I Smell Spring aka Projects in the Air!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.  I am so ready for it.... even if we have had the mildest winter I have had here in MN so far... seriously hardly any snow!

Spring.

Yes I love spring, nothing compares.  Yes Summer is fun, but Spring brings newness and I love it!

Also, my dad has a bit of vacation time to burn... and he has offered to help us with our many many half finished projects.

I have chosen the kitchen.

Why you ask?  Because I have a yellow table that is begging for a beautiful background to pop against...

Something like this:

Yup I love the gray with the big bright white trim and the white cabinets.  I also think I love the wood floors but we are not going that far with this kitchen face lift.  We are talking about:

1.  Painting the cabinets.
2. Sand and paint the kitchen walls (gray).
3. Trim the kitchen (big bright and white).
4.  Did I mention that we will be mudding and taping the hole that Bryan created last summer taking out the old in-wall air conditioner that didn't work... that he didn't patch correctly?
5. And finally wiring the chandelier so I have light in my kitchen!

All this magic will be happening at the end of April - whoot whoot.

And this time my dad will have an extra pair of hands (besides mine) since I will make sure that Bryan takes some of his vacation time at the same time.

I am so excited. To say the least.

Having two kids... and having laundry... and having toys everywhere... and having no time ... tends to get me down a bit ... but this will help me reclaim a bit of my house as my own... and make me feel proud again!

And I am already planning the art that will be on my kitchen walls:

I love this, even though I never drink coffee (hate the smell hate the taste - never been my thing) but B loves coffee and I love the lines and the crispness of this piece ( by Tom Pappaiardo on Etsy).  It will eventually find its way onto my walls...

But for now my goal is to continue to sand my cabinets and prime them so they are ready to go when my dad arrives so this can go go go and go fast!

I am really excited.  I don't know if you can tell.

And if I am lucky, maybe we can paint the living room a very saturated blue.  Which I am also very excited about.

Till then.

I will keep you posted!

Shoe Karma

So short story, I have been in love with these boots forever (okay okay, since the beginning of Fall/End of Summer when Nordstrom set their boots):

However, with two kids, a house in remodel mode they never made it home with me .... sad face.  (And yes that is a suede inset under all the laces... drool).

So on Wednesday, after a so so day at work I was going to meet Bryan and the kids at the Mall of America to visit the sharks at Underwater Sea Adventure (yes there is an aquarium at the mall and we have season passes).  We honestly visit at least 2-3 times a month when we switch kid duty when Bryan has a late shift.  We avoid tears and it becomes something fun that way.

Well, this time was a bit different.... I am setting you up for a big story here can you tell?

I got there a few minutes early and had a moment or two to check out Nordstrom's Rack.  I went straight to the designer shoe area and scavenged.... nada.  So they I went to the regular clearance rack of shoes and started to browse not expecting to find much of anything.

Then it happened.  I looked at the top shelf, and saw the laces.  I couldn't believe it... Could it be?!?!?  I was so sure it was a knock off until I turned the shoe over....

BAM!  It was my shoe!!!!

I ran straight to the end of the isle and ripped off the boot I was wearing all the while praying, I swear I was praying out loud that this shoe would fit.

Let's just say these boots will not be worn with thick socks, or socks at all... it is nylons all the way but the sucker fit!!!!!!

And it was the only one in the store.

I started to text Bryan like a man woman.  He wouldn't pick up - didn't he understand that the shoe gods were looking down on me saying "we know you have had a shit 2 1/2 weeks and here is your break?"

So when he called to have me come help him get the kids out of the car,  I hid the shoe in the size 9 area (I wear a 7) and ran, seriously ran to the car.... Bryan would later point out that I could have just put the shoe on hold, and how if someone had found the shoe how devastated would I have been... he has a point but I wasn't thinking clearly at that point.

I tired to explain the shoe karma that was happening to me, but Bryan had had a shit day too so he wasn't really sharing in my exuberance... but he let me buy the shoes anyways.

Let me break it down for you:

• Regular Retail $548.00 (yeah no way they were coming home at this price with two kids...) 
• Then they were marked down to $300 something 
• Then down to $127.  
• And this is where it gets good.  Bryan gets a discount... ohhhh yeah.
• And he had a $20 gift card there 

THOSE BABIES WHERE MINE FOR A SWEET $89 and not a penny more. BOOOOO YAAAA!

And the story gets better.  Oh so much better.

That night I went home and paraded around in front of my mirror with my new found treasure, and put together a killer outfit to go with my killer boots.

And the next day at work, I got a ton of compliments, jumped up and down in a few cubicles with my coworkers that knew that I wanted these exact boots so bad.  Seriously there was jumping and squealing.

But then, as I was power walking down to my work cafeteria .... I saw her.  My old college roommate from junior year.

To say it very simply, she made that year hell for me.  I didn't want to be in my apartment at all that whole year, and pretty much lived in my room when I had to be there.

Well, thank god the shoe gods had smiled on me, otherwise I might not have had a killer outfit on, killer shoes on and having a great hair day.  Believe me when I say I posed like hell waiting inline for my food (there was a bit of sucking in too... I am not going to lie).

I know she saw me, I know she recognized me and I know that this was the moment I was suppose to be the bigger person.  But I wasn't.  That's not my style.  My style is to hold grudges.  And believe me I am good at it.

Here is the best part (and you are going to think I am so evil, and you are probably right but I don't care) ... the years have not been good to her.... oh no no no no...

And she did not have a killer outfit on, nor did she have cute shoes on .... quite the opposite.

And I ignore the shit out of her!!!!!  And even smiled at everyone else I knew and pretended that I was the most popular friendly girl in the world.

IT FELT SOOOOOOO GOOD.

Now I am pretty sure it wasn't actually god who set me up so royally, cause he probably would not have approved of my behavior ... but I am pretty sure it was the shoe gods who set up this shoe karma, and they were definitely high-fiving me for knocking this one out of the park!

So yeah this week ended on a high note for me.

As for house projects, my yellow table just need a coat of polyurethane and then it is done, and the exciting news is.... I have a chandelier hanging above it now!!!!!

Bryan and I were given a great gift card to Crate and Barrel for a wedding present from our good friends, and bought this chandelier for our new house.... 3 years ago.  But now it is up and just needs a little wiring and it will be ready to go...

Kitchen is slowly but surly coming along!