Pick a (color) card, any card

I think we are getting closer to having a paint color for our bedroom. We found some pictures we liked from the Biltmore in North Carolina. There was a color collection that went with it and these are the paint cards. Now, all we have to do is figure out which one(s) we want.

It's finally Spring

After a wintry Spring break week, we're finally seeing things warm up here. It is fun to see everything starting to bloom and surprises are popping up all over the yard. We really hadn't paid much attention to what was growing, but now that we've had time to pay attention we've discovered at least one dogwood tree, two crepe myrtles about 15-20 feet tall, a very sickly azalea bush and many more unidentified pretties growing in the front yard. We have many groups of daffodils in a wide range of sizes and colors. They are everywhere! We also discovered a large round bed of iris coming up in the front yard.




The back boasts more daffodils, some beautiful vinka ground cover, money grass, pink hyacinths, clumps of what I think might be daylillies, a peach tree and some hosta peeking out. (I just told Mimi Dot that I'd love some of her hosta, but didn't think I'd have time to plant any. Then we came home from Huntsville and as I was walking to the back door noticed a bed of hosta poking its head out of the ground!) There's monkey grass and one unidentified bed that we are watching to see what pops up.

David's favorite part is the moss growing between the bricks on the back patio. We are trying t figure out how to get rid of the weeds and encourage more moss.

The only bad thing is that I love all the wild violets, grape hyacinth, and little flowers growing wild in the yard. David likes the lawn a bit neater, so if he decides to spray I'll have to go rescue anything I want to save.

I think the only thing I'd really like to plant this year is some tomatoes and a smoke tree. My parents have a lovely one in their yard, and my mom gave us one at the old house that was so beautiful. I'll probably put one in the backyard as soon as I figure out where to plan it. I suppose I should come up with a master plan soon so it doesn't get too willy-nilly!

Hillbilly Carnival Strip

Last week was spring break, although you'd never have known it by the weather! We decided we all needed to get out of town so we headed to Pigeon Forge. When I was making the reservations and such online, I ran across a review from someone who called Pigeon Forge a "hillbilly carnival strip." Apparently they saw that as a negative comment, but we just went, "Whoo-hoo! That's why we go!" So, we headed off to the hills on Monday, leaving painting, decorating and unpacking behind. We stayed in Pigeon Forge until Wednesday and then headed to Huntsville for a quick visit before heading home Thursday night.

Jeff (aka Homey the Mover) was kind enough to house-sit for us. Although he did his best, our surveillance cameras did catch my bear, Sweetie, living it up in our absence.

Working on the trim...

Well, thanks to a housewarming gift and a 10% off coupon Katie got her trim a couple of weeks ago. We got the sawhorses set up in the backyard and put her to work painting the trim for her room and some toe molding for the hallway. I helped a bit and we only got a little bit silly with it. Unfortunately, we put them in the cellar to dry before adding a second coat and the weather has been so cold since we haven't gotten them finished.

Actually, Katie wants to try colorwashing over the white with some copper paint to see if she likes that look. It may be a while before we get to it, though. She confessed yesterday that she isn't really liking the green part of her room so we are going to try dragging it with a lighter color green to see if that sets it right. After that we will get back to the trim, I hope.

After considering a wide variety of materials for Michael's ceiling trim, we finally just bought some plain moulding and are in the process of painting it silver. It also needs a second coat and is waiting for warmer weather and a break in the schedule to get it finished. Then I have to figure out how to cut the corners at a 45° angle...

Living in a Hershey's Bar

Thanks to the bartering system and a lot of grace we had a painter in last week to do the living room, hallway and hall closets. Hurray! The living room is a deep, chocolate brown. It looks fabulous! Since we have one huge window and another smaller window along with the lighter carpet and light trim, it really pops. I keep wanting to lick the walls, though, because they really do look like melted chocolate.

The hallways are a lighter version of the living room and reminds me a little of our van because the color is a bit hard to define. Depending on when you look at the hall it could be brown, or purple or grey. We are thinking that when we redo the hardwood in the hall and entryway we may go with a reddish stain to blend it all together. Right now it has the yellowish, aged look, but refinishing it is on our "to-do" list. Eventually.

I did it myself!

I'm so proud of me! I put up a shelf in the laundry room all by myself. I hung up the dust buster, too. I even have my own toolbox now. Of course, listening to my little cordless screwdriver go "weeeeeeee" when David's is going "grrrrrrrrrr" is kind of funny.

Kid's rooms painted

Hurray! The kid's rooms are painted. Nicholas' has been done for a while, but the other two were a bit more labor intensive. Mike's is such a dark color that we needed two coats, but it looks very sharp. With the windows in his room and light trim it doesn't look too much like a cave. We got metal plates for the outlets and light switch, and the next thing for his room is to put up the flashing. Flashing, you say? Yep, some good old gutter flashing is what he will have at the top instead of some boring old moulding or border. Not sure when we will get around to nailing it up, but it should look pretty cool when we do. (The guys at Ace are almost used to my strange questions about a variety of materials...)

Katie's room needed two coats of paint and was two different colors, so it took a bit to get up the nerve to get it finished. We had some problem with the green paint, as well. It was very runny and not covering so well. It's finally all done, though and David got the moulding back up over the weekend. The only thing we are lacking is the chair rail, but she has picked out such a fancy one I don't know when we'll be able to afford it. (Flashing is only $15 for 50 feet, but I can't seem to find anything at the hardware store for her...)