It Always Starts With a Cup of Coffee

There’s something about a quiet weekend morning—the kids still asleep, the smell of coffee drifting through the kitchen—that feels like the perfect time for inspiration to strike. For me, that inspiration usually sounds something like:

“Hey… how hard would it be to _______?”
or
“You know what would be cool?”

It always starts that way. One innocent cup of coffee, one “crazy idea,” and one very patient husband who humors my plans—every single time.

I’ll admit—Pinterest is usually the culprit. The night before, I’ll fall down a rabbit hole of “simple DIY home updates” and “before-and-after” reels that make everything look so easy. By the first few sips of coffee the next morning, my brain is buzzing with possibility.

That’s when I hit him with it.
“Hey, how hard would it be to restain the house a little darker so the trim really pops?”

And without missing a beat, he says, “That’s not complicated at all! A little time-consuming, but the house could use it since it’s been a while.”

My ears, of course, hear: “Sure babe, let’s start that massive project right now!”

Next thing you know, our “relaxing weekend” turns into a full-blown trip to Home Depot… or Lowe’s… or both, because apparently, we need everything. Paint. Brushes. Supplies. Snacks. (Because obviously, we’ll be at this all day.)

That particular weekend spiraled fast: first, we had to move a few shrubs to make room for the ladders. Then, somehow, that turned into staining our entire 4,000-square-foot house. Four months and twenty gallons of stain later, we’re almost ready to start the trim.

Mind you, this was after we had just finished repainting all the kitchen cabinets and replacing the countertops—a project that was supposed to “freshen things up a bit” but somehow snowballed into a full kitchen makeover. You’d think we would’ve learned our lesson. Spoiler: we didn’t.

Because of course, that’s not where it ends.

Somewhere in the middle of staining, I had another idea. (They never stop.) Since I “needed a break from staining,” I decided to repaint the upstairs half bath and wallpaper. Naturally, that turned into me realizing the trim paint in that bathroom was so gorgeous—rich, smooth, and just perfect—that now the entire house trim and doors need to match.

So here we go again. Another project. Another season. Another round of “how hard could it be?”

And it all started with a cup of coffee. ☕️💭