Painting kitchen cupboards is NOT fun. . .

. . .but it will be sooo worth it in the end.  I've decided to finally undertake the task of refinishing our kitchen cupboards AGAIN.  I did it once a year or so after we purchased our home (14 years ago) and it hasn't been long enough for me to forget what a daunting job it is.  I'm not doing anything fancy; just repainting them white and changing out the hardware.  But still. . .it's a process.

Remove hinges, remove handles, sand front/back of doors, sand base of cabinets,  1 coat primer, 2 coats primer (plenty of drying time in between each coat), apply paint, apply second coat of paint if needed (of course, I'm probably going to need two), let dry A LOT because you don't want to affix the new hardware and screw up all your paint job, hang doors.  See?   I told you.  It's A LOT!

This time around, I decided to work in sections instead of removing all of the hardware from my 36 cupboards and drawers, sanding everything, painting everything, etc.  You see, my fab hubby works 50 hours a week and I'm the DIY person in the family so I'm pretty much on my own with this project.  Plus, I'm a control freak when it comes to projects like this so I'm perfectly happy to go it alone.  So today, I started with an upper bank of three cupboards and am going to finish the job completely before moving on to another section.  I think this is going to be a good system for me because I don't have enough work space to do all of the doors/drawers at the same time and I don't have enough extra room to store everything that has to come out of the cabinets in order to paint without getting dishes all yucky.

Here's what ground zero looks like today. . .can you see the Oil Rubbed Bronze bin pull I tried out on the drawer?  That's what's going on all of the drawers and matching pulls will go on the doors. 

Holding zone. . .No family dinners at this table until the trio of cabinets are done.

Below is the "Before."  Not hideous by any means but there are lots of scuff marks you can't see in this photo.  We also currently have chrome pulls with white porcelain centers.  Cute for the mid 90's but not so cute now.

Stay tuned for more kitchen updates and the "After" (if I ever get there).  Wish me luck!


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Anniversary in Napa

Jason and I celebrate all of the time we've been together, not just the years we've been married (which will be 18 this August).  May 13th was our 20 year "dating" anniversary.  We decided to take some time for ourselves and enjoy a mini vacation in Napa.  We had been there once before several years ago but only for an overnight work party.  This time, we stayed the whole weekend so we could take in some of the sights and tastes that Napa had to offer.

  

I loved our suite. It was very modern and roomy.  And all the details a girl could want.

Big screen t.v. for Jason.

Separate vanity with a magnifying mirror for me!

Jetted tub -- Oh Yeah!

 We were lucky to get a corner room so we had views in two directions.

 This metal sculpture was in a restaurant we ate lunch at in downtown Napa.

Wine tasting at the magnificent Chandon winery.

Enjoying the beautiful day with my honey.

The tasting I selected included a take-home engraved champagne flute and I forgot and let the waiter pick it up and take it away. :(

 Saturday night dinner on the Wine Train.

On the back deck of the caboose.

 

 

Hang on honey!

We dined privately (passengers dining in other cars on the train can't come up to this car) in the Vista Dome car.

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Adventures in Thrifting

You may already know that I loooove me some thrift store shopping.  I've done it for years.  I enjoy it even more than antique store shopping because the bargains are better even if the selection isn't.  There's no regularity to my thrifting.  I just get out and hunt whenever the feeling hits me.  It's more fun that way.  Yesterday after I picked up the boy from school, we popped by Sally's (aka Salvation Army) on our way home and I got quite a good haul all for under $20.  Some of it will be refurbished with paint, some will go into my etsy shop, and others I will keep.  Can you guess which?

And here is another little find I picked up from a prior thrifting trip for just $1.95.  I finally brought it in from the garage, wiped it down and used wood glue to better secure the legs to the seat.  The seat is a little warped but I think imperfection adds to the charm.  Up next, is a coat of paint (not sure if I'm going to use white or black--I'm leaning toward white) and maybe some French accents.  You'll have to check back to see how it turns out.

A recent thrift store find transformation. . .cheese dome turned cloche!

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Sharing at:  You're Talking to Much (Meet Me Monday)

Easy and pretty daytime eye + my outfit of the day

I know I've posted a similar if not identical look before, but the colors are so pretty and they matched my outfit so I had to share.

For this simple daytime eye, I started with Meow's iprime all over from brows to lashes.

Then I applied Aromaleigh's fiddlesticks all over the lid and into the crease.  I blended out the crease with a fluffy brush to diffuse the color and remove some of the sheen.  I do this when I don't have the time to apply an additional crease color.

In the inner corner, I used Aromaleigh's pink portent to highlight and add brightness.  With what was left on my brush, I swept it across my brow bone area just to add a subtle glow.

Add mascara and voila!  Easy pretty daytime eye.

My outfit of the day is the classic boot cut jeans by Inked & Faded.  I found them one day by chance while shopping at Sears for a pair of denim capris for my daughter.  I hadn't been in Sears for years but a friend of my daughter's told her she found some cute shorts there so we checked it out.  These jeans fit me perfectly and they were on sale for $14!  The chiffon burnout velvet cardi is from Forever 21 and the sleeveless drape neck top was from Target.  The whole outfit cost around $50.  Proof that you don't have to spend a lot of money to look cute.

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