What a fast-paced day! We drove out to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday, which happens to be the day after mine. And no, Stephen has never mixed up the dates.
Our first stop was lunch after church. We tried The Shrimp Basket in Tuscaloosa because I wanted something simple and gluten-free. That ruled out anything fried, so I chose steamed shrimp still in the shell to reduce the risk of gluten cross-contamination. I added steamed broccoli to brighten the plate, then poured the little bowl of melted butter over it for extra flavor. A generous pile of cocktail sauce accompanied the shrimp. It was delicious.
We enjoyed a lovely visit with my mother-in-law, reminiscing about family memories, catching up on people who’ve moved away or passed on, and talking about upcoming gatherings.
After that, we stopped at Home Depot for a drill bit. While there, I zipped through the paint section to collect more samples — we’re turning our attic into a loft, which means choosing additional colors. The rest of our house is painted in whites, greys, blues, and greens, and neither of us wants any brown, orange, or red tones (our flooring already has a red shade, so we’re keeping the walls cool-toned).
I’ve been visiting Home Depot and Lowe’s to pick paint strips, and even after five or six trips I keep choosing the same colors. I take a few minutes each time to study how the light affects samples. I’ve always had a sharp eye for color: in our previous house I matched a blue scarf I’d seen in a magazine, and Stephen still loves that shade for the bedroom. I even replicated my kitchen color exactly from a magazine photo.
That said, I’ve never worked much with grey. Grey can read very differently depending on light, and I worry about it shifting toward lavender in certain rooms. I definitely don’t want lavender in the kitchen. Equally, I want to avoid whites that skew too yellow, blue, or cool-toned. My goal is a neutral, balanced white without obvious warm or cool casts.
Later, we met friends for dinner at Jalapeño’s. I always order the fajita salad, and they pile extra cheese on it for me. The restaurant offers a Paleo menu and pays attention to gluten-free needs, cooking some items in butter rather than sunflower oil. That makes sense in our area — there are several CrossFit gyms nearby — and the menu caters to folks who value higher-quality ingredients.
It was a long, eventful day and a lovely way to wrap up spring break. I can’t believe there are only nine weeks of school left — how is that possible?