personal colour palatte

note the abundance of brown and blue- I am trying to branch out!

This idea came about when I was searching blogs to decide what the perfect capsule wardrobe would contain. This means the least amount of clothes creating the most amount of options. Most every list had a suggestion of a limited colour palette, but often it was black, white and red. Oh, and the clothes were often blazers, blouses and skirts. Not exactly what I had in mind.

I wear pajamas to work (scrubs). My hubby has it even easier, he wears pajamas and a hat (he works in the OR), so we really don't have the whole professional wardrobe thing happening.

Also we live a pretty casual lifestyle and have 3 kids and their accompanying grubbiness to contend with.

A long time ago a friend of mine hosted an image workshop at her house. We were all young teens at the time and wore jeans every day. This lady was on about hemming your skirts to be pegged in at the bottom, etc. Not quite where we were at. But we did get our colours done by seasons, remember that whole thing? My mom had her colours done in the 80's (Color Me Beautiful) I think when she was returning to work after being a SAHM. I remember at this party the consultant couldn't quite decide what I was. In the end I think they said I was a Winter. And they gave us a book of swatches of colours that would look good on us. I of course threw it away a few years after that as I had no idea what to do with it.

So I eventually found the Space Between my Peers website and instantly took to her idea of a colour palette that is derived from your own colouring: hair, eyes, skin tone. Really you can't go wrong if you use the colours God gave you.

gratuitous baby shot- I wish my skin was as smooth as hers!

For a while I was wearing only Brown and Blue as I like those colours, I have brown hair and blue eyes and it was easy to find both in the store. But with everything, I am getting a bit tired of such restriction, so I have searched the internet for info on this season thing, to see if I could figure it out. After a lot of reading I have decided I am a Summer who leans towards either Winter or Spring, can't quite decide. I have warm coloured hair and cool coloured skin. Not quite enough of a contrast to be a winter like my sis, but not warm enough to be a spring like my mom.

me and my mom- she has warm skin tones and I have cool

my sis and my mom's best friend- both Winters

The main point being I am now wearing browns (tan to chocolate) and grays (they really seem to suit me) for neutrals, and blues (turquoise, light blue, aquas, etc). My goal is to branch out to greens (I have olive accessories but need some fresh green to see how it looks) and cool red tones (burgundy, raspberry, dusty pink).

When you have a limited colour palette it makes shopping easier, and mixing and matching much easier. The whole point is to give me a wardrobe where everything goes together and one where I can get the most bang for my (limited) buck.

Some references if you are interested in this sort of thing:

Space Between My Peers

Chic Fashionista

Define your Style

Academichic (cool combos and modules on colour)

hanging around

I have had a bit of trouble with blogger. I tried 5 times to upload pictures last week and tried twice to comment on my s-i-l's blog with no luck. There are lots of thought in my head just hanging around.
Hopefully I'll figure it out this week...

I heart shoes

At this time of year I spend a fair amount of time assessing my family's wardrobes. Moving summer stuff in to boxes, sorting out what doesn't fit and needs to be kept for a sibling or what doesn't fit and needs to be given away (sniff, my babies are indeed getting big). It seems wise also to assess my own wardrobe as the seasons change and see where the gaps are.This will lead me to write about a bunch of things that have been on my mind for a while, and they all fall under the title of wardrobe planning. And there is nothing I love more than planning.I think a great way to great the new season is assessing what I have (inventory), then assess the gaps and then make a list of what I need (shopping soon to follow!!).

So without further ado I am going to show you my shoe selections.

The dressy shoes.

My dressy clothes are mostly black and grey. Shoes are the same. Top left from my bro-il and sil's wedding last year, basically rhinestone flip flop wedges, and I like them. Top centre silver flats- I am in love. Top right black heel sandals, hard to walk in. Bottom left black peep toes, also in love, bottom centre small heel mary jane comfy but something about the heel is kinda frumpy, bottom left black moccasin slides are very hard to keep on my feet especially when chasing kids or in the winter.

The verdict: looking good (especially for the amount I dress up) but I could use more functional black leather mocs, and a pair of flesh toned low heels for all the non black dressy things I own.

