Saturday, July 26, 2008

the wonders of paint

One of the things on my summer to-do list, squeezed in between drafts 2 and 3 of Silksinger, was to fix up my writing room porch and realize some of its cuteness potential. Well, I haven't gotten far. Draft 3 sprung upon me when I had done no more than paint the little table and chairs. But, that is not nothing. Not quite nothing. Almost nothing, in the scheme of what needs to be done to our porches.

Still, I marvel once more at the power of a coat of paint to turn old furniture into new furniture (which I lauded over two years ago this post about how much I love nesting). See, look:

BEFORE
AFTER
Instant cute new table! I love the sky blue paint, and it's a good thing I love it, because I doltishly bought an entire gallon of it, and it's practically still full. So now the question is: what else can I paint sky blue? The car? (Sweetie, how about it?) Hm, maybe just the other old patio table which needs sprucing up.

Who else loves picking out colors from the paint store? As for the painting and sanding, it's a bit on the work side of things, but when you sit down for a living, as I do, it's not so bad to do something a little bit workish now and then.

Speaking of sitting down for a living, Maureen Johnson has a very funny post up right now about the ups and downs of majoring in creative writing, in which she gives her author bio as: "Maureen studied writing, and then she studied more writing, and now she is writing. She spends most of her time sitting down.” Check out the post to read her fantasy author bio; it's awesome.

Oh! Last night was "movie night" -- which means watching movies projected outside on our friends' porch, and the choice was one of my favorite movies: Strictly Ballroom. I hadn't seen it in maybe four or five years, and I have to say I love it more than ever. Love it. Here's the final dance scene:
I [heart] Youtube. Looking for the above led me to this charming montage of movie kisses:

Happy weekend, all!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the color you chose. It goes well against the butter-hue exterior. Oh yes. I know all about paint-fever. I'm always painting a room in my house or spray-painting something. Nice kissing scenes. Very fun. Makes me want to watch Casablanca and The Princess Bride again. Enjoy yourself!

Enna Isilee said...

I LOVE how colorful you are, Laini!

My mom is currently redoing everything she owns into black. Supposedly that's "classic" but I'd much rather have a bright blue table. :)

Erin said...

I love that brilliant blue.

And I LOVE Strictly Ballroom, too! I saw it for the first time earlier this year. It was one of those movies that just made me so happy. :)

Katie Anderson said...

Love the blue! Love the movie! Love the soundtrack to the movie! and the kissing! aahhh....the kissing :-)

Anonymous said...

whew! is it me or is colin firth over-represented. ;) gosh, i think my fave is STILL the princess bride. fantastic start on the patio.

btw, is there something about comic con that turns fear of water into a love for san diego beaches? i'm not complaining...just wondering if robco is coming home. :)

love to the PDX taylor clan!

[a} said...

That is the brightest, cheeriest colour you could have picked (aside from yellow--but yellow gets overwhelming soon)! Reminds me of some fish I saw at the beach a couple of days ago--they were that exact shade :)

What a cool scene--and such pretty dresses!!! They're offering ballroom dancing classes where I live...and now I want to take them more than ever.

Red Fox Literary said...

laini--
I ADORE 'Strictly Ballroom.' So wonderfully kooky and romantic. Every time I see it, I want to drag Brian to a ballroom dance class.

Your porch looks like a very nice spot to work on revisions. I think I painted my little wicker coffee table the same sky blue. I have to send you a picture of my swinging "princess chair"--for some reason it reminds me of you!

Anonymous said...

Lovely, Laini! What a perfect place for morning coffee and crafting big ideas.

Ooo, I adore Strictly Ballroom. I can't watch your kiss montage or I won't get anything done today. Unless it has the kiss from the new Northanger Abbey???

Q said...

Love the sky blue.

Anonymous said...

Why is there no Spider-man on that movie?

Claudia said...

I love Strictly Ballroom too! And your patio furniture is looking pretty nifty!

Stephanie Perkins said...

Clearly I can not go on vacation anymore, because I leave for ONE FREAKING WEEK and you post tons of writing talk, a recipe for the best cake ever, super cute patio chairs (LOVE the color!), and a KISSING MONTAGE!!!!

A KISSING MONTAGE to one of my FAVORITE SONGS.

I haven't seen Strictly Ballroom. It's been on my to-see list for so long, because I love Baz Lurhmann's other work! (Until I get a time turner a la Hermione Granger, you've GOT to stop recommending things. I want to see/read them all! It's very unfair.)

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