I’ll just dive right in and show you:

Over a year after purchasing two Ikea Rast dressers, I finally got around to painting them!

Let’s go back to the beginning. I got the idea for this project from Design Manifest. This was my inspiration:

Via Design Manifest

This is what the Rasts looked like when I first purchased them, of course:

Ikea Rast 3 drawer chest

I spray-painted the toe kicks gold immediately while the dressers were still in multiple pieces. Then, Brad put them together for me, and I brought them into the foyer to use for storage while they were waiting to be completed. Remember?

For whatever reason, though, I never ended up painting them. And once we moved into our new house, they came along, still unfinished. Here’s a peek at how they looked on Thanksgiving:

I didn’t get motivated until right before we decided to host a Super Bowl party. It was the first time most of our friends would see our new home, and I wanted it to look good. So, I gathered my supplies: Kilz spray primer; a foam roller; and Sherwin Williams ProClassic paint in Satin, color-matched to Benjamin Moore’s Ashland Slate (the same color as our kitchen cabinets and guest room walls).

I already had all the hardware: Antique brass decorative corners from Hardware World, and brass ring pulls from Lee Valley (43mm x 51mm burnished bronze, to be specific). The decorative corners had to be glued on – I used a Krazy Glue pen – so my plan was to lacquer the dressers before anything permanent happened. Unfortunately, spray lacquer can only be used in temperatures above 55 degrees, and that wasn’t going to happen before the party. So, I just put the hardware on anyway, because I am the most impatient person on the planet.

When I do get around to lacquering these and have to tape off the decorative corners, I know I’m going to be cursing myself. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I’m actually glad I didn’t paint these until we got here, because I love that they’re the same color as the kitchen cabinets. It ties the two rooms together without being too matchy.

There was just one snafu in this process: My gold toe kicks got kicked to the curb. Somehow, they got really dirty and stained and dark and gross over the course of the year. I could have re-painted them, but that would have required either taking them apart or taping them off, and I was just in too much in a hurry. Instead, I primed right over the dirty gold. They look nice for now, but I think I might like to goldify the toe kicks by hand at a later date. Maybe with high-quality acrylic? Or gold leaf? I just don’t know!

So, what do you think of my Rasts? Worth the wait? Should I goldify the toe kicks, or leave them gray?

At the top of the stairs, our master bedroom is on the left, and a short hallway is on the right. In a strange twist, the whole upstairs, other than the bathrooms and our bedroom, has nice, glossy hardwoods. Why couldn’t those be downstairs?!

At the end of the hallway, there are two smaller bedrooms and a guest bathroom. Both rooms are basically square, and they were just boring when we moved in. The room on the back of the house was set up as an office, but since it had the smaller closet, we decided to use it as a guest room.

It was very YELLOW.

I knew I wanted our guest room to be moody, cozy and calm, and I had my heart set on dark gray walls with a neutral color palette. These were my two favorite inspiration photos:

Erika Brechtel’s dark gray master bedroom from Small Shop Studio

Via Bright Bold & Beautiful

I tested three dark grays by Benjamin Moore.

From left to right: Ashland Slate, Englewood Cliffs and Gray Shower (all Benjamin Moore)

My favorite was Ashland Slate, but with only one (albeit large) window, I was a little worried that the dark gray would swallow the room. Obsessing, I sent pictures to my coworkers for opinions. One of them suggested some bright white crown molding and a picture rail to break up all the dark color. When I came across this inspiration photo, the heavens parted:

Scot Meacham Wood Design via Houzz

It was such a good idea! And lucky me – I have a handy husband who just happens to have a handy father. The two of them cut and installed the trim in just one weekend, and a week later, our painters added the charcoal gray and some glossy white trim paint. So, here’s what the room looks like now:

The white curtains (which need to be hemmed), sheepskin rugs and accent pillow are all from Ikea, of course.

I don’t really like much else in the room. I don’t mind the quilt, which I got on clearance from Target years ago, but I ultimately want to replace it with a white pintuck duvet cover. I’m vowing not to replace any of the other bedding until I get our queen-sized bed out of our room and into the guest room, though.

The wood nightstands and dresser were Brad’s from his college bedroom, and while they’ve had a good run, I’m ready to say goodbye to them. It might be worth painting them, but they’re not solid wood, so I haven’t really decided yet. I’m not in any huge hurry.

I really, really love the wall color and the trim, though. It actually may be the sunniest room in the house, so the charcoal shade is never gloomy or overwhelming.