The boots.

Snow boots, rain boots, fake leather boots (brown of course), and cute short rain boots (sure to be my walk to school favorites this winter. My hubby informs me that the brown ones aren't feminine enough to be worn with a dress. When did he get his degree in fashion? The same time he got his MD I guess.

The verdict: Black or grey nice boots are in order. More feminine brown ones if they are super cheap. And must resist the cute patterned rain boots I see everywhere as I really do not need them.

The dressy casual shoes.

These are shoes I would wear with jeans and a nicer top all the way up to dress pants. Cute mom look or casual church look, ya know? Too many to go into detail, but suffice to say I have a thing for brown flats. The gray ones are wedges and a bit too big so they are hard to walk far in.

The verdict: I could use some more grey or colourful flats that are good for walking.

The comfy functional shoes.

Good for any activity from chasing kids to a nice long walk. Top left tan Reeboks. Top right Clark springers, the most comfy shoes ever! but slightly outdoorsy/old lady looking. Bottom left olive green Pumas love them and they were bought on sale! Bottom right ancient NIKE runners currently used for working out and work.

The verdict: need a new pair of actual runners for work or working out, and a cute pair of coloured runners like the pumas or reeboks would be nice too since they are well used.

The summer shoes.

I actually didn't wear the crocs at all this year, although I do like them (comfy, indestructible). I found them in our shoe storage box just a few weeks ago, and put the brown pair at the back door for running out to the garden with the kids. The middle pair of flip flops are Clarks and oh so comfy. They were pricey but worth it to me as I wore them every day for 2 summers. I actually tried to buy more but Clarks didn't seem to make this simple style this year. The left flip flops are dressier and the right ones are plastic from Old Navy. I also have royal blue, gray and olive green plastic flip flops that I didn't pull out this year (I worked a lot this summer) but are still good.

The Verdict: no need for flip flops, but will replace/add to the nice Clarks if the opportunity arises.

After writing all this I realize I have indeed inherited my mother's crazy shoe obsession! But I am in pretty good shape in terms of having something to fill most needs. I will make a list and keep my eyes open for deals. It is much better for me to shop like this than to go and have to find something. Bad choices come from that type of pressure. Also to note I don't really wear heels even though I qualify as petite. I am much more interested in staying on my feet (while carrying one or more children and running after the remainder) than I am about appearing taller. I think I am generally well proportioned so why try and pretend I am tall. 5'2" (and a quarter, thank you) is plenty tall enough for me!

Song Lyrics Sunday

This World by Caedmon's Call

There's tarnish on the golden rule
And I wanna jump from this ship of fools
Show me a place where hope is young
And a people who aren't afraid to love

This world has nothing for me and this world has everything
All that I could want and nothing that I need

This world is making me drunk on the spirits of fear.
So when he says who will go, I am nowhere near.

And the least of these look like criminals to me
So I leave Christ on the street

This world has held my hand and has led me into intolerance
But now I'm waking up, but now I'm breaking up
But now I'm making up for lost time

Song Lyric Sunday

Wait and See by Brandon Heath

I was born in Tennessee, late July humidity doctors said I was lucky to be alive
I’ve been troubled since the day that I got here, troubled to the day I disappear
That’ll be the day that I finally get it right

There is hope, for me yet, because God won’t forget, all the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see, he’s not finished with me yet, he’s not finished with me yet

I never really was that good in school. Talked to much, broke the rules
My teachers thought I was a hopeless fool all right.
I don’t know how but I made it through, it’s one of those things you gotta do
I always had a knack for telling the truth.

There is hope, for me yet, because God won’t forget, all the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see, he’s not finished with me yet, he’s not finished with me yet

Still wonerin’ why I’m here. Still wrestling with my fear
But oh….He’s up to something,
And the farther out I go, I’ve seen enough to know that I’m not here for nothin’
He’s up to somethin’

So here’s my time to be a man, follow my heart as far as I can
No tellin’ where I’m ending up tonight
I never slow down or so it seems, but singing my heart is one of my dreams
All I gotta do is hold on tight.

