Painting the New House: En Suite Bathroom

When we moved into our house in January, we did a lot of painting. I've already posted about our daughter's nursery (which I actually did in November/December), the accent wall in the dining room (which I completed in early January, the weekend before we moved in), and the green guest room walls (which I painted in January, between when we moved in and when our furniture arrived). There are two more rooms we also painted - and both were bathrooms. There was no real rush to paint these, since there wasn't any furniture to get in the way (a bathroom is awkward to paint no matter when you paint it - all the "furniture" are built-in things you can't easily remove!)... but I still wanted to paint them sooner rather than later, while I was still excited to have this new house, and motivated to turn our house into our home. When it comes to house renovations or projects, if you're inspired or excited or motivated - definitely do the project ASAP, before that inspiration, excitement, and motivation dissolve into the ennui of daily life. ;) With that in mind, I painted the en suite bathroom in late January, and the basement bathroom in early February, within that first month of moving in.

Our old house had a dark blue bathroom on the main floor. The vanity cabinet and countertop were white, and on the wall we had 1) a white collage frame of 4 postcards from Santorini, one of the Greek islands where my husband and I went on our honeymoon in 2011, 2) a mosaic tile in the shape of a seashell in whites, blues, and oranges to match the postcards, which I had commissioned from an artist I found on Etsy, and 3) an off-white decorative square tile, which we hung at a diagonal. I liked these pieces together, and the idea of a blue-with-white-and-orange-accents bathroom in general, and I wanted to recreate that somewhere in our new house. The bathroom that made the most sense was the en suite bathroom, which had white tile floor, a big white Jacuzzi tub surrounded by more white tile, and an arched window.

Because the en suite was a much bigger room than the small half-bath that had been our blue bathroom in our old house, I had to rethink the shade of blue a bit. I didn't want to go too dark, because with the room so big, I worried that would make it really dark. So I chose a medium blue called "North Pole Blue," a funny name for a wall to go with our Greek-Island blue-and-orange themed bathroom.

As with the other rooms we painted, we taped off all the edges - the trim, the tile, the mirror, etc. Ceramic tile is nice in that paint scratches off it pretty easily, so you don't have to be as diligent about not dripping paint on the floor as you do when you're painting over carpet; but I still wanted to minimize the amount of picking paint off the tile I'd have to do later on, so we put up a lot of tape regardless.

This is the room my partner helped me with the most. I painted our daughter's stripes, the dining room accent wall, and the green guest room entirely by myself, but for this bathroom, he was able to help me with the painting, and we split it about 50-50... and I gotta say, it felt like it went SO much faster to have someone there helping me. I'm sure part of that is because it actually was a lot faster - but just having someone else in the room to talk to while we painted also made the time fly. We put the tape up and painted the same night, we did touch-ups the next morning, and it was done in less than 24 hours.

Here are some "before" shots, when the bathroom was still a very pale green/gray:

Here are some in-progress photos of our prep and painting:

And here are some photos of the finished bathroom:

There is still a lot of wall space not being used, and I'm trying to think of what to add to them that will fit the Greek Island theme. There are also seashells on the tile around the tub now, but I haven't gotten the chance to take a good picture of them yet. I love the blue and orange combo!

Turning 29 / Goals for 2018

I tend to get very self-reflective on my birthday, thinking back on the previous year and making goals for what I want to accomplish in the following year. I suspect I would do this regardless of when my birthday fell (that's just the kind of person I am), but it's perhaps especially heightened by having a birthday that falls in December, amidst all the "End of Year" news articles, blog posts, and TV specials that reflect on 2017, and the advertisements that encourage new resolutions to be made for 2018.

One of the most memorable parts of the year were the vacations my husband I took - visiting Harry Potter world in Orlando in February, and seeing old friends in Boston in June for a friend's wedding. For next year, we don't have any concrete plans yet, but we do have some ideas we've been tossing around - including going to New York City for a few days. I've never been, and it's always been on my bucket list. I love seeing live theater, I love visiting art museums, and I like doing stereotypical touristy stuff, too. I've been to some of Western Europe's biggest cities (Paris twice, Rome twice, Venice twice, Florence twice, Naples once, Barcelona once), but I've never made it (yet) to NYC! I think it's high time that's remedied. ;)

This past year I've tried to make strides towards self-care. That includes watching my diet and keeping track of my glucose as per my treatment plan for my diabetes (Type LADA - read more here), but also working on myself emotionally/mentally - learning how to recognize negative thought spirals/self abuse, and figuring out how to appreciate myself instead. These are things I want to continue prioritizing when I'm 29, and I've made some concrete step-by-step plans for how to carry out these goals - techniques I can try, things to be aware of, and lists of important reminders I need to make it a habit to refer back to.