It’s the room I spend the least time in, but I think some day it might end up being one of my favorites!

So, have I gotten close to my inspiration photos yet? Should I ditch the furniture, or paint it?

This photo, taken by Raw Photo Design, is one of my favorites from our wedding. We used our entire photo credit for Pictage to purchase this canvas, and it was totally worth it. It makes such a statement (it looks much bigger in person), and I like that it showcases some of the prettiest parts of our day without actually featuring our faces. I don’t think we’d be comfortable with a giant photo of our faces on display … It’s just not our style.

Both of these plants and pots are from Ikea, but I added the yellow and gold stripes myself with spray paint and painter’s tape. It was SO quick and easy – I sense a new DIY addiction coming on!

My mom bought this beautiful Heidi Gallo watercolor print in Cape Cod and had it framed for us for Christmas. It features Indian Neck, the beach our cottage is on. We also have a framed oyster print by the same artist – she uses such gorgeous colors.

This amazing Dayna Decker candle was a gift from my cousin and his fiancé. In addition to being GOLD, it also smells like heaven and has a wood wick that crackles when it burns. It is wonderful.

This mirror isn’t actually new, but it’s newly peach! We got a great deal on it at Home Goods a couple years ago, but it was cream, which didn’t really match in here. I wanted to paint it soft coral, and this Valspar shade from Lowe’s was the closest I could find. I think it’s called “Brushed Rose.” Brad doesn’t like the color, but I think he’s crazy.

I think Brad should be more supportive of my work – I’m certainly supportive of his! He painted this with watercolors, and I put it in a custom-made frame (a.k.a. an Ikea Ribba frame that I spray-painted gold) and featured it prominently in our downstairs bathroom. I really, really love it. Figures – I watch countless YouTube videos and read online articles, and I still can’t paint watercolors for shit, but he takes one try and makes this masterpiece. WHATEVER. You can’t force the creative juices to flow, I guess.

I’ve wanted a fiddle leaf fig for some time now, and I finally got one! It’s actually from Ikea. I’m going to do a separate post about this baby, but can’t resist sharing it now. It’s going to live inside, but I let it spend some time on the deck this weekend. I think it liked it.

And this – THIS – is my gold dog biscuit container. I did not spray paint it. It came that way. My best friend Alisa found it at Home Goods and gave it to us for Christmas. I think it was made for me. And my dog, I guess.

We still have a lot of Christmas gifts and recent acquisitions to unpack and display, but there’s only so many hours in the day. In fact, it’s my bedtime now, so that’s all, folks.

What’s the prettiest gift YOU got over the holidays?

We’ve removed the upper cabinets that blocked the view to/from the dining room, painted the remaining cabinets, and Rub ‘n Buffed the existing cabinet hardware to a soft gold.

Brad and his dad removed the cabinets, and we paid our painters to refinish the cabinets. It was worth every penny to not do it ourselves. They only charged us $300, and when I consider the fumes alone (we used oil-based paint for extra durability), I have no regrets whatsoever. The color is Ashland Slate by Benjamin Moore, and it’s the same color we used in our guest room.

There are still a few more changes we’re hoping to make before the major renovation. Updating the horrendous fluorescent light fixture and changing the wall outlets to GFCI (with nice, white wall plates) are at the top of our list.

I still hate the tile floors, but this yellow area rug helps distract me from their yuckiness.

The rug is Nate Berkus from Target, and I’m obsessed with it. It’s light-colored and it’s in the kitchen, so it surely has a short life span. When it finally gets so dingy that I have to get rid of it, I will mourn its passing like that of a dear friend.

While I doubt my rug will survive for long in the kitchen, our magical greenhouse window seems to keep plants alive way past their expected time of death.

See the plant in the middle? That’s one of those little basil plants you get in the PRODUCE SECTION at Kroger. It didn’t even come in a pot – it came in a plastic bag. We had one at our last place, and it died after three days. This one has been alive for six weeks. IN A COFFEE MUG. The plant on the left is from the house’s previous owner. Remember how it took us two months to close? Yeah, the plant just kept on living while it waited for us. The window is magic. I swear.

My penguin lives in the window, too. He only wears the wreath for Christmas time.

Another necessary update? Getting rid of the vertical blinds in front of the sliding doors and replacing them with colorful curtains.

