bringing spring (now summer) to the living room

It’s been a while since I talked about our living room, which I last shared, looking like this:

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I haven’t really blogged about this space since my initial post, pre-bookcases…when storage/display space was scarce and I didn’t yet have anything on the walls. The room felt (and looks in photos) so much smaller pre-bookcases.

Page built the bookcases in time for me to decorate this room for its second Christmas. I loved adding lots of bright red accents in here…

xmas | red and green

…but after the holidays when I went *crazy* with the red, I was ready to see something new and different. And fresh for the changing seasons.

I love the green we already have in here (and with tables and lamps in the color, we are a bit committed to it, for now), and it plays well off the accents of yellow in our kitchen (bar stools, the mixer, and the rugs). I wanted to find some colors that would work well bringing the two together – an aqua blue/green, a jade green, or even some teals. So of course, I went back to trusty color source Pantone, and upon looking at the Spring “hot colors”, I instantly saw the palette I wanted:

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living room update | life in yellow

Ahhhh. So fresh and airy.

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Between tax season and paying for a knee surgery this spring, I knew any “freshening” in this room had to be on a budget. So challenging myself to keep it under $100 for the face-lift, I picked up a sample can of paint for the canvases, a can of spray paint to re-gloss the bookends…

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…ordered the camera pillow cover on Etsy for a pillow form I already had on hand, some half-off Hobby Lobby supplies to make the topiaries…

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…and a $5 vase at TJ Maxx.

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I also ordered the black/white cabana stripe fabric from Etsy, and used it to wrap a canvas and my recipe binder, for some bolder black/white pieces in the bookcases.

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Other details like frames, pillows, etc we already owned and were recycled from other spots in the house.

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Finally, a small order on Mpix and I had some fresh, more recent, photos to fill a couple frames in this room, as well as update our photo wall in the entry. (And as a final nod to my Pantone obsession, I framed a paint chip of what else but the Color of the Year!) It’s so nice to change things (even little things) up once in a while!

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Love how fresh and new this space is feeling for the changing seasons!

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working on my green thumb

azaleas | life in yellow

I’ve always had a rather black thumb. It comes from a lack of patience/attention to detail, and sheer forgetfulness. (What? Plants need water on a REGULAR basis?!)

potted annuals | life in yellow

But I’ve thrown myself into it a bit more this year. I spent some time asking some pros and reading up on kinds of shade and invested in some legit gardening supplies. I even know the difference between annuals and perennials thankyouverymuch. The crazy thing is rather than initially viewing it as another chore or something to look after, I’m actually enjoying it as a new hobby.

More than anything, I write this post to document that A – you CAN learn what you’re doing, even if plant world seems foreign, and also B – that second photo is of the flowers I potted two months ago – and are still alive and kickin! Proof!

flowers | life in yellow

I’m already thinking ahead to garden goals for next year. I would love to pot some herbs on the deck next year (mmm, fresh herbs for cooking!) and would also like to plant some peonies. The above pink pretties came from a neighbor friend. How awesome to have fresh ones around the house all summer next year?

What is everyone else planting this year??

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decked out

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While summer seems to be taking its sweet time getting here (grrr!), I’m doing everything I can to nudge it along, planting some flowers out front, and around back, we’ve been sprucing up the deck.

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We started by sealing it this spring with a clear Thompson’s water sealer. You would think we’d have done this our first summer in the house, but like a lot of things with new construction, you can’t do much the first year in terms of maintenance. In this instance, the deck can’t be sealed until the fresh wood is completely dried out, which takes at least a year. We tested it by drilling into the underside in an inconspicuous spot, per the suggestion of our home warranty guy. Good to go, and just in time, as it has been a VERY wet start to the season.

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With the sealing done, I strung some lights around the railing. Loooove me some white lights year-round.

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I’ve never liked the standard light fixture that was installed back here. It was your standard coach light design, not bad, but the size in particular was what bugged me. It seemed too small and rinky-dink. So Page installed something a bit larger and with more coolness factor. Love it.

decked out | life in yellow

A couple new Target finds brought a little color back here. We added the door mat…

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…and I’ve long wanted a beverage tub and stand for keeping cold drinks on hand during get-togethers. I love that the Target tubs have a built-in bottle opener on one end. I was on a role with my color scheme (inspired by the citronella lamp my mother-in-law gave us last year that we love!) so I grabbed a coordinating dish towel to have on hand when the beverages are a-flowin’.

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Gotta run. There’s a hottie on my deck who’s offering to pour me a glass of wine!

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three decades of three generations.

