hallway update: fini!

after a week of no painting (no paint fumes for me on doctor's orders!), i finally finished the hallway.  phase one of the artery's demise is complete.  kind of.  i'm not allowed to paint the ceiling (husband's orders this time due to my excessive clumsiness), so philip is doing that part next.

but so far?  it looks great.  and i absolutely LOVE it.  it has made our hallway look at least twice as big as it did before.  it still needs a little fixing up - some pictures, artwork, maybe a little table or something.  i'm not sure.

phases two and three: the entryway and the hallway, respectively.  i'm thinking the entryway will come next (maybe even next weekend?), and i have a gorgeous shade of blue, behr's faded denim, that i have in mind for the entry.  but then there are the questions of... what to do with the stairs (previous owner painted them white), carpet, wiring the stairs for lighting, do we really like the entryway?... so much to do.  but one thing at a time, we'll get it done :)

i'm surprised and happy about how easy and fairly quick this project was.  i was able to do it in the searing heat, with no AC, while taking summer school.  but mostly it was relaxing and almost therapeutic to just sit upstairs and paint while listening to spotify, fixing something i didn't like about our house.  the red paint over the wallpaper was so intimidating that i built it up into something so difficult it would take years for us to cover - when all it took was two coats of primer + paint in one, along with a few half-days.  not so bad.

but here we have the before and after of the upstairs hallway!

makes the floors look nicer too :)

til next time (i'm itching for my next project!!!)...

xoxo

faith in fate.

it's been a rough couple days here at our house, and i needed some soul-soothing today.  today i need to know that everything is for a bigger purpose.  to trust in my fate and destiny.

i gathered a few of my favorite inspirational pins from my pinterest board, and thought i'd share.  i did it a few months ago when i needed a dose of positivity and got some good compliments.  so this is for all you out there who also need a little pick-me-up today.

faith in the journey.

you can always start again.

this one's difficult to do sometimes.

possibly my favorite one :)

no matter what.

in... and out.

can't wait to see what's ahead.

very fitting today.

shhhhh.

all will we back to normal here soon - especially because i start my weekend classes on saturday.  

til next time - please think of all those in colorado today suffering from the wildfire devastation.  if you are able to help, please go to help colorado now to donate.

blanks for a beautiful friday.

hi friends.  it is a gorgeous day outside, and we woke up early to enjoy the morning light.  i am off work (& school) this weekend, and it's going to be a lovely weekend filled with painting!

but today, it's time for blanks, courtesy of the little things we do.  today's blanks:

is the season most filled with life.  summer always reminds me of my childhood - as i've blogged about before, my family used to own a summer house on long island.  i can honestly say that i've spent the best days of my life in that house surrounded by people i love.  we'd go to the beach every day (read: literally every single day) after we helped pack up lunch for the beach.  i have wonderful memories of my grandmother and aunts signing in the kitchen while cooking, and my father, my uncle and their friends smoking cigars outside til late at night. 

nowadays, summer is a time for bike riding with philip, hanging out with friends, and doing a lot of work on the house :)  it's a time for jazz in the park with my colorado family and patio cocktail hours.  it's a wonderful time of year, even if i do have to sweat through the night in our non-air-conditioned old house. 

happy friday everyone! 

til next time ;)

hallway update: trim paint

since i last shared pics of our newest house project on saturday, i haven't done a whole lot.  father's day was sunday and since then i've been a little under the weather - but i did start some of the trim paint!  it looks wonderful, and i can't even believe how quickly it's going.  at this rate i should have all of the upstairs done by friday morning - just in time to start the entryway this coming weekend :)

here's the trim:

old trim

new trim

progression from old (on top) to new (on bottom)

i am not used to so much white in one place in my house!  we have colors EVERYWHERE - and the only thing i've painted white in the house is the ceiling.  the trim is behr's oyster, which i love.  it's turning out lovely so far - after the painting is done i'll treat myself to a new light fixture for my fancy new hallway :)

should have more updates soon - happy tuesday!

til next time - xoxo

10 ways i'm most like my dad

it's been a while since i've done one of my popular '10 best' lists, and i've had some requests that i start doing those again.  and what better reason to make one than father's day!  so, here i present:

the 10 best ways i am most like my father

10.  the most obvious would be my laugh.  it's loud and contagious (and kind of man-ish, which is fine for my dad but not so great for me).  i laugh at just about everything, and it's one of those room-clearing laughs where people turn around and say, 'what the hell is going on over there?'  it's fine at home, a little awkward at movies.  but i wouldn't change it for anything.

9.  my undying and borderline obsessive love for hockey & U2.  the two aren't really related, except that my dad loves them and i love them just as much (if not more).  but i grew up around both hockey and U2 and came to love them - sometimes for no other reason than my dad loves them, so i got on board.  and now those are two of my favorite things ever.

8.  i'm argumentative, which i really take to mean i stand up for what i believe in.  when my dad and i fight, it's ugly.  we are both very passionate and don't mind confrontation (or yelling), and i remember once even throwing tissues boxes at him.  but we voice our opinions and like to stand up for our ideology, even in the face of others.

7.  my passion for travel + adventure.  to be honest i never knew my dad loved this so much until the past decade or so, which was also when my love affair with travel and other cultures started.  i always wondered where i got it from, but now i know it's my dad.  we are both at home in airplanes and airports, and are at our best and happiest when going somewhere new.  i love that.

