Photo Dump Archives - Page 3 of 15 - Enjoying the Small Things

Creating Change

July 2, 2012 By Kelle

The day did not get a rolling start this morning. Rather it sort of stumbled and stopped–over a too-early wake-up time, over another cup of coffee that failed to do its job, over the obvious need for naps that literally whined its alarm at ten o’clock. Work is hard on these days; writing is nearly impossible. Perhaps in response to my own edginess and frustration, my brain fires survival commands and the result is a scattered mess of thoughts which can’t be compiled into anything sensible. But I won’t go down without a fight. I refuse to condemn a perfectly good Monday as “one of those days” before noon. Hell, before five.

I don’t think being happy and the number of good days we have is so much governed by genetic predisposition as it is creativity–developing new possibilities and alternatives to deal with real problems. And really, creativity in its artistic form–painting, decorating, writing, singing, sculpting–it’s all the same. We create something good when there’s a need. When there’s a blank canvas or maybe just an ugly one that needs repainting.

I repainted my ugly canvas this morning, rifling through nearby resources like digging through a junk drawer for spare paint brushes. You use what you have, and I had a stroller and a beautiful, albeit hot, day. We walked a different path, peeling sweaty clothes from our bodies and slowly reversing the day’s tone with each step. Two blocks in, Nella fell asleep which eased me into finding time for some work, and another change–hauling my laptop out onto a blanket in the woods–accomplished more than my coffee did this morning.

I don’t push creativity on my kids because I want them to be interesting or have something great to tell people at a party someday. When I gush with pride after Lainey paints something spectacular or chooses an imaginative ensemble to wear, it isn’t because I think it makes her stand out as unique and awesome (even though it does).

I celebrate creativity and applaud imagination in my children mostly because the ability to create something new–to dream up a different way of doing something–means they are more guaranteed to find happiness in life.

The more they create and practice building something from nothing or changing not-so-great into fabulous, the more likely they are to use creative strategies to develop solutions to challenges in their life. They will find joy, and they’ll do it with words and colors and paintbrushes and voices and journals and music.

By example, I will model to my girls…If what you seek doesn’t exist, create it. In art. In life.

This Weekend, in Art:

A Room Makeover.
The eating area in our home has always held so much potential. Natural light pours in generously from a great bay window, and the room is joined to the kitchen by a counter bar. It’s a happy place, but the elements of the room–a high table that cut the window view, drab beige paint, a clutter-collecting soffit and a black linens hutch that was given to us–never added up to give the room what it deserved. That is until I put our table up for sale and found a smaller quaint farmhouse table on Craigslist for a steal. That was last week. And, if you give a mouse a cookie, she’s not going to stop. I started the Deibeigify House Project, painting our dining room an airy pale blue (Behr Pensive Sky) and following with removing all clutter. The true transformation came with an easy furniture transformation. In two hours, our black table linens hutch turned in to a great piece of furniture that gives the room a colorful pop.

It cost me all of three cans of spray paint (Rustoleum, Color: eden) and new hardware (50% off at Hobby Lobby right now).

For those on Instagram who had questions, how I did it:

Finally, I installed a couple shelves between the kitchen and dining area to highlight some of my favorite antique shop finds.

Rhino Head (his name is Al) is from Z Gallerie

*****

This Weekend, in Life:

Celebrating Brett’s Birthday

Sunday afternooon swim

Celebrating our sixth anniversary last night

*****

Last Week’s Friday Photo Dump:

Friday Phone Dump photos are taken on the Instagram iPhone app (free) and dropped into a 12×12 collage using a photo editing software (Photoshop Elements works). I am @etst (enjoying the small things) on Instagram if you care to follow the feed.

And your #enjoyingthesmallthings photos. (If you use Instagram and have a photo that makes you happy, share it by using the hashtag #enjoyingthesmallthings. Yours may be chosen to be shared in a Friday post.)

*****

A special offer for readers today: Joyfolie Shoes offers beautiful, unique shoes for little girls (and now women too!).

