Bebemoche Goes Martha Stewart

...and I am not speaking about insider trading.

Certainly all two of you, my faithful readers, have been wondering why Bebemoche has not posted during this past week. There is a very simple explanation: bricolage.

Perhaps I had already informed many of you that this summer, at least for the months of June and July, I planned to be the most overeducated housewife in all of Paris. My dream has indeed been realized. This week, I won the battle for a dishwasher (will be delivered on Saturday). Last week, it was the washing machine (already delivered and in-service; thanks to the programming capabilities, it can be set to run at 4am when there are no water problems in the building). This housewife stuff is hard work; I have had to be quite inventive with the verbal abuse used to convince dear hubby to purchase new kitchen appliances, and in the end, found that going on laundry strike was the most effective, if not disgusting, motivation.

I have also been spending some quality time unpacking boxes, organizing cabinets, and purchasing various paints, cleaning products, and wood treatments. We took several antique pieces of furniture out of the basement of the country house, including a gorgeous 200 year old wood buffet and another buffet from the 1920s. The former must be scrubbed with steel wool and then waxed, and both treated for insect infestation. I am happy to announce that the latter has recently been painted "Rectory Red" and is in full use in our kitchen after a mere 7 hours of painting. Fortunately, "Rectory Red" is close enough to a fingernail polish color to explin why it was smeared all over my hands and legs (misapplication?) after my little painting experiment.

I have also placed flowering plants in window boxes and discovered an entire range of products that can be used to restore antique gold-framed mirrors (my next project). By the end of the summer, this apartment is going to be looking quite snazzy. Just in time for me to leave for New York...