James' Birthday

Okay, so we lost a little progress this weekend because we went to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge to celebrate James' birthday!! But it was totally worth it, we both needed a break. I didn't check my email once the entire weekend...work or personal. Yay me!! Here's my favorite picture from the weekend:

I know, we're quite an attractive couple! (the scenic background goes a long way in making us look good)
James also took a vacation day on his actual birthday on Monday, but some of us don't get as many vacation days and had to go back to work. While I was slaving away at the office, he did this:


Yes, he finally started installing the bead-board and chair rail in the dining room! That is one of the first rooms I painted, and it has been half-painted since October, proven by this picture:

This is the only room James helped paint, so he had to leave his mark.
See what I mean by half-painted? We knew we were going to install bead-board, so why waste effort painting all the way to the floor? So there that date sat, painted on the wall, mocking me daily (or at least as often as I walked through the dining room, which honestly wasn't very often since it's not actually a dining room yet. Or maybe subconsciously, this mocking wall kept me from going in there).

Here's another shot, including the crown moulding, since I realized I never showed the dining room in the last trim post, even though it was already done.

Yes, that's Bella in the bottom right corner. I probably could have taken another cat-free picture, but where is the fun in that? Oh, those Kirkland's bags are new artwork waiting for a home, which they will soon have! *squeal*

A "happy accident" (as my favorite bloggers from Young House Love would say) we discovered along the way is that the width of the "panels" on the bead-board are the exact width of our floor boards (4", for those who are curious). So naturally, we lined them up...since I knew anything different would forever drive me insane.

That gap at the bottom will be covered by the baseboard and quarter round.



So, that's our progress this week so far. This weekend we have no big plans, so I imagine we will get a lot more done. My plans for this weekend include painting up to the ceiling in the living room, since we have no idea how to begin to approach crown molding on a vaulted ceiling. 

Exhibit A: difficult angles
Maybe someday when we're gazillionaires, we'll hire a professional to come in and install the crown molding, but until then, I'll just finish off the painting and we'll be happy with that. 

So tell me, have y'all been to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge? If so, what was your favorite activity? We drove into the National Park and saw 3 bears!!!! (separately, not Goldilocks style)

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