the beauty of blue and white (and a before and after…)

 

via

Maybe it’s because it’s summer… but right now I’m completely smitten by blue and white color combinations.

In fact, the other day I looked outside at my dark wicker patio set with the blue cushions and I thought, hmmm…

Boring brown. Drab feeling.

why not?

Before

So I went out, bought some white spray paint, and voila..

 

After

Instant blue and white in my patio and the white wicker change made me so darn happy.

Isn’t it fascinating how color affects our mood?

 

via

Today I thought I would keep this cheery feeling going, so I’m sharing some of my favorite blue and white photos with you. Here’s one of my favorite designers. I love Holly’s rooms and these bold drapes are calling my name. Well actually, I love everything about this photo.

via

Someone asked me about my fabric for my white chairs…well here it is… blue and white ticking. It’s simple and classic. Only right now my chair seats are one of my unfinished projects. I bought some foam for the new seats that was too thick and have you ever tried cutting foam with scissors? It’s not pretty.

But I promise to share my outdoor table and chairs when I’m done.

via

Isn’t Miss Mustard Seed’s room fresh and airy looking?

If you notice a calming effect when you’re around a lot of blue  apparently you’re not imagining it; blue has actually been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rate.

via

This is another one of my quirky loves…stripes!  Only in this photo I don’t know what I’m loving more, the lively chest, the red exterior woodwork or that adorable pooch.

 

via

Because blue represents the ocean and the sky it’s considered to have expansive properties, which means that when you paint a room blue it often makes the room feel larger.

This is one of my favorite bedrooms….

 

via

People who love blue tend to dislike confrontations and are often the diplomats in disagreements. Does this describe you?

via

Sky Blue promotes fantasy and imagination…

(my friend Lori posted this.. for lots more prettiness visit her HERE)

This is the color I painted my buffet that sits in my dining room. It’s still one of my favorite DIY projects.

 

via

Azure Blue  is the favorite color of people who are content with life, those who have the attitude that “the journey is better than the destination.”

via

 

 

via

via

 

via

When you look at the things you collect, the color of the pillows you keep buying or the clothes that you feel good in…

which colors are you consistently drawn to…?

xoxo

Leslie

* for more pretty pictures you can check out my Pinterest boards. And click HERE to read the article on color preferences I used for this post.

I’m partying with these friends:

• http://www.stonegableblog.com/2013/07/tutorials-tips-and-tidbits-57.html
• http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2013/07/feathered-nest-friday_18.html?
• http://www.commonground-do.com/2013/07/be-inspired-shes-got-style.html?
• http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/07/wow-us-wednesdays-127.html
• http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2013/07/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-78.html

 

 

Technorati Tags: decorating,blue and white color combinations,color and personality

finding joy in the ordinary

via

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with my family.

Patrick drove back into town with his girlfriend Allie and Michael returned home on Saturday from his second stint as counselor at Camp Rec, and I was bubbling over at the mere thought of having our family together again.

Honestly, that was my best birthday present.

Us. Being all together again.

I haven’t shared it much here, but this has been an interesting summer for me. Interesting because Patrick stayed in San Luis Obispo taking summer classes and Michael has been gone so often that it’s ended up truly being

our first summer the boys haven’t been home much.

Which means that these glorious, warm days of summer have been tinged with introspection and growing pains as I grapple with my soon-to-be empty nest. Suddenly, it’s all become so real. The clean, empty bedrooms, the sudden quietness. And while these days have been good preparation for Jim and I, there have been times when I’ve felt like my heart was being squeezed. 

So I was pretty excited about this past weekend. Our plan was that we -- Patrick, Allie, Jim and I--would go downtown and be there when the buses arrived from Camp Rec. Then once Michael was done, we would go to dinner. And secretly, I couldn’t wait to watch all the counselors and campers get off the bus together. I’ve learned from Michael’s previous camp experiences that watching the reunion of campers with their families is sheer joy, not to mention the chance to see Michael with his own camper, a fifteen year old boy named Sully.

Unfortunately sometimes I get so caught up in the moment that I forget to take pictures. So I didn’t get a picture of Michael and Sully getting off the bus.

The first time I glimpsed Michael’s camper Sully, he had his teddy bear hanging around his neck and he was carrying a photo album that he kept putting into his mouth. Shortly after this they disappeared in the crowd.

When we found them again, I noticed that one of Sully’s pictures had fallen to the ground and Michael picked it up and put it back into his album. Then he gave Sully a drink out of a sippy cup.

Michael had texted me earlier about Sully; he told me that Sully was basically non-verbal. He only knew three words, “Mommy”, “Baby” and “Come on.” And during his time at camp he needed to be pushed in a stroller because of his slow gait.

When he’s at home he requires 24 hour care so during his week at Camp Rec he was assigned to two counselors, Michael and another Jesuit High School graduate named Brian who wore a baseball cap backwards and was extremely outgoing.

It was a 100 degree day and the sun was beating down on everyone…

but all around us there was happy chaos as campers waited next to their counselors for their family members to arrive.  There were lots of hugs and kisses by everyone.

 

 

While we were standing around waiting for Sully’s mother to arrive a cheerful camper named Chad came over to show Patrick and Allie his picture. He pointed to his picture and Patrick and Allie where looking at it when he happened to see my camera.

 

He immediately gestured for me to take a photo of him and Allie. And she jumped right into the photo with him.