In the last year, I've also focused a lot on my art - especially colored pencil drawings, which I was completing in time to exhibit at the "GRRRLS Like Us" show at the Village Theater in Canton, MI. My artistic goals for 2018 are not as singular in focus, because I don't (yet) have a specific exhibition I'm preparing for. Instead, my goals are to do a little of everything - some acrylic paintings, some watercolors, and some colored pencil drawings - focusing perhaps more on acrylic and watercolor, just to balance out all the colored pencil I did this year. I never got back to all those ideas I had for square 12"x12" acrylic paintings, and I want to revisit those in the coming year.

One thing that definitely fell by the wayside in 2017 was my writing. I've been working on writing a series of novels on and off for a few years now, and with all the art I was doing in 2017, my writing took the back-burner. I haven't even touched any of it in months. Part of that is also because I've been writing other things - lots of personal journal entries and things for myself, as part of my self-care techniques mentioned above - and there's only so much time/energy I have to devote to writing. But I do want to get back into my fiction writing as well.

As usual, I have plenty of ideas of things I'd like to do - and not enough time in the day to do them all. I've never had a problem coming up with ideas. What I really need is a way to come up with more time to see all my ideas through.

I'm pretty happy with how my life is going right now, and I remain optimistic about the future. I'm looking forward to being 29 years old and making the most of the last year of my 20s. I'm also looking forward to 2018 - the year I turn 30. There are two sealed envelopes in my desk drawer that I am excited to open on my 30th birthday - a letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was 23, and another letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was about to turn 26. Now I'm only one year away from that 30 milestone. It's both hard to believe (time really does fly by!) and pretty exciting. :)

Boston Flower Photos

Last month, at the beginning of June, my husband and I flew out to Boston for a long weekend. It was our friend's wedding, and a bunch of other friends were also in town. Several of us shared a vrbo (vacation rental home), and it was a ton of fun.

I took a lot of pictures while I was there - of the wedding itself, but also of Harvard, the Museum of Science, the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, historic buildings in the Boston area, sea lions at the aquarium, sunsets over the Charles, and kitschy shops and the witchhunt memorial in nearby Salem, MA.

I also (of course) took photos of flowers when the opportunity arose. There was a gorgeous little garden outside of our vrbo house, as well as some pretty flowers we passed here and there among our long Boston walks. The pictures below are from the house and from just walking around - with the last few pictures being taken at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, an art museum with a garden courtyard in the center.

This pretty arrangement was hanging on either side of the arch at the outdoor wedding ceremony. The bridesmaids had matching bouquets.

At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Travel Bucket List

Well, I've finally done it - I've posted photos from all of the places I've traveled to.

(At least, all the ones I've traveled to since 2005, when I got my own digital camera and started organizing my photos on the computer. Somewhere there are photos of other places I've visited - but they were trips I took with my family in elementary school and middle school, and either I didn't take the photos myself or I otherwise don't have easy access to them in digital form.)

My point is, that I am all out of source material to post about. I am far from out of source material to use in artwork - very few of the photographs I've posted on this blog have actually been made into drawings or paintings so far, and I still have a lot I could work with for future works - but as for photographs to sort through and post here, my digital folders have run dry.

It's been a long time since I've traveled anywhere or had a "vacation" to speak of. My husband and I join his family in Virginia Beach every year for a week, so we do have that. But rarely do I take photos on that vacation, since we stay in the same place and go to the same beach that we do every year. I've already taken those photos; there is no need to take photos of the same things again.

Lately I have been trying to capture "local" moments. I take photos of the plants in my own front and back yard, or in my parent's or grandma's yard, or at nearby parks, or the landscaping and gardens along Main Street, or the Detroit Riverwalk, or other lovely local places - even supermarkets and local nurseries that have bouquets and potted plants for sale. I have also made a list of gardens around Michigan that might be fun to take a "day trip" to photograph some weekend; maybe one day soon I'll start in on that list.

