Kitchen Love

I saw this kitchen over at Design*Sponge this morning and it made my heart flutter. I'm not in love with my current kitchen and have been collecting ideas for when we get ready to tackle the task at hand. Here are a few things I've filed away under "inspiration". (Apparently I like green for my kitchen--probably becuase of the predominantly green slate tile floors.)

We haven't bought a fridge to match our other stainless appliances, so I was thinking of painting the one we have with chalkboard paint.

This kitchen is so bright and airy... but maybe a little too bright...

I love the colors in this Vera Bradley apron.

I have a huge window with plenty of space for fresh herbs and pretty little ferns.

This image is clean, earthy and organic... exactly how I want my kitchen to feel...

These are my Pottery Barn Emma dishes.

I originally had reservations about painting the cabinets, so I've been trying to think of ways to get around it. These cabinets are about the same color as mine and the appliances are stainless. This images shows that, while the colors can work together, there is defintely something to the saying "less is more". (Plus the guy at the stove is pretty darn funny.)

Alston's Room - The Layout

I would love to show you what Alston's room looked like before we moved in and packed it full of all his toys and stuffed animals, but sadly I don't have a photo. Nor did I take a picture before I rearranged his furniture on Sunday. I also moved a shelf and rehung a picture that I put up a couple of weekends ago. Now I feel like I have a nice clean slate to work with. So here's what I'm up against...

Now do you see why we need some bins to wrangle all those toys? I have more hidden away in a Rubbermaid container in his closet. I cured my itch for a chalkboard when I found my old art easle in my mom's basement over the weekend....and its blue! The other side is a dry erase board, but he's not quite old enough for me to trust with markers. (I originally wanted to move the toybox and paint that wall space with chalkboard paint.) The white furniture and the quilted bedding are too much "baby" and not enough "fun". I want his room to feel more like a big boy room and less like a nursery. I'm planning on keeping the furniture white, but hoping some fun bedding will do the trick. The dresser came from my mom's house. It needs some different hardware and maybe even a new paint job. She chose that color when she used it in Alston's room at her house, but I think its too close to the wall color. I traded her this dresser for his old dresser that had drawers and hanging space, which I no longer used. I'm thinking of painting the drawers navy. I'm still looking for the perfect bedding, but have also been collecting ideas for his frame collage. I really like this stuff.

Alston's Room

I didn't do much to Alston's room when we moved in. The walls already had a fresh coat of paint and I was more concerned about getting him settled than decorating. I chose the furniture layout, and my mom did all of the unpacking and organizing. I hung a few things in Alston's room one weekend, but have since decided its time to redecorate. Here's a mood board that I created with some of my ideas.

1. Chambray Sheets from Pottery Barn
I love the texture and colors, but I'm not willing to pay the price when the this set is only 200 thread-count.
2. Basket Storage
Alston already has a sweet bookcase that Paw Paw made for me when I was a little girl. It needs some baskets or bins to keep eveything in its proper place. (Image from OhDeeDoh)
3. Chalkboard
I really want to paint the wall between Alston's bedroom door and closet doors with chalkboard paint. I really love the classic blue and green, but may end up going with black becuase its the cheapest and easiest to find. Plus, colored chalk shows up so much better on black and colored chalk is so much more fun!
4. Pinboard from Restoration Hardware
I would love to have somehwere to showcase artwork and pictures. Of course I won't be purchasing anything this pricey, but this looks so easy to make! I think even cork tiles would be fun in his room.
5. Frame Collage
I love a good frame collage and have several white frames that need a good home. I love how they've filled these with colorful prints and fun pictures.
6. Wall Letters from Restoration Hardware
I loved these when I saw them in the Restoration Hardware Baby &Child catalog, but these would be so easy to paint directly on the wall.
7. Carton by Martha Stewart (available at Home Depot)
This is essentially the color that Alston's walls are already painted and we're pretty happy with it.

I'm already planning some furniture changes and hope to start working this weekend. I have quite a few 'round the house projects lined up and I can't wait to share!

(p.s. I'm doing some furniture swapping so the guest bedroom project is on hold until further notice...)

