Rid the Red: Paint Project Reveal!

It's a week and a half we don't want to re-live anytime soon.  But seeing the finished product? We're so. much. happier.

This paint project has been on our to-do list since before we ever moved into our home.  Back then, we had even discussed closing, getting the keys, and immediately painting over the red.  Obviously, that was a little ambitious for this pair who had to be out of the rental home in 3 days.

So we waited.  And waited. And finally, right before we hit the one-year mark -- may I present to you: Project "Rid the Red."

Here's a look at the "before."  Red and gold. Not the vibe we hip Onstots were going for.

We actually got three estimates to have it done for us.  All neared the $2k mark.  Then Sherwin Williams had a 40% off sale. We scored all of the paint -- ceiling and walls -- for under $300.  DIY for the win.

But did we feel like winners throughout? Heck no.

Taping off the trim... which, we swear now, we'll never do again.  You'll see why later.

Bear was very weary of our work. He got very protective of "his" rug.

So painting began on a Saturday morning (July 27th, to be exact.)  Had to prime the walls and ceilings, since we were doing a lighter color on top.  Below is evidence of the jackpot we hit when we moved into this home -- neighbors like Cary & Erinn.  They came over, uninvited, with paint clothes on and beers in hand. 

Seriously, jackpot neighbors. 

Again, Bear held tight to "his" areas.  If you look closely, you'll see his new face art from when I dropped the paintbrush on his head from the top of the ladder. Needless to say, he was not loving his mom.

Fast forward a few days, and the priming is done! It took three coats to cover that red.  My brain hurts just thinking about that.

Onto the ceilings! 

We would wake up early every morning before work, paint like fiends, then shower and (sometimes) anchor the news without paint stuck in our hair.  

With the ceilings done, we moved onto the walls! Then this happened.

This, my friends, is why we will never use tape ever again.  When we took it off (yes, it was still wet as advised by the pros) it peeled everything off to the red. I may or may not have had an emotional breakdown in the kitchen. Tears don't mix well with paint, not that I would know or anything.

Eight days later, you'll know why the end (and the photo below) was such a big one for us. The last section of paint. (You'll notice we did the living room sans tape, we ended up just ripping it all down to avoid another musgravemeltdown tape fiasco.)

Happy husband. 

Ecstatic wife.

Delirious couple.

No time for showers. It was immediately wine hour. 

So now, my friends -- if I still have your attention after this much-longer-than-necessary documentation of our paint project -- may I present to you: "the after." 

The paint is Sherwin Williams' Comfort Gray, a grayed-out blue that went on green and looks different every hour of the day. Is it more blue than we had anticipated? Yes. Do we love it anyway? Yes.

View from the front door. 

Looking into the kitchen -- so big! So airy!

Bonus: Comfort Gray made me finally love our copper hardware.  I love how they play off each other.

Hello, would you like to have dinner in my kitchen?

So that's it! An exhausting, exhilarating, exercise in home improvement.  It's not perfect, we still have a few things to do (island paint, anyone?) but we certainly learned a lot.  May I suggest red *accent walls for the future? Please, no one should ever have to deal with that much red ever again. And yes -- we're officially "anti-tape" in this household.

Is there such a thing as a paint-warming party? 'Cause I'm pretty sure Evan and I will be throwing one.  Project Rid the Red is DONE!

Nesting & Newlyweddin'

Oh, hey there.  It's been awhile. I'd like to introduce myself! My name is Julie Onstot.

Whaaaaa!?

It's been a crazy few months, to say the least. I've got a new last name, Evan has a new ring on his left hand, and we have a new bank account. We are officially married!

I love the oft-asked question, "how's married life?" Welp, the answer is -- it's exactly the same.  Except I get to call him my husband. Which is pretty awesome in itself.  Married life so far though, is just plain busy.

The second wedding planning ended, we turned to nesting.  We moved into our home last August, and a majority of decorating went undone -- our energy and resources went to the seemingly endless DIY projects for the big day. But now! Oh! It's like people actually live in our home now!

The main focus has been on the living room.  For your viewing pleasure, and our bragging rights... a quick rundown of updates we've made since the wedding.

New rug sitting pretty beneath Evan's coffee table he made for my birthday last year.  Don't feed the models.

Another look at the rug, just 'cause I love it.

Evan built these shelves, and I stained them! We didn't have pictures yet for those frames... so yes, a sideways family portrait of my brother's family & the drink menu from the wedding will do. 

We moved the chair to that corner to open up the space a bit. The lamp was a wedding gift!

We wanted some big art for that wall, so I painted these canvases. It may not stay, but it was a quick DIY project that fits the bill for now. 

New entryway table!

The biggest, most recent & most prized update we've made has been the media console. To have it finally finished and in place makes this wife so immensely happy! It's taken several months and many curse words -- but we're happy to reveal the finished project! Talk about an upgrade...

The Before: an old Ikea console table that never worked  but it was what we had.

The After: Rustic Apothecary Beauty.

Closeup of the hardware that I'm obsessed with.

