The Door to Spring

I have said numerous times throughout the past few weeks that I am done with paint. I've said it as I've sat on the floor looking at paint chips for two hours. I've said it as I rethought my choices in the aisles of Home Depot. I've said it as I put on what I thought was the final coat on a piece of furniture and laid my paint brush down. Yet still, after all the paint that has been slapped on surfaces over the past few months in this house, I decided that our front door needed an upgrade to help us spring into the season (ha ha ha... funny, no?). Maybe it was an escape from actually making decisions for the nursery or maybe it was just the fact that it's been long overdue, but we picked a color and Peyton took care of that bad boy. 

Here is the dull, dirty white door before (which we found was actually glossy once it was scrubbed down.. whoops.)

We chose a Glidden color called Extra Virgin Olive Oil in gloss. It's a bit more yellow than I was planning, but still has a fun hint of green in there. 

Well, hello there handsome. 

There are a few minor details still left, like peeling the stray paint off of the window panes (yeah, that looks kinda bad...) and touching up a few spots, but overall it makes me smile every time I see it's bright, shiny self. 

And that wreath?? My spring pride and joy! A new door deserves a new outfit, and I will share the few details on how I made it soon. 

Hoping to get a post up about the nursery soon. It finally has furniture in it and just some major organizing to go. Makes it all so much more real!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Spring Has Sprung!

And I'm really loving a few things in particular.

1. Pinterest.com. Ok... So it has nothing to do with spring. But I am love, love, loving it. Pinterest is an amazing online community that you can create inspiration boards by "pinning" pictures that you find. You can peruse other people's boards, comment on pics they've pinned, and repin them onto your own! It's fantastic and beautiful and totally a visually-drawn procrastinator's dream. And I've just found (true obsession never rests) that I CAN tie it to this lovely season with my number 2, found there but originally from here. If you are interested in joining you need to get on the invitation list and wait a week or two. Or you could just take a peek, realize how amazing that place is, and ask me to send one of my invites to you. I'd be thrilled to share the joy.

2.

My nightly occasional walks with Tegan are now sans iPod because of the natural musicians all around. Birds' songs are simply intoxicating. They call stress out of me after a long day and then refresh my soul as they announce a new morning. They are so gentle that when they first begin I barely notice, but every year they never fail to usher in the time of new growth and beauty.

3. My new herb garden. Being vegan, we cook lots and lots at home (not that you would know since recipes have certainly been lacking... will work on that!) and use herbs all the time to add flavor to our meals. I'm embarrassed to say that for the past two and a half years I have been purchasing all my basil, cilantro, parsley, and dill from the grocery store and swearing every, single time that I would plant some that weekend to stop the endless waste of money that is the herb market. But lo and behold, I never did. So after forking over much more than necessary to please our taste buds, I finally did it. I planted some herbs.

I was inspired by the dollar section in Target one day when I saw these.

So I grabbed four, a dollar pack of five metal plant markers, and then swung by Home Depot for some seeds. In no time flat I had some metal pails full of dirt and lots of tiny balls of magic.

All I had to do was wait. And let me tell you, when those first little sprouts started to show I called the hubster out excitedly like they were shooting out benjamins. Parsley was the slowest little guy, and Basil most definitely the cutest, but they are all out now experiencing the world with gusto.

Maybe I still have some waiting to do since they haven't even hit puberty, but baby, we are on the road to herb-free shopping trips. Hallelujah!

4. Peyton working outside. Poor Peyton doesn't get much time to enjoy life, as work has him going into the wee night hours most days, but the silver lining is he is able to do it outside. Most nights he can be found on our patio with a string of Christmas lights bunched above him in the umbrella, two lanterns swaying in the tree, Pandora streaming in his ears, glass of wine at hand, tapping away on his laptop. Maybe not the ideal situation, but it definitely is a darn good workosphere. I'll try to snap a shot sometime soon, but let's keep our fingers crossed that I won't get a chance!

So how about you? Is there any thing about spring that has you entranced?

We have plenty of gardening ideas on our plate this weekend to keep us out and about appreciating the chirpy weather. With spring giving us so much beauty, we are trying our best to pitch in. Spring is the time to be fresh, to try something new. Whether that be gardening, running, tennis, cooking, or sitting outside on your porch, go give it a shot. Just spread your wings, open your mind, and free your song. Spring is here!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Springing Up the Craftiness

Gorgeous days that hold a slight breeze, clear blue skies, and the burst of new life in gardens city-wide begin an awakening in my soul. It just begs to create and contribute to this magnificent world. The additions never need to be big, beautiful, or elaborate; they just need to be something to help me feel alive and well. Yesterday I tried my hand at making a spring-y door decoration: a moss covered "M" monogram. And even though I would do a few things differently, it puts a big grin on my face every time I see it (which is often since it has me opening the front door to check it out every hour or so.) It's the perfect quick and easy addition to get your home spring ready!

To start your project you need the letter (wood, foam, or thick cardboard), a hot glue gun, a pack of sheet moss, tacks, hammer, and ribbon.

To assemble you simply attach the moss to the letter using the hot glue. Once it is all covered (I covered the sides and a small bit of the back as well), you attach the ribbon to two spots. I used tacks because they were handy, but if you have a wood letter you could screw in hooks at the top or use whatever you have around (maybe even hot glue?) to attach.

Finally, hang up and admire!

I learned one major lesson in this project. I am a big supporter of buying the cheaper option if all is equal, but in this case it wasn't. I was given the choice of $3.99 moss that came in sheets but was still loose versus the $6.99 option that was attached to a netting of some sort and all very uniform. I figured that the $3.99 would be sufficient, which it was, but the moss had different textures and colors so it looks a bit sloppy from the front. This is a situation where I would spring the extra 3 bucks and just go with the next level up.

Tegan keeping guard. 

Now I'm itching to go back outside (and check out my snazzy front door)... More later!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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