Spectrum

When Jon and I first got married our home was...beige.  Antiqued white apartment walls, tan couches, espresso coffee table, cream and flax dining table (though calling it a "dining table" is a definite exaggeration - think one up from t.v. tray...)  Our bathroom towels, dish rags - tan.  And our duvet?  Our bedding to scream newlywed-ed romance?  Yep, you guessed it...oatmeal.  Oh, yeah, I did have a few red pillows.  Annnnd our carpet was blue. 

I'm half laughing as I write this; the other half is somewhere on the I'm-mortified-I-just-said-that-out-loud scale.  Back then, I would have told you that I just wanted something I'd love in 10, 20 years.  'Cuz obviously...oatmeal is timeless.

Retrospect whispers, as it often does, that I was afraid.  I was afraid of committing to a color and hating it.  Afraid of mistake.  Afraid of driving my husband crazy with my indecision.  So I played nice...safe...tan.

I'm not sure when the blues and greens and yellows and oranges bled through.  Maybe the tides of color rolled in with our kiddos, who's laughter and adventure and spitfire are anything but beige. 

Maybe it's the women I call friends who've taught me so much about living in a home, and letting that life show, dirty kitchen, trail of toys, and all.  Maybe it's that I have changed - far less worried about mistakes.  Far more concerned about the alternative, which is to never try.  Whatever it is, I'm so glad I embraced the change and the color wheel.

Can I just say how much this applies to life?  We can choose to befriend those like us.  We can choose to view the differences between our spouses and ourselves negatively.  We can squelch the uniqueness in our littles, expecting them to conform to miniature versions of ourselves.  But wouldn't that all be very...vanilla?

Once again, Jon and I find ourselves surrounded by antiqued white walls of rented space.  It's where we are for now, but that's okay - color finds a way.  Trim added to curtains, dining chairs recovered, furniture painted are all on the list of to-dos.

Fabric for 2 of our 6 chairs.  Each chair gets it's own fun pattern.


First on the list of furni-paint is this new-to-us piece I found on Craigslist.  We needed more storage in the kitchen; this fits the bill perfectly.

Map of India, momento my grandpa brought back from a trip; string of birds, World Market.

I'm thinking mustard, fresh green, maybe even teal.  I might hate and change it; that's okay.

Farewell beige, tan, flax, oatmeal.  Hello color.  Hello mis-step.  Hello different.  Hello life.