A change will do me good.

When Aaron and I bought our house...the walls were nicotine stained.
Prior to move in the entire upper level was given a quick white paint to get rid of the stains/smells.
Then I wanted to paint the kitchen...and almost 5 years ago I mentioned I liked this salmon-y color-the cabinets were originally a dark brown wood that matches the other trim in the house.
Aaron and I went to Indiana to visit family and while we were gone, the painting fairy happened in our kitchen and this is what we came back to.

And this is what it has been for the past 4 years.

I needed a change. And as much as I don't especially enjoy painting(I've done MORE than my fair share with our rental properties over the past few years)..I knew that a fresh coat of paint on my kitchen that I felt was too pink, would help tide me over...at least for a few months until I get another wild hare....

I'd picked out a kinda sassy green and finolo honey (yellow) combo that I'd had on the cork board or the fridge for months...and I'd kept telling Aaron "I really want to paint the kitchen", "I really need to paint the kitchen", "I hate this color", "I feel like puking when I walk in here", "Can I move the stove into the hallway?, b/c I can't stand this kitchen any longer"-

finally...he told me to buy the paint and have my way with the walls.

So I took my little paint card with me, and I saw/heard all the other lovely colors calling out to me.

"Don't do green! Your Miss Piggy kitchen will be Kermit and you'll get sick of it! Pick me...I'm blue..I'm Aqua Ocean, I'm calm...I'm cool...um..and I'm popular"

"No....no...pick me! I'm Raspberry Wine, sweet off the vine! I'll make your ivory cabinets look bright, AND I'll match your canister set....I'm bold! pick me!"

but there was another thing talking to me as well....and that was the price tag on these paints.

Sure...I could paint...but Aaron had requested I used a certain brand b/c he'd had work done on his office recently and was impressed with it.

I loved the Sassy Green and Finolo Honey combo. But I didn't love it $70.00 worth.

I liked the Aqua Ocean, in fact I really do adore that color b/c it's kinda Robin's Egg blue and just lovely...but at $70.00 I felt I'd regret it, and tire of it quickly.

I was charmed by the Raspberry Wine. On the swatch it showed it in a kitchen with the same color cabinets and it really did make the stand out, and it was just brazen and wonderful. But such a bright choice..that I also felt was in the same salmon family (pinkish)..and $70.00...*sigh*

And ok...I know that to some of you...$70.00 isn't alot of money. But...I'm a bit chintzy. I cringe if I spent more than $150 at the grocery store and contemplate putting back the loaf of bread. I like to think of myself as frugal, as money smart, as thrifty.

So I stood there in the paint aisle for a good 45 minutes...trying to decide....

and then I looked at the 'mis-tints' rack.

Ew, ew, no, nope, hrmm....$5.00 a gallon? Two of the SAME EXACT mis-tinted gallons?

Did I love it? Well...I wasn't IN love with it.

Did I like it? Yeah..well enough.

Was I willing to spend my entire Saturday painting a color I wasn't sure of to get rid of the Salmon for some ocular peace that I'd risk the $10.00 for a color I wasn't totally sold on?

Yes.

And now I'm in love.

I'm in love with my "dark Taupe, but in some lights looks kinda military Green, and in natural sunlight looks like Cement, and on one wall looks kinda muddy Purple, and since it covered in only 1/2 a gallon I really only invested $5.00 on my new walls" kitchen.

Let's disregard my clutter and focus on the wall color shall we?
Is it a 'traditional' kitchen color? No....

But does it make me happy? Yes, yes it does!

It also reminds me of how annoying painting is, and how I'm glad I don't do it for a living. And even though I lack cabinet space and sometimes mutter about how I wish I had a bigger kitchen...when painting..I'm glad the kitchen is small!

*Notice Buddha in the bottom right of the last shot? He's a lawn ornie that my parents purchased before my brother was born! That guy has been in our family for about 35 years!