Around the house...

First of all, it is already Valentine's Day here! I'm so excited that I have a whole house to decorate, so I'm going all out this year. I am starting to add to my holiday collections and I started with Holiday Tea Towels. I made these by using my serger around the edges. I'm going to cut some heart shapes with the cricut and applique them to the bottom for a fun finish! I couldn't resist putting them up right away though...Second, we've been busy around the house. Sunday has turned in to "paint" day! We are so close to finishing the main floor. The whole house needs fresh paint, inside and out, and we're becoming painting experts. Two weekends ago I did the powder bathroom. It went from dark green:
To "celery ice" green:
The green is a lot softer now and flows better from the Parisian taupe of the family room to the dark red of the laundry room. Added bonus- all three colors are in my new rug in the family room. I feel a little bit like a designer!

I found these adorable wall hooks at Cost Plus and I had to have them... They make a fantastic way to show off my aprons! Also- I love the "Fork, Spoon, Knife" art that is so popular right now and this is a great, affordable way for me to have some of it... And be practical at the same time. I also remember to use my apron a lot more!
Up close, the order is spoon, fork then knife. I have two aprons, both that I made on display:
Yesterday was "Paint the Dining Room/Living Room" area. Steven's aunt came over on Friday and brought her color wheel with her. We were able to pick a color called "Jute" and that's what we had color matched. At first we didn't have a ladder and we thought we'd only be able to get half of the room done- everything but the peaks. But then Steven came home with a paint extender and we thought we'd get everything but the trim on the peaks done.

Then Steven came up with this:
His 'gigantic poking device', which is a reference from "FRIENDS". With this he was able to use ONLY a step stool and this device (paint brush taped onto the extender) and NO TAPE and the trim work looks great. So he did a really good job on it. I'm really happy with how it dried because when we first put the paint on it looked GREEN. It is supposed to be a natural grey with green undertones, but the green was really coming through. Then it dried to the color we signed up for and we were happy.
Here's the dining room and living room after paint. The previous paint color had a lot of pink undertones and I'm so glad we got rid of that! Now the feel and look of the room will match up more with the rest of the main and lower floor.

One might think that this room is very... well, bare. It is. But we're working on it. Our new dining set is set to arrive this week and then I think we'll see a big improvement. I have a sofa picked out and a goal for the living room, but it will take me a while to put it all together. I hate that waiting, but I keep reminding myself that it is worth is to get it done the right way. At least now we don't have to worry about painting again.

With the exception of the front entry way- which I plan to paint in about two weeks- the entire main/lower floor is painted. This is music to my ears. Also- all the DVDs found a home in a new bookshelf down in the Family Room. No more huge boxes in my living room! Success! Nothing is left in boxes, except things that are meant to be. Pretty good for a month after moving in!