Ya'll do not even know how excited I am to write this post.

Ok, so here's a quick run down, a few months ago, we bought our new house, hired painters, picked out the totally wrong shade of grey-it turned out baby blue-then we tried again (hired painters AGAIN), and it turned out a darker baby blue thanks to our lovely color choice, so we gave up and had a u-g-l-y blue house for the last few months. You can read about that whole fiasco here! 

Anyways, so we were bouncing around ideas for the past summer trying to decide if we were going to commit to painting etc. Because its the entire downstairs, which is a lot of walls so it's definitely a big job. Well we did end up comitting despite our issues , and the operation has started (and is almost finished!)

I read lots of good things about Behr and picked 3 colors swatches at Home Depot.
Left: Cathedral Grey
Middle: Natural Grey
Right: Graceful Grey

The walls look grey in this picture, but don't let it fool you! The blue is all up in your grill in person. Like lunch spinach all up in there. Now I know what you're thinking, of course I have to go with the Natural Grey because obviously it's natural and not swayed cool/warm. BUT, you know after 2 big mistakes before, I just wanted to be sure.

Ryan painted the same 1x1 square on about 5 different walls, you can't be too safe ya know. While Cathedral (the darker shade) was nice and the right color, it was too similar to what we had now and that wasn't happening. I also wanted to choose a much warmer toned grey to see if that was the right way to go since we've done cool tones this whole time. It was a no, too beige.

While we officially decided the color, I was having major issues committing. How did I get married. But Ryan kept reassuring me that it was not blue. I think my mind was playing tricks on me telling me it was slowly turning the color of the sky.



Then, my worry was whether or not it was too similar to white, but we painted it by the baseboard and it was apparent. Thank the paint Gods for this one!

So after about 2 walls of cutting, painting, standing on uncomfortable ladders, etc, I was pooped. Thankfully, Ryan is a gem and likes to get things done (sometimes a blessing sometimes a curse). Look how cute he is painting and whatnot. #that'smine #don'tlookfortoolong



You can see a big difference in the colors in the first picture. Aaaannnnnnnnnd for an even better ending to this post....



WE PAINTED OUR DINING ROOM NAVY BLUE! That's a whole other story/post in itself. It's much darker in person, but just adds that bit of fun to the house since Ryan won't let me paint the walls pink. Of course I'm being dramatic, people. I would never have pink walls....maybe. 

*More coming very soon!

IKEA Knife Rack

I found this amazing knife rack at IKEA when I was in Canada. There isn't one in Las Vegas, so best believe I stocked up. While it didn't transform the kitchen like "omg, what a big difference", it made room for more counter space and makes it look a whole lot cleaner. I'm all for function people. Before, I had one of those wood knife blocks, which don't get me wrong was fine, but I like the more open counter, less on top, type look.



I thought about putting it over the stove, where most people put them, but that area always gets greasy and oily and I don't want to add a bunch of knives to my long list of cleaning. Point taken.

Dark Wall Inspiration?

So I'm totally on this whole black/navy dark accent wall trend. Is it just a fad or will it always be timeless? I may not know, but I'm totally drinking the Kool-aid. I'm loving these inspiration pictures I found on none other than Pinterest.

*Sorry, some of them are blurry from enhancing their size.

Home Sweet Home

Ah what a cliché of a title but it's true. I've been home for a week now, and I'm amazed at how fast I fall right back into my normal routine, with a few twists. I can't believe the summer is gone already. I've learned so much, grown so much as a person/wife, and met lifelong friends, all while experiencing a new country/culture/lifestyle. It's bazaar to think about. And I SURVIVED.

It almost makes me tear up just to think about the amazing life God has given me. I'm not a crier, but if I was, I would. Who gets to say they can travel (and not work, which let me say is a blessing in itself...lol) all over the place for hardly what people spend on vacations. Sometimes, I just have to step outside of myself and take it all in.



A few words to describe my experience:
-Awkward (only at first)
-Amazing
-Interesting
-Thought Provoking
-Adventurous
-Exciting

A few words to describe the people I met:
-Fun
-Weird
-Kind-hearted
-Intelligent
-Patient
-Loving
-Motherly (for my amazing host mom)

Now don't get me wrong, the first month was a HUGE lifestyle/mind change that I was having a hard time adjusting to. But it just takes time to unwind and feel comfortable...at least for me and in that time, I found myself and who I wanted to be (more than I already knew). Being home, I see certain things I do differently, and can pin point what I like and don't like. Ex. laundry being of that list I STILL CAN'T STAND. It may seem easy to some people, and believe me, I know HOW to do laundry, but I would rather go through my whole closet and wear ridiculous outfits than do a load of laundry...and I don't think that's changing.  

Anyways, I just am so grateful for this summer and opportunity and pray we are somewhere just as amazing next year. Who knows, maybe we'll be back in Canada, or maybe somewhere on the east coast. All I know is that wherever we are, I'll have my rockin' hot hubby next to me, God watching over me, and a blessed life I couldn't ask anything more of.