So...it's been awhile...

Can someone tell me where the last two months have went? I'm not really sure, but I do know they have been a blur!

Since April, the fields have been planted...

and they now look like this!  The crops are peeking through and they are soaking up every drop of the rain we have been so graciously blessed with lately!

T-ball season has begun....

Ballet is almost finished for the summer...

....and the last day of school is today!  Who hoo!!  I'm SO excited to have everyone home again for summer!

Blogging and house projects have definitely taken a back seat to that little thing called "life".  I've mentioned before that projects usually take awhile around here.  At times that can be frustrating because who wants to be in the middle of a project ALL the time?  Not me...time to get on with life already!! But, I have realized over the many years that sometimes the lull in the project is when the most important decisions are made and the most clarity is found.  It seems this is the time when an answer to that problem that has had us stumped comes out of hiding....and it always seems so simple....like a "why didn't we think of this sooner??" kind of answer.

For myself, I know this to be true in other areas of life as well...parenting, relationships, and most recently for me this blog.  But waiting, and sometimes more waiting, is a difficult thing to do when you are geared up to take action! Although I haven't sat down to post anything lately, the blog hasn't been far from my mind and I've been putting the lull to good use!

There was a pretty big challenge associated with blogging that revealed itself after I began posting....picture sharing.  Did you know that you need permission from the photographer of an image to post them on a blog?  I had previously been told that as long as the photographer was credited that was sufficent, much like crediting the author for a quote in a book.  However, that information was incorrect.  Photography is truly an art. It is an area of study in which the more you learn, the more you realize you have yet to learn.  I only recently realized how much I had taken those gorgeous pictures in the magazines for granted.  So, as much as I would love to show you all the images that have in one way or another inspired me or a project, if I am actually going to finish any projects around here I need to spend my time doing them and not at the computer emailing photographers or I may never get anything done and then blogging will be completely irrelevant!  On occasion I may feel so strongly about some inspiration that I will make that effort, or at the very least post a link to where you can find it straight from the source, but most of the images that will be found here will be the ones taken by me.

The last few weeks have given me time to reflect on how to proceed in light of this new challenge and also thoughtfully consider a few things I feel are worth mentioning in respect to the decorating process before I carry on to discussions of fabric selections and room reveals.  When an unexpected challenge reveals itself mid-project it can be discouraging, but the solution to the problem almost always improves the final outcome.  Hopefully that will prove to be true in this situation as I continue to share with you how our house became our home!

If you made it to the end of this LONG (and probably boring ;-) ) post... CONGRATULATIONS!!  ...and thanks for hanging in there with me!

xo,