A Mother's Day Memory

I have many sweet Mother's Day memories.  In fact all 29 previous Mother's Days I have celebrated are sweet memories.  But one Mother's Day always stands out to me as being particularly precious.

  My three children were getting a bit older.  My youngest was 4, my middle child, 6 and my oldest 8.  On this Mother's Day, I was awakened by noises in the kitchen.  Some pleasant, some not so pleasant.  Noises of clanging, doors banging, and voices scolding one another as siblings often do when trying to work together.  I was urged my my husband to stay put, so I did.  These noises seemed to go on for quite some time, and my husband and I lay there snickering, wondering what these six little hands were up to.  Soon, my middle child, Brock, came tip toeing in, assuming all that noise had not awakened me.  He lay a tray next to the bed and tip toed out.  On that tray was a plate with a Pop Tart, and next to it a cold can of Diet Coke.  

I could not have been more loved on in that moment, if they had prepared a six course meal.  The fact that they had planned to get up and do this together FOR ME touched my heart!  It was precious then, and precious now.

I've always felt a little uncomfortable being "celebrated" on Mother's Day.  Every single day I have been a mother has been a celebration in my heart.  I am the one who should be celebrating this wonderful gift I have been given.  I am so thankful God has given me the opportunity to mother my three kids.  I love them and am proud to be their mom.  Thank you Blake, Brock and Bethany!  Love you all so much!

Why did I think I could do this? A young photographer's look at her first family shoot.

I have recently found a new love.  Photography!  Saying I am a beginner to this new hobby is a gross understatement, but I am absolutely obsessed with it.  The more I learn, the more I desire to know.  And on the flip side of that, the more I do it, the more I realize I know NOTHING!  

Recently, I asked some sweet friends of mine if I could practice my photography on them, by taking family pictures at the beach.  Practice, being the operative word here!  Rather naively, they jumped at the chance.  What were they thinking, entrusting me to capture their sweet family in pictures?  What was I thinking, to actually imagine I could do this?  

See, this is where all the hours I spent, peeling over pins of beautiful beach pictures on Pinterest, was actually a very dangerous practice.  I studied them long enough I convinced myself I could actually recreate the beautiful shots that some well seasoned photographer, who has done it countless times, and who, by the way, is more than likely very proficient at Photo Shop, has captured.  Again, what was I thinking?

Let's talk about the variables.  First of all, a family of 5.  Five people, three of which are children, to have pleasant faces all at the same time.  Five people to know exactly where I want them to stand, where to put their hands, and where to look!  Secondly, the beach.  THE BEACH!  Yes, it's lovely, but let's think about this for a moment.  Breeze blowing the hair that has been so carefully fixed, sun in the eyes, shadows, PEOPLE!.  None of those pins I saw had those people at the beach, threatening the background of their shots!  Do these skilled photographers, pinning their portraits, have their own private beach?  A beach that coincidentally also has no breeze blowing the hair and sun that has no harsh light, casts no shadows and causes no squinting?  Apparently so.

Needless to say, these variables were NOT on this inexperienced photographer's radar.  In the 3 photography classes I have taken, I learned about aperture, shutter speed, the exposure triangle, rule of thirds.  But I have no recollection about variables.  Must be in the advanced courses. 

But I will say, because of this sweet family's willing and VERY patient attitude, in spite of this inexperienced photographer, the wind, the sun, and the people, we had a lovely evening.  I learned a LOT.  And hopefully it will grow me and prepare me for the next time.  

Yes, there will be a next time.  I WILL be searching for that illusive private beach though.

Summer Lovin' 2015

Summer.  That wonderful time I remember from my childhood.  Carefree days running barefoot through the yard, riding bikes around the neighborhood, laying in the grass and listening to the birds chirping from above, chasing fireflies at dusk, my dad churning home made ice cream by hand.

I've never been one to decorate specifically for summer, other then maybe a bouquet of flowers from the yard, but this year I decided I wanted to do a bit more. So I took inspiration from some of those magical memories from my childhood summers, and made them a part of my home.

 In the living room, I went with my memories of bike riding for my main inspiration.  I started with the mantle, adorned with a cute, colorful bike sign hand painted by White Hen.  I love the fresh, pop of color it brings into the room.

 

I found this adorable pillow at a cute clothing boutique called Altar'd State.  I thought it was a great addition to the space.

Another theme I used throughout the living room and dining room was the sweet sound of birds chirping.  Growing up in Indiana, the birds returning for the spring and summer was always a welcome sight after the long winter.

 Bird seed and porcelain birds continue the theme in the sun room.

  In the dining room I used those same birds and birdseed in apothecary jars on the dining room table.

The chalkboard really doesn't have anything to do with summer memories, but I thought it was sweet childhood memory, non the less.

In the kitchen, I accented my normal decor with more birds with these cute salt and pepper shakers I brought out for the season, and a nod to memories of fireflies with the chalkboard motif.
                                                                                                                                                                 

Are pears a summer fruit?  I'm not sure, but I like the pop of green they bring to the space.

                                                                                                                                                                 

OK, so there aren't fireflies in the jar.  But this song is also a childhood memory and I thought the chalkboard was cute.  It kind of reminded me of those evenings we would catch fireflies and put them in a jar to watch.

What ever your summer memories, you can let them inspire you in your summer decor, and help you bring a bit of your childhood to your home like I did.

