master bedroom

Let the house projects continue.  If you missed the house tour, or the kid's rooms, go check those out, then come back and peek around our room.  Oliver's room  Lydia's room

 

Our master felt yucky.  Almost the whole house is a lovely grey color, our room wasn't.  It doesn't show well in the picture, but it was a beige/grey color, or something.  It was such a bad color it didn't even look good with the white trim, or our white furniture, so it had to go, along with that fan.  Once we put out bed in the room it felt like the fan was right on top of us!

 

First off, I picked a new color.  Pinterest helped.  Pinterest said that Sea Salt, by Sherwin Williams is a beautiful blue, green, grey color, a color that changes with the changing light.  I could get on board with that.  I went to the Lowes and grabbed a paint chip, at Lowes it looked green grey, and I liked that, so I bought a gallon. At my house, in my room, on my walls it has always looked blue grey.  It's really a lovely color, so much better than our room in Kansas, and so much better than the before pictures of this room. 

Next I bought an enormous curtain rod from Target, one that could stretch all the way across the sliding door and the window.  Got some new curtains so I could get rid of the awful black and white shower curtain the previous owners left us.  I purchased three curtain panels, one on the right, the left, and in the middle, I think it works. 

Lastly, the best part, a new light.  I adore the drum shade, it casts such a nice diffused light, it's not next to my bed like the damn ceiling fan, and it just looks beautiful, and it was under $100 at my Lowes.  I thought I might miss the ceiling fan, but I actually never used it at night because I hated the air on my face. Now Jim has a fan on his dresser, it moves the air, not onto my face. 

I also put a rod and curtains over the bathroom opening.  Jim gets up and ready hours before I do, and I don't need all that light in my face.

I think the room is mostly done, I like it plain and simple.  I'm thinking of adding a collection of frames on that wall above the chair.  I was going to put it over our bed, but I don't want them falling on my head if there is an earthquake.  Not in Kansas any more. 

Thoughts on the changes?  Up next, our bathroom. 

summer's end

Whether you mark summer's end with sending your kids back to school, or one last labor day beach trip, or the official Sept 23rd date, it's clear that summer is coming to an end.  I don't like summer weather (why are we in SoCal?) but I adore summer expectations.  I like traveling without a schedule, bumy days at the beach, road trips, seeing friends, hanging at parks, and playing in the street late. 

I was having a mini pity party in my head a couple weeks ago.  The reality of sending Oliver off to school full time, and getting back to a schedule, and not doing everything I wanted to this summer was getting to me.  What? What on earth? We did more this spring/summer than we've probably done of the course of the past 3 years. 

sold a house

bought a new one

last day of kindergarten

 

 

road trip! KC to SoCal



denver children's museum, CO


found snow in the rocky mountains, CO

arches national park, UT

grand canyon, AZ


over priced vegas pancakes, NV




peeked at the pacific

After finally arriving in California we camped for a few days and I did a bunch of painting.  Eventually our stuff came, and I spent two weeks unpacking.  Peeked at the Pacific ocean and then ran away to Home Sweet Massachusetts for almost 3 weeks.


Greg and Erika's wedding.  So beautiful and so fun to hang at the beach, RI

Saw so many friends, hung at the beach, played with Grammy and Pop-Pop


Crashed Matt and Melissa's backyard Maine wedding.
I should invite myself to more weddings.

Back to California, and back to reality. 
More home organization.  More exploring the area we live in.  A few more trips to the beach.

Took Oliver on a whale watch right before sending him off
to school.  Lydia and I were sick, but he had an amazing time.

Last, but certainly not least I headed back to New England, alone, for the 3rd wedding of the summer.  One of my most favorites, Audrey, was tying the knot.  It's the most fun I've had in a long while.  I totally worked my tail off, slept so little, cried more than once, but laughed even more.  Audrey was beautiful, Chris was handsome, the rest of us cleaned up fairly well. 

So Cheers Summer 2015.  Though temperatures will rage into the 90s for another month or so I'm calling this summer over.  It's back to school and schedules, homework and expectations, and squeezing adventure in instead of adventure being the main focus.

1st day of 1st grade!

I can't believe our boy is a 1st grader.  This is Oliver's first year in full day school 7:30 - 1:53, which is just about the worst time school could be, how about 9-3 friends?  I'm excited for Lydia to have some play time on her own but it's certainly going to strange having Oliver gone for so long ::sniff::
His new school is about a mile away and there is a nice path through our neighborhood that Oliver can ride his bike on and I can push the stroller.  School in Kansas was a mile away, but uphill both ways (no really) and we only walked it a handful of time. He's super excited to ride his bike and lock it up.

On to first day photos.*

*I'm out of town, so yeah I dressed my kids and took first day photos on Monday morning...close enough.