Life is grand.

Today we took a chance on a new restaurant, and it actually paid off, despite my initial reservations. While I was of course amused and intrigued by the "Cranberry Bog Bar" (come on, that's hilarious), the Grand Mere Inn looks super old fogey and very meat and potatoes. Not helping things was the fact that we went at 5:30 pm (I was hungry!), so we were already setting ourselves up for the early bird special. And while it definitely is on the old-school side, with checkered vinyl tablecloths and pastel paintings on the wall, it has a certain charm to it that's enhanced by the wall of windows that overlooks the lake (which we could have seen if it weren't for the blizzard-level snow). Initially the first few people in for dinner, we got the best seat in the house and got to watch the yes, old, patrons filter in. But let me tell you, these were some jolly folks. With tales of "well... today... I had breakfast... then I went home. Then I did my Friday exercises. I didn't eat lunch, just a few pieces of celery" and bellows of belly laughter coming from all angles of the room, we couldn't help but smile and enjoy ourselves. And the food was pretty delicious to boot. While I couldn't eat it, they served a liver pate with the bread and butter, which I thought was pretty unique... and it smelled DELICIOUS. I strong-armed Brad into trying it, and he had to admit it was pretty good. For dinner, I opted for the salmon special -- I never order salmon, but it came with a Bearnaise and king crab sauce -- and a side of au gratin cauliflower. Oh, and a starter salad with blue cheese that had fresh, crunchy lettuce and chopped veggies, not from a bag. Brad went with the steak and potatoes (which he liked but gave the typical "It's no Outback" response). I loved my dinner. The sauce was light and tangy, the crab was excellent, and the salmon was pretty darn tasty. The portions weren't crazy, so I even had plenty of room for a fluffy piece of coconut cream pie. In and out with plenty of time left in the night to come home and tell you all about it before movie time. That's my kind of Friday.

On a different note, we've wrapped up a few of the house projects I've hinted at lately. Last Wednesday, we tackled our dining room.

"Come on! Let us help! We'll do so good!"

The Ghost of Ceilings Sanded

Brad tackles the new chandelier. In the dark.

Our dingy country yellow dining room is now a glorious shade of... "luna!" Aka super light green-gray-blue. (Seriously, whose job is it to name paint? I want that job.)

Sunday, we tackled the living room, which was a dark green. Not so good for a room that gets little light. We went with one shade darker than the dining room, a more gray green-blue called "clothesline."

All I could think was that Heidi was getting ready for her first victim, a la American Psycho.

It's hard to capture exact color via photo, but this is pretty close (and unless it's a super sunny day, there's so little natural light). The important thing is that the rooms are so much lighter, and cleaner. And the colors make more sense with the changes we've made upstairs. Once we paint the remaining rooms, everything will feel much more put together, and lighter. More and more, this home is feeling like home.