Tim and I just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary earlier this week. I'm so thankful for our thirteen years together and for all the ways God has worked in us and in our marriage to always hold us together. We have been blessed!
Tim took a day off from work last week when the kids were in school and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It was nice. We don't go on date nights very often, but while we were sitting there eating, we decided that lunch dates while the kids are in school work pretty great for us. It's nice to be in a stage of life where that's an option.
Well, I got a little off track because originally this blog was going to be about the little things we've done around the house. So let's forget all this sentimental anniversary gush and get back to house stuff!
About a month ago, I decided to give our closet a makeover. It all started with a trip to Ikea, where I picked up several packs of wooden hangers. After getting home and getting ready to take all of our clothes out to re-hang them, I thought I might as well de-clutter and paint while I had everything out. It just made sense. I knew if I didn't do it then, then most likely I would never get around to doing it. And I had visions dancing in my head of a calm, clean, minimalist closet space and I wanted to see if I could make that happen in real life. I got most of it done in that one afternoon, so it wasn't a big job, but it sure made a big difference. Our closet doesn't have a door (we took it off years ago to make things simpler) so we see straight into the closet from our bed and since I am such a visual person, I appreciate the new view.
Afterwards, it looked like this
And kind of surprisingly, a month later, it still looks basically the same. I've found that when I spend the time to really clean out and organize a space in a way that works for us and looks pleasing to my eyes, it helps motivate me to keep it that way.
On to the next project… I was inspired by a picture on Pinterest to create a pot garden to cheer up our back deck. I had a few old terra cotta pots sitting around and then we found several more listed cheaply on Craigslist that already had an aged patina. We planted daisies, dahlias, tomatoes, a rose bush, and a few other things. I also have a small herb garden growing out there. I don't have the best green thumb, but maybe I can keep these growing for a while. The hardest thing for me is remembering and taking the time to go out there to water them because the hot sun dries them out so fast and then all my flowers start wilting.
A few weeks ago, a friend and I went to an open house in our neighborhood. I just love walking through houses. Sometimes I think I should be a realtor just so I can visit lots of homes. Ha! Anyway, this particular house was the same ranch style as our house, so it was especially interesting to me to see how the owners arranged their furniture and what additions they've done to their house. I've always struggled with the layout of our basement. Because of all the entrances and exits, doors, and windows, it's not an easy room to work with. But after visiting the open house, it gave me an idea to try out in our home. Later that afternoon, I got Tim to help me move things around. It's definitely much cozier with the couch closer to the fireplace. The rest of the room feels slightly unfinished to me, but maybe it will just take a few little touches and some time to get used to it.
Have I showed you guys my grey Annie Sloan chalk painted piano yet? I can't remember. It used to be turquoise, but I re-painted it grey a while back because I've moved out of the turquoise phase. And then a few weeks ago, I decided the top of the piano needed a little freshening up for summer so I switched it all up. Right now, I'm loving splashes of pink and gold with lots of white, gray and a little bit of black.
Which brings me to my pink peonies! I think I mentioned in my last blog that I've been patiently waiting for them to bloom. All my neighbors peonies had been blooming for weeks before mine barely had buds on them. Every day, I would walk around my yard and check them for progress. Well, finally last week, mine all started blooming. I enjoyed going out each day, looking for opening blooms, cutting them and bringing them inside to enjoy.
I was pretty excited about how many I got this year.
I had enough to fill a big jar on the kitchen table.
And another smaller jar in the living room. I love the white peonies too! And look… more pink, gold, white, gray and black. I think it's becoming a thing around here.
I can't wait to see how many I get next year!
