Happy Labor Day, everyone!
I hope you had an awesome weekend full of hot food, cool bevs, and tons of fun in the sun. How did I spend the last weekend of the summer? Indoors, painting my kitchen.
Wah-wahhhh! 
I know, I know, it’s just that I’ve been talking about painting my oompah loompah orange kitchen (a present left by the previous owners) for years now, and finally decided the long weekend was the perfect time to put up or shut up, and did the damn thing – whee!
Say goodbye to pumpkin orange, and hello to April Sky (which looks semi periwinkle in the pics, but it’s actually a steely blue/green.)
The color choice was inspired by these IKEA curtains I got years ago which were supposed to inspire me to paint, well, years ago. The fun design contains waves of navy blue, brown, tan, and pale blue, which I chose to paint the walls.
I didn’t love the final paint color until we put the curtains up this afternoon – they really tied everything together!
Now when I say I spent the entire weekend painting my kitchen, I mean I spent the entire weekend painting my kitchen, starting Friday when I washed all the walls with this TSP concentrate – aka MAGIC IN A BOTTLE. It took away grease stains that I have scrubbed and scrubbed with regular cleaner in the past, in one measly swipe. Too bad you can’t clean with it regularly, as it’s only supposed to be used to prep surfaces for paint.
Looks left, looks right, sprays it liberally on the floor tiles… (Just kidding, don’t yell.)
After everything was clean and dry, I had to tape all the trim, which took several hours. Honestly you have no idea how many corners and crevices a space has until you’re tasked with taping them!
After pulling everything away from the walls, I was ready to go. (And semi hyperventilating. I hate clutter!)
Saturday morning my Mom arrived, and we got to work, starting with a coat of primer.
Yet another reason why I love living 2 minutes away from my parents, btw. I could have NEVER done this project without my Mom! (Ben was on a dude’s staycation this weekend!)
I was worried we’d have to do two coats of primer, since the orange was SO ORANGE, but this Zinsser primer covered it right up. Good stuff!
I could hardly contain my excitement after the orange paint was gone. The kitchen looked 5 times bigger already!
Time to get some color on the walls – a nice shade of pale, steely blue. We used Olympic paint for it’s smooth, non-chunky texture. Which is a thing, apparently, that you want to look out for when choosing paint.
This is where things went downhill pretty quickly. We got the first coat on the wall, stepped back to admire our handiwork and realized…
My kitchen was cotton candy blue! Like, baby boy’s room blue! I had picked out the April Sky paint swatch a few weeks ago but forgot the swatch, and the name, when I went to buy the paint Friday afternoon, and instead of going home and getting it, I tried to pick out what I thought was a similar shade, Ounce of Sliver. BAD CHOICE. It ended up being completely different, and looked almost neon blue on the walls!
So, Saturday afternoon I went back to Lowe’s (my third trip of the entire project) got a couple gallons of the correct color, April Sky, and re-painted the entire thing that night. Sunday morning my Mom came back over, we painted a second coat of the correct color, then touched up, cleaned up, and nearly passed out. Painting is HARD WORK!!!
But so worth it in the end. I’m still getting used to the color, but one thing I can say for sure is that the space is 100 times brighter, and much more cheery. (Plus I’m still just geeking out about those curtains. Love ‘em! )
Before and after!
I could never have done this without my sweet Mom. Literally I’d have half an orange kitchen, because I would have given up. Interior painting is definitely one of those things that is easier said than done!
This morning I woke up early to put the decor back on the walls, and get to everything I hadn’t done all weekend – laundry, gardening, etc., then Ben and I were going to go on a long walk. Mother Nature had other plans though. Seriously?! It had been the most gorgeous weekend ever, then when I finally get to go outside, it rains!
Several episodes of Honey Boo-Boo later (omg have you seen this?!) the rain stopped so we hopped out for a 4 mile walk in between storms. We were starving when we got back so I threw together grilled chicken with leftover mango salsa from Friday’s KCCI segment, fresh fruit, and grilled potato packs for supper!
This was just chicken brushed with extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, then grilled and topped with Fresh Mango Salsa. Fresh, clean, and tasty.
Organic strawberries and grapes provided a sweet treat…
And grilled potato packs gave the meal some heft. I LOVE these things!