There is hope, for me yet, because God won’t forget, all the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see, he’s not finished with me yet, he’s not finished with me yet
He’s not finished with me yet, He’s not finished with me yet.

Sorting it out - the Answer for kids art

If it weren't for my husband, who likes to throw everything away, I might just be a pack rat. I am a very visual person so I really hate working around clutter, but I am kinda sentimental so I am sad to get rid of things. One thing I have a lot of trouble getting rid of is my kids beautiful art. They make something every week at Sunday School and then at Daycare, and Preschool. That doesn't even take into account the stuff they make at home. I am at a loss for what to do with it all. I did try taking pictures of it, but that is hard to keep up with. I tried sending it to my Grandma who lived far away, but she is gone now. I still like the idea of sending something to Aaron's Grandparents in the mail every month even though we do see them in person. The kids would probably like that too. But again, that is hard to keep up with. So at A's urging I finally purged it all. This is what I started with.Pretty bad, I know, considering my oldest just turned 5! Well, I successfully weaned it down to one drawer, only partially full! I put the rest lovingly in a bag and told A to get rid of it quickly before I changed my mind.
I got rid of anything without a name, date, anything that was essentially a duplicate, and anything broken.
I saved a variety of things for each kid (well mostly just for the boys, L is pretty young yet) from different times and different types of crafts, drawing, cutting etc. I felt great afterwards knowing that what I did save is organized by kid and dated and safe in a big drawer. Now I just need to be selective with the new art that comes through our door.
I also spent some time sorting out some other stuff...
Can you tell what it is? I have a system for this too. More on that next time.

Kids' rooms

There have been some major developments in the downstairs renovation, but the fact that it is now plumbed and framed doesn't make for a visually stimulating blog post. In fact it looks beautiful to me (my hubby built it with his own 2 hands after all) but to everyone else it just looks like a construction zone!
Unfortunately, everything else in the house has come to a stand still because we are pretty short on free time right about now. I have many decorating ideas in my head but I am either at work, or my hubby is at work, or if by some strange fluke we are both home at the same time he is working on the basement. So my projects have not been getting done. Maybe you can use your imagination and picture a few cute projects in the kids rooms....See there on the wall above baby L's crib? A blank wall you say? No, it is a monogram and stars pasted on the wall in pink fabric. Cute don't ya think? Oh and her fabulous rug? Great isn't it?
And here on this side of her room under the mirror that I painted that was my Grandma B's once upon a time is not the IKEA dresser and change table but a white painted wood dresser with dovetail joints and all that the previous owners left in the basement. All I have to do is strip the many layers of paint off it and re paint it white and get new hardware, then presto it will appear in this very spot! I am happy with her little wood kitchen though. All the kids play with it and I think it will be enjoyed for a long time to come.

Now on to the boys room.R's bed, complete with the star quilt I made him when I was pregnant with him.
And this is K's bed (you can tell can't you?). When made, it is very similar to his brother's but the quilt at the end has some greens in it and was made by my talented friend Christina. Oh and the stars above his bed were yellow in his nursery but he destroyed them when he was 2. So I remade them in a more appropriate colour scheme for this room. They are just wood stars from Michaels covered with scrapbook paper. This paper has vintage planes and cars and boats on it. It is perfect! And took all of 15 minutes to do.

And what about using your imagination in this room? Oh my, each by has their name in big white painted letters over their bed and these adorable red shelves in the shape of an airplane, for storing their treasures (lego and such).

This is the area right by their door and it is pretty much done. The top picture is R's birthday etc and it was painted by his great grandma Nan. It is beautiful and very professional quality. Then below it is K's picture that was a baby gift from my work, it is gorgeous. It has his name and all his birth info is hung on each letter with a little tag. On the back the meaning of his name is written out. It is so classy. Then the bottom rack is three star hooks that my mom brought back from Pennsylvania many years ago, and A mounted on a board for my. They are metal and the hooks are rough hewn nails. I love it. This is where clothes live when they can be worn another day before going in the wash.

That's it. I wish there was more progress to show, but I am afraid there is drywall and wiring and windows that need to happen before I get to any little details like these.
For now the rooms are cozy enough and fun. They do the job!