15 Years . . .

ago, I was here . . .

I swear I wasn't about to bolt. I know my facial expression looks like, "oh #@$!," but I seriously think I was just concerned that Matt was still in the back of the church and might see me before I walked down the aisle. I'm nothing if not traditional. Don't worry, he didn't see me. 

Ah, we were such babies, but I'm so glad we took the plunge. 

15 years later, and he's still the one I want to share my hopes and dreams with. Happy Anniversary, Matt. I love you so much!

In other news, we are spending our anniversary apart as my children, dogs and I had to escape from this . . . 

Romantic, right? Well, for me, there's nothing more romantic than new hardwood floors. Here they are in their naked state. Can't wait to see them upon our return!

Mission (Almost) Accomplished

Over the weekend I finally finished a project . . . well, sort of (is anything ever finished, really?). Remember my Parson's-style console/sofa table I got off Craigslist? I bought some grasscloth wallpaper a while back off eBay and finally set to recovering it this weekend. Here's the result . . .                                       

Just to remind you, here's what it looked like before . . . 

Bad 70's laminate.

Now, fresh grasscloth . . .

Let me tell you, this was not an easy task. And seriously, I don't think you want my DIY steps . . . I'm not the most adept DIY'er. I don't always make the best decisions. Like the laminate, for instance. Some of it was peeling off, so I thought, "I'll just remove it all and that will make a clean surface for the grasscloth to adhere to." Boy was I wrong. Once I started removing the laminate, I realized that it was starting to peel off the MDF underneath leaving holes. So, I quickly scrapped that idea and didn't remove it all - just some small sections (two of the legs and one of the sides). Second came the issue of how to adhere the grasscloth to the table. I had read spray adhesive worked. Not in my case. So, I went to plan B - hot glue. I used a box cutter to cut most of the paper, then I just wrapped it like a present. The legs still need some fine tuning. My husband took a very flattering photo of me during the process . . . 

If you'll recall from my previous post, I was hoping to paint the grasscloth to provide some contrast with my sofa. I had been leaning toward a dark, saturated blue, but now that I changed my lamps to black and I'll be painting my adjacent dining room blue, I think the table needs to be brighter. Now, I'm thinking of either a creamy white or going in a totally different direction with a coral. Any thoughts? Here it is again . . . 

Of course, I'm still searching for the perfect fabric to put on the stools which will reside under the table (at least some of the time). So, that might help make my decision as well. One decorating dilemma solved just to create another. Does it ever end? I kind of hope not, because I love the process (even if it sometimes is painstakingly slow in my case).

And through it all, my dear, patient husband humors my decorating whims. So, it's only fitting that I thank him today for putting up with me for all these years as today is our 14th anniversary (as I've said before, I was a child bride). 

Happy Anniversary, Matt . . . I love you!!

Lucky 13

Do you remember where you were 13 years ago today? I do.

I was saying "I do" to this fella. And yes, in case you were wondering, I was a child bride. This is the South after all. Just kidding. But I was 24. Married my college sweetie. Good choice if I do say so myself. 


We're still having fun. Better yet, he lets me decorate according to my whims. Thanks, Matt for a wonderful 13 years, and here's to many more. I love you!