Monday, January 28, 2013

Melanie's Reception, Weddings Through Time

I think I might start putting my personal blog updates here, because keeping up with three personal blogs is a bit much. Even *I* can't do THAT much navel gazing!

The next set of pictures I had planned to put on Hot Hot Heatons (my family blog) was from my darling cousin Melanie's wedding reception. Yes, from August. I am a little behind over there. I also happened to find some other family wedding photos while I was transferring photos to a hard drive last week. I love the ones from the 1950s the best!

My husband's paternal grandparents. I love Grandma's ladylike hat and tiny purse.

My husband's maternal grandparents. Loooook at that gorgeous lace-overlaid wedding gown!

My husband's parents. So young and lovely!

My parents and my dad's parents. I like how they're all holding hands.
My husband and me on our wedding day.  We were married on the most gorgeous October day!

My sweet cousin and her new hubby. Gorgeous, happy couple! ( I took this from her Facebook.)
The rest of the pics are from Melanie's park wedding reception. It was such a casual, happy, fun occasion! Her colors were yellow, turquoise, and gray, with a "birds" theme.

My dad and my baby girl

My two sisters, and my cousin Andrea on the right (sister of the bride)

Two little second-cousins, who are about three weeks apart in age.

No way this little man was going to smile for me!

My grandmom and my baby

My husband and his younger sister. She borrowed my clothes, and they looked so much better on her!

Love both these ladies!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Furniture With Faces

Hahahahaha, I said I was going to write every day again, but then I couldn't think of anything to write about. Anything interesting, that is. I mean, I organized my dresser drawers and purged a bunch of unused items. I paid my oldest child a coin for every time he ran up and down our stairs (he slept well last night). I made shrimp boil and and cocktail sauce, a recipe that might be worth sharing, but I didn't take any pictures. I think it might take me a while to remember how this blogging thing works.

I delved into my "Decor" files on my computer to see if I could spark an idea for a post. Before the advent of Pinterest (you can see my boards here: http://pinterest.com/venusv/), I used to save web images to inspiration files on my computer. I still use it to save pics of second-hand items I am considering buying on KSL.com Classifieds (Utah's more-popular version of Craigslist). I have over 70 folders in this "Decor" file, some with sub-categories. Most of the folders are normal things like "Chairs", "Dining Room", and the like. Then you have a few oddball categories. "Houndstooth", for instance (I used to own a vintage houndstooth sofa that I quite regret selling). Or my favorite folder, "Furniture With Faces". There are only a few images in the file, but they are worth a gander. Do you see what I see?



The last thing I want is my dresser staring at me while I disrobe!


More staring! I'm seeing twins this time. Getting a Tweedledum and Tweedledee vibe.

(image from 6th Street Design School)
There are some quite-lovely things about this bathroom, which was in a Parade of Homes entrant in Salt Lake City this year...but, "Aaaaaaaaah, the mirror-eyed vanity is eating all our towels!!!"

Am I reaching here? At least I know I'm not the only one who sees faces in hardware. Check out this post on Young House Love to see what they thought about their kitchen hardware. Ever see a face somewhere? Maybe in the texture of your childhood bedroom ceiling? Just me? Aw, I knew I was weird!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Keep Calm, It's Okay To Be Out Of Style


See that little blue sign in my old kitchen window? It's a "Keep Calm and Carry On" plaque. I bought it in 2010, three years after I first saw the poster, and two years after the image jumped the shark and was appearing on rugs and key chains. (Check the comments on this Apartment Therapy thread about the poster to get an idea of the vitriol this image inspires.)

The original "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster, Barter Books
You know what? I don't care. I have liked the image since the first time I saw it. It resonates with me. As an anxious person, I need the message. When I see my little plaque, I remind myself to just breathe. It also reminds me to stick with what I like, and not be influenced by what anyone else says is "in" or "out". Here's a graphic with some history of the poster, and some figures on exactly how (overly-)popular it's become:

Keep Calm and Carry On


I did think about scrawling on the back of the plaque my back-up plan for when "Keep Calm and Carry On" fails. That would be "Freak Out and Call Your Mom!" I wouldn't be the first to make a parody:



I picked up my plaque for $5.99 at HomeGoods. It's not even a good reproduction. The typeface isn't right and the crown is different. Seriously! Stuff like that usually drives me crazy, but in this case the plaque is less a design statement and more a life affirmation.

Keep Calm plaque in my current kitchen. Note the wrong crown and wrong typeface.
Right now I have a big dilemma about what colors to paint the big, main room(s) of my house. I painted my last house gray, in mid-2011. No one around me had gray on their walls yet. I loved how it turned out, but then gray started to be EVERYWHERE! If I were still in that house, I probably wouldn't be considering repainting. Not for another three years. But in this new house, even though I still like gray, I'm not sure I can commit to it, because it seems like it's "over". Which is silly, because very few people here even have gray. What's the next neutral? Has Jenna Lyons repainted her living room yet? What color?

Besides the trend aspect, there are practical concerns with the gray. The living room is vaulted, and the windows face north and west, so it's not the warmest light. I'm afraid such a huge expanse of gray will be too cold. Also, it's the only painting project in the house we aren't going to tackle ourselves. We have decided to hire painters because of the 20 foot ceilings. We NEED to get the color right the first time, because we sure don't want to pay twice!

Here's the listing photo of the room, and loft, in question. These are the previous tenant's furnishings. I know, a lot of ooooooooaak! The paint is light tan, with a darker clay accent wall, and a rag-roll faux paint treatment of both colors on the balcony wall. It reads mauve-y pink in some light, which is blech! It all feels very fleshy to me. The entire upstairs hallway, including all doors and trim, are painted the dark clay color. It's very dark in that area, and I just don't understand why the trim is the same color. Standing in that hall feels like being trapped in a legume of some sort. That makes no sense. Neither does the paint.


Anyone have any great ideas? I know, I know...keep calm and carry on. :-)

Friday, January 18, 2013

Hello Again, Hello

Did I mention I went to the Neil Diamond concert this summer? Those are some Neil Diamond lyrics up there in the title, in case you don't know. In case you're not into septuagenarian rock stars.

Anyway, I'm glad to be back! I was gone for a while because we moved, again...and again. Lucky numbers 13 and 14. My husband took a different job in a different city, so we sold our condo, moved into temporary housing while we house-hunted in a whole new area, and eventually bought a house. We moved in during Thanksgiving week. It was hard to give up on my little bloggy Lisa Loves Logan, but I'm thinking of starting one up about my new area, Salt Lake City (and Davis Country suburbs).

MLS photo of the loft in my new house. You probably can't tell, but that wallpaper border is horse-and-cowboy-themed
I hoped to get going on A Farewell To Can't again at the start of the new year, but I'm a few weeks behind. I have been flossing, waking up bright and early to exercise (turns out the secret to waking up early is getting ready for bed at 9 p.m. and turning the lights out at 10 p.m. - which is haaaaaard to do!), and eating whole grains...so I'd say the new year is going pretty well. I'm excited to add daily writing back into my routine. I've missed it!

I haven't been up to much DIY yet in our new house, besides using my clothing steamer to remove a wallpaper border in the open loft area. I've painted a number of test swatches around the house. In other words, things are looking great!

The other day I was looking at pics of our old house and my five-year-old son said, "I miss that house. It was...well...pretty." He's pretty cute. I miss it too. I added all the before and afters from that house to the Home Tour link above. It's going to take a lot of work to get this new house where I want it. I think I'm up for the challenge!

Living/Dining Before

Living/Dining After