Before and After

On Friday, I was looking for an easy meal to make, so I pulled this recipe for Tortellini Soup out of my recipe binder. It's basically just a list of ingredients to dump together in a pot and bring to a boil.

My kind of cooking.

When I looked at the date, I was taken aback. My sister-in-law sent this to me one day before Jack's accident. At that point, I was gearing up for the new school year, planning quick meals I could make on busy weeknights of baseball, soccer, and scouts. I was wondering what it would be like to have a middle schooler in the house. On the bottom of the page, I'd scribbled a note about an upcoming field trip for Margaret's class. Nothing too exciting.

September 7-- mundane.

September 8-- shattered.

Oh how often there is a clear before and after in our lives! I remember looking through my mom's check register after she died. There she was paying bills and doing the routine tasks of life, until she wasn't.

Sometimes before and afters are positive. They can denote a marriage, a decision to take care of your health, a career change.

Other times, they represent the day the world came crashing down.

If there is a clear before and after in your life, due to death, illness, or a time someone harmed your body or your heart, I'm sending you love today.

After is different. After is often hard.

But after doesn't mean over.

Hugs.

Easing In

It's weird that with all of the end of the year talk of busy-ness and the scramble to get everything done, I haven't been feeling that way at all. I've taken a break from a lot of things, and Margaret isn't super busy (her school doesn't get out until LATE June-- yuck). It's weird to not be needed every second. That feeling was hard to imagine when the kids were younger and they were all up in my business, but it's kind of a quiet empty nest-y feeling and I can't say that I care for it.

We have sports a couple of days a week, church activities on Sundays, and that's about it. I've been working on getting advance reader copies of  my book out, and coming up with some marketing strategies. I realize I get more done when I'm busier, if that makes sense, so I may need to beef up my schedule a bit. And while I know there is a time for slowing down and making space in one's life,  it's not as if I'm at home praying and contemplating all day or even going to an exercise class.

I'm just being quiet in my house, doing laundry, and waiting. Not sure for what.

While I was waiting last week, I painted two very sturdy, lovely end tables from Hickory Chair Company. They looked very good as-is, even though they had some scratches and cosmetic damage on their surfaces. They were very shiny and formal, however, and I don't think that look is selling these days. I thought they might be more likely to find a new home if I painted them a soft gray.

Before:

After:

Ooh! I hope someone special loves them as much as I do.

I hope your week is starting off well. Mine began with a 9 am mammogram, so I think that counts as hitting the ground running (squeezing?).

Broad Strokes

My friend Theresa asked if I'd paint some furniture to sell in her charming store in downtown Falls Church, VA. As you may know, I haven't painted furniture since the week of Jack's accident. It has just seemed so empty and meaningless to me.

I wrote toward the end of my book about noticing Margaret get excited last summer just seeing me carry old paint cans up the stairs at the old house. She was hoping I was up to my old tricks, most likely because that would somehow take us back to at least SOMETHING being the way it was before.

I wasn't sure if Theresa's appeal for "help" was along the lines of the Dowager Countess of Grantham and Mrs. Hughes constantly digging up causes and people for Isobel Crawley to assist as a means of getting her interested in something other than the blackness of her grief, or whether she genuinely was backlogged with painting projects.

Either way, with her encouragement, I stepped away from the computer for a few weeks and picked up the paintbrushes. It felt awkward. My brushes had grown stiff, so I had to buy new ones. It was a different kind of paint, not what I'd used before, and I didn't know if I'd find a rhythm with it.

Margaret sat on the leather couch as I spread flattened moving boxes out on the family room floor to protect it from spatters. We watched American Idol and Downton Abbey as I opened a few cans and started testing the paint. I talked about how it was different, how I didn't know if this was going to work out at all. After a while, she asked if she could try her hand at painting a little too, so I gave her some pointers and let her pick the color for the next piece. We sat on either side of a tiny doll cradle, painting it together, talking about our TV shows.

My pushing through fear to write a memoir did not impress her one bit. Blog conferences and the new business cards I bought (but am too wimpy to hand out) that proclaim, "Anna Whiston-Donaldson, Writer" don't merit a second glance.

But the back and forth of our brushes, and seeing me do something that links us both to an earlier time-- a time when we were yet unscathed by a level of pain and longing so profound that despite my best efforts still rarely forms words between us-- felt good to her.

And to me.

 

 

A-Door-Able!

Sorry to be so quiet these last few days.

I was taking our side door (and primary entrance) from this:

To this:

I was hoping the black would tie in with our new sensor-light (Lowe's) and also help hide some of the inevitable grime the door gets. The old paint was matte and off-white which showed EVERYTHING.

I love it! What do you think?

I hesitate to go through the steps I used because there are only two, and I'm not sure if you should copy me. I just taped off the windows (annoying!) and painted it with 2 coats of oil-based black paint I bought on clearance at Lowe's. The grill around the window is plastic; the door itself is metal.

If I were to do it again, I'd do it in a less smelly, more environmentally friendly way using primer and latex exterior paint.

For a step-by-step lesson on painting a door using that method, check out Sherry and John's blog. They happened to paint their door the most adorable yellow the same day I painted mine.

Good thing I still have a front door-- I may need to go yellow!

Before and After: Pier Chest

My computer seems to be happy tonight, so I'm putting up another post while I can!

