Where have I been?

I feel like I've been in the middle of nowhere and I feel like I've missed A LOT! 

(I have a new nephew that I didn't meet until he was almost a month old... I'm not ok with that)

You know when you feel like you've been bustin' your butt all day long, day in and day out, but when someone says, "what've you been up to?" all you can say is, "nothin' really... just work."

That's me.  I've been working... a lot... or at least it feels like a lot.  These 60+ hour weeks are zapping me.  I know many, many people work that much all the time, but let's just say that on more than one occasion in the past 8 weeks or so, I've been happy that the state of Illinois won't legally let me work 13 days in a row without a full day off.  I'm not accustomed to this much work... I'm not afraid to admit it.

(please note, to borrow a line from a Martina McBride song, "I ain't complain', but I'm tired, so I'm just sayin' what I feel.")

In the midst of working, we finally bought a house!!!  We are OUT of that daggum apartment! 6 months there was about 5.25 months too long.  I will not remember the place fondly... it was small and in town and I was depressed a lot of the time that I was there - homesick, unemployed and just general ick.  The Good Lord took care of us and gave us that place to stay, but I was thrilled to be done with it. 

I am so happy to be putting together our nest again, I can't even find the words. 

But as nice as it's been to have some space to expand and breathe again, it also looks like our old house threw up in our new one.  There's stuff...boxes....dirty laundry... trash....paint cans....curtain rods....etc....EVERYWHERE!  And working so much has put stress on my dear Hubs, who is just trying his best to make our house a home without my loving guidance.  (ladies, don't you roll your eyes at me, you know exactly what I mean...)  He has done laundry, cooked meals, taken care of the dogs, retrieved all of our stuff from Indiana.  He has even painted, which he hates.  

I am so blessed to have him.  (We've been together 11 years...and I really am SO LUCKY!)

Speaking of painting... 

let's talk for a minute.... 

let's keep this candid.... 

let's keep this real...

This is our kitchen the day we first looked at the house:

It pretty much still looks the same - complete with that sweet linoleum... 

....and this border (which is nice, but ain't my style and was all ripping up and peeling)

This was the living room the day we looked at the house.

This is the living room today... tv flipped walls and still basically undecorated, but painted! 

(It also now has grey curtains.)  

(I'm also aware the dog bed and blanket on the ottoman don't match.... these things take time, people!)

(FYI: painting a house is so much more gratifying that cleaning it.)

This is a closer representation of the color... more grey and less baby nursery.

And now I'm on the entry/dining/kitchen... this wall right here on the right was primed in this pic.  It's now the  same blue that's in the living room (it was painted a red that coordinated with the border)

 (the living room is just past the primed wall and the areas all open up into each other)

Soooo.... I painted our master bedroom a soft grey that I love...(which I, of course, don't have a pic of)... but if I painted all the kitchen and the entry and the dining area that same grey (it will butt up against the blue), will it be too much grey?

Should I just paint it tan because I feel like that's the safe decision? 

All the trim is white  (or will be). 

Will our tan furniture look bad?

 Am I overthinking this? 

Anyone else paint their main living areas grey?  Does it feel like a jail cell?

Enough questions for one night... 

I have more boxes to unpack....