It’s time to sit down once again with a beverage of your choice and chat – I’ll remind you that I don’t like coffee or tea so my drink of choice today will be water. Let’s chat about things other than just running, cycling, strength training, yoga, and complaining about our most recent injuries. Sound good? I’ll go first…

 

If we were having coffee…..
I’d tell you that I haven’t joined the coffee klatch since March so I’ve got lots to catch you up on and mostly it’s going to be the unveiling of my three big painting projects.

After having our kitchen and butler’s pantry cabinets painted a year ago, I knew that our honey oak table and chairs needed an update. A wedding gift from my parents, I didn’t want to replace the set so I decided to paint them. Having watched the guys sand, prime, and paint the cabinets, I decided I could do it myself. A little research and a trip to the Benjamin Moore store confirmed the products I’d need to use and after making the necessary purchases, I was off and running. I should add that while I don’t love painting, I love the satisfaction of a job well done and take great pride in working hard to get professional looking results.

I kept a close tab on hours spent sanding, priming, and painting, and the grand total came to 61 hours and 15 minutes over a 12-day period. As you can see, the project turned out beautifully!

Kitchen table and chairs before…

 

Kitchen table and chairs after…

 

While working on my first project, I had plenty of time to think and couldn’t stop thinking about how great our master bedroom built-ins would look painted to match the trim. With gunstock hardwood floors and mahogany furniture, the honey oak cabinets were just too much.

Again, I recorded the hours spent sanding, priming, and painting, and the total came to 49 hours and 45 minutes over a 15-day period.

Master bedroom built-ins before…

 

Master bedroom built-ins after…

 

Once I saw how fabulous the bedroom built-ins turned out, how could I not do the family room? In fact, it was the decorator who helped me select the kitchen cabinet color who suggested I paint (have her company paint) those built-ins to make the wood paneled wall perpendicular to the built-ins pop.

Of course I wrote down the hours spent sanding, priming, and painting, and finished with 48 hours and 30 minutes over a 12-day period.

Family room built-ins before…

 

Family room built-ins after..

 

If we were having coffee…..
I’d tell you that I’ve really gotten back into houseplants recently. In college I took an indoor houseplants class as an elective and loved it; however, in recent years I’d gotten lazy and gradually gotten rid of most of my plants. Over the past few months I’ve purchased and repotted several plants and find working with them very therapeutic.

 

If we were having coffee…..
I’d tell you that I’m still focusing on exercising not only my body, but also my brain. I took three years of Spanish in high school, but had forgotten practically everything I learned so I turned to Duolingo for help. I’m on day 258 of using the Duolingo app and even though I’d love to spend longer practicing, I usually only do one lesson which takes about 3-4 minutes each day.

 

If we were having coffee…..
I’d ask if you have any races coming up, and if so, I’d wish you good luck and to have a fun time!

 

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Today I’m joining Deborah at Confessions Of A Mother Runner and Coco at Running With Perseverance for their monthly Ultimate Coffee Date linkup which goes live the first Friday of every month.  Be sure to stop by their blogs for a cup of coffee and to say hello; and while you’re there, be sure to check out some of the other bloggers who are participating in the linkup.

 

  • Questions:
  • • Are you a DIY’er? If so, what’s your favorite type of project to do… painting, sewing, woodworking, crafting, gardening, or something else?
  • • Do you have houseplants? If so, what types?
  • • If we were having coffee, what would you tell me?