Sunday, March 31, 2013

Making Home project - March



First of all! Happy Easter! We had a wonderful time with family, celebrating the truth of our risen Savior. And I ate way too much cheesecake. I only make it about once a year, though, so... I kind of had to. Right?

This month was a big one house-wise. You may remember that March marks the anniversary of our first project in this home. We have now been working on this house for four years. Four! As we start this fifth year, I'm getting pretty excited. I really think by the end of this year we're going to have come a long, long way from where we began. Although there's still plenty left on the to-do list, I like our home now. I'm not nearly as prone to getting overwhelmed by it as I once was, and the torn up spots are more equally balanced by pretty spots now, too. It's encouraging, guys! Those first couple of years seem to move at a snail's pace. There's just a mountain of projects looming before you. And no matter how much you work, it just doesn't ever seem to happen fast enough. But, by God's grace, we've kept at it. What a blessing to start to see such a difference! To realize that all the little bits add up over time.

They really do.

This is a long post. I have a lot of photos to share. If I continue to post the Making Home pics once a month, I think they'll always be fairly lengthy. 20+ photos is a lot. I'll try not to talk your ear off and make it even longer.

Okay... our home... March :)



Baby is at the age that she loves anything that makes her feel like a big girl. She's still too wobbly to sit at the table on one of the benches, but this little set up is a fun arrangement for her breakfast if she's up before the others.







I shared these three photos in an earlier post. We had two good snows this month! (I sure hope we're done now, though!)





I love when I can have fresh flowers on the dining room table. It's fun to play around with new colors in an easy way. We also added pieces of plywood cut to size to fit between the china cabinet shelves. Right now, I have them painted a pale, warm pink. It's probably a little too sweet of a look to leave up for long, but at the end of winter, it's been a welcome change. It made the cabinet that we've had since the first year of marriage feel fresh.



I already shared this image, too. We started painting the stair risers leading down to the family room. I'm pumped about that!



I also finally got around to repainting the entryway closet doors white. I had test-swatched a light beige color on them a loooong time ago, thinking it'd be no deal to paint over it if I didn't like it. But, it definitely took longer than I anticipated to get to it! Anyway, there's one coat of white paint on them now. Hoping it won't be another 3 years before I get the second coat up :)



And this was a game changer for me. This little slice of wall completely changed the feel of the main level. It was just the unexpected pop of color and fun we needed to shake up a fairly traditional, suburban look.



The triangle color was left over from painting Baby's rocker. It. is. bright. I had told my sister about it, but when she walked into the living room and saw it, she still said, "Woooah!" :) It's high energy. And, again, a little unexpected. I guess I've been craving a sense of fun this month.







The yellow table was there temporarily while I was painting the rocking chair. I had fun with the paint colors this month :)







I got antsy one day early in the month and re-did the mantle. I wanted Spring. Stat. I used things we had on hand and made a few. That garland is left over from last year's summer list :)



I can't remember for certain, but I think I made those pillows at the end of February. A scrap of that fabric came in an assortment I purchased from Etsy, and I immediately fell in love with the vibrant colors. They are very bold in person. Super happy with the white chairs. The fabric is Amy Butler... I think it's from her Bliss line.





She's so funny about that hat.



And just this weekend...







Pie.

I just ate another piece of coconut cream while I was posting this.

Bloat.





Wednesday, March 27, 2013

I got a little crazy





First, I got inspired... here and here.




Then, I got a little crazy... here!



I painted the wall pink on a whim a couple of weeks ago. Then, earlier this week, I traced one of my kid's math shapes onto the wall over & over again in a random pattern. It may have been an excessive reaction to yet another snowfall (during the last week of March), but it worked out.



Then I slowly and carefully painted the traced shapes in with a very bold orange/red/coral. Both the pink & orangish paints were leftover from other projects and both of them are semi-gloss. Which is kind of weird for a wall. But, I was in a zone and just rolled with it.





And I really, really like it!





It's just a small wall... but, it's really the perfect size for a bold pop of something super unexpected and fun. You know, like cheerful orange triangles :)

It's very happy. And very high energy. It gives the whole main level of the house a little "lift". Like a skip in its step.

What do you think?





p.s. Print is by katygirldesigns and can be found here.

The warm, pale pink paint is Behr's P180-1 "Deco Shell"

The bold orange coral is Behr's P170-6 "Race Car Stripe" - but, in the semi-gloss it looked more like P170-7 100 MPH, so I asked them to mix a little white into the Race Car Stripe to get it to read more like the card (which is flat) in a semi-gloss finish. Does that make sense? Good.



Friday, March 22, 2013

InstaFriday



It's currently 1:48AM.

As in... late at night. And I am awake.

This would be because the little decaf K-cups and the little not decaf K-cups are both green on top. I decided to have a nice, hot cup of decaf before bed at around 11:15pm. When I was feeling rather zippy about an hour later, I put two and two together. Not decaf. I drank the real deal.

What kind of attention deficit problems do I have these days? And people (Sam) leave me in the sole charge of children?

Soooo, I didn't pay attention. It's late. I'm up. And blogging.

Since today is Friday, I thought - hey! Let's join Jeanette with an InstaFriday post! Here we go. I'm just gonna download whatever pops out of my phone... in phone order. With or without captions or explanations. Quick like. Because after I post this I'm going to finish painting a rocking chair. Make hay while the moon shines, I always say.



Does this one require a caption? I let my baby stand on the counter. But just for the picture. Because barefoot babies in overalls standing on kitchen counters are cuuuuuute.



My aesthetic in a nutshell.



Pel. vis.



Chef salad bar for dinner. Communal cutting board service is extra sanitary.



She worked so hard to get these Calico Critters in her brother's land speeder. Then squealed with glee when she took them for a spin around the room.



Yummo.



Giant houndstooth at Hobby Lobby. Ready. Set. Go!





Seriously.











Yes. It was very bright.





Aaaaand... last one...



Me on St. Patty's Day. No pinches.

The End.

Wait! Why is that last one smaller? Annoying.

Now, to get to that rocker. It's small which is a bonus. And I've already painted 2/3 of it, which is another bonus. So, it should be fast. Hopefully I'll be sleepy and ready for bed when I'm done... maybe around 3?

I'm such a dork.

Why am I such a dork?

Linking up with Jeanette. Happy Friday, y'all!



life rearranged





Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Let's just pretend



Let's just pretend that the first day of spring actually means something other than the incessant cold, gray days that have been here for weeks upon weeks upon weeks. Let's pretend it means COLOR. And brightness. And newness.

And leopard print.

?



Is it warm where you are? Springy?



Tomorrow's high for us is 33 degrees. And possibly snow.



Not that I really had different expectations. I've lived in Ohio long enough to know it's not going to magically become balmy and sunshiny just because of a little thing like an equinox. I have also lived here long enough to realize you just gotta do what you just gotta do. So, I've been making the inside of the house festive and colorful... declaring - despite the snow and freezing winds - SPRING! At least in our house!



Did you notice I'm painting the stairs? Finally. After, like, four years of bare, unfinished wood. Even half done, they look much different. Makes me excited to paint the rest.

So, I've been keeping busy. Making the most of free moments to paint, sew, and spiff. I think I'm freaking out a little knowing that my life is about to be completely overtaken (again) by soccer season. I won't have much free time at all then. I feel like I need to strike while the iron is hot. I have the energy and the motivation right now, so I'm going for it.

Soccer practice begins in less than two weeks.

Fun :)