How I spent my Fourth of July vacation.

Basically, I sat on my ass. For two days.

And then, on the third day? I got the home decorating / home improvement / I-am-insane bug.

It wasn't entirely surprising. Last weekend, I cleaned out my closet. And, like, organized my clothes. It looked like this.

That thud you hear is the sound of my mom's unconscious body hitting the floor. I have traditionally not been an organized closet sort of gal.

Also, I'd like to just state for the record that I've worn the same shoe size since fifth grade, my mom and I wear the same size, I always always buy on sale, and included in the pictured collection are treasures such as the shoes my grandma wore to my parents' wedding.

Anyway.

But on the third day of the holiday weekend? I decided I should paint my closet! Because "dirty" isn't a wall color that's terribly fashionable nowadays.

So, I used some paint on hand. Believe it or not, I painted my kitchen - yes, my kitschy kitchen - this shade of pink Fiestaware when I first bought my house. I loved it. And I think it's a lovely background to my armoire.

And the light in the closet?

Yes, that is athletic tape holding it to the ceiling. It was there when I bought the house. Don't judge me.

Well, Mr. Guy With Two Dogs replaced it in exchange for sloppy joes. Now - behold the glory!

The closet wasn't the only bit of craziness. I also got a wild hare about painting the inside of my front door.

See? The white was nice.
But the pop of color? Well, it's better.

Kindly avert your eyes away from the dead leaves on the plant. Sure, I'm a design superstar? But I'm human.

Funny thing about all these quirky little projects. They reflect stuff that I've dreamed of doing for a while, but always figured that they were just the sort of thing you'd have to undo to stage a house for sale. And for about a year, I figured that day was just around the corner, seeing as how The Ex-Boyfriend Formerly Known as Mr. Wonderful and I were on the verge of getting engaged.

Only now do I realize how much of my life I put on hold for that. I didn't paint my closet because I figured I would be moving soon anyway? Seriously?

On one hand, that's really sad. But on the other, it's honest. And by painting my closet the color of Pepto, in some ways I acknowledged that this is my house. It can be whatever I want it to be. And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, and that's just fine.