Countertop Paint: FAIL

I am halfway through my countertop painting and I have to say I am very very disappointed.

The paint itself is kind of awesome, especially in concept, but in execution, the paint gets a big fat FAIL!

It's impossible to roll it on without seeing the roller lines! It has an adhesive to make it stick to linoleum and as you roll it on it quickly dries and takes on a glue like consistency. IMPOSSIBLE TO SMOOTH OUT. Especially on larger surfaces, ie. my giant countertop.

So, here I am halfway done and I don't want to do anymore. Not only is it not working properly, but it also has to be cleaned with paint thinner because of the adhesive and rather than deal with that I end up just throwing everything away. Ha, wasteful I KNOW, but paint thinner is ICKY.

I may have mentioned my less than stellar quality of not liking to finish projects. This is a fine example.

I do not want to continue.

I want to be done now.

So, without further ado.

Here is my countertop halfway through it's transformation:

Looks good from afar I will admit, but then let's get a little up close and personal with the terribleness:

and one more for good measure:

ok, i meant two more:

Lines, lines everywhere.

Anyone ever used this stuff? Anyone have any ideas on how to make it smooth?

In other news....

OUR RENTERS ARE FINALLY LEAVING!!!

That means...

WE GET TO MOVE INTO OUR SAN FRANCISCO HOME MAY 1ST!!!!!!!!!!!

Screw you ugly countertops, we don't have to live with you anymore.

Countertop Paint?

I don't like my countertops.

They're the color of brick.

Nothing against brick colored countertops IN GENERAL, just not my style.

So, rather than redo my countertops I've decided to paint them.

That's right, PAINT my countertops.

Don't worry, I'm not crazy, they make countertop paint now!

It has some sort of special fantasticness that let's it stick to linoleum countertops AND has special anti-mold, anti-mildew, moisture resistant, etc etc.

In short, it's fancy shit.

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Here are the brick colored countertops before:

And the corner behind the microwave which I have chosen to do the test:

And after a little paint:

And after a little more paint with what I THINK I would like the wall color to be (the bottom color) and the cabinet color to be (the top color):

What do you think? Good combo? Too french country, not enough country cottage?

Mary Poppins Purse

Has this ever happened to you?

You're digging around in your purse searching for a stamp that you KNOW you just saw in there a few days ago and whilst digging you begin pulling out items one at a time that seemingly couldn't possibly all fit into that purse at once, a la Mary Poppins style and come across several things that lead you to wonder "when did I last clean out my purse?"

So you clean out your purse.

And what do you find but the following list of items:

Wallet

Sunglasses

Mirror

Wide Tooth Comb

My Passport

Those are the normal everyday items, the essentials if you will, then you also have the following which really have no business being in your purse for GOD KNOWS HOW LONG:

Band Aid Friction Stick (very useful in the summer months, but I've been in winter for more than 2 months now)

Receipts in AUD (That's Australian Dollars, again more than 2 months ago)

Ace Bandage Tape (the second I take this out of my purse I will need it for uncomfortable shoe rubbage, but I didn't know it was there so not much use it would have done me had I needed it)

Car Charger (should probably be in the car, no?)

Nurofen w/no Nurofen (ie an empty container of Ibuprofen, very useful)

Money from Singapore (when the hell was I in Singapore?! That was August of 2010! More than 7 months ago!)

Buttons (not from any of my clothes that I recognize)

A Deck of Cards (no idea why...but they are Australian Made, so they must have been in there for at least 2 months as well)

2 sets of headphones (for plane rides, 2 months since I've been on a plane)

Change Purse of AUD coinage

Bobby pins & hair ties galore (yet somehow I can never find either when I'm digging around in there)

2 USB Sticks (with exactly what on them your guess is as good as mine!)

Pack of gum

Condom from old CBGB in NYC (it's a clothing shop now, but they were throwing a concert and had condoms on the counter...so I took one, but that was back in November, 4 months ago)

Free drink tickets for United flights (drinks are free on international flights, but I keep these babies in my purse just in case!)

MyMulti Pass from Sydney

3 Metrocards from NYC

Key Cardfor 60 Thompson (hotel we stayed at our last night in NYC back in May of last year, oh boy that's 10 months ago!)

Unknown Hotel Card

Gift Card for Silk Day Spa in NYC (I wonder how much is on that bad boy)

Business card for a restaurant in Italy that I don't remember going to (and Italy was a year and a half ago, surely I've cleaned my purse out since then?!)

6 Airline Ticket Stubs

Lip Venom

and

THAT GODDAMN STAMP I WAS LOOKING FOR

In short, I have a purse full of crap, anyone else find completely random things while cleaning out their purse?

Tell me the weirdest thing you've pulled out of your purse!

Rain Turning to Showers...

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...is the forecast for today, and tomorrow, and the next day and the day after that.

Did you know it rains a lot here in Oregon?

I think I forgot just how much.

I'm kind of enjoying it.

I've gone from summer to winter, back to summer and then back to winter all in the span of 8 months, SO these spring showers are very welcome in my humble opinion.

Everyone else around me is sick of the rain but I'm enjoying getting to wear boots and hats that during other weather people around here find ridiculous (Springfield isn't big on hats unless their baseball hats, the crazies).

I also kind of love the sound of rain hitting my skylight in the bedroom when I'm trying to fall asleep at night.

Anyone else really enjoy the rain?

Hidden Treasures

I don't know about the rest of you who have moved states but when I moved from Oregon to New York many years ago I took with me 2 suitcases and sent 2 boxes of stuff to myself.

