Do It Yourself (or if that doesn't work, ask your boyfriend)

Again, going to ignore the fact that I haven't blogged in seven months.  What's important is that I'm back.

I've gotten really into many different social media avenues lately. I'm sure if I'm using them correctly but whatever it's the thought that counts. A major landmark is that I've had like 15 "pins" "repinned" on Pinterest. In the grand scheme of things, I have a feeling that's not very much. But today I pinned this DIY drawer ottoman that has put me on the Pinterest map (I exaggerate):

Which brings me to the subject of today's post, DO IT YOURSELF Projects! It's hard to believe, but anyone -- anyone -- could create this "upcycled," repurposed beauty...

Oh, except me, apparently. This all started when I admitted to my boyfriend that I was ever-so-slightly interested in painting my TV stand (previously gifted to me by my grandmother) lime green to match some overpriced bowls I bought from Anthropologie.  But also I wish there weren't drawers in it.  I'd like it to  be a bookshelf. Except the top shelf needs to be higher than where it would be if we just took the drawers out and plopped a shelf in the inside.  And lastly I don't want the shelf to have a back.  And most importantly, I want it to be lime green.  No that's not the most important thing.  The most important thing is that I don't actually want to figure out how to accomplish these things or get dirty or measure things or do any work really.  I just want to paint things lime green.

My brave boyfriend (bless his heart...?) Robby (Is that different from her last boyfriend? #thingswe'lljustskipover) believes in me, though, so he volunteered to help me with anything I couldn't do myself.  Which turned out to be... almost everything.  After unscrewing the hardware from the drawers, the majority of my time was spent feeling angst toward all the DIY and home organization/decor blogs that led me to believe that all this would be easy.  What I read was that all I needed was a beautiful day outside and some spare time, and then I just throw on a sun dress and buy some chalkboard paint and I'll be done in time to prepare dinner.

So not true.  While I worked out my mental aggression against Crafty Homemakers Ever, Robby quickly realized his role was maybe a little more labor-intensive than I originally implied.  I resumed my tasks by sanding, priming, and painting while Robby deconstructed my TV stand and constructed and installed some new shelves.  And sanded and primed and painted.

Things I learned:

- Semi-gloss paint takes 8 hours to dry. (That's a lot of Law and Order Sons of Anarchy episodes. 

- Sundress = not practical. (Also you have to wear closed-toed shoes.)

- Operating a circular saw is not intuitive.

- Paint thinner is not good to breath.

- Sanding will ruin your manicure.

- Not a money-saving venture, especially if you own zero tools.

- Painting on a windy day is not a good idea.

- Lots of errands are required: buying supplies, lunch, buying more supplies because we forgot some, dinner, frozen yogurt, etc.  Time it took to almost complete this project in number of meals (right before/right after/during construction): Nine. So far.

Things I already knew that are definitely true:

- Lime green paint is just as awesome as I thought it would be.

I started writing this post when most of this project was complete... construction was finished but only some of one of 2 coats of lime green paint had been applied.  Turns out it's going to need more like 3 coats of paint so this project's going to drag on at least one more weekend. Special thanks to Robby for moving my furniture inside from his backyard at 6am this morning when it was pouring rain.  I am 50% sure this nightmare will be over someday. And on that day, I'll post an actual picture to prove we finished it.

Anyway, as soon as it's finished I'm pretty sure I'll erase the trauma from my memory so if you have a piece of furniture you want me Robby to reconstruct, leave a comment!