a morning at the zoo with a peacock and a tiger and an ava carmel.

Ah May days at the zoo.  It really is the only time I like going to the zoo.  Something about summer heat and zoo smells-not appealing.  Those fumes in the reptile house are downright dangerous in mid July.  

But Spring.  Springtime at the zoo is another story.  Isn't that peacock a stunningly beautiful creature?!

 

We are on the official schools-out-countdown around here.  I cannot wait for the leisurely days of summer to arrive!  Truly, just as excited as the kids.  Every morning when my alarm goes off, I count off how many more days until we are alarm-free!  (Eight.)

Today I was looking for some pictures for a project for Cam and came across these pictures from Ava's last kindergarten field trip.  And here we are one year later.  Oh. my. golly.  Time just keeps cruising right along.

  

What's all the ruckus out here?  

Oh just five bazillion kindergarteners who can't yet read the sign that says no tapping on the glass and keep your voices low. :)  

Also, I wish I could find myself a beautiful piece of driftwood like that. . .

finding color inspiration on paper.

One of the most common design dilemmas people have when decorating is: what colors should I use? 

This actually stumps me all the time.  Not because I can't think of any. 

I have the exact opposite problem: there are way too many color combinations I want to try!!

But if you happen to find yourself in a colorless conundrum, and you want out, here is a little tip: go browse through the paper at your local paper store.  I'm telling you it is a treasure trove for color combination inspiration.

I came across this bird paper and giant blue polka dot paper, this morning while working on another project.  But I think it will be perfect as a jumping off point for Ashlyn's new room: coral pink, royal blue, robins egg blue and a few black accents thrown in for good measure.  

And yes, the bedrooms on the lower level are finished (being constructed, not decorated!), so the kids all finally have their own rooms again and I'll tell you what, it is bedtime bliss for this parent.  I swear it's been over two years since they fell asleep at a reasonable hour! 


- - - - - - - - - - - - -

farmington hills lower level.

These last few months have been jam packed with lots and lots of fun design projects, but with the school year quickly coming to a close, I have decided a little hiatus is in order until September.  I want this summer to be totally for relaxing and spending time together as a family.  So I am just wrapping up all the last details of a couple projects and thought it was high time to do a little sharing here!

On this particular project, the homeowners had been contemplating moving and just starting over, because they felt stumped with the layout and overall look of the home.  Ultimately they decided to stay, so their request was to make this house "theirs." 

We started with the lower level first, where most of the family hanging out happens.  And first things first. . . we started by ripping all the carpet out, and installing wood laminate floors.

If you get a really good quality laminate, you would be hard pressed to tell if they were not actual wood floors.  We did a blackened weathered oak laminate here, something I've been wanting to try forever and it looks beautiful!

 

The space had been plumbed for a kitchen when the home was originally constructed, so we took advantage of that and added a small kitchen.  We saved money here by purchasing the cabinets from Home Depot, but made it look pretty high-end with the apron sink, the beautiful faucet and some custom shelves.

We added a tongue and groove wainscot around all the exterior walls, casings to all the windows and doors, some beautiful and much needed lights, a chalkboard wall and an updated staircase.  It was a big project and took many months to complete, but every last detail is now finished and they are so happy with everything.  Which makes me really happy too. :)

PHOTOS by: ashley beal photography

 

a sneak peek.

Well it's been awhile again hasn't it?  I've been busy wrapping up a few design projects that just happened to all kind of come together at the same time.  Plus a few other things too that maybe I'll get around to posting about one of these days! 

Here is a sneak peek from one of the homes we just finished up.  This particular project has been in the works for many months (remember here?) and it feels so great to have every last detail finally complete.  I kind of just want to move in with them, since my house sort of got stranded in the middle of it's renovations, while I finished these other client projects up. 

This morning I've started looking for lights for my house again.  The ones I chose for our downstairs bathroom have been back ordered for five months, and I've lost hope that they will ever make it to my abode...

