My First Foray into DIY

One of the changes we had to adjust to when we move here from Utah was the shift from a furnished to an unfurnished apartment. Our old apartment was generously (if not fashionably) arrayed with old furniture from our landlord, most of which looked like it had been purchase in the 1970s. When we moved in here the apartment was completely bare, so like most young couples we were faced with the prospect of furnishing our apartment on a shoestring. Rather than going for financing or buying cheap particle-board stuff from WalMart, we decided to go for some solid albeit well-worn used furniture with the somewhat ambitious plan of fixing it up ourselves. Well, three months later and I have finally finished the first part of our project--repainting our dining room chairs. Not exactly as quickly as I planned, but I ended up being a lot busier in the last three months than I expected, and repainting furniture turned out to be a lot more labor intensive as well. I still have a lot to tackle (two bookshelves, two large dressers, and the table) but I am super pleased with how everything turned out so I thought I'd share the results.

First I sanded the chair to rough up the surface and remove the original finish.

Then I painted the chair with two coats of a nice primer. 

After that came three coats of paint (the color we picked out is called Cracked Pepper), three coats of spray paint clear enamel (which smells awful but is necessary to avoid instant chips or scratches), and some new bright cushions.

Here is the before.

And after.

Settling In

So we've made it past the three month mark of living in Florida, and the three week mark of Dave's first year in law school, and so far it's been good. I suppose it was a little risky to move all the way across the country to a place where we knew no one and never been to, but mostly it's just felt like an adventure (in the Disney sense, where no one died and the ending was happy). Now that we've been here this long and Dave's actually started school it's really made living here seem more permanent, and it is a good feeling. Not that I don't miss my old friends and family (I do!) and even some things about Utah (I know it's silly but I still get all nostalgic about my old students and my Marriott Center co-workers). But I feel like there is a lot for me to be grateful about here. For instance:
School. I'm sure I am so biased, but Dave is doing really well at law school. He is pretty busy with school work, and I expect that will just get work as the year progresses, but he is usually excited about what he's learning and has been taking the stress and pressure in stride. Plus, it is cool to see him actually start out on his career path and see how well it fits him.
Work. Now, I'd be lying if I didn't say I missed teaching. I do. How couldn't I? But I feel so lucky to have found a , full-time job at a well-established law firm so quickly. It may not be what I went to school for, but I have plenty of chances to be creative and between marketing and helping with the criminal department I always have something to do.  Plus, I finally feel like I am getting out of the training phase (where I frequently have to ask what to do or correct a mistake) to where I feel more confident and comfortable with all of my responsibilities.
Our apartment complex. Now here is one area where we could have been shafted. After all, we basically moved into the place sight-unseen, unless you count internet research, which totally could have been misleading. However, instead of being conned we ended up in a really nice place. Gym, pool, palm trees, ponds, well-maintained--really nothing to complain about. There's even a bunch of wildlife that likes to hang out in the grounds. So far we've seen a bunch of different birds, fish, lizards, bugs, and even turtles. I like walking outside and feeling like I live in a beautiful place. 

So even though we are in a new place, with new people, and a new routine, it's nice that it's beginning to feel like home.