July Wrap-Up

I know I say this every month, but I can't believe it's the end of July!  This has been a super busy month.  I started it off with a nice overnight trip to Long Beach Island to visit my college buddy, Mamie, and her family, and new roommate, Hannah.  I had a ton of fun with them, and it was a great way to start this hectic month.  

On the ninth (which also happens to be my sister-in-law's birthday, Happy Birthday Michelle!) Aaron and I became homeowners!  Yay us!

We've been super busy working on the house.  It needs a ton of work, and the list is never ending.  So far the kitchen is the closest to livable.  

My DIY projects have been hyper focused on getting the house ready, so the only crafty thing I did this month was stamp my handmade calendar for June and July.  They came out super cute.  I need to think about what's happening in August, and get that together!  

I've been most happy with my Thirsty Thursday series this month.  So many yummy fruity creations!  I'm having a hard time picking a favorite.  It's a tie between the Plum Kiwi Pineapple Cocktail and the Tropical Creamsicle.  They are both good in a fruity way, but for completely different reasons.  

I've also continued on with my self-indulgent series, This Is Me.  I like that this series gives me back a bit of my weekends, while still pushing me to think creatively.  I want to think about making more  imaginative self portraits in the future.  

We also celebrated my brother, Chris' engagement.  We went out to dinner with his fiance, Jamie's family and got to know them.  We had a lovely time!  They are awesome people.  I wore this cute little number to the fabulous Half Moon, where we wine & dined.  

I've loved everything I've cooked for Nom Nom Monday, but my favorite this month is my Fresh Tomato & Bell Pepper Pasta Salad.  It could be because I grew the tomatoes, peppers, and basil in it.  Or because I had it for dinner last night, and I also ate it for lunch, AND as an after-work snack.  I definitely liked this dish.  :)  

Speaking of our garden, haven't these little paper pulp seedlings come a long way?  Look at one of our many fruitful harvests! Just as yummy as it looks.  

I hope you had a good July too, and happy DIYing, chris!  

Colorful Progress

I'm making colorful progress (finally!) at my house.  First, here is a reminder of what my kitchen looked like:

 Wood paneling and dirty grubbiness and all.  

Now for some color on those nasty walls!

Of course I scrubbed, and scrubbed, and then scrubbed some more before we primed, and painted.  Actually, we did such a good job cleaning and priming, we only needed one coat of Valspar's Sea Air.  

Loving this bright cheery color.  Can't wait to finish the trim, and take all the painter's tape down.  Wait, no, I can't wait to cook in my new pretty kitchen!  

Now we're moving on to the dining room.  For the rest of the house I bought an airless paint sprayer.  I was nervous about using it, so I let my mom put it to the test.  My mom's always good like that.  It's turning out well.  So glad we made this purchase, it will make painting the rest of the house ten times faster.  

Hope ya'll had a great weekend, and happy DIYing, chris!

P.S.  Here's a funny photo of how the airless paint sprayer coated my nose hairs.  I had a good laugh when I looked in the mirror, and I hope you do too. :)