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Well it’s been a couple of weeks again since I wrote.  Tonight’s 30 minutes of time for me (see my last entry) are writing this entry.  It’s been an absolutely manic last couple of weeks.  School has really taken its toll recently as project deadlines loom and exams are going on last week and this week.  On top of that, last week was probably the busiest week of work I’ve had since I started at Victoria's Secret in September.  Tons of deliverables and presentations.  Fortunately things went quite well and I was able to catch up on some sleep this weekend.  One more crazy week and I should be in the clear for a while.  March should be good with food tasting for the wedding, Spring Break (no classes that week for OSU, yahoo!), and hopefully things will settle down at work.

On to today’s topic.  So I’ve heard people say they can never go to Target without spending at least $100, no matter what they had on their list going into the store.  I’ve experienced this myself, especially as a new homeowner.  But it’s not Target that’s getting me lately.  It’s Lowe’s!  We have a Lowe’s just down the street so we go quite often.  Anissa and I are like lost puppy dogs in there.  We can’t find anything and we pretty much have no clue what we’re doing (but we are starting to figure it out).  So I thought I’d share our latest trip to Lowe’s including what we bought that contributed to our $100 tab this time.

Initially, we just wanted to get a couple small sample jars of paint.  We’ve been testing colors in various rooms throughout the house and hope to start painting rooms as soon as next weekend.  We are so excited!  For our family room we are going for a peachy-beige-like color which should go well with the fireplace and our furniture.  In the kitchen we want a light green.  Unfortunately, the first sample we got was more like mint chocolate chip ice cream green so we are still working on just the right tone for that room.  Also, the kitchen is tarnished with 7 (yes, SEVEN!) oil paintings of what we assume are fruits, except the fruits portrayed don’t grow on the same vines (or vines at all).  We will have to prime these parts of the wall before we can paint them.

I am just impressed that the seller managed to get 7 of these on the walls of our kitchen.  I can't stand looking at them!

 

We are probably going to do some sort of tan or yellow color for the dining and living rooms (they are white right now).  We’ve settled on our colors for the bedroom with a very pale blue for 3 walls, and a darker blue for an accent wall.  It’s kind of amazing how quick we’ve landed on colors; now comes the hard part - actually painting!

It's hard to tell because the lighting in our bedroom is terrible, but we are going with the bottom right color for 3 walls, and the top right color for an accent wall.

 

Of course, 4 small jars of paint at $3 each doesn’t get you to $100.  So what else did we buy?  First, we had to buy a new grill cover.  This Saturday we were able to break out of our Ohio hibernation since it was sunny and 55 degrees.  I can now see my driveway, get to my mailbox, and not worry about making it safely out of my neighborhood.  Finally, a break from Mother Nature (she’s been a bitch).  We opened our blinds to the deck on Saturday morning and realized our grill cover was gone.  I searched the yard and it was nowhere to be found.  We did have some blustery winds (and a tornado 15 miles north of here a few days ago) so it must have just been whipped away.  We also picked up another full-size gardening shovel (thanks to Mo for giving us our first) and an 18-inch hand saw.  We’ve got some bushes on our side yard that think they are trees.  The following picture doesn’t do them justice.  This was from early spring and they actually ballooned even bigger by mid-summer.  Oh, and btw most of that grass isn’t even our yard (we’re the terrible neighbors!).   They need to go in a bad way, and we need to start cutting them down before the weather turns for good and they start growing/blooming again. 

These damn plants have caused us so much agony.  I cannot wait to get rid of them.  Any ideas on what to put in their place?  This part of the house gets very little sunlight...

 

Throw in some outdoor light bulbs and a refrigerator filter and you’ve got yourself a nice little tab there.  The funny thing is, I feel the same way I do when I leave Target after over-spending.  No regrets, I’m just excited for all the projects we’ve got coming up.  I can’t wait to start putting some personal touches on this house!

For the record, other places I generally go into with good intentions and can’t leave without spending more than I planned:  Macy’s, California Pizza Kitchen, Banana Republic, Marcella's and usually Kroger.  Where do you overspend?