7 Quick Takes

 

- 1 -

Now that we are settled settling into our amazing new house I am thinking about all of the ways to make it feel like our home. I've lost count of all of the projects floating around in my head but judging by the anxious and somewhat paranoid look that my husband gets let's just say it's a hefty number! The one project that I have strong feelings about is repainting our living room. It may or may not have evolved into a teensy tiny bit of a full blown obsession...

Complete with the Lowes fort that Leo could not care less about

What color is that? Valspar gave it a fun, fruity name (Mango) but I personally like to refer to it as Punch-You-in-the-Eyes Orange. I imagine it could work well as an accent color in a room full of sunshine and complementary colors but here in the land of earth tones, brick, and one window lighting.... well, yeah. The picture pretty much says it all. And after HOURS spent looking at more paint colors than I knew existed, I had this moment of clarity....

- 2 -

I don't have to match the wood or the brick - I can change them! I went ahead and emailed this awesome blogger to get her opinion (because I can bring the enthusiasm but I need support to keep it alive). She gave the remodel two thumbs up and so I have decided* to go ahead paint the wood and fireplace. Or rather, I have decided to paint the wood and whitewash the fireplace. Painted fireplaces are just a little too much for me. I like being able to see a hint of color and texture. I am one coat of paint away from being done with the mantel and am almost done spray-painting the fireplace accessories for a uniform black look (using this nifty thing). If all goes well I'll be whitewashing the fireplace this weekend!

*and was given permission by my indulging husband

- 3 -

What the Rorschach test would look like if designed by HGTV

I couldn't write this post without devoting at least one take to the absurdity that is paint color. I won't even tackle the whole rainbow and just stick with white. Forget fifty shades of gray, my friends, and allow me to introduce you to 7,589,301 SHADES OF WHITE! They have to have hidden cameras in Lowes for the sole purpose of capturing the back and forth of customers in front of the palettes and color chips. I settled on Valspar Pegasus White. After 30 minutes. And by the time I checked out I felt like this 

Kudos to Ben for not laughing hysterically at me. Turns out that "Pegasus" white works just fine. 

- 4 -

I always hoped that there was a quick bread out there that featured my favorite fruit (strawberries) but never looked into it until last week. Here is the recipe. You're welcome.

- 5 -

Leo has gone from taking two long naps every day to one long nap every day. I realize that I should shut up and be grateful that I have a little boy who takes a long nap but I'm a self-centered work in progress so I'm just going to mourn the 2 hours of free time that I have lost. Granted that "free time" was usually used for things like cleaning, prepping dinner, and other homemakery things but still, it is impossible to describe how amazing it is to make dinner without your pants nearly getting pulled off by the baby who is practically climbing your legs to be held.

- 6 -

Speaking of Leo (I really do adore that little boy) it never ceases to amaze me how much he loves people (and animals and nature etc.). We were doing our grocery shopping today and while we were walking through the frozen section we walked past an older woman who smiled at Leo. That was all it took, folks - Leo gave her a huge grin and practically leaped into her arms. I'll admit that it can alarm me when he does this with certain people and really we need to develop at least some concept of "stranger danger" BUT this lady was so sweet with him and was so touched by his warmth that it was just really cool. She kept laughing and saying "Well I've fallen in love today!".

Did I mention that he loves nature? Especially dirt. Reaaaaaally loves the dirt....

 

- 7 -

The end goal

I'm usually pretty good about getting exercise in throughout the week. I don't usually enjoy it and most of the time I wonder whether I'm going to die mid-workout but in the end I get it done. Why? I care about how I look and feel. Not enough to say no to desserts or be sensible with my food and beverage choices but still - I care and I make an effort. Why am I talking about this? Because all that work and all that effort is directed towards the parts of me that are pretty clearly temporal. I can't say the same about my spiritual fitness. So I've gotten myself the spiritual equivalent of a fitness trainer - a spiritual director. I've had a couple in the past but never benefited as much as I could have because, brutal truth be told, I was too concerned with how I sounded or came across. Real smart, I know. People can't help you fix a problem if they don't know there's a problem. Duh. Anyways, this time I'm determined to check my pride at the door and let God do His thing. Because toned triceps aren't enough to get you into Heaven.

Now go see Jen!

~ Happy Friday ~