- - - - - - - - - - - - --

improvising on the snow man.

So we've been making pretty good use of the snow we've been buried in here, but we'd be oh so happy if spring arrived here . . . like, tomorrow!!  Our skies have been gray for so long that I forgot how blue they can really be.  When we went up into the mountains to escape the gray inversion, it actually was stinging my eyes to see the brilliant blue sky!

Cam (who wants to be a ski racer like Jimmy was) even said today, "I can't believe I'm saying this. . . but I actually can't wait for all the snow to melt!"  Amen.

_______________

my little valentines.

we had so much fun getting ready for valentines day this week. but sadly we had a combination of bronchitis and strep throat circulating through the house by the time valentines day arrived.  oh wretched winter colds. 

i was so sad for ava carmel; what bitter disappointment to miss school on valentines day!!  she tried really hard to convince me she felt okay, but after an hour she gave up, started crying and said i just don't feel good.  by the end of the day we had a positive strep test to prove it.

cam on the other hand had a fabulous valentines day, as he usually does.  i'm afraid he is getting too old to share all of his antics publicly (oh but how i wish i could!  cause they're hilarious!), but suffice it to say during first recess he sneakily placed a little valentines gift on a girls desk and declared it the best valentines day ever.

andy won first prize for his masterpiece valentines box creation!  i had suggested maybe making a moon to go along with his cards, but he took it one step further!  everyday he finished all his daily jobs in record time so he could start working on his creation.


we tried to convince ashlyn to leave a valentine on the doorstep of one of the boys she likes, but she would hear none of it. . . 

_________________

ooh la love. i've fallen in love.

jimmy and i spent most of valentines day tag teaming between work, doctor visits, and taking care of sick kids, but managed to sneak away at 9:00 to fill prescriptions and grab a frozen yogurt together.

such is the life some days.

still i'm so glad he's mine.

"It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving. I'll tell you one thing. It's always better when we're together."  -jack johnson


______________  

good morning sun.

One morning this week, I walked down the stairs and saw light and sunshine pouring through our windows.

What is this?!  Sunshine, glorious sunshine?!  I had to grab my camera and snap a few pictures.  Finally some good light to take pictures in! 

We have had nothing but gray skies and snowstorms for the last five weeks, so all morning long I just followed the sun through the house with my laptop, working wherever I could find a patch of sun to sit in.  Oh it felt so good--I love that feeling of sun seeping into your skin and am already craving it again. 

________________

january: the month wherein it snowed. alot.

a few recollections:

<< andy had his first colonoscopy (41 years ahead of schedule.) the results were much better than expected and we were so relieved.  after helping him prep for that, i have developed a serious dread for the day i need one!

<< reading has finally clicked for ava carmel and i find her curled up all over the place with a book.  i love hearing that little voice.  i hope she keeps reading out loud for a long time.

<< i cut my bangs again.

<< we had a freak ice storm in salt lake city.  that ice next to ashlyn's boot was covering everything and was surprisingly thick and oh so slippery!!  there were a couple times when i was walking the kids into school and we all landed in a giant heap on top of each other.  it would have been embarrassing, but when i looked around, everyone else was in the same boat.  i may have got the giggles a lot.

<< in 2013 i am trying to become more aware.  this month my major realization is that i am really lazy when it comes to the prep work that is required for everyday life to happen smoothly.  maybe this is the root of feeling overwhelmed so much?

<< i signed up for a half marathon!  remember when i started running/walking most days a year ago?  well i discovered i actually LOVE running!  what a shocker.  seriously i had no idea.

______________

a love note.

i love these boys.

i love their sense of adventure.

i love their eagerness to try knew things.

i love their elaborate forts.

i love listening to their stories of the day each night at bedtime.

i love their desire to do good.

i love that they come to me when they're scared.

i love that they have each other.

i love watching them grow up.

____________