No design blogs for me for a long, long time

Or I'm pretty sure this will be our first and last anniversary we celebrate as a happy married couple. Let's just say Markus does not share my enthusiasm for home projects and decorating. He tolerates a few here and there, but I think I have crossed the line. I met him at the hardware store this morning for what has to be the 10th time in a week (5 trips were in a 24 hour window) to buy some trim paint. And as we were saying our goodbyes he told me this is the last time he is buying paint for this house and I had better like all the colors. Markus does not use strong words often, but when he does I know I better take notice. I love you, babe!

Ahem, so it all started last weekend with an idea to wrap up the upstairs project we started last February. We needed to paint the back of a book shelf, hang a few items I purchased at IKEA last spring, and spruce up a (very) small bathroom. This included taking down wallpaper, painting, and replacing brass fixtures with brushed nickel. Sounds fairly easy, right? No construction or major renovating involved. I won't bore you with details but let's just say it sounded A LOT easier on paper.

This snowballed into projects in almost all rooms of our house and a lot more trips to the hardware store, contracting my mom and her husband for some painting and carpentry projects, and my dad for some plumbing issues. Lesson to learn for future opp (other peoples projects): Have a game plan BEFORE you start, write a comprehensive list of what you will need from the hardware store, and most importantly finish one room before moving on to another. However, I have a feeling if we had done all of this before starting Markus would have said no. Isn't there a saying "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission"? Please forgive me, babe!

Late Wednesday night, after painting for 5 hours, I had the idea to get out of town for our anniversary. We both needed a break. Markus especially since he has been home 24/7 for the last 2 weeks. My mom had no choice offered to stay and watch the dogs while they finished the dining room. So we packed up Saturday morning and headed to Charlottesville. It was perfect and much needed. We came back a little less stressed and ready to finish what we had started.

Thank you to my wonderful husband who has tolerated all of my ideas over the last few weeks. I promise to cool it, at least until after the holidays ;) I will even do all of the holiday decorating while you are out of town so you don't have to see any boxes or put up the tree. What a deal!

p.s. I can't wait to share all of the renovation details on the blog once we finish. Before and after pics to come...