Weekend Recap

{this is kind of how I felt this weekend}

It was the weekend, now it's Monday, blah, blah.  I'm sad it's over and quite frankly I just want to fast forward to Friday.  I love it when weekends are filled with sunshine and warm temperatures, causing you to energize and conquer.  That is exactly what this weekend held for us.  Some highlights include ::

• Dinner + hot tub time w/the fam.  We brought Stevie over there for the first time and of course she figured out the only way into an area that left her trapped.  Her was rescued though, don't you worry ;)
• Can I just talk about how much I love, love, love Parks & Recreation?  Every new episode gives my abs a great workout.
• After breakfast on Saturday morning, I went out to buy more eggs to make the always delicious zucchini + blueberry bread.  I decided to stop at a new-to-me market and fell.  In.  LOVE.  They sell Intelligentsia coffe there!  And bulk bin everything!  I had samples galore!  And smelled so many flowers!  
• My husband's mom stopped by for a quick visit and we ventured down to the nursery at the end of our road.  We've been wanting an evergreen to plant in front of our neighbor's junk pile to block it from our view.  We came home with a Spring Grove Arborvitae and planted it right there in front of the worst view.  A belated Earth Day treat.
• Skyping with one of my bestests!
• After a pretty severe evening thunderstorm (that brought a lot of hail to Churchill Downs on opening night) we stayed in for the night and relaxed on the couch with the pup.
• Veggie Eggs Benedict, courtesy of the mister.  Followed by a trip to the Peddler's Mall.
• Finally planting all of our seeds, transplanting the tomatoes and making the garden a reality!
• Painting a spare bedroom this shade of gray, to match the print which resides over the fireplace

Accomplishing so much feels so good.  Getting time to relax afterwards before the work week starts again? Amazing.  

Here's to a great week ahead!

Color Help

Friends, I need your advice.  I know you guys have good taste and know many things about decorating/designing.  So can you please help?

The picture above is our fireplace.  Never mind the boxes and mirror and other random things strewn about around it.  We still haven't unpacked our living room because we're waiting to paint.  I swear.

Speaking of paint...that's where you come in.  Even though it looks gray in the picture, our walls are all painted the same color.  It's a brownish/mauve-ish/pinkish/taupeish color and it's not for us.  The stone in the fireplace has a mix of red and blue undertones and all the woodwork in our house is white.  We have very pretty crown molding and our front door is the most fabulous front door ever.  See?

So anyway, that's what we have to work with when choosing a paint color.  Some things to remember ::

1. The room is sort of long and narrow
2. The stone in the fireplace has cool undertones
3. We are fans of open and airy homes
4. We are not fans of the brownish/pinkish/mauve-ish/taupe-ish color on the wall or any colors like it.
5. I wrote this post before we moved in about decor inspiration (just so you know).

That's all. Thank you in advance for any suggestions you may have!

Paining update #2

And we're finished! Yesterday, B came back after a couple of days of really long shifts and put on coat #2, and it looks brilliant :-)

Unfortunately it doesn't look nearly as vibrant in the photo as it does on the walls.


Here's the actual color we used.


What a perfect colour to usher in spring!

Spring Painting

Yesterday, B and I decided on the colors we're going to use to paint the condo this weekend. I am super-excited. Not only will it (hopefully) look awesome, but it's another 30-before-30 (experiment with colors on walls).

We're going to have a yellow living room, which reminds me of bicycles



my wedding flowers



and submarines

And a green bathroom, just like my favourite chocolate



and peppermint creams



and ancient jade Buddhas


And my dream of a bright blue kitchen is coming true, too! It'll make me think of oceans



and Peter Rabbit



and beautiful bridesmaids :-)

I think these colors should usher in a spring full of sunshine and a summer full of light.

Can anyone share tips and tricks for painting? Ideas for my next project (some kind of art painted directly onto a wall)? What colors are you putting on your walls and why?

Painting

This week we are painting! I don't know where and what yet so I need your help. But it is spring and time to check off another of those "30-before-30" items, which was to experiment with color on my walls.

It's a small place with lots of stuff on the walls and no real color scheme, but I want to stay away for safe neutrals and do something exciting for a change. I'm happy to try some stenciling too because some kind of mural was also on my pre-30s to-do list. Any ideas and web-resources would be gratefully received!


Photo here