The Kitchen Gets a Facelift… Like a Clown

Earlier this year, I became quite unimpressed with our kitchen.  The walls, which were still a flat construction white color, had become super dingy.  They wouldn’t clean well and were only getting worse with time and cooking.  I kept telling Casey I wanted to paint, but he insisted we wait and do a tile backsplash, something I thought was too high cost.

So in mid-June, when he went away to Philly for training for four days, I took matters (and a paintbrush) into my own hands.

First a base coat of the color that’s in the rest of our main living space.  Just this step made things SO MUCH BETTER.

Then I chose a pattern color, pulled from a painting I love that hangs in the kitchen.  After that, there was some trial and error to create a pattern on the wall.  I was going to use a stencil, but the paint lines weren’t crisp and clean enough.  So I decided to do a little inspiration search online to find a pattern I could tape off fairly easily.

I chose an octagon pattern, which involved taping squares and then taping the corners of each square to create octagons.  This may seem like a huge process, but really it just involved taping a bunch of horizontal and vertical lines and then taping corners using a template I made.  Way better than painting a stencil, moving the stencil, setting it up just right, painting, and repeat.

I went through some more trial and error when it came to getting the paint not to bleed.  Apparently you have to buy the super fancy painter’s tape for really good lines, which I did not know.  I do know, though, how to do research online and I found a way that worked amazingly… and no, it was not buying more expensive painter’s tape.

TIP:  Paint over the entire surface with the base color first.  That will seal the tape edges.  Then paint with your pattern color.  I know this may seem like a lot of extra work, but it really wasn’t.  It was two coats of quick painting (separated by plenty of drying time since they were different colors) verses cutting in EVERY SINGLE OCTAGON and then going over that to make it dark enough.

So, by the time Casey got home from training, I had all of the octagons done (except for behind the fridge).  I thought it was looking excellent and thankfully, Casey didn’t hate it.  I believe his actual words were, “It’s not as awful as I expected.”

Awesome.

Then came part two.  Multi-colored squares in the big blank spaces at the corners of the octagons.  I thought it added a lot to the pattern, great texture, and in a way that almost mimics tile.

Casey, on the other hand, thinks it looks like a clown.  I’m not exactly sure what he means by that, but it’s also how he vented about some knobs I recently painted for a dresser.  I guess he’s really just not a fan of color.

Oh well, I know I can’t win them all with him, and I am definitely a fan of color, so I love the “new” kitchen.  It is much more vibrant and inviting, and it makes me smile to walk in there and see the project completed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do It Yourself ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Supplies for the base and pattern:  I used leftover paint for the base color, but a quart would be more than enough, which is the amount I got of the coral color.  Paint brush and small roller (I used two roller brushes: one for the base color and one for the coral color).  Painter’s tape.  Level.  Pencil.  A sweet baby who can spend chunks of time entertaining himself.

Supplies for the multi-color squares: small craft paintbrush, basic acrylic paints in various colors, a steady hand and the ability to paint a square without taping… unless you want to do a bunch more taping, which I did not.  I also tried a sponge technique, which creates a texture some people might be okay with, but it wasn’t the look I was going for.

Follow (basically) the steps above, hopefully with less trial and error, and voila, a cheerful kitchen filled with the joy of a circus.

Refuge

My parents have a great porch, even better since my dad screened it in and Mom set up a cozy sitting space.

Abel and I spent quite a bit of quality time out there during our recent visit.

It was especially nice in the morning, when the fresh cool air from the evening lingered against the sun shining in.

On Sunday morning, Mum and I ate breakfast out there.  Fresh blueberry muffins and tea – sweet and simple comfort.

It is truly a spot to sit and be at ease, whether as a sanctuary of sunshine during the day, or even a hideout from rain, or a place of peace at night, when all is still and quiet in the house and the woods, except the occasional call of a bird and the static rustle of the baby monitor.

Some day I’ll have a space like it, some day when I don’t have a condo association to contend with, who would be pretty mad if I nailed screen panels onto their building.

Ugh, if I only I were free to nail what I want to.

When Kids Act Like Kids

Yesterday when Abel and I went for our walk in the afternoon, there was a farm stand set up at the intersection in front of our condo.  It was operated by Leyton and Lucy.

Leyton was probably somewhere around eight years old and Lucy may have been six. I’m not very good at guessing kids ages, but I think that’s a good approximation.  They were selling tomatoes for a dollar, or the same price for two flowers, all of which they’d picked themselves.

Their mother was there and she watched as Lucy asked if she could pick out my two flowers and I said, “yes.”  She was trying to grab a smaller one, but her mother insisted she give two big blooms.  And then she chose my tomato too, a small yellow one.  The mother said I could choose any I wanted, and pointed out some larger more ripe looking ones, but I took the one Lucy chose.

All through this, Leyton was putting my two dollars in his toy money register, explaining how much money they’d made already and how his register wasn’t supposed to be for real money, but that he was making it work.  His mother gently said he shouldn’t talk about their earnings in front of customers, that he should just say thank you, all the while smiling as if embarrassed by his straight-forwardness.

