Black, Blue, White, & Gray Kitchen

I think variations of the black and white kitchen are becoming more and more popular. When I decided what colors I wanted in my kitchen, I based them off my favorite dishware -- which I've purchased a good portion of now. I used to work at Macy's in fine china. While there, I kind of became a bit of a dishes snob (I know, I'm sorry!).

I fell in love with Denby stoneware. It's beautiful, it's sturdy, and I had so many customers come in telling me that they'd had their patterns for 20+ years and wanted an excuse to upgrade! It's a bit on the costly side if you don't have coupons or buy during promotions. But it's very versatile. It's dishwasher, microwave, oven safe. They have a bake-ware line of serve-ware, but you can put your plates and bowls into the oven too! It's also pretty resilient if you drop it (short of on concrete).

I swear I'm not being paid by Denby. Just making my excuse for the colors in my kitchen. Well, here's my kitchen inspiration or the mood board!

As always, you can click the picture to see it much larger.

I adore bright, bright (windows!) rooms. I think I want black counter-tops, white cabinetry, with a black/blue subway wall or maybe blue/gray subway wall. I'm a big fan of glass paned cabinets, but would probably like something mix and match (solid/glass). I adore kitchen islands and have always wanted one. I also love the huge cabinet shelving wall + the sandwiched microwave. Genius.

Two rows down, second to right picture: I can't remember where I took that picture from, but I believe it to be from The Gaines Gang. I love that she uses oil dispensers for a cleaner look in her kitchen. She places dish-washing soap and hand sanitizer in them! They're completely practical, while also simple.

The far right corner is actually from my current kitchen. I bought wood words "Live Laugh Love" in super bright colors, painted over them and painstakingly stenciled a checkers pattern on them. Those puppies are white with black squares for those who care.

On the bottom row, the first dishware is from the Jet line by Denby. I own dishes from this collection. The bottom far right is "Blue Jetty" by Denby. This line has been discontinued, sadly, but I own 8 place settings of it!

The bottom row, next to Blue Jetty is a gorgeous wood kitchen picture. I realize that this doesn't match my color scheme but I adore the dual dishwashers! Haven't you ever had too many dishes and wished you had a second dishwasher to cover that? I also love that the dishwasher's face is matching the cabinetry. It hides the ugly in my opinion. Picture from The Pioneer Woman's Lodge Remodel.

I'm doing it again

I'm doing it again. You know, that thing where I disappear for a while? School is hectic. It's taking up a lot of my attention. I'm also co-blogging with my cousin at Eight Days. I'm fairly certain that I haven't talked about this on this blog before, but you can find it here.

Eight Days is a play on the amount of time separating our births. But you can learn that and a bit more from our informational "mini-bios" on the sidebar of that blog.

I post a bit of my daily information over there, which is moving this blog more towards being a place I post my random loves, my random mood boards, and my crafts. My more personal tones will be taking place over there. Yay?

We'll see how that works out long-term.

As it stands now, I have the supplies and the ambition to begin a headband for my cousin, Aimee. But I lack a hot glue gun. Mine is buried in storage and my mom doesn't know where hers made off to. So I'm at a standstill on that project. I've also began to get ready to finish my Valentine's wreath. You know the one? I started it last year and never actually got to post pictures!

We just need to cut more fabric strips and away I go. It's about 70% done from last year. HAH. Maybe it can make it on the door in time this year.

I'll leave you with more mood boards while I'm in my crafting slump -- temporarily, oh please!

Bright Laundry Room

Okay, so I know it's kind of silly to think about how you want your laundry room to look, but I'll tell you this:

1. I'm a mom with a lot of laundry to wash. It helps considerably to have counter space and organization!
2. I hate, hate, hate doing laundry. Having something bright and happy will at least make a drab, boring job a little bit less dreary.
3. I enjoy practical things that most builders don't consider in laundry room plans! I don't want a rinky-dink space or a teeny closet that hides only my washer and dryer, I want a small room that's practical but useful for space.

So here we go!

As always, you can click to view larger.

The picture middle row, middle down is borrowed from the blog: Casamacho. I adore the bright green walls and the reuse of a shelf from Ikea (after painting), placed sideways. I love the basket organization and the hand-made fabric "curtains" hanging to hide ugly cords. Gorgeous room, but fully practical!

The picture middle row, bottom is borrowed from Pioneer Woman in her Lodge postings. I absolutely love the window to bring natural light into her room (doesn't that automatically make a room more happy?). I'm also in love with her glass paned dresser with to-die-for counter space! Once again, utilizing shelving for anything you could need (laundry soaps, bleach, fabric softners, ect). Brilliant.

Blue, White, Tan Mood Board

I thought it was past time to start uploading more mood boards! I have a good deal of them done and ready to be shown -- just haven't got around to it.

So, here we go. You can click the images to get a closer look at them. As always, nothing is absolute in style that I want or brand. It's just a look.

So I'm in love with white furniture. I love the idea of a bright, happy room. Wainscotting is a must! White bead-board, perhaps. I'd like a nice bed, an armoire for guests to hang up their stuff, night-stands and a writing desk with a vanity mirror over it for dual function. I really hope for a white cozy armchair and a fluffy blue ottoman to snuggle under the window and read a good book.

