dual personalities

After a rather hellish week at work, this weekend provided a welcome refresh. A long chat with my mom, a delicious dinner (crab cakes!) at DN’s parents’, a mani-pedi with a friend… topped off by sheet-pan nachos on Sunday afternoon. Sometimes, simple pleasures go a very long way!

We also managed to complete some small tasks that make a big difference in the apartment.

DN framed this oddly-sized poster that we got from the Ryman on our trip to Nashville in December — one of those projects that takes a long while because there are lots of pesky steps along the way. Ordering custom wood pieces, getting glass cut, MacGyvering a back… he got it done! We love it. As always, it’s very hard to photograph all the beige interiors in this apartment, but I provided the hallway shot for some perspective. And if you look really closely, you can see that DN also successfully anchored our stick vacuum’s wall mount. This feels surprisingly life-changing.

I have also been meaning to shoutout my father-in-law, who has finished a number of projects for us recently. We often take something over to his workshop so that DN can work on it, but then the task will be completed before we know it! This happened with the doors of my secretary, which needed new glass installed. And then this weekend, he revealed a bookshelf of mine that had been in desperate need of stripping and re-painting.

The bookshelf was a hand-me-down that I brought with me when I moved out here after college, and I had already DIY’d it once with spray-painted turquoise interiors (a very 2012 project). Well, with a fresh coat of glossy gray from the workshop’s surplus paint stash, it can withstand the elements and will be dressed up with plants and whatnot later this spring. A functional piece for our balcony deck!

Now, to embrace another Monday!