Fevers and Gallery Walls

I hate when my babies are sick and there is nothing I can do about it. Boog has had maintained between a 102-104+ degree fever for the better of 4 days now.  The days have not been easy.  With doctor's orders, we have been waiting it out.  1 more day and we have to go get some blood tests done.  She has been asleep for almost 2 days straight. It's pitiful.  I never thought I would be so excited to see her pull out a puzzle and ask me to help... but it happened this morning!  So we will see.

Not much project-finishing has been going on, but I was able to snap a few pictures of the gallery wall that I put together before a sick little 3 year old rocked my world upside down.

Here is what the wall looked liked when we first moved in.  We were in that just-make-it-work-until-I-can-find-what-I-really-want-to-do-with-it stage and that big dresser in the middle of a narrow hallway was just a little too crowded.

I painted the wall Anonymous by Behr (my new favorite color) and added a lot of things that mean a lot to me.  Putting a gallery wall together is pretty easy.  I just put everything I love from all over the house in a pile.  I start on the floor by laying the biggest piece that I have down first (for this wall it was the chalkboard that my girls climbed up on the couch to color one day and surprise me with :o)  Then I play until I'm happy with it.  

As you can see, I haven't gotten to paint these bright, brass doorknobs yet!  I'll get there...

This house has a strange layout- one of the many reasons that we love it.  This is the hallway that connects the living room to the playroom (go left) and the garage (go right).  That doorway there is to a guest bathroom.  I love the centrality of this gallery wall, it really adds something interesting to the wall without crowding it up to much with a piece of furniture.

Now to the keepin' it real portion.  I showed you how it looks when you look right down the hall, wanna know what you see when you look left?

Haha... it's an awesome wet bar with a wine bottle border and a bright orange laminate countertop.

Don't believe me?

Work will be done here soon, because I don't think I can handle it anymore!!

And a few more fun features have really helped my mood in the last few days - so I want to give a shout-out to them!

Emily over at Mirrors, Metaphors, and Kaleidoscopes featured my Fall in a Lightbulb on her Saw It, Loved It Sunday segment.  She has such an adorable cute (newly designed!) site that I envy a little bit :o)

Stephanie at Under the Table and Dreaming (which I have no need to introduce you to because she's awesome and everybody already knows her) featured my table and fall centerpiece on her Fall and Halloween Creative Ideas post!  Go check her out... endless hours of inspiration!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and please keep my little Boog in your thoughts.

-Katie

Partying Here:

Fingerprints on the Fridge

At the Picket Fence

The Shabby Nest

Tatertots and Jello

Be Different, Act Normal

Flamingo Toes

Lines Across my Face

I heart Naptime

Under the Table and Dreaming

Sumos Sweet Stuff

Between Naps on the Porch

When I Get Stressed I Paint...

Yes, as the title says, when I get stressed I paint.

If you missed my bedroom inspirations post, check it out.  The uneven stripe on the wall will eventually be covered by beautiful board and batten :o)

The lamp you can find here.

My future gallery wall (as in- I'm putting it together later today.)  Pardon that bathroom! I should've shut the door :o)

My bathroom is all one color now after a month of this.

So you get that I'm stressed.  

Big. Changes. Around. Here.

We decided that the pizza business isn't what's best for our family anymore.  Hubby the Great has decided to step out of the security of his job to make a better life for our family.  I respect his decision and am proud of him for being willing to move away from what he knows for the sake of us.

He has had 3 interviews with the same place and should find out in the next 48 hours if he got the job.  God is in control, always has been and always will be. 

Please pray for me in this move from security to insecurity, from the known to the unknown.  Please excuse a few possible slow weeks in the project realm of this blog because our financial situation is a little bleak at the moment.  

Thank you for reading this blog as it truly is an outlet for me right now, and you are helping me (and therefore my family) by offering support and encouragement in a big way! I love you all!

Off to paint some more!!

-Katie

A Vintage Gallery Wall

I like gallery walls. I really enjoy putting a big pile of things that I love on the floor and then playing until something beautiful happens. Hubby the Great wasn't a fan of the idea of a gallery wall when I first ran it by him, but I think I finally made a believer out of him. One thing I've learned about a gallery wall is this.... it doesn't have to be matchy matchy, it doesn't have to be themed, and it doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be made out of things you love.

I submit for your viewing... Exhibit A...

See that cross on the right? That was in my room when I was 5. The blue picture on the left was stitched 8 years before I was born by my mom and hung in my big sisters nursery. My mom worked right around the corner from that building on the bottom right in Charleston, SC when my parents first got married and my dad was away on submarines in the Navy. That green "M" was painted by one of my best friends and college roommate. The picture of the ladies in the top left has this written on the back "Mom, I found this picture at an antique store in Benton, VA and thought of you. They are from a magazine published in 1890! Merry Christmas!" to my grandmother in 1983.

They don't all go together and I certainly didn't get them all at the same time. But that wall makes me happy because it represents so many things that I love about my life and home. Those pictures were all in a box and could have stayed that way, but I decided to take a risk and put them together. I think it made magic and it's probably my favorite wall in my house.

Do you have a pile of discarded pictures or perhaps a secret love of 70's cross-stitch? Take a chance, or at least take a stroll through the pictures at goodwill. You might be glad you did!

Love, Katie