They’re from Pottery Barn in their Bettina fabric (which has sadly been discontinued). I love how they cheer up all the cool bluish-grays in the space, along with the warm gold hardware.

I originally planned to replace all the cabinet hardware with new knobs, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try DIY-ing it first. After sanding each knob with fine grit sandpaper, I used Rub ‘n Buff in Gold Leaf to add a soft golden sheen.

Left to right: Original hardware, sanded hardware, Rub ‘n Buff-ed hardware

This method wasn’t perfect. They looked great, but after a few weeks, I noticed that the gold on the often-used knobs was rubbing off. I ended up redoing those and coating them with Valspar’s Clear Satin Sealer. It added a bit of a gritty finish, and it’s a little dusty-looking up close, but no visitor is ever going to notice the difference. Either way, I’d recommend this project for someone on a tight budget looking for a similar result. For one thing, finding non-shiny brass hardware for a reasonable price isn’t easy. With the amount of knobs we needed, I’m sure we would have spent at least $50, if not more. The Rub ‘n Buff was $4 at Michael’s – I used a teeny tiny fraction of the tube for all of these – and the sealant was $4 at Lowe’s. So, yeah, I’m not complaining. Look at the difference it makes!

Rub ‘n Buff-ed hardware on the left, original hardware on the right.

I think we got pretty close to my original cabinet inspiration photo, don’t you?

Via Cote de Texas

For funsies, here are the before-and-afters.

When we first moved in, we thought gutting the kitchen would be our first priority, but we actually don’t mind it as much now that it’s been spruced up. (We’ll probably put our focus on the master bathroom first!)

Have you made any relatively minor changes to your home that have made a huge difference?

What I really want to add are some large paintings – made with actual paint, not a printer – either on a gallery wrap canvas or in a super-simple frame without any glass. With our neutral walls, furniture and floors, some giant colorful pieces would make an amazing statement. I mean, look at these rooms!

Via House of Turquoise

Via Arianna Belle

Via Made by Girl

Via Lonny

Via Everything Fab

Via Material Girls

Via Arianna Belle

Via Martha Stewart

Unfortunately, as I believe I’ve mentioned a few times … cash is tight right now, and real art is expensive. Some day, I’d really like to commission something from Parima Studio or Kristen F. Davis, but I don’t think that’s in the cards at the moment. For now, I’ve decided to try creating my own with acrylics. Luckily for me, my best friend is an amazing artist and is helping me pick out all the supplies I need. I priced out a few small canvases (for testing purposes), a few shades of paint (I’m starting with purple, pink, white and GOLD), and some brushes and mediums, and I should be able to try this for under $50. Brad is begging me not to start a new project until after we’ve finished unpacking … but he can only hold me back so long. MUAHAHAHAHA. (I have a secret suspicion that we may NEVER finish unpacking.)

Have you ever painted on canvas? Give me tips, please!

I was thrilled to finally have a chance to use the china and flatware from our wedding registry. It’s seriously been sitting in our cabinet a year and a half without being used at all, and that ain’t right. I mean, look how pretty it is!

I believe this is the first time I’ve shared a picture of our new dining room furniture, too. Voila!

We had the table custom-made by Bassett. I’d had my heart set on rustic reclaimed wood, but we just couldn’t find a reasonably-priced one that we liked. This one has two leaves, so it can seat up to eight people (or maybe 10 – we haven’t tried yet), and it has a protective finish, and the dark wood does match our other furniture better. It’s for the best, really. We got the ghost chairs from Amazon, and I LOVE THEM. They are SO much more comfortable and sturdy than I thought they’d be – especially with the Ikea sheepskins.

I picked up the linen runner and napkins from Crate & Barrel, literally three days before Thanksgiving, because I am excellent at planning ahead.

The silver tray and the salt and pepper shakers are Michael Aram from our wedding registry. I love them.

You can tell I did a really good job ironing the runner.

Anyway, preparing the meal was a two-day team effort. Brad’s parents got us a new grill as an early Christmas gift, and Brad was massively excited to grill the turkey on it.

I had no idea you could grill a turkey, but it came out amazing, so um, I guess you can.

The stuffing came from this recipe, and it was delicious. We piled it onto our giant platter (another last minute Crate & Barrel purchase) along with the turkey.

We also made bacon-wrapped green beans, using this recipe. We made ours on a broiling rack instead of letting them cook in the bacon grease, and I think they suffered for it. But the bacon part was good!

