asymmetrical joy

{the little fireplace that could}

My fireplace has been a constant design challenge for me. When we first moved in, it was white and beige just like the entire house. It had a really hideous, old fireplace screen across the opening that was black and bronze, and the fireplace was deemed non-functional by our inspector.

So, fast forward a year or so...we installed a woodstove, had the chimney cleaned out so it would function and I decided I would paint it (or rather was forced to, because when we took off the screen that was screwed to the opening it was all black and gross). Ryan and I couldn't agree on a color (big surprise there), so we ended up with this:

Well, after about a year and a half of living with that color (and hating it), I decided that I wanted to paint it again. I've been a little on the obsessive side about dark grey, so I decided that would be a good place to incorporate it without it being overwhelming. So I went to a paint store, which shall remain nameless, and they had all of one choice for dark grey. The swatch looked alright so I took it home, and this is what it ended up looking like:

Complete fail. It looked more navy blue than dark grey. So after looking at it for exactly one week, I went to a different paint store and found a color much closer to what I was looking for. So, for the third time I taped that sucker up and painted.

I'm SO happy wth the way it turned out. Now I look at it everyday and smile :-) I'm thinking about possibly painting the backs of our built in book cases the same color. Thoughts?

But for now, more pictures of the final result:

(on a side note: we're getting a new living room rug this weekend...can't wait to see how it looks!)

 

<3 k

{ch ch ch changes}

Hey mom friends. I'm not sure that my little hiatus was totally intentional, but I just wasn't feeling like I had much to say. I still don't totally feel back to where I want to be, but I'm giving it another go. There's only so many things we can juggle in the air at once right?

So onto the next. I've always considered myself to have pretty good taste when it comes to designing spaces, but I've never been really great at the details: specifically shelf arrangement. In this house, we've been really lucky to have multiple sets of built-in book cases. We don't even own a seperate bookshelf (well we do, but we're using it as our seed growing station to start our garden each year). When we moved in, I focused all of my energy on the built-ins in the living room, because they were the ones on display. We have another set in the guest room that I never really touched (just through some pictures and candles on them on move in day), because we don't go in that room a whole lot.

Well, recently, as part of our need to change things up, we switched our bedroom with the guest room. They're both the same size and bathrooms are not attached, so it was kind of a toss up anyway. So, now these built-ins were getting to me, because I was staring at them twice a day.

So, to Pinterest I went! I studied others' shelf arrangments, and then armed with inspiration, I headed to Target (and Homegoods and Big Lots). I mixed some new things with some things we already had and came up with this:

The pictures came out a little wonky, because the light is tough in that room. The shelves are RIGHT next to a window.

I also bought a sweet new duvet to complete the room.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

But of course, since I took these pictures another change has happened. Yesterday, we bought a new bed (king size!) and all new bedroom furniture. They don't arrive for a couple of weeks, so we'll consider this a progress post. :-) We also are planning on getting a new ceiling fan for the room this summer (because this one sounds like a plane engine as it's taking off).

 

<3 k

{feeling uninspired}

If you haven't already noticed, I've been feeling upinspired lately when it comes to this blog. Maybe it's just what happens this time of year. We're getting tired of the cold (at least it hasn't been to bad) up here, and ready to get outside and get the garden going. Nothing too exciting is happening around here, which is not necessarily a bad thing...just nothing that's really blog worthy. I had a post planned for today, but just haven't gotten around to taking the pictures. So bear with me...hopefully I will get more interesting soon.

{talk nerdy to me}

The hubs and I have the best before bed conversations. In our delrious state, we come up with some pretty strange, yet hilarious stuff. Here's the latest installment.

(We were playing tag...not really sure why...)

 

Me: Tag!

R: (unresponsive, still looking at Facebook on his phone)

Me: Tag, no tag backs!

R: You just untagged me, so now you're it.

Me: Um. What?

R: Tag! 1,000 points.

Me: Tag, Infinity +1 points!