I am so proud of Evan and his handiwork on this thing. He built it from the ground up; I stained the top, helped paint & installed the pulls.  Evan did a light coat of a coffee stain to give it the "antiqued" look.  We joke that it's a good thing we like this style furniture because it doesn't have to be perfect -- it's rustic, after all. Ha!

We can't wait to have people over and not have to explain the state of whatever that thing was that we called a "TV stand" for so long.  And above all, I'm excited to park in the garage again!!!

Next up on the project list: painting the living room and kitchen.  Finally getting rid of the red and gold of yore. Ick.  Evan also has an outdoor dining table project up his sleeve that I know he's itching to move on to.  I guess I shouldn't get too comfortable having both of our cars in the garage. Poor Bear, he's really fed up with the endless to-do list.

So to answer that question of how married life is -- nesting really is the best part.  We're building *our home.  I love that. :)

Wedding Weekend!

If you know me, you know I love sleep.  I'm 27 and still set an alarm if I need to be awake before 9:30.

Today, I've been up since 7:30am.  No alarm needed.

I can't help it! I'm just too excited! And of course, the constant to-do list is keeping my brain busy.  But it's here! Our wedding weekend is actually here.

I know things are about to get a whole lot more crazy, but so far -- I think I can honestly say that this is what it's all about.  All of your friends and family coming to one place to celebrate one thing is such a blessing.  So many times over the last year and a half I've questioned why we're doing anything at all -- let's just sign the paper and be done with it!  But I'm realizing that it doesn't matter how big or small the gathering -- the fact that you love each other, and the people that love you are there to see you make such an important commitment... it's humbling.  I can't wait to look back on all the photographs and remember such a happy occasion. We tied the knot!

So, before it's "the" day -- thank you, all of you, that made it here. Thank you even if you couldn't make it.  If you've just thought about us, briefly. We're so grateful to have you in our lives and so excited to start this next chapter.

Oh, and Evan -- I can't wait to be your wife.  This weekend officially begins "Onstot Ever After."  Happily.

Goodbye, 972.

Today Evan and I merged our cell phone accounts.  We'll be saving $80 a month, we finally got upgraded devices (ie, iPhones with a flash) and I also got a new charger -- which I need, because I accidentally sucked mine up into the vacuum cleaner.

What I didn't expect, or necessarily want, was a new number.

Alas, I am officially no longer a 972. Lubbock just keeps finding new ways to suck me in, and now it's with an 806.

It's all because in order to share a plan, we also had to share an area code. Listen, AT&T... just because I'm ready to share my last name with this man, does NOT mean I'm ready to give up my phone number I've had since I was 16.  I am oddly connected to my old number! I can't memorize something new! I just recently memorized Evan's... and now I have to figure mine out, too? Oy.

Side note, this entire post would qualify for a hash tag -- #firstworldproblems. I'm not ashamed. Only slightly.

Farewell, 3GS. I will miss you, and your Dallas area code. At least I'm still a Texas girl.

Catching up on Christmas

If you're like me, you look forward to Christmas all. year. long. Especially if you live with someone like my fiance, who strictly forbids Christmas music before Black Friday.  So I have to wait. And wait. And wait.

And then it's over! And this feeling of relief always seems to surprise me.  Quite frankly, I'm glad it's only a month. My anxiety and my wallet can't take it. Neither can my liver.

Alas, it is still one of my favorite times of the year. And this year we got to decorate OUR home for the very first time.  Many thanks to our sweet neighbor Cary for answering our call to walk outside for a quick photo sesh, as seen below.

 Didn't Evan do a beautiful job decking the halls?

Unfortunately, our poor garland didn't survive a massive wind storm that blew through Lubbock right before Christmas. 

Whoops.

But onto presents! Keep in mind that Bear is our only child, so he tends to get a lot of attention on this blog.

"What else is in here?" 

"That's it?"

Fortunately, it wasn't. He also got an ornament from his cousin Atlas. It was exactly what he wanted!

We spent the actual holiday in Dallas with my family this year. And 'twas a White Christmas! Just when we thought nothing could top his ornament -- Santa delivered snow for Bear. The dog couldn't have been happier.

"Outta my way, Mom! I'm hot on a scent!"

"Santa?"

We don't get to Dallas nearly as often as I would like, mostly because I miss out on so much time with my niece and nephew. I mean, how cute are these two?

Conversation time.

Cousin bonding.

Parker loves Spiderman... he loved his flashing "Spidey Sense" button.

We got my mom and dad George Strait tickets... her face as she opened them cracks me up. 

Poor Megs was sick and slept through most of opening presents. 

Tough guy.

Tiny Dancer. 

While in Dallas, we also got to celebrate another "old neighborhood" wedding -- this time, Kelly and Alan Arbabi. Basically, any wedding with this group is a favorite of mine.

Brandon & Kaci, poppin' the bubbly.

Musgrave sibling Christmas card, 2012.

And my handsome date... we're next!

So with all the hustle and bustle now dying down... our hustle and bustle turns to finally getting our own wedding underway. (How often do I mention that our engagement is taking too long?! Ha!)

                   

Happy New Year, and thank goodness for 2013! This is our year and I can't wait. :)