The Lovely Side: My Apartment: Progress Update

After a former weekend full of friends, fun, and a beerfest, I was quite excited that this past weekend was free of plans and obligations – and quite determined to keep it that way so G and I could chill for a couple days. We spent the weekend watching Doctor Who and Criminal Minds on Netflix; trying new ciders, gin, and whiskey; cooking Brussels sprouts, mahi mahi, chicken fajitas, and deer chili; and putting the final touches on the walls and ceiling of my front room/parlor.

A couple weekends ago, we all but finished the front room by adding the third and final coat of coral paint. (Painting coral over purple takes some major coverage!) I'm absolutely in love with the results. We used Sierra Rose by Pittsburgh Paints. It's a brightly, lively, and girly color that really pops against the white trim. (And it's very reminiscent of Joan's apartment on Mad Men – purely by coincidence, but a happy accident indeed.)

The room has no overhead lighting and few outlets, so after sunset we found ourselves painting by the light of a single table lamp. We got through it. :)

Then this weekend, G finished up the spots I couldn't reach and gave the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint. Nine foot ceilings are wonderful – except when it comes to painting them. Even standing on a chair on tip-toe, I can't reach where the wall meets the ceiling. Fortunately, G's a real trooper and let's me take advantage of his height. :)

After finishing up the walls and ceilings, I finally got to hang some ivory colored curtains in the room. For me, a room always looks more pulled together with curtains. It's one step closer to be finished and it's actually starting to feel like a real room now instead of just an awkward, unfinished entry space.

I hit up TJ Maxx the other day. It seems like whenever I'm actually looking to spend some money, there's nothing I want to buy. And whenever I don't have room in my budget to shop, I want to buy everything! I did leave with one purchase: the adorable cat chalkboard pictured above. It was on clearance for a mere $3 and since it reminds me of my black cat Dahlia, I couldn't resist. Plus, I always need an extra reminder near the front door to take out the trash or mail something.

Here's the view from the couch in the living room. You can see through the double pocket doors to the front room. I placed an old, antique black cabinet (it was once a radio!) next to the front door as a landing spot for my purse, keys, etc.

Here's another glimpse of the pocket doors with a fresh coat of white paint and the restored antique hardware. I don't close the doors often (I like seeing from one colorful room to the next), but it's nice that when I do close them, I'm not looking at that shade of sage green that doesn't match anything in my decor.

The next project on my list is my bathroom, but it's tiny so that's a small project. The next BIG project will be my kitchen. Pictured above is a just a glimpse. I love the big window and the little corner cabinet shelves on either side of it. I'm not a big fan of the ivy/floral stickers on the cabinets, so I'll be scraping those off. The counter top is gray and the cabinets are white – I'm still debating whether I'll be painting the cabinets or the walls or both.

Here's the view out my back kitchen window now. It started snowing Saturday night and didn't stop until early, early Sunday morning. We got a good foot of snow on the ground, so Greg and I spent most of Sunday snowed in – except for a quick trip to Menards for a snow shovel. Haha. We skipped the Super Bowl and ate deer chili, drank cider, and watched Criminal Minds instead.

I can't wait to share more decorating progress with you!

How was your weekend? Do any projects? Get any snow?