Dreamy Kitchens

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Scrooooll.

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That's me on a Friday night skimming interior decorating websites, saving a million photos to a computer file aptly titled, 'Ashley's Wicked Awesome Dream House.' Yep. I love and have always loved interior decorating. I also love dreaming some big dreamy dreams. And being the organized, must write it down, list it, categorize it, type A person that I am, I'm constantly saving pictures and ideas on my computer. When I was just a kid I used to cut out pictures from the Sears catalouge and glue them to a room plan that I designed. But nowadays, right clicking + saving is just so much more efficient.

Tonight I've mainly been kitchen photo hunting as we are currently in the midst of kitchen renos. It's fun to discover new inspiration and thought I'd share some with you. I adore these kitchens, loveloveLAH-ooove them!

Kitchen Must-Have Looks:

Light, airy blues paired with a lot of white, like a LOTTA white (this can only be a bad thing with 6 animals in the house, 2 black dogs included)A distressed something or other (or is it stressed? I can never remember) Nixing the top cupboards for shelving

Glass or subway tiles A wood counter An island on wheels with vintage or industrial bar stoolsIndustrial lighting
A fireplace (okay, so maybe it's not a "must have" in the modern day kitchen, but it'd be pretty wicked awesome) Beams on the ceiling A chalkboard grocery list Art & fresh flowers
What are your must-haves for kitchen decorating?

PS. Please don't mind the whacked out size of the photos in my last blog posts. I am an in-training blogger currently learning about size adjustment.. Patience, young grasshoppa.

Anne

Doesn't Annie look pretty? We took some shots before her big graduation dinner.. Gosh, I can't believe how grown up she is, how grown up I am (haha, not really). But really, it's incredible how far we've come but also mind boggling and sort of, kind of scary. We're approaching mid-20s.. Really? How on earth did this happen?

Bah, anyways. We hit up a little park and this construction area by her house which I am reeeally excited about! I conjured up some rad plans using the concrete tunnels in a future shoot. Stay tuned!

Isn't her smile so real and beautiful? It just makes me smile back. Random fact: sometimes I yell dirty words to make people giggle.

Chaos

Hang on.

You are not alone.

Thank You Momma

I drag my heavily soaked brush down from the top of the doorway as if I'm steadily yanking down the ripest apple from the top of the tree, the strong musk of latex wafting into my nostrils. In my now almost completely robin's egg blue kitchen (used to be frowning caveman green), I stand and look up at my mom on my husband's shaky wooden ladder. With her roller to the wall, she laughs as Travis and I sing, well yodel/scream, our way through the brilliant Imogean Heap's 'Hide & Seek.' While still giggling she manages to yell out, "You guys! Shut up!!" With an agreeing glance toward each other, Travis and I crank our singing volume way up, being the immature conspiring brats that we are. Still laughing, she continues to paint.

***

I don't say thank you enough, Mom. I mean, I know I say it in those obvious big times like when you stay a weekend at my house, putting your intensely busy life on hold just to paint my kitchen. But what about the little times? Those seemingly small but significant moments.

Thank you for being a friend, a mother all of us children feel comfortable enough to tease, harass, pull pranks on - with the only response being laughter and the occasional smack on the shoulder.

Thank you also for being pretty weak so those smacks on the shoulder don't ever hurt.

Thank you for always trying to smother me with kisses everytime I hug you (I swear you do it now just because you know I don't like it).

Thank you for stopping me from pulling the heads off my barbies. You may have put an end to some serious crime in my future.

Thank you for letting me quit ballet when I had to dance with that.. boy. Cooties.

Thank you for learning how to teach just so you could help your own children. Thank you for those after-hours school sessions at the kitchen table every day. They did pay off, for all of us.

Thank you for sleeping beside me in the hospital when my kidneys were failing. And buying me the sparkly blue Crest toothpaste just because I wanted it.

Thank you for cuddling up next to a sleepy, grumpy teen in the mornings, poking and bugging me until I would wake up, finally threatening with the spray bottle.

Thank you for fighting me every step of the way from seeing a certain young boy. You were right, he was a bad apple.

Thank you for putting our hobbies and sports, our "Mooom, I have to have it" brand name clothes, our tears, our future, everything first. Even with no time, minimal energy and little money - your boys and daughter always came first.

Thank you for that still being the case.

Thank you for calming me down when I had a public melt down over a wedding dress.

