You've Come a Long Way, Baby: Built-in

A view of our new house, past and present. A reminder of how far we've come, and a morale-booster for the upcoming weekend of work.

This gorgeous built-in was a huge selling point. And it needed some love. The insides of the doors were dingy white, the back was badly wallpapered, and the shelves were pollen yellow.

I stripped the wallpaper. I sanded the inside. I primed the inside. I administered wood filler to a big crack in one of the doors. I sanded it flush. I painted and polyurethaned the shelves, painted the doors, painted the inside.

And now:

Oh, yes. That blue is called "Contemplation" (Behr) and I think it's lovely. I have a few more little ideas for this thing, but they're waaaay down on the Magic Never-ending To-Do List, and there are more pressing matters for the moment. Like fixing crumbling lath, and pulling up groty floor tiles. You know.

But sometime in the next year, this built-in may include:

• Chic metal wine-glass racks, like you see in restaurants.
• Pretty-colored chalkboard paint on the insides of the doors.
• Cool wallpaper on the back of the inside.

For now, though, it serves.

Tonight we're heading out to the house, as per usual, with our minds on more than the usual grind of house-work. Today is our anniversary. Five years ago we had our first date. I've written pretty thoroughly, I think, about our story. The longer we're together, the more incredible it is to me that Myspace started it all. He was just some random guy, and he's still that guy. Less random now, though.

So, tonight there will be dinner out in Gilbertsville, and wine, and an evening alone together. Aren't those the best kind? I think so.