Birthday, birthday.

A quick recap of the two birthdays we celebrated this past week.

Here was the package I shipped to Shi a few weeks back:

Rundown of the shipping story (because I KNOW it's so interesting haha):

The last package I sent to Shi, I used mymissionaryshipping.com. A couple of the missionary moms on fb raved about the service and said it basically cost the same as using the less-reliable US postal service. It took my slow brain some real effort to figure out all the deets... you used the site to enter in your package weight and contents, then used the DHL site to schedule a pick-up, etc. etc. etc. I was pleasantly surprised that yes, the estimate I was given for shipping was about the same as I would pay at the post office. I printed my shipping label, scheduled the pick-up, and sent my package on it's way. A month later I noticed that I had yet to be billed for it, so I messaged the site. The response was that they wait until DHL has billed them before billing me. Oh. (I'm a fairly meticulous checkbook balancer, so it bugs a little when things don't clear quickly... but I figured I could handle it.)

Another few weeks go by, I finally see my payment processed, and think all is well.

Then Shilo writes, "Oh and this is super random but before I forget, the company that you sent the package through somehow [added a fee]... so I owe the mission £15.36 because they had to cover for me! Maybe just sending it the usual way is best :)"

AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH! That is over $20. Ridiculous.

This time I went back to the good ol' USPS.

But not without a hiccup. (I'm learning, I'm learning.)

I had been told that to keep shipping-to-England costs down, your package should be under 4 lbs. and the contents should be less than $50 (over $50 and the missionary has to pay import taxes up to 30% of the value or something like that). I have followed that policy for each package I have sent. I carefully weighed my contents and itemized before taping up my box and making the trip to the post office. Unfortunately, I cut it a little close this time (not taking into consideration the weight of the box + the weight of my large amounts of packing tape), and when I arrived at the post office with my package carefully over-taped, was informed that it weighed 4 lbs 1 oz which resulted in a higher shipping rate and would be $20 MORE. Sooooooo, I took my package back home, pulled all the tape off, and removed those Trolli eggs. Boo. Then repackaged, retaped, and returned to the post office, sending it on it's way. 

It was a labor of love.

Here's a birthday pic of Shi:

She didn't mention if she got her package yet... hopefully soon!


Taylor was here for his birthday, so we had a good time celebrating with him.
We had BIG plans of a BBQ steak dinner and a naked cake with whipped cream cheese frosting between the layers (his request was "like Scarlett's cake")...

...but we ended up going to Red Robin (I don't think Tay minded terribly)...

...and using the second half of the birthday cake he got the night before at Lynnea's family's celebration. 

We chuckled about how we could take pics that would make it look like a whole cake...

I DID have 27 candles...

...and he DID get to blow them out.

 Fist pump for the win!

Happy Birthday, Tay!

Someday I will have my junk together
and my cupboards will be painted and beautiful
and my house neatly organized and clean
and my birthday parties flawless
and my packages precisely weighed
and be showered and fresh and perfectly dressed.

Until then, I'll
start where I am
use what I have
and do what I can.

It's not easy being green.

I figured a kitchen-cabinet-reno update was in order.

Someday I'll look back on this little project and think, "How the heck did I do that?"

Of course, like any project, it can't be simple.

I just want green cabinets. Easy peasy, lemon lime squeezy, right?

Then I discovered that it's not easy being green.

I am using General Finishes Milk Paint.

That's what my neighbor (who inspired my project) used (in a different color),

and after working with it on my smaller projects of the bathroom and built-in,

I KNEW it was the way to go.

The only problem... General Finishes only offers a few greens:

Lime green (the most bright of their greens)

Emerald green (more like Kelly green)

Patina green (kind of a bright turquoise green)

and Basil green (a softer, gray-toned green)

So of course I selected Basil.

If only it could be so easy.

I had decided to do a sample before doing my entire kitchen, so I started with my desk area. After tediously taking down the doors and drawers, screwing off the hinges, taking the front panel off the the drawers, and removing all hardware, I started the tedious job of taping. Then spray, spray, spraying. Then antiquing.

Did I like it? Yes. But I was a little uneasy... something about the color was off...

As I looked around my home, I felt that this particular green wasn't quite "right"... a little more blue-based than the rest of the greens in my home. Then the thought came to me that you can see into my living room from the kitchen, and the greens between the two spaces would clearly clash. I would have to redecorate the entire living room space to make it "go."

I already had ordered the paint online, and it wasn't cheap. I knew that if I tried to return it, after shipping and restocking fees, I would maybe get half my money back if I was lucky. So I decided to go with my "use what you have" mantra, and mix my own custom color. I'm pretty friendly with the theory of color mixing thanks to my cosmetology background, so I felt confident I could warm the color up a bit.

So risky, though.

Especially when I needed to add more pricey color to my existing color.

Tay and Mar taped while I mixed.

The mixing didn't go smooth as butter, either.

I needed to run back to the paint store (during rush hour) to grab MORE Basil and Somerset Gold.

(In our conversation with the salesman at the store, his comment was, "Sometimes it's better just to scrap the old mix and start over." Uh, no. Not when you already have $200 worth of paint in your "old mix.")

On our way home (Tay and NaeNae went with me), we hit severe weather.

Thankfully, I think we avoided hail-damage to my vehicle, but let it be said that it was a very stressful journey. I prayed that our sacrifice would be worth it. I mixed a final time, tested it out, and determined it was definitely "good enough," and if nothing else, would be better than the bold blue-toned Basil alone.

We started spraying.

Before covering up the first paint, I snapped a picture to demonstrate the difference.

Oh yes, much much better.

We are doing a section at a time... right now were doing the long bank of uppers.

Both of my tables are covered with the contents of the cupboards,

and we are in a bit of a disarray around here.

But I'm so so much happier with the color.

Phew.

A few other green items in my yard that I captured the other day:

 My favorite tree has finally started to get it leaves.

I especially love this tree because it blocks my view into the neighbor's backyard. 

Let's just say it's never been a great view.

These little beauties are our first peonies that came up from tubers purchased from Walmart in the clearance section last year... yay for cheap peonies!

 My favorite Spring ground cover. This is a creeping thyme, and it's a good 14 years old. 

I love this stuff.

Lavender... yay, it survived the winter. I love this stuff, too. 

My  chives... can you tell I love things that don't require much attention to stay beautiful? 

We planted some dwarf lilacs last fall, and the deer crushed them over the winter because they are right by our fence where those little deers love to jump, but I am so so happy to see that they survived their tromping and the winter weather.

Hoping the happy green trend continues.

More reno updates to come!