I have in mind lots of projects, but never seem to quite get around to them.

One thing that is going to get done soon is putting in a tile backsplash in the kitchen (picture taken before we moved in, but you get the idea). I think that will really change the look of the room, and brighten it up from the omnipresent beige. takaza and I need to work out what colors we’re going to use still – we need to stop by a tile store and see what our options are. Who knows? If we get motivated enough today we’ll head and do that.

Once we get that done, the next step would be tiling the master bath. It has a nice garden tub and shower, but the walls are vast expanses of (again) beige. Some nice tilework would really revitalize things. The trouble is, we’re stuck in that perpetual homeowner quandary: how do you spruce things up and not make it too individualized? We’re only here for a few years, so every project has to be viewed from the standpoint of how it affects resale. Yeah, I’m a mercenary fucker, so shoot me.

Then there’s the bookshelves that need to go on either side of the fireplace. We’ll probably need to get someone in to do those, although what I have in mind is pretty basic: a cabinet base on either side, with shelves above (leaving enough room for a television to sit on top of the cabinet base on the left side). Given enough tools, time, and inspiration, that might even be a project we can tackle ourselves, but that’s at least a year off.

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Last night was a blast. We joined Donald and Janelle, Thomas and Sherry, and Rob, Janet, and Ian for dinner at Errico’s Ristorante. Dan split a pizza with Sherri (pizza with meat, meat, meat, and a side of meat 🙂 while I had a very tasty stromboli stuffed with sauteed elk, basil, and mozzarella. After the meal, we had a chance to chat with the owner and also the chef – both very pleasant fellows. Even though the service was spotty (they’d been unexpectedly reviewed in Friday’s News and Observer and the resulting influx of people left them short on wait staff), we’ll definitely be going back, hopefully for one of their wine dinners. Yum!