A touch of GREEN

My Mom's favorite color has always been green, and I can see why. She LOVES gardening, and has always maintained a beautiful display of flowers in the yard of every home we've ever lived in. Pictures of lush, green scenery were also found hung throughout each house.

My favorite colors growing up were yellow, then red, then PINK for a long time. Now in my 20's, I think I have adopted all different shades of GREEN into my wardrobe, accessories, and now our home. There's so much beauty in this calming, natural color and nothing makes me want to bring it inside my home more. It's just so friendly and inviting.

Our kitchen, dining room, and nursery are all painted a subtle green called "Garden Fairy" by Benjamin Moore. Our hutch is "Bella Mint", and almost every fabric used for curtains, seat covers and pillow covers are a sweet mix of green and white with touches of blue and red for accents.

Besides green paint I LOVE green plants (usually fake) spread throughout each room. Here are a few recent projects I've finished to bring even more of this color into our home.

I found 4 ugly brown shutters in the shed out back when we bought the house. I had two of them painted this lovely deep mossy green (sorry forgot the name), and made 2 matching wreaths and hung them with ribbon (forgoing the urge to tie them with bows in order to appease the husband). I LOVE how they turned out. I got the idea from All Thingz Related.




This cozy space turns into the Christmas room come winter. I purposely hung the shutters with the slats facing up so we can drape Christmas card from them, with the tree framed beautifully in front of the window.

Next, I made this simple topiary with some moss that I already had filling my apothecary jars(originally from Hobby Lobby) . The idea was inspired when I found the adorable green pot (already painted that color) for $1 at HL.

I first wedged a hockey-puck shaped piece of styrofoam in the top until it was flush with the top of the pot, and then covered it with glue and bits of moss. **If I could do it again, I would add some rocks or some kind of weight in the bottom before putting the styrofoam in...it becomes a bit top heavy when finished**

Meanwhile, I spray painted the dowel rod (pack of 6 from HL) the earthy brown color. Let dry. Then took a razor blade and scraped some paint off to make it look more natural. Once the rod and the pot were dry, I put a dab of glue on the bottom and stuck the rod through the middle of the moss all the way until it hit the bottom. Let dry.






Next, I covered a sphere shaped styrofoam ball with glue and bits of moss. This part took the longest. Once it dried I had to go back and re-glue pieces that were hanging off, making sure no part of the white ball showed underneath. Once the ball was completely done, I simply perched it on top of the rod until it felt secure. The last touch was a small piece of ribbon tied around the pot in a simple knot. Love it.








What's YOUR favorite color to accent your house?

Hot and humid

Take a baby bathtub outdoors and suddenly it doubles as a kiddie pool. I don't see a rule anywhere about limiting it's use only for bath time...so why not I say! Bath toys, swimsuits and all, we perched ourselves on the front porch yesterday for just the right amount of sun and shade.

And yes, that's a Speedway slurpee. Hot and humid turned heavenly. ahhhhhh.....

you like my background?

So, I was getting bored of my look and decided it was time for a change. Whatchya think? I got the background from here. And the header is from Kensie's newborn session with Tammi. If you missed the last post, check out her photos here.

I also found the graphics.fairy (it's a branch off the first blog link) ...and well, I was hooked!

Since my discovery only two short days ago, I have been thinking up ALL kinds of projects. Dreaming about them really. Yeah. Kinda obsessed. This gal posts all kinds of vintage images that you can link to. I'm talking daily. Every.single.day, she posts one or more beautiful images that you can download for FREE. You can print them right at home in any size you want and the quality is fantastic. It's no wonder she has over 4,000 followers. Amazing.

Images like this....

or this...
or wait....these!

Can you even stand it!!! Those last 4 fairies I already have printed off and slipped into frames above Kensie's crib. Simply darling. And the images above I want to mod podge to something...just not sure what yet.

So, while I'm battling my new found infatuation, just go check out the site. Please. I need to know someone else is obsessed with it as much as I am. And, maybe I'll have a few projects to post in the near future. :)

Side note: I've also added a sidebar with all my favorite blogs and websites related to crafts, decorating, photography, etc. It's under "just my style"----->

Thanks to tammi...

