hi from the land of DIY
Hi friends! Happy Monday! I think it’s Monday? It’s so weird how the days seem to all blend together. I hope your weekend brought you some peace and relaxation. Ours was packed with projects but we made time for ice cream, tent night in the living room, and some family walks.
Friday afternoon, I finished putting together a gallery wall in the living room and was like, “Let’s get the paint for the cabinets!”
Before you could say, “Lowes is the equivalent of Black Friday madness” we were covered in paint splatters: deglossing, priming, and painting. (In all seriousness though, Lowe’s was BANANAS. The Pilot wore a mask and was the only one who went inside, while the girls and I waited in the car, but I couldn’t believe the parking lot. I guess a lot of people are tackling home improvement projects while we’re stuck at home.)
I’ve had some requests to do a full post on the process, so I’ll definitely post the details when everything is finished. I will say that it takes 1400 years but the results are SO worth it. It’s already brightened up the kitchen and I can’t wait to see the final product!
I took a break from painting to drop off a baby gift to a friend, and wore real clothes for 3 whole hours.
Cool sock tan, bro.
(Dress is here! It’s $40 and such an awesome summer staple. I have a striped one and black one, too)
I came back home, we put the girls to bed, and it was back to painting until midnight. A LOT of the weekend was spent painting and priming. We’re so thankful for the girls’ ability to entertain themselves because it’s a huge project and surprisingly, it hasn’t been total anarchy around here. They’ve really learned how to just be kids and play since we’re not racing around from activity to event from morning until bedtime. Liv reads books to P, they play toys and board games together, run around in the backyard, and get drenched in the unicorn sprinkler. I joke that they’re having a jolly fine time throughout this whole thing (and I still think it’s going to be a huge struggle to get P to ever go back to preschool.)
Saturday night dinner was a Harney Cobb, which is one of our go-to dinners. We set out a bunch of salad toppings and everyone can make their own Cobb salad. (The girls’ are usually deconstructed and they crush it!) It’s grilled chicken, romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, hard boiled eggs, avocado, turkey bacon, and feta, topped with Ranch dressing.
Here’s what mine looked like:
(the Primal Kitchen vegan Ranch is amaaaazing)
We popped some wine and continued painting throughout the night and rest of the weekend. While I’ve been painting, I’ve been listening to the Jessica Simpson audiobook on one headphone and am really enjoying it. It makes the time go by so quickly! If you have any other audiobooks you love, please send them my way! (The author/narrator makes all the difference in the world.)
I just wanted to pop in and say hi! Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today. Have a wonderful morning and I’ll see ya soon.
Tell me, friends: any highlights or fun stories from the weekend?
xoxo
Gina
You might also like:
15 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Please, please do a tutorial!!!!
i will absolutely post the details for everything we did! they look awesome so far <3
I am interested in this project too. Can you show before and after pics? And when you say deglossing, what does that mean/entail?
yes, absolutely! we used a liquid sander instead of an electric one. it’s really time consuming but helps take the gloss off the cabinets so the paint will adhere better
Hi Gina,
Do you have an email address. I am considering moving to AZ (Tucson, Scottsdale) or NC (Chapel Hill, Raleigh suburbs, other) and I wanted to get your feedback on these areas, since you have lived in both NC and AZ. I just have a few questions…great schools, overall quality of life, etc that I was hoping to get your feedback on. Thanks!
hi! yes, of course!
gina@fitnessista.com
I JUST finished the Jessica Simpson book and really enjoyed it, especially when she talks about body image. If you haven’t read it yet, Daisy Jones and the Six is a great audio book- they have different voice actors for every single character and reads like a behind the music special on VH1.
yes, such a great one!
i’ve listened to most of that one but i keep waiting for something crazy to happen to really pull me in lol
I just finished The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica, it was super exciting. The Last One by Alexandra Oliva was also a great listen.
You are an inspiration to paint your cabinets! I have been wanting to do that but it’s so much work and if you mess up — eek!
ok, i’ll check those out- thank you!!
right?! it’s a lot of pressure but i’ve found that it’s pretty forgiving and SO much less expensive than hiring someone
I can’t wait for you to share more about the cabinet makeover! That’s one of the next things on our ‘we’ve bit off more than we can chew list’…lol
Not sure what kind of audio books u like but these r some of the best I have ever read. 1. A dangerous Act of Kindness by LP Fergusson 2. When I Found You by Catherine R. Hyde and 3. The Letter by Kathryn Hughes. As u can see I love to read. Cant wait to see the finished product of your cabinets. Want to do this myself.
Hi Gina,
Out of curiosity, I’ve heard you mentioning things that you listen to “on one headphone.” Is there a reason you only listen on one?
i do this so i can hear other things, like if we’re on a walk, i can hear cars coming or if we’re at home, i can hear the girls if they need me <3
Oh – makes sense! I thought maybe you did it because you heard it was better for your ears to just listen out of one earphone 🙂