I'm in love with white sheers for that bright room feel, as well as a blue solid to add color but also a spark of privacy when needed. I really like the tan walls to offset all the blue, but maybe if I keep the blue limited to accents, the walls could steal a blue color.

I want this to be my master bedroom, but my manly man isn't a fan of this in a bedroom -- despite his stamp of approval of it in a bathroom as seen here.

Below are just pretty bedrooms I adore that I could see fitting into my "guest bedroom vision". Here's to hoping I have a modestly sized home to pull this off!

First School Frustration

Today provided my very first school frustration. I went into my ECE 312 class expecting to meet a new professor. She wasn't there. In fact, she showed up only for a few minutes and left rather abruptly. We had a stand-in.

Turns out, there's a position opening that she is the only faculty member eligible for. But in order to fill said position, she'd need to dump all of her scheduled ECE classes this semester. She's signing a contract on Friday if terms are negotiated appropriately. So today, we spent our full class session talking with our potential stand-in professor.

It was just a mess of crazy. She handed us her assignment sheet before saying that if our original professor turns out to be staying, it will be void. That our original professor will have a completely different syllabus. And that she herself has never taught out of the textbook I picked up for over $70.

It was a mess. Here's the kicker, the people who came hoping to get added to the classroom were told they'd have to come back on Monday as well to see who we even get as a professor. It will be decided over the weekend.

If it's our potential step-in, our original professor will e-mail us the step-in's syllabus (possibly as late as Sunday night) and we'll have a pop quiz on the syllabus on Monday morning.

I just think it's ridiculous and I'm frustrated that my original professor didn't just hand her class over and avoid this pigeon holing that's being down instead.

About Me: Day 20

Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future

Brandon. We've had our problems and we've had our incredibly good times. The latter outweighs the former. I think we'll eventually get around to that marriage thing. But it's nothing I feel a rush for or an urgency to do right this minute, or even this year.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if we decided to buy a home, have another baby, and get a couple dogs together before we take the plunge and get a piece of paper showing legal marriage. It's just not that high on the priority list for us.

I will say that marriage might be prompted faster if we found out a reason that it's better (legally) for our child in the event of death or something. That's something to look into for sure. :)

I started school today. My first class was in Early Childhood Education 314: Child Family Community. The course focus is on a child's development within a community. It's essentially a look at every imaginable factor in a child's life and how they change and shape that child.

My professor is incredibly nice and very smile-prone. Kind of infectious. The mini lecture we got today was amazing. I'm very interested in the course material!

Years back, I was enthralled at ecology (within the animal kingdom) and it seems as if this course is the human version of that.

We were talking about intentional and unintentional socialization a parent puts upon their children. As an example, in regards to hygiene. A mom might teach her child how to brush their teeth and stress the importance of it. That's intentional socialization. A child observing their mother apply make up or blow dry her hair is unintentional socialization.

A child interrupting an adult conversation and being told it's inappropriate is an intentional socialization. The same adult interrupting a child's conversation with a friend or their focused play is an unintentional socialization, but one that a child draws impressions from in regards to interrupting an adult versus a child.

It's much deeper than that but the concept is mind-blowing to me. The mere idea that our mannerisms, opinions, behaviors, and comforts are closely drawn and directly related to those we were exposed to is incredible.

I cannot wait to delve into it further and learn more!

Picture snagged here.

About Me: Day 19

Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them

Val - This is the most basic nickname I have. My name is Valerie and Val is a common nickname for it. I will say though, I hate when people I've just met or barely know use it. In one case, a friend of B's (who was a good friend of his but who I'd had limited exposure to) used it without asking and on the regular, it rubbed me wrong. It's my intimate nickname. Only my closest friends and family call me Val.

Engine Woman - This is a nickname from my father. He never called any of us Princess or that sillyness growing up. We all had very uncommon nicknames. I was his tomboy. I was the one who'd be helping him with the car (handing him tools and such). I was also the one who helped him heft sheets of sheet-rock + plywood onto the roof to patch and re-shingle it all.

Vallie - My mom's nickname for me. She uses it almost more than my own name (which she chose!). Not many people call me Vallie.

Vallie Doo - My sister's rendition of Mom's nickname for me. She calls me Vallie Doo and I call her Katie Foo, sometimes Katie Foo Doo. Although, I have never been called Vallie Doo Foo, so I'm not quite sure why or when we added Doo to her nickname.

(Bonus: Katie Foo came from my parent's nickname for her: Bunny Foo Foo.)


V (formerly: V-Babe) - This is a nickname my cousin gave me as a teen. It's since been refined for the last few years to just V. Her boyfriend, as well as some of my closer online friends use V to address me as well.

BB - The abbreviation to a personal nickname from Brandon, the significant other. I wouldn't tell my Mom what it means, so I definitely won't be writing it out here. Sorry!