6.  we share the same respect for family, food, and traditions.  this is a big one.  whether it's our christmas eve walk down fifth ave, summers at the villa, nanny's spaghetti or midnight mass, i've learned from my dad that these are the best things in life.  especially when the three of them are together :)  dad & i even took at as far as taking the same picture every year during our christmas eve walk every year, just because it's tradition. 

trump tower, christmas eve 2008

trump tower, christmas eve 2007

5.  love for the water and the beach.  we aren't really camping people.  but give us a blanket, corona, italian ice and the waves - and we're just as at home as we would be in a nice loft.

4.  it's not how many times you fall down, but whether or not you get back up.  i can't even say how many times my dad said this to my brother and i growing up, and it's always stuck with me.  my dad as fallen down.  but i am proud of him because of the person he is and the person he continues to be, no matter what happens.  i try to do the same thing - for example, finishing school now that i am 27 just because it doesn't matter how long it takes me, so long as i finish it. 

3.  love for entertaining.  seriously, my dad is such a great host.  no one's glass is empty, the music is never quiet, and everyone's always laughing.  i love being the hostess too, and i like to think i'm pretty good at it.

2.  we're democrats.  i come from a long line of democrats on my dad's side of the family.  enough said. 

1. my sense of humor.  there are some movies that my mom calls 'drew movies' because they have an off-beat sense of humor (i.e. the royal tenenbaums) that my dad and i share. 

happy father's day to my most amazing dad :)

death of the artery

there is a feature in my house that we not-so-lovingly call 'the artery.'  this monstrosity is actually just our entryway, staircase, and upstairs hallway - but the walls and ceiling of all three are painted a very deep, dark red.  and did i mention that the paint is over wallpaper?  because it is.

every since we first looked at this house, i knew if i lived here i'd have to do some major painting, especially in the artery.  but due to the dark hue, i figured i'd have to hire a professional and it would take at least a week to get it all done.  i actually priced it out last year, but seeing as the cost was over $1000 i figured we could maybe try it ourselves.  a few days ago, i decided it was time to start the big job.  we have a laundry list of projects to get started on with the house, because it has been months since we've really done any updates to it.  so a quick trip to home depot, and here you go! 

hallway before

hallway after

 today i just accomplished the upstairs hallway, but it's a start.  and what's more is that it only took me a few hours and two coats of paint to transform dark red into white.  or, more specifically. behr's camembert.

some walls white, some still red

finishing up!

LOVE this! looks like lights are on upstairs now!

 next up is the trim tomorrow - can't wait!  next weekend hopefully i can tackle the entryway - now i have some good momentum and motivation.  plus i smeared blue paint on my wall as a sample, so now i kinda have to do it :)

happy saturday all!

xoxo

high high #19

today was pretty great.  i was driving to work when i sent a text to my dad (who is awesome by the way).  we text a lot, because he's technologically savvy and the more to-the-point the communication is for him, the better.  and he called me rather than texting me back, and we talked the rest of my drive to work.

that doesn't happen often, so it was pretty awesome.  i get along with both of my parents super well - but while my mom and i are girlfriend-close, my dad and i sometimes butt heads.  i think it's because i am really similar to him, and i don't know how much he likes that :)

anyway, i don't blog about my dad much because he's 2000 miles away from me, but it was a great part of my day.  the rest of the day was pretty good too - meeting for a committee i really like being on, midterm which i knew all the answers to and got home early, cleaning the house (which i always kind of love) and then relaxing with p.i.  what's not to love?

waiting for our turn to walk down the aisle

he made me laugh the whole way.  i totally loved it. 

our dance to our song - 'angel mine' by the cowboy junkies. 

i have lots of fun things going on this weekend, so i'll be back!  it's been a slow week but soon i should have some updates of a new house project... so stay tuned.

til next time...

xoxo

new fill in the blanks

 hey yo!


please excuse my absence, but things have been busy around here.  i started summer classes on monday, and i'm transferring to another location at work on monday, which means i'm working two jobs until further notice.  not fun.

but otherwise things have been great!  we have really been out enjoying the sunshine - taking morning jogs, heading to the park for free jazz concerts, fairs and festivals... it's been awesome.  i've enjoyed it all and there is much more summer fun to come (highlands street fair anyone?!). 

but for today, it's blanks time!  the format has been changed (which i am super excited about), and it's now more of a writing prompt than anything else.  seeing as in my former life i was an creative writing major and started my own novel, i think it's going to be great.  check out lauren's adorable blog to play along and link up!  today's prompt...

hmm.  super good question.  why do i do this?  it's probably a culmination of a few things.

1. i love to write.  as i mentioned above, in my former life i was a writer, and i still love it.  i've written for a bunch of different websites and was an editor for an online travel magazine.  writing has always been a passion for me, and it's something that i don't really get to do in my job now.  i get to write plenty for school, which i love, but it's not always what i want.  
2. i have family & friends all over that like keeping track of what we are up to.  it's easier these days than sending out an annual christmas card, plus with more pictures.  we can share updates on the house, pictures of our travels, pictures of our nephews, all in one awesome spot for our loved ones to see.  it's so convenient.
3. i started a blog when i first lived in prague as a way for people to read about my adventures, and i just instantly loved it.  i was always a girl with a journal, and a blog was kind of like that for me.  it was a great way for me to share what i am going through (or where i am going) with others who may find it helpful.  i totally love it.

so i don't plan on giving up my blog anytime soon :)

time for dinner date with philip - happy friday all!