Hola!  Happy Friday!

In exactly a week from today I will be on a plane to New Orleans!!!  Can't wait to post a blog entry on that  adventure.  And less than a week from today, next Thursday to be exact, Daniel and I will have been married for 10, count them, 10  years!!!!  I can't believe it's been that long.  It's surreal.  I swear I'm still 18. ;) 

Real talk, I was kind of depressed when I failed that test on Wednesday.  Mostly because that means I'm stuck where I am. *Le sigh*  BUT I bounced back pretty quickly.  I began writing a story yesterday, in fact.  I'm calling it a story because I don't want to say a book and end up doing nothing with it.  So far I have 4 pages, in one day!  *hugs self*  I'm excited about it.
  
I am biased think it's pretty good already.  I've re-read it a million times and it reads like any other book I've read before.  Meaning it seems like a real  book, written by a pro. LOL  So wish me luck and divine inspiration with that.  Could you imagine me, Holly Atwood from teeny tiny Brea actually getting a book published??  That  would be so cool.  Imagine me right now with my elbow on my desk and hand propping my chin up, dreamily gazing out the window at work. Haha

But I'm torn between doing house projects and writing!  Both feed my soul. Cheesy, but accurate.  Maybe I'll do a quick project when I get home and write this evening.  There ya go!  ;)

Hopefully I'll have some cool update on Monday for y'all.  Meanwhile, have a wonderful weekend!

♥Holly♥

Happy Hump Day, Y'all!  Just a quickie post today.

Okay, first off, I'm sooooo nervous.  Like, my heart may jump out of my chest at some point today.  I have to take a test at 2:30pm.  A 'do math with no calculator' kind of test.  Ugh!  Can I just say that I SUCK at math.  Like, my 8 year old is better than me.  It's a serious problem. LOL  Seriously though.  I need all the prayers and good vibes I can get, please!  I have no hope that I will actually do well on this test, but I just don't wanna make a fool out of myself. 

Can somebody please start paying me to blog or take pictures full time and get me out of this??  Anyone? 

Dang it. (P.S. If you click on the ads on my site you generate moolah for me, just saying.  And so far I've made less than a dollar. LOL)

***UPDATE*** (7-17-2014) It came as no surprise but it still stings, I failed the test.  Didn't make the cut.  While I'm being very vague about what this was for, I'm sure you've figured that this was for a job.  A job I will not be getting. LOL  Oh well, until the next opportunity!  I am lucky to have a job at all so I can afford to be patient until the job I'm meant to have comes around.  *crosses fingers*

In other (not heart attack inducing) news, I started spray painting things last night!  With a can of spray paint, not my paint sprayer.  If you're a frequent reader of my blog you know that I LOVE spray paint.

Tada!

That's just the first coat.  I think I'll need two more cans of paint to finish it and the other chair and table.  We got this set for free and it doesn't actually get used but I think the red will look really nice next to our navy blue front door.

It's funny that our TV room is so modern now but from the outside of the house we have this Americana thing going on.  White trim, blue door, red accents.  I have a feeling that my house is going to have a different style in each room when all is said and done. LOL  Oh well, decor is an evolving thing, isn't it?  It'll be interesting to see the house in 10 more years.  What will Holly Pinterest think of next? ;)

Have a great day and don't forget those positive, mathematically stimulating thoughts/prayers!

Eek!
Holly

Ooh, I almost forgot!  I don't have a pic yet but I created artwork for my house.  I need to get it matted and framed (hopefully I can find one that works at a thrift store or something).  Me and the boys had art-time after work yesterday.  All I did was buy some watercolors at the Dollar Store and brought home some 11x17 card stock from our printer at work.  I painted an abstract sunset at the beach.  I love the way it came out!  Once it's framed I think it'll look great in our TV room.  Pics to follow soon! :)

Well, well, well, look who actually  came through and started the kitchen cabinet doors!  Got to use my nifty paint sprayer finally.  Well, Daniel did anyway.  The directions weren't stellar, I must say.  Basically there was a  picture of all the parts pointing to each other.  He figured it out tho.  Here's coat one of one side of some of the doors.

A little stripey but we'll fix that later....

We're taking our time with these babies.  I don't want to go through all this work to end up with smudges because I didn't let them dry long enough.  This weekend we'll do coat one of the other side then the weekend after that we'll be in New Orleans, so there's that.
 
(Small UPDATE: I'm a total liar.  While hunting in the garage for my red spray paint for another project I realized that we did one coat of paint on both sides of the doors.  Duh! So this weekend we'll be doing coat 2 on both sides, one day apart.)

I realize this means it'll take FOR-EV-ER to finish the kitchen, but so be it.  Anything worth doing...  Those two little doors came from above the microwave and let me tell you, EW!!!   So greasy and nasty.  Cleaning those was prolly the worst and longest part of this process.  I used Deglosser to get them ready for painting then wiped them down with Odorless Mineral Spirits.  In the spirit of full disclosure I must say I wish I had cleaned them a wee bit better.  I could have gone to town scraping goop off but these are the backs of the doors so I'm not super concerned.  I'll give the fronts another once over to be sure before we paint that side.  Also I have to figure out a way to elevate them.  They kept sticking to the brown paper. :(

With the paint sprayer, the painting took maybe a minute per door.  Super fast.  The directions say to thin the paint but we didn't have to with the water based paint we used.  I used Behr paint and primer in one, Semi-Gloss in ultra white or something like that.  Started with a quart and it's probably only gonna be enough for both coats of this set of doors.  So we'll definitely be getting more of that later.  Since we're taking our time anyway, it works.

BEFORE: Kitchen boxes

I am so excited to see the "After".  Are you??  As for those nasty counter tops, at this point we're leaning towards granite tile.  I wanna do black but it's a little more pricey than the salt and pepper tiles so we'll see.  I was thinking it'd be too much white on white but I've seen some good examples on Pinterest of the combo and it can work.  It's all about decorating/accessorizing.

So that's the beginning!  Stay tuned.  Can you imagine the updated post in a few months with the final "After" pics?? Eeek!

☼Holly☼

"Ello Govna", that's British speak for "Hey You!"

I know, I'm a dork.  Oh well.  Anyhooooo, I finally finished the project for my friend's baby (who should be born any day now)!  Here ya go, sorry about the crappy iPhone photos. 

It's a butterfly pillow!

And the rear...

It's my first attempt at a latch hook pillow.  That link takes you to this original kit at Hobby Lobby.  I changed the colors to fit the nursery.  The colors of the nursery are white, gray and yellow.  It's adorable!  I had to add the lavender for a little pop. The backing didn't come out perfectly but that gives it character, right??  Well there ya go, that was my "secret" project. LOL  I'm just glad I finally finished it.

We've been really lazy lately about doing house projects.  That T.V. room makeover we did back in April wiped us out!  So what if it was 3 months ago...  This weekend, however, we plan to do some work around the house.  If that actually comes to fruition I'll keep you posted on whatever we do. I WANT to test my new paint sprayer so keep your fingers crossed for that. 

Meanwhile, here's a picture I took with my good camera last weekend (I  LOVE playing with my camera).  Just wish I had Photoshop, or knew how to use it.


The sunlight was coming down through the filter of leaves from the tree behind the rose bush. The wind kept moving the leaves so the sun would highlight different spots on the roses.  I had some fun with it.

I hope you have a lovely Wednesday and I'll be back soon. *fingers crossed* ;)

☼Holly☼