Busy Bee

There's plenty of changes going on at the Nickarmadillo household.  So many, in fact, that I haven't been able to make time to blog about them.  So here's a quick rundown.

First off, we broke down and bought an above-ground pool.

Yes, I'm well aware of all the Missouri stereotypes that this conjures up and that my lawn will suffer (see the lovely dead grass rings in the pictures below).  Could I care less?  No!

Source: Target.com

If lounging around in my 36 inches of cool, crystal clear heaven while everyone else sweats it out is white-trashey, you can call me Jed Clampett, because I'm lovin' it!

Well, I say lounging, but we've actually gotten very little free time to enjoy the calm waters of lake Nickarmadillo.  Most of our days have been spent elsewhere...

... like on this stupid fence with its stupid non-matching paint, which was given to us by a stupid paint mixer at Home Depot and not tested before applying by a stupid painter/blogger/mid-mod collector named Nickarmadillo.  Stupid.

The power washing went well...

... but I kinda freaked out when the paint went on BRIGHT orange.

Fortunately, it dried more of an orange-tinted brick red.  Unfortunately, two of the four gallons they mixed up for us were slightly more orange and glossy than the others.  Damn the luck!

Lesson learned: ALWAYS SPOT-TEST YOUR PAINT!!!

For a nit-picking perfectionist like me, a splotchy paint job is pure torture, but at this point I just don't have the time or cash to make another go at it.

Instead, it's time to start on the next project: the Big Dig.

Hopefully this 80 foot trench along the driveway will alleviate our drainage problems and keep the basement dry.  I'll have to check with the city, but I'm considering putting in a gravel French drain in there as well.

Oh, and there's one last thing.

I got a freakin' Nexus 7!  Keep an eye out for the full review, but after a week or so with my new toy, I can say with certainty that it is worth every penny (if you can actually find one).

Until next time, happy thrifting!

Walls of Jericho

So, at first I was really into these plater and lathe walls. They look great and feel extraordinarily sturdy ... that is until you attempt to do ANYTHING with them.

You see, plaster has a propensity to crack and crumble at the slightest provocation - a fact of which I was not aware until after I purchased this home. I, after growing up in my suburban drywall and sheetrock bubble, never realized that walls could be so fragile and difficult to work with.

Got some furniture finish rubbed off on the wall? Ah, we'll just clean it up with a Magic Eraser. Want to hang a picture? Just go and hammer a nail into the wall.

That's how I've always operated.

In other words, I've got some painting and repair work to do.

I was thinking about doing one of the rooms in a matte dark slate grey with semi-gloss white trim, but I'm not so sure where to go from there. Any help creating a color palate that is dramatic but at the same time neutral (I know that is a bit of a contradiction) would be greatly appreciated.