Spring is Springing!

over the last few weeks i have noticed that the trees on my one hour drive to work have an aura about them. i love this time of year right before things start to bloom. The buds with their flowers about to break through give the tree a hue of color. around here in maryland there are so many flowering trees, i think the pear tree being the most abundant. as i took the dogs for a walk this afternoon, when the the sun started coming out i couldn't resist but to come back and get my camera. on our little walk i took photos of the trees that are just starting to bloom.

i can't wait till the weather gets a bit more warm and the rain stops! Almost Summertime! maybe i should just relax and enjoy spring.

Later!

Changes

2009 brought on a lot of changes for me. i started a new job, which has sucked out any chance of me having my own life, i feel that i am constantly at work and when i am not at work i am catching up on my sleep. i have gone on a diet and have lost ab out 14 pounds! i feel great about this. i still have another 26 pounds to go till i get to my goal weight, but i think this is a great start. clothes are starting to fit that haven't fit in a while and i am starting to like my wardrobe again. I bought a new sofa and chair and 1/2, which i love! my roommate and i have changes some accessories in the living room also. other changes that are in process are installing wood floors throughout my first and on part of my second floor, redoing and rennovating my kitchen and master bathroom. i think the hardest part of this is making a decision. i hate making decisions. what if it is the wrong choice? what if i spend all of this money and i hate it in the end? Well, here is what i am thinking... (beware, picture overload...)


The living room...



so i should have closed the armoir doors, but you get the idea. this is the new sofa, i haven't taken a picture of the chair and 1/2 because i am usually always sitting in it, but it is the same as the sofa, just one cushion and not 2. (this picture is already outdated. my roomate bought a flat screen this past weekend. loving the 40 inches!)

to the right of the armoire is the walk way to the kitchen. if i put wood floors in the living room to match the kitchen, i would fear that the living room would be orange also. so i have thought of changing the color to a darker, less orangy color. i have had some floor companies give me a quote. i about fell over dead! $4000 to do approx 400 sq ft! that is $1000/sq ft. thank goodness one of my best friends husband works with a builder and has offered to come and give me a quote and i found a mennonite family that cuts wood floors, and are realitively decent price.

The Kitchen...
these were pics that i took when the previous owners were still in the house, however the basics are still the same. orange cabinets, orange floors, and blue counter tops. i have painted the walls yellow, and have black accents so it looks a little better but still VERY orange.



notice that the floors, and cabinets are all the same color! UGH!

i have toyed with the idea to paint my cabinets. there are 27 of them and that would take a ton of work! i have thought of paying someone to paint the doors and i would do the frame of the cabinets, but the one person i consolted said that oak does not paint up nicely because of the grain in the wood. i don't know how much truth there is in that. my mother suggested that i maybe think about redoing the counter tops. i hadn't thought of this before. i mean, i HATE the blue counter tops. They are the whole reason why i painted the walls yellow, i mean, common, what goes with blue nicely. with the yellow walls came the chicken accessories that my mother got for me. i used them because i didn't know how to tell her i didn't want a county kitchen.

here are some samples that i am heavily contemplating.



i would repaint the kitchen color to green and possibly install a tile backsplash in neutral colors. I would love to change out the appliances to a brushed metal, but unfortunatly they are too expensive.

Here are pics of kitchens that I really enjoy...


(courtesy of HGTV- designer Beth Haley)

(courtesy of Layla)


i would love to hear your thoughts... Thanks for looking!