Homeowner with ADD

I have a mountain of wood in the backyard that was fished out the pool this winter.  The cover is shredded and will need to be replaced.  I'm seriously considering replacing the pool with an underground bunker.  It will fill in the space AND feed my inner survivalist/conspiracy theorist. (Of course, it's never good to feed the paranoia, but I am a fan of the new Eminem song, The Monster.)

Did you know that there is a Pinterest board dedicated to underground bunkers?  Of course you did.

I finished painting the kitchen this weekend - and by finished, I mean that I got all the wall areas done with a first and second coat (except for the area behind the stove that still had a plexiglass cover over wallpaper because The Spouse won't pull out the stove.  But it's very museum-like, so maybe I can convince people it's a peak back into 1973?).  I haven't even begun to dream of when I might do the trim.

When we first bought Wayne Manor, I had planned to use Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations to paint the cabinets "Federal Gray".



Then I had a change of heart and decided that a wood color would look better, so bought it in Cabernet.




But now I'm wavering back to the gray because I won't be able to afford to replace the awesome green floor and counters for, oh, years.



The paint color on the walls is Silver Drop, by Behr.  It's a great neutral with a touch of warm green to it.  It's also the exact paint color we used in the Batcave and have now carried over to Wayne Manor primarily to save The Spouse from angst over another decision:


Oh, how I miss the old kitchen!



The trim is White Dove by Benjamin Moore:



But, of course, all of this is predicated on me finding the right Time/Energy equation to make this all happen.  But I think I'll postpone painting the trim until I decide on the cabinets...right?

Trying to get my act together

Tomorrow is my first House Party.  It occurred to me last night that I should probably begin making plans for it.  I invited friends weeks ago, so I know I will have a good turnout.  I've seen the Mega Blocks Hot Wheels in the party box and those are going to keep the kids entertained for hours.  Building, racing, taking apart, rebuilding.  The Dynamic Duo is overly excited about it.  I think adding juice boxes and making cupcakes will be all I need to do, no?  Of course, Wayne Manor needs to be cleaned from top to bottom, and I am not looking forward to that.

In a sign of emotional and financial maturity, a Barbie hoarder is having an estate sale and I'm vowing not to go.

 Furthermore, I'm vowing to get rid of all the Barbie stuff that I'm not emotionally attached to (note: NOT THE DREAM HOUSE!!!).  However, I am seriously considering driving 1.5 hours into Maryland to buy wrought iron gates to go with my new-to-me (and recently painted) wrought iron fencing for the backyard.

Of course, we are also really trying to tighten our belts.  But once the fencing is put up in the yard, we need a way to access the garden from the garage.  My legs are long, but I don't want to climb over the fence with a pitchfork in hand.  

Family Room

At the home inspection:



Before:



Primer:



Terrible "after" shot:



I have since put the room back together.  The wall to the left is still covered with ripped wallpaper and the wall to the right needs to be painted to match the new paint.  It's not perfect, but it's a heck of a lot brighter than it was a week ago!

Oh Hell NO!

The Spouse thinks that we have enough junk in our house at the moment and I need to focus on downsizing vs. acquiring.

Say what?

Not everything that is in our house will stay in our house.  Some things are in the wrong rooms.  Some things need a coat of paint or an adjustment to be just perfect.  Some things are treasures that I cannot/will not get rid of.  Some things are crap that I need to get rid of.

I have an eye for stuff but not an eye for design.  I can see the possibilities, I just can't pull the room together.   I realized my design deficiency in college, when other girls had awesome dorm rooms decorated with Guess ads and Monet posters.  I had the same things, but not the same eye for pulling them together.  Where others created cozy spots, I created chaos.

It will be years until Wayne Manor is "done".  It needs some serious repairs until we can begin to address some of the more cosmetic things.  Until then, we're going to have a house filled with more junk than we can handle.