Moroccan Blues

Is it me or does the world seem to be spinning faster and faster? 

Ever wish you could just spin the globe and stop it with your fingertip and just go? Well, we did just that and ended up in Morocco!

photo

No not really. But, we basically did the same thing for less than $100. Okay, not the same thing at all. 

Like a lot of young couples, we are on a budget, meaning no Moroccan vacations just yet. We also don't agree on everything. I know, I know, that is hard to believe. 

For instance, H has been begging to spice up our abode and I am kind of digging our neutrals. But, after a little coaxing we headed out to pick up some paint. To throw a little color on the wall. Four of them to be exact.

When we first moved in, our mud room looked like this.

Gorgeous! 

But, after a year (holycraponeyear) the Benjamin Moore Horizon Gray walls started getting a little scuffed up. 

As I mentioned, H wanted to add some color. After I vetoed the big green forest that he wanted to paint (no, I am not joking), we went with a deep blue. 
  

We chose Pantone's Moroccan Blue via Valspar. Not quite navy with a hint of peacock. It is bold and a little bit sexy. Yes, I just described my mud room as sexy. I need to get out more. 

Eventually, I would like to hang a fun piece of artwork on the far wall. Maybe a painting of a forest. 

It's all about compromise people.  

Fading Into Fall

The summer flew by for us. We have been crazy busy as you may have guessed by my rather lengthy blog absence. 

We are currently working on enjoying what is left of the warm weather, atop the RTD. This is what our perch views have been like as of late. 

It may be a far cry from the Tetons but, I am trying to enjoy it for what it is worth. 

The summer synopsis is coming soon!

Tricky Tricky

H and I went from renting rooms with friends to renting a small home with each other to buying an even bigger home. We have slowly been accumulating furniture throughout the years but, once in our new house we had some empty space that needed to be filled. 

We purchased a beautiful new couch from Crate and Barrel. It is an über comfortable, linen blend which means that I had a new challenge; a need to keep a certain someone off of it. Occasionally, Miss Maui likes to play Goldilocks. She bounces from dog bed to dog bed and recently she has been testing the waters with the furniture. 

Her bed just isn't cozy enough for some reason.

Want to know my trick? 

It costs next to nothing and you chances are already have it in your home.

Tin foil! 

I have actually found that I do not need nearly as much as shown. We can fold it up quickly and throw it in a drawer when needed. 

So, if you've ever tried to keep your dog off of your furniture, I'd recommend giving this a try. Although, fair warning: Maui is a nearly perfect pooch who listens and trains easily. 

Dang, You're Old

Happy birthday America.

We will be celebrating today in Charm City.

With our favorite pooch. 

And some special guests. Hint...

Happy Fourth!

Ohh Happy Day!

Today, my H turns THIRTY years old! 

Cheers to you my love, my best friend, my happiness. 

May each year be better than the last and each new decade bring you unimaginable joys. I love you, darling and am so blessed to have you in my life. 

Happy birthday!

I'd also like to give another birthday shout out to H's birthday buddy, Grant! Happy FIRST!!! 

You can see more of G over at A Page In Our Book

Adding Some Green

A few weeks ago, I decided that our house needed a little curb appeal. So, I made a trip to Home Depot to purchase a couple planters, some soil, and plants. I was being rather indecisive about planters so I decided to buy two of the wooden variety there, and move on to plan B. 

I have been in a galvanize tub kind of mood and found one for pretty cheap on Amazon. Two days later (thank you Amazon Prime) and this 16 gallon, shiny, trough arrived.

Then it rained. So my plants spent a little time indoors. 

Once it dried up, I was able to plant the two little, green trees that I purchased. 

 One for each side of the garage.

This one is also concealing our gas line (that couldn't be moved for whatever reason the City gave Mr. Contractor during the building stages). I am thinking now that I should paint the rest of it Navy. #mentalnote #todolist

This tree is not big enough to conceal our neighbors garbage can but, I have high hopes for it. 

After that, I was exhausted so, I hired out the rest of the work. No, not really. 

H was very excited to help plant at this stage. 

Having H help is a little bit like having a toddler around. They don't want to shop, prep, or clean up but, they certainly do want to get their hands dirty and jump in for the fun part. 

I call it 'stealing the glory'.  

Maui even decided to get in on the fun. Thankfully, she is a lady and doesn't pee on flowers. 

The ornamental grass and Celocia turned out pretty lovely if you ask me. 

And just in case one of us ever has a tapeworm we can ingest the flower for its medicinal properties to treat it.  

Seriously. Google it.

Spring Has Sprung!