But more importantly, thank you for truly loving the man I married. Your relationship with Travis makes my heart smile.

Thank you for supporting my always changing mind and my new crazy and crazier endeavours.

I think I've come to expect you to pull through everytime I need you because you have never let me down. But I shouldn't expect it, you don't have to do many of the wonderful million things you do. You are special and the way you treat your children is special. For all the times I don't say it, thank you Mom. I love and enjoy who you are.

PS. Happy Mother's Day to all you mommas out there (yes, I'm one day late on this post but I mean it all the same).

Uhm.. Yum.

I have an addiction to chocolate. I don't know how it got this bad but it did, I've become a chocolate monster. And it's starting to show, cough, physically.. So in hopes of kicking my chocolate addiction in the ass, I've been going cold turkey. No chocolate, no sugar, no happy taste buds, nothing of the sort (okay, so I broke once on my brother-in-law's birthday). But I just discovered a website of recipes for thee most scrumptious looking, fabulous, creative cupcakes [warning: do not view on an empty stomach as you may eat your computer screen]:

http://mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com/

Oh, god. Must not break, must not break, must not... dude, are you kidding?!

Funkin'

I've been in a funk; a cold, depressing, self-depreciating, grumpy funk. And I'm blaming it on the rainy, overcast days of BC. But today is ahhh, so lovely out, giving me hope for the end of funk. Summer, baby. Other than my anxiety of hearing fearful screams at the beach when I walk past the hot, toned, tanned beach babes in my bikini, I am so flippin' excited for sandal weather!

I'm excited for my summer play and for my summer goals. Play: horse ranch, road trips, winery tours in the Okanogan, camping, tubing, margaritas, sky diving.. yay!

And then there's those summer goals I mentioned. I used to volunteer a lot but lately life has led me a stray.. I miss feeling so happy to be a part of change, being there for the animals and people that need help. I feel guilty for slacking. So back on the volunteer horse I go! I think this time I'm going to work at the Chilliwack Animal Control. Those babies need a lot of lovin'. Hopefully I'll get a chance to post pictures of some of the adoptable dogs that need our help.

Oh! And there's the renos of course. Gotta keep working and get 'er done. This time next year, I want to see the letters S-O-L-D across our house. Well not literally. If someone graffitied my house I'd probably collapse and die. But hey, I guess if they spray painted 'SOLD' on my house, then it's the new owner's problem.

And finally, I want to improve my art like crazy this summer. I'm going to take my first photography course (with my momma who wants to learn too!). And I'm going to take steps to focus.. Focus on what I really want to shoot, on my own style, on cohesive editing and collections, on building a name for myself and getting out there. I want to be the best artist I can be. I'm scared and just between you and me.. I've been driven close to giving up. But I'm so fortunate to have people that won't let me, that have threatened to kick my ass if I stop. Even when I am so weak and sucky, they are my support team; my amazing parents, extraordinary best friends and the best, I mean the BEST husband in the whole freaking solar system.
You know what, this crappy weather we've been having lately is no reason for me to be in a funk. I am so incredibly blessed, rain or shine.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll Love Ya Tomorrow

In 4 minutes it will officially be tomorrow. Head should be meeting pillow anytime now. I guess I just had such a good day I don't want to sleep it goodbye. Rewind/fast forward: laughed with (and at) my mom all day, dinner with my husband's wonderful family including a beauty of a remake of Total Eclipse of the Heart, butternut squash ravioli with.. goat cheeeese (!!!!), home to an almost finished kitchen counter top that my husband has been working so hard at, warm fuzzy doggy snuggle sesh and caught up on Glee. Good, right? Yep.

I guess I shouldn't be afraid to fall asleep. Tomorrow will equal = yay! cos I am going on a little day trip to the states with my daddy! For a little while I don't have to be a grown mature adult (trust me, my dad isn't either!) with la-haaame responsibilities. May your day tomorrow...crap, now today - be filled to the brim with pure joy. And if it isn't.. make it.

(B)AMA

This is what happiness looks like.


A warm blankie and cold grass,
a little game we like to call 3up/3down,
hippie smoke, jumping deer
and stumbling upon ..a costume wedding?
Just a little bit of time with the girls that I love.

We are the Tripod.
And I very much so became the person that I am
because of and alongside these two silly faces.

Tripods.
I recommend 'em.

PS. The faceless one on the right is Annie Bananie. She just graduated from TWU yesterday! Woo, Anne!