But the fact remains that it's been a while since my husband and I have traveled anywhere; we certainly haven't traveled internationally since our honeymoon, which was almost five years ago now (!) - not counting Canada, of course, which we did drive through on a short road trip to upstate New York for a wedding. For a while, I was crossing the Atlantic every couple years. I went to France in 2005, I studied abroad in Switzerland/Italy/Greece in 2008, I joined my husband's family on a cruise to Spain/France/Italy/Croatia in 2010, and my husband and I honeymooned in Greece in 2011. But since 2011, we haven't left Good Ol' North America.

We went on an extensive road trip in 2012 - but we crammed it all into a week, so we hardly had time to really settle in or look around in any one place for more than a few hours. We drove to upstate New York for the aforementioned wedding - again, crammed into a weekend. We've driven to see my husband's family near Chicago, Illinois several times over several weekends. And we go to Virginia Beach for a week every year. But that has been the extent of our Married Life Travels so far.

Part of the reason we haven't traveled much has to do with finances. I wasn't working for much of that time, or only working part-time, and my husband was not getting paid enough working as a high school teacher. We also had little time to travel - even though he got summers off as a teacher, he had to do a lot of prep work for the next school year and was often taking summer/evening classes to work on his two Masters. We also prioritized buying a house over travel, investing money and time in our house in Rochester Hills - adding landscaping, getting a new roof and new siding and new installation. And then we got a puppy - which made traveling even harder.

I don't know when we'll plan our next big trip, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming. For the longest time France was my biggest item on my Travel Bucket List; then, once I visited France, it was replaced with Italy. I wanted to see art, and the cities that saw so many important art movements and nurtured so many artists. Now that I've been to the Mediterranean three times (!) those are no longer priorities.

My current Travel Bucket List is as follows -

IN NORTH AMERICA:

1. New York City. I've never been! And for someone who is into looking at art museums and who loves live theater, this is an obvious travesty.

2. Harry Potter World. My husband and I have been talking about making a trip down to Orlando to see the Harry Potter World for ages. One of these days it'll happen!

3. Holland, Michigan. It's only a few hours away, but I have yet to make it to Holland during its renowned tulip season! This could even be a little weekend trip and is totally doable - if the husband and I just schedule it right for peak tulip color. Think of all the floral photo opportunities!

4. Hawaii. Not exactly North America, perhaps, since it's way out there in the Pacific. And I am a little concerned about the Burn Factor. But maybe the heat/sun wouldn't be so unbearable if it was a winter trip? I'm sure they have lots of lovely gardens to see out there!

5. San Francisco & Vancouver. Cities on the Pacific that I've never visited.

6. Philadelphia. My family went on a road trip that included Pennsylvania when I was in middle school - but the stops we made were only for Pittsburgh (to see a friend), Hershey Park, and Gettysburg. We missed Philly!

7. Stratford, Ontario. I have been several times to this little town with a Shakespearean-inspired theater, on field trips in high school. But high school was ten years ago, and some day I would like to return to see another play.

INTERNATIONALLY:

1. The U.K. & Ireland. I've covered the Mediterranean pretty well, but haven't been to Northern Europe. I would love to visit England, Ireland, and Scotland - for the nature, the landscapes, the gardens, the castles, London, and yeah - perhaps a tour of Important Harry Potter sites, as well. :)

2. The Netherlands. For the same reason I always wanted to visit France and Ireland, I'd love to visit Amsterdam and check out it's art museums and art history.

3. Eastern Europe: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland. Yes, I have already been to Switzerland - but it was only Zurich, and it was for only two days. My father's ancestors came from a little German-speaking town in Switzerland many many generations ago, but it would be kind of cool to go see it anyway, though I know nobody there. I bet there are also some lovely landscapes and castles and gardens around near the Alps. Similarly, I'd love to see Germany. I've only been to the Frankfurt airport; I'd love to explore Munich or Berlin. My uncle recently took a river cruise down the Rhine and his photos looked really beautiful. I know Germany has some great forests and castles and charming towns. And while I'm in the area, might as well check out Vienna, Austria, or maybe Budapest, Hungary... All the non-Mediterranean cities I haven't visited yet.

