Big decisions (such as paint colors)

I submitted final grades yesterday, and I feel as if I am now emerging from a dark cave that was Spring Quarter. These last ten weeks have been pretty miserable - grading and planning class took over my life. I felt like I never got to really relax, or have time to buy groceries, or play with Lea. I was constantly stressed out and worried about work, and my weekends were non-existent. And Kyle took on the brunt of the housework and baby care, which speaks to his awesome husband-ness. But this combination of things doesn't make for a very happy household, overall. And it also means I haven't even looked at my dissertation in a long time. If I keep doing what I am doing, I will never finish my degree.

So, I have made a pretty big decision: I am not going to teach next year. The Writing Program offered me more classes, but I turned them down. I'll keep my part-time job at DU, and write in the afternoons. We'll see how long we can make it with my teeny salary. But I really want to buckle down and write and finish this degree.

However, I decided that the writing will start next week. I need a little reward for all the work. This week, I am taking a mental vacation in the afternoons, which means doing one thing that has been on the top of my to-do list: painting my living room!

As you can see, it's PINK. The whole house is pink. And I hate it. This photo was taken right after we moved in, and we've since gotten a new couch, rug, and curtains. But the pink is just gross.

We also have this to contend with: there used to be a wood-burning stove here, so we had to patch two giant holes. Yes, that's sunlight you can see coming into our living room. It was a little chilly this winter!

The space is a combined living/dining room, so it's pretty big. This project is going to take a while, especially since Kyle has flat-out refused to pick up a paintbrush. He generally doesn't get angry, but I have never seen him more frustrated than when I've made him help with painting projects. So this one is all me. 

It's taken me forever to decide on a color, but I finally found inspiration from one of the designers I interviewed for Toujours Mag - Molly Luetkemeyer. I won't say anything more, but here's a sneak peek:

You can check out more of Molly's work here - her sense of style is right up my alley.

Stay tuned!!!