Fast forward to now...I don't want to go back to the states. We LOVE it here, in Japan, the one place I had a strange aversion to. Ian has a lunch...a lunch! He can come home for an hour and eat with us! This is a new foreign concept that we have fallen in love with. He has a set schedule! Does it vary? Sure, but it's not, "Hey I'm going into work at 8am and I'll see you some time tomorrow". It's glorious. That moment when Julie Andrews runs up the hill, through the meadow, and bursts into song with a joyous smile on her face..."The hills are aliiivee, with the sound of muuuusiiic", that is me right at this very second.
This is a once in a lifetime experience! I will admit that I'm slightly worried about Ian deploying next year...me alone with 2 kids in a foreign country, should be a piece of cake...right?! Even with that, the good experiences outweigh the bad/scary.
My favorite addiction here in Japan? I have the time and space to decorate! Take a look at how our latest project is coming along, I'm just in love with it! We were unfortunately not blessed with a wide selection of wood, so here is what Ian came up with!
I used Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Graphite for the background, to give it depth, and Old White for the mantle. If you have yet to hear about the awesome that is Chalk Paint, please educate yourself...you will never go back to using regular paint. We just have to add a second coat, put trim on, use antiquing wax and then we will be in business! So far, here is how it's coming along....
I have wanted one of these for years! After batting my eyelashes and asking a few times, Ian made the plans and built it! He is so proud of himself (as he should be) that he is all over this DIY building bonanza that I have going on here, so you can be sure to expect a ton more furniture posts! I will see if I can't get some PDF versions of his plans going!