The sauteed carrots with lemon and marjoram came from this recipe, and I thought they were pretty dank. (Do people still say dank?)

The corn pudding and potatoes were both from family recipes.

I was given permission to share the recipe for the corn pudding – which was SERIOUSLY INSANELY GOOD – so I’ll put that in another post if y’all are interested!

All this plus cranberry sauce (canned, duh) and gravy (jarred, duh) made for a pretty full table.

And of course, we finished it off with apple pie, which Brad and his mom made from scratch, and blueberry pie, which I made from a box found in the freezer section. Yuuuup.

It’s not Thanksgiving until you’ve Instagrammed a picture of your plate. Here’s mine!

We polled the table on what was the best dish, and while not everyone voted officially, I think the corn pudding may have won.

What was the best dish at your Thanksgiving table?

I didn’t mention what my time goal for the half marathon was in my last post, because I didn’t want to look like a lame-o if I didn’t make it … but I did! WOOHOO! The goal set by my coach was to finish in 2:25:39, and I ended up finishing in 2:24:40 – almost a minute ahead of schedule! I still can’t believe I pulled it off. That’s 33 minutes faster than my finishing time in April!

Our day started at 4:30 a.m., when we rolled out of bed and dragged ourselves down the stairs. Brad’s dad drove us to the race, and stuck around for four and half hours in the cold to take pictures and watch us finish. Thanks, Bill!

… I now know that my cheapo Target sports bra, while fine in the comfort and support department, is not doing me any favors visually. NOTED.

The Atlanta Half Marathon is nowhere near as big as the Nashville Country Music half we ran in the spring, but there was still a pretty huge turn-out.

My husband, Fasty McFasterson, was two starting corrals ahead of me, so I checked out my surroundings and let the familiar feeling of mild annoyance wash over me. I’ve found recently that I really tend to fuel my running with anger … probably because I’m so cranky in the morning, which is when I usually run. I also hate enthusiasm, and there tends to be a lot of that at these events. I’m kind of a bitch, I guess. But how annoying is it to hear someone yelling, “You can do it! You’re halfway done!” when you’re only at mile 5 out of 13.1?! I HATE that.

Anyway, because it was Thanksgiving, there was a lot of this going on:

I do not understand how people can run in costumes. I can barely run in running clothes. But somehow, I made it to the finish line. I was really close to hitting my goal time, so I dug up some energy and sped up. That’s why I look so horrific in pictures like this one.

Am I doing lamaze breathing?!

After I finished, I caught up with my father-in-law right away, and we finally found Brad back at the car. He was bummed out about some major IT band issues he experienced during the race, but I think he still ended up kicking ass with 2:16! We both need to remind ourselves that we’ve only been running for 11 months – just the fact that we’ve survived two half marathons each is something to be proud of.

All that effort so early in the morning made for a pretty laid-back Thanksgiving. We relaxed with Brad’s parents and a pot of soup, and saved all our cooking and baking for Friday. Pictures and recipes are coming in another post!

Oh, by the way – my runner’s knee was nowhere to be found on Thursday. I really, really slacked on my strength-training, so I’m very lucky. I SWEAR I’m going to do better with that next time around! However, I hope this will serve as a pick-me-up to those of you struggling with runner’s knee. Despite how horrible and hopeless it seems when you’re dealing with it, you CAN get past it and get to pain-free running. Stay positive! And there’s my cheesy enthusiasm for the day. And now I hate myself.

So, how was your Thanksgiving?!

I’m a little nervous, but I feel SO much more prepared than I was for my last one. I actually made it through 12 full weeks of training (as opposed to my solid THREE back in April). I wish my longest run had been longer than 10 miles, but at least I know that I have covered 13.1 before, and I survived.

For the past few days, I’ve been running without podcasts to see if it helped me focus on my breathing. It did, but it also gave me a lot of time to think. Our running coach has been amazing and has very high hopes for us, and I really want to live up to his expectations. He set a time goal for me that is going to be VERY tough, and he keeps assuring me that I can do it, but all I’ve been thinking about during my past few runs is how difficult it’s going to be. But I guess all I can do is trust my training and try.

I celebrated the culmination of our training by treating myself to a couple Lululemon pieces. Lululemon is CRAZY-expensive, but their stuff really is great. With my two new shirts and headband, and my other tried-and-true gear, I should be good to go.