A few moments later I saw Sully’s mother walk up and immediately put her cheek next to Sully’s and she began to whisper softly to him. And to kiss his cheek. She was beaming at him. They were both so happy to see each other and I was so moved by this scene, the way she was talking to him with such tenderness, I forgot to take pictures.

As we watched from the shade, she spoke with Michael and Brian, and seemed eager to hear about Sully’s experience. She looked so relieved and grateful that he had done so well.

I asked Michael later if Sully had struggled at all being away from his family and he said only once the first night.

Michael said he looked sad and he kept saying “Mommy.”

“What did you do?” I asked him.

“We tried to comfort him…after that he was fine.”

Once the boys put the stroller and suitcase into her car, Sully’s mother asked to take a few photos of Sully with his counselors. She smiled and chatted with Michael and Brian until Sully began to pull her toward the car. He was ready for home.

Michael had heard that when Sully’s parents were told that he was accepted as a camper they cried because they were so relieved. Michael said he requires constant care and attention and he can’t imagine having a child that requires so much work. The more I heard about Sully the more compassion I felt for his mother.

Watching her interact with Sully made me think about how selfless the experience of mothering can be. I could relate to how elated she was for Sully, that he’d had a good experience. And that he’d been surrounded by kind people who treated him well. Who made him feel special.

In the end, isn’t that what we all want for our kids?

 

Once Sully was in the car I saw Michael go over to say good-bye.

I watched him smile and nod at Sully in the same playful way I used to when I would be strapping Michael into his car seat. Funny how I thought of that.

 

 

Then he bent inside and gave him one last hug.

After Sully’s Mom drove away I was aware of feeling so incredibly grateful.

It’s hard to explain, but all of a sudden I looked around and all I saw were blessings… I could tell Jim felt the same way.

“Hey Mom, is this going on your blog?”

“Maybeeee…”

 

xoxo

Leslie

 

 

*you can read more about Camp Recreation by clicking HERE.

in the meantime, I’m sharing this post at this lovely place:

http://www.impartinggrace.com/2013/07/grace-at-home-no-66.html

 

 

Technorati Tags: camp recreation,finding joy in the ordinary,mothering and gratitude

how a pile of old wood became a beautiful rustic table

 

Life’s been so busy lately I haven’t had time to update you on all my projects. Here’s one post I’m so happy to share with you.

Let’s see… it all started with this photo from The Polished Pebble. Kelley’s gorgeous home was recently featured in Country Living and when I saw this photo of her outdoor area it really got me thinking. Does this happen to you too?

You see a photo that you just can’t get out of your head?

There was something I just loved about this mix of white weathered wood and wicker, and I thought this would be a perfect table for my patio, but of course I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it.

So I made a mental note to be on the look-out for an old table I could transform.

And a week later, at a family birthday celebration I was playing volleyball in my brother’s backyard and look what I spotted off in the distance.

That’s right. A pile of junky looking wood.

The next day I asked my Dad about it.

“That old pile of wood? Oh that’s been sittin’ there for years, leftover from Mike’s remodel…”

Lucky for me, my brother was only too happy to let me pick through the wood pile and with my Dad’s help, we began to lay out some pieces on the lawn for my inspection. At first, my cute Dad kept pulling out the cleanest looking wood from the bottom of the heap.

I had to remind him I was only interested in the really old looking pieces, the wood that had been exposed to the sun for years.

Here’s a close up photo of the wood I chose.

See the knots and grooves and the perfect shade of weathered gray? 

Aw… I love-love-love-it!

I spent $42.00 at Home Depot to buy the additional wood for the table frame. And then my amazing Dad built this base for me.

My only request was that it be a very simple construction. Nothing fancy, Dad.

And of course, he shakes his head when I say things like this. He still doesn’t completely ‘get’ my taste for things that look so old, but he’s such a good sport.

 

 

When you turn the table over this is the hardware we used.

This is a close-up of the old wood on top and new wood used for the table frame.

The more I looked at the gray wood tabletop, the more I liked the color.

So instead of painting it white as originally planned, I decided to simply even out the dark spots by using light strokes of watered down chalk paint.

Here’s a close up of the finished table top. I was careful to keep the soft gray undertones.

 

For the table base I decided to use this home made chalk paint recipe that I originally got from Sharon. (If you ever need to be inspired to paint, you have to visit her blog, she amazes me with all her projects.)

For the table base this is what I did:  I filled a container with water and began by dry brushing white paint and adding water to make a light base. I let this layer dry, then I dry brushed more white paint on top, just playing around with it until I got the look I liked.

in the middle of painting…

 

…and the finished tabletop,

These are the four wicker chairs I have to go with this table…

 

And these are my two wood chairs. Remember my inspiration photo? There were the two apple green chairs at the end of the table? 

Well I decided to go with white instead, and see how I like the look. These were inexpensive thrift store finds so I thought what-the-heck. Why not use them outside if I need them?

Here’s a preview of my outdoor dining set so far….more photos are coming.

to be continued…

How is your summer going?

I sure hope you’re doing things that make you happy.

xoxo

Leslie

I’m linking up with these lovely friends:

• http://www.commonground-do.com/2013/07/be-inspired-148-need-little-inspiration.html?
• http://www.stonegableblog.com/2013/07/tutorials-tips-and-tidbits-56.html
• http://www.adelightsomelife.com/2013/07/home-and-garden-thursday-37.html?
• http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2013/07/feathered-nest-friday.html?
• http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/2013/07/fabulously-creative-friday-linky-party.html

 

Technorati Tags: DIY wood plank table,outdoor decorating,country living,chalk paint of table