Paint projects to finish before the end of 2014

I've drawn up a list of things to do before the end of this year.  There are a few large painting projects that need to be done, and I have been avoiding them, because they look like a lot of work.

1. Paint the kitchen cabinets.  I have gotten estimates for renovating the kitchen, so I'll talk all about the future plans for the kitchen in another post.  For the moment, I am going to paint the cabinets.

2. Paint the front walkway wall.  Previously, this wall was covered in ivy.  Ivy that was housing vermin.  We ripped it down, but it left its mark on the wall and trim.

It isn't terrible from the street, but up close it looks awful.

I love my painter, but he wants me to pay him $35 an hour to "appropriately prepare" the surface for painting by using a blow torch and water spritzer to burn out those few thousand dead fern thingys.  I THINK NOT. My cunning plan is to just paint over all the fern thingys on the stucco walls myself.

3. Paint the front door.

I don't need HOA approval for painting the walkway wall because I am simply repainting it in the current color, but to change the color of the front door I need to submit my request to the HOA two weeks prior to the next meeting, so....I need to get on with the paperwork. I am between a happy tomato red or a happy sunshine yellow.

4.  Paint the stripe on the back wall where we tore down the termite-riddled patio cover.

5. Strip the paint on the tile counters.  Find the idiot who perpetrated this crime on humanity and give them a stern lecture of the appropriate use of latex paint.

Here's hoping that writing it down will inspire me to put my painting clothes on and get to work.  

The Mister's Last Piece of Ikea Furniture***: the Vittsjo shelf

Back during the One Room Challenge, I mentioned that I was having difficulty figuring out what to do with the far corner in my living room.  I decided to leave Peter's Lego table in that area while I thought about what to put there.

I wanted some type of shelving unit or cabinet for displaying a few tchotchkes.  Last year I cleared out all the tchotchkes from our house and packed them away during Nester's Accessory-Free challenge.  Most of the tchotchkes went in a box in the attic, and a few remained out on our bookshelves.  However, those bookshelves are now full of books, and no room remains for tchotchkes.

I enjoy having a "quiet" house, without lots of tchotchkes. But I thought it might be nice to have one dedicated spot for tchotchkes.

One of the options I thought about was the Vittsjo shelf from Ikea.  I finally bought it.

I freely admit that vignetting is not one of my many skills.

Don't worry about Peter's Lego table, it returned back to its original home under the window on the right side of the fireplace.

***The Mister once solemnly swore that after he turned forty he would no longer build or transport Ikea furniture.  As that date is rapidly approaching, I only have one month to get more Ikea furniture into the house.