The painting is officially COMPLETE!!!!!

I woke up this morning with a pretty extensive to-do list that I wanted to accomplish, including: touch-up paint in entryway and dining area, laundry, and clean dining area and table. I'm proud of myself, I've successfully completed 90% of the list, and the washer and dryer are still going. I must say, the dining room looks amazing - you haven't been able to see the top of the table for over two months!!! It's the necessary evil in any normal household though, as soon as you walk in from the garage, it's the first place to sit your purse, the mail, and whatever junk you don't feel like dealing with at that moment. It's the catch-all place for us! And it annoys me when the junk and crap and clutter piles up.....so I get into a cleaning frenzy.

I started with the laundry and then moved on to the touch-up paint. When Kevin and I painted the dining area, we taped too high on the wainscoting so there was a white line visible that needed the new paint color. I took the smallest angled brush I own and finished the painting for good: WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!! Once the paint was dry, I started dusting and polishing the furniture so my very strong and adorable husband could move the furniture back into place. I went as far as polishing the grooves on the chairs, under the table, and the little nooks and crannies on the buffet tables and china cabinet - it was long overdue, hold the accolades. For the New Years Eve dinner I am planning later this week, I still need to finish the to-do list and set the table. I have the placemats and napkins ready, but I'm considering buying new place settings to keep on the table indefinitely - perhaps that would prevent the table from becoming cluttered with our everyday items.

YES - you can see the top of our dining table!!!

If you look close enough at the photo above, you can see the new interior wall color, and the ridiculous wallpaper that was in the dining area is gone. For the past two months, Kevin and I have painted the entire interior of our home. We had professional painters come to the house during the summer but their estimates were out-of-this-world: more than $4,000 for the interior ONLY, they wanted an additional $4,500 for the exterior. We decided to bite the bullet and do-it-ourselves. And so the sage began, our first DIY project as husband and wife. The paint color was selected, it's called Stoney River, and depending on the light it can look khaki or olive. But the color looks wonderful with our white trim, light wood floors and kitchen cabinets, and furniture - we're happy with the finished product.

Living Room - curtains will be up soon!!!

I still need to finish tidying up before our New Years dinner, including hang the curtains in the living room, vacuum and dust, and - of course - cook some food! I haven't decided to if I want to do a standing rib roast, brisket (for a corned beef dish), or pork loin. I guess I should finalize the guest list while I'm working on my menu. Speaking of  menu, I also made hand-breaded chicken strips for dinner tonight...not bad for a day's work!!!!!

Back to laundry..........the clothes in the dryer are finished and our bed sheets are in the washer.