...& After!: Sunday, September 13, 2009

Well, we're nearing the end of another fantastic trip to Charleston. Michelle joined us for the past couple of days, which was great. It was sort of an unofficial bachelorette weekend for her so we did it up: the spa, a drink at and tour of The Sanctuary on Kiawah, several delicious meals out at some of our favorite places, an after dinner drink at The Market Pavilion Inn's rooftop bar last night, two bridge walks, and finally an unplanned but highly successful visit to Ooh! Events/Out of Hand for several bridal accessories. The weather has been perfect the whole trip, which always makes things even more fun!

I'm feeling good but have had a pinching cramp in my side for the past several days close to where I think my abdominal catheter hangs out under my rib cage. I can't figure out if the catheter is rubbing something OR if I just have a deep muscular issue from my lack of stretching. Hmm...regardless, it's highly uncomfortable, particularly if I take a deep breath or cough. Otherwise, no complaints. We're hitting the road early tomorrow to head to Richmond for a quick overnight stay with the Kirkebys (a.k.a Kindra, Karl, Henry, and Jack) before our return to reality (and treatment...boo!). I'm excited to see the progress on their new addition!

As promised, see below for the "after" pictures of the dining room project. What do you think? It was definitely a labor of love (and there's a thin line between love and hate...) but I think we're on the road to achieving the right look for the room. To be honest, my mother did far more painting than I did as the fumes really bothered me and I developed mild carpal tunnel syndrome from pressing down on the spray can with my pointer finger. (I know...how wimpy, right?) Oh, and be sure to check out what's coming next...wall/ceiling paint, a rug, custom placemats and window treatments!

A full Charleston pictorial round-up is promised before the end of the week. Have a great Monday everyone!



Voila! The new look of the dining room chair. Please refer to my recent "Before..." post for a refresher on the old look.


A shot of the entire "new" set in the dining room. The chandelier is from Ballard Designs. My grandfather made me the the sideboard in the background, which my cousin Heather painted and glazed for me years ago. I'm a big fan of reworking and recycling furniture!

Another view of the set with the corner cupboard in the background. My father got the corner cupboard from a job site. Good eye, Dad! Eventually, the dining room table will have some sort of coral piece as a centerpiece.


A close-up shot of the interior of the corner cupboard. We plan to add some coral accents to the shelves because coral will be the third color of the dining room.

What's next: My mom is getting double-sided custom placemats for a Christmas present from me (no surprises in this family!) -- one side will be the coral seashell print on the left and the other the khaki stripe; we're EVENTUALLY going to paint the dining room walls the coral color at the top of the left paint swatch and the ceiling the light blue on the top of the right swatch; we're probably going to make simple fixed roman shade curtains out of the khaki stripe for the window treatments; and I like the large loop sisal rug sample on the right with a navy border for the rug in the room. FYI - large loop sisals are MUCH more comfortable to walk on then small loop sisals or sea grass rugs.