One thing that I love about living in a different climate than I grew up in is experiencing a true Spring. In Jackson, Spring is known as "Mud Season". This is because of the long winter and large amounts of snow that melt away and making everything a little bit mushy prior. Eventually, Summer comes and everything is amazing but, it's not that pretty getting to that point. 

The blooms are definitely my favorite accessory of an East Coast Spring. 

This must be where Lilly Pulitzer pulled her inspiration from. #pinkandgreen

Do you want to know the best part about pink, flowering trees?

PINK SNOW!

I hope you're getting out and making the best of Spring, just like Jack is.

Two of my other favorite accessories of Spring, are ice cream and baseball hats. 

Charlie agrees. 

Come On Knock On Our Door

Upon the suggestion of our UPS guy, H and I decided to add a peep hole to the front door. Apparently, he thought it was funny how I wouldn't open the door until I looked through the window first. Not sure why that's so funny on account that we live in one of the most dangerous cities in America. But, that's neither here nor there. 

So, off to Home Depot we went. 

This lil guy came in oil rubbed bronze ( to match our existing hardware) and appeared to be simple enough to install. 

 

Out of the packaging it came. 

Pretty simple, yes?

I asked my (not so handy) husband for a little assistance. Cue his "shocked" face. 

And off he went, power tool in hand. 

 

A few minutes hours later, (and another trip to HD) H turned this:

& this

Into this:

& this

Now, we can see you when you come to visit! (hint, hint, wink, wink)

Or... if you send gifts we will also open the door for the UPS man. (hint, hint, wink, wink)

 Come on knock on our door! We've been waiting for you.

May you have this song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. You're welcome!

Randy the Chandy

All of the lighting fixtures that I chose for the house came from one store or another. If you said to me, "love that light, where'd you get it?" I would be able to tell you exactly where ("Pottery Barn") and how much it cost ("originally $99 & 25% off"). Although, I am happy with all of my purchases that isn't a very exciting story. 

However, one of our light fixtures was a gift and it has a bit of a story to it.

Fun Fact:

Every time we visit H's parent's house his father, my FIL, tries to get us to take something (or a lot of things) from their basement AKA The Storage Hub. Sometimes we decline, other times we rummage around and take one or two items. For instance, the last time we visited The Hub, H ended up with two arms full of records. Yes, he is slowly migrating from preppy to hippie to hipster. It is a slight problem.  At least he is ahhh, well rounded?

Back when we were building the house I had asked my MIL if she had any chandeliers down in The Storage Hub. It's a little bit like asking, "What's in your bag Mary Poppins?". One coat rack and a hand mirror later and you're set. 

She walked me downstairs and pointed to a sealed box. H was anxious to head out, so we scooped it up and drove off, new treasure in tow. It wasn't until Mr. C asked me to rush over my light fixtures for the electrician to install that I finally un-boxed the chandelier. I don't know what I was expecting but, it wasn't exactly "me" nor did it mesh with this modern, city dwelling. It was also too small for the space it was about to be placed but, there was no time (or budget) to go out and find a new one. After all, we had an occupancy permit to obtain!

So, the too small, gold chandelier was hung. No one could deny it was just too teeny for our high vaulted ceilings and large upstairs landing. But, it would do for the time being.

It's a little dingy but, with a little sprucing up it would (will) be quite beautiful. I'd love it in a small bathroom with some new candle slips. 

Now, for the big rod iron twist, about a year ago my MIL went to Paris, as she does almost annually. It was there that she sent me a picture of this chandelier that she found for sale. 

It was hard to identify the size in the picture but, the structure and details were quite becoming. So, as a gift for our new home she purchased it and had it shipped to the good ol U.S. of A. (Note: this is a slowwwww, freight-liner kind of shipping.) So, out of my mind it went.

Long after H and I had moved in, my MIL called and said the French beauty had arrived. I originally thought it would work well in our dining room and would bring a nice casual, pub feel to the built in benches.

But, in person the French chandy is large. Way too large to hang above the dining room table. Plus, I had grown obsessively attached to this light fixture that had already claimed the space as home. 

I knew just where it had to go. 

Vuala!

Here are some pictures to show you the size differences. 

From below. 

 

From the stairs that access the RTD.

Now, we all know that size doesn't really matter (LIE! Sure it does.) but, the Devil is in the details & I love the details of this randy lil chandy: 

The scalloped bobeches. (Surely you know what a bobeche is.)

 

The green rod iron with shimmery gold highlights.

The leaf and floral design that mimic the beautiful outdoors. 

So there you have it. My little lighting story. Oh, and to the future owners of this little abode of ours... I am pretty sure Randy the Chandy is coming with us on our next adventure. #sorrynotsorry

Thank you MIL and FIL, we love our little (BIG) French treasure!