weekend. Score!

We decided on Benjamin Moore paint (even though, in the past, we've almost always used Valspar) based on the recommendation of pro-DIY bloggers, Sherry and John of Young House Love. In order to convince my parents that we were, in fact, capable of taking on this project ourselves, I sent them this link to a tutorial on cabinet refinishing/painting that YHL posted in December when they revamped their kitchen.

Naturally, we avoided having to make a decision in the store. Jon grabbed every sample color of white that BM had, which we brought home and looked at in various areas of the kitchen. We narrowed it down, then narrowed it down some more, until we were left with three choices:

We nixed any color that had too much pink or green as an undertone, as well as any that were just WHITE. We were definitely drawn to the whites that had a bit of gray; they refracted light in the right way and didn't absorb the blue from the walls, which was good. Sherry and John on YHL chose cloud cover for their cabinets, which is why my mother was most drawn to it ("It worked for them!"), but Jon and I simply weren't fans. In person, it was just a little too gray for us.

In the end, we unanimously agreed that steam was the way to go. It had a subtle gray hint, but looked most like a soft white at every angle, in every intensity of light. So this morning my dad went back to OSH and got two gallons of Benjamin Moore's Aura Waterborne Interior Paint in "Steam" with a Satin finish. (Paint is so complicated.)

This weekend will be full of sanding, degreasing, and priming, with the goal of being ready to start the first coat of paint on Monday. I'm getting pumped. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I don't want to mess this up. This is my first refinishing project, ever.

My current mantra: Thin and even layers, thin and even layers, thin and even layers... 

Wish me luck.

The Peace of Routine

While I work, my animals sleep. All morning long and into the afternoon, after their lunchtime potty break. It's quiet, except for little doggie snores. Am I weird for finding this soothing? Perhaps it's because—though certainly not loud—these little snores remind me that I'm not in the house alone. It's odd the comfort that the mere presence of animals can bring; I can't imagine how lonely it would feel without them.

With my parents gone for the last week and a half, Jon has risen early for work, taking care of letting the dogs out and feeding them while I'm still 3/4 asleep in bed and warding off having to sit down at my computer for another non-stop 8 hour day. He leaves for work, and the dogs and cat come back to bed with me. When inevitably I roll out of bed, they drearily follow me to my computer and return to sleep. And now that I'm on a strict, regimented diet (Medifast again, and this time it's working!), my weekdays tend to move like clockwork. It's monotonous and routine. I kind of love it.

Working at home has been a blessing I do not take lightly, and every day it becomes more and more work that I am both grateful and nervous about. It's getting hard, but after 8 years of entry-level jobs and duties that bore me to tears, it finally feels like I'm part of something special, exciting, and new. Being "needed" feels sensational, and while it may not be my dream job, it's allowing me some great opportunities to learn from great people.



Being an adult is weird. I wonder how much longer I will feel that way?

What excites me most about this little work/life/food routine that Jon and I have found ourselves developing is the idea of moving to Orange and creating a new routine, together, in a brand new place. A place just for the two of us. And if I've realized anything over the past two weeks, it's that when you get yourself into a cozy (maybe even boring) day-to-day routine, there's nothing quite as exhilarating as breaking it.

A spontaneous drive to Sausalito perhaps.

A day-long outing just to window shop for furniture.

A leisurely hike with the dogs in a previously undiscovered local park.

Evenings and weekends are more vibrant when the weekdays lack excitement. It's like seeing the sun after months of clouds and rain. What other things beyond the purr of a cat on my lap and the drone of typing fingers lay in wait as summer approaches? As we move on to discover someplace unfamiliar?

Hopefully, whatever it is, it will influence more blog posts.

Fly Away Home

Child's Airplane by Michele Nicolette of Diesel and Juice

My travel days for work have ended, at least for the immediate future. If there is going to be another in-person work meeting next month, or the following, I have yet to hear about it. I'm enjoying every day that passes when I don't get the official "Make Your Travel Plans Now" email from the company higher-ups.

If I can make it until July 18th (which is when Jon and I will be heading to New York City on vacation) without having to step foot on a plane, I'll be one happy clam.

The next couple months are jam-packed with to-do list items. We're moving in August. There are about five dozen things of ours to sell before then. There are places and things in the Bay Area that I want to enjoy before the OC becomes our home for the next two years. There are birthdays and a wedding for dear friends; I want to be present and available and energetic for all of that.

It's going to be hard work for me. Hard work, because all I really want to do sometimes is curl up in bed with my cat, my dogs, and my beau.

My weekdays are dedicated to working a job that is changing in exciting ways. Change means that there are a lot of new things to learn, and I want to have the energy to accept new responsibilities with open and capable arms. I'm nervous about not being good at my job. I'm nervous I won't be able to hide it.

There's a lot going on in my brain right now. I'm trying not to shy away from new challenges, which—as it happens—is something I've always struggled with: a lack of confidence that I can succeed, so I sabotage myself. I take the easier, less frightening route.

I so dislike this about myself.

It's the beginning of May, and summer is just around the corner. There's a lot to be done, and I plan to tackle it all with the utmost dedication. If I seem like I'm slacking, friends, I've heard swift kicks to the head are quite effective.