I hope she wasn’t embarrassed though, and that I’ll never be embarrassed when my kids act like kids.  It was wonderful to see a child take pride in getting a return for the work he’d put in – you could tell it made him eager to do it again.  And I loved the truth in how Lucy seemed to pick out the smaller flowers and tomatoes because quietly she hoped whatever was left at the end of their sale would go home with her, and she hoped to have the best for herself, because she’d picked those flowers and wanted to enjoy them.

The sincerity of children is so refreshing.  They are open and honest, two things I strive for more and more.  At times being candid can seem severe, but in the end it feels better than anything else, because you’ve put things out there in a way that denies assumptions and allows authenticity to shine.

Time for the River

Amidst the hustle and bustle of final preparations for her wedding, my friend (and a car full of her friends from out of town) picked me up to go to the river on Thursday.

I hadn’t been to this spot in years and it had been reformed into new sandy islands and deep water spots, especially by the terrible floods caused by Irene last year.

 

After a quick and bracing dip, we walked downstream to where there is a rope swing.  My friend took the jump without fear – good practice for her big day!

A few jumps later we headed back against the current to find we had already been there an hour, the time passing swiftly as we enjoyed the sunshine and refreshing water.

It was a short visit, but as time in and near water is wont to do, it was replenishing.  I am grateful to be reacquainted with this spot and I am eager to return during future trips north, when there is more free time to invest.

Flea Marketing

Both Saturdays I was in Vermont, Mum and I went to flea markets.  It’s one of our favorite pastimes, the searching out of treasures.

The first Saturday we went to a small flea market in a nearby town.  I bought two jadeite bowls, while Mom collected some favorites, and we both enjoyed a simple and tasty lunch… including yummy homemade desserts!

While driving to our next errand destination that day, Mom spied this on the side of the road – blue glass peeking above the tops of bushes.

This guy had glass galore – blues, reds, purples, and other pottery style pieces.  Since it’s what I took pictures of, you can tell I like the blue stuff.  I came home with a cobalt vase.

The second Saturday was the big flea market day in my hometown.  We stopped first at a barn sale near my parent’s house.  I love the use of an old building, concrete walls adorned with antiques.  Earlier in the week, we had attended an amazing art exhibition there.

In my hometown, the tents go from one edge of two town greens to another, and beyond.  Family said it seemed especially busy this year, despite the high heat.

I was a bit distracted by what needed to be done for my friend’s wedding later in the day, but I bought another jadeite bowl and especially enjoyed some of the set ups and textures throughout the market.

It was fitting to see these two books next to each other – my current state next to my home state.  Virginia often gets the short end of the stick in my mind, but normally the two mingle happily in my life just like on this table, integrating for a full and (mostly) contented life.

Prizes:  Two small jadeite bowls, one large jadeite bowl (has a crack, but easily repaired and only $3!), cobalt vase, milk glass bowl (from Mum), small flowered white Fire King plate (from friend’s wedding plates), and napkins made by Grama, plus an awesome white glass lamp (not pictured).

The hunt was fun and the prizes are things I love.  It’s awesome to know what I really like and enjoy, so that my house doesn’t become cluttered with things I’m indifferent to… especially since I’ve been working so hard to pare down!

Upon Return

After being gone for eighteen days, I thought it would be really hard to come back.  But I am thankfully becoming more appreciative of this Virginia home of ours, which allows me to more comfortably ease back into this space and our “normal” life and routine.

I am so grateful for the time away though.  Time spent collecting memories with family and friends in favorite places, celebrating love and weddings, soaking up friendship and sunshine and the beauty of my home state.

It was a wonderful and refueling respite.  I am energized to tackle my every days with thoughtfulness and care.  Plus, there was a prize waiting for me in the mail when I returned.

It is my Mother’s Day present – a tiny stacking ring with Abel’s name on it.  It’s only just arrived because I took forever getting my finger measured, but it was totally worth the wait.

I love it, and I’m not going to rush anything, but I’ll be so happy to add another when number two arrives.  Let’s hope Kathryn Riechert is still in business then!

A Superior Walk

Abel and I take lots of walks in Virginia and they are lovely.  But they don’t compare to taking walks here in Vermont.

On Tuesday we took a stroll down to Grama’s house and it was wonderful to have most of it be without traffic, and it’s certainly not developed with houses in every direction – aka, the view is WAY better than in VA.

We stopped and checked out the donkey down the road.  Abel told him a few stories and then we continued.

We paused for a few moments on the bridge, which has an awesome view down the river of my Godfather’s cool building out back of their house – if you look closely, you can see it way down there!

I am thankful for the walks we are able to take in NoVa, but I am nourished more by walks in Vermont.  The air is cleaner and more refreshing, and there is far more to see – not the repetitive cars and trucks driving by, the cookie cutter houses, but trees and rivers and furry friends.

Abel thrives in this place, just as I do, and I am impelled to cultivate a love in him for visiting here.  I anticipate days ahead when going to Vermont is a looked-forward to prospect for him, when his favorite memories include all the great things his father and I love about this beautiful state.

And the best part?  I get to experience it anew through his discovery of it all, plus soak it all in myself, bolstering the parts of my soul that crave and cherish time here.