It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Actually so jealous of this picture. Dirty secret time:
I have a huge crush on these wide-plank wood floors.
*drools like Homer*

Go ahead and sing along. Yes, the corny Johnny Mathis version. Don't scoff or sneer, it really is a wonderful time of the year. For me, this is the time of the year when, for whatever reason, the most good gets done around Casa de Dellecese.

Last year, we were fast approaching our first holiday season in our very own house. I'm not sure why, but we got on a painting kick -- first, the dining room; then, the living room. The dining room took place at the time of year when the pace of activities REALLY picks up -- ie I wasn't a huge fan of getting the job done, but Dave encouraged me that it needed to be done, sooner rather than later. So, using a couple of evenings in the middle of a hectic week, I rolled a more muted red over a *POW* of purple paint -- much more rich and less in-your-face. Unfortunately, I was so miserable, I failed to put a 3rd coat on. It's not THAT noticeable, but to me...of course, it is. Still gotta get on that one. Nothing's ever quite *perfect*.

The following weekend, we rolled up our sleeves to lighten up our living room. It had been a deep brownish taupe; a good color, but just too dark for a living room. So, while we picked up the new red tone for the dining room, we grabbed a lighter taupe for the living room, and a back-up sandy color swatch as a back-up option.

This just happened to occur during the first weekend that it snowed, so there we were with the room torn apart, newspaper (always reusing, even before we were aware we were doing it, hee hee) everywhere, and Christmas music blaring from our local "Christ-Mix" radio channel (no, not necessarily Christian; the "i" is short). I've gotta tell ya that the feeling of FINALLY giving in to the Christmas hype every year definitely helps when you're undertaking a labor-intensive DIY project. The experience brought Dave and I together more (it was one of the first projects we actually did TOGETHER, even though we'd been in the house for a good 6 months) and also taught me a valuable lesson: If you're the better painter, odds are you'll get stuck doing a majority of the painting. Dave's incredibly talented at many, many things in this life; I'm envious of him for a lot of wonderful traits and characteristics. However, painting is one that he does not excel at. He can roll, for the most part, but who was the one at the top of the ladder when it was past bedtime, brush in hand? That'd be me. Whose partner-in-crime was holding a bright flashlight (lots of shadows!!!) saying what a great job she was doing? That'd be Dave. We're good like that, though.

I LOVE the color of our living room. It's a modern tan, yet "fits" with the age of the house. It made Christmas decorating a lot more fun.

Oh, and one final DIY project I performed before some holiday relaxation: a bit of a makeover surprise. My ever-sweet, -willing besties, Mary (my sis) and Beth (best friend for yyyyyears) came over the morning of Christmas Eve (while Dave worked -- a shortened day, so we had to haul hiney) to help me empty, paint, and redecorate our tiny front "sun room." It's a room we were never able to use -- here are the "before" and "after" shots. Man, was he shocked when he got home to see a new seating area, storage areas, etc. Oh, and the color was the other paint chip that we had picked as a possibility for the living room -- which Dave preferred.

Sorry, no "cluttered, full o' crap" "before" shot. I'd already moved it all out.

The antique rocking chair from my grandpa's house.
Means so much to have it.

Any home improvement projects going on around your place this time of year? I know several of our good friends are going through the process of purchasing homes -- eek! Good luck to you all! Us, we just put in a new front door (SO MUCH SAFER!!! I'll be posting about it soon) and are making plans of projects around the house when the white stuff finally starts to stick - dependent, of course, on the newlywed/Christmas budget. ;-) Don't want anyone thinking that I'm not realistic or that we're not normal. Money is not endless. Home improvement project plans, apparently, are. Planning, however, is free.