Italy - three days later

Well, we're back. Very little Internet opportunities abroad, so I was not able to blog.

I want to spend the next hour outlining all the little details, telling you funny stories, expressing my love for this country and the best week of my life.

But frankly, I am too. effing. tired.

I thought I really had this jet lag thing beat. We had few problems when we got there -- full days and fairly restful nights. And when we got back, we were so exhausted we slept overnight and were awake the next morning. See? Beat. We sleep at night and are up during the day.

But the long arm of the law (of gravity? of the theory of relativity?) has finally caught up with us. The past few days have been somewhat of a blur....waking up at 2:45 a.m. one morning (went back to sleep), and waking up at 4 a.m. the next (did not go back to sleep).

And now we are so tired we are watching the clock until we feel we are allowed to go to bed. You see, we don't want to go to bed too early for fear of waking up too early again. Make sense? Oh and also, we both slept from about 6 to 8 p.m. tonight. Little nap to tide us over.

So....Italy was beyond my wildest dreams. Swimming in the Mediterranean made me want to be a better person. It was that beautiful. But right now, so is the Bed of Sleep and Dreams. So I'm not in a good state to judge.

Italy - the night before

It's the night before we leave for Italy. Conan's on. Beverly's meowing at the door. Things are pretty typical.

We packed up our fancy new backpacks tonight. We totally look like real backpackers. Surprisingly roomy, those things! Can't wait to heave those around the Mediterranean.

For some reason, I feel nervous about this trip. We've traveled before: New York, Boston, Chicago, Key West. Just not to a foreign country. I honestly don't know what to expect. Maybe I don't have enough imagination, but the only thing I think of when I think of Italy is the shape of the boot.

We are preparing for the worst. If you only looked at our packs, you might think we were traveling to a remote jungle. We have a first aid kit, extra garbage bag, toilet paper, spork, flushable wet wipes, disposable tooth brushes, and a little roll of duct tape. Seriously, if we get caught unawares on this trip, it will be because we did not pack for a zombie attack.

I know I'm being paranoid. I'm sure we will learn our own travel tricks and can probably leave the global phone at home next time. I just want everything to go well, avoid spending thousands of dollars on fancy amenities like flip flops.

I was asked which monument or museum I look forward to most. My response: Uhh, does food count? Honestly, I can't wait for all the cheese, pasta and gelato I can stomach. Then I suppose I'll go get me some Sistine or David or somefink.

I will try to blog as we go...no promises. I am happy we are going. Trips just seem a little unreal until I'm actually on the plane. With my all-weather poncho at the ready.

You're so vanity

There's not a lot I can remodel, repaint or replace in my house. The kitchen cabinets are not worth the time, and the master bathroom requires a professional. And possibly some professional grade explosives.

So I do what I can. And this past week, I repainted the bathroom vanity in the guest bath. Step by step for those who like that kind of thing. If you don't, skip ahead to the photo:

1. Take everything apart. Knobs, hinges, etc.
2. Sand lightly. Fill in any unwanted holes with wood filler.
3. Prime with oil-based primer. One coat will do ya.
4. Paint. You can use a combo of roller and brush, but I learned that the folks at Young House Love were right: skip the foam roller and go with a cotton or fabric roller. Foam rollers = bubbles.
   
   4a. I chose Dark Granite by Olympic. Don't let the patronizing paint guy at Lowe's talk you out of this color. Specifically his words were, "Now, are you looking for BLACK or ALMOST BLACK?" in a "do you know your colors, little girl?" kind of way. He also pointed out to me that I had picked the wrong paint to tint. I would put money on the bet that he is single.
   
   4b. I ended up with kitchen/bathroom acrylic latex, semi gloss, base 5. I also ended up with an entire freaking gallon of it, thanks to the advice of the aforementioned patronizer. You will probably need only a quart.
5. Wait 48 hours. Visit often to admire your nearly finished project. Do not let the doors dry while sitting on the bathroom rug. Trust me.
6. Add adorable, overpriced knobs. I recommend Anthropologie.
7. Attach hinges. I bought new ones. Then I bought more new ones that were actually the right kind.

And once again, I have spent two weeks on a painting project and I am vowing never to do one again. But I do love it, so I'll probably be back in a month.