January Book Review: A Lineage of Grace

A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers

This book includes five chapters, each a different story of a woman in Christ’s lineage. Unveiled, the first chapter, is about Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah. This story made me appreciate what a wonderful husband I have and how thankful I am to be able to choose my own future. Unashamed, is the story of Rahab. It reminded me that no matter your past, God’s plan for your future is greater than you could ever imagine. Unshaken, the story of Ruth, Naomi & Boaz, was by far my favorite. It is a wonderful love story. Unspoken, the story of Bathsheba and David was vivid and captivating. Finally, the fifth chapter, Unafraid, was the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I enjoyed it, but have to say it was my least favorite of the five. I think I had very high expectations which this last chapter did not meet. I think it was mainly Mary’s character and internal dialogue that I was unhappy about. She seemed very impatient and tense through the second half of the story. I think I will try to read it again and see if I like it better at second glance.

"Ruth and Boaz" by Dore, 1870.

I really loved this book. I mean really, really loved it. It happened to sync together with my daily Bible readings. (I’m reading the entire Bible, in chronological order, in a year.) My Bible readings gave me a good background while reading the book. I’m not well versed in Bible stories and have only really started learning them in my adult years. I may not have them memorized as I would if I had studied them as a child, but I feel I do have an advantage in that I can comprehend, analyze and better appreciate them now that I am older.

This book gave me a real appreciation for the old testament and peaked my interest in the parts of the Bible that lack any real detail. It allowed me to see the depth and importance to some stories that I may have otherwise passed over. They are obviously of importance or they wouldn’t have been included, but they can often be lost in the historical accounts of so-and-so begat so-and-so…

I give January’s book 4 ½ stars!

For next month’s book, I’m considering The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics. It is a collection of the works of C.S. Lewis including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Abolition of Man, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, Miracles & A Grief Observed.

OR I may go out and buy something completely different!

Book of the Month - January

One of my resolutions is to read at least one book per month. For Christmas, I received A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers, so I decided it would be my first book of the year. It is a book of five stories of women from the Bible, all in the lineage of Chirst. I started a little late in the month (ahem, yesterday) and have not been able to put it down. I'm about half-way through and suspect I will be finished before the weekend. I can't wait to come back and do a mini review for you!

We're back!

Me and the Mac, that is. I took a trip to the Apple store yesterday and had some shaggy-haired super-hip Mac Genius (seriously, that's what they're called) assist me in defunking my beloved desktop companion. I was a little panicked thinking, What if they can't fix it? What if I'm computerless and all my memories from the past 5 years are lost? and the worst case scenario... What if I have to get a PC? *Gasp!
Thankfully, after waiting for 15 minutes while people watching the most diverse and interesting group of people I've seen in a while, they called my name. My Genius plugged her in and she started right up! In my state of near-panic, I was so excited, I looked him straight in the eye and said, I love you. I was only halfway serious (I mean, he did save me from a PC) but needless to say, my serious tone left a him a little taken aback. So to shift the awkward silence, I told him I was confused about why it wouldn't turn on when I tried several times from home. He did some Geniusy stuff and assured me that whatever was wrong should be fixed now. When I got home I plugged the ol' Mac back up and pressed the so-cool hidden power button. I heard the magical "Bwahhhh!" and then... nothing. Just a blank white screen.

That got me to thinking, whats different about the Apple store than my own house? Besides the obvious blue-shirted Geniuses walking around, (I don't wear blue, its not really my color), I decided it had to be the power cord or power supply or something, since I only carried the desktop to the store. So I unplugged my Mac from the cheap power strip I bought for $4 at Fred's and tried another outlet. Voila! It powered up without a hitch! I have since designated one wall outlet to my computer and left the power strip for the printer and internet router. Apparently my computer wasn't getting enough juice to boot up.

Lessons learned: Don't buy cheap power strips for nice electronics. Don't tell a Mac Genius you love him, unless you really do.

out of order

The Mac is sick. I've got an appointment with the Apple store. Until we recover, please stand-by.