I left everything else.

Now that I'm back here in Oregon for a bit and have a place to house all of my worldly possessions that I left behind I've had a chance to go through boxes and boxes of stuff that 5 years ago I deemed too important to throw out yet not important enough to take with me across the country.

In general all I can think to myself is, "Why the hell did you keep this?!"

SO much stuff I have now thrown out or donated.

I have no idea what possessed me to hold onto most of it.

But a few times I've unearthed some wonderful treasures that have remained hidden for 5 years.

Case in point....

Nail Polish!

Blues and Pinks and Purples, Oh My!

I unearthed this lovely box of polish and even after opening and disposing of all that were past their expiration date I still have a whole basket of fun colors.

For example:

I found this pretty gray/purple iridescent loveliness and have had numerous people ask me what my nail color is called.

I'm almost embarrassed to tell them it's not OPI or any other brand that anyone would recognize and it's from 10 years ago.

Anyone find any hidden treasures amongst their own things while doing some spring cleaning/moving?

Booktastic: The Duchess

Back to books.

I'm so behind on my reviews, I'll try to catch up.

First off I randomly discovered a book review blogger that I love www.busybookwormreviews.com and I'm going to steal the way she reviews. So first off I'll give you the Goodreads.com review followed by my own thoughts, better than the link I was providing no?

So, here we go:

Goodreads.com says

Lady Georgiana Spencer was the great-great-great-great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, and was nearly as famous in her day. In 1774 Georgiana achieved immediate celebrity by marrying William Cavendish, fifth duke of Devonshire, one of England’s richest and most influential aristocrats. She became the queen of fashionable society and founder of the most important political salon of her time. But Georgiana’s public success concealed an unhappy marriage, a gambling addiction, drinking, drug-taking, and rampant love affairs with the leading politicians of the day. With penetrating insight, Amanda Foreman reveals a fascinating woman whose struggle against her own weaknesses, whose great beauty and flamboyance, and whose determination to play a part in the affairs of the world make her a vibrant, astonishingly contemporary figure.

I say:

Loved this book, but I already loved the Duchess of Devonshire before I began reading this, so I may be biased. This is a very well researched historical non-fiction book, full of details left out by the movie made from this book also called The Duchess. The author delves into Georgiana's gambling addictions, infertility and numerous infidelities all of which were glossed over or left out entirely from the movie. It is quite a heavy read, not a light airy book for the beach, Foreman really delves deeply into the politics of the day but if you're at all into fascinating historical characters, such as Marie Antoinette, you'll enjoy The Duchess.

Gray and White

Well, I'm done painting my bedroom.

And...

It looks pretty!

The gray I ultimately decided on turned out a bit more blue than I had anticipated, but it's pretty nevertheless.

Before:

After:

What do you all think? Good gray?

The Big 3-0

I turn 30 this year.

I'm none too thrilled about it.

Some things I've accomplished in the timeframe I imagined.

Others I have not.

Either way it's coming and there's nothing I can do about it.

I began my 30 before 30 list and only made it to 13 before I ran out of ideas. (Maybe that's a sign of....of...well of something...because my birthday is on the 13th?)

Really Jesica? There's not 30 things you would like to accomplish before you're 30?

I'll let you all take a peak at my unfinished list, maybe you can help me along. It's not cheating to have people give you ideas for your own personal goals is it? It's not like I'm stealing ideas...ok I'd like to steal some ideas please, PLEASE!

Some of these things were things I always imagined I'd do before I was 30, others I've added and hope to accomplish in the next few months.

1. Adopt a pet - CHECK!

2. Learn Italian - I'm woefully behind on my Italian, but I DO have my rosetta stone, this IS achievable if only I would apply myself.

3. Get married - CHECK!

4. Start a family - Fingers crossed over the next 5 months!

5. Own a home - CHECK!

6. Visit all the inhabited continents, I'm only missing South America and unfortunately I don't think we're going anywhere else this year...but I'm very close to this one.

7. See the pyramids - CHECK!

8. Live in NYC - CHECK!

9. Live in San Fran - This one can be checked as soon as our renters move out!

10. Live in London - Sadly this one is unaccomplishable (yes I know that's not a word) but maybe in the future, 40 before 40?

11. Have a career - this one unfortunately has gone out the window, but I thought I would keep it on here because I'm trying to be honest with my list.

12. Find a way to be tidier...and stick to it. Once we have kids it will be much harder than it is with just the 2 of us and I HAVE to find a way to keep myself tidy and organized. Ideas would be welcome here!

13. Buy a pair of Manolo Blahniks, I've been wanting to do this for years, but as the price creeps from $500 to upwards of $700 a pair I find myself more and more hesitant to actually do the deed. I bought Giuseppe Zanotti's for my wedding but justified it because they were wedding shoes and it's just not the same as the coveted Manolos. So, before I turn 30 I'm buying some Manolos. Hmmm...maybe Ebay.

14.

So, anyone have any 30 before 30 ideas???

To DIY or BUY

I've said it before this Oregon house of ours (that we've been stuck in for over a month now and have at least another month to go, ugh!) is a bit of a country house. Which means I'm trying to decorate it with the country in mind.

Enter barn doors.

How beautiful and rustic are these old barn door tables?

Taking into account that both the husband and I are notorious for starting projects and not finishing them. Should we attempt to build one of these bad boys ourselves or just bite the bullet and buy one from someone much more skilled and experienced at DIY?

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