Some Plans: Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom

If you're thinking to yourself that you didn't see my List of Get Skinny and Be Perfect Ideas for 2013 this month, well, you're on to me. I don't do New Year's Resolutions. I think they stink for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which is that in January I'm not much in the mood to do anything except drink hot things and scowl out the window at the winter weather.

However, with my kitchen painting project (finally, for crying out loud) reaching its end and no other projects in full or even partial sway, it's time for me to start thinking about what comes next.

1. Over the next few weeks I'll be finishing up the kitchen, which includes hanging decorative items and making curtains.

That crooked outlet still drives me bonkers, just looking at this picture. 

"Finish" is a relative term here. Big ticket items left on the list include replacing the flooring, the rusting dishwasher and the leaky 1970s era windows. I hope to do the windows this spring, funds permitting. 

2. I need to pick up where I left off in my bedroom, which still looks like a construction zone. For starters, that will include sanding and painting the alcove window trim, and painting and stenciling the floor. While I sometimes feel guilty that I left the bedroom in the midst for so long, we did a lot of heavy dirty work in there going from this: 

To this: 

I think I needed to walk away for awhile. I got to the point I was sick of being in one place, physically, for so long, and I think it's bad to feel that way about a space that is supposed to be your refuge from the world, a place of rest. 

3. I'm going to tackle some upgrades to the downstairs bathroom, but will do it in a series of small jobs rather than one big project. At various times I plan to paint, upgrade the cabinet hardware, replace the shower curtain bar (a tougher than the usual challenge-- it's an L-shaped one that needs mounting on two walls and a ceiling) and replace the counter top/sink/faucet. I also have serious toilet paper holder issues. Is that a first-world problem? 

This pukey mauve color and the landing strip lighting fixture have GOT to go. The half-acre of 1990s mirror is on my nerves too. Nobody needs to see that much of anything. 

Already I feel my list to be too ambitious, considering how sideways life got over the last few months and trying to just. freaking. finish. the. kitchen. But I hope the way I've planned it, it can be broken down into smaller parts and tackled in smaller packages of time. 

The best part about this list? There isn't a single diet plan or resolution to be found. Whew.