Found this Pier Chest on the side of the road. Peach paint, except for 2 drawers that had goopy brown paint. I was afraid that some of the hardware was missing, but was thrilled to find it in one of the drawers. Yay! A big THANK YOU to whoever was throwing it out.

This was the perfect time to try Annie Sloan's Chalk paint for the first time! I used Duck Egg.
No priming or sanding; I just painted 2 coats on with a brush. Then, I brushed wax on 2 of the drawers, but I didn't like how it looked kind of streaky and weathered, so I just painted another coat of paint right on top.

It left a lovely, matte finish.

I sprayed the hardware with Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

I like how it looks like it is smiling at me. What do you think?

Linking up to Piece of Work Wednesday at Primitive & Proper.

Molly's Room, Before and After

Extreme Makeover, Tween Girl Edition has wrapped up over here. Okay, maybe it wasn't that extreme, but between priming, painting, gluing, moving and fluffing, re-doing Molly's room while she was out of town kept me pretty busy last Wednesday-Friday.

For those who haven't been with An Inch of Gray from the beginning, let me show you some before photos of Molly's room, which we last painted a mere 3 years ago.

We did a leopard print and pink theme that we were both excited about, but that we grew tired of before the paint even dried.

BTW, can you tell Molly is a dog lover?

The blinding pink paint was annoying from the start, and the chippy white paint on most of the furniture was more shabby than chic.

I primed and painted the ceiling, painted the walls a very bright blue (B. Moore Tropicana Cabana), and repainted the white furniture, spraying the handles blue. Although the paint is extremely bright, I hope we'll enjoy it longer than the pink.

Unfortunately, the big surprise was ruined when Molly glanced at her cousin's facebook page in New England and saw what I'd been up to.

Fortunately, she LOVES it! We went out together to pick up a few trendy lime green accessories at Target yesterday to make it truly her own. She is tickled (blue!) and grateful for my hard work.

I must admit, however, that I may have created an HGTV monster, because she did observe that the paint lines between the ceiling and the walls could have been a tad crisper. Sheesh!

Here are a few Afters. Let's hope this room carries her well into her teens:

New bookcases: Target.

Old curtains and bed skirt: Walmart. Bedding, lamp, storage ottoman: Target. Bedside table: dumpster dive.
Chair: Target.

Old dresser was my mother's.
Old mirrored dresser-- my sister and I called it "The Underwear Drawer" growing up. Can you imagine why?

Tune in tomorrow when I share with you 4 almost-free projects in this room!

The New Object of My Affection

So last week I showed you a great console table at my local thrift shop. It was about 4 feet too long for my home, but I hoped you might like it. On my next foray, I found a very similar one, which although still not sized perfectly for my 1969 estate, would be a better fit. And at $18.75, how could I resist?

She's very sturdy (Drexel) and reminds me of the parsons-style dining table we had growing up. I loved the pattern of her veneer, but knew I was going for a sleek, white look.

I was hoping to replace this little dresser-turned-console that I got out of my friend's trash, because it was starting to fall apart (again):

Here is the new console before I painted her. Love!




I was NOT impressed with the quality of the off-white paint I used, but it could have been the humid painting conditions of July 4th weekend.

After:

Because of my stellar photog skills, you can choose between no flash and blurry:
Or with flash and stark:

Reality is somewhere in between.

Do you recognize those little silver stools underneath?

Yep, there's the crazy leather one I found a few months ago:

And his new buddy, Naugahyde Nate:

Silver spray paint did the trick. They look tiny in these photos, but are a perfect size for pull-up seating.

The two blue lamps (Crate and Barrel) came down from my little-used living room.

So there you have it, some family room freshening!

I know I probably show you far too many pictures of this room, but considering where it started, I can't help myself:

2003:

2005:

2008:

2011:

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

(Linking Up to Good Life Wednesday) and Piece of Work Wednesday!

Back Porch Re-Fresh

I love my antique wicker couch and other porch furniture, but in the years since I last painted it, it had gotten pretty shabby. I realized it had been 12 years (!) when I remembered taking a breastfeeding break with my oldest and and whipping out the spray paint and staple gun to get my floral, white and brown on.

I leave it out all winter, so this furniture takes a beating.

Taking it apart was actually fun because I could see the layers done by my mother 40 years ago, and my grandparents before that.

These 2 pieces, plus an antique table, also got brown paint:

The fabric back was easy to do. It was a precise science that may have involved some cutting, folding, a glue gun, masking tape, and staples.

Here's how the porch looks now with espresso spray paint, Sunbrella fabric from JoAnn's, and throw pillows from Lowe's. I desperately wanted 2 of the bird pillows, so if you see another one at Lowe's, be sure to let me know.

Here's a close-up of the brown trim and the houndstooth pillows:

And some yellow accents that I swear were smudge free when I took the pictures.

This chair just has some leftover fabric tucked around the cushion. I may or may not get more ambitious with it later.

The paint is glossy and brown, which gives it a more modern look that I'd been hoping for. The deep, dark brown doesn't really translate in these photos because of all of the POLLEN covering everything!

Each year I tell myself not to "open" my porch until the pollen has gone, and each year I get antsy and do it anyway. That means double the cleaning, but I sure do like looking out and seeing this, even if I'm too allergic to enjoy it quite yet:

Have a great day! Ah-Choo!