I’m in love with Nella’s little yellow beauties.

I remember when Joyfolie was just starting out–a small collection of amazing homemade shoes. Word traveled quickly. A look at their site, and you’ll see why. Use code KH30 for 30% off your order (excludes styles marked NEW).

*****

Sunny Monday to you!

The Last Day

June 24, 2012 By Kelle

After three weeks away and over 4,000 miles worn on our tire treads, we are now only three hours away from home. That’s three weeks times 4,000 miles plus three hours equals—well, crackers. Crackers everywhere in our car. Smashed into the carpet, buried under car seat fabric, wedged into the plastic grooves of floor mats. We’ve exhausted all road trip games, we’re all ready to be home, and all cries are now answered simply with “Here, have some crackers.”

We’re already talking about how we’re going do the whole walking into the house thing. We’ve been driving six hours, we’re bored, we needed something to talk about.

“I say we don’t carry anything in. We get the girls and go inside and celebrate,” Brett suggests.

“Ooooh—good idea,” I applaud him.

“And let’s video tape it. I think the girls are going to be so excited to be home. It’s going to be awesome.”

I love that he says this.

I’ve never been very good at ending happy events like holidays and vacations, but it’s easy when you slide from happy vacation to happy home. From Chicago adventures and book signings to hammock naps, dune climbs and lake wading, I’ve been deprogrammed, ready to reestablish our home routines step by step—most familiar and well-established but some new, inspired by travel.

Playing in the city creek at sunset in Chattanooga last night.

The thing I love most about visiting other people and places is witnessing the wonder of differentiated cultures and learning new things—routines and methods that are interesting, most of which are different from ours and shed light on how wonderful it is to be unique and how fascinating different ways of living truly are. I like to see the way people organize their homes, how they relax, how they make time for family, how they experience adventure. I like to see how towns exist and function—what shops are thriving, how they are designed and decorated. Some of the things we learn and see, we take home and implement in our own home. And they can be as simple as falling in love with my friend Rebecca’s wood salt box that her grandpa made her and deciding a homemade wood salt box is a very charming thing to have in a kitchen indeed.

There’s something cozy about giving my girls a bath in someone else’s home. I always love it when my friends’ kids all climb in our tub. It’s very “Mi Casa es su Casa.”

The last days of our trip were spent in Carmel, Indiana and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In Carmel, we reunited with my friend Rebecca and her husband John, who graciously opened their beautiful home to us.

Lainey’s knee-patch leggings, The Measure

Nella liked the carpet so much, she fell asleep on the stairs. She slept there for two hours.

Downtown Carmel afternoon:

And last night, we stopped in Chattanooga for sunset and dinner before driving on to Macon, Georgia to sleep off the driving hours.

Chiseled right into the cement of downtown sidewalks, in front of the Tennessee Aquarium, is a pebbly shallow stream where kids gather in the heat of summer. It curves and staggers into mini waterfalls and calls for little ones to drench their clothes—even if they have no back-up outfits.

Even if there’re no more diapers.

The Tennessee River sidles right up next to downtown Chattanooga, and the Smoky Mountains rest stately in the background—the grand combination providing an epic place to watch the sun set.

We did just that, and it was one of those moments—one of many on this vacation—where I stood in awe, in gratitude, in perfect contentment. “I’m so happy to be right here, right now,” I thought.

Ice cream topped off the evening.

As well as the sounds of bands that loudly echoed into the streets from bars that were crowded with summer enthusiasts.

*****

This week’s Friday Photo Dump:

*****

And now, I’m publishing this from home, settled in for only an hour but so ready to continue sinking back into our space this weekend.

This is my last vacation post–so bittersweet. What a trip this has been. My girls were so wonderful. Cooperative on the long drive. Fascinated with new places just like I dreamed they’d be. There were a lot of “wow“s.

Find ways to be fascinated. “Wow” is always such a wonderful word to say. And these past three weeks have been just that.

Wow.

