Extreme Home Makeover -- or just extreme

So, I'm now almost firmly resettled in what will be my home for the conceivable future in Arizona. Or if I ever move, it will still be tethered to me. These past few days have been really crazy and amazing. I feel like I've been on a wild ride since I closed on this condo-townhouse on July 31. But this past Friday-Sunday, thanks to some awesome friends (a luxury I never thought I'd find in Arizona), I not only moved in just about all my stuff including furniture--bed, desk, futon--but we painted the entire living room--the hardest room to complete! I use "we" loosely. It seems like everyone but me did some heavy-lifting.

So, here's the living room all barren and you can see part of the step ladder. Everything was white, of course.



Here's my lovely friend Meghanne applying misty violet paint around that same living room.



One of the few times I did the painting, it was for my "accent wall" (I love saying that). The color is raspberry mousse but it looks more like eggplant.



My friends Alyson and Kathleen (Meghanne's mom) try their best to clear the potential booby traps by organizing my kitchen ware.


The above pictures are all from Saturday. By Sunday afternoon we had accomplished this in the living room (you may not be able to see the misty violet in this lighting):
this:

Accent wall (yah!):




I think it looks much better with black framed furniture. It's still barren because I haven't been able to shop, put out other furniture, etc. I plan to get an accent rug and some floor pillows. I want an area ready for entertaining, chatting and I don't want the TV to anchor the room. Anyway, now, it's onto the master bedroom, bathrooms and finding a new dining table set. Also I'm super excited that I have left a wall downstairs blank for a friend of mine in Tucson (thanks chica!) who has offered to paint me my own mural behind where the dining table would go. Not sure what it will be but the theme will be around something I love--eating and how good food tastes better with good friends and family.

I get moved every time I think about what my friends here have done for me--the time and energy they spent. My California friends and family should be reassured that I'm not as alone/lonely as I used to feel when I first moved out here. Anyway, I will be studying back issues of Real Simple, DIY (Do It Yourself) magazine and Nate Berkus' last book as I continue on my home decor journey. Finally, I think I've reached the "getting excited" part that homeowners keep talking about.