Kitchen Nook Before & After

As you may recall from last week’s absurdly-expensive-wallpaper debacle, Matthew and I decided to paint stripes in our kitchen dining nook. This room in the house has been a bone of contention for me since moving in, because I just can’t seem to decide how to decorate it and what color to paint it. The dark wood table, chairs, and mirror came from Matthew’s bachelor pad, so like in most areas of the house, I had to work with what I’d been given (which, in most cases, means lots of fur and heads and watching eyes. Ah, the joys of being a hunter’s wife!).

Well, the stripes came out great, and I really like the colors and the look of them. I’d like to eventually get new chairs and a new (possibly round, oriental) rug to balance out some of the darkness in that room, but I decided that, if I wait to get new chairs and placemats and a centerpiece and more doodads for our antique shelves on the wall, this post will never happen. Or it will take another year to happen. So instead of waiting that long, I’ll do a before and after now, and then another before and after later, but the before will be today’s after and the after will be the new and improved kitchen nook somewhere months or possibly years down the road, at the rate I like to get shit done. (is anyone still following me?) Wow. Ok, here it is.

btw, the wall color in the kitchen and column by the barstool is still blue, but the lighting here made it look different and almost white. The “before” picture was taken at a different time of day with less light.

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the paint colors, but I will try to figure it out next time we go to Lowe’s, and I’ll add it to this post in case anyone is interested. But both colors are Valspar! Also, we (we meaning Matthew) traced out the stripes using an 8 inch plank, which made it fairly simple. And we used frog tape. Best tape ever!

Happy Tuesday… :)

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PS – Want to see other rooms in the house? We’re all creepers. We all do it.

Master bedroom
Dining room
Kitchen
Guest room

Today I will…

…Edit photos

…Write a letter

…Answer these

…Fold this

(not pictured: the 4,567,000 other loads)

…Love on these two

…Drink this

What will you do today?

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Side note: Blogging, for me, is an interesting way to create something beautiful out of the mundane. When I woke this morning, I looked at the Monday stretched before me and it seemed filled with arduous tasks… and it still is… But sometimes, just photographing things and sharing it with the world helps to make every day things seem… artistic? Not sure. But then, of course, there’s all the other things you do with a day, that aren’t really picture worthy no matter what way you spin it. I’m still not quite sure what to do about those! Happy Monday to you…

Sayonara, SUmmer Break.

This Friday (today) marks the end of Matthew’s one and only week off of school for the summer. On Monday, the fall semester and his official second year of law school revs back up…. YAY. <--- Sarcasm.

It’s been a nice week. I’m behind on my work, but it’s been wonderful to have him home, working on projects and exploring the city (sort of) and watching movies and sipping wine. Le sigh. Sayonara, summer break. You came and went too quickly.

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Ladies and gents, meet Betsy of Betsy Transatlantically! This is a fabulous and well-written, witty blog about Betsy’s life and love as she’s journeyed from the U.S. to Europe and back again, fallen in love with an Englishman, and bought a puppy. You know, all the important things in life. ;) You simply must go read her welcome message for you here… and then proceed to fall in love. Go.

Blog | Twitter

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Little Petrie is a blog by Caitlyn, an Idaho girl with tons of personality. I mean, just look at the picture! Doesn’t it make you smile?! :)  Caitlyn is a nursing major currently attending Boise State University (representin’ here!) and you can get to know her a little better here! Be sure and check out here shop, as well (I want this!).

Blog | Shop

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Last but not least, meet Megan of Second Floor Living. Megan is a blogger who also happens to be a writer and journalist in South Africa! Cool, right? She gets to do awesome things like play with leopards, which makes me very jealous. Get to know her even better here, and be sure and leave her some love. :)

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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And that’s as far as I got into Barton Springs Pool.

Barton Springs Pool is one of “the things to do” in Austin, so yesterday we headed down to Zilker Park to see what this place is all about. Apparently, it’s about ice cold water. Obviously others were enjoying it, but the photo above demonstrates about how far I was willing to immerse myself in said ice cold water. It was a grand old time.

I should probably note that I am one of the most temperature sensitive individuals in history. Extremes of hot or cold turn me into a bear. A really bad news bear. I should also note that alcohol and food is not permitted at this particular watering hole, so we did not last too long. Seems to be a great place to cool off with kids, though. Glad we checked it out, at least.