The last day of our vacation, the first day of our summer at home.

Enjoying: Mini Bucket

May 21, 2012 By Kelle

I do love a good birthday party, a festive holiday, opportunities to pop the cork, blast the confetti and do my now well-choreographed high-on-life dance (in my head, it goes a little something like a kick, step, high kick, twirl, bounce, bounce and jazz hands–subject to variation, of course). But (yes, there’s a but) the best, most contended parts of me purr most during the in between. When, instead of grabbing a megaphone and shouting “Life is Beautiful!”, I whisper it softly to myself.

This megaphone/whisper relationship is part of growing up for me (which, for the record, is a forever process–one in which an “all grown up” stamp is certainly not the goal). When I was a teenager, a friend once told me, “I like your soft smile. Your closed mouth one–the one you don’t do very often.” Which I very well could have taken as “I hate your real smile; you have big teeth,” but I didn’t.

The point is, for every extrovert, there are valid introverted needs too. For me, that means putting the megaphone down, telling my feet to walk a bit between the cartwheels and quietly and calmly enjoying simple moments. Smiling softly.

Post-party, I did that this weekend. And I recognized, time to step back a little bit and make sure I’m doing it more often.

*****

With that said, I am enjoying…

My girl’s birthday, my birth day.

On the actual day, we gave her some options of special things to do. She wanted a Cracker Barrel pancake breakfast with her friend, Aleena.

And pierced ears.

She smiled nervously and sat very still, holding her friend’s blanket. When it was over, she gripped me tightly–no tears–and occassionally turned her head to get a shot in the mirror of her new bling.

I’m finding so many new ways to tell her I love her. The challenge is thrilling.

*****

Five Year Old Things

She brings me a sheet of paper and a pencil and tells me exactly what to write. I carefully follow her instructions. She asks for a strip of tape. She hangs the new sign on her door.

*****

A birthday package with new handmade sweaters from my mama

*****

Finding the girls playing “office” at the toilet in our bathroom

*****

“The Mountains”

*****

Coming home for popsicles afterward.

*****

The return of Woods Picnics

Because they make us all slow down. Because they make me smile–with my mouth closed.

*****

Friday Phone Dump

*****

Lists.

I like lists. A lovely friend texted me this morning with a “Happy Monday, what are you looking forward to this week?” And I thought about it a minute before settling on the fact that I will give myself plenty to look forward to. I will make a list–a miniature week version of a bucket list, full of very doable tasks, and I will cross them off all week long and celebrate on Friday.

My Week Ten (oh, this could very well be a Monday thing…watch out)

1. Text someone randomly every day this week. Pick a person and let them know you are aware of what’s going on in their life; that they are important.
2. Beach sunset.
3. Create a care package for a friend’s child. Stickers, coloring book pages, temporary tattoos, hand written notes, a leftover lei from Lainey’s party. Tell them they are awesome. Get it to the post office by Friday.
4. Wear two french braids. Tie them with ribbon.
5. Put the kids to bed, turn the phone off and watch a movie on the couch with Brett.
6. Bake something new. Take a plate of said sweets to a neighbor.
7. Pick out paint colors for Summer Project Debeigify Everything 2012. Paint big brush strokes of sample paints on wall so now you have to paint.
8. Go online and search Florida getaways for family staycation destinations this summer.
9. Make a Summer Inspiration Board with kids–fill it with things we want to do this summer.
10. Spa Night with the girls. Play music in the bathroom while we paint nails, do face masks and tell stories.

You know how excited I am for this week now?

C’mon. Join in. Can’t think of ten, how about three…or five? Make a mini bucket list–just this week. What are you going to cross off your list? Celebrate with me this Friday. Print off your list, hang it somewhere you’ll see it, and cross things off with bright markers.

And that’s a very good place to say good night.

Insert closed mouth smile. I think I’ll go take a moon walk. Alone. I’m leaving my megaphone at home…but bringin’ my high-on-life dance.

Kick. Step. High kick. Twirl.