...we are dying of cuteness over here. Tammi is such an amazing photographer, it's no wonder her business is called "more.than.words.photography". These photos are simply stunning, and she is making it IMPOSSIBLE for me to decide which one I want as an 8 x 10 for Kensie's room.

So, I'm asking you, my viewing audience to vote for your favorite photo. Not only to assist me in my tough decision making, but for Tammi. Let her know which vintage look you like best and why, and consider your input a gift towards the greater good of vintage-style photography. :-)

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So, go! Leave a comment and vote 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 and why you like it! And don't forget to visit her website to check out how YOU can capture some sweet moments for your family.

Dada

I have a habit of taking pics and videos daily and placing the camera next to Greg's plate at the dinner table. It's a good chance for him to see what's happened that day while he's hard at work. It's something he looks forward to every time he comes home. This, so far...was his favorite video :-)

Health and Fitness

I love feeling in shape. I love the "high" after a hard work out. The feeling of satisfaction that you pushed yourself beyond what you thought you could do. I love a good challenge and checking another sweaty run off the calender.


But, I used to love it for the wrong reasons. I used to feel trapped. I used to feel like I HAD to workout. Like I HAD to be skinny to be acceptable. I thought that missing a workout meant I was a failure. Or that eating anything with sugar in it meant I was unhealthy. That instead of making a mistake, I was the mistake. I had no margin of error. I used to think all that mattered was how I looked, not what I felt like or whether I was healthy from the inside out.


But, my perspective has changed on all that. Now, after many mentors, counselors and life experiences I see the importance of being healthy, not just looking it. Sure, there's always a physical benefit to exercising regularly, but there is so much more to life than worrying about how much you weigh. There is so much freedom now. I can still feel satisfied in pushing myself to the next level when exercising. And I can still make healthy eating choices that will decrease risks of high cholesterol, blood pressure and heart disease. But IT.DOES.NOT.OWN.ME. I used to weigh myself multiple times a day, but now....I can't even tell you how much I DO weigh. Since giving birth, I have maybe stepped on the scale once or twice. And I give myself grace when wanting to indulge in some ice cream and a brownie. I mean really, what's life without dessert now and then?? A sad one...I would know :).

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If you ever have similar thoughts, or want to ask me more questions about this journey of mine, I am MORE than willing to talk about it. You can leave an anonymous question to protect your privacy if need be.

Tulip Time reflections...

The big week is over, and here are my thoughts from this years Tulip Festival:

1) I have a new sense of pride being a part of the Dutch community here in Holland, and celebrate my lineage (my mom's side is part Dutch) by dressing my first born in (yes) a Dutch costume, which apparently is a prerequisite for living here. I've given in. BUT, to defend myself.....I didn't pay a penny, or sew a stitch of it. And I'd say, our little Dutch lady was quite the show stopper. See below... :)

2) I have never succumbed to standing in the freezing cold wind to watch not one but TWO parades (until this year). I really felt like a die-hard...but was even more surprised to see half of Holland downtown watching along side me as well.


3) With all the talk of having a "Stem Festival" this year (due to the early warm weather we had a few weeks ago), I was convinced there would be no tulips left. But, there were strips of perfectly opened tulips throughout Centennial Park, which made for some fantastic photo opportunities.

Kensie and her buddy Kenyon among the glowing tulips

4) I LOVE craft shows. The Centennial Park was filled with tents and booths for the first two days of the festival. I went with no intent of buying, but every intent of researching. This year however, I bought one item. A close-up 8 x 10 photo of a beautiful asian lily in soft hues of green, pink and blue to put in Kensie's room. The selling point was that it was a taken by a 12 year old. She was adorable. Running her own tent by herself with hundreds (literally) of photos in all different sizes. I asked how long she'd been photographing, and she nonchalantly says, "4 years.". WHAT?? Yeah pretty amazing. I couldn't help but support her.


5) And lastly.....for once I was NOT annoyed by all the tourists in town. Usually I get so annoyed by the slow drivers with out of state license plates, staring down at their road maps driving with the left blinker on for miles...looking like lost puppies. But, I was so thankful that it brought an economic boost to our happy little town. We definitely could use the help.


So all in all it was a fun week. Can't wait til next year's festival...and maybe some warmer weather with it. :)

The kids loved hanging with Megan too!

I love this pic. Allison with her son Kenyon, and

Kensie looking a little apprehensive.