R: Tag, x+4...you're x.

Me: But I said infinity +1, so I'm always plus 1 more than you!

R: Infinity is just an extrapolation, not a real number, so I win.

Me: Wow, that wasn't nerdy at all!

 

Yep.

 

<3 k

{weekend via instagram}

1. a new painting i'm working on.

2. kiowa loved eating the snow even more than he loved playing in it.

3. kiowa made a new friend with my mother-in-law's cockatiel.

4. kiowa hiding from his medicine.

5. belated birthday dinner celebration.

6. keeping close to the fire during the single digit temps.

 

We take a lot of pictures of Kiowa, it seems!

 

<3 k

{holla from my mala}

Thought maybe you could use a laugh today. I discovered this video from the fabulous Bridget. Go read her blog, it's also fabulous. I wish she was my best friend.

Anyway, yes the video. Here it is.

 

 

You're welcome. Watching multiple times definitely allowed. I may or may not have watched this approximately 8 times in 24 hours.

 

<3 k

{birthday weekend}

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 23 (or according to my mom, 22 :-P). Is it weird that now that I'm 23 I feel like I can officially say I'm in my 20's?

You've Got Mail is one of my favorite movies (as in I've seen it close to 200 times and know the whole thing line by line). In the middle she says something about a "22 year old cocktail waitress", and so for some reason that made me feel so young when I was 22.

It probably doesn't help that my husband is 30, so I am always the youngest among all of our friends, but I feel a little more in "their age group" now that I'm 23. Maybe I'm just weird. And yes, I probably think about this way too much.

Either way, it was a great, low-key weekend, and I welcome a new year and a new age! :-)

 

<3 k

{wedding album}

Today, I spent most of my snowy day off making a wedding album. I have seen a lot about these customized photo books, but just assumed they were expensive and wrote it off in my mind. Well, I ended up receiving a coupon in my e-mail from Shutterfly. In the end, this album cost me only $8 (without shipping) and about 5 hours to do. I'm so excited, I had to share it with you!

 

Click here to view this photo book larger

 

What do you think? I can't wait to get it in the mail!

 

<3 k

 

{what I'm loving wednesday}

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Today I'm linking up with  Jamie from This Kind of Love to share what I’m loving this week!

I'm loving that I have the day off tomorrow, because it's supposed to snow and I can stay home by the fire!

I'm loving my new barefoot running/gym shoes...it makes it a little easier to get up and go to the gym!

Source: amazon.com via Kristin on Pinterest

 

 

I'm loving that my birthday is on Sunday. Can anyone say Thai food??

I'm loving dreaming about our next house with the help of Pinterest:

 

Source: fivedaysfiveways.com via Kristin on Pinterest

 

 

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Kristin on Pinterest

 

 

Source: restorationhardware.com via Kristin on Pinterest

 

 

Source: houzz.com via Kristin on Pinterest

 

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Kristin on Pinterest

 

 

I'm loving my new planner...there's nothing quite like a new office supplies!

 

I'm loving all the snuggle time with this guy:

 

And with this guy:

 

What are you loving today?

 

<3 k

{back to normal}

Today, we go back to normal. Back into our routine, back to work, back to school...and this time I'm adding the gym into the mix. I've been very fortunate to have the last 2 weeks more or less off from work and completely off from school, but today marks the day that the holidays are over, and everything returns. "As you were!"

This year I'm focusing on my fitness as my major goal. I know it seems like everyone and their mother is attempting the same, but I'm going to really commit myself. I've joined a gym and decided to go 3 times a week before work. I totally have nothing to complain about, because my waking up "early" (9 AM) is everyone else's sleeping in! I'm starting the Couch to 5K running program (love the iPhone app!) and am doing strength training with it. I'm giving myself 6 months to reach my goals, which I feel is resonable.

So it may mean a few less blog posts here and there as we settle in, but I do think that it's possible to balance all of these things.

So here's to 2012. Let's make it great!

 

<3 k