Monday, May 17, 2010

We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

I am writing this post in response to my sweet, intelligent, and wonderfully creative friend Jenn. She is always doing fun projects around her house, and with her kids, and recently she asked, "So what is your favorite thing in your house? Something you or your child has done or something thrifted/bought out and about? I love sneak peeks into everyone's special spaces!" So, I thought I would give her (and many of my friends and family who unfortunately haven't been able to visit Vancouver) a sneak peek at my favorite part of our little home.

When Sebastien was away this past fall, I was pretty down in the dumps for a while. I was very busy: studying for a really big exam, going out a lot with my friends here, taking walks and having dinners, and using every opportunity I had to talk with Sebastien. --But I was still sad. I considered moving to a different apartment in a different neighborhood (just for kicks), but then thought it would be too much work, on top of my already busy schedule. I decided to put my energies into positive changes around our apartment that would be a nice surprise for him, when he returned. In a day of cleaning, I found some picture frames, and then I went out the next day to find 3 more matching frames in the alley (if I haven't told you about our "magic alley," I would be shocked - it has given us the most interesting stuff we have in our apartment)!

Anyway, I wanted to feel some productive creativity, and finally inspiration struck. I spent over a month arranging and rearranging all these frames on a table in the middle of our living room (I had been listless around the house, to say the least). Finally one Sunday, I wanted to turn my mood around, so I went to the hardware store around the corner and got a few new bottles of paint, and went to town on the frames. My idea was that I wanted a whole wall that would complement the paper poppies I made, and that would cheer me up a bit. The paints I bought were magenta with glitter, fire engine red, basketball orange, some light hard red, and some french grey (I already had yellows, black and white).


It definitely took me WAY too long for this whole project, but I am STILL cheered up every time I look at the fun frames and photos of family and friends. I think it is nice in the context of the rest of our bedroom too - it definitely brightens it up a bit!



Thinking back on the many projects that Sebastien and I have taken on in our three years here, we've definitely come a long way. I am very happy with all the work we've done, and look forward to more fun projects like this (although I hope they go a little quicker!).

To conclude, I will repeat Jenn's question: "So what is your favorite thing in your house?"

2 comments:

Vanessa said...

I love this Hope! How did you make those poppies?? I think I need some. Come down and teach me!!

TheMuscatoHansens said...

You are sweet... Thanks for sharing your space - I LOVE it. The poppies, the wall of photos and memories and just the peace I feel when looking in on your space - you have made an amazing sanctuary Hope!