A {not-so-little} girl's room redo...

Three years ago, we painted Lily's room a very bright, vibrant coral color. It was the color of her choosing, and I have to admit that I painted that bright color on those walls quite reluctantly, me being a student of more subdued, neutral colors and finishes.

We finished later in the evening, after dark, and the coral was even brighter with the artificial lighting and a pink haze just seemed to hang in the air in that room. My sister even noticed the glow from her home which is about 150 yards away and in the woods!

I think I even told Lily that she better like that color for a long time because I was not planning on repainting anytime soon. I am not at all a fan of painting. I've done a ton of painting in our fifteen years in this home, but it's really far from one of my favorite things to do. 

And then she came to me this past February, asking if she could use her birthday money to buy paint for her room. Well, of course, she could spend her birthday money on that, but that also meant that mom and dad were going to have to be recruited to paint. And it's only been three years! That wasn't what I had in mind when I said it would be awhile before we painted again.

It only took us six months to actually get around to the painting part of it. I did have major surgery in March and we were away several times in May and June, but we finally leaped in and painted last week. We let the paint cure for a week, and tonight Brad hung everything on her walls and she spent some time getting everything just right. 

It turned out quite cute, and she was the sole one in charge of the decorating. She shopped our house, bringing in my great-grandma's old Singer sewing machine to use as her desk, pulling an old painting from a basement closet, and snagging an ammunition-box-turned-side-table as one of her nightstands. She may have robbed me of a few other goodies, but I was glad to give them to her. And when Brad walked in on her hanging her "happy lights" tonight, I heard him laugh and say, "You're just like your mom." 

And I'm quite okay with that.

change

The kitchen is progressing. It's almost done. I think. There seem to be so many little things that need done. In my mind's eye, however, all that is left is some caulking, touch-up painting, and then the shelves need hung. But Brad can probably think of more little things that need to be finished before we can actually wrap the project up. He's a perfectionist like that.

This summer's home renovation project has translated into a sorely neglected garden and low motivation to even keep up with it and the preserving. Such a shame. I feel like I used to have so much more energy to do multiple things at one time.

School. UGH! It's coming. We won't officially start until after our vacation in September, but we've already logged some of our days with camps and field trips and impromptu learning sessions. My goal is to get all of the curriculum figured out this week and order everything. I want to have it all organized and ready to go before we leave for vacation so that we'll be able to get started as soon as we get home.

Change. There seems to be a lot of change for our family in the weeks and months ahead. I feel as if it could easily be our theme word for this year, if we were to have one. It's exciting and yet slightly anxiety-provoking all at once. I'm trying to look at it as an adventure in which to fully exercise faith in God. Yep. That's what I'm doing.

in the thick of home improvement

I am having so much fun updating our house. Lately, I've been a little mentally stressed. Not because of all of the work. Work doesn't scare me. It's the lack of a proper kitchen since our current remodel is the kitchen. Everything is kind of scattered about, so when I need a mixing spoon or a knife or a bowl or this or that, I have to search for it. Thankfully our home is small and I've just kind of shifted everything into the living room and onto the kitchen table. But still. I guess I didn't realize how much my life revolves around my kitchen until it was in a state of disarray. I've heard others speak of this when they've done a kitchen remodel.

However, it will be fabulous when it's finished. It will be a kitchen that is still tiny, but so very much me. Butcher block. White cabinets. Open shelving. I'm going for cozy and quaint, which is what I pretty much go for in all of my decorating. 

But mixed in with all of that remodeling goodness, we've had quite a busy summer. We visited our best friends in Charleston, SC. We had one of my oldest friends from childhood and her daughter (who also happens to be Lily's age) come stay with us for a while. We have had cake decorating class and electronics class. And then there is the gardening and animal care that is part of our everyday life. Oh, and we became the owner of kittens. Two of them. 

What a full summer we've had so far.