what CAN'T you do with paint?

Saw this image over here and totally fell in love!  I love the colours, the proportions, and most of all, the POTENTIAL.  One of the things that I think would be great with a setup like this isn't just the storage or colour or whatnot, but the profile it makes against the wall that would make everything placed on or above the dressers seem that much more interesting.  And in case the colour's scaring you off, I don't see any reason why this couldn't be done in, either, shades of the same colour, or in more neutral shades (think how great charcoal grey, or a soft white, or, gosh, imagine a set of deep cherry red lacquer against a bright white wall!!)

things I did today

• Watched "The Brothers Bloom" and "My Life in Ruins". The former was great. Really great. Also this might be one of my fave movie posters EVER. Image from here.The later just meh, despite my love for my fellow canucks (honestly, there was a scene where a tour guide called the "Polite Canadians" Americans, and they beat the crap out of him. It was pretty great.) and a super-sexy Greek, it was SO clicheed and formulaic even I couldn't get into it.

• Discovered the joy that is mixing a pinch of chipotle powder into your hot chocolate. If you're still cold after THAT, well, you're probably dead.
• Got an orbital sander (HELL YES!) which means that the number of projects I can take on has just grown exponentially! Woot! Which also meant that the touch up jobs I've been meaning to do to my piano and end table finally got done, but it looks like the bathtub will have to wait until I pick up some more hardcore sandpaper...
• Found two solid wood desks on the side of the road, and ALMOST have the hubs convinced that they ARE in fact out there for anyone to grab and that WE should be the ones to grab them! I can't wait!
  

more paint chips

So, I've been saying for a while now that I wanted to paint my living room/office a pale, grey-ey blue... Only to be met by either blank stares or worried confusion. Ok, I get it, it can go "nursery" crazy fast... But look at that pic up top! So classic, so pretty, and in it's own way, quite neutral. I think this is a good lesson in colour: granted, pale blue wouldn't always be a neutral, like say if your preferred colour schemes leaned towards super-earthy, or very warm. But if you're like me and always tend towards cool tones anyways. Well, it works, yes? I figure it fits into the same category as sage green, which for many people is a all-around neutral. But, in a house like ours, actually clashes with EVERYTHING! Anyhoo, how y'all feelin' on the blue? I'm just wondering if I should bother to do the white (or maybe cream) along the bottom, as well?

Image from Design*Sponge.

because hopefully I'll only do this once

So, I had to make a big girl decision recently: should I sell my house? It might seem crazy, but we are a couple of the lucky few that bought low enough that we could hopefully still make a little profit, and then, let's face it, it's a buyer's market. We could get a LOT for our money right now. Financially, it's the exact right decision.

But... We're getting married. In less than two months. And part of me want to say "After all the opportunities that we had to let pass us by, why would we let that happen again." But the fact of the matter is, I can still sell my house next year. I can go through the stress of showings, and trying to market it, and negotiating, and then hopefully trying to find another home if this one sold... next year. What I can NOT just do next year is get married. I'm doing that right quick here. And it's important to me. I don't want to look back on this time (because it is a "time", not just one day, thankyouverymuch) and think, "Wow, if only I hadn't been freaking out over the house, it would've been great". So for now, that project's on the back burner.
The fun thing, though, is that that means that the home renos that we've been planning can go ahead, which go a long way towards keeping my brain off of constant wedding-alert. So a little non-wedding inspiration... I love this pic more than words, and it's given me the sudden inspiration for exactly what colour to paint my kitchen... Now the feel and the style are quite different from what I've got, but it's the sandstoney colour of those cabinets, with the bright red of the geraniums... loves it. Can't wait to post pics of me whipping up our wedding cupcakes (see? the big W word is never far away!) in my newly painted kitchen! Watch for it! Image from Annika Vannerus.