Enjoy your summer everyone!!

Small changes Part 3: The Kitchen

This is the third part in my three part series of small changes I have been working on in my home this winter.  I have a previous blog about my kitchen called "My Mini Kitchen Makeover".  This is a few small changes I have made to the kitchen since that mini makeover I did last year.  

In the previous blog about the kitchen, I told how I painted my upper cabinets with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Since then, I painted the lower cabinets as well.  I originally thought I would like the two tone cabinets.  And while I do like that look, I think for my small kitchen, the cabinets needed to be the same color.

We also added a tile back splash that continues to lighten up the space.  I went with a tumbled marble subway tile.  I chose the tumbled marble because of the veining of golds, tans, and grays in the marble.  I felt it complemented the granite which has gold and tan flecks in it.   I chose the subway tile because of it's classic style.

Lastly, we installed a light fixture in the center of the room.  Oddly, there had not been a fixture there before.   The added light was definitely needed in this kitchen.  Having it centered above the island helps in food prep.  While we were at it, we went ahead and upgraded the pot lights to LED lights. They cast a much softer, white light in the kitchen.

One of my favorite small changes I made was the addition of this drying rack I ordered from The Magnolia Market.  I use it to hang and store our every day drinking glasses.  So it's not only decorative, but functional storage as well.

This fun little project was another functional piece I added.  I made it using 3 cake pans and two wooden candlesticks.  I use it to create a mini coffee bar area on the counter.  It allows all the coffee items to be right at your finger tips.

Again, pretty small changes, but they do make a big impact in lightening up this small kitchen. Thanks for taking a look at these projects with me.  Maybe they will inspire you to make a few small changes of your own.  

Small changes Part 2: The Master Bedroom

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I have been working on making small changes in three rooms in our home.  The second room to receive some of those changes was the master bedroom.

Since moving into our home four and a half years ago, we (or I should say I) have painted every room in our house at least once.  Every room that is except the master bedroom.  The master was the last room I got to, and frankly by then I was just tired of painting.  So I tried to work with the existing color.  Not a color I would have chosen, but one I was hoping I could live with.  Gold.  I already had a navy and white duvet set and I found a picture in the Pottery Barn catalog that paired the blue and gold beautifully, so I chose to let that picture be my inspiration, and embraced the color pallet.  At least for the time being.  But as time went by, I found that I wasn't content with the pairing, so tried to soften the gold with small changes.  I painted the bed a soft Robin's egg blue. I liked the blue, but it didn't seem to have the softening effect on the room I was hoping for.  So a bit later I  painted the armoire.  I went with a kind of drift wood look using tans and grays.  I loved the way it turned out, but again, it didn't negate the glare of that gold.  Do you see the irony here?  In the time it took me to paint these pieces of furniture, I could have painted the walls in the bedroom... TWICE!!! So here I am, four and a half years later with paint roller in hand saying, "Enough is enough!  It's time to abandon ship! Time to get rid of the garish gold!!"

I have a navy rug I purchased for the space, and since I also have navy in the master bath, navy will be part of the color scheme. So that is my starting point.

After pealing through my Pinterest boards and looking at other bedrooms in magazines, I decide I want to go with a neutral for my walls to compliment the blue in the space and hopefully create a more serene and calming feel in the room.  I wanted a grayish, beige tone or"greige", so went with Sherwin Williams "Agreeable Gray".

To update the bedding, I purchased a new duvet and sham set that still had the blue, but also had the neutral beige and robin's egg blue I had been using as an accent color in the room already.

The final touch to the bedding was a simple handmade blue burlap pillow, personalized by my neighbor who has a monogramming business here in Jacksonville called Cricket and Frog.

This frame was purchased from Marshalls.  The picture in it was taken on our honeymoon.  I keep it on my husband's nightstand as a sweet reminder to him, now 34 years later.

The galvanized tray I have sitting on the trunk at the foot of the bed came from The Magnolia Market's online shop.

The sign came from my favorite artist, my sister.  You can purchase her wares from her Facebook shop called White Hen.

Although the changes are small, I think they make a huge difference in the room, and my husband
and I are both sleeping more peacefully in our serene space.

Springtime at Bethany's Fancy Dancy house.

My daughter is away on a road trip to visit a friend during her spring break from teaching.  While she is gone, I want to surprise her by doing a little sprucing up of her yard and porch.  

My daughter Bethany affectionately calls her house the "Fancy Dancy" house because it sits on Dancy Street.  She got a good deal on it because she purchased it as a short sale, but the trade off was it needed a lot of TLC.  We painted it the light minty green, added shutters and flower boxes to the windows, and added a little landscaping.  To freshen it up for spring, I simply added new flowers to the flower boxes and flower pots at the front step.

I love the old metal garden chairs that Bethany found in local antique shops.  I brought this one outside.  

The happy little gnome watching over Bethany's flower garden was a rummage sale find.

I found a cute, springy rug and throw pillows for the porch.

The old watering can was another one of Bethany's finds from our favorite local antique shop, Southern Crossings.

This little piggy stayed home.  A little ivy in the piggy planter adds a cute, whimsical touch.

This hand painted greeting Bethany painted on the door welcomes visitors to her "Fancy Dancy" house.  Hopefully the small touches I added while she was away will be a nice welcome for my daughter when she returns from her trip.