Left to right, top to bottom: C9 by Champion Seamless Racer Bra | Garmin Forerunner 210 | Gu Chomps | Lululemon Run: Swiftly Tech Short Sleeve | Lululemon Swiftly Headband | Lululemon Run: Swiftly Tech Long Sleeve | Nathan Sports Shadow Pak | Nike Tempo Shorts | Balega Hidden Comfort Socks | New Balance WR1400

Eeeeeeek! Wish me luck!

Any last minute advice? What are your running must-haves?

I have a decent excuse for my extended absence: We were moving into the new house! We’ve officially been living here for eight days now, and we love it. I actually love the house even more than I thought I would. I don’t know if it’s because it’s ours or what, but I’m just in heaven. Having our bedroom on the second floor is doing wonders for my sleep schedule (and the stairs are doing wonders for my glutes – hey-oh!).

Having said that, of course, there are a few adjustments. It’s taking us some time to get used to the master bathroom. It’s nice and big, and it has GREAT bones and potential, but it has a few … issues.

When you walk in, there’s a nice big window on the left, over the jacuzzi tub. So far, so good, right?

The wooden shutters aren’t real cute, but that’s an easy fix. To the right of the tub is a separate little room for the toilet, with another window. Still good!

To the right of that is our vanity, which has double sinks, and the stall shower. The double sinks are good. The rest … well, take a look.

The vanity has NO DRAWERS. I don’t mean to sound like a brat here, but … what?! I have a million tiny things – contacts cases, tweezers, eye creams, etc – that belong in DRAWERS. We found some built-in bins on a sliding track inside the cabinet, which I do appreciate, but … it’s just not the same. And let’s talk about the shower.

It’s teeny-tiny. Again, please don’t think I’m a brat – but have you ever tried shaving your legs when you can’t actually bend over? It’s damn near impossible, people, and it ain’t gonna work. Our last shower was a very spacious walk-in, and let me tell you – once you go walk-in, you never go back. That’s the damn truth.

Soon – as soon as possible – we’re going to do a major renovation in there. Our master plan includes replacing the tile floors; replacing the toilet (it’s not low-flow, which is bad, apparently); replacing the vanity, mirror and light fixtures; turning the jacuzzi tub into a walk-in shower; and turning the stall shower into a linen closet. Call us crazy, but we just won’t use the jacuzzi tub enough to justify it taking up that much space. I know this from experience, because we’ve actually had them in two rentals (spoiled!). It’s a nice thing to have, but if I have to choose between that and a nice shower … the tub has to go. We asked our realtors if not having a tub in the master bath would hurt the resale value, and they both assured us that it would not. Especially since there’s a tub in the guest bathroom, for bathing our nonexistent children and all.

In the meantime, we’ve made a few small updates.

We had the walls painted Iced Cube Silver by Benjamin Moore. It’s a very pale icy-blue.

It’s not a huge change from the light blue that was in there previously, but we like it much better.

We also replaced the dated wood bathroom hardware with new oil-rubbed bronze pieces from Lowe’s, adding a double hook right outside the shower for a bathrobe and towel.

Thrilling stuff, huh? The bathroom overall is pretty lackluster right now, but it’s going to be beautiful when we redo the whole thing. I’m envisioning white marble in the shower and on the vanity counter, and maybe dark gray tile on the floors … It’ll probably be a while before we can afford it, but it’s going to be worth the wait! Like these:

Via Houzz

Via Houzz

Via Houzz

Via Houzz

Via Houzz

Via Colorado Homes & Lifestyles

OK, so maybe it won’t be quite as fancy/elegant/humongous as most of those, but a girl can dream, right?

Got any suggestions for our master bathroom?

I’ve been wanting a gold skull FOREVER. I managed to DIY some glitter versions last year, but sometimes, DIY just can’t replace the real thing. And while my new version from Z Gallerie isn’t actually metal – it’s ceramic coated with a metallic finish – it’s a lot closer than spray paint! Plus, it was only $14.95. That’ll hold me over until I can afford this one. Oh, and in case you’re wondering: Of COURSE it’s not just for Halloween! Like my glitter skulls, this thing is definitely staying out all year round.

I’ll also be rocking this outside of October:

It’s made by Monserat De Lucca, and I got it at an amazing store called Yates & Kennedy in Provincetown.

It’s made of 100% brass, and I’m frigging obsessed with it. Did I mention I really love skulls?

We’re packing up to move into the new house (!!!), so we won’t be doing anything exciting tonight. How are you guys planning to celebrate Halloween?