Bunny/Bunneh - This is a nickname from my gamer friends. I'm guilty of playing an online MMO and was at a loss of what to name my character. I looked to my favorite ice cream: Blue Bunny! Since two+ years of the tag, Bunny or Bunneh has become my game name as known in that community.

About Me: Day 18

Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have

A lot of this is already touched on in my About Me, but I think I can be more critical of my future dreams, plans, and goals. I think that plans and goals are much the same thing. You plan to reach your goal. So I'm tying those two together.

Dreams:

-To own a home on a large plot of land in some area that is still somewhat wild.
-To build my own home -- that is, to have a home that fits everything I love and want. This would include
extras like a full-working basement, a hidden room (for food storage + safety), a guest bedroom +
bathroom, two offices (his and hers), a craft nook, a man cave.
-To get to dive with a whale shark.
-To visit Ireland.

Plans/Goals:

-Do all Early Childhood Education courses available
-Get Pediatric First Aid & CPR certified
-Save 20% down for our first home
-Build up 3 months supply of Food Storage

A good lot of my goals can be found in my 101 challenge here.

Picture found here through google image search.

About Me: Day 17

Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

This is a toughie for me. There are so many people I want to know the inner workings of. I think my number one pick would be my significant other, Brandon.

I'm most ultimately (and acceptably) interested in knowing how things feel (intimately -- cough) or how I'd think as a male. There are oftentimes when B and I discuss hot topic issues or even moral issues or confrontations and we seem to view them from different points or express an alternate reaction. I'm interested in the compulsions behind that. Simply. And he's the one guy I would find most appropriate for the er, intimate side of things.

My other runner ups? My son, Cole. I'd die to know how his little mind whirls. He's so smart and remembers things so well. I'm interested in the thought processes behind the adorable things he says or does. I'm also interested in how small children perceive emotions and feel them.

A wealthy person. This sounds shallow but there are so many things I'd love to do for others if I had the money to. Whoever I chose would probably not enjoy the swap, because my life is rich in experiences but poor in excess wealth. And I'd definitely use their wealth to bestow things upon the world that they quite possibly wouldn't approve. We're talking buying land and designating it building/hunting free. We're talking donating money to great programs. We're talking donating money to animal rescues and promote for them.

Hello, Again

I've been hiding from this blog (silly, I know) because I feel as if I should write something about my absence from my somewhat frequent blogging. Then I think that I'm really the only one who even follows here, so I don't need to explain myself away.

Yet, this is my private place and I should be able to write how I feel about the recent events taking place in my life. Bah. It's an endless cycle and I'm just about to step off. Why have I been gone? Why did I start the new year ignoring my desire to blog with regularity?

On December 31st, 2010, my Grandmother passed away. It wasn't a big surprise to anyone. Her health has declined rather rapidly in the year 2010. But it was a bit of a shock to the system to spend our first Christmas without Grandma this year. And it was an even bigger shock to start our new year knowing we would be burying our Grandma within a few days.

Something interesting about my Grandma's passing? She died at exactly 12:00am on December 31st. I think it's a good thing, in a way. She died exactly 24 hours before the ringing in of the new year. It almost seemed like her passing wiped our slate clean for the new year. All of her pain and the difficulty of watching her struggle -- first through colon cancer, and then with advanced dementia -- stayed behind in 2010 and didn't get to tarnish the new, crisp 2011.

Grandma lived to see the very end of 2010. It hurts my heart that she's gone. It hurts my heart that losing his Great-Grandmother happened to my son before he really knew her.

I don't like when people turn the dead into perfect saints. But there are many good things to say of my Grandmother. She was a true lady. The perfect 1950's housewife. She believed in serving others before herself. She scarcely took time for herself. She was most concerned with making everyone, especially guests, most comfortable.

She was the woman who would make her stubborn grand-daughter some lunch every day on time. She was the woman who laid out her children's clothes, and swept the house daily. She pulled weeds in her yard and spent a deal of time watering it the "old-fashioned" way every day. She never spoke loudly to anyone and I've never seen her speak ill-words of anyone, even those she clearly wasn't impressed with.

She wasn't the kind of Grandma you could get up and cuddle with, but she showed everyone love through acts of service. She was a beautiful soul. Even if she did keep to herself a lot.

She had the most magical collection of toys for us grandkids. I remember her really old (and ugly) reclining chair and behind it was these "hidden" bookcases with treasures for us all. I remember how every time we visited her, we'd sit behind her chair and read books quietly. Happy as could be! I remember the tall rubbermaid containers full of toys and figures.

I'm so incredibly sad that pain was the path to the end for her. I'm so heart-broken that my son and my mate didn't get to know her like I did. I'm sad that the people I love the most in my life won't ever know her. But I'm so relieved that she's got peace again. That she's not scared of shadows and of her own family.

I have small pieces of her. Her own treasures that I was kindly gifted with. She'll live on in my heart and through her adorable figurines that I'll proudly and safely display. I have memories. Most recently of my beautiful son and how his short life has been impacted by "great-grandma".

I love you Grandma. Thank you for taking such graceful care of me. Thank you for never judging my lifestyle and my decisions, even though they were of direct contrast to yours. Thank you for being you. You will be missed. You are so precious to me.