Hope you all have a happy Thursday!

On being happy where you are

 
I used to HATE living in Texas. I’m pretty sure I’ve offended some allegiant Texans in the past by proclaiming things like “this is my least favorite place of all the places I’ve lived!” and “I’m from the East Coast and would take the first ticket back there, if I could!” 

It’s hot in Texas. In the summer it feels like living on the surface of the sun. Fall is meager and sometimes, if you blink your eyes at just the right time, you might miss winter. Spring is beautiful, but lots of folks suffer from extreme allergies and the bugs… oh, the bugs.  Also, did I mention that it’s hot in Texas? Really hot, for like, 6 months.

I used to focus on all of this. I used to spend my summers feeling miserable every time I stepped out of doors, and fantasizing about my escape from this Wasteland. My first serious boyfriend moved to Colorado during my senior year of high school, and I looked at colleges in Colorado Springs during that time. Seemed like my ticket out! But like things sometimes do, that didn’t work out. Then I considered moving to New Jersey to live with my aunt. Then when Matthew came along, we were all set to move to California (I was beyond thrilled!), until ultimately we decided we needed to stay here and be close to family. Damn you, Texas! I thought. I can’t escape you!

But now, after 15 years of residence in this state, I think I’ve finally come to terms with it. I think I’ve finally decided to be happy here. To stop fighting it. There is beauty everywhere you look, and I think my love of photography has actually helped me to see that. Because when you start to see the world through a much smaller frame, you slow down some. And also, you find the joy.

I think part of being happy where you are simply comes with being happy with who you are, and also comes with the memories you make in a place. I’ve been trying hard to do things and make memories here that help me to love where I’m at. Like that fabulous quote says above, now is the only time. Being happy and cheerful in the now is the only way you’ll ever be happy and cheerful.

But if someone offered me a job and a cool apartment in New York City, I’d still probably take it. Just sayin’.

Threads.

If you haven’t heard of the Shine Project, please look up and note the large rock you may or may not be living under. See it? Well, I’m here to de-rock you today.  The Shine Project by the lovely Ashley LeMieux is an organization founded to inspire change in our communities and especially our youth. Ashley has started a non-profit scholarship fund to help send at-risk teens in her area to college, and she’s also opened up a fabulous shop called Threads (where the bracelets I’m wearing above are from!) which employs some of those same teens. Here is an excerpt from the Threads about page:

Threads is a cause driven business that changes the future of at risk youth. They come from various backgrounds, but all have one thing in common, they want to break the cycle. By employing them, we instill values of self reliance and hard work. They are paid fair wages for the bracelets they make, and in turn are able to pay their way through school. Many of Threads employees are first generation college students. They dream of becoming nurses, broadcasters, writers and engineers.

Learn how you can get involved with the Shine Project here! But for now, we’re giving away the bracelet of your choice from the Threads shop, so enter below for your chance to win... and spread the word about this wonderful organization. :)

To Enter:
(only mandatory entry—and please leave your email address if it’s not on your Blogger profile)

+ Visit Threads and leave a comment here with the bracelet you’d like to win.

Extra entries:
(all represented by separate comments)

+ Follow the Shine Project blog on GFC or Bloglovin’
+ Like the Shine Project on Facebook 
+ Like Story of My Life on Facebook
+ Tweet about the giveaway or share on your Facebook page and let me know that you did.

Good luck!

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And the winner of last week’s Stella Jewelry giveaway is…

Congrats to Jessica!! :)

that about sums up the weekend.

I don’t know about you, but every time I buy paint, I have a minor panic attack. This is my “I really, really hope this doesn’t royally suck” face.

Over the weekend, Matthew and I went to a wall paper store and spent quite some time pouring through the books to find the perfect pretty paper, only to find out, in the end, that the one I had my heart set on was $85 DOLLARS A ROLL and we would need 8 rolls to cover the one small wall we wanted it for. What the…?!! Apparently wall paper is only for the high rollers, no pun intended. So we’re back to painting with the rest of the peasants, and going for some cream and buttery yellow stripes this time around. I’ll have to do a before and after… if, of course, the after is better than the before.  

In other news, my photography business now has a name, a logo, and a Facebook page. Baby steps, people! Website coming soon, but if you care to “like” the page on Facebook, I’d love you for it. Don’t make me beg…

Happy Monday. :)