4. Sweden, Finland, Norway. Some sort of Fjord cruise would be really beautiful I bet. I know next to nothing about these countries and what there is to do for a tourist, but if I cross off England, Scotland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Poland... somewhere in these three Scandinavian countries would probably be next on my list.

5. Spain. I have been to Barcelona, it's true. But Spain's a pretty big country, with other big cities to explore and plenty of interesting art history.

6. Russia, Turkey, Morocco. I've considered these places before, but don't know if I'll ever actually make it there. I'd love to see some of the major cities, like St. Petersburg, Moscow, Istanbul, Marakesh - the places I always see on TV, with the awesome architecture and colorful marketplaces. But I'm also a little wary to travel to places that aren't exactly the most politically stable/safe and friendly toward American tourists, especially when said American tourists known very little about the countries. Maybe if I did enough research and looked into exactly what I would like to see (and the best ways to do so), I could make one of those trips work out some day.

I realize all/most of these are in Europe... And I am not against traveling to Asia or Africa or South America some day. I just know so little about the world outside of North America/Europe that I haven't learned anything that has really sparked my interest to want to travel there yet. It's Western bias, I know; but I spent semesters upon semesters being fed anecdotes and histories and slides of artwork from the Western world and getting excited about all there was to see. I find that I get the most out of a trip if I know something of it's history; if I know what I'm looking at. And even if I were to find a way to easily/safely explore Asia or Africa or South America (i.e. with a local guide, or at least someone who spoke the language and/or knew the area and what things I should be looking out for), I still wouldn't really understand what I was looking at.

And also I am super pale and burn easily, so the closer something gets to the equator, the more I'm Not Sure if I actually want to travel there. Southern Italy and Greece were already bad enough for my poor skin... ;)

Getty Center Gardens

As part of the 2012 road trip I posted photos from earlier this week, my friends and I also stopped in Los Angeles to see the X-games, visit my husband's aunt, and generally check out the area.

One day, I dragged my husband and one of my friends to the Getty Center to look at artwork (none of the friends who joined us on the trip were really art-lovers, but they humored me). What I didn't realize was that behind the Getty Center was also a beautiful garden. I had already taken so many pictures earlier in the day that my camera battery died before I got to take too many photos of the gardens, but I did manage to snap a few good ones.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the Getty Center gardens:

As with many of my floral photographs, I use these as inspiration for colored pencil drawings and paintings.

Western U.S. Road Trip, Continued

In a continuation of yesterday's post, today I will show some photographs from Zion National Park in Utah, as well as a few other photos from the road trip "Out West" that my husband and I took with three friends in 2012.

The Zion National Park has several lovely areas and hiking trails to explore - so naturally I took a bunch of pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

Here is a photo of what much of the landscape we drove through looked like. Amazing how much "nothingness" there is Out West, and how red the dirt is. So different from south-east Michigan back home!

Toward the end of our road trip, we swung by Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Our timing was perfect so that we visited the great stone carving/tourist trap right on July 4th, Independence Day.

Western U.S. Road Trip

Here are some of my favorite photos from the "Out West" part of our Western U.S. road trip in 2012. My husband and I joined three friends on a drive from Michigan to Oklahoma City, through Arizona and Utah to see the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, to L.A. for the X-Games, through the Rockies and Colorado, up to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore, up through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and then back across the Mackniac Bridge home to Metro-Detroit.

Some of the parts of this trip have already been posted to this blog - namely, the photos I took of the U.P. and northern L.P., in Michigan, as well as photos of beaches in California.

Today the focus is OKC & the Grand Canyon.

Our first stop on the road trip was Oklahoma City, to visit a friend. The downtown area is really beautiful, with a canal running through. We walked around a bit and I took some pictures:

And what trip "Out West" would be complete without a stop to the most famous naturally formed canyon?

The Grand Canyon in Arizona was... much grander than I realized. For some reason, I had always pictured it as the canyons in Road Runner cartoons, where the whole canyon/most of the canyon can be seen at once, from above. I was not picturing something that was too large to be captured in a single photograph; a winding canyon that stretched farther than I could see in either direction.

I'm not sure if I will ever use these as inspiration for future artwork, but anything is possible! I love "collecting" photographs anyway, just in case.

I'll show the rest of the "Out West" photos in a post tomorrow.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula

My husband's aunt and uncle have a house on the western side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (close to the Wisconsin border). These photographs are summer pictures from their backyard and a hiking trail near their house.