Shades Of Gray (And Green!)

I've been struggling with picking out paint colors lately and I need help! I really want to paint our walls something colorful and I'd rather not go with anything neutral or tan. At first I was planning on using Benjamin Moore's "dune grass" paint color, it was the perfect green which I found thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love by John and Sherry! This cute couple has some awesome DIY ideas and I can't get enough of their fun blog whenever I'm looking for some decorating creativity and money saving tips!

They used it in their bathroom, isn't it pretty?

It seemed like the perfect color until I discovered this rug I blogged about here. Now, I'm worried this green just isn't the right green, it's too much of a tannish green. Yeah, I know that's not a word but you know what I mean.  I guess I need to go back to the drawing board and look for more greens and maybe some yellows...and if I have to, even a neutral color. Not like there's anything wrong with neutral colors, I think they're great but after renting for a few years and being surrounded by neutral walls I really want to paint my walls something colorful and different! If anyone has any {colorful} suggestions I'd love to hear them!

I always prided myself in being such a decisive person, knowing exactly what I want but this new house is making me second guess everything! I was even online last night looking for news rugs that would look good with the first green paint I found. I quickly changed my mind because I really do love my rug and I want to make it work!

In other news I did find a wall color for our master bedroom that I'm totally in love with, well actually, I narrowed it down to two colors and let the hubby decide. The color he chose is Benjamin Moore's "moon shine" which I also found on Young House Love's blog!

It's actually a lot more of a shimmery gray than this picture depicts. Before I started looking for paint colors I was convinced I'd be able to find a green color easily but struggle with finding the perfect shade of gray, turns out it was the complete opposite. Go figure.

Wedding Inspiration Boards!

Another post about wedding pictures? Is she serious?!

I know, I know and I'm sorry but my awesome photographer, Amy Raab, sent me these inspiration boards yesterday and I thought they were too pretty not to share!

I promise this will be the last post about wedding pictures...

Happy Monday all!

I hope everyone's recovered from all of the Super Bowl festivities. 

I don't know about you but I was hoping the Patriots were going to win, mainly because I have a tiny crush on Tom Brady!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Even as a little guy he knew he wanted to go to law school...

...but before that he would go to the United States Naval Academy (where he'd meet me)

...then he'd travel the world a bit (and maybe a few bars) with great friends

...but back to Annapolis he'd return, where the rest is history!

Cheers to many more years together, Matthew. My husband, my love, my best friend!

Just A Few Changes...

Look above. Do you see it? (I mean, can you even miss it?)

Are you even surprised that I've incorporated more wedding pictures into this blog? Probably not.

What can I say, I'm just in looooove with our wedding pictures so I figured why not share some in the title page so you can view them every time you visit! ...but that's not all, there are more changes! 

If you look to the right of the page you can see all of the new social networking icons! Now with just a click of a button you can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, send me an email or even just subscribe to my blog! For all of those not pinning on Pinterest, I've said it before but I'll say it again, you're missing out big time! Although, Pinterest is like the Black Hole of the Internet sucking you in sooooo if you enjoy spending your free time away from the computer you better not join Pinterest. You've.been.warned.

If you want to join Pinterest then go ahead and click that little blue envelope under the connect section of my blog and email me asking for an invitation!

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you enjoy these changes as much as me!

My {So Called} Mood Board...

I know this isn't the fanciest of mood boards that are out there on the internet but I wanted to share my recent purchases (yep, with an s, I've been a shopaholic today) that I've made for the living room!

First, I bought a rug...

Isn't it gorgeous? I love all of the green, off white and yellow colors this rug has! I feel like it has a modern-but-not-too-modern-to-not-be-traditional vibe to it if you know what I mean. Nothing wrong with being modern or traditional but I've always thought my style falls somewhere in the middle which is why the moment I laid eyes on this rug I knew I had to buy it! I first found it on a website called Grandin Road but I was able to find the exact same rug right here on one of my favorite sites, Amazon, for less AND free shipping! Whoop, whoop!

Then I started looking for accent chairs and OH.EM.GEE. when I say I hit the accent chair jackpot I mean I hit the ACCENT CHAIR JACKPOT. There are two things I'm absolutely obsessed with, anything monogrammed and anything houndstooth! Wellllll, it just so happens that Amazon (what doesn't this site have) had a light yellow houndstooth chair, and thankfully I was sitting down because let me tell you, I got so excited I practically fell out of my own chair when I came across it. I literally spouted off rambling sentences to Matthew describing my excitement over this incredible find, he wasn't as excited as I was but that's okay, I knew this chair and I were meant to be!

This picture really doesn't do it justice, it looks more of a check here when really it is a true houndstooth pattern.

I plan to get rid of the yellow pillow and find a fun green and yellow pillow to tie the chair into the rug, I see a Homegoods trip in my future...

I've also narrowed down a couch and (I think) a paint color which I promise I'll share with you soon (and hint: the couch is NOT leather)

I'm sorry to cut this short but my new book, Catching Fire, which like everything else in this blog, can also be purchased on Amazon, is calling my name! For those of you who don't know, Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy and I really recommend reading them!

That's Some High Quality H20

Oh, Bobby Boucher, you'd definitely be happy with the new water system we've got going on in our home. Take a look at this beauty, and it only cost us $3,600, what a steal. We've never had a well before so this is definitely uncharted territory for us but we love the idea of not having a water bill!

 So, what does it do exactly?

In a nutshell, it removes bacteria, calcium and iron while softening our water. There's a lot more to it and I could describe each piece of equipment but I'll spare you, plus I'm still learning so my knowledge is limited!

We also have a reverse osmosis drinking water unit in the new house and I'm really excited about it! 1. The company gave it to us for free since the hubs is in the miltary, it's a $995 value. Gotta love free! And 2. it provides better than bottled quality water by removing 98% of the total dissolved solids from water. I'll drink to that!

I could have thought of plenty of ways to spend $3,600 but the Veteran's Administration (VA) would not approve our loan until we fixed the water issues. It wasn't ideal but we knew purchasing a foreclosed property meant it would be sold as is with all the repairs falling on the responsibility of the buyers. All in all the house is still an excellent value and we're so happy we found something that's under our price range with plenty of room to grow!

G is for Gallery Wall!

So I'm pretty much on a wedding picture high these days and can't stop staring at them!

 I've always wanted to have a gallery wall in my home so what better way to showcase our wedding day then by having over very own gallery wall...with a few surprises from Etsy, of course!

I decided to start with a large picture as the focal point then work the other pieces around it, I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to execute my plan. I've seen some people tape up pieces of paper in different shapes and sizes to get an idea of the layout but that's way too much for me, I'm more of a nail holes into the wall ask questions later kinda gal. My husband just loves this approach. He's a methodical engineer and well, I.am.not. but I'll get the job done, don't you worry, and there's always spackle or whatever the heck you use to fix those tiny, little holes! Maybe I'll compromise and arrange each picture out on the floor first to get an idea of the layout but we shall see, there's no telling with me.

Anyhoo, I digress, I really want to share with you our first piece of wedding art, I am obsessed with it! I couldn't get the package opened fast enough yesterday and then when I finally got it open I just stared at it! It is so BEAU-TI-FUL! Ahhhh, just looking at our wedding pictures makes me get all teary eyed! 

Without further adieu, I give you...

Did I give you enough pictures?! I'm sorry, I'm just a little obsessed!

I can't wait to see it in the new house with our walls painted a pretty green color!