2.13.2017

what's black, white, and gold all over?

My friend's new eyelash extension studio! 
*ba-dum ching!* I'll be here all night, thanks.

One of my good friends is opening an eyelash extension studio, Extend Lash Lounge, in her hometown in Michigan next month and it's going to be amazing!

In a post I did a good while ago, I outlined four basic things to think about before working up a space that ring true and apply to any room:

1. What do you need the function of the room to be?
2. How do you want the room to feel?
3. Choose a color palette.
4. Find and collect inspiration.

(More on each of those things in the original post here).

I came up with a few design boards for her when she was scheming about the decor and look of it all. She knew she wanted black, white, and gold accents. Here are the three different palettes I came up with:

The first board is Kate Spade inspired- all things girly, pink, striped, and bold. Using bold patterns, like stripes and animal prints, with fun textures like a sheepskin throw and light and airy textured wall paper and glass globe pendant lighting, work together to create a fun, trendy, and unapologetic feminine vibe. There is a bold feel (anytime you pair contrasting colors), but it isn't overwhelming because of the lightness and softness of the textures. My favorite feature is that gold bar cart! One day I want a reason to have a bar cart. Let me rephrase- one day I want a bar cart. We could have parties just because it's Tuesday.

This next look still uses black, white and gold- but in a completely different way. Pairing those colors with warmer neutrals (like earthy greens) and modern textures (like wood, marble, and concrete) give this look more of a spa-like feel: clean and relaxing. The golds are also darker golds- more brass than shiny gold like in the first board above. Using lots of plants also helps the overall look feel fresh and natural (like you want those lashes to be ;-)
The last look uses pink as the accent color again, but the softer blush pink paired with more grays and whites instead of straight black and white makes this look much softer- giving off a chic, couture vibe. The lighting is also much different in this board, using a fancy-schmancy chandelier instead of simple pendant lighting, along with other features like the mirrored dresser to punch up the glam vibe. 

So which look did she go with in her salon? 
Door number one! Kate Spade. Wouldn't you want to hang out and get your lashes done there?! (And drink something from that cute bar cart with a little paper straw while you girl talk for a couple hours gettin' beautified?!) Me too. I'll show you the reality of how it all came together, from inspiration to interpretation, once they open next month! 
Woo!

2.07.2017

life lately

...has been absolute crazy-town. But I'll get to that. First some things I don't want to miss!

 ^Jillian did the science fair last month! It was totally optional for everyone in the school not in 5th grade, but I knew Jillian would love it and I wasn't wrong. We spent an afternoon trying different simple experiments to see which one she wanted to do, and growing gummy bears was the winner! I really wanted her to do as much of it as possible, so I just helped her get everything on the board and of course think through the scientific method- other than that she loved doing it herself!

During the awards ceremony I didn't know how she would handle walking up in front of everyone (since historically this has been a trigger for melt downs), but when they called her up to receive a participation award she bolted up to the front to get her certificate and stood up there just beaming, so proud of herself! They announced she was just in kindergarten (the only kindergarten participant) and the 5th graders all collectively gasped as one kid sitting near us mentioned, "Well that's inspiring!". 

I'm starting to realize that as a parent, part of my job is to help my kids find what they want to do and what they want to enjoy and excel in- regardless of what I think they should do or even want them to do. And heck, if it's the science fair that helps her build confidence and makes her feel successful, then bring on the scientific method. My mama heart was so proud of her that day it could have burst wide open.

 ^My parents came to visit last week! When they come for a week it always feels like the fastest week ever, but we enjoyed having them as always! One day I hope I'm as patient as my Mom is with the girls (like letting them help with almost every part of banana pudding assembly)!

 ^I snapped this on my phone of the girls sitting on the side of the tub "just getting their feet wet" while in a mid-afternoon much needed bubble bath. I'm sure you can guess how long them staying on the side of the tub lasted...(spoiler alert: not long). It's been one of the craziest, busiest weeks EVER. We've been slowly starting to look for a new house with the idea we would move towards the end of April before the arrival of baby #3. We're ready to be in a larger house and shave some time off of James' commute to work! I ended up coming across a house I LOVED on Zillow (a website I was never checking regularly). After finding out the owners were hours away from signing with another offer, we were able to sweet talk them into letting us come see the house anyway and had to put in our offer the same night if we wanted a shot at it (the real estate market in Utah right now is moving crazy fast)! After learning our offer was accepted the next day, it meant we had to get our house listed the next day as well. So we went from having family here for a week, to a show-ready house in literally like 36 hours. There was much, much cleaning, touching up, and de-junking to be done (and a high amount of caffeine consumption to go along with it). We got a lot of interest in our town house right away, and were able to get someone under contract just 4 days after listing it-- such a huge blessing! Now I'll just be holding my breath for the next 30 days while inspections and appraisals happen on our current home and future home and pray we don't hit any snags along the way!! There's no doubt in my mind we've had some divine help in this whole process- from the way we randomly found the new house and how quickly we were able to get our house sold as well. Some may call it good luck or coincidence, but I just don't believe in that.

But now hopefully things will slow down for at least a couple of weeks (my body is so worn out!)...until we have to start packing that is...