To make them, just tear a long sheet of heavy duty foil, then spray it liberally with non-stick spray. Slice a potato into 1/4″ slices, then layer them in the center of the foil. Spray with extra virgin olive oil (or dot with butter,) season (I used Lawry’s seasoning salt,) then add 1 ice cube in the center, to help steam the potatoes.
Bring the long ends together at the top then tightly roll until almost touching the potatoes. Then, tightly curl the ends in too.
Grill over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, then flip, rotate 180 degrees and grill for another 10 minutes.
Presto – grilled potatoes! 
Not only are these potatoes absolutely amazing, with some crunchy, and some creamy, but cleanup’s nil. Just throw the foil away!
Grilled Potato Packets
Serves 1-2
Ingredients:
1 medium potato
non-stick spray
butter or olive oil
seasoning (I used Lawry’s seasoning salt)
Directions:
- Tear a long sheet of heavy duty foil, then spray one side liberally with non-stick spray. Slice potato into 1/4″ slices, then layer in two rows down the center of the foil, leaving a few inches clear at both ends.
- Bring long ends of foil together at the top then curl tightly until almost touching the potatoes. Curl the ends in tightly. Grill for 20 minutes over medium-high heat, flipping and rotating the packet 180 degrees halfway through. Open very carefully, as there will be steam.
Oofta, this was not only delicious – but filling. I am stuffed!
And oh-so tired. I have slept like a bebe the past two nights from sheer exhaustion. Who knew painting was such hard work?!
Hope you are all unwinding and ready for the short week ahead. Have a GREAT night!
OMG!!! You kitchen looks amazing!!!! Love the color choice!!!
Got a question… Care to share where you got your huge fork and spoon! I love them!!!
Also can’t wait to try your new recipe! foil packs are my favorite!!!
Keyona
Ben got me those from a shop in NOLA called Roux Royale. I think I’ve seen them at Pier 1 before though too!
Ah, painting…it IS back-breaking work! I love it, but hubby HATES it- haha! I remember the weekend before we moved into our house (nearly 8 years ago!), I dropped 5 lbs. in a single weekend because of all of the painting, cleaning, moving things around, etc. At least it’s a good workout! I am a huge fan of potato packets as well. A little olive oil, salt, pepper, and Old Bay seasoning (try it!), and you’re good to go. I LOVE your new kitchen color, too!
I love it! The color looks great with the white couters & the curtains are so cute!
Painting is so tedious…if you don’t have help you’ll go crazy! Miss & I painted the townhouse we had when we were first married all ourselves. We chose RED for the kitchen area, and vowed afterwards that it would be worth the cost to pay someone in the future. It was a NIGHTMARE!
I feel like you’d get along well with Miss judging by your tastes in television shows! First it’s Batchelor Pad, Four Weddings, Teen Moms…and now what do I see on the DVR last weekend? Honey Boo-Boo?? Oh man. I stopped asking questions a long time ago…
…and the kitchen looks great, btw
Looks great – I love how the color turned out! Much nicer than baby boy blue.
The ice is a great trick…thanks!
Painting is so much harder than it looks. The taping, the drop cloth….everything takes so much time. We recently did our apartment and it was terrible. Kudos to your Mom for stepping up and helping. Rather get the color right the first time than do it again.
I have those exact curtains and love them! We picked a similar color for our living room. All of your hard work looks great!!
Your photos always make your food look so vibrant! Love the potato packet idea.
Oh my those potatoes loook so good. My mouth is watering. And how sweet of your mom to help. Isn’t it great to have a mom is your best friend too? I know my mom would help me out. Never seen Honey Boo Boo but curiosity is starting to take over. I keep hearing that name so a google search will be in order. Take care and Happy Wednesday.
Where can we find this fantastic cleaner you said was great?
I got it at Lowe’s in the painting prep aisle!
Great color! If you pop the little ruffled wood piece out from above the sink, it will look even more modern!
I know – I HATE that piece! What is its purpose, I wonder? Definitely my next project!
I think you said Ben got it for you- but where is the sign with the spice names on it from?
It’s from a shop called Roux Royale in New Orleans. They don’t have a website, but you can call and they ship!
Potatoes look delish… and what a fun time with your mom!!!
[...] of a room painted in the shade you’re after. Gee – wish I had found this before my cotton-candy kitchen fiasco! Favorite healthy snack: Sweet Potato Chips. You’ll never guess how this blogger gets [...]