flowers, flowers, everywhere…

Today just seems like a day to blog about my day. I usually try to have some sort of subject, or point or just something particular to type about. But today my mind is all over the place!

Andrew got me flowers 🙂 I thought they were for Heather (we did just have Mother’s Day, and I’m not a mother), until she said they had come for me while I was working at the library! They are the white roses in the pale green fish gurgle pitcher (b-day present from Heather!). The other flowers are from Heather’s dad for Mother’s Day. And, on the computer, is a giant orange rose. I’m not really into orange (see yesterday’s post on color), but I wanted a new desktop photo and it’s full of energy.

That yellow thing in my water glass? It’s a cube of frozen pineapple juice. Awhile ago (like maybe last summer), I had a giant container of pineapple juice that I didn’t want to waste. So, I filled up ice cube trays, froze them, then noted how much juice was in each cube (2 tbsp) and then bagged them all up. I also did this with some limes. I’m loving the hint of flavor it gives my water.

It’s currently 80 degrees out and I’M DYING. I took a few minutes (literally!) to go outside before lunch and clear some dead grass and put down grass seed–I was dripping within minutes! This is why I am so glad we’re moving to western New York. I spent all last summer trapped inside because all I do is melt outside. I broke down and turned the AC on…

I did my long run with Susy outside today. Note to self: DO NOT eat a high-protein, egg-white and veggie omelet before running. You may balk at this, but I do typically eat breakfast just before I head to gym. Usually I have yogurt and granola with fruit, cereal or toast. Lately, because I’m watching what I’m eating and because I’ve had an abundance of produce around the kitchen, I’ve been making omelets. Very yummy. Also very heavy. I regretted it this morning. Lesson learned: smaller, higher-carb breakfasts before runs!

After my stomach FINALLY stopped feeling like it had a brick in it (around noon), I made a lunch of salad, Trader Joe’s veggie and flaxseed chips with my homemade hummus and a mango and strawberry bowl. I splurged and had ranch dressing on my salad–I LOVE ranch-anything. Seriously, unless it’s some fancy fruit/nut/greens salad–I want ranch. Not the Hidden Valley brand (which I lived on as a kid)…I’ve been using T. Marzetti’s Light Classic Ranch. It’s in the refrigerated section in produce at the grocery store. Love it.

I have a full afternoon ahead of me–cleaning because we have a showing tonight! Honestly, the house has stayed pretty immaculate lately, but it could use some tidying-up here and there. I also have to make bread for dinner, prep dinner and have it on the table by 5 p.m. so we can eat and run before the showing.

Scored some awesome sports bras and tanks at TJMaxx today! Been needing to replace some of my stuff for awhile now, and I had some time to run in after I ran an errand at Lowe’s. I love that store–well, I love Lowe’s too–but you just never know when you’ll hit the jackpot. I did today!

Tonight Heather and I are going to enjoy some wine, cheese and crackers that we got while shopping at Trader Joe’s–cannot wait! (Thankfully, it’s a long-run day, so I can splurge!)

That might be it for now…can you tell my mind is racing?? Except that this is pretty normal for me… After I do all the things on my list, hopefully I’ll have some time to sit and have some tea.

i LOVE color

I do. I believe it’s a manifestation of all the white walls we endured as kids. Because my dad was in the military, we moved every 3.5 years, and so painting just wasn’t on the agenda in our houses. So now, as an adult, I’m a paint-a-holic. I even painted my first apartment.

I’m already brainstorming new color schemes for our next house. Confession: I’ve been doing that for a long time. Like, way before we found out we were moving. I think it’s a combination of wanting some change and learning what I like and don’t like.

Well, I’m certainly getting my change!

Anyway, the whole reason for this post is to show you this:

I purchased it on a recent trip to Waynesville, a local small town filled with antique shops. A couple friends and I went for the afternoon to walk around and have lunch.

This was one of those things I see, gasp and announce to those in earshot: “I LOVE this!”

I LOVE LOVE LOVE color in rainbow patterns. Just about every kind and everything. There are some exceptions. I don’t do pastels, or those “autumn-y” colors like dark green and wine and burnt orange. I hate mint.

I bought the panting and have been day-dreaming of my new kitchen/dining room color scheme ever since. If you remember from our “after” photos of the house, this is our current kitchen:

And no, this is not mint on the walls. It has way more yellow in it–it’s called “Limonata.”

The ivy plates will go–I grew up in an ivy kitchen and it’s time for something new.

My ultimate dream kitchen will have white cabinets, gray-ish counters and stainless steel appliances. One day…

You can see some of my color above (the green and orange crocks, the lemongrass mixer), but I have TONS more that I didn’t have out for the photo. I’m thinking of going with a more blue/teal theme and bringing that into the dining room as well.

Speaking of the dining room:

I hate it. Honestly, if I could do it all over again (and I can’t), we’d have a totally different table (I’m kind of stressed that now ALL of our furniture is black…bedroom, living room, dining room, office shelves…just call us the Addams Family) and I would not have gone with red. Red was Andrew’s idea. He loves it. I hate it. In the almost-four years we’ve been in this house, the number of times we’ve eaten in here probably wouldn’t even add up to six months. And I think it partly has to do with the fact that I don’t like the room. I’ve never really decorated; we threw the stars up there because we didn’t know what else to do with them. The placemats are new and I got them to add a little color into the space.

When we get settled into our new place, I intend to go with a whole different theme for the dining room. I want to re-cover the seats with a patterned, yet neutral, sturdy fabric since the off-white is so modern, stark and formal. (Not to mention it shows EVERYTHING, including cat hair!) I’m thinking something in the blue/teal range as well.

I’ve really learned that I like the blue/gray/teal/green color families much more than the reds and oranges. And in our next house, I want the color to flow from room to room and all be in the same color family, as opposed to what we have now, like our light green kitchen and red dining room and light brown living room. And much more muted this time around! I’ve learned that lesson…I’ve already decided the colors in the bedroom and guest room will be pretty much the same, just a few shades less bright.

Anyway, the print I got for the kitchen (or maybe the dining room) was just the thing I needed to get the creative juices flowing! (Someone hold me back, though–I’ve been known to go overboard…)

What a workday!

I posted a couple of days ago about how cluttered and messy our house has been lately. Well, today we decided to do something about it.

Andrew finished up the last bits of our bathroom tiling project.

I cleaned up the guest bathroom and put it back the way it’s supposed to be.

I got up on the ladder to dust the shelves in our entryway. Andrew had to do the higher one–I was terrified!

Check out that bedhead and little sprout ponytail!

We cleaned out the garage last night, which included a “mopping.” It needed it, I promise. I had to give it another rinse this morning because the soapy/scummy water dried like broom strokes.

You can see the mulch we had delivered a couple days ago. My friend, Emily, helped me do the front beds. The weather’s been pretty yucky, so we’re on hold until we can get to the back yard.

One of the things I wanted to do today was clean the grime off the yellowed window frames next to our front door. Hi Hadrian!

After I finished cleaning the windows, Andrew decided we should just spray paint the window frames so they weren’t yellow anymore. I’m glad we did–they look great!