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My mom, grandma, and I started the tradition of a three generation photo around the time I was ten or eleven. We decided to update the picture again when I was in college (again, we can’t remember if I was 20 or 21) and it was so fun to see the comparison (and all-around improved hair styles!). As much as we love these more studio styled photos, this time (I’m now 29) we wanted a more “real life” take on them, so of course I called my talented friend, Megan, (who will be closing up her business this summer to take on a new adventure in a new city). I’m so proud of her but selfishly am bumming hard! It has been such a special experience to have family photos taken over the years by someone who knows you and “gets” you and your crazy family members. :)

It was a very special afternoon and the weather cooperated beautifully. We began by sharing a bottle of champagne (everyone is more comfortable in front of a camera that way, aren’t they?!) and we headed out with Megan around downtown Des Moines for lots of laughs and, thanks to Megan, beautiful and treasured photographs. From the outfits (and of course a good amount of bling) to G’s silly props (she brought fake flowers to reenact her wedding day shoot LOL) I can’t wait to share some of the shots in the coming weeks. Thanks, girls, (all three of you!) for such a fun and memorable afternoon…I’m so happy we’ll have photos to help us remember it!

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back to running and another bucket list item

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[Instagram, via Diptic and A Beautiful Mess]

“Whether you run a mile or a marathon, you’re a runner.” (Anonymous)

I am still very much at the lower end of this spectrum, but I am starting to feel like a “runner” again. A little over a month ago, I started up again. I’m a regular gym-goer, but I haven’t done much running since the fall we moved into our house (2011). I’m not sure if I burned out last time, or things came up and I fell out of the routine (probably!), if the seasons changed and it got too cold to run outside, or if I got sucked into some different workouts for a while. One way or another, I got away from it. And in recent weeks I was suddenly determined to pick it up again.

I have some getting in shape to do before I can cover any real distance, and I’ve definitely learned my lesson about starting slowly to avoid injuries. This time around, I’m using the Zen Labs C25K app and I LOVE it. I like that they don’t interrupt you too often except to tell you when to start running/walking and when you’ve hit the half-way point. And I love how I can control my playlists from within the app (no switching back and forth to my iTunes). I can look ahead and see the details of any of my workouts — I like to know what’s coming, even it freaks me out! :) I’ve actually already downloaded the 10k app as well that, when I’m ready, will pick up where the 5k ends (whaaa?! me? a 10k?!). I’m about 2/3 through the 5k app (an 8-week program) and running about 5 miles a week right now. I feel great…so much so that I’m just starting to think about setting a bucket list goal for myself in the next twelve months…to tackle a half marathon. Not to accomplish an amazing race time or anything, but to simply say I did it. Augh, I’m hesitant to put that out there in writing, but it IS something I’m considering!

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a bucket list check-off and photography dabblings

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I started to check off a bucket list item this weekend. I photographed a newborn still in the hospital - something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I’m so grateful to our friends for allowing me to photograph some first precious moments of sweet Baby B’s life, even when an unplanned trip to the NICU became part of his birth story. (I am hoping to share more photos from this session at a later date, but for now, I feel like they are his parents’ to share with friends and family, first.)

I’ve been back and forth on this idea of photography. I’ve so enjoyed reading the books and blogs, taking the classes, and getting out and practicing, practicing, practicing. But all the while, I’ve been trying to decide if this is a hobby, or something more, and trying to tap in to what direction I’d like to take it in. I’ve had opportunities to do a few “sessions” at this point, of various subjects and in different environments, and I’ve quickly learned that while the more planned/posed stuff can be fun, it’s the more “real” life events, in particular this session in the hospital, that I’m passionate about. Maybe it’s the photojournalism class I took in college that first turned me on to photography, but I like capturing real stuff, on the move, as it’s happening. Specifically, there is something about these tiny little miracles and their individual stories of how they get here, and I’d love to do more documenting of those stories, whether it’s the first moments after they are here, or capturing the hours leading up to their arrival.

Going forward, I’m hoping to focus in a bit more on this idea of birth story photography. I learned so much from this first session and how to balance stepping in with stepping back and letting things happen while clicking away. It was awesome to start with friends as my learning curve and get a feel for when and when not to be up in their business to capture a shot. I learned a LOT about what might be the hardest lighting conditions I’ve ever shot in (and in the NICU particularly, I had a hunch they’d frown on me using my flash). But aside from all the learning, I just had so much fun and was teary-eyed more than once (although I tried to hide it!) as I got to be a first-row spectator of watching this little family of three interact.

The whole experience was a moving one for me, and what solidified it for me was that I went straight home on a Friday night to edit the photos – and there was nothing in the world I would have rather been doing. What’s that saying? Do what you love and you never work a day in your life? We shall see where this goes… :)

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