Look West

It has been a rough weekend. We lost a friend to Parkinson's. It was a blessing for him to finally go to be with Jesus, as his body no longer cooperated with him. It is sad for all of us, as he was a really, really cool guy.

But isn't it just like God to send us a reminder of his presence, even in the midst of a bittersweet time? This evening I was in the living room in the House on the Hilltop when my phone rang. It was a sweet friend (who also mourns the loss of our friend), telling me to grab my camera and go to the west side of my house.

I did, and when I got out there, I saw the most AMAZING sunset. What a gift! She could have enjoyed that sunset and not thought about me at all. But, she chose to share it with me. She chose to bring me in to that moment with her, even if we were in separate locations.

Sometimes I get distracted by the circumstance of the moment. I'm so thankful that God chose to shine his glory so beautifully in the sky tonight to remind me that he is bigger than circumstances. I'm also thankful for my friend, who told me to look west and see His glory.

God is still on the throne. I know that because the sun rose and set today. For that, I am thankful. :)

It was lovely. This picture doesn't even come close to the real thing.

Just Divine

I finished the top cabinets in the laundry room.

I used Sherwin Williams Divine White.

It's the perfect white. It's not blinding like my legs in shorts at the beginning of summer. It's what my mom calls a "gentle white." They look brand new.

I. Love. It.

The walls in this room still aren't finished, but as soon as they are, I'm moving on to my kitchen makeover. I found the "inspiration room" for that project and can't wait to get started.

Now, off to paint laundry room walls...

Lagoon

As I have mentioned before, The House on the Hilltop is sooooo 1974. I love it, but there are a lot of potential projects that present themselves.

For example, there is lots of dark wood. The trim is dark, the doors are dark, the 9 bajillion cabinets are all made from dark wood. It is beautiful wood, but there is a lot of it. Even the bajillion windows can't compensate for all this dark wood.

I have this voice in my head (I think it's the voice of my realtor, who said, "This wood is in such good condition. Why would you want to paint it?), that says, "This wood is in such good condition. Why would you want to paint it?" That voice, along with my fear of doing it "wrong," has made me afraid to do what I want to do, which is paint the 9 bajillion cabinets! Why can't I just do it?

So, I decided to experiment in the laundry room. After all, it's just the laundry room. If I paint it the wrong colors, I haven't ruined the whole house.

This is what I started with. Tan walls and dark cabinets. Good wood, but, Blah.

I painted the walls the same color I used in my kitchen, Sherwin Williams Watery. It's a soothing blue/green color. I love it. Then, I went two steps darker for the bottom cabinets, Sherwin Williams Lagoon. You can see that I tested out Sherwin Williams Divine White on the top cabinets. That's the next step.

 

 

I have decided that Lagoon is a bit much for my kitchen, but I *LOVE* it for the laundry room. I can't wait to finish this room. I spend a lot of time in there (big family= lots of laundry), so I'm excited to make it beautiful.

 

More pictures to follow when it's complete.