Beauty And The Beast

I love beautiful things.  I think that what most of us are seeking in our lives is to be able to find the beautiful moment, recognize it and enjoy it.  For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with beautiful homes and I find that I classify that beauty in so many differant ways and on so many differant levels... from the grand, curving sweep of an antebellum staircase to the clean lines and feel of a crisp white napkin.  My breath can be taken away with a gorgeous silver tea service but, just as much with a simple stack of books.  I love visiting my favorite blogs and experiencing the intrigue of scrolling down the screen to display the next picture and seeing the beauty that you create everyday and are generous enough to share.

I constantly strive to create and maintain my own, beautiful home.  Sometimes I feel successful and others, I feel that I have no idea what I am doing.  Sometimes I look around and have one of those 'what was I thinking' moments.  We have currently put our noses to the grindstone and gotten down to business with our 'mini'  kitchen remodel.  Since I had to rethink a full remodel and buildout this year, I have been thinking about how to make my small galley kitchen work for me another year without breaking the bank.  I am wrestling with decisions of what not to change because I want to keep the budget on the low end and making sure that when I spend money, it will be something I can reuse.  I  am second guessing things, lying awake for long periods when I should be sleeping and constantly sketching ideas.  I will be glad when we are finished.  As I think about saying that, I have to chuckle because I'm already dreaming of the next project and feeling the anticipation.  Is that a sickness?  Am I a glutton for punishment?  Or, am I ever the optimist in search of that elusive beauty?

So that you can feel my pain, I will leave you with this gorgeous picture of the current state of my kitchen.  When we removed the upper cabinets, we enjoyed the country blue wallpaper again from 1986.  No sizing on the walls means we will need to skim coat where it was removed.  It's the unexpected that keeps a remodeler on their toes.